INTRO BY KAT VISTI
INTERVIEW BY CAMI LIBERTY
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHIPS HAVE SAILED
LA-based band Ships Have Sailed recently released their latest single entitled "Let's Just Dance" along with a music video for the song (The song is incredible and we highly recommend it). Vocalist Will Carpenter explains that the track is about always wanting more no matter what you already have. We sat down with Will to learn more about the song, the music video, and what the band wants to do next.
You recently released your new single Let’s Just Dance. Can you describe how the song makes you feel in three words?
WILL: "Nostalgic, exuberant, hopeful."
You have also released a music video to go along with it, which features a group of teenagers fresh out of high school wanting to spend their last summer before college together. How did this concept come about?
WILL: "Throughout the process of creating the song and the video I've been embracing the contributions of the collaborators I've had the pleasure of working with. When I reached out to Michael and Jaala (TalkboyTV) about shooting the video, I think I did have a rough concept that I pitched them, but honestly I don't even remember what it was. They listened to the song, and sent back an incredible narrative treatment that spoke instantly to what the song was about, but from a completely different angle than what I had originally imagined. The imagery and the emotive moments that they created were so potent that I immediately was drawn to the idea, and so that's the direction we went. I honestly couldn't be happier with how the video turned out!"
Where did the initial inspiration for the song come from?
WILL: "Well the first part of the chorus just popped into my head one night around 2am when I was trying to sleep. The idea was just kinda repeating itself over and over and I couldn't sleep, so I went into the studio and sketched it out enough so my mind would let it go and I could get some rest...I revisited it the next day and realized the idea was really good, so I fleshed out the chorus. When I got to the verses though, I kept kind of coming up short, so I decided to bring in a friend who also happens to be a great songwriter, his name is Robert Gillies, and we just started chatting...next thing we knew the verses were done! It was a really cool process actually, the song started out a little vapid, just a hooky love song initially, and as we continued to create it we realized there was a depth there that was a little unexpected, and it's just kept growing on me ever since!"
What do you hope people take from your music when they listen?
WILL: "Positivity and hope above anything else. I think the world needs as much positive energy as it can get...both in general and also in this specific time we're living through, and so I like to encapsulate that in our music. That's not to say we don't have some melancholy stuff as well, because we definitely do, but I like to temper the melancholy with hope, because without hope, what do you really have?"
Is there anything else coming up in the future that we can expect?
WILL: "We will largely be sticking close to the studio this year, and just trying to create. We aren't sure at this point whether we're creating just more songs, or maybe an EP or album...I kinda like to let things materialize naturally, but there is definitely more music on the horizon, whatever form that takes!"
