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Michael Clifford is not any stranger to arenas filled with screaming followers as a member of 5 Seconds of Summer season, however he’s now venturing into the uncharted territory of solo artistry along with his debut album SIDEQUEST. The guitarist-turned-frontman caught up with Kyle Meredith to speak about how the file got here to be, the enjoyment and nervousness that got here with doing it alone, and the way changing into a father restructured his inventive compass. Hear above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Whereas SIDEQUEST is actually a departure from 5SOS’s collective sound, Clifford doesn’t go full scorched earth. “My DNA is at all times going to be in there as this child who grew up listening to emo,” he admits. However as an alternative of banking on nostalgia, he chased one thing extra elusive: the feeling of listening to one thing for the primary time. “Watching my daughter uncover issues type of unjaded me,” he says. “It made me need to inject that into my music.”
That strategy echoes on tracks like “KMFA,” a totally fleshed-out music that’s conspicuously lacking a beat. “There’s simply this chunk that’s lacking,” Clifford says of the no-drums experiment. “And I like that feeling — like, ‘Why didn’t he add drums?’”
That childlike unpredictability permeates SIDEQUEST, particularly in songs like “Eclipse,” a chaotic however emotional finale that Clifford says is structured to imitate the rollercoaster of parenthood. “You don’t know the construction of the music,” he explains. “It may very well be loud noise out of nowhere. It may very well be silence. I needed it to really feel like something might occur at any second.” He additionally breaks the fourth wall lyrically all through the album, referencing his personal fame and band historical past in ways in which solely he might: “No one else is gonna have the ability to say, ‘I’m the man who caught hearth with the coloured hair within the band about underwear.’” No arguments there.
Hearken to Michael Clifford discuss SIDEQUEST, solo vulnerability, and extra within the new episode above or by watching the video under. Sustain on all the newest episodes by following Kyle Meredith With… in your favourite podcast platform; plus, take a look at all of the collection on the Consequence Podcast Community.
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