ERNEST Talks Bringing the Island Vibes to Daily Life on ‘Deep Blue’ (Exclusive)

ERNEST’s latest LP is all about the island life. On Deep Blue, which is out now, the country hitmaker sought to bring listeners to his favorite place in the world—the islands.

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Inspired by his time in Islamorada, ERNEST took cues from the likes of Dean Dillion, Willie Nelson, and Scotty Emerick when it came time to delve into the “gut string country” sound of the record.

“It’s not necessarily beach songs all the time, but the gut string guitar kind of pulls it into a world,” ERNEST told American Songwriter. “They all live in the Deep Blue world sonically.”

Some tracks on the record sit lyrically in that world too, most notably “Same Moon.”

“We wrote it in Islamorada, sitting on the back porch of this house, looking out into the ocean. It was basically writing it in real time, describing the scenery,” ERNEST said. “… It was cool going back and shooting video right there. I talk about that lighthouse out there on the horizon. You can see the lighthouse. The hammock at the end of the dock, it’s all right there.”

That doesn’t mean all the songs were written with an identical formula, though. There’s “Lucky,” a track ERNEST described as having “Stardust era Willie vibes.”

“It [has] very tricky chords, but it feels really good,” he said of the track. “It’s not one of those songs that’s gonna tear the roof off of a live show, but it will steal the night on a long drive, for sure.”

ERNEST Discusses Deep Blue

The inspiration ERNEST took from Nelson is perhaps most felt on “Time Is a Thief,” a duet he and Lukas Nelson, the elder Nelson’s son, teamed up for.

“It’s much more introspective, slower. It sounds like a Willie song,” ERNEST said. “… [Lukas] showed up to the studio, and that’s him playing the gut string guitar on that record. The vocal you hear is us, the day of, standing in front of a microphone and singing it together. It’s very raw.”

The track is one that neither ERNEST nor Nelson penned, a rarity for the former artist, who’s known for writing hits. In the case of “Time Is a Thief,” as well as the three other outside cuts on the album, the decision to record it was a simple one.

“I think the best song wins. If the song works, I’m not too prideful. I [don’t] have to write everything I sing. I have nothing to prove. I can write songs,” ERNEST said. “‘… I’m never opposed to cutting an outside song if it makes sense.”

All together, ERNEST hopes that the 13 tracks will transport listeners to the “calming, relaxing” islands, whether they’re sitting on a beach or stuck in the rote of daily life.

“If you’re not at a beach or on a boat, it can take you there in your head. That sounds cliche, but it really came out [that way],” he said. “My buddy the other day said he was listening to it while he was sitting in traffic, and he… just totally zoned out. He had been to all the places I’m talking about, so he could just go there in his mind.”

Photos by Delaney Royer