Sally Boy
Photo Credit: Eddie Mandell
Philly’s own Sally Boy is no stranger to music. The artist started taking piano lessons “not too long after stumbling out of the womb” and has been making music ever since. However, it wasn’t until 2020 that Sally Boy finally decided to start releasing his music. According to the artist, he felt that “the world was ready to hear Sally Boy”. And, they sure were. His debut album, “EREZ,” has had fantastic streaming numbers on Spotify, with some tracks garnering upwards of 100,000 plays. It is clear that Sally Boy puts an enormous amount of passion and creativity into his work. His sound is might fit into the indie-pop landscape, but really is in a league all on its own. He says that this style is heavily influenced through the help of his friends and artists like Joy Again. We recently spoke with Sally Boy about what is what like to finally release an album, the coolest parts of his newfound success, and more!
Hi! Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get started making music?
Hi! My name is Sally Boy and I’m from Philly. Not too long after stumbling out of the womb my parents put me into piano lessons and Ive been making music ever since. Been involved in music of all varieties, but eventually got into songwriting when I was in middle school cause I was weird and needed something to make me appeal to people and women. As time as gone on, music has become more so a part of me and less a means to an end (that end being acceptance). It is a therapy, a way for me to access thoughts I may not readily realize. So in essence, I have started making music many times, because I have utilized it for many different reasons.
What made 2020 the year to start releasing music?
It was simply when the project was ready. A lot of time was put into figuring out every little aspect of the Sally Boy universe, before putting out music, and July 1, 2020 was the culmination point of all that work. When I released, it was the point when me and my team felt as if the world was ready to hear Sally Boy and we were prepared to service them.
Being featured on Zane Lowe's Music1 show is any up and coming artist's dream. What was that experience like for you?
That was definitely the most surreal moment of my career so far. My manager and I were driving around getting breakfast real quick before Zane (thats what I call him now) premiered the song, listening to his show, and he said something like “stick around to hear the premiere of Sally Boy” (insert Australian accent here). Then obviously he played the song and talked about me and the song for like 5 minutes, all of which was quite ridiculous, as he’s someone who I’ve associated with some of my favorite acts.
I wouldn’t say it was by any means an “I’ve made it” moment, but it was a new level I’d never quite felt before in my career. It made me feel like progress was made, and as an artist, sometimes that’s all you can ask for.
Who are some of the artists that have influenced your sound? If there was one artist that you could collaborate with, who would it be and why?
I always say it, but my friends definitely influence and inspire me and my sound. I genuinely think the people around me, and the people I work with, are on the forefront of the sonic frontier, and so it would be ignorant of me not to involve myself in that innovation.
As for other artists who have impacted my sound, it is generally artists that have tried to push the bounds of their given genre. Bands like Joy Again and their record Piano impacted the way I approached production, and a lot of the kids in the Hyper-pop scene have influenced the way I approach making music in general. I find I’m often a byproduct of the music I ingest so these influences often change.
If there was one artist right know who I could collaborate with I would probably work with Mk.gee. His production is fascinating and fresh, and it seems like he’s just getting better at an exponential rate so, yeah, that would be a sick collaboration.
Walk us through your typical music-making process. How has this changed since the pandemic hit?
Step 1: Voice memo
Step 2: Demo
Step 3: Bring to a friend to elevate (re-record/resample) Step 4: Done
Its not always that cut and dry, and there are certainly sub-steps but that is definitely the guideline to how pretty much all my songs were made. There are voice memos for every song on this project, I’m sure of it. Whether it be a lyric idea, or a hook concept, or a lil guitar riff, its there on my phone.
Since the pandemic hit, I have started making more music by myself. I spend a lot of time reaching the final product with friends (Namely Cole Mitchell and Jhune) but as of the past 2-3 months or so I’ve been spending a lot more time honing in the demos by myself, before bringing them to someone else. There are also far more aspects that I’ve recorded on my own that have made it to the final product so that’s fun.
Let's talk about "EREZ". First of all, congratulations! How long have you been working on the project and how does it feel now that it's being released?
I would say its hard to put an exact date on how long I’ve been working on this project, but it’s not. June 22, 2018. That’s the date of the voice memo for “Sally Boy” the first single I released. So I worked on this project for about 2 years.
It feels exciting, but more than that it feels right to release. I’ve put so much time and effort into this project and it encapsulates such a unique period in my life, that it’s only natural it should become a part of my history. The bizarre thing about music, is that you release a song or a project, months or even years, from conception of it. Meaning the feelings you felt making the song, may be quite foreign from the ones you have at the time of release. That being said, what is said in this record is still a direct reflection of me, and more importantly, could mean so much more to someone currently experiencing one of the many emotions I have portrayed. So it feels right to release it now. All in all it’s taught me a lot about how art, and the artist, grow over time.
Which song off the EP are you most excited to perform live and why?
I’d have to say Marie. I had the opportunity to play a show before Covid in which I got to play every song off the record....except Marie. So Marie is the most exciting for me both because of the special place it takes up in my heart, but also because it is the only song that will be new to me on stage.
Because I’ve spent most of my time on stage the past few years trying to create energy (being in a rock band through highschool) Marie gives me an opportunity, for the first time ever, to connect on a very different level, directly with my audience. This is because I plan to play it on piano, by myself. No throwing myself around, no distractions, just a pure piece of me expressed to whoever is in the audience. I look forward to that pause in the commotion, and creating/existing in this unique sphere with as many people willing to tap in with me.
Talk about a real-life experience that inspired a song.
I tend to interweave real life experiences and concepts within any given song, so it may not be one given instance or one experience that inspired to a song, but rather numerous experiences over an extended period of time.
The best example of that would have to be, again, Marie. I had a party at my house (pre-covid) and was under the influence of some drugs (sorry mom), and felt overwhelmingly alone despite the people around me who I knew loved me. That inspired the line “breakdowns and parties I act like nobody cause no ones the best friend I know”. Similarly the line later in the song “go see a movie, pretend that’s the new me, but who plays pretend at my age?” is a reference to me losing myself with a film, a separate experience that felt as if it fell under the same umbrella.
What would you say has been the biggest perk or your recent success?
The amount of new people I’ve been able to meet and talk to, albeit, digitally. Having fans reach out is a completely new experience to me, and in the midst of this pandemic in which we are very isolated from one another, has been overwhelmingly welcome. I feel lucky because this is an avenue very few access to, and meeting and talking with new people is a rare commodity these days. As an extrovert this has saved me on numerous occasions, so, if you read this and wanna talk just DM me :)
What can we catch you doing on your day off?
On a true day off you can find me doing some sort of outside activity. I get lazy with my free time and often spend it on TV screens because that’s the easy thing to do, but if I was to plan a day off I’d prolly spend it reading outside, then skating or playing basketball or sumn. I don’t know there’s so much to do in the world it’s overwhelming to try and choose just one or two tasks. I’d spend it with people I care about.
What's next for Sally Boy?
Unparalleled success and new music. Also some cool features.