The UK native’s recently released EP, Suffocation & Air, is a beautiful composition of sultry, smooth vocals with hypnotic instrumentation that will take you through a journey of self-reflection and self-acceptance. Produced completely by the artist, I had a chance to talk to Treasure about his songwriting process, his journey as an artist, and everything in between. Read the full interview below.
I saw that you recently changed your name to Treasure. What was the reason behind that?
I started off as Only Losers Win Happily, or Olwh. I felt like with Olwh I went in a completely different direction than where I wanted to go. I learned so much more about recording after going to Uni and about writing songs. I wanted to channel that into a bigger, better project. I still use Olwh, but, instead, that’s going to be my new label.
You’ve mentioned in other interviews that you have major influences from artists such as Homeshake and Choker, but would you say that your hometown played a part in creating your sound?
A lot of the music coming out of my hometown is very indie-based. When me and my friends were performing around the live show circuit, there would be a lot of guitar-based music. And, throughout a lot of the music I released in the past, this current project, and the music I’m gonna release in the future; the main thing that brings it altogether is that I’m playing guitar on the track. So, yeah, it did influence me.
How old were you when you learned to play the guitar?
I was about 12 years old when I begged my father to buy me an acoustic guitar. I’m still using the same guitar.
I also learned that you moved from Northwest London to the countryside. If you hadn’t made that move with your family do you think you have your sound would be different?
Completely different. I was working with a few artists from Northwest London about two years ago, and their sound was a lot more urban. It had a lot more UK rap influence. Moving to the serene countryside, there was a lot more folk-y music.
Would you ever move back to London, or do you think the countryside is where you’d stay?
I don’t think I like the busy-ness of London. I live in a place where it only takes me 25 minutes to go to London. But I don’t have that hustle and bustle of the London lifestyle, so I can actually be in a calm headspace. I don’t really see myself moving back to the city anytime soon.
I also learned that you used to play for a metal band. What was the transition from that to your solo project?
I spent from the age of 12 or 13 to about 18, I was playing in a metal band. We played a lot of gigs and released a few small projects. One was called Divergence EP. The band’s name was As You’re Falling, it was a pretty good project. It got to a stage where the lead singer was going off to college, I was about to start full time work, so the band was starting to come apart. I started listening to a lot more R&B, just “simpler” music. I was really inspired by the Odd Future movement but more inspired by Frank Ocean, Steve Lacey. I was drawn to making more music with a jazzy-er tinge, just clean, chorusy guitars. So it took a few good years to make music that I would listen to.
When did you realize that you found your sound?
I’d don’t think I’ll ever realize that. When you come to a place where you’re making music that sounds like you, where you can throw away comparisons, and you can create it from a place that is your own. You’re own song. As opposed to trying to make something that sounds exactly like someone else’s project, I think that’s when you start developing your own sound. I don’t think I’ll ever go to a place where I’d be like “this is my sound”, because I’m always evolving. But I have reached a place where I am comfortable with my songwriting and production techniques.
You do your own production, correct? What’s that process like?
It’s hit or miss, really. With this project, Suffocation & Air, I spent quite a long time… I was going to the gym a lot, I was working on my physical health. Then I’d sit down and come up with some ideas. I can make music very quickly, but in terms of coming up with song ideas and the actual lyrics it takes me a long time because I have to actually feel what I’m saying in order to make it believable to myself. So the process is to create loads and loads of music, find the songs that I really resonate with, and come up with lyrics off the bat of my head. Like a stream of consciousness, really.
When figuring out the track-list of the EP, was there a specific order that you went for or was the way in which the songs flowed into each other what mattered more?
I would say the latter. I made about 18 or 19 different songs. I try to pick some that would fit well together. With the rest of the songs, I turned that into a second project, Suffocation & Air, which will be coming out in August. It’s more upbeat and there’s some featured vocalists as well. What I tried to do was that each song would transition to the next naturally. And, also, it feels like meditation. I start off the track with a bell, and then I introduce the track as if it’s coming to you as opposed to “here’s a song”. I want to take the listener on a journey hence all the transitions and the way the album flows.
What would you say was your favorite song off of Suffocation & Air?
My favorite song, the one that made me feel the most, was “Swim Deep”. I really enjoyed recording the guitar solo. I feel that song more than any other. I really put my heart into that song. I put my heart into every single song, but that song means the most.
Could you tell me a little more about “Swim Deep”? What was the inspiration behind it?
With Suffocation & Air, there’s a lot of juxtaposition in the title itself. So, with “Swim Deep”, I wanted to dive a little more into that juxtaposition. I sing about light and dark, and there’s some social commentary on how we’re always trying to be greater than who we are. I mean, it’s always good to strive for better, but, in our society, we’ve taken that to a new extreme and it’s starting to grate on our mental health.
How does Suffocation & Air differ from your debut self-titled album?
That’s a great question actually. My first album was created in a year, and it was loads of different styles thrown together. Suffocation & Air is just one specific sort of style. It’s very coherent and could be listened from start to finish and realize that it’s the same project. With my first album, Treasure, some of the songs are completely different. For example, “Wish You Were Here” is and R&B song while “I Never Sleep” is a lofi, upbeat, rock-y song.
Would you want to continue making albums based on a specific theme or would you like to have a mix between albums that have the coherent sound and another album that has a different kind of sound to it?
I’d say both. I don’t want to limit myself, But, I would love to create an album like Treasure but in a more coherent way. I feel like with the projects I have coming later I’ll be able to touch on that.
Your final track on Suffocation & Air, “Feeling Like I’m Not Worth a Thing” is almost completely instrumental. What was the reason behind that?
It’s almost like “Swim Deep” part 2. I had come back from a gig, I think I went to see Man I Trust somewhere in London. I just kind of felt to myself that “I could be so much more”. But, to calm myself down, I wanted to create a track that was like a meditation. Since that track is instrumental and didn’t have a lot going on, it gives the listener, and myself, personally, time to process what I just heard.
Treasure
