In this interview, we chat with Ships Have Sailed about their new album, Whispers, as well as their influences, what attracted them to this style of music, and what it’s like surviving as an indie band in this digital age.
Full Q&A and a stream of the EP is below.
We’ve featured you before but let’s dive a little deeper into the artist and the music. What attracted you to this genre or style of music?
Well really the style just wound up being what I began writing when this project materialized. I’ve always had a pretty wide range of musical tastes, and I’ve played in everything from rock, funk, rock / hip-hop, blues, alternative and even metal bands…so I like to think I’m fairly versatile. That said, I was going through a pretty contemplative time in my life when I started writing the music that became Ships Have Sailed, and I think that lends itself to our sound.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
We released our first EP ‘Someday’ in late 2013, and since then we’ve been putting out an album a year on average…so I guess that’s only about three years…a lot has happened with the project in such a short amount of time, and we’re profoundly grateful for that!
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
Well I would say that the world in general influences my writing most of all…I find myself being the ‘people watcher’ in the crowd, and trying to figure out what makes people do what they do, live how they live, love who they love, and from there the inspiration just comes. Sometimes these observations are on a more societal level, and sometimes more personal, and I also do write from my own experiences…really nothing is off limits within the creative process. As for the motivation to keep going…I guess when you’re super passionate about something that tends to be motivation enough. Even when the road gets exhausting it’s like, you can’t even give up because you really just can’t imagine your life without this one thing that you love so dearly.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
Yes, absolutely. Our first two releases were very fully ‘produced’, oftentimes cinematic and very ‘big’ sounding. With ‘Whispers’ we set out to do the exact opposite, and so we reimagined three previously released songs and wrote two new ones to create a stripped down, raw, acoustic EP, hence the name. The idea was to strip away all the layers and really, truly, expose the song and the emotion behind it. I always feel that honesty is the best way to present oneself, regardless of the situation, and not that having large productions is ‘dishonest’ by any means, but the raw vibe of ‘Whispers’ is just so bare that it’s hard not to be perceived as an honest representation of who we are, and that is exactly what we were trying to share with our listeners at this stage.
What was the last song you listened to?
I think it was ‘High Dive’ by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I definitely love me some vinyl…but I was a 90s kid, so I love CDs also…and honestly the convenience of an MP3 is really hard to deny…so I guess I’m saying: ‘all three’? 😉
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Look, I think all have their benefits I suppose. I do think Spotify is ahead of Apple Music in that, even as an Indie artist (e.g. – no label representation) you can control your profile on Spotify, whereas with Apple Music, they pretty much have that locked down unless your label has a relationship with Apple…which is frustrating if you don’t have access to that. Bandcamp of course is a powerful platform for an Indie artist, but unless you already have your fanbase fully established it’s hard to exclusively release your music there. So we try to respect the benefits of all the platforms we have access to, and leverage all of them to the best of our ability.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
Honestly, I think the saturation of music in the market is the biggest challenge. We truly believe in the music we create, and so we find that once a music fan actually listens to what we create for the most part we’re lucky to get a really great response…the challenge is getting them to the song really. I guess if I had to pick another challenge, it would be to maintain a personal relationship with our fans as our audience grows. We really like getting to know the people who appreciate our music, and we like letting them get to know us, but it is a bit difficult as your fanbase gets larger because personal communication is hard to scale…but that said, we haven’t given up on that aspect of our personality yet, and don’t see that happening any time soon.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you perform?
We play live quite a bit! We definitely play the most frequently in our hometown of Los Angeles, but we’re about to go on a west coast tour this summer, and keep your eyes out for acoustic dates in the eastern United States sometime in the fall! Best ways to stay in touch about live appearances (and live streams, which we are starting to do as well) is through the mailing list signup on our website, or by subscribing to our Facebook Events.
Website: http://www.shipshavesailed.com
Facebook Events: http://www.facebook.com/shipshavesailed/events
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
Find us on your social media platform of choice! We’re on:
…and more!
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Just a huge thank you to all of our supporters, friends, family and fans…we wouldn’t be where we are without you, and for those who haven’t discovered us yet, we hope you’ll come give us a listen, and we’ll look forward to getting to know you, and letting you get to know us!
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