Editor's note: This episode of our of Song Spinner series, which takes you into the hearts and minds of local musicians and their creative process, reveals the story behind Chris Castle's "All Kinds of Time."

BIO: Though Chris Castle hails from the Midwest, he's also a self-described "newly adopted citizen" of New London who, creatively speaking, was probably destined to land here eventually. Hell, he spent his youth in New London, Ohio - and you can't make that stuff up. He grew up listening to and mastering folk, country and Appalachian music. By his teens, he was a staff writer on Music Row in Nashville. At 21, with that musical equivalent of a Princeton education, Castle hit the road as a performer. He's traveled the country working clubs and festivals, releasing four albums: "Hollow Bones in Monotone," "Crazy Wind," "Songbook Vol. 1," and "Perfect World."

SOUND: Acoustic, literate, evocative songs that not only spin conventional folk structure, but whose narrative lyrics float on clouds of melody.

WHAT "ALL KINDS OF TIME" IS ABOUT: While the narrative could be inferred as describing the nuances of a relationship - and Castle will be happy if you choose to do so - it's actually a song about worshipping at the altar of the creative process.

THOUGHTS, THEN, ABOUT THE MUSE. LITERALLY: "('All Kinds of Time') is basically about opening yourself up at a specific moment for a specific amount of time. It's really about the Muse. When you sit down to write a song, I always look at it as going to the feet of the Muse and requesting that, you know. You have to go in there with a pure heart, you have to go in there with good intentions. If you go to the Muse and say, 'I need another song to make X amount of dollars' or 'I need a song to impress the ladies' … if it's not with a whole heart and good intent, she won't give it to you, you know? She doesn't ever whisper to you."

HOW THE SONG CAME ABOUT: When a tour was suddenly interrupted, Castle found himself with some unexpected freedom. A snatch of forgotten melody from the road suddenly presented itself in his head. Castle didn't have any lyrics, but he said to the Muse: "Okay, now's the time. If you're gonna whisper to me, now's the time. I've got this time off; I've got all kinds of time." He reflected on the nature of inspiration behind all art - and he ended up with a paean to the Muse.

FOLK MUSIC AND PHILOSOPHY: As for fleshing out the melody with structure, Castle explains how he refined the chords to fit the original idea by referencing Plato's Theory of Forms. (Try THAT, Katy Perry!) Castle actually understands Plato's Theory of Forms - at least insofar as it seems to a reporter, who DOESN'T understand Plato's Theory of Forms. Anyhow, Castle describes a process through which the essence of the song is born in Castle's brain, courses through his limbs, emerges and ultimately enters the listener's ears in a decidedly different form than when it started. It's another way of saying that art is unique from individual to individual - only Castle's respective talents and experiences combine to create the circumstances for any of his particular songs.

A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIEND: On the Song Spinner version of "All Kinds of Time," Castle is accompanied on guitar and harmony vocals by local musical legend Sandy "Sandman" Allen. Castle says that, even as he was writing the original verses for the tune, he immediately knew when and where he needed harmonies, what the harmonies were, and even who would be perfect to sing them: Allen. As for Allen's guitar lines, each take was improvised and contained separate elements, and it was the musicians' luxury to pick from the equally compelling takes.

WHAT'S NEXT: "All Kinds of Time" is included on his next recording, a five-song sampler called "The Firelands EP," and a release party takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Bean and Leaf cafe, 13 Washington St., New London. The EP was written and recorded entirely in New London and features local musicians, including Allen, Raise the Rent and the Franklin Brothers. It's also Castle's first release with the New London-based Telegraph Recording Company.