INDIGO EYES
I am beyond honoured to feature Indigo Eyes as my first ever exclusive interview on my website. 15 millions streams alone on Spotify and counting and hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners are just a few markers of his success. Here is one of my favourite tracks ever called ‘In My Head’ for your listening pleasure while you sit down with us for a chat about not only his music and success, but the pressures of the music industry and the need to stay on trend for emerging producers.
SS: I'm curious about the origin of your name, Indigo Eyes. Indigo is my favorite color. How did you come up with it?
IE: I love that! Yeah, I think I’ve always gravitated towards colours associated with dusk, like deep oranges or warm reds and blues. I felt like Indigo was a nice combination of all of these colours and almost sounded like it could be a name in itself. I wanted something which would be a bit easier to search up online and a bit more distinctive than just a colour and ‘eyes’ just kinda sounded right, there isn't much of a reason for that part haha!
SS: What inspired you to pursue a career in music? Was there a particular moment or experience that ignited your passion? Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
IE: I think the feeling of leaving a gig is a big reason that drives me to make music every day. It’s always so inspiring to leave a gig after seeing a show which has an emotional impact on you, connected to everyone in the room, and affirmed that you want the opportunity to do that for people too. I snuck into a Martin Garrix show whilst on holiday with my family at the age of 15, and that changed everything for me. I’d always pictured myself being in a band but being lost in a crowd of thousands with these massive emotional house tunes playing around me was amazing.
IE: As for giving up, honestly not really. I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else and there’s nothing I wouldn’t sacrifice to make this work. I really do give everything I have to music, and wouldn’t have it any other way, I really do have the ‘make it or die trying’ mentality when it comes to this.
SS: For me, the club scene and dance floor has always been a safe space for self-expression and meeting lifelong friends and introducing me to new music. Giving back to that community is what inspired me. Do you have any similar meaningful connections to music? Could you tell me about your first exposure to electronic/indie house music? How did it influence your journey as a producer? What do you want people to feel when they listen to your music?
IE: I completely agree. It’s always hit or miss with the gig scene whether you’re going to turn up and find a stand-off-ish crowd or a welcoming, ‘happy to be there’ crowd. There’s a few artists who have an audience I can always trust to be the latter. Some that come to mind are Salute, Barry Can’t Swim and SG Lewis. I think it’s because their music is so welcoming and vulnerable in itself. You can almost hear who the producer is through the music, without their voice or even any lyrics a lot of the time. They choose chords and sound types which bring out such a unique emotional and I try and do the same with my music. It’s so amazing to connect with an audience in this way and honestly all I want is to make songs that strike some kind of nostalgic emotional chord whilst making you want to be in a club at 3am.
SS: One thing I want people to take away from this is your consistency! Each track is so spot on, clean, and frankly - a hit! No matter the mood I’m in there's a track for that. Your production style on 'All Eyes on You' ‘Jaded’ “Cross Your Mind” and “Like That” is polished and dynamic. Can you share a bit about your approach to production and how you achieve such a polished and consistent sound?
IE: Thank you!! My philosophy is to take very few parts but polish them into gems. I don’t like overloading an instrumental with 100 drum stems and layering a synth 20 times, I’d rather have only a few of each and make sure they’re perfect on their own and all serve a purpose.
SS: Can you share what it has been like collaborating with Georgie O'Brien on your recent songs? I'm genuinely obsessed with the magic you two create together that comes so naturally. What unique aspects does Georgie bring to the table creatively that makes you work with her time and time again?
IE: I’ve known Georgie for a long time now, coming up on 4 years. I think there’s a few reasons we work together so much. Firstly, we get on really well, which makes writings sessions fun and easy. There isn't a massive pressure to leave the room with the best song we could ever make between us as we know we’ll see each other again, whereas sometimes in a one-off session with an artist you've never met before there’s. pressure to really make the most of the limited hours you have together which can actually detract from the authenticity of what you’re making. Secondly, she sounds amazing on electronic records. Georgie has a very captivating and pure voice which she can strip down for softer tones or bring out a sassy / in your face feel if the track needs it. Lastly, we both are good at hyping each other up, reassuring each other that what we’re making doesn’t such completely, which sounds like a bit of a joke but is actually important to avoid abandoning ideas too early or giving up when something isn't quite right.
SS: The track 'Walls Are Way Too Thin' is a clear example of your artistic vision - while it also suggests a sense of exposure or transparency. What made you choose to rework it?
IE: I love everything Holly Humberstone does, but especially that track. I wanted to take it even further into a late-night feel and darker mood, full of soft synths and falsetto. I always think that it’s a great track to fall asleep (in a good way haha)!
SS: Haha I completely agree! It is definitely sedative!
Reflecting on your career so far, what would you say is your favourite or most memorable experience? Anything that has surprised you that you did not expect?
IE: The first time I played live is a big one, but honestly just the success of some of the tracks I released independently with pretty much no marketing or promotion has been mind-blowing. The success of Jaded caught Georgie and I very off guard. I made the instrumental in a day on my laptop with a pair of broken headphones with a kids sized MIDI keyboard and Georgie wrote the vocals on her first attempt and recorded them on the one of the worst sounding £20 USB microphones I’ve ever heard, not exactly a professional studio recording all in all haha! After a bunch of mixing and a few mastering attempts from engineers we got it sounding good enough to release but never expected it to do what it did. Also, the release of my track ‘All Over Again’ with Kehina (a remix of her original RnB tune) did more for me than I ever thought it would. It led to my first Apple Music Editorial placement, first US primetime radio plays and a bunch more. It’s all been a bit crazy to be honest!
SS: Looking ahead, what can fans expect from your discography in terms of upcoming releases or projects? (sophomore EP??) Are there any collaborations or solo endeavours on the horizon that you're particularly excited about sharing with your audience?
IE: There’s not much I can say regarding collaborations currently but there is a lot on the way! My sophomore EP is very much not the only thing I’m releasing this year. It’s going to be a big summer is all I’ll say for the minute!
SS: Whose career would you most like to emulate? I read Salute was a big inspiration for you previously - is there anyone else who inspired your upcoming EP?
IE: Definitely Salute but also SG Lewis, his ability to make amazing solo music and the also be one of the bigger producers behind the scenes for chart-topping artists is pretty inspiring.
SS: If you could live anywhere in the world – where would it be and why?
IE: Honestly Edinburgh. I’m coming out the other end of having a year living there for a bit of a change and I could definitely see myself coming back here again in the future. It’s such a beautiful city, even if it does rain half the year aha!
SS: We spoke previously about the pressures of keeping up to trend while staying true to yourself. How do you find that balance to avoid burning out?
IE: It’s still something I struggle a lot with, it's not easy, especially with the unbelievable amount of content posted each and every day by creative people. It’s also hard, but important I think, to avoid the trap of releasing songs when they only have a good 15-30 seconds in them which may or may not go viral on social media. It’s still so important to make great music, and I think in the long term that carries you further than any brief moment of [going viral] will.
SS: What advice do you have for those people that are starting out in this industry and have self-doubt?
IE: Make music as much as humanly possible. Even if it's really bad. I can’t tell you how un-listenable my first hundred or so tracks were. It’s also important to remember that no one owes you a listen, you need to make something good enough that they can't ignore it not just something you feel that they should listen to simply because you made it.
For more of Indigo Eyes check out his SoundCloud, Instagram and Spotify linked below: