Every Lovely Thing

Every Lovely Thing is a music duo from Dayton, Ohio formed by singer-songwriter Marianne Kesler & Kate Stanton. Following a decade long friendship, the two decided over coffee to try writing a song together. Soon the duo, dubbed Every Lovely Thing, was on their way to St. Louis to record their debut single, Running! We have conducted an interview with them.

When did you record your debut single 'Running!' and what is this song about?

We recorded ‘Running’ late July 2016 and it was officially released August 26th, with the video release October 1st. This was the culmination of our writing songs together for over a year.

The song is about toxic relationships. Both of us are INFJs on the Myer’s-Briggs personality test and highly sensitive people - thus have had our share of relational struggles, sometimes feeling swallowed up, misunderstood, overrun by others. Rather than “I am a victim running away,” it is our intention to depict a healthy acceptance of ourselves, and of moving (or running) toward the freedom of positive life-affirming boundaries.

How do you feel being a studio duo after a decade-long friendship?

It was amazing! I (Marianne) have had much experience in the studio with my solo singer-songwriting career, but it was Kate’s first time recording professionally. We worked with Ben Kesler (Ex’treme Institute by Nelly) at Red Pill Studios in St. Louis. His expertise, and quiet demeanor, plus our friendship and understanding of each other’s personalities and how that affects our work, helped create a beautiful studio experience.

Which genre does your music belong to?

We feel like our emerging sound is ambient dream pop. We really had no parameters when we started writing music together other than to create a beautiful sound with authentic introspective lyrics. Kate brings her ethereal vocals and elegant piano stylings, with Marianne adding vocals and harmonies in a lower register, and often playing acoustic guitar.

What inspires your name 'Every Lovely Thing'?

Our tagline is ”songwriting duo creating beauty out of brokenness one note at a time” and the name Every Lovely Thing is echoing that concept. It came to mind while reading lines from the Bible, “ … Whatsoever things are lovely … think on these things”.

Where do you (normally) write your songs? What kind of location/venue/places inspires you the most?

We write in our own homes, dialoguing back and forth via email mostly, sending each other a myriad of voice memos recorded on our phones! We met monthly at first and are now trying for every couple of weeks, meeting at one of our homes (we live only 9 miles apart) where we both have spaces dedicated to our music pursuits - Kate’s when we need to use her piano, and mine when doing computer work such as editing video!

We are both drawn to the natural world around us, visualized in the video for Running, with a special fondness for trees and skies. We share a quirky sense of beauty, so are as likely to be taking pictures of leaves in puddles, shadows, and moss, as of flowers. We also have a eye for the juxtaposition of manmade industrial elements and geometric shapes alongside nature … telephone wires against an azure blue sky, an abandoned building overgrown by wildflowers … looking for the beauty in every lovely thing!