“As human as possible”: Dayglow’s Sloan Struble on Making the Most ‘Dayglow’ Dayglow Album of His Career

Dayglow’s Sloan Struble goes back to his roots and opens up about the creative process of his new self-titled fourth album ‘Dayglow’ in a candid conversation with Atwood Magazine!

Stream: “Cocoon” – Dayglow

Now’s the time that I take the risk, be Dayglow, and see what happens.

It is human nature to experiment and try new things with the hope of uncovering some of our deepest passions.

Through hypothesizing what may bring us joy, discoveries are made on what makes us feel or not feel like our most authentic selves. You want to try something new? Do it. The fact of the matter is you cannot lose who you are – you will always find yourself yearning to return to your true self. The best outcome of exploring, though, is the possibility of finding another layer to the masterpiece that is already present. After a decade of exploring his music and sound, multi-platinum indie pop artist Dayglow, aka Sloan Struble, has done just that, and is ready to (re)introduce himself through the release of his self-titled album Dayglow, due September 13.

Struble’s career began a decade ago in the most pivotal years a person goes through within their lifetime – the teenage years. From releasing music on SoundCloud around the age of 15 to putting out a self-titled fourth studio album at the age of 25, Struble has become confident in who he is and who he aspires to be as an artist. Completely written, performed, recorded, produced, and mixed by Struble himself, the Dayglow album is a work of art that captures Dayglow at its core.

“This album felt like the most ‘Dayglow’ that Dayglow has ever been,” Struble says.

Dayglow follows the artist’s 2022 third studio album People in Motion and his double platinum breakout hit “Can I Call You Tonight,” taken off of his 2019 debut LP, Fuzzybrain. The new record takes on a more rock guitar-centric theme, driven by upbeat tunes and deeper hitting lyrics – something we have seen Struble do before. Through ten beautifully crafted tracks, Struble brings us back to his roots.

“I grew up listening to guitar driven indie rock like The Strokes or Two Door Cinema Club,” he explains. “I think what you listen to when you’re 15, 17, whatever, that’s so formative in your brain. I just turned 25, so my prefrontal cortex is done as a dude. I now look back at that time, and that’s what formed me. It feels so natural to make music like that. It felt effortless. I felt like I wasn’t trying to be anything when I made this album.”

I might not be a model. I might not be an actor. I’m just a musician. That used to scare me, and I felt like that wasn’t enough. But now, I’m just reaching for whatever I love to do.

Struble further explains how this album feels very much like himself, partially due to the revisiting of old music that has shaped Dayglow into all that it is.

“‘Broken Bone’ was a song that I started before Fuzzybrain,” he says. “I revisited a lot of old ideas, and wanted it to be that same energy and find that naive part of my brain again. Those are the first songs that I made, the ones that were recreations of the old stuff. ‘Old Friend, New Face’ and ‘Every Little Thing I Say I Do,’ I recorded and mixed in an Airbnb in Laguna Beach. I recorded it with one guitar, my computer and recorded the vocals in there. It’s a very DIY album in the Dayglow spirit.”

This record reflects upon all Struble has been through within his music career, where he is now and where he is going. While previous records gave us a taste or window into who Struble is as a musician, Dayglow represents his artistry at its fullest and finest.

Dayglow is out September 13, 2024 via Mercury Records.

— —

:: stream/purchase Dayglow here ::

:: connect with Dayglow here ::

“Every Little Thing I Say I Do” – Dayglow

A CONVERSATION WITH DAYGLOW

Sloan Struble: I’m really excited. Every artist probably has a similar experience when the first thing that they make out into the world is what people know them for. When I made Fuzzybrain, my first album, I was 17 and unaware of who I was just naturally as a person, but also combined with that, as an artist. You don’t really know what you’re doing. I think that naive nature of that is good. But it’s helpful when making art to be self-aware of what your fans might want. Since Fuzzybrain, I’ve just been experimenting as a producer and songwriter. Even with this record, I still mixed and made it completely by myself. No engineer even worked on the record, except for it being mastered.

With this album, I just finally came to see myself a little bit more clearly and felt more confident being Dayglow. This album felt like the most ‘Dayglow’ that Dayglow has ever been. So, I thought it would be time where this is my self-titled debut. The past three albums were kind of like mixtapes and I was finding my sound. With this album, this is what it is.

Sloan Struble: It’s taken a lot of different shapes. I am both easily distracted and productive. I finish stuff really fast. But I think what I get to finish can sometimes be random. On the past album, I got really into Eurorack synthesis. That’s building your own synthesizers. It’s very electronic music, very different than naturally picking up a guitar and writing a song. I had tons of fun doing that. I’d go down rabbit holes of learning new things. With this album, I sold all of that Eurorack stuff. I sold half of my music gear. Then, I wrote the first half of this album on the same setup that I had for Fuzzybrain, which was one guitar, my computer, a cheap recording interface and worked with that. So, it’s a lot more stripped back and back to the basics and to the roots of guitar driven rock music. It felt really good to make.

Sloan Struble: I grew up listening to guitar driven indie rock, like The Strokes or Two Door Cinema Club. Even dance music, but very guitar driven. I think what you listen to when you’re 15, 17, whatever, that’s so formative in your brain. I just turned 25 so my prefrontal cortex is done as a dude. I now look back at that time and that’s what formed me. It feels so natural to make music like that. It felt effortless. I felt like I wasn’t trying to be anything when I made this album. I approach things very holistically and view it from a life standpoint. I was getting really stressed. I was in a pretty low place on this past album. A lot of that had to do with my approach to making things. There were so many layers to what was going on, and that was representative of my life. My life felt chaotic, so I was making music with more pieces. With this album, I simplified my life. I moved and simultaneously the music became more stripped back. Being able to decipher what’s happening in the music, this is the electric guitar and there’s the drums, you can almost visualize it.

Sloan Struble: Recording it was very performative. When someone records a vocal, like if you looked at Billie Eilish’s vocal stem, she recorded it probably 150 times and then spliced it together. It sounds really natural, but it’s very precise, perfect and awesome. I love that type of stuff, but with this record, I forced myself to not do that. A lot of it is raw. I used this microphone and sat in this studio for the most part, in an untreated room, and recorded the vocals in one take. I was really focused on making it feel as live as possible. So, when it translates to the live show, there’s no lying going on. This is totally how it’s played. That was the goal with Dayglow when I started. I would make music that could be played live by a five piece band. So, that was definitely the approach of this record. Record things all the way through as if there was a rock band in the studio, even though it’s just me.

Sloan Struble: It was a little bit of both. I’ve never really had writer’s block, which is an interesting thing. I’m very industrious. I don’t watch TV. I can’t read fiction. If I read, I’m always reading about nonfiction that somehow improves myself. There’s pros and cons to that. But I’m always writing and making things. It’s hard to decipher what should be released, what should be out in the world and what’s really defining who I am.

With this album, I tried to strip back, sell all my gear and all the things that were covering me up, Dayglow as the person, and making it as human as possible. Meaning, the one take of recording and the raw sound of the record. That, to me, made it feel like I was introducing myself. I’ve always struggled with telling people, ‘Yeah, I’m a musician’ or ‘I’m an artist, and this is what I do.’ Especially the social media stuff, feeling like I’m relevant or cool enough to be an artist. So, I sort of forced myself. I was like, ‘I need to do that. I have to do that now. Now’s the time that I take the risk, be Dayglow, and see what happens.’

Sloan Struble: I’ve seen myself grow in a lot of different ways. “Mindless Creatures” too, was the first Dayglow song I ever made. The main hook I released on SoundCloud when I was 15. In the song, it’s about being a jaded old man and saying, ‘You know, way back in my day, things were great! Now, people are crazy.’ I found myself, two years ago, feeling like a jaded old man. I feel like that’s crazy because I was 23. But I rewrote “Mindless Creatures” from the perspective of where I am now. Which, that’s symbolic in two ways, of looking back at myself and it being the first song that I made and watching myself grow as an artist. So, that song definitely sums up the self reflection aspect. I think artists in general have a brain that is, from what I could tell from other artists as well, very high highs and very low lows. I’ve definitely experienced both of those in the past couple years. Through the mountains and valleys, I realized what I love more than anything and what will keep me sustained is my love of creating music. I might not be a model. I might not be an actor. I’m just a musician. That used to scare me, and I felt like that wasn’t enough. But now, I’m just reaching for whatever I love to do. Hopefully, people like it too. But that won’t define if it’s worth it or not.

I might not be a model. I might not be an actor. I’m just a musician. That used to kind of scare me, and I felt like that wasn’t enough. But now, I’m just reaching for whatever I love to do.

Sloan Struble: I’m starting to hit them now. When I first make an album, it’s all I listen to. I’m constantly checking the mixes and I’m very involved with every aspect of the music. It’s very personal. Once people hear it, it’s a little scary because I don’t have any references really on what people think about it. I’m just trusting my own judgment. I’m scared to release the full album.

The hardest thing has been TikTok and the social media side. My song, “Can I Call You Tonight?” released before TikTok even existed. Then, two years later, it just took off on TikTok. I didn’t even have a TikTok. That was nice, but things don’t really happen as organically as that anymore. That’s been the challenge. At the end of the day, I love the album. I think once people listen to it, they’re gonna love it too.

Sloan Struble: “Mindless Creatures” is a really personal, full circle moment that really roots me back to myself. “Nothing Ever Does!!!” honestly, is another one. I’m all my music really. If I’m totally being honest, typically, when I’m making a song, I’m not feeling great. I’m a little depressed. I want to make something that lifts up my spirit. My music in Dayglow feels like this very joyous thing, but the wellspring of it necessarily isn’t always the best day ever. It’s almost like I’m trying to make the best day ever by making music. So, “Nothing Ever Does!!!” this high energy, rock song that feels so upbeat, is totally about having a panic attack. In the song, I’m representing that in the bridge. It’s a really existential song. That one is one of my best oxymoron songs – where it’s happy but also a deep topic.

Sloan Struble: It’s going to be crazy. I’m really looking forward to the Austin shows. It’s always been so fun playing in Austin. That’s gonna be nuts. I’m curious what that’s gonna be like. When I started making music, I didn’t really imagine it at a large scale. Now, I have to shift my focus and imagine how to present it on a large scale. I’ve always dreamed of being in troubadour size venues like Parish, the first show that we’re playing in Austin. It’s going to be awesome to play this album that’s so rock focused in a small room. If everybody there is willing to dance, I think that’s the best. When you have a high energy show with a couple 100 people, I think it’s really fun.

Sloan Struble: It’s loaded with a lot of things. “Broken Bone” was a song that I started before Fuzzybrain. I revisited a lot of old ideas, and wanted it to be that same energy and find that naive part of my brain again. Those are the first songs that I made, the ones that were recreations of the old stuff. “Old Friend, New Face” and “Every Little Thing I Say I Do,” I recorded and mixed in an Airbnb in Laguna Beach, that we had to get kicked out of because it flooded. I recorded it with one guitar, my computer and recorded the vocals in there. It’s a very DIY album in the Dayglow spirit.

Sloan Struble: I’m really stoked for the shows. Dayglow is a live music thing, so I really hope people get to see it in context. The best representation visually of this album would be seeing it live. I’m not just saying that to sell tickets. I really do think that makes the most sense and the energy will be there. I’m really excited to be on the road again, because that’s the thing that I love to do. I hope people think it’s good, they like it and they put it on a playlist that they continue to listen to.

Sloan Struble: I mix and produce all my music. I play all the parts, so I’m a one-man band.

— —

:: stream/purchase Dayglow here ::

:: connect with Dayglow here ::

“Every Little Thing I Say I Do” – Dayglow

— — — —

Connect to Dayglow on
Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram

Discover new music on Atwood Magazine

 © Luke Rogers

:: Stream Dayglow ::