Dayglow

Photography by Reagan Gail Struble and Pooneh Ghana (album artwork also by Pooneh). Interview by Heather Hawke.

21-year-old Sloan Struble makes cheerful music under the moniker Dayglow. His new album (Harmony House) is a finely calibrated, carefully fussed over expression of encouragement for anyone who needs it and it’s out now via Sloan’s own Very Nice Records/AWAL. Made entirely on his own in his Austin bedroom, Harmony House is a modern take on the 80’s classics he was inspired by like Whitney Houston, Patti Labelle and Michael McDonald.

Sloan has explained that the sophomore album began as an imaginary sitcom. He’d started writing the music for this new offering after the release of his 2018 debut Fuzzybrain, which he wrote mostly on guitar, and found himself instead drawn to writing for piano. He was also watching a lot of Cheers, the long-running sitcom that took the viewer to a place where, as the theme song goes, “everybody knows your name.” He says that at the start of writing Harmony House he felt like he was writing a soundtrack to a sitcom that didn’t exist. “The music would generate a kind of impossible nostalgia for something that had never been real.”

Much of Harmony House is about growing up and dealing with change and “realizing that change is ok, and it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.” For instance, he wrote the first song he recorded for Harmony House, “Medicine,” while still in his dorm room, but ultimately, he left university and decided to fully commit to being a musician. During this time, he found a collection of poetry in his family’s house that had been a favorite of his great-grandmother’s. One of the lines became a lyric on his favorite song on the album, “December”: “So my friend, just remember every year has a December.” An inscription in the front of the poetry book indicates that it was a gift to his great-grandmother from a friend. “Now the song is a gift to listeners around the world who might need a reminder that change is a necessary part of life’s journey,” he says. 

As much as he appreciates change, he also seeks a stableness in his writing. Take for instance the album opener “Something,” though the track is about the overwhelming experience of contemporary life as it’s lived both digitally and IRL, there’s a recurring melody introduced on that track that appears on every subsequent song. 

Dayglow officially returned to the festival scene playing Lollapalooza for the first time last month. He’s slated to hit the road later this month until the end of October for his first North American tour after his canceled sold out 2020 run. 

Dayglow’s web/socials: Website – Bandcamp – Soundcloud – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter 

Hi! So, things are pretty unsettling in the world due to the pandemic, civil rights issues, government upheaval, climate change, the list goes on… Before we began, how are you doing with everything? How has this last year been for you and how are you feeling? How have you been coping with everything? 

The world is pretty crazy for sure and unsettling at times, but I’m doing really good honestly. My life has been full of love and good people around me– I’ve grown and learned and changed so much this past year and I’d never ask to change that. I feel very excited for the near future!

I feel like the music industry has shifted even more so during the pandemic. How has it felt as an artist? Has it been freeing? Is it scary trying to question how to approach music making and then how to or if you want to creatively release it to the public?

I really try not to worry too much or compare myself to the rest of the “industry.” I really just want to make music that I love and have fun and be proud of what I’m doing. I’m not sure there’s a single scenario that looking for the approval of others really works to satisfy myself. I try to just be confident in what I’m doing, and I love it and have so much fun. I’m really proud of the music I’m making currently.

Going back to the beginning. What was your childhood like growing up in Texas? Did creativity/music/art play a big part of your childhood?  

I love Texas so much. It’s such a diverse place holistically. I grew up in a small town without much art around me, and that challenged me to just really believe in myself and create my own style. I didn’t have anyone else in school around me formulating my taste in music or anything. I had complete freedom to just trust myself and have fun with what I make and to teach myself how to do it all. Growing up in a small town really made me who I am today, I think.

Tell me about your musical upbringing. What music did you grow up listening to? When did you first become aware that music was going to be a part of your life? What was your formal / not formal music education like growing up? 

I grew up listening to a lot of mid 2000’s punk/rock stuff. My older brother mostly listened to that and passed it down to me. I then later started loving “indie” stuff (Passion Pit, MGMT, Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, etc.) I started to love that sound and feeling and made it completely naturally– I try not to force anything in the way I create. As far as music education, I have no idea what I’m doing at all!

Let’s talk about your formative years. What was the very first concert you attended? Did you play any sports / go to summer camps? Were there posers on your wall when you were growing up? 

My first concert was to see OK Go when I was 16. It was mind blowing– such a good show! I kind of played sports, but I’m not very recreationally competitive. I love being active though (running, climbing, camping, etc).

When you were old enough to start seeking out music, where did you regularly find yourself (a certain record store / internet site / getting recommendations from a certain friend)? Who were some of the artists you first found and then were always on the lookout for? 

I freaking love Youtube!

Describe your path to becoming involved with music. What’s your very first earliest musical memory? When was the first time you felt super inspired by music? 

I started making music on Garageband when I was 10 and have been hooked ever since!

Let’s talk about your new sophomore album Harmony House. You’ve said that much of Harmony House is about growing up and coping with change; you left university and decided to fully commit to being a musician. What was your songwriting/creative process like for this? Since it was your sophomore album, did you feel any sort of limitations when writing or recording it? 

I wrote, performed, produced, and mixed all of Harmony House myself. It was so freaking fun to make and really challenged me. I like albums to feel different from one another, and it was fun trying to surprise people who had been waiting for it since Fuzzybrain. I just love making music, and I’m not too concerned about it fitting in to the “current thing”, and I think people really enjoy that integrity and thankfully trust my vision.

At the very beginning of the Harmony House creation process, you felt like you were writing a “soundtrack to a sitcom that didn’t exist” (where the inspiration came from watching a lot of Cheers, the sitcom that took the viewer to a place where, as the theme song suggests, “everybody knows your name.”). What mindset did you have going into the creating / recording process for Harmony House?  Are there any interesting stories about the writing/recordings of the lyrics/music?   

It was a new thing for me to feel like I was being watched. Sitcoms are ironic because they are staged to be ordinary people, typically in a living room or something. People watch them and almost place their own lives in their shoes and place their worries on fictional characters. Being an artist can kind of feel like that, and Harmony House was really therapeutic for me to write through that lens. It inspired me to look at it holistically– sort of like a singular “season” of my life.

You wrote the first song you recorded for Harmony House, “Medicine,” while still in your dorm room. How long was the writing/recording process of Harmony House? Was there an event or a specific timeframe where a large chunk of the lyricism came out? Where were you at physically, mentally when you wrote the (majority) of lyrics/music for Harmony House?

It really was spread out over the past 3 years pretty evenly. I think it’s exciting that people are along for the ride of my career so early on. It allows the listener to basically watch me grow up as I experience new seasons and chunks of life.

I heard that you wrote mostly of Fuzzybrain on guitar, but for Harmony House you decided to write for piano as you found yourself drawn to piano-driven soft rock from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. What was it about the music from those decades that spoke to you and drew you into it?

It was really a new musical challenge, and it felt so fresh to me. It was just such a different feeling and approach to making music, and it was so fun to draw inspiration from.

For Harmony House, like you did on your debut, you wrote, produced, recorded, and mixed all of your music yourself in your bedroom. Did the writing / music creation process change since the last time you worked on music? Is that process something that’s shifted for you over time? 

The process was really the same. I have new toys and gear to make the music with, but the process was still just me sitting in a room and trusting myself to make something good!

Do you find it helpful to be intentional when it comes to writing the lyrics / music? Like “I’m going to sit down and work on a song.” Or is it more ephemeral, like you’ve been kicking something around in your head for days, weeks, months, and then suddenly it comes spilling out? Or is it a mixture of both?

I’d say a mixture of both. More often it is an emotion I’m trying to explain and process, and then it begins to make sense to myself after I make the music.

What was your favorite part about the writing / album creation process? 

Recording all of the synths!

When and how did the album title Harmony House come about in the album creation process? What is the significance of the title? 

I remember thinking of the title one day and just went with it. I actually wrote a cheesy theme song called “Harmony House” that didn’t make the album– I’m sure I’ll release it someday!

From looking at how consistent all of your music videos, artwork, press images, etc. are it seems like you care a lot about how your music is represented… How much energy do you usually put into the visuals that accompany your music? Do you feel like the art that accompanies one’s music is more / less important than it used to be? How do you feel like social media impacts the intention behind all of this?

A lot! I’m a very, very visual person. I went to college majoring in Advertising and Film. I think it’s so important to understand how important it is to have a visual identity. Social Media is a different beast I’m still trying to figure out, but I love making visual stuff.

Does traveling influence you as an artist? Are you inspired by the places you go, or do you think your work would sound about the same no matter where you created it?

I really haven’t gotten to tour too much, so I’m stoked about that in the future! I’m very hyper-inspired though, so I’m sure it’ll impact me.

Have you had any mentors along the way?

I honestly try to just stick with the people that knew me before any of the attention got on me. All of my bandmates are my good friends, and I’ve gotten a lot closer to my family recently. I think they give me the best advice because they have Sloan in mind, not Dayglow. You know?

How do you recalibrate before getting on stage and at the end of the day? How do you get in the correct mindset?

I pray often and try to get off my phone as much as possible. I also love to just sit with people I love and talk and laugh!