Nate Fredrick Addresses Letting Things & People Go in New Single “Patches”

“I write my best surrounded by people who inspire me. And a bit of whiskey,” Nate Fredrick told American Songwriter. 

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The result of Fredrick’s apt creative process is his latest release, “Patches,” which is a track off of his upcoming album, Different Shade of Blue. “Somewhere in trying to figure out how to craft a good song, I figured out how not to just write a pile of sad songs,” Nate Fredrick said about his new album. “It’s not that my situation is different or even better, but I’ve found a different way to perceive my personal circumstances.” 

“Patches” rings true in this category of classic melancholic tunes. The singer-songwriter co-wrote the song with Joybeth Taylor then produced it at Farmland Studios in Nashville with producer David Dorn. 

“Joybeth Taylor and I wrote this song about how we sometimes hold onto things in our lives that have run their course,” Fredrick said. “This song talks about certain instances where it’s time to let something go that may not be worth fixing anymore. One example is a pair of jeans that a mother has mended time and time again with patches until there isn’t much left to patch anymore.”

Through Fredrick and Taylor’s wistful metaphors, “Patches” emerges as a quiet nod to the cycles we all go through in life. Fredrick also made sure to create melodies that slowly reel you into the body of the song. “I’ve always been proud of the melodies in this song and hope they have an approachable quality so listeners can reflect the way myself and Joybeth did when writing it,” Fredrick said. 

“I would like people to take away any type of introspection into the fact that letting something go doesn’t mean that you are losing it, just the natural course of things,” he added. This level of introspection is as reassuring as hearing some friendly advice. 

Listen to Nate Fredrick’s “Patches” below and pre-save Different Shade of Blue here.

Photo by Brooke Stevens