Q&A: Sungaze Reflects on Nostalgic Childhood Memories in “Freer Than I Could Be”
EXPLORING THE FULL SPECTRUM OF EMOTIONS – Sungaze is a project from dreamy, genre-bending North-American musicians Ian Hilvert and Ivory Snow. Their latest release, “Freer Than I Could Be,” exemplifies their talent for merging contrasting musical styles to create a sound that is both refreshing and deeply evocative.
“Freer Than I Could Be” is a testament to Sungaze's ability to weave airy, beautiful melodies with ethereal soundscapes. The track begins with a nostalgic nod to the invincibility of childhood summers, capturing the essence of hot, sticky days filled with endless possibilities and carefree adventures. The opening notes transport listeners to a time when worries were as light as the summer breeze, and the concept of mortality was a distant, almost inconceivable idea.
As the song progresses, it transitions into a more reflective and poignant second half, marking a shift from the blissful ignorance of youth to the sobering realities of adulthood. This duality within the track highlights Sungaze's strength in evoking both the highest highs and the lowest lows, creating a sound that is as emotionally rich as it is musically diverse. It delves into the uncomfortable reality of growing up and the inevitable loss of that sense of safety and wonder. The shift in tone reflects a yearning for the simplicity and freedom of childhood, a wish to recapture the magic of those long summer days.
“The initial inspiration for this song was remembering those hot, sticky, lazy summer days from childhood that seemed to go on forever,” Ivory says. “Back when the biggest worry was whether or not you had to take a bath that night, and the concept of death was foreign; something that had no place in your world. The first half of the song explores that feeling of invincibility, while the second half takes a look at the aftermath of that bubble of safety being burst and reckoning with the uncomfortable reality that comes with it. Wishing hard for that sense of childlike wonder and freedom, and being a little bitter that the ‘freedom’ you’re now most acquainted with, is seeing loved ones pass and trying to find comfort in the thought that they are now free of the earthly struggle.”
The live band features Snow's sister Angela Colvin (bass guitar, backing vocals), Zach Starkie (rhythm guitar), Justin Van Wagenen (drums) and Charlie Hausfeld (keys). Together, they create a sound that is both expansive and intimate.
LUNA: Thank you for sitting down and talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
IVORY: We’re inspired by a bunch of different things like classic shoegaze like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Mazzy Star. Ian has a more metal background, so he draws a lot of inspiration from Mastodon and Opeth specifically. I grew up listening to a lot more folk and soft rock from the 60s, 70s era. I really like Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot, so it's an interesting blend.
LUNA: Say if someone hasn’t heard of your music yet, which song would you introduce them to that encapsulates your style and maturity the best?
IVORY: I would probably say “New Twang” or “Slow the Burn.” I feel like it's hard to find a song that encapsulates all of those different aspects. I feel like “New Twang” gets pretty close because it has elements of all of those things, like you have a toned down, shreddy solo at the end and it's more of an intuitive thing.
LUNA: What messages, emotions or themes do you hope your listeners can take away from your music?
IVORY: The overall thing is it's okay to not feel okay about things a lot of the time and that it's good to allow yourself to go to places so that you can move through it instead of holding on to it forever.
LUNA: You just released your latest single “Freer Than I Could Be.” What is the inspiration behind the single?
IVORY: So that one I mostly wrote. We split our writing usually. We'll write collaboratively or one of us will come up with lyrics and the other one will compose. I initially had this idea of wanting to encapsulate that feeling of being a kid on summer vacation where you have nothing that you're worried about at all whatsoever and you're free to do whatever you want forever. There's no consequence. It’s about tapping into that feeling and showing the process of growing up through that and having that sense of safety being broken and exploring what that looks and feels like. But then, as a consequence of getting older, you're removed from it.
LUNA: What did the creative process look like for “Freer Than I Could Be?”
IVORY: I was just practicing guitar one day and I found some chords that I liked, started humming and came up with a vocal melody. Then I brought it to Ian and we recorded it in our studio and then later I was listening back, and we actually ran out of time when we were recording and we only had the guitar and bass recorded completely. We didn't have any drums and so I went back over and was just playing with the vocal melody and ended up coming up with what it ended up being. It was initially going to be a little bit of a faster song, almost like a part two to “New Twang,” but because of the emptiness of it, we ended up taking it in a totally different direction.
LUNA: Have you experimented more or taken any risks – either lyrically, sonically or emotionally – with “Freer Than I Could Be” since your previous releases?
IVORY: I think it's a little bit of a different territory for us, it's definitely more like that slow-core realm. Our other closest slow-core song is probably “Washed Away.”
LUNA: What is the best environment to listen to your music in?
IVORY: I would say either laying outside somewhere under a tree in the shade or with the windows down in the car.
LUNA: Just by looking at all your previous cover art, you have a huge connection to nature and hint at it in your lyrics. Do you intentionally make that connection through your work?
IVORY: Yes, definitely. Nature inspires everything that we do.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would love to share with Luna?
IVORY: We have a lot of shows coming up this year. We have a festival in Michigan that we just got asked to play in the last week of September, so I'm very excited for that one. It's like a film and music festival. We have some other local shows coming up and a couple of out of town things, mainly just trying to play out of town and then there will be more music on the way soon.
