Interview: sedgwick – Alone

“I wrote Alone about my relationship, and the experience of being in love as a queer person. It can often feel like life is “us against the world,” especially when people refuse to accept us for who we are.”

Discovered via submithub.com

Hi sedgwick, what’s been happening over the past six months?

The past six months have been as insane for me as I imagine they have been for everyone else. I graduated from university in the middle of a pandemic, and went from anticipating celebrating my convocation to being stuck at home. There have been some silver linings though; my workplace shut down for a few months which allowed me to invest more time in music. During this period I’ve created the best work of my life and I feel more proud of my musical output than I ever have been before.

Your new single ‘Alone’ has a great vibe. What was the inspiration behind the song?

Relationships are never simple for queer people. To love and be loved as a member of the LGBTQ+ community carries with it a burden of dealing with the absurdity of the outside world. As gay men, my partner and I have both experienced opposition and rejection from others, complicated further by the fact that he was previously in a relationship with a woman. That’s why the line is “never thought that you would leave her, but I guess that sometimes dreams can come true.” There are millions of love songs out there but very few of them capture the nuance of the queer experience. I wanted the song to be accessible to a wide audience, but explicitly queer. There’s no way to interpret that line that is heteronormative.

Where are you from and what’s the music scene like there?

I’m from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. There is a subtly amazing music scene here with tones of great artists across all genres. FRVRFRIDAY, Conch, CS Kid, JESSIA, No Thanks and Tianda come to mind along with bigger acts like Ruth B and PURITY RING. Edmonton has a really excellent arts scene in general and the city does a good job of investing in it. I think we’re just waiting for our Drake.

What drew you to the music industry?

Honestly, I feel like I came out of the womb obsessed with music. My whole family is rather musical and it’s always played an important part in our lives. My dad passed away when I was around 6 or 7 years old, but I’ve heard many stories about how he used to sing around the house and rocked a mean falsetto. My sister is an incredible dancer and singer, and I grew up belting out classic rock songs with my mom. I started producing music when I was around 14 years old, making horrifyingly bad pop music in GarageBand that I would proudly display to everyone. Then I got into making dance music like dubstep, electro house and trap under my old alias Seandroid. I’ve always been passionate about singing, though, and I’m stoked to finally invest in that side of my music.

Any gigs you have coming up that we should know about?

Right now I’m working on publishing enough music to feasibly perform a gig longer than 15 minutes, but COVID-19 has made it somewhat impossible to perform anyhow. I am definitely excited about the idea of performing live in the future though, and will keep people up to date on my various social media profiles.

Anything you would like to add?

I’m just grateful to share a bit about my inspirations and who I am! Thank you for this opportunity. And keep your eyes peeled for new releases — it only gets better from here.