UNSTABILE is getting ready to release upcoming EP Glimmers. This is an immersive culmination of the lo-fi bedroom pop singer’s steadily developing their process of home-recording intimate, spontaneous lo-fi bedroom songs and soundscapes over the past few years, building on from their debut album Steep in 2018 and last year’s A Drop In The Stream.
AC: Let’s talk about your upcoming EP Glimmers. What does this body of work mean to you?
UNSTABILE: This little project is important to me, because I made it during a time where light was feeling scant, literally and figuratively. It offered me glimpses of clarity and openness that I needed and has continued me on a path to balancing my energy and becoming more direct in my musical process.
In the studio, do you have a fear you’d like to conquer?
I think I have a fear around recording songs that I’ve already written. A lot of the time my recording process is super spontaneous and songs come out of it on their own. But with a song I already wrote just at the piano or something, I get unsure about recording because it feels less natural. So I’d like to be less afraid of taking time with that process.
What about outside of the studio?
I’d like to be less fearful of connecting with others, or rather, be less fearful of feeling like I’m unable to reach or be reached. It’s a tough feeling, but if it tries to tell us we’re separate, of course, it’s an illusion.
Where does the creation of a song begin for you?
It can be anything, whether it be a little melody, a field recording, or a drum beat. What gets a song started for me, is just the act of listening and trying to follow through with wherever the vision flows; accepting a sound/idea, and responding to it before I allow myself the chance to interrupt by deciding it isn’t good enough. Surrendering to the moment or whatever.
Who do you feel inspired by in the music industry?
Well, so so many beautiful souls, a lot of new stuff and a lot of old stuff, always. Too many to name, but I’ll tell you some of my most streamed artists of the last year, who I certainly feel inspired and touched by – Liv.e, Blood Orange, MIKE, Solange, (Sandy) Alex G.
As a music artist, what are you still trying to learn?
So much! I’m still trying to learn how to record/produce, I really want to grow my understanding of harmony/song arranging, I want to get better at the bass…and the list goes on, but basically I always want to listen better and play better.
How important is social media to you right now?
Very much and not at all. It’s important of course because it’s the primary avenue that I can share my music with friends and whoever, and it can be really nice to follow artists I love. But of course, at the same time, it’s a hole…it’s pretty toxic and at the end of the day if you’re not careful, it’ll suck you away from the music and from the good, physical life experiences.
Ahead of a gig, do you have any pre-show rituals?
I haven’t played enough shows to really have a sense of ritual with it, though I want to! Basically just drinking water and breathing.
What do you want the world to look like in 10 years?
Less pollution, less hate, less state violence. That’s not so specific, but of course, I want people to be more connected, more expressive, less oppressive/oppressed, and less ecocidal.
If you had the chance to put something on billboards worldwide next week, what would it be? Or what would it say?
That’s such a hard one because it’s so easy for words to be misinterpreted or oversimplified, particularly statements small enough to be put on a billboard. Maybe “We are born worthy of life and love”, or “We must care for the oppressed people and the mutilated environment, even if the government does not”.
INTERVIEW: ADAM CROOKES
