Alec Wigdahl "Summer Is Over" + Q&A
☆ By Saachi Gupta ☆
ALREADY CARVING A PLACE FOR HIMSELF IN THE POP WORLD - At 19 years old Alec Wigdahl is making a place for his upbeat tunes, stunningly honest lyrics and dreamy vocals. The singer and multi-instrumentalist's inspirations include John Mayer and Aerosmith amongst others– and he is certainly doing an exceptional job following in their footsteps. With a growing discography and a unique sound, Wigdahl has gained quite an audience in a very short time, and has undeniably made his mark on the music scene. Wigdahl's latest single “Summer is Over” – following the much-loved “Cologne” and “Lipstick” – is brilliantly crafted, and only leaves the listener wanting more.
Read on to find out more about how he first started making music, how his influences shaped him and the creative process of “Summer is Over.”
LUNA: You grew up playing instruments, so when did you make that transition from pursuing music as a hobby to a career? What was that transition like?
WIGDAHL: Yeah, that’s a good question. I grew up playing instruments my whole life, but It wasn’t until like I had back surgery, and I had to stop playing sports that I rediscovered guitar late in high school. That’s when I started to take it more seriously and actually tried to improve.
Then it really got serious for me when I transferred out of Berklee College of Music and went to the University of Minnesota. I couldn’t pick a major and was writing songs and making beats in class. My mind just wasn’t there at all. There was definitely a period when I was trying to do political science or journalism, and those things do interest me, but I couldn’t envision myself doing that for my whole life. That’s when I realized I can’t do anything other than music. Then I decided to fully drop out of college and turn music into my job.
LUNA: Are there any key artists that have shaped you / your music lately?
WIGDAHL: I’ve been listening to Daniel Caesar a lot. I’ve always been a fan of him since he came on the scene probably like 2 or 3 years ago, but I’ve just recently really listened to his most recent album which I feel like not that many people talked about. I’ve really been getting into his whole discography. He just brings a real passion and soulfulness into his music. It is so good. He’s a great instrumentalist too. I’ve also been listening to Mac Miller a lot, rest in peace. I go back and listen to him a lot.
LUNA: What album of his is most influential for you?
WIGDAHL: That’s a good question. Swimming is growing on me a lot, but I like them all. It’s hard to choose.
LUNA: “Summer Is Over” has a great energy and flow to it - can you share a little bit about the creative process behind the track?
WIGDAHL: The whole song actually started with a really simple bass line where it just goes between these two chords. It’s just two major, happy chords. Music theory wise, it’s probably the simplest song I’ve ever made, but that’s kind of what drew me to it at the start of making it. It was me and Edgar, who’s the engineer for Internet Money, and he helped me write it. We cut and wrote the whole song in one night, and we could just tell from the start that this song had good energy to it. It felt like a song you’d hear driving in a car with the windows down or beach song. So that’s kind of what inspired me to take it lyrically in that direction.
Then later on me, Pharaoh Vice, and MJ, who are producers at Internet Money, put drums on it, added some more guitars, and really brought the energy to it that we felt was there from the start. I always hear the finished song in my head before I make it, and I’m like “Oh! I know how this is gonna sound in the end,” but the hard part is getting it to really translate and have it sound like it did in your head. When we made “Summer is Over,” it was one of those times where we finished producing it, and it sounded just the way I thought it would from the beginning. It was a really cool process of making it, a lot of different people involved. It was a good time.
LUNA: Was all of this recorded at the Internet Money house or were you at a separate studio?
WIGDAHL: Me and Edgar recorded and wrote the song in the Internet Money house. It was just super late one night, and we got that bass line and then just started to write around it. There was a couple outside studio sessions at random studios in LA where we produced the beat, and then we had another session where we did the live drums on it, and then we had a third session just to mix it, polish it, master it, and make sure it was ready to go…it was like a 4 session process of making it.
LUNA: Sonically, what’s an area you’d like to explore more in future music?
WIGDAHL: That’s a great question. People that know me in real life and on social media know I listen to every genre of music, and I listen to a lot of music that I think people wouldn’t expect me to because my music sounds acoustic and songwriter-y. I love that music too, but I think I’m excited to make more soul and hip-hop-inspired music. Not saying I wanna become a rapper, but that hip hop music is what I listen to the most, so that has always been a big influence on me. I’m always at the Internet Money house where I’m surrounded by rappers, producers and just hip-hop culture all day long, so I think incorporating those styles and musical ideas into my own stuff is something I plan to do in the future.
I feel like I’m still discovering all the music I want to create. Honestly, I want to make a little of everything.
LUNA: You have some credits as a producer on the upcoming Internet Money album. Is that a place where you feel like you have a lot of creative freedom to explore those influences that don’t really come through as much with the singles that you’re releasing?
WIGDAHL: That’s another good question. I almost took a break from working on my own music during quarantine and during the making of the Internet Money album because I was so busy producing, writing, and working on other people’s music. I also kind of wanted to take a step back from working on my music so I could come back refreshed and bring new things I’ve learned to my own music. Working on this album gave me a lot of creative freedom.
I think the most exciting about working with Internet Money is that I now am making songs with artists I’d never expect. Who could have imagined me working on a song with Gunna? It’s so fucking cool. Working as a producer and writer on other people’s music, takes the weight off my shoulders of having to add my artistic voice…I can just be a musician who makes good songs.
LUNA: What is your favorite part of creating music?
WIGDAHL: My favorite part of creating music is when the music is finally being put out into the world for everyone to listen to. Getting a DM or having someone recognize me in the grocery store and saying kind things about my work, is such an amazing feeling. Making music is my real passion, and I’ll make music until the day I die even if people aren’t listening, but the part that’s really rewarding about a music career is when people tell you they got something out of your work.
LUNA: So, what is it that you want your listeners to take out of your music?
WIGDAHL: I guess just whatever comes to them personally. Whatever it may be, as long as someone is enjoying the music and they’re getting something out of it that’s personal to them, I think that’s all that really matters to me.
LUNA: So much is uncertain these days, but after “Summer Is Over,” what’s next for you?
WIGDAHL: My first three singles, “Cologne,” “Lipstick,” and “Summer is Over,” I viewed as a trilogy of songs that I made during this period of time. Whether or not those songs will be on a project… I’m not sure… but the next step after “Summer is Over” is definitely finishing a project and really putting out my next body of work. It will definitely happen before the end of the year!
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