itso – “MOTHER EARTH (For What It’s Worth)”
In 2019 Scobie Ryder (ex-Hellfire Club frontman and Gold Awarded songwriter/producer), met up with Martin Hanisch (A top German session guitarist/writer and producer) online. Together they formed the project, itso, to produce music they label “Fresh Retro”. Recording remotely in two different countries, they rely on the pure organic sounds of guitars, drums, bass and vocals. It’s pretty evident that itso are carving their own path in both music and message, steering clear of some familiar tropes that their peers in the music scene seem to use to great extent.
Penned from the view of a world where humanity has breached all conventions and connections with mother earth to the point of abuse and disregard of the treasures it carries. Within this context, Scobie Ryder and Martin Hanisch find a way to infuse their ecological message with sweeping melodic atmospherics and pulse pounding power.
“Mother Earth, for what it’s worth your children don’t care for you anymore! Mother Earth… and what is so much worse, they hate the way you spend their days…Don’t know what life’s worth.”
The track works on multiple levels. If you’re looking for an engaging singular track, full of melody and harmony, to fill your playlist, “MOTHER EARTH (For What It’s Worth)” will have you covered. But if you’re looking for a deeper connection and a full listening experience, this track will truly take you on a much more profound journey – both musically and thematically. Though context is important in this song, it’s not everything.
“MOTHER EARTH (For What It’s Worth)” is really excellent, regardless of context. What is most impressive and constantly compelling, is how itso tweak their sound just enough to make it feel unique, organic, and yet that much more cinematic. The sound is one you’d expect from an epic post-rock band with a full vocal section. The guitars shimmer and jangle, while the lead vocals whisper and soar between huge waves of layered harmony.
With all those elements thrown into the sonic stew, a flair for the overwrought and dramatic is to be expected, but, impressively, itso never go down that road. There’s a sincerity here that transforms everything into sounding down home and grounded.
From the very beginning, “MOTHER EARTH (For What It’s Worth)” launches listeners into a completely different orbit than what they’re currently listening to on the radio. Which may seem odd, considering how perfectly mainstream sounding the song really is.
Catchy choruses, clean sounds, and easily relatable lyrics could put “MOTHER EARTH (For What It’s Worth)”onto any mainstream radio, anywhere in the world. It’s how majestically this song is constructed that puts it in a different league. Despite its rich sonic template, it comes across as void of all the electronic enhancements and the usually cloned studio gimmickry that make all pop songs sound the same production-wise.
If you’re looking for a track that will make you think and feel, while still sounding luxuriously sophisticated, as well as essential and vital, “MOTHER EARTH (For What It’s Worth)” is the one. It speaks for itself on multiple scales – the instruments, vocals, production value, songwriting – all of it is stellar, to the point of perfect.
