On Friday, Jan. 20, No Sun released their debut album, If Only, at Diabolical Records with Civil Lust and Westing opening. In this episode of Soundwaves, frontman Jordan Strang discusses how If Only came to fruition.
Originally from St. George, Strang started his music career with band Fever Dreams before moving to Salt Lake City three years ago. “Starting No Sun basically came out of necessity,” says Strang. “There all these emotions I was going through without any way to express them with my band members still being in St. George at the time, and it kind of led me to outlets I was less comfortable with like guitar and singing.” At the time, Strang’s roommates played in local band Speak Out. “We met through playing shows together as Fever Dreams, and eventually, I reached out to some members to live with me.” When Strang realized that he and his roommates were looking to create softer, more ambient music, No Sun was born.
After about a year and a half as a band, No Sun’s styles changed and altered, eventually creating an early-’90s shoegaze style. After finishing their first record, Warm, Strang send the EP out to as many labels as he could, and Don’t Look Down Records put out the record. Later, Mayfly Records wrote back to them as well, asking if No Sun would be willing to create a full-length album. “We just really, really narrowed down on trying to write a record,” says Strang, “and locked ourselves in a practice space for the better part of two months and wrote If Only, our debut record.” Once the record was completed, the band heard word that Mayfly Records temporarily had to close—but, thankfully, the label The Native Sound was interested in their record and picked them up only a few days later. “Working with The Native Sound has been absolutely incredible,” says Strang.
Hear more how Strang and his bandmates created If Only, the challenges they face, and the triumphs they achieved. The song you’ll hear on this podcast is “It’s Happening Again.” For more information, check out their music at nosunband.bandcamp.com or learn more about their upcoming U.S. tour at facebook.com/nosunmusic.
Thanks for listening to SLUG Mag Soundwaves.
- This podcast was created by SLUG Magazine and produced by Angela H. Brown and Secily Saunders
- Associate Producers: Alexander Ortega, Joshua Joye, John Ford, Kathy Zhou
- Executive Producer: Angela H. Brown
- Background music by No Sun
- Soundwaves logo and art design by Nicholas Dowd
- Technical design by Kate Colgan
- Photo: Heather Rowland
SLUG Magazine’s mission is to provide an honest journalistic alternative to mainstream coverage of arts, music, events and lifestyle. SLUG adds value to lifestyle through community engagement. Available in print and digitally on SLUGmag.com.