Wormy is the solo venture of Brooklyn based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Noah Rauchwerk. With Wormy, Rauchwerk seeks to tell moment-to-moment stories backed by a dynamic orchestration that mimics the scattered nature of daily life.
His sound combines the simplistic songwriting of folk music with catchy, bouncy, and largely electronic arrangements that are impossible to resist moving to, even after being trapped in your tiny apartment for a year (we feel for you New Yorkers!)
The first single from Wormy is called “Hungry Ghost”, features Brooklyn’s Samia and was produced by Nathan Stocker of indie rock’s beloved Hippo Campus.
The track uses specific moments from Rauchwerk’s life to conjure up obscure imagery and urge the listener to draw from their own memories of moments that felt similar.
“Hungry Ghost was written a few years ago after I had a really tough conversation with someone I saw a future with but they didn’t see one with me. I was really broken up about it and wrote the song hungover in my apartment drinking Gatorade (my drink of choice).
I play drums in Samia’s touring band and played it for her in a hotel room and remembered really wanting to hear her voice on it! A lot of the song is about my anxieties on tour and Sam is really great to talk to about that stuff. Very glad she got to sing on the track.”
It uses absurd detail to tell the story of a breakup of a relationship that almost, kind of, never really happened. “It’s really about that experience of feeling so incredibly drawn to someone for the sole reason that you know it’ll never really work out.” says Rauchwerk.
Rauchwerk plays drums in Samia’s touring band and her vocal feature was prompted by him playing the song for her on an unplugged electric guitar in a hotel room on tour.
“I really cherish Sam’s opinions and taste in songwriting and of course, her writing itself. To have her sing these words is so important to me because so much of this track was inspired by being on tour and relating to each other’s shared experiences with the various stages of anxiety.”
Touring with Samia also marked such a milestone in Noah’s career which was opening for Donna Missal in NYC.
“I’m really proud of the tours I’ve done with Samia but I think specifically when we got to play Bowery Ballroom opening up for Donna Missal. I’d wanted to play there my whole life and never thought I’d get to and it just felt really magical. I’m also really proud to finally get this song out into the world!”
Anxiety is a common theme in Rauchwerk’s writing, with lyrics clinging to the very emotions that were so deeply uncomfortable in the moment. It recalls feelings that you never expected you could be nostalgic for.
“It’s kind of scary to me how much I value nostalgia for little tiny moments, even ones that were drowned in anxiety at the time. I love recalling exactly what I was listening to, what I was eating, and why exactly I was so convinced the plane I was on was going to crash. It’s way easier to look back and laugh at those thoughts than it is to calm them in the moment.”
Wormy is ready to hit the stages now that live shows seem to be on the horizon and get in the room with fellow writers to make some more magic together.
“I really love playing in Samia’s band so I’m looking forward to more tours and playing some of my own shows as well. It’ll hold some more releases and collaborations which is quite exciting! I’m thrilled to work with my friends and release more music with them.”
