Over these last few years, Canadian outfit Sea Of Lettuce have established themselves as one of the more alluring additions to the indie-rock scene. And after a wave of praise arriving for their recent offerings, they have now returned to deliver their fourth studio album ‘Any Day Now’.
So we decided to catch up with them to find out more about their origins and influences, as well as what else they have planned for the future too.
–
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in music?
Before things got rolling with Sea of Lettuce, we had always been pretty involved with music since we were young. We all learned different instruments as we grew up, and I (Daniel) started messing around with recording on GarageBand when I was about 16 years old. We had even been in bands together throughout middle school, mainly playing cover songs from our favourite bands. In late 2016, our singer Wojtek and myself started writing and recording original material, releasing our first EP on Bandcamp in 2017. Since then we haven’t looked back, and have continued to dive further into our love for music while developing our sound.
Who are your biggest musical influences and how have they shaped your sound?
One of the best parts about making music as a group is that we all bring our own influences into the band, and we are always getting into new artists and genres that can spark the creative process. Some of our favourite artists include classic bands like Pink Floyd or Love, great 90’s artists like Beck or Sublime, and modern musicians including Mac DeMarco and Tame Impala to name a few. Over the years, our stylistic approach to making music has definitely been shaped by these artists and their catalogues. Listening to music is a big part of what keeps our passion for creating it alive, and I find that it’s always important to use that as a source of inspiration and motivation when writing and recording.
Was there a specific moment or experience that made you decide to pursue music seriously?
While we always wanted music to be more than just a passion, it wasn’t until our second album “Photos” that we really started to take things seriously and invest more time into the band. After releasing the album, we worked on promoting our music more and creating content to go along with the release, which helped the lead single “Leave You Alone” begin to spread on social media platforms and streaming services. This was when we started upgrading our production quality, playing more shows, and dedicating more time and focus to maximise the potential of the band.
Can you walk us through your typical songwriting process?
Developing a new song or album usually starts with the instrumental side of things; most of our tracks begin with an idea that comes in the car or on a walk, then gets recorded as a rough voice memo, before finally being developed into a full instrumental over time. I do most of the recording and production, moving from one instrument to the next trying to find different progressions and riffs that fit nicely together. Once the shell of the recording is in place and it sounds like I’ve captured the vibe I’m aiming to create, that’s when I begin to collaborate with Wojtek on the lyrics.
How do you find inspiration for your music and lyrics?
We often try to create stories within the songs, pulling from our personal experiences to craft lyrics that fit with the instrumentals and enhance the overall sound and feel. A lot of the time we already have stories we’ve been wanting to tell or half-developed ideas from the past that we can now expand on with the instrumental giving us some direction. Collaborating on the lyrics is great since we are able to combine our unique inspirations and experiences, and supplement each other’s ideas to get the best final product.
What themes or messages do you hope listeners take away from your music?
Our full discography contains many different themes and messages, but when it comes to our recently released album “Any Day Now”, we hope the listeners resonate with the theme of living in the moment. Across the tracklist, this collection of songs comes with upbeat, beachy instrumentals paired with reflective lyrics that ponder what the future has to offer. While this uncertainty about the future can be scary, the main theme revolves around being grateful for where we currently are and to enjoy the moment, rather than always thinking about what’s next.
What challenges have you faced as an emerging artist in the music industry?
I have found that moving up the music industry ladder from one rung to the next becomes increasingly more difficult as we go on. While it was definitely hard to make a name for ourselves at the start, it always seems to get tougher each step of the way; the music industry is a very competitive landscape, which makes it important to continue sticking out. Finding new ways to market our music so that we stand out is a challenge, but it has helped us learn who our audience is and how to reach them better.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of your musical journey so far?
Seeing the impact that our music can have on other people has always been special and will never get old for us. Whenever we get a message on social media – whether it’s from a long-time fan or someone who just discovered our music – it always feels great to know that we have been a positive influence on their life. Before we started releasing our own music it would have been crazy to imagine our creative work inspiring somebody else, which makes it very rewarding to see it happen now.
How do you stay true to yourself and your artistry in a constantly evolving industry?
The most important thing is to make sure you are always enjoying the process and never losing that inherent drive to create. Making music is still my go-to hobby on any given day, which means that no matter how tough it gets when trying to promote our band or handle the business side of things, making the music always remains fun. Regardless of how the industry moves, we maintain our artistry by finding joy in creating something that is uniquely ours rather than trying to fit in with whatever is popular in the moment.
What can fans expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or tours?
Following the release of our album “Any Day Now” this past June, we will be continuing to promote the project through live performances, engaging with fans online and in-person, as well as developing more music videos, merchandise, and behind the scenes content. We will be touring within Canada and the United States next year to continue promoting this release while beginning to develop new material for the future.
Where do you see yourself and your music career in the next five years?
We hope to see the band reach new heights and spread to new ears, growing to a point where we can happily call this passion our full-time career. Over the course of the next five years we will keep evolving our sound and finding new grooves, so fans can expect a healthy dose of music, shows, and lettuce.
–
Listen to Sea Of Lettuce’s new album ‘Any Day Now’ below.
