My Inspiration: McCormick – The River

Teesside singer-songwriter McCormick has had a pretty prolific 2022, having just dropped his third single of the year, The River. The track, which sees him partnering up with producer Jmie Donnelly, is an enchanting acoustic number with dreamy vocals, spacious percussion and warm, light night vibes… Although, if you’re looking for something with a bit more drivetime urgency then you can also enjoy the more uptempo B-side version of the track, By The River.

Here, the artist tells us about what inspired his latest release.

I wrote this track in 2010, but never got round to recording it until I played it to Jamie Donnelly who convinced me to do it some twelve years later! 

The general idea for it came when I was on holiday in Dalyan, in South West Turkey. Now Middlesbrough and Dalyan on the face of it don’t have an awful lot in common. Middlesbrough tends to be associated with heavy industry, while Dalyan is known for its natural beauty. 

However, both places sit on the edge of magnificent rivers where people come to walk, and enjoy the view and peace and tranquillity. The Tees has small boats heading up past Yarm and huge Tankers heading into the Tees ports. While in Dalyan it’s little chug chug boats laden with tourists heading to the huge lake and mud baths or down to the gorgeous turtle beach. Whereas it is not uncommon to see seals on the Tees, it is turtles on the Dalyan River. 

The main gist of the track is that no matter how you feel there is something uplifting about being by the water…no matter what the weather. 

The new release features two versions: the lead version called The River which has a Summery acoustic feel, and a more Springsteen-style version called By The River.