SUNTWIST Talks About Their New Single “Man I Wanna Be” And Teases Upcoming Debut EP

Indie rock is so back.

Five-piece band SUNTWIST have found a perfect musical balance between their talents and have poured their hearts into creating music that gives everyone the feels. They just released their latest single “Man I Wanna Be”, but not get too attached because their debut EP “Matchbox” is coming right behind it on 9/18.

We had the pleasure of chatting with SUNTWIST about the importance of creating live-sounding music, their favorite song they’ve released so far, and more!

Going from a two-person idea to a full five-piece band, how did that change the way you write and arrange songs?

Isaac: “Going from just Logan and me to a whole 5 piece band was a gradual and important step to finding our strengths and what our sound is as a group. It went from just two guys with a laptop, interface, and a guitar, to a whole live setup where we can show each other our ideas and add on to them in real time. It makes writing our songs more lively and organic.”

You’re based in Phoenix! How has that local scene shaped your sound and your growth as a band?

Nathan: “Two main factors that come out of our experience playing live: one is playability. We push to create songs that have a live feel, and we can specifically leverage that to give our shows the same experience as what you would listen to on streaming services, if not better. Number two, the impression of our songs when played live gives us a good gauge of what to write more of, that not only pleases the audience, but fulfills our sound.”

Congratulations on “Man I Wanna Be”! What do you hope listeners take away from the single, especially anyone who relates to that gap between self-image and how others see them?

Logan: “Honestly, I hope the biggest takeaway from the song is a feeling of understanding and connection. It’s easy to hide the feeling away in hopes of maintaining the image that others have of you, but ultimately it only worsens it. I hope that people can see it’s normal to feel like an imposter and that it’s normal to feel as if you’re not enough for those around you. Just because it’s a feeling we all struggle with, it doesn’t make it a truth.”

What was the recording process like for “Man I Wanna Be”? Did the song change much from the original idea to the final version?

Isaac: “Not really. The original song idea was pretty similar to the final product, guitar- and vocal-wise, but everything else was just added based off the idea. The process involved us jamming to the idea until we thought all the parts fit. After that, we went to CRAS (Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences) and recorded the song live as a band on tape, which was pretty cool.“

This may be hard, but as a band, what is your current favorite song that you all have released so far?

Nathan: “Not to have recency bias or anything, but “Man I Wanna Be” is probably one of the best songs we’ve written so far. It’s diverse, never sitting on one idea for too long and consistently moving the listener along toward a climax.”

Indie rock has a lot of room for reinvention right now. Where do you see SUNTWIST fitting into that landscape?

Logan: “I see this EP as a sort of foundation for us, a home base. This is something we needed to put out to establish our direction and launching point. From here, we want to take our diverse influences and start pushing the boundaries of common indie rock. We need to see how far we can push things to left or right field before slowly roping back into center if need be. We want to bring back the nostalgia and vibrancy that made the days of Cage the Elephant and Vampire Weekend so enticing growing up.”

Make sure to stream “Man I Wanna Be”, available now on all music platforms!

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene Magazine, back in October 2020. When not helping her team and working on their print issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral TikTok recipe.