Back in April of 2012 I stumbled across a stellar track titled "I Wanna Go" by Summer Heart and never have I ever fell in love with a song as quick as I did with that one. It was a track that kicked off freshvibesmonday #2, and to this day I still hear it when I'm out and about. Not much was known about Summer Heart at the time, besides the fact that he has the recipe to cook up something that's equal parts dreamy and catchy.
On Facebook he describes his genre as "Summerwave // Lo-fi dreamin' // Homemade // DIY." Could music sound any better than hearing a combination of simply those terms? Didn't think so.
Since 2012 he's released a handful of gems including "Sleep", "I Wanted You to Stay on the Other Side", "Thinkin of You" and most recently "Beat Of Your Heart" (which premiered over on Noisey with a proper music video directed by London based director Kyle Macfadzean.) When I first found out David Alexander aka Summer Heart would be at this year's SXSW - I felt the same rush of excitement when I first heard "I Wanna Go" & was pleased to hear that he wanted to answer a few questions for Let Your Ears Decide. Read/listen below.
1. Introduce yourself and give us a brief description of who Summer Heart is & how did it originate?
Hi, I am David and I live in the south of Sweden, creating music under the name of Summer Heart. Well, it all started a couple of years ago when I lived with my dad. His flat was filled with guitars, synths, drum machines and other instruments that I started playing around with until I had created the first Summer Heart tunes. After that things happened quite fast and I started playing live shows around Europe. The first shows I played alone, but now Summer Heart has turned into some band-ish kind of thing for live shows.
2. This is your first time performing at South By Southwest (SXSW), but have you ever visited the US to play shows?
My SXSW shows will be my first US shows ever. I was supposed to do a couple of shows before SXSW, but today I found out that I won't be able to do them because of various reasons beyond my control. That sucks big time! I really don’t want to let down all the people who've bought tickets and waited for this, but at least both shows have been rescheduled for summer, and maybe that is a slight form of comfort for them.
3. Does a festival such as SXSW take place near where you live? Or is this an event that’s absolutely new to you? I'm sure the emotions are going to be racing or maybe this is something you're used to.
Actually, there’s really nothing like SXSW near where I live, and I haven’t attended anything like SXSW as far as I can remember. I am pretty open-minded and am trying to take things with ease, so I’m just going to go there and see what happens.
I bet whatever happens at SXSW will be lots of fun and a memory for life.
SXSW Dates for Summer Heart
March 18th - Official SXSW Showcase @ Red Patio 7 – 7:30 PM – 8:10 PM
March 19th - Official SXSW Showcase @ Iron Bear – 12 AM – 12:40 AM
March 20 - When The Gramophone Rings and Mostly Junk Food Showcase @ Javelina - 1.40 PM
Reverb Nation Party @ The Tiniest Bar in Texas - 4.45 PM
March 21 - Eye in the Sky Collective / Texas Takeover @ Shiner Saloon - 1 PM
March 19th - Official SXSW Showcase @ Iron Bear – 12 AM – 12:40 AM
March 20 - When The Gramophone Rings and Mostly Junk Food Showcase @ Javelina - 1.40 PM
Reverb Nation Party @ The Tiniest Bar in Texas - 4.45 PM
March 21 - Eye in the Sky Collective / Texas Takeover @ Shiner Saloon - 1 PM
4. You’re playing quite a handful of showcases, but if you had the chance to catch a band or two while you’re in Austin, who would they be?
I would especially love to see Alvvays play. I am big fan of their music.
That makes two of us David *prayer emoji hands*
5. What essentials are you packing in your suitcase in preparation for your trip to America? Will you be playing solo during SXSW or will you have a live band performing with you?
I just finished packing my bags and they are mostly filled with musical equipment actually. Other than that I am bringing some random clothes, my camera and my laptop. If there is one thing I’ve learned from touring, it's to not bring things you don’t need. You’ll have enough things to carry anyway, haha. My friend Frederick will be joining me on stage at SXSW. He's from California, but living in Sweden at the moment, (he also plays in the great band Sameblod.)
Side note: I checked out Sameblod, and instantly fell in love with their dance vibes. "Flourish" is an instant hit, visit their SoundCloud page to hear more.
6. I noticed your Instagram bio mentions “music+photo+things” and let me just throw it out there - your Instagram account is visually beautiful, do you have a background in photography? What type of camera do you use? Did you get into music or photography first?
Ah, thanks a lot! I don’t have a background in photography or anything like that and I don’t really know much about cameras and lenses and those things. I just love taking photos. My sister is a photographer, and she is a great inspiration and mentor to me when it comes to both photography and other things in life. But yeah, for Instagram I’ve been using my iPhone 4, but I recently updated to an iPhone 5s. I have a Fujifilm XE-1 as well, a great and handy little thing. The photos I take with that one end up on my photo blog (mysummerheart.tumblr.com) together with some of my iPhone photos.
7. Just from observing your Instagram, I almost feel a complete connection between your use of imagery and the sound you produce - do you draw most of your inspiration from your surroundings?
Actually, I think a lot of my inspiration comes from inside my head. Sometimes I just get very inspired for no obvious reason other than having a good feeling going on inside, and that is a great thing. Nice weather, or other forms of art like photography and literature also inspire me a lot. My surroundings can be a source of inspiration from time to time as well. I love to travel to new places, I love to visit the beach, and big cities are inspiring as well.
8. You have a long flight ahead of you - what will you be listening to while traveling to Austin?
To get into the right mood I will be listening to some of my favourite summer hits.
Listen to the playlist he curated for Let Your Ears Decide below!
Listen to the playlist he curated for Let Your Ears Decide below!
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