Q: Welcome back! It’s fantastic to have you with us again. Since our last review, a lot has happened in your musical journey. To kick things off, could you share some highlights or pivotal moments that have shaped your artistic path lately?
Drew~ “For me after a long time of problems with arthritis in my hands it’s been a period of reconnecting with my guitars. I’m always looking for a special sauce combination of elements that exists primarily in my head and I’ve not been able to add guitar elements as much as I would have liked. But the hands feel for the moment (touch wood) a bit better, and that comes across in the music.”
Lisa~ “I honestly can’t put my finger on one. I can never predict when lyrics are going to “come to” me. I never sit down and say “Okay, I’m going to write a song today”, it doesn’t work that way with me. I may go for months without writing anything and worry that I may never write again and then some old memory comes back when I least expect it and I’ll write three songs within a matter of a few minutes. Those songs of course are connected by an individual thread that no one sees or suspects but they’re there.”
Q: Can you describe the musical style of Sleeps Under Beams in three words?
Drew~ “Blimey….dense….emotional…..moody?”
Lisa~ Heartfelt, emotional, and evolving.
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
“I find it difficult to even stay connected with my dog, so I’ll leave this one to Lisa.”
Lisa~ “We have our music listed on several sites where fans can connect with us and give us feedback or ask questions and I always make sure that I answer each one back with all honesty, sometimes I may even give them a slight glimpse/idea of what we’re working on next because they were kind enough to reach out to us. I actually love connecting with people and interacting with them. We also have a section on our official website, a blog of sorts where I post our upcoming songs, where I try to give insight on the song itself, and where the inspiration for the lyrics came from.”
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘If A Kiss Could Speak’. Is there a story behind it?
Lisa~ “Everything I write is personal and ‘If A Kiss Could Speak’ is a prime example of that. I once had a kiss that didn’t just touch my lips, it wrapped itself around my entire being, it was the most blissful and intimate experience I could ever have imagined. It also offered a promise that was never fulfilled and over time living with it, it became torturous. One night I decided I couldn’t ‘live with it any longer’ so I literally put my fingers to my lips, kissed them, blew the kiss back to him and said out loud “I’m returning your kiss back to you!”. I felt like if I wrote a song it would be a finalization for me. There are so many songs about lost love and I wanted ‘If A Kiss Could Speak’ to be ‘different’ so rather than write it from my perspective, I wrote it with the intention that it be from the kiss’s point of view, what it would say to him if it could speak.
Q: What is your favorite verse or part of the track and why?
Drew~ “For purely personal reasons for me it’s when the first verse comes in. It’s the memory, it was just before Christmas and I was sat down with my beloved baritone guitar with no pain in the hands and then the fact that the first lyric is “Hello, my old friend..” felt very poignant and joyful. I felt like I could paint again.”
Lisa~ It’s hard to pick a favorite part for me but if I had to choose, it would be the chorus. I make several references to songs by The Cure (I even mention ‘cure’ in the bridge)because that was one thing he and I shared, a love for The Cure. Should he ever hear it, I want him to know that THAT kiss is speaking directly to him, no one else, and that I’ve finally freed myself from its/his grip on me. Am I being petty, hoping that he hears it? Maybe, but it’s important for me to believe that he will.
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the song, “If A Kiss Could Speak”?
Drew~ “We started as usual with Lisa’s lyric and a basic idea for tempo and chord changes. Anna then took that and put a demo of the topline together. From then on it was a question of textures and colours. The demo swims around in my head and I begin to hear in more detail what I feel about instrumentation. At that point I sat down in the studio with the instruments and started to try to paint that thing I was hearing, to make it tangible.
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for Sleeps Under Beams so far?
Drew~ “We don’t play live. As we’re scattered across 2 continents it would take the kind of budget we just don’t have. Even if we had the budget, I don’t really enjoy playing live. I’m too stuck in my head and live very happily in the studio. For a conventional band that would be a problem but thankfully we don’t have that kind of friction.”
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
Drew~ “For me it’s always the current one. That sounds like a cliche but it’s a need I have that also motivates me to make each record better than the last. So if I didn’t feel like that, maybe I’d lose the drive. For historical ‘pride of place in the journey’, I would have to say “Like Veronika”, because it was like a puppy in a pound- an old instrumental demo I had had for a long time and the fact that Lisa and I managed to give it a new meaning together, and a home in our partnership, was extra special.”
Lisa~ I love each and every one of our songs, it’s really hard for me to pick a favorite, (It’s like asking me what part of myself I like best…lol)however, I too, would have to say “Like Veronika”. As Drew mentioned, the music was already written and I listened to it over and over before he even asked me if I would like to write lyrics for it, it may sound strange but I actually ‘felt/feel something’ like a strange vibration in my head when I listen to it. Unlike most of our songs, I based the lyrics off of my favorite book, “Veronika Decides to Die” by Paulo Coehlo. He never wrote a sequel and as a writer I had to imagine what happened once his story ended, I had to tie up the loose ends for myself. We’re actually working on a new song now, “Love Always, Veronika” that we hope to release in August or early September and it’s a sequel, if you will, to “Like Veronika”. We’re both very excited about it!
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into Sleeps Under Beams’s unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
Drew~ “I couldn’t say whether ours is unique- I doubt it. These days artists find it easier to collaborate at a distance, so in that sense it’s very liberating. I spent a lot of time earlier in my life trying to put bands together and it always fell apart due to one reason or another. Now, because of technology we can come together regardless of physical distance and find that common thing. It doesn’t have to be “oh, is there a bassist or a drummer within travelling distance who feels music the same way and doesn’t drive me insane”. Music is the oldest way we have of coming together as a species and the world is smaller but the horizons are further and further away.
That spark of a song comes from pure chemistry. Lisa’s lyrics and Anna’s voice always speak to me in colours and textures and that enables me to write music from the heart. When we’re working on a new song I won’t listen to any other music at all, not even in the car. That gives me a silence to work in and silence is the greatest inspiration to me, because then I can start filling in the landscape. If I sat down and tried to work it through logically and rationally it wouldn’t work for me. I have to let a set of words and a melody sit in a landcape of silence in my head and then it becomes a subliminal process, incubation over intention. In a world full of noise, waiting for a melody and a fragment of words to sit in absolute quiet means I am letting the emotional weight settle before I commit to any technical execution. That brings anxiety sometimes, but once it settles and the ideas start flowing, that’s a time of joy and I can crack open my studio toys and get to work. But in another sense, the real work has already been done in the background.”
Lisa~ “I think Drew gave a great answer, but another component for me is ‘trust’. I completely admire both Drew and Anna and I know without any doubt that they’re going to put their hearts and souls into a musical landscape that fully encompasses my lyrics and brings them to life.”
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
Drew~ “Some weird movie soundtrack would be great. Something really dark and eerie. My dream was always David Lynch-based but now he’s sadly no longer with us. So, Darren Aronofsky would be fantastic. Or Jordan Peele. Get them on the blower lol”
Lisa~ Again Drew has given a great answer.As for our fans, we appreciate each listener and I honestly hope that as we evolve that they’ll continue to appreciate our music, recognize the love we put into each song, and move forward with us on our musical journey.
