Formula Indie Sessions : Interview with Sweetshirt
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
When I first picked up a violin, My mom took me to a kid’s music class when I was really little and I clearly remember being drawn to the violin that was there. After I picked it up I wouldn’t let go of it. I then proceeded to beg my mom for violin lessons on the way home.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I started up by playing classical music over the course of my childhood. The competitive aspect of the classical music scene started taking its toll on me in high school and I was lacking a creative outlet. I felt I was playing my instrument more and more for others than myself. That’s when GarageBand came in. It came downloaded on my first computer, I remember opening it and just having the realisation “wow, I can make pretty much anything I want with this!”
What’s the story behind your current music project?
After producing and making music for fun for a few years, I decided I was finally ready to release some of the songs I made. I wanted the project to be as personal as possible while still not being a carbon copy of me. I was really inspired by artists like Bon Iver, a deeply personal project but that still solicits the help of various other talented musicians and holds some mysticism around the artist himself. That’s why I decided to create my persona “Sweetshirt,” an artistic persona through whom I could show my true self and that has evolved alongside me.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I usually describe it as “indie pop” but I’m not a fan of traditional genre labels, as an artist genre can be ever changing. So I would rather say I make “sweet music, for sweet people”
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Break the rules, but learn them first. I think it’s easy as an artist to always want to go against the grain, and that’s not a bad thing. But, I also think it’s important to know the rules you are breaking in the first place.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
I think my laptop, guitar, and a mic. If I have those, I can pretty much make any song I want, the other things are just bonus. But even just a laptop nowadays has almost everything you could possibly need.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
I’ve been listening to Rachel Chinouriri a lot recently, she just doesn’t seem to miss.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
One hundred percent. Most of my inspiration for my songs comes from events in my life. I find writing songs to be a very therapeutic way for me to deal with tough events in my life. This also extends to world events. In my song: “Let’s Watch the World End,” I say the line “I read the news the other day, felt pretty doomed I gotta say.” Aside from it being a Beatles reference, I find that it is also a reference to my own creative process. I often find myself being inspired by current events.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I hope that listening to my song can be a cathartic experience for some. I hope that by sharing the good and bad moments in my own life, it can help others enjoy the good ones even more and help them get through the tough ones. A beautiful thing about music is that it shows us that we are not alone in our experiences, no matter how tough they can be.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
There is always more to learn. There are endless ways to approach songwriting. Even in a traditional pop format, you can write endless different songs. There are always more things to be learned about all facets of music and I just find them all so fascinating, I think this has also seeped into other aspects of my life. No matter how much I think I know about a subject, there is an endless amount more out there for me to discover.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I think the easiest but also boring answer for me would be Red Rocks and Coachella. But for a more fun answer I would say maybe some place that isn’t a traditional music venue, like someplace beautiful in the middle of nature. Or in a French castle.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
It’s really hard to pick just one. So I’ll pick The Beatles (the whole band) for past, and Sufjan Stevens for present.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Here’s a LinkTree with links to my socials and music:
https://linktr.ee/Sweetshirt_
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Just keep making music for as long as I can, I just love it so much. And I would love to perform live more.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I think, I rather listeners discover more about themselves while listening to my music than about me. I’m just some guy who enjoys making music, and if people can feel something special and learn something new about themselves while listening, that’s already an amazing achievement
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