Interview: Sub-Radio trip over hearts & synth-vibes with new EP, ‘Headfirst’

In this life, you have to push everything to the limit. You risk stagnation and toxic comfortability otherwise. The second we let those things go, we are reborn. It’s a fantastic feeling, really. “I gotta get out of my own way,” synth-pop troupe Sub-Radio, whose shiny new EP is equal parts vitalizing, rapturous and emotional, come to realize on an essential deep cut. A group of 20-somethings, they’ve sold themselves to a merciless industry but have not forgotten themselves. “Being in a band is something that requires a huge amount of time, dedication and personal investment, and there’s always a lot of uncertainty around how people will respond to new music and where it will take us. I think some people would call that a risk, although we really see it as us just doing what we love every day,” muses bandmate Michael Pereira, who plays drums and lends sharp backing vocals.

While the band’s latest EP, aptly titled Headfirst, pounds in cutting waves, both shimmering and carrying extraordinary weight, it unpacks the summer’s cool tones effortlessly. “What Are We” is a brilliant pop wonderland, exploding in the eyes and ears, and “Miles” is a killer, early-00s pop-rock fan’s wet dream, frighteningly throwback but dented with plenty of modernisms. It’s at times overwhelming and as exhilarating as the open road, wind jostling your hair, your skin breaking a sweat at the brow. “Emotional” is deceivingly subdued, comparatively, but still shocks the brain. Rounded out by bandmates Adam Bradley (on lead vocals), guitarist Matthew Prodanovich, bass player Barry Siford, John Fengya  (guitar and keyboards) and Michael Chinen (rhythm guitar), Sub-Radio pry their fingers into your lives and make you really think ⎯⎯ and things get quite emotional, too.

Their perceptivity to life’s disorderliness and roller coaster footprint stems from very real experiences, some out of instinctual risk-taking and others from fear. “We all experience fear of the unknown, as individuals and as a band. We all have our own lives going on, so dealing with our day-to-day life and balancing the band can get chaotic and uncomfortable,” expresses Siford, stressing the EP’s exemplary demonstration of that commitment. “Not knowing where you may be in a year or two is definitely scary, but I think for all of us it’s also exciting. We love what we do, and we love each other.”

Headfirst is delivered in soothing warmth, and that love is riddled through each track. Even judged against their last project, 2016’s debut long player Same Train // Different Station, the product is different and feels like an important moment in time. Siford reflects on the two years which separate them, “I think we’ve all just grown closer. We’ve been playing more, practicing more, writing more and spending more time just discussing our futures together. We’re like a small make-shift family, and I think it’s really incredible. We’ve had our share of fights and arguments, but we’re always able to take a step back and acknowledge each other and work on fixing issues at hand. I’d like to think we’ve really matured as individuals and as a group since then.”

Furthermore, the extended play’s general wash of beachy, tropical synths, slathered against a basic rock structure, is one delivered with great care and astounding effect. “[This EP] is a defining musical work for us. We wanted to re-establish ourselves musically and try out a few new ideas alongside the music with our live show, and we’re super proud of the progress we’ve made so far,” says Pereira. “We definitely feel accomplished but are still pushing our boundaries.”

Below, Pereira and Siford breakdown their craft and discuss genre-bending, self discoveries and growth as human beings.

In an interview with GENRE IS DEAD!, you mentioned that you wanted to take your art more seriously with this EP. Was there a moment you had that realization or was it gradual?

Pereira: We’ve been constantly reinventing ourselves over the years we’ve been together, but the biggest sign that we were beginning a new phase was when we wrote “What Are We.” We released six singles in six months starting in April 2017, and “What Are We” was originally written to be number seven, but when we finished it, we thought it would be better as the lead single on its own collection of songs. That decision was really an inspiration for a lot of the changes we’ve made in our brand recently.

Do you think that changed your approach to songwriting and playing in any measurable ways?

Siford: I think we’ve just been able to put more thought into how we want to project ourselves. We’ve been able to take a step back and just think about how we want a collection of songs to sound, how they’d all fit together and how our live shows can match what we feel. There was no real deadline for when songs need to be put out, and that relieved a lot of stress. I think gave us more creative freedom.

How does the jaunty melody and production (as found with “Emotional,” for example) serve the weightier lyrics? Do you find juxtaposing those two to be rather cathartic?

Pereira: We like to write music that you can bop to, but also means something. We find a lot more meaning in our songs that way – you can identify with the songs on a deeply personal level, while simultaneously dancing along to it like a goof in your kitchen (like I do all the time).

How has the genre-pushing and use of heavy synths on this EP opened you up, creatively?

Siford: It’s really been a new field of thought for us. We want our own sound, and that means searching through sound after sound until we come up with something that we think is unique to us. A lot of our influences use a lot of synth, and we think it’s a great tool to just boost everything we currently do. As we’ve written, we’ve kept in mind that maybe a melody we write on one instrument could be voiced better on a synth or vice versa, and the results have been really rewarding as musicians.

What did you discover through this process?

Pereira: We’re entirely self-produced, so it was a ton of fun experimenting with sounds in the studio (especially percussion sounds for me), and we took more risks in this EP. We were basically less afraid to do weird stuff in the studio, and I think it worked out for us. We know we want to experiment even more for our future works, especially with respect to our synth sounds.

In a separate interview, with The Prelude Press, you teased you were already writing new music. How do you envision where you go next?

Siford: Honestly, we’re super unsure ourselves. It’s a discussion that we’re always having, and it’s always evolving. We never want to stay stagnant, and so as we continue to write, we’ll take what we’ve done in the past and continue to expand and learn.  

Did writing and recording a song like “What Are We” make you reassess other relationships in your life?

Siford: I think everyone in the band has had a “What Are We” moment at some point or another. It’s nice being able to summarize that frustration and uncertainty into a song. Personally, I use songs and music as a medium to explore the emotions I currently feel and have felt. [This song] helped me better understand some of my past relationships and interactions. 

What are your strengths and weaknesses in relationships, platonic and romantic?

Pereira: Sub-Radio is actually quite good at relationships. Most of us are currently in very healthy, stable relationships. We very much like our band-girlfriends; we call them the “Sub-Lady-os.” I didn’t coin the term.

How does making music allow you to grow as a human being?

Siford: It’s literally the best thing in the world. I honestly don’t think there’s anything better. Writing music can be tough and stressful, but it’s also so blissful and rewarding. There are so many lessons that a person can learn from making music: how to deal with failure, disappointment and frustration; how to think critically of yourself and how to problem solve; and how to remain humble while taking risks and being brave. It’s really freeing, because you get to pour your entire being into it.

What do you think you’ve learned across your two projects so far?

Pereira: I could go on forever about the countless lessons throughout our time in the band, but my favorite realization is that despite most industries being driven by clicks and numbers in today’s economies, every “number,” whether it be a Spotify play, an Instagram follow or a Twitter “like,” has a real, living and breathing person behind it with a whole world of experiences and ideas that you are allowed to engage with. The music industry is really an industry about people, and making true, authentic connections with actual people is the most rewarding part.

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