Introducing #157 - Circumnavigate
To celebrate the release of their beautiful single, ‘Shy Love’ we ran some questions by London based dream-pop quartet, Circumnavigate, to get to know the people behind the music a little better.
Hi Circumnavigate, could you introduce yourselves to our readers?
Hey guys, we’re Circumnavigate; A dream-pop band originating from Norway, now living in London! A four piece comprising of Sigrid on vocals, Ross on drums and BV’s, Charlie on Bass and Josh on keys, we love creating beautiful soundscapes with pop elements, similar to artists like Bon Iver, Aurora & Oh Wonder.
How have you been keeping busy and motivated during lockdown?
We’ve surprisingly found lockdown very productive; We’ve had a lot of time to really focus on the project and steadily build a great team around us, whilst writing some of the best music we’ve ever created (in our opinion)!
It’s pushed us to write remotely and experiment with sounds a bit more with lack of organic instruments or studios; We’d explored this a little before back in 2017 when we recorded our album between Oslo & London, but now we feel like we’ve really gotten into our groove with it and it’s kind of helped define our new soundscape and direction.
We’ve also been working with some great sync agents who we’ve been writing with for film & TV briefs which is great fun!
In May you released ‘Layer You Up’ marking your first single of the year and your first release since your 2017 debut album, ‘When World’s Collide’. What’s changed for you as an outfit since then?
After the album, we took some time out to re-evaluate where we wanted the project to go; It was actually quite a challenging period for us with indie-label politics - the album took quite a while to push over the line, but we’re super happy we got it there. We then parted ways with said label and became indie artists once again - it felt very freeing and a breath of fresh air for the project.
All members of the band play in a session capacity for some well known artists, so we spent a year or so performing with & touring the world with them.
In 2019, our long term member and Circumnavigate founder (along with Sigrid), Carl-Frederik, decided to step down as a full time active member of the band, so in his honour we decided to release an old cover we had done of The Cinematic Orchestra’s ‘To Build a Home’; This was a great decision for us and actually kickstarted the band into gear again. It has since been streamed more than 400,000 times.
Josh Curtis, who had been playing for us in a session capacity throughout 2019, joined the band in early 2020 and we started to work on the new sound you hear in ‘Layer You Up’ and now ‘Shy Love’. We’re very excited to see what the future holds and we’re very lucky to have him as part of team Circumnavigate.
Your new single ‘Shy Love’ is out now, can you tell us more about the ideas behind the track?
‘Shy Love’ is about that unspoken infatuation or crush someone has for another; It’s that stage when you know you both like each other but neither dare to make the first move.
With two single releases already under your belts this year, are we right to expect an EP/Album in the near future?
You are not wrong 😊 We are working towards an EP which has a planned release date in 2021 and both of these tracks will feature.
How would you describe your music?
We would describe it as a blend between pop, atmospheric indie and melancholic Scandi sounds; There is always a bit of playfulness and then some cinematic nature to it.
Each song has it’s own energy in terms of what we visualise whilst making it. With ‘Layer You Up’ we imagined the comforting, wet and wild mountains of Norway whilst ‘Shy Love’ reminds us of spending the summer by the seaside in Norway and how the sun reflects on the ocean. Warm and content.
Essentially, we love to create emotive, dream-like soundscapes, but still maintaining that pop element of a hook or catchy chorus. Think Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, Aurora, Oh Wonder etc.
You’re currently based in London like us, but originate from Oslo. What are some good things to do for fun in Oslo?
Well, now during summer there are loads of things to do there. It’s my (Sigrid) favourite season in Norway in general. I would recommend taking one of the ferries out to one of the islands. Bring some food and drinks and some swimming attire and spend the day there. You can also go hiking or orienteering in the surrounding forests. Last year I went to this cabin/B&B in the Oslo forest called Kikut. It’s a lovely hike and such a nice calm atmosphere there during summer. Any pub by the seaside is also lovely. And I can also recommend either taking a sauna in a hut on the sea and go swimming from the docks.
What kind of things inspire you outside of music?
We’re all very social beings, so I think friends and relationships are a big inspiration for us. We are also all very active, so sports and nature play a huge factor.
What’s next for you guys? Will you be hitting the gig circuit as soon as things are up and running again?
We cannot wait to gig again! As soon as it’s safe, we’re planning a headline show in Oslo and potentially one in London! We are also regulars on the Sofar Sounds circuit and we can’t wait to get back to that organic acoustic style show once again
Interview by Karla Harris
Circumnavigate’s ’Shy Love’ is out now and available to stream below!