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Hi Simon, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Hey guys! I’ve been doing as well as I can through Covid. Lots of inside time on protools and messing with new music.
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Kiss Me”? Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
Kiss me came from a place of a bunch of nostalgia. It was my way of trying to escape the heavier things life throws at me and return to a place in time when days were simpler. All the little moments I talk about in the song are real moments from my younger life, but the true event that inspired me to write it was really just sitting in my studio one day feeling exceptionally bogged down and lonely.
The single comes off your new album Never Knew The Night – what’s the story behind the title?
Never Knew The Night has both a very literal meaning and a more figurative one. The literal meaning comes from the sheer amount of wildly long days and late nights I spent working on this album. I was often recording vocals all alone in my studio at 2AM, or at Westlake mixing ‘till 3 in the morning. There’s something really weird about walking into a studio at 12 noon with the sun in your face and walking out at 3AM to complete darkness, having never looked out a window in between those times. The more figurative meaning of the title comes from the amount of solitary hours I spent working. I just don’t think I’ve ever been alone so much in my life. It’s something I thought I was ready for when I opted not to go to college and go down a road less traveled, but I quickly found it was even more difficult than I had imagined.
How was the recording and writing process?
It was tough. I have a lot of jobs as the producer, writer, singer, guitar player, and often engineer as well which can get super stressful. When I was younger I only had to focus on writing the tunes and playing my part on the recording so now it’s on a whole new level. That being said I love having ultimate control as the producer and my music definitely wouldn’t sound the same if that wasn’t the case. I spend hours, sometimes hundreds, piecing songs together production wise just trying to bring the whole image into focus. I think the majority of the hours working on this project was me alone in my home studio just chipping away at the whole thing. I’d try tons of different arrangements, instrumentation’s, mic positions, all sorts of stuff to try and get to the finish line I was envisioning in my head (If you can’t tell, I’m not somebody who cuts myself much slack haha.) Bringing the music to other musicians and to Dave for mixing was always madly rewarding to watch all these parts I’d written come to life.
How has John Mayer and Jeff Buckley influenced your writing?
Jeff Buckley gave me a lot of cool chordal ideas that I had never considered trying to fit into a more pop song. He also has this insane intimacy that he was able to bring, even to louder more rocking music, that I just never knew was possible. Hearing him do that and chasing similar things definitely helped me grow as a vocalist. In terms of John Mayer, Listening to his stuff just showed me that it was ok to play a big blues guitar solo over a pop track. It made me remember part of the reason I started writing songs when I was a kid was to play a ton of guitar over them. At the time I was coming out of a band where I had only played rhythm guitar and hearing John Mayer reminded me I could still do that blues thing. It’s become a huge part of my sound.
You brought a group of special guests – did you handpick them or how did they come on board?
The first that came around was Dave Reitzas. He’s my mixing engineer. When I was first starting this project I was sending out a ton of emails trying to find an engineer and I really just shot for the stars, emailed all of my absolute favorite people out there and Dave was one of them. I had sent him a song I was working on and I remember him responding and saying something like, “Hey Simon I haven’t listened to your song yet but I’m really busy and it’s probably not something I have time for. I’ll let you know if I hear it.” That same night at like 1 in the morning I got another email from him saying “Simon, I love this, I want to work on this project.” So Dave really became my gateway to everyone else. When it came time to find a bass player he literally called up my favorite session bassist on the planet at the time and the next day Sean Hurley was walking through the door. From there Sean introduced me to Aaron Sterling who he flew up to the Bay Area with to track more songs with me, and eventually to Tiffany Palmer and Brandon Winbush the wonderful session singers. It ended up just being a group of some of my favorite musicians on the planet who were at my disposal for these songs. These were people I’d always wanted to work with but really didn’t know if I’d be able to.
What did they bring up to the table?
I mean exactly what you’d expect. Great musicianship, great feel, always making the most musical decision for a song. They just make my life easier as the producer. I bring an idea to them and within about 2 takes of us playing it’s sounding like a record.
Do you tend to take a different approach when you are collaborating with someone else rather than working on your own?
In terms of writing I’m a bad collaborator when it comes to my own music. I know a lot of people like to sit in a room with a few others and bounce ideas around. I’m just not that guy. Maybe I will be someday but right now the writing process is just super personal and private for me. I usually don’t bring a song to anybody else until it’s really written the way I want. That being said, sometimes Dave or Sean will suggest an arrangement adjustment or a tempo thing while we’re recording which
I’m totally open to and love. But most times nobody is messing with my lyrics or melody except me. When we’re in the recording process I like to think I’m a pretty good collaborator. The vibe is always light in the room and we all have a real good time together. I like to keep it fun when it’s with other people. It’s a funny thing for me being the producer and being younger than all these guys that I’m playing with. They’d have a kid half their age trying to run through all the song minutiae with them.
What aspect of young love did you get to explore on this record?
It’s simplicity. Things get infinitely more complex as you grow up and I think a lot of it is just wishing it didn’t have to. The songs that are about young love on this record also have a bit of a dark side mixed into their bounciness. For instance Learning To Love, though it’s one of the most innocent songs on the record, also touches on jealousy and attachment as you grow with somebody. Those are the things that you never consider when you’re a kid but eventually need to come to terms with within yourself. It’s how you grow.
Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?
Most of the songs came from some very concrete real situation that I experienced throughout the last few years. Although, a few were sort of the materialization of my own existential crises’. Many of them include some sort of dream or longing that I had.
What else is happening next in Simon Lunche’s world?
The biggest thing coming up for me is my album release! On September 25th the whole thing will be out for everybody to hear so I’m super excited about that.
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