“Sometimes growing up is about looking back on the things that have hurt you and finally realising they weren’t worth all the pain they caused.”
‘Wasted Tears’ is Richard Green looking at a personal experience and turning it into a song about something that many people will eventually come to realise: not every hurt deserves to have us holding on to it. It’s an indie/dance track in its melodic structure and it’s about the cost of giving too much of yourself to people or situations that simply don’t deserve it. Richard doesn’t see it as a criticism of people who make those mistakes. He sees it as part of the process of growing up and realises that the very things we end up regretting as adults are often the very things that have helped us to mature and develop a better sense of perspective.
The strength of “Wasted Tears” is in the relationship between the emotional subject and the musical direction. Green describes it as a dark sounding track with a very strong melody, a lead melody and arrangement which he feels is some of his very best work in the indie/dance sphere. That contrast is absolutely vital to the track. The darkness of the atmosphere gives the subject of the song real emotional weight, the melody provides something for the listener to latch onto. Rather than just going for the concept he puts the arrangement at the heart of it. The use of some original sounds is also a big part of what gives the track its character, a very accessible melody combined with a more shadowy electronic feel. The whole point of the song really comes into its own when Green links it to the difference between being young and being an adult. When you’re young, emotion can make a bad experience seem infinitely bigger than it actually is. You can spend a lifetime questioning what happened, what you could have done, what you could have changed, what you could have done differently. You can spend a lifetime grieving over something that was never right in the first place. As you get older you start to realise that pain doesn’t necessarily equate to loss. “Wasted Tears” is the song that captures that realisation without in any way minimising the feelings that preceded it. The tears may have been in vain in the end, but they were still part of the process of growing, of changing, of realising who you are.
Green created the track entirely in his home studio in Piacenza, Italy (composition and production all done by him) before having it mixed and mastered at Studio Elfo. That’s very much the independent approach to the project. He cites a range of influences (The Chemical Brothers, Boys Noize and John Frusciante’s experimental electronic work in particular) but doesn’t point to one single artist as the inspiration for this track. “Wasted Tears” is a case of him being open to all sorts of influences and creating something of his own. The track is on the *Electronic Therapy* EP (a 6 track affair that’s essentially techno, electro, indie and EDM all mashed together). “Wasted Tears” is the one that really hits the emotional note in that collection, combining Green’s interest in melodic electronic production with a very clear message. It’s a song about learning to put things in perspective and it recognises that that process takes time. Richard Green takes that very simple lesson and turns it into a dark, melodic indie/dance track which is a very effective piece of music for prompting you to think about what you’ve been through, what you’ve learned and what you no longer need to be carrying.
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