Interview: The Sea At Midnight – Edge Of The World

Los Angeles songwriter Vince Grant produced and mixed by Chris King of Cold Showers with drums by Brandon Pierce of Glaare.

Discovered via submithub.com

Hi guys, how are you today?

Hi there! This is Vince from The Sea At Midnight. Doing pretty good considering the circumstances. Thanks for asking! Thankfully everyone in my family is healthy and that’s the most important thing. Hope everyone and their loved ones are safe as well.

How would you describe your sound?

I’d say it has elements of coldwave, postpunk, darkwave and goth.

Which artists have influenced you the most?

Probably the older postpunk bands such as The Cure, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order, Siouxie and the Banshees and other bands of that era. My favorite lyricists are Ian Curtis, Robert Smith, Siouxsie Sioux and Martin Gore among others. Journalists and djs have also compared the sound to the Jesus and Mary Chain, Depeche Mode, the Mighty Lemon Drops, the Chameleons, the Wild Swans, Icicle Works just to name a few. Also, have always been an avid reader and I think books have influenced me quite a lot too. My mother said I’m the only kid she ever knew that preferred a book over tv. Pretty much still like that today. Some of my favorite authors are David Mitchell, William Gibson, Steve Erickson and Denis Johnson.

How did your single, ‘Edge Of The World’, come about?

Was going through a period of remorse about some past behavior of mine that was hurtful to others, particularly when I was using drugs and alcohol, that I was ashamed of and felt terrible about. Realized I had acted selfishly on many occasions without taking into account the feelings of others and how my actions would affect them. This was weighing on my mind one night while out taking a walk and when I got home picked up my guitar and “Edge Of The World” came tumbling out. Sometimes it takes me a long time and multiple rewrites to finish a song, but this one came into being almost fully formed. For the most part it was completed before I went to bed that night.

And are you planning to make it part of a larger release, such as an EP or album?

Yes, it will be part of an eight song album to be released sometime this year. Right now shooting for late summer or early fall.

The lockdown has affected everyone’s plans, but what are you doing to stay productive and are you still able to work on new music?

Luckily I had tracks that were recorded before the quarantine went into effect, so I’ve released and promoted two singles during the lockdown, which has definitely kept me busy. Also during this time began working with artist Paige Emery on making videos for some upcoming singles. She has already finished one and is in the process of making another one. As far as working on new music, have actually been writing quite a bit during the lockdown. Just finished up a batch of new songs that were lying around in various stages of completion. Shelter in place gave me the time to really focus and give them the attention they needed.

What advice would you give to other artists trying to stay productive during this crisis?

Basically try and attempt to play at least a little music every day. Consistency really seems to help the writing process for me. Keeps my head in an overall more creative space and it gives me momentum, so I don’t have to deal with overcoming inertia every time I want to start being creative. Also, there is always something on the back burner that I can’t seem to find the time for or have been avoiding altogether. Tried to use this crisis as an opportunity to attend to some outstanding projects whether they were music or non-music related. Taking care of things in life that need to be done other than music, once they are completed, makes me feel like I have more space for artistic pursuits. Frees up my mind to think about music and songwriting instead of all the mundane tasks I’m procrastinating over.