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“I aspire to write timeless songs I could relate to 40 years from now", says Ben Schwab (Golden Daze, Drugdealer) of his dreamy new project, Sylvie.
Steeped in the sounds of mid-70s Laurel Canyon with a gentle infusion of folky psychedelia, Sylvie's music is rich in reminiscence of times gone by.
For Schwab, a south California native, a chance discovery in a small Ohio town 2000 miles from home sparked the new artistic endeavour.
After unearthing a box of cassette tapes of his father’s old band from 1975 that'd been wrapped up and stored away in a closet for decades, the recordings became the imprint for a familiar feeling he would end up chasing.
"Making Sylvie has been a spiritual pursuit. Dad’s songs are straight from the heart and really shaped my taste and imagination for songwriting in a permanent way.”
Joined by vocalists Marina Allen and Sam Burton, Schwab records at his own garage in Silverlake, CA and channels his years of musicianship into writing expansive original arrangements.
With its distantly swirling harmonies and effortlessly soulful instrumentation, 'Stealing Time', Sylvie's new single, delicately captures the well-known wistfulness of nostalgia; comfortingly warm yet quietly poignant.
"'Stealing Time' is a song about escaping the congested and overstimulating city of L.A. and getting out to the countryside - trying to find moments of peace and reflection", Schwab explained in an Instagram post.
"This last year I took a lot of trips and long drives alone through the mountain ranges, valleys, and deserts surrounding the city - sitting with the stillness of nature, trying to slow my thoughts down and do nothing.
In those moments of serenity I felt like I could stop time or like I was stealing time back that I’d lost, and that feeling inspired the sentiment of this song."
Sylvie, the group's self-titled debut album, will be released on all formats on 14th October 2022 via Full Time Hobby.
