In this interview spotlight, I spend a few moments chatting with Almost Sex about their latest music, the group’s formation, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
Although we both live in Brooklyn, our project Almost Sex, started remotely. We met on a dating app last March, and bonded over the music and poetry we were both working on at the time. We sent demos and lyrics back and forth, but were unable to actually meet and work in the same space for several months. When we finally did, we recorded and released our first single, “Knockoff,” closely followed by “Charmer,” “Rest Up,” and most recently “Lie Heartfelt.” So far, our releases range from lofi, bedroom pop and folk, to indie-pop.
Getting to know each other has been a huge part of exploring our sound. We both connect with a range of music, which comes through in the songs we’ve released so far. Adhering our entire project’s sound to a single word descriptor would feel stifling and bit boring, so for now, “genre” changes with the mood of each single.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Nick has always been a dedicated songwriter and instrumentalist, his high school band played at Warped Tour and he has been part of several musical projects since, including Night on the Sun.
Warren is an architect and musician who often looks to combines her passions, writing sheet music to “play” the buildings on her college campus, creating site topography based on a song, and translating an orchestral score into architectural building plans.
When we met, our talents and interests combined so nicely and really gave us something to collaborate on during some really rough months last year. It has always been a dream for both of us to have a romantic relationship within an artistic one.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Another reason behind our decision to release singles rather than an entire album is to avoid limiting our sound in an effort to make one very cohesive album.
Everything we make is still very “us,” but like everyone, we have different moods, and depending on how we are feeling the day we are writing, we want to let those vibes come through freely. “Lie Heartfelt” is definitely the most commercial pop sound we have released, and we attribute this to the prospect of things beginning to open back up. For us, the track captures a bit of longing, plus that old carefree feeling of a night out.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
This is a great question since our project has been 100% digital since it’s start in March of 2019. Like we mentioned, we met on a dating app, collaborated remotely for several months, our first “concert” was digital, we’ve played at a magazine launch and done interviews over Instagram live. Obviously, the greatest challenge is connecting with fans, instead of faces, seeing the viewers as a number in the corner of the screen.
Secondly, our promotional effort has been exclusively digital. The biggest challenge for us has been making the right connections, finding the right blogs and playlisters who are actually going to listen and show genuine interest. Unfortunately, more often than we’d like, we receive automatic replies asking for money, and with the huge focus on platform statistics, like Spotify streams, it’s definitely tempting.
But in the end, this “pay to play” culture is pretty shitty; it doesn’t build a committed fan base and the artist is actually losing money on their hard work.
What was the last song you listened to?
“Doing it All” by Foxanne and “Clouds” by Jodonut.
Over the last year, we’ve also had to find our musician communities digitally. Along the way we’ve met some amazing talents and actually started compiling some of our favorites into some super cool playlists.
You can find Foxanne on our DIY Underground Indie list, which is mainly Brooklyn-based artists, and Jodonut on our Park Day Jams list, which has artists we’ve connected with from all over.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Ah, tough question. Warren grew up in a house brimming with all of the above. Her dad actually still uses her old iPod nano, she first heard the Beatles on a cassette that didn’t leave the player for years, and she once broke a lamp dancing too hard to the B52s on vinyl.
Nick still remembers the first CD he ever had, a birthday gift from his parents, Aaron Carter’s album, “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It).” And being surrounded by musicians, he has been privy to the quality of sound convo many times. Nick has produced all of our tracks to date, and while we respect the old ways of creating experimental sounds, the digital world of writing has made it a hell of a lot easier to play.
Seeing Adele on vinyl at Urban Outfitters gives us all the willies, but at the end of the day, as long as people are listening and making memories, and artists are making enough to live, that’s the thing right?
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
As listeners, we’ve both been longtime users of Spotify. In a way, it seemed like the only logical progression from Limewire. I mean there’s even something similar about their logos lol.
As musicians, it has to be Bandcamp. They do a much better job giving back to and supporting their artists. Bandcamp Fridays are a great example, started during the pandemic to give 100% of sales directly to artists on certain days. In general, they give artists more control and fairer compensation for their work.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
You can find our songs on all major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, Bandcamp.
On Instagram, @almost.sex, we announce all our releases, virtual (and hopefully soon to be live) performances, and sometimes run contests for free merch.
Our next track “Eye to Eye” is a dear one about how differences can create walls in a relationship, and the longing to be on the same page as someone you care about, “But maybe there could be some way to, see eye to eye.”
We’ll be releasing “Eye to Eye” on April 23rd, and if you’d like to flatter us with a pre-save, you can do so here.
Anything else before we sign off?
Well, we’d absolutely like to express our thanks. Thanks ya’ll for reading, and a special thank to Joshua, the lovely co-founder of this very Indie Music Discovery platform, which has been making space for indie musicians like us since 2011. So many talented voices would never get a chance to share and grow if it weren’t for publications like this one.
