Artist Interviews: Summertime’s Latest Single ‘The 20’s’

What is the story behind ‘The 20’s’?

“The main idea was to have the groove as the focus of the song, and everything else was made to fit around that” they state while mentioning the importance of the bass groove. “We jammed it in the band room with just keys, drums and bass and once we had that down we were ready to start running it with a guitar part and vocals.” 

Did you know ‘The 20’s’ was going to be your second single?

Originally, ‘The 20’s’ wasn’t going to be Summertime’s second single, “but it was received so well at our debut gig in July that we decided to begin recording it”. They mention another single called ‘Alone’ that is next on the list of songs to be recorded!

What artists had you all been listening to at the time of making this track? Do you feel they influenced your writing/playing at all?

The band credit Thundercat as a large influence while recording this single, using his recording techniques from ‘Them Changes’ and implementing them into the production for ‘The 20’s’. “George, who wrote the song, was also listening to the Stevie Wonder album, ‘Innervisions’ a lot, which features similar synth bass tones on songs like ‘Too High’ and ‘Living For The City’”. 

What was recording this track like? 

“We had great fun recording this one and there’s a lot that we just threw in the track unplanned. For example, during the synth solo in the instrumental section, there’s a vibraslap which appears once and then never again”. The band talk about small elements such as triangles and arpeggiators appearing in the chorus being completely unplanned, contrasting to the production of their debut single ‘My Strange Addiction’.

What was the songwriting process like?

The track was written by George, “he’d made the bassline and chords on his keyboard, and then put the lyrics to that. From there, everyone else wrote their own parts”. Other elements like the bassline, played by Seb, follow what the keys are doing “but he still has his times to shine in the verses!” – and the rhythm guitar, played by Ellis, is recorded with a wah pedal “which helps to uplift the chorus”.

Tell us about your engineers for this track?

Producer Josh Coleman has been a collaborator of Summertime’s since he produced their debut track ‘My Strange Addiction’, and his portfolio will continue to grow in the future after the success of ‘The 20’s’ – “he’s been very helpful, giving his own opinion on parts and songs when we weren’t too sure.” This track was mastered by producer Eliott Glinn, after meeting in the summer and also mastering ‘My Strange Addiction’ it’s a match made in heaven for this production powerhouse. 

Find more information about Josh and Eliott via their Instagrams.

This track would sound great live, do you have any upcoming gigs?

Summertime are supporting Hannah Rowe alongside Glass Frogs at Oporto on Tuesday 27th January, for a night of upbeat soul. Find your tickets here!

And that’s not all, as they’re returning to Hyde Park Book Club to support New Street Adventure on Sunday 22nd February. Grab your tickets now!

What are Summertime’s plans for the future? Vinyls/CDs/Merch/More releases?

Summertime’s plans for the upcoming months are to keep working on their set and live sound, and finish their next single! “We’ve already begun recording and are very excited to get this one finished and released. Once we have a few songs released, CD’s are the next thing we’d love to sell at our gigs.” Catch Summertime live at their gigs, and keep an eye out on their Instagram for updates on their upcoming releases!