Check out what Chase Coy had to say about his sound and the next Sun Culture album.
What got you interested in music?
Chase Coy: I used to do art and music both, then I kind of just ran out of time. I've always been interested in really creative stuff. I'm sort of the black sheep in my family, the rest of them are very math oriented, like they all like to check their answers on tests and that sort of thing and I'm totally not that at all. For me, it was just a good outlet; just a little more freedom and I just love working with English, you know, like words and rhymes and everything. It was a really good fit and so I started really getting into it in middle school and was lucky enough to have people who supported me and pushed me to continue doing it.
Are there any artists who have inspired your sound?
Yeah, I mean, there are artists that I look up to, obviously great musicians, that just everyone should look up to, you know, songwriters, especially from the '50s and '70s, kind of like Janis Joplin, stuff like that. Also, a lot of newer stuff: Ed Sheeran, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, those sorts of people. All really, really talented songwriters and musicians and vocalists and all that. All of that influences my solo music but obviously I'm into the indie rock side of things and that's why I started Sun Culture. In indie, the new Walk The Moon album is really, really good.
How would you describe your sound?
It's beachy indie pop with kind of an '80's influence in there.
How has your sound evolved, from your first release to this last album?
When I started out doing music it was very, because I did it independently, it was very easy to just do whatever I wanted with all my releases and then, over time, I kind of developed what was going to be my niche, with the acoustic songwriter thing. I still continued to work on stuff outside of that so Sun Culture, for me, is the culmination of a whole lot of years of doing other stuff and finally wanting to release some of it on my own and just having enough material to do that. I think, mainly, the thing with my music with Sun Culture is just that I've listened to a lot more records, I've learned a lot more over the past years, so my production and song-writing has really come a long way since I started.
Can we expect to hear this same sound on the next album?
Yeah, I may even pull in the '80's influences a little bit more on the next one, I think. Actually, no, I'm pretty much 95% sure. I've already started working on some songs for the new record and had a single released this fall as well called "Young Blood" and so that song sort of bridges the gap between the last record and what the next record's going to be.
Any current artists you can't stop listening to?
That Walk The Moon Talking Is Hard album has pretty much been on repeat since it came out.
What do you want people to take away from your music?
I try to approach everything I write about from a stand point of understanding that the world is full of complex issues and situations but, at the same time, I try to instill a sense of hope and optimism in all my lyrics and I hope that comes across, I hope people hear that.
Anything you want to say to your fans?
As cliché as it may sound, I wouldn't be able to do what I do without the support of people who listen to my music and so I'm just super thankful to be able to do music as my job every single day. It's absolutely my dream and I'm living it so I'm just blessed to have people who come alongside me and help me to do that.