Shadow of Whales is the alternative indie-pop band you didn’t know you needed in your life, but once you give their music a listen, we promise, you’ll be hooked! We sat down with the band to discuss their new single “Runaway” and what their favorite tracks are from their EP What We Do. Check it out:
Hey guys! Congratulations on your new single “Runaway.” We’re playing it a lot over here! Can you tell us about the story behind the song?
Josh: “Runaway” is kind of like a fight song. It’s about acknowledging what is weighing you down, what anchors you have, what you are struggling with and being honest and real about freeing yourself from those anchors and living the way you want to live. Many of us ‘runaways’ face or have faced deep adversities in life and we made this song so no one would have to go through them alone.
The song is from your latest EP What We Do which was released back in August. What kind of response have you been receiving from your fan base?
Chris: Amazing! We have the most supportive and loving fans in the world. We never expect to receive so much positive feedback so honestly, we are incredibly grateful and couldn’t be happier.
When you were making the EP, did you have a specific story in mind that you wanted to string together through the featured songs?
JD: The title and theme of the record came from a lyric in the song “Roots” that says “What matters here is what we do, not where we’ve been.” There are little hints of that same message throughout the album. The idea that you can learn from the past without letting it define you, and that what’s more important than your mistakes is what you choose to do with your life today. It’s too often that we, as people, get in our own way and we just want to encourage our listeners to live their best life and be able to forgive themselves and the people around them. We love our listeners and we want them to love themselves.”
What made this project different from your others?
Caleb: This EP was a lot more collaborative than our first EP, which was comprised of mostly songs that were already done and then we came in together and tweaked them a bit. What We Do started as a lot of song skeletons and we all took a weekend at a cabin out in the middle of nowhere to finish and complete each one of the songs. It was definitely a lot more fun and we’re really happy with how it turned out.
If you had to pick, what would your favorite track from What We Do be?
Jeremy: I’m not sure I can pick a favorite, it changes every day haha. “Runaway” is definitely common, it has a lot of emotion tied to it, even more so than “Talk.” “Roots” and “Animals” are my favorite songs to play as the bass player so I guess I’m a bit bias there. I don’t know, I mean take your pick. All of them.
Tell us a little bit about how you guys became a band.
JD: All of us knew Josh in one way or another. I met him through school, Jeremy met him through Church, Chris met him through work and Caleb is related to him. Josh and Caleb were starting a new project so they sort of handpicked everybody they wanted.
Who are your musical influences?
Josh: Switchfoot, The Killers and Relient K I think are a constant inspiration for all of us. Beyond that we have a really wide array of different influences.
Can we expect to see you touring in 2018?
Jeremy: No comment ;).
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