[Cover photo credit to Andrew Einhorn]

Brooklyn-based Indie singer/songwriter Ian McFarland writes about his life and experiences in New York City as an artist. McFarland has recently released “Leaving New York,” a reflection on “identity, change, and the emotional weight of leaving behind the city that helped shape who you are.”

McFarland shares:

I wrote ‘Leaving New York’ after being laid off from my job at Sony’s independent distribution division. Around the same time, my wife had also lost her job, and suddenly we were having real conversations about whether we could afford to stay in the city we’d spent years building a life in. I’d go for long walks and pass all these places that meant something to us-coffee shops, bars, parks– and realize they were becoming memories before we’d even left. At some point, I realized I wasn’t actually writing about New York. I was writing about a version of myself that would eventually be left behind. And whether it’s a city, a relationship, or a chapter of your life, I think everyone eventually discovers there’s a version of themselves they can’t go back to. That’s really what this song is about.

The song “captures the strange experience of grieving a place before you’ve actually left it.”

The band tracked the song live before layering additional guitars and vocals to widen the arrangement. The recording features Ian McFarland on vocals and guitars, Jared Pease on drums, and Rijk van Zanten on bass.

Mixed by Jared Pease and mastered by Chicago-based engineer Max Grazier, a longtime friend and fellow Portsmouth, New Hampshire musician-the single continues a creative partnership that began years earlier in New Hampshire’s local music scene.

The accompanying music video “follows McFarland through recognizable New York landmarks, turning the city itself into another character in the story.”