Q&A: Divinely optimistic, Cub Sport explores a “queer club-utopia” within their latest single “Always Got the Love”
WITH A TIMELESS ARTISTRY THAT SHOWCASES THEMES OF EVOLUTION — Cub Sport’s latest hit, “Always Got the Love,” explores the collective and latent transformation of their artistic pursuits. Having formed the band just over 10 years prior to the release of “Always Got the Love,” Cub Sport’s latest hit is an ode to the band’s journey that is constantly evolving for the audience and artist alike. Coined by the band’s lead vocalist, Tim Nelson, as an ascension to “a lighter place,” the overriding optimism of the song is overtly present within “Always Got the Love,” evoking an uplifting and enriching sentiment throughout the song, crystallized by dreamy visuals inspired by the ’70s disco clubs of New York and a divine portrayal of “queer club utopia.”
Diverting from the profound introspection from their previous album, Like Nirvana, released in 2020, “Always Got the Love” aims to counteract this introspection in a deeper sense, yet still manages to depict the self-discovery and self-expression championed by the band. Cub Sport provides their listeners with a sanctuary of escapism within their art: “Whatever’s going on in the world,” Nelson says, “joy and love exist in this place.”
Read below to learn more about “Always Got the Love,” the process behind Cub Sport’s latest music, and the band’s upcoming plans for the year ahead.
LUNA: First off, huge congrats on the release of your latest single, “Always Got the Love.” How does it feel, just over 10 years after the formation of Cub Sport, to still be producing and performing your craft as artists?
CUB SPORT: Thank you so much! It feels really good. Dan, Zo, Sam, and I started playing music together when we were teenagers, and I love how we’ve all kind of grown up together through this. The four of us manage Cub Sport ourselves, and we’re also independent so it really feels like we’ve built something really special and unique. We’re always evolving and pushing the vision forward and I think that’s why it feels like we’re still on the up 10 years later.
LUNA: You state that the inspiration for “Always Got the Love” stems from a desire to create music that sounds like a “celebration” and provides a sense of hope and joy for listeners. Could you elaborate on the sentiment behind this, and are there any particular events that channelled this inspiration for you as artists?
CUB SPORT: Our last album, Like Nirvana, was very introspective. I wrote most of it in the midst of touring, at a time I think I really needed some quiet and space to process a bunch of things in my life. I needed to just be… introspective — so that’s what I created. Writing that album was important for me personally as well as for the evolution of Cub Sport, but it was kind of heavy in parts. I knew I wanted the next chapter of Cub Sport to ascend to a lighter place. And that’s kind of where I’ve been at with my writing. I want to make music that has that same emotional purity of Like Nirvana but makes people feel uplifted, too.
LUNA: I’m loving the dreamy, almost hypnotic feel to the music video for “Always Got the Love.” Were there any musical or visual influences that inspired this aesthetic specifically, and what kinds of feelings do you hope to evoke from the visual side of the song?
CUB SPORT: Thank you so much! I wanted to create a feeling of queer club utopia, a feeling of, whatever’s going on in the world, joy and love exist in this place. I was inspired by imagery of New York disco clubs in the 1970s, Kenneth Anger’s Scorpio Rising, and The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, as well as pop music videos from the late ’90s/early [2000s].
LUNA: When producing your music, how do you think both the sonic and visual aesthetic of your songs influence the process behind the creation of singles such as “Always Got the Love”?
CUB SPORT: The music usually comes first for me, then when I’m sitting with a song, the visuals start to reveal themselves. I had the idea for the “Always Got the Love” music video while I was riding my bike — I had to remember every detail until I got to the cafe I was riding to, then I quickly wrote it all into a note on my phone. You never know when inspiration is going to come.
LUNA: Do you think your creative process has evolved or developed in any way since you first started out as a band in this sense?
CUB SPORT: Yeah, it’s evolved a lot! Sonically, writing for our first album was the first time I recorded my own demos/did some of my own production. I was definitely fumbling through a bit at the start (which actually led to some really cool production), but I’m definitely a better producer now. With the visual/aesthetic side of things, coming out as queer between our first and second albums really opened me up creatively. Suddenly, I was able to bring my visions to life without feeling like I had something to hide. I’m still on that journey of self-discovery and self-expression — I love that side of being an artist.
LUNA: Prior to the release of “Always Got the Love,” you had previously released your critically acclaimed album Like Nirvana in 2020. Were there any elements of this you also wanted to incorporate or, contrastingly, move away from when producing songs such as “Always Got the Love”?
CUB SPORT: I kind of touched on this already but I wanted to keep the emotional and artistic integrity of Like Nirvana. That whole album feels very pure to me and I didn’t want to lose that. But at the same time, I more or less wanted to make dance music. So, it was about creating something that hits all of those marks at the same time.
LUNA: Are there any styles, both sonically and visually, you would like to experiment with within your artistry in the future that you are yet to incorporate into your music?
CUB SPORT: I’ve always had this vision of a major pop Cub Sport album, and I think that’s where we’re heading sonically and visually. It’s the pop star era.
LUNA: Aside from the release of “Always Got the Love,” are there any other upcoming projects you would like to touch upon for the year ahead?
CUB SPORT: I can’t say anything yet, but there’s plenty on the horizon, so stay tuned!
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