Sleep Stage On the Making Of ‘Warning: Toxic’
How did you come up with the theme?
Honestly, it felt as though the theme of the album came quite naturally. At first, the songs were just their own little pieces with their own meaning and by the end, they had this common feeling, this consistent critical look at things I’ve experienced: The feeling of how we treat all sorts of things that aren’t vices like they are vices and how they can bring this bittersweet feeling.
How did you approach the arrangement and composition of the music for 'Warning: Toxic?'
It normally all starts with either a voicenote when I’m out-and-about; lyrics I’ve been writing in my notes app with feelings and concepts I’ve always wanted to get off my chest; or just fiddling about with my instruments. Once there’s something in my head I can’t stop thinking about it until I get the song out of my system. Head to the studio, drum out a beat to the lyrics and riffs, add some fun little earworms and get the tracks done. It’s great working with both Akin and Cam, they’re both not only extremely talented and professional, they make this fun, anything-goes, atmosphere to making songs. Some of my favourite elements of the album came from funky vocal chops, or adding a swinging synth which we wouldn’t have discovered if not for that space.
Which song(s) from 'Warning: Toxic' do you think best represents your artistic vision?
I think “Your Love’s an Overdose” captures everything I want to capture. It lyrically for me, is my favourite as at the time I was in a real writer’s block. Once I started viewing this fictional relationship from a different lens, this song just came together. The melodies, riffs and breakdowns really capture everything I wanted to. I’m also a fan of “Guess I’m Twisted” and “Aching Pains” for similar reasons but my relationship with “Your Love’s an Overdose” when I was writing it felt so new but captured everything that comes in the songwriting process and sometimes the difficulty that can exist in creating.
Can you tell us more about you as a band?
For sure, I started writing tracks when I was 15 in my room, practicing for hours on end. When Covid hit, I took the leap and started releasing demos under a different name. Enough time, gigs, and with a backlog I was confident in, I wanted to bring that sound up a level. I made a new artist name, focused on making the sound both more professional and heavier and really wanted to dive into the deep end.
I found myself enjoying heavier and heavier and catchier and catchier music so it felt very natural.
It’s just me and my producers at the moment that work on these songs so it’s truly something that still feels very close and direct to me.
Do you aim to convey any specific themes or messages through your music?
I absolutely do. This whole album talks a lot about relationships whether parasocial, in friendships, family or in love and this nuanced feeling we can have about them.
For the album, this ended up being how these relationships can feel like vices that we can’t help but be drawn to despite their consequences. In my head, perfection comes from imperfection, and so I equally love double meanings, contradictions and writing something that people can relate to, and understand, from different perspectives. Obviously, I have my own meanings in my head but it’s amazing watching how people interpret what I say.
