Much has changed since Shane Toriscelli transformed his passion for music into serious songwriting in 2010. Graduating from a series of bands during his high school days in Tampa, Florida, Toriscelli started to truly discover himself musically once he moved to Athens, Georgia to attend the University of Georgia. After pursuing a number of styles and incarnations, he distinctly shifted his musical approach in 2014, donning his new moniker; Son & Thief. Toriscelli began to move away from the jangly indie-folk of the time and toward a more mature and experimental sound, which he and his band continue to evolve from.
In February 2015, Son & Thief independently released their debut EP titled Cardinal, a collection of indie-pop gems that have amassed almost 100,000 plays on Spotify alone. The strength of their songs lead them to performing regionally with with other local acts (Wanderwild, Mosaic) and nationally touring artists (Valley Maker, Andrew Ripp) alike over the past year and a half, and ultimately caught the attention of MTV, who have since licensed two of them for various shows.
Where Am I To Hide?, the upcoming EP to be released this winter, leans on a number of familiar faces, but distinguishes itself by twisting the band’s indie pop formula into a dreamier, more emotionally complex landscape. Marked by thick acoustic strums, more polished, emotive vocals, and hypnotic synth lines, Son & Thief’s new songs also feature a lyrical and thematic expansion from Toriscelli.
In this interview, we chat with Shane of Son & Thief about music, influences, the new project, and more.
Full Q&A, links, and a stream of All I Care About can be found below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
Shane Toriscelli: I try not to put too much thought into genre or style when I’m writing and just let each song take me wherever it feels natural to go. I suppose that centers around vocals, the only instrument you can’t really change. You can manipulate it with effects and what not but eventually your sense of what your voice works with best will increase and your style will come naturally to you. But as my journey in making music continues I feel as if though I’m getting better at expressing my true self through my songs, which increases the number of things I feel like I can shoot for. I’m aiming to always explore and subsequently progress.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
ST: I’ve listened to music in an obsessive way since I was really young. I spent a lot of my time as a kid listening to the same songs over and over and over again. I specifically remember a road trip when I was eight where I exclusively listened to Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky” for six straight hours. Impressive I know. But I was entranced, and in a way studying the music, trying to figure out why I enjoyed it so much. I think that sense of wonder is what really led me into making music, and potentially giving someone that same sense of wonder is my main motivation for sharing it.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
ST: I’m very inspired by traveling. I usually do my best writing after a couple days or so of distancing myself from my everyday life then coming back and processing it all. After storing up all the thoughts and experiences from my time away it’s always interesting to see which memories stick and appear in my songs.
And yes my music taste has changed drastically and is constantly expanding. I started making music as a die hard Blink 182 fan and somehow ended up around eight years later with my top three artists being David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and Kendrick Lamar. But I’m currently most inspired by Tame Impala, Kanye, Chance the Rapper, and Frank Ocean.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
ST: The main goal in my new writing is to be as honest as possible and to stray away from vague lyrics as well as doing most of the production on my own. I’ve learned so much since recording Son & Thief’s first EP and I’ve started developing these songs to a much greater level in the demos on my own before anyone else hears them. I want my vision to be as clear as possible for the people I work with that way they can really get behind what I’m doing, or just totally shoot it down if it sucks.
What was the last song you listened to?
ST: “Nights” – Frank Ocean. I’ve been really into Blonde lately. There’s so much more to it than what it appears to be upon the first listen. I’ll be studying this one for a while.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
ST: They all have their ups and downs. Obviously, I love the experience of listening to vinyl the best. It just feels like you’re more connected to the artists with the physical nature of it all. CD’s are great quality and still have that physical aspect. But MP3s are just so accessible. It’s incredible being able to go about your life while listening to someone else’s outlook. It can be an eye opening experience.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
ST: People get so worked up about all this streaming stuff. I think as artists and labels we just have to realize that we’re not going to make money selling music, and ultimately the reach of your music is really the meaningful thing anyways. With that being said Spotify seems to have the biggest reach right now, Bandcamp is definitely the most artist friendly, and Apple Music is confusing and hard to use but will probably take over eventually.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
ST: Well right now for us since we’re all still college students, it’s really difficult for us to play shows out of town. If we could tour to support our upcoming EP it would make a huge difference, but unfortunately we only have time to play scattered shows here and there. But I’m doing best best being patient; I know my time will come.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
ST: We just launched a website, www.sonandthief.com! Also we’re on, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
ST: Nope. Thanks for reading,
God bless,
Love,
Shane Toriscelli/Son & Thief
