After stumbling upon his catalogue, Soofy‘s uniquely expressive and emotive songwriting and compositions have been a staple at HQ. If you haven’t listened yet – make sure you do.
In the meantime, we caught an interview with the man behind the music. Here’s how it went.
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For those who don’t know, how long have you been making music, and how many projects have you released to date?
I started in a band called Soofy and the Walrus. We toured around a bit for a few years then went our separate ways. There have been other projects in-between but in 2018 I decided to do my first solo project.
You seem as inspired by the likes of Jeff Buckley as you do Mumford and Sons or even Portishead on occasion. Who have you spent your years listening to, who first inspired you?
Sufjan Stevens was a huge inspiration. So I began bleeding that with folk sounds like Mumford or Lumineers. I also spent a lot of time listening to speaches by Alan watts. I did a song – Thinking – and used one of his clips that always stood out to me. I was very excited when his family gave me permission to use it.
What’s the story behind Ego Driven?
Ego Driven is a song I did with a producer named Devon Rea. We had been passing music back for some time and I even did a track previously for him. The song is about how most people lie about their success, whether it’s music careers or in business, to leverage themselves further, and how it’s accepted more in today’s culture.
Your instrumental set-up is impressively eclectic. What’s your go-to instrument when starting to write?
Guitar. But sometimes it’s inspiring to start with something different.
Do you produce your own tracks?
I produced all my stuff except Ego Driven. I added a few guitar notes but that was mostly produced by Devon Rea. Sometimes my brother Myles William, who is the CEO of our record label Future Moguls, will help with mixing and mastering.
Where do you imagine is the best setting for someone to listen to your songs?
At home with headphones.
Is live performance an important part of what you do?
It used to be much bigger. I used to play out 3 times a week and even busk in the street. I had almost stopped doing music until my solo projects started getting attention.
Do you ever play or write as part of a band, and if so, how does that compare to the solo process?
Previously it was all bands. I like performing more in bands for sure.
What can we look forward to from you throughout 2020?
I am planning on playing live much more as well as releasing a lot of music that I have made but hadn’t released. I’m excited for the next years music it’s unfortunate other things kept me busy and unable to release. This next year I’ll def have much more going on.
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