The April Project

Local artists Sarah Link and Mat Shoare are the April Project: pictures and songs, created through the month of April. Every day, Link and Shoare post a picture and a song that they’ve crafted on that particular day. The result is fresh, candid glimpse into the life and minds of both artists, and the creative process. We sat down with both of them to find out what works, what doesn’t, and how sometimes, you may need a little help from other musicians — whether they know it or not.

Do you guys collaborate?

Sarah Link: No. We’ve had people be like, ‘Wow, he came up with such a good song for that photo.’ That’s not how it works. We just do our own thing.

Mat Shoare: We’ve talked about it once or twice, accidentally. Like, ‘Hey, my song’s really happy, FYI.’

Link: And I’m like, ‘Hey, my picture’s really lame.’ [Laughs.] There was one day where you were like, ‘Listen to the White Album.’

Shoare: We’ve done that, where it’s like, ‘This is what I’m listening to; you should listen and see if something clicks.’

Do you plan on doing any covers?

Shoare: No. I have to write a song every day, that’s the plan. They’re not really April songs. They’re not really anything — there’s no plan. I want it to be like, for the next fifty years, I can look back on all these songs and remember what I was doing, in April of this year. It’s not themed or anything.

Link: On Easter — I was sort of kidding — I was like, ‘Are you going to do anything religious?’

Shoare: Chocolate bunny songs or something. What I’m doing that day is what I make a song out of. And you’re taking a picture, so it has to be what you’re doing that day.