Interview with Runnner

photo by Helen Ballentine

Who is Runnner?

The project of the now LA-based songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Noah Weinman, Runnner’s poignant reflections on the isolation and anxiety caused by a sense of rootlessness radiate with wit and charm.

...

“It’s like I sing about these places yearning to be there, but also knowing full well that what I'm really missing is the people I met and the experiences I had,” Weinman explains. “I get restless and frustrated in my present, and romanticize my past while pushing myself into some different chapter—one that usually starts with me in a dark place and some songs in my journal. These songs end up being the constant for me over the years.”

source: https://runnner.band/

The Interview

What were your favorite songs growing up?

I had a CD that I made my dad burn for me when I was maybe 8? it had 3 songs:

"Soak up the sun" by Sheryl Crow

The Hamster Dance

"Lose Yourself" by Eminem

What was the first song that made you cry?

"Don't be sad" by Brad Mehldau

What’s your most beautiful memory of growing up?

It's super fuzzy but I have this memory of seeing my own eyelashes in my peripheral vision as a kid and it was the first time.

I think I acknowledged that I was a person, or that I was looking out from a body. I was maybe 3?

What's the best advice you've ever received as an artist?

Your community is your greatest resource.

What message do you want to convey to your listeners with your songs?

I'm not sure if there's one message I'm trying to convey, but I think each song is an attempt to form a connection.

Describe your album "always repeating" in one word.

Compilation.

What inspired you to write "Ur Name on a Grain of Rice"?

I write a lot of things title-first. I remember sitting at dinner with some friends and I'm not sure if somebody said it or if I just thought of it but I wrote it in an iPhone note and thought - that would be a great name for a song. the rest of the lyrics were salvaged from other things I'd been writing at the time that felt similar.

What are your favorite songs on your latest album and which song was the hardest to write?

I love "awash" for its simplicity - I often want to write more simply than I end up doing. "Monochrome" was probably the hardest

Just because I felt like there was so much I was trying to say in that song that it was hard to find the thread at times.

What is your process when you get a new idea for a song?

Do you start with producing or with writing first?

It varies song to song, but probably the most common way is I'll come up with a title and then I'll be able to join together a lot of other production and writing sketches under that umbrella until there's a full song.

Tell us tell us about a memory you associate with your album "Always Repeating"

My partner and I were staying in upstate New York when I was finishing recording and we got caught in a huge snowstorm - which felt very cozy as I made the finishing touches.

Tell us more about the story behind the track "Eggshell"

The instrumental was inspired by a Louis Cole song and the lyrics were mostly taken from an earlier demo that I never finished called "Nintendo" - ironically the title for this song came last. I think it was just called "Kitchen Anxiety" for a long time.

Which was the toughest song to write?

There's a song i'm working on now that might have beaten out "Monochrome" for the longest I've spent writing a single song. That's all i'm going to say about it now.

What album have you listened to the most last year?

Lost and Safe by The Books.

Who would you love to collaborate with?

Guy Sigsworth.

What is your favorite song at the moment?

"Erica Western Teleport" by Emperor X.

Thank you for the interview, Runnner!

25th of January 2022