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Hi Sugar Addikt and welcome to VENTS! The single “Shackles” comes off your new album Phoenix – what’s the story behind the title?
First off, thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about our album. Phoenix is a bittersweet journey and incorporates a lot of issues both globally and within our family. This album is about mental health, transformation and rising out of the ashes.
At the time of writing the album, we were both experiencing a lot of struggle in our lives; both as individuals and with each other. The album was a cathartic walk through those struggles. It was a process of healing through working on music. By the time all five songs were written the phoenix became our symbol of rebirth and starting fresh. It was the beginning of our healing and a new start for both of us.
Unfortunately, three months after the EP was released, Bowman, who struggled with bipolar mania for five years, took his own life. As you can imagine, this changed everything. What started as a whimsical collaboration became a bittersweet tome. I struggled a bit with whether to continue the release campaign. In the end I decided that since it was his greatest desire to make and share music, it felt right to honor his legacy by sharing the album and our story. Phoenix was written before Bowman’s death, but it also feels so real to the universal struggles we are all having as we cope with the world around us.
How was the recording and writing process?
Bo’s process was to write whenever he had free time. In September of 2019 he had a creative flurry that resulted in about twenty instrumental demos. He brought them over one night and said “Hey, you’ve been wanting to go techno, so let’s do Sugar Addikt. Pick whatever songs you want and write what you want.” It was very casual. No deadlines, no expectations. I picked up a simple hand recorder and just went to town. I started with “Shackles” that very same night. I sent over an extremely rough vocal track and it was immediately right – very few changes made to the lyrics. We each have our own studio spaces, so I sat down the next day, created vox, handed them over and he finished the mix. Every single song went like that. I picked a demo out of the bunch then one day of writing lyrics, one day of recording vox. We tried not to overthink it. It was very synergistic.
How does your family bond influence your writing and music as a whole?
The best part about being family is you don’t start at ground zero. Here is a person you have known your whole life. We didn’t have to navigate communication and work styles, we just kind of wove it into our daily lives. One of the songs, “Safe” was written while we were making tacos in the kitchen. We had the song playing on his phone, and I’m asking him – “What do you think this song wants to say?” We put it on repeat, and the chorus kept coming out with this vibe of being seen and heard. Put simply – love and respect. Could that have been written by two people without that same bond? I don’t know. It just came out so naturally.
Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?
So, to start off, both of us write intuitively. Usually a new song doesn’t start with a concept, it starts with some notes and a beat. Every song on this album was written as an instrumental demo first. My role was to sit with each song and let it tell me its story. It’s as if the sounds and lyrics were there all the time, we just called them out and stitched them together. I’ve always worked this way, and probably modeled this to him as a young kid, so it made sense to both of us to keep working this way.
Can you talk to us more about your track “New Dawn”? Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
Great question. Both of us are hyper focused on the world around us. Bo brings a science perspective, having studied mechanical engineering in college, and I’ve always been drawn to social awareness. Our conversations tended to land on the ways we might bend society towards cleaner energy and appreciation of art and how it can intertwine with scientific pursuit. At the time we were both energetically pursuing ways to bring science, art and humanity together into one medium. In other words, how might pure energy and vibration become the new science? As radical as that might sound, there is an intention behind all these songs of wanting a future that could be an improvement, or at least stepping towards one’s own power. That being said, the lyrics to this song kind of popped into my head after finishing the first three, and honestly they felt a little cheesy a first. It can be tricky to talk about hope and optimism. We weren’t yet in a pandemic, but the world was definitely on fire with all the polarization and need for change. We could feel it in our bones. Like change was coming. I jotted down the lyrics and shared them with Bo and said – “Can we get away with these lyrics without coming off too naïve?” We decided to run with the authenticity of the message which was – things will get better. Little did we know they would get worse before they got better. The irony is one of my favorite lines “put a sign in the door/ take a break for the night/ we will all be fine/ we will all be fine” was written BEFORE the pandemic. It didn’t make sense at the time, and then wham-o it made perfect sense. A little foreshadowing in the form of songwriting!!
What role does Seattle play in your music?
Seattle influences our music in the diversity and also the vibrancy of city culture. Both of us grew up in small towns – so there’s a lot of country living in our bones. But something about the dark winter and the moody vibe of the Pacific Northwest, brought out a more contemplative aspect to our work.
What else is happening next in Sugar Addikt’s world?
Sugar Addikt started as a collaboration between Bowman and I, and it was probably the most fun I’ve ever had creating an album. It was created out of a deep love for electro pop and high intensity lyrics. In a way we were so suited for each other, beyond being related and being friends. After Bo’s memorial, I was grieving not only the loss of my son, but all the potential that this music might have. Sugar Addikt felt like a magic pairing, and I feared that might be the end.of something that was just getting started, just barely getting wings. Mainly I questioned the legitimacy of going on, after all we were a duo, and we were in the middle of working on our next single. Would it be dishonorable to continue with other producers?
Instead of giving into the urge to throw it out the window, I’ve decided that going forward is honoring what we started. We had started working on a new song, titled “Let Me Be the One, “ and we had a strong notion of what we wanted on the next two albums. Our plan was to create another EP within the year. Out of respect for the groundwork already laid, I have brought on two producers to carry on. We are taking the song Bo and I started and creating three different mixes. One mix is finished, two in the works. We will release a single within the next six months and by spring of 2022, we intend to release the second EP.
To be clear, I’m not replacing Bo. That’s not possible. But rest assured, he whispers in my ear, he nudges me, and guides. And as far as I am concerned, he is still here, living and breathing through the music. I’m keeping the logo, keeping the memory. And forging ahead.
