AN INTERVIEW: SLOAN STRUBLE OF DAYGLOW

Hi, everyone! I had the opportunity to speak with Sloan Struble, the 19-year old music prodigy that's creating music under the name Dayglow. Though the University of Texas student started producing music on GarageBand and other softwares at a young age, Sloan didn't start writing and recording music as Dayglow until 2018. Last September, he released his debut LP, Fuzzybrain, which has become a success in the indie/bedroom pop scene in recent months. Headlined by smash singles like "Can I Call You Tonight?" and "Hot Rod", Sloan has amassed almost a million monthly listeners on Spotify in almost 12 months. I've gotta say, that's pretty impressive! On the performing side of things, he opened for the Band Camino and performed at SXSW this past March. Down the road, Sloan looks to continue his touring plans by joining COIN on their North American tour in the fall. Needless to say, he's had an incredibly impressive resume, and I was very fortunate that he gave me his time.

bazzreviews: Which artists or albums had an influence on you to start a music career?

Sloan Struble: The list I have is pretty massive, but I’ll list a few that have been big for me. I’d say The Beatles, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Darwin Deez, Tame Impala, OK GO, Passion Pit, Dr. Dog are some of the most important, no doubt.

br: At 19, you’re currently a student at the University of Texas-Austin what would you say has been the biggest challenge between balancing college and a music career?

S.S.: I am actually dropping out this year. When I was there last year, I was balancing both music and college. Once my music started getting bigger, it became pretty hard to do that during my second semester. For my mental sake, I ultimately had to decide between the two. I ended up picking music. Don’t get me wrong, I think college is great, and I loved UT. However, I began to realize that once I made the decision to drop out, I would have very little desire to use my degree if I got it 3 years later.

br: You’re doing some tour stops with the indie giants COIN in the fall, how did you guys first come into contact?

S.S.: We have some mutual friends, and we’ve kinda been listening to each other for a while. Chase [Lawrence] (COIN lead singer) and I have become pretty good friends, and I am super stoked to play with them. They’re are all such nice and genuine dudes.

br: In the past, you’ve also opened for other bands like The Band Camino, and you also played down at SXSW, what have those experiences been like?

S.S.: SXSW, by far. I’m not sure if you’ve been before, but it’s really an amazing time. It’s really hard to explain why I like it so much. It’s kind of like adult recess in a sense. There’s a lot of late night shows, you’ll have some weird encounters with people, and a you’ll definitely spend a ton of money spent on parking. Besides all that, I was super fortunate to play there and meet so many of the artists I love!

br: I’ve heard you’re known for some pretty awesome live shows- would you say that you enjoy performing live over working on music in your studio?

S.S.: I really love them both, but they are completely different things in my mind. I write, record and produce alone in my bedroom. Because of this, the songs tend to be a lot more personal and direct and oftentimes form a life of their own. When I play live, I’m with 4 other guys on stage and it’s extremely fun. It kinda feels like everyone- including the crowd- is a part of the team, and that’s a really fun experience.

br: What are some of your processes for making songs?

S.S.: When I write a song, it usually starts through an idea that I put in on my phone. I always have a lot of short voice memos and lyric ideas in the notes app. Since I write and produce at the same time, there really isn’t a pattern I have to making songs. Some songs can take 2 days to make, some could take 2 months to finally be complete.

br: What’s more important to you when you’re recording- lyricism, or production value and instrumentation?

S.S.: Overall, I think it really depends on the song. I’d say both are very important to me, and I want all of my songs to have a fair share of good lyricism and production.

br: On some of your songs, I’ve seen themes of love and relationships- is the music you write a reflection of your own life?

S.S.: Most of the time, it’s 50/50. I’ll take a simple experience I had, and then write fiction around it. Kinda like a movie that’s based on a true story. It can make the song feel personal, but also imaginative at the same time.

br: Do you have any fun recording stories from when you were working on your new album, Fuzzybrain?

S.S.: It was obviously my first album, so I had never produced a full-length thing before. It was really fun to dream up stuff and learning how to mix everything along the way. One song, “False Direction”, was actually initially just a challenge to myself to make a song that sounded like Phoenix produced it. I didn’t plan on putting it on the album until later, but it’s actually been very rewarding to hear people say it sounds like them.

br: I know you just released that LP back in September, but do you have any other projects in the works for Dayglow at the moment?

S.S.:Yeah, I’m currently writing a ton of stuff! I don't really have a lot to say about it, but I’ll say that it’s been productive!

br: What music goals would you say that you have for the future?

S.S.: I would definitely love to keep writing and recording- and loving it! Not only that, but I want to use writing and recording to love people!

LIGHTNING ROUND:

What is one album that you find as overrated and what is one you find as underrated?

Overrated: Fuzzybrain

Underrated: Fuzzybrain

What are your top three albums of all time?

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles, Thriller by Michael Jackson and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix

Which artists and songs have you been listening to a lot recently?

I’ve been loving a lot of 70s americana stuff. Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Carpenters, etc.

Who are your non-musical heroes?

Wes Anderson, My Dad, CS Lewis and Jesus.

If there was one band or artist that you could live with- living or dead- who would it be?

If you view authors as artists, I would love to live with CS Lewis. The way he saw the world was beautiful.

I'd like to thank Sloan so much again, and I wish him the best of luck on his future musical endeavors. For those of you guys who haven't heard him yet, I'd recommend checking him out! Thanks so much again to all my readers, more amazing bazzreviews content is coming your way soon!

To hear some of Sloan’s music, log on to https://dayglowband.bandcamp.com/releases