Q&A: Sungaze Embrace Vulnerability and Emotional Depth in “House on the Hill”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
Photography Credit: Drew Sipos
SUNGAZE NEVER SHY FROM VULNERABILITY – and in that vulnerability, there’s power. Sungaze, the genre-bending band from Cincinnati, Ohio, are back with a new single that captures the delicate dance between joy and melancholy, perfectly encapsulating the transient nature of human emotions. Composed of Ian Hilvert and Ivory Snow, the project has always been about exploring the spectrum of feelings, from the euphoric peaks to the crushing lows. With their latest release, “House on the Hill,” Sungaze ventures deeper into this emotional ether, inviting listeners to experience a sonic journey that feels both intimate and expansive.
“House on the Hill” is an atmosphere, a feeling, a moment in time. Imagine driving through your hometown on a rainy Midwestern night. At first, the mood is somber, reflective. The past lingers in the misty windows, but as the road stretches out, your emotions begin to swell. There's a sense of realization, an acknowledgment that things weren’t okay, and the weight of that truth is released in an enveloping wall of sound. The track builds from an introspective starting point into something much grander, all while carrying the listener safely along for the ride.
“It’s always interesting to see how your relationship to a song changes over time,” Snow reflects. “When Ian first sent me the instrumental track on a rainy November night in 2023, I actually hated it. We were writing for our third album at the time, and I remember just feeling like it wasn’t right at all. The next day, the melody was stuck in my head. The following day, some words began to form along with a vocal line. On the third day, I found myself driving around town with the song on repeat, singing different ideas over top. By the end of that drive, I had lyrics for the whole song.”
“House on the Hill” is a tribute to the many genres and artists that have influenced Sungaze’s sound over the years. It’s a nostalgic reverie that manages to explore new sonic terrain while staying true to the core elements listeners have come to love: soaring guitar leads, heartfelt vocals and an ocean of reverb.
At its core, Sungaze’s music is about capturing the full range of human emotion. With “House on the Hill,” the band continues to explore this emotional polarity, offering a glimpse into the universal experience of grappling with conflicting feelings.
Photography Credit: Drew Sipos
LUNA: Welcome back and thank you for talking to Luna again. It's super exciting to have you back since the last time we talked about your single “Freer Than I Could Be.” I would love to catch up and see how life has been treating you and what have you been up to since the last time we talked?
IVORY: Definitely good to be back. We put out our third album, so that's really exciting. Been doing a lot with that, and then, personally, we finally moved. We had this really tiny studio apartment that was like 200 square feet for six years, so now we're in a place that's like three times the size, so feeling very good and inspired there.
LUNA: How did you guys celebrate the album release?
IAN: We had an album release show at one of the nice little theaters here in Cincinnati, and we had an after party. We had some friends play with us and we played the album just straight through.
LUNA: What inspires you to push boundaries within your sound? Are there any specific experiences, artists, or moments that have encouraged you to explore new musical territories?
IVORY: I think we've been listening to a little bit of a heavier, grungier side of our music tastes over the last year or so. Aside from that, I think the thing that's actually been the most inspiring is to start writing music again after the third album. I feel like when you release an album, you have this little slump afterwards where you're like, ‘what am I going to write next? Are there going to be any more songs?’ There’s this weird downtime. Ian actually got a drop tuning pedal, and so as soon as he got that, we wrote like a million songs and that sometimes serves as a source of inspiration.
IAN: Sometimes you just need a piece of gear. That re-inspired stuff. Style-wise, we will probably just keep doing what we do. It's one of those things where we can only do it our way and that way might be influenced by heavier grunge bands and trying to keep what we do fresh, but also sound like us.
LUNA: You have released your newest single “House on the Hill” and I love the different sonic influences behind it. What is the inspiration behind the single and what themes and emotions do you explore?
IVORY: Ian actually made the instrumental track while I was at work one day. The November before last, I was working at a pizza place, and I got an email from him with an mp3 titled “Shedding” and that was our working title for a while. I didn't love the song at first, but when I eventually came around to it, I used that working title as a launching point for the inspiration for the song. With the lyrics, I wanted to try to tap into the visuals that I got when I first listened to it, which has a very dark, rainy, melancholy, nostalgic vibe. The idea of shedding old versions of yourself, looking at past versions of yourself, and letting go of things that you don't need to carry anymore.
IAN: That was the working title for a while, but then we didn't touch on it for a long time. I feel like every artist has that thing where they write a bunch of songs, but not all of them get used or picked up, but then after not doing anything with this song and having some vocals on it, at some point, Ivory tried again with the vocals and came up with different lyrics. That day was the turning point in the song's development, as far as it taking on the new title “House on the Hill” and the topic that it's about.
LUNA: Ivory, you mentioned initially disliking the song but later finding yourself drawn to it. What do you think changed in your perception of the track over those few days?
IVORY: I think it was the weather, weirdly enough, because the day that I came around to it, I was driving around doing errands and I was listening to some of the final mixes for our album, trying to decide between the ones that we were going to go with. There was a render of “House on the Hill” on that email thread that was titled “Shedding” at the time. I listened to it a couple times, and it was dusk and about to get really dark outside, and it was rainy, and the street lights were on, and all the reflections on the road from the water. It had this very Midwest sad, dreary energy to it that just struck a chord. The first line of the song came through and that’s something I wanted to explore further.
LUNA: I would love to touch more on the creative process. You went through multiple recording sessions for the vocals before stepping away and later revisiting them. How did that break help shape the final version?
IAN: Everything except the vocals, I did all at once. But when it came to the vocals, the choices we made really shaped the song. We went through a few different iterations, and at one point, she felt stuck. That’s when we decided to take a break and focus on other things for a while. Eventually, we came back to it and gave it another shot. Sometimes, when working on vocals—especially for Ivory—she prefers to record in solitude, getting everything out on her own. I’ll offer feedback if needed, but we trust each other’s instincts when it comes to what works on the track. That day, though, we worked on the vocals together, refining each section and focusing on what every part needed. She already had all the lyrics, so my role was just to help shape some vocal lines and provide direction where needed.
IVORY: We already had a solid foundation in place, and I think the break was helpful. By the time we came back to it, we knew it was either time to finish the song or leave it behind. That created a real sense of urgency when working on the vocals that day. We weren't very precious with it, like I did not do very many vocal takes, and I just sat on the floor with a handheld microphone and recorded the verses that way, and then used a condenser microphone for the choruses, since they get a little bit louder.
Photography Credit: Drew Sipos
LUNA: With “House on the Hill” existing outside the Sungaze album tracklist, do you see it as a standalone piece, or could it hint at future sonic directions for Sungaze?
IAN: I wouldn't say it's necessarily a sign of a new direction overall. Whenever we try to focus on writing a specific type of song, something else always comes out, and that's fine. As for future releases, there's no definite plan in place for how things will unfold. But for the time being, with the other songs we have planned for this year, it will likely just remain a single.
LUNA: Did you take any creative risks or explore new directions on “House on the Hill” compared to your Sungaze record? If so, what were they and how did they come about, or are you planning on continuing on from your previously established sound?
IVORY: Vocally, I think it's a bit different, actually. Now that I’m reflecting on it, I realize we pull inspiration from a wide range of sounds, which often leads to a split between a slightly heavier, grunge-influenced side and a more sprawling, folk-inspired sound. With any song that leans more heavily into one of those styles, there's always a risk of alienating people who prefer the other side of our music.
IAN: Ivory trying to have a sense of vulnerability with the lyrics and the vocal lines, it's very much like wearing your heart on your sleeve kind of a thing, so that was the risk because it's always scary to be vulnerable.
LUNA: As you continue to evolve, what aspects of your artistry do you hope to push further in future projects?
IVORY: I think for me personally, the big one is songwriting, just always honing in on how I can be the best songwriter, how I can make a song that is the most impactful from start to finish. Every moment of the song is intentional.
IAN: I would say the same for me. From the first album to where we are now, we know how to write a pop song if we wanted to, but that's not necessarily what Sungaze is. So trying to do the best writing for Sungaze, that's our goal.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the upcoming year look like for you that you would love to share with Luna?
IVORY: Feeling really good. I think we're trying to do things a little bit differently this year, and we have some exciting collaborations with other artists coming up.
IAN: Trying to be fearless in the modern day of the music industry and the music world, and just trying to be bold and be brave. We also have a show in Chicago coming up with a band that we're really excited about called Bosses at Sleeping Village on March 27.
