INTERVIEW: ALEXANDER BIGGS AND THE FEELINGS BEHIND ‘HIT OR MISS’

Melbourne creative Alexander Biggs has released his debut album ‘Hit or Miss'. The album is about hanging onto the idea of someone after they’ve left the room like you’re hanging onto their ghost or a husk like a cicada—all the insides gone, taken off, old here and new somewhere else—like an outline of dust in a roadrunner cartoon. Our girl Kayla chatted to him all things Biggs.

---

You’re quite well known for these incredibly distinct, almost poignant emotive songs - ones of which resonate deeply with many people. How do you find that your musics ability to touch so many people has influenced the manifestation of the themes present within your songs?

I try not to think too much about anyone else’s perception of my music. I remember a time when I was like, 19, playing the first kind of iteration of my project, like the very raw, beginner phase of figuring out what you’re going to sound like, and how to write songs, and someone telling me I reminded them of Death Cab, and I didn’t know any of their music, except that one song, so I looked it and then found myself emulating them, and I don’t even think I was the biggest fan at the time. I’m not saying I’d do that now, but I know that feeling now, and I know how you can take your own agency away when you worry about what others think about you, well-meaning or not.

Do you find you often write to appeal to the emotions of your listeners or are these songs truly written on the basis of your own experiences and emotive forethought?

I write solely to explore what I want to explore and to channel what I want to channel. I think there is a desire to connect with people, maybe offer a feeling of our shared experience, but I don’t let that come first, that comes after the fact. I write the songs because I’m compelled to, and they resonate second. I can only write from that experience.

In a 2018 interview - you’re quoted as saying “Melbourne is an inspiring place to live” have you taken inspiration for your new album release from any local talent, locations or occurrences that your listeners mightn’t have caught in your album’s musings?

Nah, I don’t look out at people like that. I appreciate Melbourne artists, any artists, for the unique things they bring to the table, their voices. I think Melbourne is imprinted heavily in my songs, but maybe more in just a personal sense. Songs translate to many locations, but in my mind I see where I was, or where I’m singing about. The new stuff I’m writing has a lot more of a city feel to it with a hint of northern suburbs. The stuff on Hit or Miss feels 90 percent northern suburbs, 10 percent NYC.

You have been a support act for some incredibly talented artists like Stella Donnelly and Julien Baker. If you could pick anyone in the industry to support (past artists included) who would absolutely make your lifetime if they asked you to support them?

I’m really hoping Ruby Gill takes me touring the world with her when she gets famous.

Your discography has a really consistent sound and tone - often as listeners we assume that your album release has direct connotations to your emotional state at the time of writing and it definitely has an almost cathartic feel to it - talk us through the process and feelings behind ‘Hit or Miss’.

The process was a whole bunch of recording, a whole bunch of feeling things, and a whole bunch of stressing about it.

How does it make you feel as a musician to know that people all over the world are listening to your music?

It’s neat to think people around the world are listening to my music. It’s a privilege, but one I don’t think about too much.

If you could think of any scenario or location in which you think your album is best listened to what would that look like? (for example I could definitely see myself crying into a tub of ice cream listening to ‘mostly i feel nothing’ haha)

I think it’s a headphone-walk kind of album. Walk around your neighbourhood at dusk. That’s the mood.

What can we expect from you in future? Are you ever tempted to produce collaborations or experiment with new genres?

Ummmm, I’m really interested in synths and euclidean rhythms but I’m not sure how much they’ll feature in the next stuff. Still exploring. Well, synths are involved a little, but I’m not going full radiohead or anything. They have such distinct characters and feelings, which I feel helped a lot when used sparingly in the last stuff. I’d like to turn it up a notch maybe.

Writing an album can be quite the process - did the songs on ‘Hit or Miss’ come to you over a length of time or did you smash it out and work on the production side of things more?

Hit or Miss was an ever-evolving process. It had so many different iterations, and a lot of songs got bumped out for others. I think it took a lot of time because it hadn’t yet arrived, and then one day it did, and it felt right.

Do you fear being pigeonholed to one type of genre or do you feel as though your current releases are the most authentic reflection of your past, present, and future self?

Yeah, I mean, most artists in my experience don’t like that. The amount times I get put in some, surf chill coffee strum playlist is a little annoying but I’m also grateful, and at the end of the day, you can’t choose who listens to you. I think any of the people I look up to or that my ego would want to be validated by would think my record was trash or trite or something haha

Music often provokes a feeling of nostalgia or provokes emotion tied to events in one’s life. Do you find that performing songs consistently stops this from occurring for you, or if anything does it make you remember events, feelings etc more vividly?

Maybe at first. I get tired of songs sometimes, but I’d say the feeling just develops and evolves into something else. It’s like looking at old photos—they still do something to you, but it’s not the same as being there. Probably for the best.

How has the response to your new album been so far? Is this what you expected or has it exceeded your expectations?

It’s been nice. I didn’t really know what to expect so I just take it day by day.

Congratulations on a super great album it’ll definitely be getting a ton of listens from me!

Thanks :)

'Hit or Miss' is OUT NOW

FOLLOW ALEXANDER BIGGS
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
APPLE MUSIC | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP | SOUNDCLOUD

FEATURE: EVIE CHATS TO BEC SYKES ON EDITHVALE AND GIVES US HER RUNDOWN ON THE SINGLE

Every so often you hear a song that completely transports you to somewhere else. It is engulfing, wholesome, and wounding all at the same time. It is that final puzzle piece that makes the end of a relationship make so much sense. It is a memory.

Yet Bec Syke’s debut single, whilst seemingly relatable in so many ways, captures a time unique to the beholder. Through the simplistic beauty of stripped-back melodic vocals, Melbourne based singer-songwriter shares Edithvale, a story about the end to a relationship realised by the torching of a car.

“My ex-boyfriend [and I] used to drive down to Edithvale beach in summer,” Bec says. “My ex’s car got stolen and set on fire just after we broke up, so I was thinking about how much of our relationship took place in his car. The car being set on fire was like a symbol of our relationship going up in flames.”

Symbolic to its core, Bec explains the how writing process came to her organically.
“I wrote the song on my family’s upright piano and the chords, melody and first few lines poured out of me so naturally. It was quite cathartic to write.”

The sombre piano chords Bec describes initially set the tone for the song, but it is her opening vocals which induce multiple emotions, many of which I was not prepared for…

I want to be in love again. I don’t want to be friends

It is that line – honest and raw – which takes the listener on a journey told from the front seat of a car in a hot summer’s night. Whilst the song resonates with the pain of a relationship’s end, it doesn’t simply park in the heartbreak, instead it reflects the complex emotions of happier times.

Bec’s vocals are flawless, her storytelling abilities showcased as she draws her listener in to glimpse a memory with intimate closeness. This song doesn’t include all the flashy bells and whistles- nor does it need to, with vocals as mesmerising as hers.

Although a relative newcomer to the music biz, Bec’s talent scored her the chance to work in the studio with Tom Iansek (Big Scary and #1 Dads) which led to the creation of Edithvale. Recently presented with the Josh Pyke Partnership – a yearly grant whose previous winners include Angie McMahon and Gordi – it is safe to say this artist is making headway in the world of music. Bec Sykes is clearly a name to remember, and I cannot wait to hear what is next in store for her.

FOLLOW BEC SYKES
INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK TRIPLE J UNEARTHED SPOTIFY