“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done, but it still makes sense.”

That’s how nine-time Grammy winner Dan Auerbach describes his new album, Waiting On a Song, which will be released June 2 on his own Easy Eye Sound label.

Waiting On a Song is the followup to the Black Keys frontman’s 2009 solo debut, Keep It Hid. It’s also a love letter to Nashville; Auerbach recruited some of the town’s most respected players to write and record for the new project, including John Prine, Duane Eddy and Bobby Wood. Even Mark Knopfler contributes his own snaky, snarling guitar to “Shine On Me,” which you can hear below.

Other standout tracks include the cinematic “King of a One Horse Town” and the upbeat but melancholy title track. The song’s music video—which was directed by Bryan Schlam—reinforces that perspective by following a group of teens during the “best summer of their lives” before they head off to college.

I recently spoke with Auerbach about Waiting On a Song, songwriting, his gear and more.

When you experience Waiting On a Song as a whole, there are so many different styles and influences from the Sixties and Seventies that come across. Was that the intent?

A lot of what you’re hearing is the guys from those records that you remember listening to, like Bobby Wood, who plays Wurlitzer on this record, also played on hits by Elvis and Dusty Springfield. When you listen to this record you’re not being reminded of a certain style. You’re actually listening to the guy who created the style.

What’s your songwriting process like?

It all depends. Sometimes, you have a melody first or a lyric, and other times it can just be a title and you can write a whole song based on it. What I do know is that every single song on this record was done in an old-school, “songwriter” way of getting into a room with someone and writing a song on acoustic guitar or just on a piano. I’m so used to having the studio be a part of the writing process, but not on this record. Everything was done ahead of time, which is really interesting because it was the first time I’ve ever done that.

When I was growing up, we’d sit around in a circle and play guitar and sing bluegrass and blues songs. Now, I’m sitting in a circle with the guys who wrote many of those bluegrass and blues songs and we’re writing together. Even though it was the first time I did it, something about it felt very natural.

Let’s discuss a few tracks from the new album, beginning with the title track.

I’ve got a little room over at my house that we started writing in last summer. I spent the whole summer in that room just writing, and I wrote that one with John Prine and Pat McLaughlin. The concept for the video was director Bryan Schlam’s idea. He executed it so well. Even if you didn’t grow up during that time period, everything those guys and girls are doing makes you feel nostalgic. There’s something warm about the video, but the feeling of it really matches the song in an uplifting, melancholy way.

Read the rest of my
Interview with Dan Auerbach by Clicking Here