Mit ihrem Song "Lighter" waren sie bei uns in Erscheinung getreten. Das aus Austin, US stammende Duo THE SEA SUNS überraschte uns mit diesem großartigen Electronic track im Februar. Dies war für uns der Anlass sie zu interviewen, und prompt haben sie auch zugesagt. Und deshalb Q and A today with THE SEA SUNS. Thanks a lot Marina and Will.
The Sea Suns - Spotify
Who inspired you to make music?
Will: This is a tough one! It depends on which part of my musical journey we’re talking about, haha! I’ll go with the earliest inspiration I can recall that eventually led me to want to pick up a guitar and then on to writing songs. When I was a kid (around 7-8 years old?)
I remember hanging out with a neighborhood friend whose father was a truck driver. His father wasn’t around much due to being on the road working most of the time, but one weekend I happened to be visiting my friend while his father was home and he brought out his acoustic guitar and played songs for us. One song that stuck in my mind was “A Horse With No Name”, by America, George Martin. I can still remember to this day the intrigue and excitement I felt from sitting in front of him while he sang and played guitar.
Marina: I was really lucky to be born into a musical family--my late father was a prolific musician and songwriter and specialized in playing the chromatic harmonica. He also sang, played guitar and many other instruments and loved to perform. My mom is an incredible songwriter and vocalist and she spent a lot of her early years playing music live and running her own DJ company. She's written countless songs and taught me how to sing harmonies.
I'd definitely say my parents were a huge influence on me musically. Other than my parents, I had an obsession with Barbara Streisand too so I should probably include that! Haha. :)
What is your creative process like?
Marina: Often either one of us will have some kind of idea, whether melodic or riff based or lyrical that we call a "Song seed". We keep a folder going with all these little ideas, and when we're starting a new song together we usually tap into what the vibe of the idea/song is, and that helps us choose which direction we want to take to build out the track.
Will is incredible with production so other times he will have a loop he's created that I'll/we'll sing melodies over until we find some ideas that lock in well. We both sing and play instruments so it's really fun hopping on calls and wordsmithing the lyrics until they fit right, or coming up with production and arrangement ideas together as well. Our songs always take on quite a journey!
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Marina: I'd love to collaborate with Half Moon Run one day--I absolutely love them!
Will: Speaking of the moon…I’ll shoot for the moon and say Thom Yorke!
What is the most useless talent you have?
Will: I’m not too shabby with a YO-YO.
Marina: I have a pretty expressive face so I am pretty good at raising/isolating myeyebrow to make it move up and down and I can flare my nose on command. Haha!
What is the most useful talent you have?
Marina: Most useful--I'd say hearing music and ideas pretty intuitively/immediately intheir full form in my head when I find my creative spark and writing poetry/lyrics.
Will: I’d say playing guitar and composing.
If you could change anything in the past, what would it be?
Marina: This is an interesting question because if one thing changes in the past--would that mean I wouldn't be here now? Hmmm I don't think I'd change anything!
Will: We lost Jeff Buckley way too soon…but I agree with Marina, changing the past is scary stuff and I know because I saw what happens in the movies!
How do you feel the Internet (especially Social Media platforms) has impacted the music business?
Marina: I think the internet has drastically affected the music business and social media is a really powerful tool that independent artists can use to connect with a much wider audience than they would have been able to connect with years ago when touring was their only way of reaching fans outside of their territory.
The internet has allowed artists to remove the need for a label and many independent artists are finding success managing themselves and funding their own recording fees through sites like patreon, twitch, even instagram and crowdfunding.
We're instantly connected to artists we care about and we're able to see more into their creative world and process and have a personalized experience following them. Like anything technology is a double edged sword and I don't think live streaming will ever replace the joy of a live concert, but it at least allows artists to reach a broader audience and find ways to connect to their fans that are creative and utilize their skills in new ways.
Synchronization of music to media and commercials film and podcasts have all given artists new ways to make money with their music besides royalties alone from streaming sites which are not the only way to monetize your music today.
Will: I’ll be honest and say that I love it for how it has revolutionized the business side of the music industry and given power and ability to independent artists to connect with people all over the world without ever leaving your hometown (or your bedroom!)
…but damn it’s hard to keep up with and sometimes feels like you’re all alone and shouting into the massive void of music and content that’s controlled not by record labels but some dude named The Algorithm. #riseofthealgomusician
What’s next for you?
Marina: We're planning on continuing to release more music that we've been cooking up, and we also have a music video for our latest single "Lighter" in the works. Hopefully one day Will and I will be able to meet together in person once the pandemic subsides and do some live shows together! We are thrilled to get to write music together and plan to take our song seeds and turn them into a lot of beautiful songs!
What do you know about Austria?
Will: Mozart! Arnold Schwarzenegger! And Red Bull?
Marina: I am a huge fan of "The Sound of Music" and have been since I was a kid, and I know that the entire story was based in Austria in Salzburg! I'd love to visit one day! :)
Why "The Sea Suns", is there a story behind the name?
Marina: Will and I have always been in bands and a huge part of that is keeping a list of names in your pocket of potential band names you might one day use! So when we were trying to find a name he had The Sea Suns on his list for a long time, and he gave our project the blessing to use it!
