Til You’re Blue, the first single from Sweet Giant’s forthcoming four-track EP, is a laid-back sunny day song. A feel-good energy perfect for a road trip. The guitars are rooted in the 70s with a country twang following a casual dolewave groove, uplifting yet easygoing. Lyrically honest and cheeky,
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Sweet Giant about the new music, technology, surviving the pandemic and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
Hi, as a band we’re formed and based in North London. Myself and Nick grew up just outside of London, and had been playing music together since we were kids, we both moved to London to pursue music which is where we met Marco. We have a lot different influences, mainly roots and folk rock, but ultimately for us we try to make music that can transport you’re somewhere sunny and warm, songs for road trips.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
I think for all of us it has always been an inevitable path that we just can’t shake. Music can take you to some amazing places and meet some incredible people, but there’s obviously lot of sacrifice. It can be frustrating, demoralising at times trying to navigate through the industry, but ultimately, there’s nothing better than the feeling we get creating music together. It can make you feel like you’re somewhere far far away from where you really are.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
Musically its a little softer and more intimate than our previous releases. There’s still a lot of influence from classic guitar music and songwriting of the 70s . More recently we have been listening to a lot of Sharon Van Etten, Big Thief and Courtney Barnett on repeat, who definitely inspired a lot of the direction of this EP. After a lot of experimenting with different recording techniques, we knew wanted to track live all together in the room and limit the amount over-dubs to gain an authentic sound with a live energy.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
The songs were a product of the time spent during lockdown and a need for escapism from the world we were experiencing. We decorated our little box of a studio with colourful materials, pictures and plants to try to make it feel like we were somewhere far from the grey of north London. I think there is a common theme on this EP of trying to ‘get away’ and find somewhere better. The EP was fully recorded and self produced at our own DIY studio space in North London. We spent most of the pandemic in that room experimenting with demos, teaching ourselves how to record and produce our own music for the sound we wanted to create. Partly because a lot of studios were closed and we were also on a limited budget – so we needed to be more self efficient.
What was the last song you listened to?
Wanda Jackson – Funnel Of Love
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
We’re all big fans of vinyl. There’s an art in making an album that can be listened to fluidly from start to finish which I think can be lost in digital releases, as well as the physical artwork and the involved process of listening to records. However, digital streaming platforms can be amazing for opening new doors to discover new music you wouldn’t always find, and gives you access to so much from all around the world.
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
Thank you, we’re super proud of this EP, so good to finally share it! We’ve been releasing each song one-by-one each month, but the full EP is available to download exclusively off bandcamp right now, so you can head there to hear the tracks. Hope you love it too!
