Still Woozy showcases an ever-evolving sonic universe through the dynamic and imaginative nature of singer/songwriter Sven Eric Gamsky’s homespun production and musical sensibilities. His sophomore project, Loveseat, is Gamsky’s most grounded release to date, and while the album maintains those colorful shades of his trademark psychedelic lo-fi bedroom pop, this album further asserts his humanness through intimate lyricism and loving exposition. In a recent °1824 press conference, Gamsky walked us through a bit into his mindset in making this album.
Loveseat represents both a natural progression/evolution of his first album and a symbolic fresh new chapter of creative euphoria and honest personal expression. Gamsky acknowledges that there is a sonic element of familiarity that his fans will recognize that he can’t get away from. But for Loveseat, “it was important to get the vibe/feel right but also experiment with storytelling more.” Compared to his first album, Gamsky was fascinated by the idea of taking the listener on a more personal journey from an intimate place of vulnerability. In these songs, which explores the idea of love through its many anxieties and contradictions, there is an “underlying subtext of the subtext” that it is okay to be vulnerable—“you can’t keep yourself closed off and bottled up.” Wearing your heart and feelings on your sleeve can feel liberating when serving a song and lead to inspiring dreamy melodies, and with Gamsky, he takes his listeners through a comforting place of self-discovery and a sincere level of honesty. Gamsky noted that the piano-driven sentimentally wistful track “Rid Of Me” is one of his favorite songs from the album, and he has been finding it especially cathartic performing this song live.
His musical inspirations for this album run deep and may even surprise some fans. For Gamsky, “I think there’s kind of a lot of older music that inspired me for this…a lot of Beatles and Marvin Gaye records that feel really warm.” Listening to Loveseat, it is evident that Gamsky’s production sensibilities create a very inviting atmosphere that wraps the listener’s ear with its natural dynamic range and less of that overly compressed feeling that’s been a hallmark in most modern pop productions. His careful production and sound design blend a lot of exhilarating and evocative colors of shimmering guitars and lo-fi synths that leave such a nostalgic impression uniquely his own.
Look forward to Gamsky to continue to push his own stylistic boundaries, He is always obsessed with challenging himself musically and exploring different textures and soundscapes. “First and foremost, I want to make music that I like and that I am proud of…but left to my own devices, I can make some pretty weird and crazy music.” Gamsky admits that he has been consciously gatekeeping some very experimental tracks and untapped creativity, but one of his long-term hopes is that if he introduces enough variety in the albums he puts out, his fans won’t experience too much culture shock from any of his unusual sonic curveballs. (For example, he hinted at the desire of taking a leap into country music territory and building a specific musical vision around it.) As we already see him stretching his sonic imagination and taking his listeners through interesting melodic twists and turns through the framework of heartfelt intimacy, Loveseat already feels like an all-time classic album. And we are ready and excited for whatever journey he continues to take us next.
- Carlo De Dios
