Canadian singer-songwriter Connor Douglas Ferguson is a relatively new voice on the scene, having only released two other songs before the beautiful “Forever Blue”. Written while attending a music/artist development school called LIMPI in 2022, the song is an affective meditation on self-sabotaging and depressive tendencies, which he finished while in Los Angeles in 2023, with the help of producers Alec Zeilon and Boy Bennet.
Connor kindly took some time to answer some questions about the new song, who Zeilon and Bennet brought to the process, and what’s next for him.
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The Indy Review: How did you first discover your interest and love of songwriting?
Connor Douglas Ferguson: Writing has always been “my thing” – which is to say, while flunking math in school, I was writing stanzas and stories, but just on paper. Eventually, I realized that songs had to be written and that songwriting was a career; I just had to figure out the music bit, so I learned guitar. Then, when I was a teenager, I found myself writing for other people’s projects in my hometown of Calgary, and over a decade, it has slowly evolved from there. Songwriting is how I communicate the best with the world, but only in the last couple of years have I been getting bigger opportunities for the first time. It all stems from storytelling for me.
IR: I found your song “Forever Blue” to be really beautiful and touching. How did the initial spark for the song germinate?
CDF: Thank you very much! Well, in 2022/23, I attended a school called LIMPI in Norway, where I focused on being a songwriter for other artists. You spend nine months in this small ski town with fifty other people just writing as much as possible. It’s intense but rewarding. I was very focused on helping other people tell their stories there, which I love, too, but I remember “Forever Blue” came one day just on my guitar alone, and I think it probably needed to.
IR: You have mentioned that the track is a “meditation on my self-sabotaging and depressive tendencies”. Was it difficult to look internally to address these personal issues for the song?
CDF: Are you saying that “Forever Blue” isn’t a Vegas party club banger? Shit, I’ll have to cancel the remix with Pitbull we just recorded.
Just kidding. Honestly, no it wasn’t difficult to write about these topics, but sharing it was. I remember writing it alone and being really hesitant to play the demo, but then my friend Jaxon listened, and he had a positive and supportive reaction, and that was meaningful assurance that there was something to it. It’s an incredibly earnest song, and I don’t think earnestness comes naturally to me in all parts of my life, but it does in my writing. The fact that it seems to be connecting with people more than anything else I’ve put out really means a lot – I don’t think it would be if the song had been more self-censoring about how I feel about myself at points.
IR: Has writing it helped you at all with dealing with these mental health issues?
CDF: Most definitely – I don’t think I’d be alive if I didn’t have songwriting as an outlet. That’s grim, but it’s true. I’m fortunate to have this passion in my life and I’m lucky I get to pursue it. In the darkest moments, my pursuit of my craft keeps me going, and it’s a genuine love.
IR: How did you connect with producers Alec Zeilon and Boy Bennet, and how did they help elevate “Forever Blue” into what it is now?
Alec and Hunter (Boy Bennet) are alumni of LIMPI’s sister school, LAAMP, based in Los Angeles – there’s kind of this whole little network of artists from both schools now, so that’s how we crossed paths. I went to LA for a couple of months at the end of 2023 as a trial run to see how it was. They’re both exceptionally talented. I brought them the acoustic demo of “Forever Blue”, and they elevated it drastically with these beautiful new guitar arrangements, bridge section, and the lush production you hear in the end result. I’m grateful that they worked with me on it, they turned a solid song into a proper record.
IR: Do you see the song as a stand-alone single, or as part of an upcoming EP or LP?
CDF: Well, I only really started releasing songs under my own name when I wasn’t exactly sure what the future held for me as a songwriter for other people. You have to create your opportunities if you want this to be sustainable, so I didn’t have a lot of expectations when I started putting out my own songs last year; I was doing it to keep up the momentum. But I’m realizing now that it’s incredibly meaningful to be able to do both things. There’s this great quote by Jack Antonoff talking to Ross Golan recently where he says basically that “Albums are still god” – that any artist who moves the needle and finds an audience is releasing a complete body of work, still, even in an industry eternally focused on hit singles. He’s right, and I’ve been thinking a lot about that. What an album I make would look like exactly – it’s beginning to feel like an exciting prospect, as much as an intimidating one. But, for now, I have dropped a couple of songs as an artist, and I am dipping my toes into things. We’ll see.
IR: What’s next for you in 2025?
CDF: I’m releasing two more singles with a shift in vibe and energy towards more alt-rock/grunge inspired by some of my idols who shaped my formative music taste, like PJ Harvey. The first is called “Fresh Hell” and will be released on January 31st. I want to keep creating as much as possible this year—for myself and other people. I feel a lot of propulsion and creative energy currently. I’m excited.
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Hear the track in our A Single Sit-Down Playlist.
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