We spoke with The Finch Cycle & Champion Motorist about “We Must Be Cautious” and more!

Q: Hi! When you started working on “We Must Be Cautious,” what came first for you, the feeling, the melody, or just messing around with sounds?

Paul: All three, but in the reverse order. We had not played together as a band so the initial jamming that happened while we were setting up proved pretty crucial to the process. There’s a lot of time to wait around while Andrew sorts out all the recording gear so Brad and I started playing and the foundation of the tune came out almost straight away. It didn’t take long at all for the melody and main drum part to form and then the overall feel and atmosphere became apparent once Andrew powered up his amps and all three of us started experimenting with more ideas.

Q: Your music plays a lot with space and restraint. How do you know when a track like this has enough going on without overdoing it?

Paul: That is a constant battle when making instrumental music. You sometimes feels like you have to compensate for there being no vocals and it’s easy to add more and more but if you’re not careful you can end up destroying the original spirit of a tune. With this song we ended up all contributing key sections with them all coming together to a crescendo. Once we settled on the heavier outro section we knew we had enough to work with and in a way we wrote the final arrangement backwards.

Q: You often work with different musicians. How did the collaboration side of things shape this song compared to past releases?

A: Brad: It’s a wonderful experience to create art with other people – you can never quite foresee what the end product will be. I think music is more powerful when created in this way, and it is a whole lot of fun!

Q: The title “We Must Be Cautious” is pretty loaded. Did that idea exist early on, or did the name reveal itself once the track was finished?

Paul: It revealed itself once the main outline for the song was settled on and we set out to record the final take. We were taking a break and I was chatting with Muzz discussing Star Wars and the droids from the Disney era. Then somehow the scene from the original film where Obi wan Kenobi talks about being cautious while heading into Mos Eisley spaceport came up and before we knew it we’d settled on the title. 

Q: Looking back at your earlier work, where do you feel this single fits in your overall evolution as The Finch Cycle?

A: Brad: Yes and no, I can definitely hear the clear blend of The Finch Cycle and Champion Motorist here. It is exciting and we hope to do more of it in the future.

Q: Are there specific moments in the song that still hit you every time you hear or play it?

A: Brad: For me, it is the quiet middle section with flowing open chords, it is lovely and warm.

Q: Do you picture this track changing or opening up more when it’s played live, or does the studio version feel pretty definitive to you?

A: Brad: The whole idea of this project was to make it as barebones as we could – just three dudes in a room – which means, in theory, a live version will sound pretty close!

Q: What do you personally feel when you listen back to this track now?

A: Brad: It is about the memories of that time, the time spent with two other awesome humans, creating art. This is the same for everything I have done – I can vividly remember the process of recording each song.

Q: Did anything from your day-to-day life at the time sneak its way into the mood or pacing of the song?

A: Brad: I think we all bring something to the creation of music – the feeling of that day, the temperature of the room, the noise from other bands rehearsing, the sound of the guitars and drums in the room – it is all part of it. As we literally created this song out of nothing, on the spot, it evolved and built based on that very moment in time.

Q: When you sit down to write new material, are you someone who plans things out or do you prefer letting the music find its own direction?

Paul: From our perspective 70 to 80% of our music emerges from sweating it out in the rehearsal room. Andrew and I have played music together since our teens and so we often sense where the music is heading before the other person even goes there. It’s a pretty exciting way to make music and when we’re locked in it’s great experience. Having said that though we do often bring in pre-prepared ideas but generally they’re added in to existing jams that either have space or need something added. We have ideas that have resurfaced multiple times but get shelved again because it’s not the right time for them. We’re working on a song that we’re going to release in a couple months that has been in the works for about 3 years! But that’s how it goes sometimes, music can just fall out of you some days and other times you really need to work on it. 

Q: After releasing this single, do you feel pulled toward any new sounds or ideas you haven’t explored yet?

A: Brad: For me, I want to explore synth sounds. I have borrowed a friends OP1 and have been tinkering with it, seeing if I can create something that is based on electronic noises.

Q: Looking ahead, what does the rest of the year look like for The Finch Cycle? New music, shows, or something totally unexpected?

A: Brad: I am writing songs for what will hopefully be a 2^nd album. Life has been hectic lately, and music has been on the backburner, so I hope 2026 becomes the year of the musical horse, so to speak!