“I thought I’d hide, from the world today” is the opening lyric of PROGRAM’s -Self Produced album. It’s also a bit of a mantra. Which is probably why it’s taken them three years to emerge from their home studio. But before you hear where they are going, the band wanted you to know from where they came. Under their previous name - Volcano Playground - they recorded an EP that never felt right, and so it didn’t get the release that it (probably) deserved. However one song from that EP - WAITING - did make its way to Toronto producer David Newfeld (Broken Social Scene). He liked it and produced it as a one off single for his new label Stars and Suns.
According to the principal songwriter of the song: “Waiting is a highly personal song. It’s about perfectionism, self doubt, depression, being a late bloomer. After our ep, we were strict with what we released. Sometimes pulling songs off the web that we put up a week before. We ditched a whole record before arriving at our new one. I think only now are we becoming comfortable revealing our imperfections (because no song will ever be perfect) to the world, even though we cherish imperfections in others. The final lines are about being beat up and cut to shreds, and being forever taped back together. I’ve seen wonderful people get knocked down, and never get back up, and it’s always tragic.”
And in an era of mass consumption and instant gratification, maybe it’s not such a bad thing to hide away in darkness until we are ready for the light of day.