5SOS’s Michael Clifford on Going Solo and the Childlike Marvel Behind SIDEQUEST: Podcast

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Michael Clifford is not any stranger to arenas filled with screaming followers as a member of 5 Seconds of Summer season, however he’s now venturing into the uncharted territory of solo artistry along with his debut album SIDEQUEST. The guitarist-turned-frontman caught up with Kyle Meredith to speak about how the document got here to be, the enjoyment and anxiousness that got here with doing it alone, and the way changing into a father restructured his artistic compass. Hear above or wherever you get your podcasts.

Whereas SIDEQUEST is definitely a departure from 5SOS’s collective sound, Clifford doesn’t go full scorched earth. “My DNA is all the time going to be in there as this child who grew up listening to emo,” he admits. However as an alternative of banking on nostalgia, he chased one thing extra elusive: the feeling of listening to one thing for the primary time. “Watching my daughter uncover issues type of unjaded me,” he says. “It made me wish to inject that into my music.”

That strategy echoes on tracks like “KMFA,” a completely fleshed-out track that’s conspicuously lacking a beat. “There’s simply this chunk that’s lacking,” Clifford says of the no-drums experiment. “And I really like that feeling — like, ‘Why didn’t he add drums?’”

That childlike unpredictability permeates SIDEQUEST, particularly in songs like “Eclipse,” a chaotic however emotional finale that Clifford says is structured to imitate the rollercoaster of parenthood. “You don’t know the construction of the track,” he explains. “It may very well be loud noise out of nowhere. It may very well be silence. I wished it to really feel like something might occur at any second.” He additionally breaks the fourth wall lyrically all through the album, referencing his personal fame and band historical past in ways in which solely he might: “No person else is gonna be capable to say, ‘I’m the man who caught fireplace with the coloured hair within the band about underwear.’” No arguments there.

Hearken to Michael Clifford speak about SIDEQUEST, solo vulnerability, and extra within the new episode above or by watching the video under. Sustain on all the most recent episodes by following Kyle Meredith With… in your favourite podcast platform; plus, take a look at all of the collection on the ipromiseyoumedia Podcast Community.

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