The Sunset Kings is an American indie rock band in the post-Frank Ocean era. Their cinematic lyrics are inspired by beat poetry and the Boston poetry scene, and their unique blend of music incorporates jazz, pop, psychedelia, soul, and prog influences to create forward-thinking alternative rock.
Today we speak with The Sunset Kings about their song “In The Mood” and more.
Your song “In The Mood’ gives us a feeling that everything is changing. What’s the inspiration behind the track?
Sometimes you grow as a person and you find yourself growing apart from people you are close to. Sometimes you go through experiences that just fundamentally start to transform who you are as a person and when values change, those are the most difficult things to reconcile in any relationship that existed before the change you’re experiencing. I spent a little time in the Middle East playing music, and when I came back to my band I felt pretty isolated and kind of alone in my experience. It took a while for things to get back to normal, but then our bassist passed away and then my world felt completely turned upside down. In the midst of processing those experiences through my music, touring and writing and trying to rebuild our band, I failed in a lot of relationships. That’s “In The Mood”.
Describe your sound in 3 words.
John Lennon’s reincarnation.
Do you play any instruments?
I play keys, I play guitar, I can play viola, and I dabble on drums.
Do you ever get nervous before your performance?
At this point, not unless it’s a totally new experience. I’m always really excited to step on stage and vibe with good people. I think the last time I got really nervous was playing at a wedding in Albania; I had never been before.
Did you have any plans/concerts cancelled because of the pandemic? If so have you done any online concerts or interaction with your fans?
I had a whole DIY tour planned out in 2020—we had just finished New York City, and played at Millenium Music Conference in Pennsylvania. The plan was to hit New Jersey, Vermont, Austin, LA, and then end in New York City, but I flew down to Texas in March to see my family before we started and then I got stuck there. We’ve done a couple Lives on Instagram but mostly just grew our following a bit by posting a video on Youtube every week in the first four months of the pandemic.
What’s the most rewarding about what you do?
Creating deeper relationships with people and being able to have super open conversations, especially when something I talk about in my work inspires a tangent.
Best advice ever given?
“Make sure you’re aware that your talent can take you places your character can’t keep you if you’re not ready for it.”
What do you think of social media and where can we follow your work?
I think social media is dope, it’s a great tool to connect with people from everywhere. The balance for me is remembering that, at the end of the day, it’s just a thing that allows us to do that, so I only really like posting things that I think have value and give people who are curious a window into my brain. Links are below, but a follow on Spotify is way cooler.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7IQaiDgiF6DjmhJhr6w9zl
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thesunsetkings
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thesunsetkings
