Inside Solomon Crook’s Beneath The Morning Tree: A Song-by-Song Walkthrough

Solomon Crook invites listeners into his most personal work yet with Beneath The Morning Tree, a seven-track EP that navigates love, loss, family, and self-discovery. Written over four years and recorded in the quietude of Tekapo, New Zealand, the project feels like a window into the artist’s soul. Across its 25-minute run time, Crook blends lush alt-folk textures with soaring vocal moments, offering an emotional journey both tender and profound.

“This project began over four years ago, sparked by a quiet longing – for deeper connection, for more honesty in both myself and my songwriting. It felt like a return to where it all started: just me, my guitar, and the act of writing. Stripping everything back, I found space to sit with the bare bones of a song, to listen closely to what needed to be said. What unfolded was a gradual peeling back – layers of vulnerability, truth, and clarity. And within that honesty, I recognised something unmistakable: this was my story, told in the only way I could tell it.” – SOLOMON CROOK

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Here, Solomon breaks down each track exclusively for AAA Backstage:

Bread

Inspired by a solitary journey through the northern reaches of Aotearoa, tracing the winding roads of the East Coast. This piece captures quiet moments of presence and the gentle beauty found in simplicity. In the slowing down, I found space to reconnect with parts of myself I had long neglected.

Too Strung 

Lyrically, the song moves towards connection – a quiet reaching for wholeness. “It’s a yearning for freedom,” Solomon shares, “a call to nature to untangle the knots my mind ties itself in.” It holds the tension between constriction and release – embracing the strain, while allowing softness to seep through. At its heart, it’s an honest admission of imperfection, and within that, a gentle invitation for change and renewal – much like the turning of the seasons.

A Beginning/An End

Originally this interlude was written to accompany a summary video of my last EP, ‘I & You’. As I pulled together the tracks for this EP it felt fitting to include this track – as one chapter closed, another door opened.

Woman

When writing Woman, it felt like a direct transmission of something universal moved through me. In witnessing the remarkable women in my life, I glimpsed a deeper truth – something raw and honest. I saw the weight they carry, the pain, the beauty, the resilience – all held within that experience. This song is an acknowledgment of that. An invitation to be seen.

Sister

This song traces the journey of healing – not in isolation, but with those dearest to us walking alongside. It speaks to the power of family, and how by leaning into our roots, into where we come from, we begin to remember a deeper sense of wholeness. 

Get Woke

Of all the tracks on the EP, Get Woke steps back from the personal and casts its gaze outward. It adopts a wider lens –  observing, reflecting, and holding up a mirror to the collective. It invites introspection and questioning, pointing to the importance of individual sovereignty in a world where it’s easy to be carried by the tides of culture.

Sunrise 

This single is a deeply personal reflection on my experience of my parents’ divorce. It holds the rawness of that time, while also offering moments of healing and clarity. It’s a journey from pain toward understanding – and, ultimately, acceptance.