Crafting lush and evocative sounds on debut album Sorry Like You Mean It.

Drawing from personal experiences and universal themes, HONEYMOAN delves into the complexities of love, relationships, and self-discovery. In anticipation of their debut album Sorry Like You Mean It South African indie-pop band HONEYMOAN opens up to us about their creative journey.

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your upcoming debut album 'Sorry Like You Mean It'? 

We were inspired by a lot of little things over the course of the nearly two years it took to write. Some of Ali’s relationships, emigrating from Cape Town to London post pandemic, trying to have a good time even when life feels hard.

How would you describe the overall sound and style of the album?

Large and lush! We explored some new territories on many of the tracks like have a string quartet on one track or getting a virtuosic jazz key player friend of ours to come into the studio and play around on synth (she also recorded flute!) so we have some new colours on this record for sure. We stick to a lot of the Honeymoan tropes though basically just very large sexy choruses.

The press release mentions that the album covers various themes related to love and relationships. Could you delve deeper into some of the specific themes explored in the songs?

The love themes on this album explore more some of the shadow sides of love, the painful by-products of love. Watching a partner engage in self-destruction and not being open to changing their ways, or dealing with the confusing emotions of simultaneous love and anger when a partner cheats. Love simultaneously the most banal and most interesting subject matter to explore in art and we are drawn to it again and again. 

Could you talk about the songwriting process behind 'We're On An Island, But It's The UK' and how it came together?

We wrote this song in Cape Town on a writing trip last year during many conversations about our new home. Skye came up with this fun and light hearted guitar riff that sounded like the theme to a tropical beach holiday, as the song progressed we concluded that it WAS the theme to a beach holiday, however the beach was a grey, pebbled and on the coast of the UK. The lyrics of the song talk about how we are all capable of shaping our experience of reality and how we often chose a more comfortable perspective, shirking responsibility for the things we don’t like in our lives. Josh leant into a 80s New Wave feel with the production and calls the track “an ode to indie pop with a twist”.

The press release mentions that the band's sound combines elements of pop and rock. How do you navigate between these genres and create a cohesive sound?

There’s often a bit of a power struggle in the studio with Skye pushing for a more rock and progressive sound, and Josh loving to indulge his pop sensibilities, Ali plays the referee in times like these. Ultimately we want what’s best for the song and have small enough egos to be open to that being a priority regardless. There is something special that happens when the three of us sit down to write a song. All our diverse tastes and song writing proclivities somehow end up sounding good; that regularly surprises us. We’re glad it comes across as cohesive!

Can you discuss the role of producer Josh Berry in shaping the band's sound and the overall production of the album?

Josh is a production wizard who is so committed to his craft. He’s pushed us to pursue a bigger, more electronic, experimental sound. He has a very recognisable production style and way of processing guitars in particular, our bass tone is something we often get comments on and that’s all Josh!

How important was it for you to ensure that the songs on the album can stand on their own, even when stripped down to just guitar and vocals?

Super important. We felt like we’ve fallen into the trap before of relying too heavily on the production to make the song sounds cool. We really wanted to approach these songs from a more simplistic perspective and make sure that stripped down the songs were still good. We started with just guitar and vocals and built each song up from there trying to be intentional about additional sounds.

What was the biggest challenge you faced during the creation of the album, and how did you overcome it? 

We wrote this album over the span of about two years. We started in 2020 during the pandemic when we were all in Cape Town; Ali got stuck there in the lockdowns which kind of worked out well for us as a band haha. When we thought we’d finished the album and were in the process of shopping around for release partners we had some time to let the tracks rest a bit. On returning to the records some months later we realised many of the songs weren’t quite as strong as we had previously thought and recognised that we may have rushed the process a bit to get it all done before Ali left when things opened up again. This was a bit of a difficult thing to embrace but ultimately paid off. We had the opportunity to meet in Cape Town again and wrote a bunch of new songs that ended up pumping a few of the weaker ones off the list. We learned to much during this process and ultimately refined our skills of discernment when it comes to quality, we’ve become kind of brutal now, in a good way.

With the upcoming UK & EU tour, how does it feel to see your music resonate emotionally with audiences and have a growing fan base?

It feels so great. It’s always a bit of a trip meeting people at shows that love our songs. It’s so easy to feel isolated and disconnected from your audience or like you’re creating in a vacuum so it’s a real privilege to have the opportunity to connect with our audience.

Are there any particular songs from the album that you're most excited to perform live during the tour?

We can’t wait to perform the whole album especially ‘We’re on an Island but it’s the UK’ it’s just such a fun song.

How do you approach translating the energy and dynamics of your recorded songs into a live performance?

This is something we’re still figuring out to be honest. We’re on a journey to discover the best way to communicate our songs live and we’re embracing all the learning curves that comes with that. We’ve performed with tracks and entirely live before; each comes with its pros and cons. Regardless of the set up we just love to have a good time on stage and bring a lot of energy.

Can you share any memorable moments or encounters with fans that have touched you during your journey as a band?

We’ve had loads of encounters with fans sharing very intimate personal details about their struggles with mental health and how our songs have helped them through difficult times. It’s a great reminder that when you put art into the world it ceased being yours and takes on new life in the hearts and minds of those who come into contact with it. So beautiful when that happens.

Looking back at your musical journey so far, how do you feel you've evolved as a band and what can we expect from HONEYMOAN in the future?

We’ve grown so much as songwriters over the years and learned how to play to our strengths. We’re just getting started. We’re always writing and refining. We have big plans, for big sounds!

What do you love right now?

That soon we’ll all be based in London. Josh is the final piece of the puzzle he’s been in Cape Town while Skye and Ali have been in London for nearly two years now. We get so much writing done when we’re together it feels so good.

What do you hate right now?

The many challenges of making music in a world that often doesn’t seem to value it very much. 

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

Josh – Wet Leg by Wet Leg: because I’m still young and nobody can tell me otherwise.

Skye – Morning View by Incubus: because I learned a lot of the songs on guitar instead of practicing what my teacher wanted me to

Ali – Amnesiac by Radiohead: Because it’s actually an emo record and I was a very emo teen, it made me feel stuff haha.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Get your tickets to our live shows in October halloooooo!!!!!