In this interview spotlight, I chat with Goodvibes Sound about the latest project, dream collabs, motivations and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
What’s something you’d like readers to know about your debut album, The Institute?
Angus: That it’s a story! We love to listen to records that take you on a journey and that is definitely what we wanted to do with ‘The Institute’. Our music all comes from personal experience, but we express it all through this imaginary world that we created together. It’s a kind of mythical, mindful, and very 70s feel, with ups, downs and a big ending.
How does this project compare with your other releases? Was there anything specific you were trying to accomplish?
Alex: When we started writing together we wanted to capture the essence of what had brought us together as musicians and friends. We had both been on a bit of a journey in our personal lives, from being quite down to discovering music and mindfulness and working out how to find more joy in our lives. With everything we release we try to express elements of this. Sometimes that means things reflect times when we’ve felt sad, and other times it’s on the more joyful end of the spectrum.
What motivates you to create music?
Angus: We want to make music that people can put on at a party, or just put on to chill out to. Nothing makes us happier than seeing videos of people hanging out listening to our songs. In terms of what actually drives us to make a particular song, it’s always very personal, and sometimes pretty hard to pin down exactly where feelings and melodies come from. You’re usually just really happy to be expressing yourself and hope that you can capture what made it good when it comes to the recording!
What’s one of your first or most powerful music memories? Did that play any role in driving you to create?
Alex: We really connected when we both went to a big jam weekend with other musicians in Scotland, hosted by one of Angus’s friends. It was three days of playing music with some incredibly talented people from dusk till dawn. You can probably imagine that it was a bit of a party as well, which kind of pushed the music in a dancey, disco-y direction. When we came back from that, we really started to play together, and that was when the whole Goodvibes Sound thing started to materialize.
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.
Alex: Harry Styles. We’d love to work on some pure pop stuff – we lean towards it in our writing but have never dared to go fully radio friendly! We’d love to explore that more.
What was the last song you listened to? And who is one of your favorite all-time bands/artists?
Angus: The last song I listened to on Spotify was Face to Face by Daft Punk. We love Daft Punk and French disco in general! There are so many favorite bands and artists we have but a few in particular would be the Bee Gees, Bob Marley, Kendrick Lamar and Mac Demarco.
Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?
Alex: Check out our website thegoodvibesinstitute.com We have a mailing list you can sign up to there and that’s the best way to stay in the loop. Check out our Spotify and Instagram pages too!
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
Angus: Take it easy and stay present!
