Video Premiere: Sleep Still – Headrush

LA’s Sleep Still have got these studios abuzz in the last three weeks. The torrid debut single is instantly catchy, with layers of luscious guitar, overlaid by rich and sweet vocal harmonies from guitarist Scott Whelan (previously known for his work with metal core band Haste the Day) and keyboardist Mariam McCarthy (known to our listeners for her work with Detroit dream poppers Los Detroit). A capable rhythm section from bassist Kelly Ehrenberg and drummer John Chong keeps the affair well grounded, and this cocktail is mixed to perfection. I’ve said it in private conversation, I’ll put it in print, because it surely applies here: I love it when adults make music. There’s no affect here, just soaring melody and plaintive voice, and that whirlwind will carry you away before you even realize you’re caught up in its thrall.
We’re thrilled to present the video premiere from Sleep Still. We asked a bit about the band, and the sonic whirl they create, so read on below!

DKFM: This is gold. But seemingly arrived from nowhere, with no warning, in an LA scene that thrives on reputation and back catalogue. How did this group come together, and plant this flag, especially when the two of you come from such disparate musical backgrounds?
Mariam: Part one, The “how we met” story: Scott and I met through his brother and sister-in-law, also friends of mine, and musicians at Silver Lake Community Church. I’m the Music Director there, and when I was in labor with my daughter, Scott covered for me. We started talking about our recent backgrounds in music, mine leaning towards dream-pop (Silent Violet) and dream-gaze (Los Detroit), his background in metal core (Haste The Day), but we found that we were headed in the same direction in the kind of music we wanted to create.
Part two, we are both writers and wondered if the collaboration between each other would click, and we got pretty lucky! The other philosophy that we had in common is that we wanted to write and perform music that meant something to us, further meaning, if we wrote something that sounded nostalgic from another inspirational source, we didn’t judge ourselves for that, we jumped in to the wave of what was flowing out of us and refined things from there. And I think that’s pretty wonderful, because we both love what we are doing without this dogmatic approach to being more experimental or creating this new alien sound that everyone would gravitate towards. We felt a bit selfish in the sense that we loved the music and almost didn’t care if it wasn’t well received, We were excited about our love for what was happening in the writing at that moment. We also discovered that we were both in a season of life where we were heavily affected by what was going on in our subconscious states concerning rest- dreaming, lack of sleep, sleep conditions, hence the name of our project.
Scott:​ A lot of times people are surprised or thrown when they learn about my background in metal/hardcore music. I played in a metal band and that music resonated with me for a time and still can, but really my background in music is a lot more shared with Mariam than it is disparate. I’ve been really shaped by my early influences in punk music, alternative, indie rock, 80’s new wave, 90’s shoegaze, folk music etc. I think we always sensed we had some shared musical DNA and it feels good to be connecting in that way vs. staying stuck in the narrow Metal world.
DKFM: Tell us about the rest of the cast, and how you came together?
​Mariam: I brought on Kelly Ehrenberg, bassist, we had the Detroit music connection in common. Scott brought in Phil Schorr for additional guitar parts, Phil brought in drummer, John Chong. So again, everything happened very organically. We really didn’t have to struggle to find talented fits who loved the music and wanted in. Kelly is traveling for the summer and we have Chris Kellogg filling in, he’s also exceptionally talented.
DKFM: Those choruses, your two voices melding exquisitely… any artists you’ve looked to to inspire this impressive sonic imprint?
Scott​: Our voices have always blended pretty naturally, which I think was one of the things that helped us narrow down our style. We never wanted to be associated with the guy/girl married couple pop folk scene or anything close to that. So instead we really wanted to use our voices to blend almost as one instrument to add to the overall aesthetic. Some bands that have inspired that vocal blend are Slowdive, The Raveonettes, and Minor Alps.
DKFM: Tell us about the making of the video.
Scott​: My good friend Joe Lengson is an amazingly creative cinematographer, photographer, musician and everything else. He used to tour with me back in our “metal days” and is the only friend I have from that time who lives in LA. He did the video for us where we basically just played the song live a bunch and then rehearsed for a show we had in LA, so it was basically a rehearsal for us while he worked some magic. I love how he was able to take such a simple space (us playing in an old LA church) and make it so compelling and trippy aesthetically. We had fun and are thankful to collaborate with such a genuine and creative friend.
DKFM: There’s more than a single here, we’re already playing the follow-up. Part of a forthcoming album, or…? And can a tour be far behind?
Scott: Right now we have plans to finish a six-song EP and are hoping to release that this year. We’re doing things two songs at a time right now and releasing them as singles periodically. We’re really excited to get back into the studio to record our title track, “Sleep Still”, this summer. It’s fuzzy and swirly, and really emotional actually. Along with that we’re booking shows in LA and continuing to write new material.
DKFM: Forgive the hyperbole, but… there’s a care in the construction, layering and production of this first single. Tightly focused, compelling chorus, layers of complementary guitar. A great deal of care went into making “Headrush” SHINE. Talk a bit about how your previous musical experience was brought to bear here, and how you approach the composition and production process?
Scott: Thank you for your kind words. The writing of this song was definitely a process and a learning curve. We were developing our dynamic together and naturally allowing ourselves to find our direction musically. Writing and recording this song was an exciting time of experimenting with tones, buying new pedals and instruments, compiling and discussing the music that inspired us most and really diving into that creative process to find where we were headed.
My approach tends to be an unconscious one. I fill and surround myself with input and art that connects with me deeply or aesthetically and then start creating out of that place, then later look back and gain perspective. My vision for this song was to create a soundscape, intricate blend of guitars and synths, sporadic, even manic drums, really driving bass then contrasted with really airy, melancholy vocals. I guess that’s what a “headrush” is, when everything feels fast and slow at the same time. I love recording, and the flow that comes with it. Our engineer Jeff Darcy did an amazing job of capturing what we did, I think I Probably laid down 20+ guitar tracks.
Looking back, I think this song really beautifully captures the feeling of coming out of the past and embracing something new and inspiring. The song somehow feels very nostalgic at the same time so I don’t know, I think I’m still learning a lot about myself through this song.
DKFM: Finally, anything else you’d like our audience to know about Sleep Still?
Scott​: For a while we said our name should be “He’s not my husband, she’s not my wife”, because we did not want to be associated with that married-couple-folk-singer-band thing. So for the record, we are not married. Our collaborative writing process does draw deep connections though, and we hope Sleep Still is a band that can really draw deep, even unconscious emotions out of people in a healing way.

The next live showcase for Sleep Still launches June 3rd at The Satellite in LA. Grab tickets and details here, or if you prefer to track through Facebook, check the event page here. Follow Sleep Still on Facebook and Instagram, and if you’re a Spotify person, stay up to date here.