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Spencer Skyline is a brand new artist out of St. Petersburg, Florida with a pitch perfect voice and an uplifting composition style which combines pop rock, emo and dream pop. He calls this sound "dream rock", and with the rock guitars and dreamy melodies and lyrics, it's certainly fitting. His debut album Catalyst is due out mid-October with two teaser tracks to be released in June and August, respectively. Catalyst will be part of a larger album trilogy called Stardust.
Clearly influenced by the punk, indie and emo bands of the early 2000s like Linkin Park, 30 Seconds to Mars and Blink 182, Spencer, who started his adult life in chemical engineering, has a very personal reason for pursuing his dreams full-time.
The night before I lost my mom we were actually at a music festival. At her funeral, people were throwing things in her grave, and all I had on me was a guitar pick. So I threw that in. And I promised that I would do something cool with my life.
With that promise and no small measure of raw talent, Spencer set out to make his first dedicated music project. All three albums of the Stardust trilogy represent different phases in personal growth and transformation. Naturally, Catalyst is the spark and the beginning. Whilst Spencer's own catalyst was his loss and promise to his mother, the story of any transformation is the same in his eyes. First comes the motivation for change, and "The Chase," releasing June 28.
'The Chase' is all about that relentless drive we feel when we're chasing our dreams, mixed with the inner turmoil that often comes with it. This song really dives into the raw emotions of ambition, self-doubt, and the fear of failure. It's about fighting for self-worth and purpose even when the odds seem stacked against us. 'The Chase' is my way of sharing the intense struggle of striving to fulfill my aspirations, and I hope it resonates with anyone who's ever felt that pressure to succeed.
With that drive and that chase, of course, comes self-doubt, introspection and at least one fall back to earth. This is where the album's second single, "Reality," releasing August 23, picks up the story.
'Reality' is a really introspective track for me, tackling the often harsh truths of adulthood. It's about the sacrifices we make chasing success and the disillusionment that can come when our dreams don't quite match up with reality. This song is a deep dive into the gap between our idealistic goals and the often tough experiences of real life. It speaks to anyone who's had to grapple with the complexities of growing up and finding their place in the world.
The contemplative nature of all Spencer's work really shines on Catalyst. It's clear he's though about all these steps in the transformative and creative processes and he has a real understanding of how his audience will relate to his journey. This introspection is constant through the other phases, with "Hold On", "Die Waiting," "Flowers," "Sunset" and "Liftoff." Spencer not only gives a piece of himself and his own journey to the audience, but he gives a preview of what's to come: a musician's journey to tell his story and the things he learns along the way. What can be more worthwhile than that?
Tracklist:
In a world where artists often struggle to share their truth, or speak up about real change, Spencer Skyline stands out from the crowd. Not scared to go to deep, emotional, places. Not afraid to ask the hard questions. Not timid about bending genres. Perhaps most fascinating at all - not classically trained in music whatsoever.
This bold, nuanced singer-songwriter and musician did not pick up his first guitar until he was eighteen years old. In subsequent years, as he pursued a full- time career as a chemical engineer, he played predominantly for pleasure...quieting the creative voice inside yearning for something more. Eventually that voice won out, and in 2016 he took a huge leap of faith and left the job safety and financial security of the engineering world behind. Shortly after, a friend recruited him to play guitar and record an EP with her band, and from that experience, he was hooked. Turning back was no longer an option.
As any artist knows, unexpected trials and tribulations of life can make the road to creation a bit bumpy. In 2018, Spencer's mother suddenly passed... a moment that forever changed his view on his own mortality, and the urgency to not live with regrets and to pursue his passions.
"The night before I lost my mom we were actually at a music festival. At her funeral, people were throwing things in her grave, and all I had on me was a guitar pick. So I threw that in. And I promised that I would do something cool with my life."
Enter "Stardust," Spencer's forthcoming, self-produced album trilogy. Inspired by energetic, alternative musicians such as Coldplay, Blink-182, and 30 Seconds To Mars, and the raw vulnerability of Linkin Park's prolific frontman, Chester Bennington, "Stardust" is an album about finding self-love, acceptance, and a place in the world. Through a series of metaphors, Spencer takes you on a journey to outer space and back, where, in the midst of complete isolation you seek to rediscover who you are, and, subsequently, return back home.
That struggle kicks off on his first album, "Catalyst" - a reflection on that time of self-discovery when you leave one life behind in order to make space for the next. As such, the songs are grounded in alternative rock, examining the feelings, metaphorically, of being stuck in your past self, unable to let go.
As he moves through the trilogy, Spencer also plays with sound and melody to create an aural journey that matches the layered messages. His second album, "Afterlife," will be pop-laden electronic music (with a possible hint of electric guitar, his native instrument), focusing on exploring fresh-starts and vulnerability, reflecting the energy of transcending Earth and traveling through space and the unknown... mirroring his own life at the moment.
"I always had one foot in music and one foot in something safe, like part time gigs here and there. For me, the second album is where I am right now. If I'm going to make this work, I have to release everything else and go all in. A time to look inward and figure out who I am, without the burden of who I thought I should be."
The third and final album, "Clarity," is where Spencer turns to acceptance.
Embracing fully who he is and what he loves to do, even if it means forgoing some of the material things and life milestones he had expected for himself, has been a huge part of Spencer's musical journey - one that many can relate to no matter what their life path. Reflecting that energy, the production of these songs are a mix of rock and pop, with a splash of EDM to get people dancing.
The unique aspect to this songwriter's music lies not only in the song, but in the format in which it's written. Each song is a piece of a longer narrative arc that spans the course of an album. Each song is like a chapter in a book, and each album is like a book in a trilogy. His own little Lord of the Rings. As life expands beyond this trilogy, taking twists and turns in the most unexpected places, Spencer Skyline remains certain of this - telling stories will always be at the forefront of his personal and professional journey.
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