by martina rexrode
photo courtesy of evan dibbs
With an incredibly apparent passion for creating music and a sound that is difficult to pin down amid all of the styles he embraces, Evan Dibbs is set to release his debut album next month. To prepare for this release, we talked to Evan about his singles “Fills” and, more recently, “Cincinnati,” breaking into the New York music scene, and what listeners might take away from the album.
Congratulations on your recent singles “Fills” and “Cincinnati!” Can you tell us a little about the inspiration and/or meaning behind each of these songs?
Evan: “Thank you! And thanks for having me. Each song was inspired by opposing views on life that I often have. ‘Fills’ describes a sort of spiritual murkiness, which causes you to float through life on auto-pilot. ‘Cincinnati,’ on the other hand, was inspired by an excitement for the vast possibilities in life and wanting to go out and explore them. What’s interesting to me, though, is that they both share a theme of indecision, but to very different ends. In ‘Cincinnati,’ indecision comes from a desire to feel unfettered and to be able to learn and grow in a freewheeling kind of way, whereas ‘Fills’ looks at indecision as a recipe for stagnation, as the inability to take charge of your life and pursue the things that would fill life with meaning.”
Both of these singles are off of your forthcoming debut album titled Breathe to Break. How are you feeling as this release date inches closer?
Evan: “Feeling great! It’s funny, when the record comes out, these songs will be new for most people, but I’ve been living with them for over a year as they go through the post production and release/promotion stage… I feel like I’m ready to make another record [laughs]. But at this stage, I’m getting excited to play this material live and reimagining some of the tunes for their live presentations.”
Why did you choose to release these specific singles as the lead-ups to your album?
Evan: “I thought ‘Cincinnati’ and ‘Fills’ were good representations of the scope of energy in the record. ‘Cincinnati’ to me expresses an excitement about life and a desire to explore its possibilities, whereas ‘Fills’ talks about the things that hold you back in life. I feel like the record as a whole explores the ways in which we engage with the surrounding world, and I wanted to put songs out there that showed a diversity of perspectives. They are also some of the more singable songs, which I always think qualifies a tune to be a single.”
Where does the album title come from? How does it represent the album as a whole? Were there any other title ideas you considered?
Evan: “Usually I go through a bunch of titles before settling on one, but in this case, that name came pretty immediately. I can’t even remember when the title came up because this record has been Breathe to Break even in its earliest writing stages. I think what drew me to it initially was the phonetic similarity of ‘breathe’ and ‘break,’ even though they have quite different connotations; breathing being a source of life and breaking being a disruption. I knew I wanted this record to be about reigniting a sense of awareness, and being able to engage sensuously with art, nature, and relationships. To me, the title describes having to create a disruption in order to reconnect with the things that make life beautiful.”
What can listeners expect from your first project of this length?
Evan: “I think it’s a record that rewards active listening. It can be dense at times, but I don’t think it’s inaccessible. There are a lot of lyrics and a lot of ear candies that I think open the door for new things to be discovered with each listen. I like records that make you want to put on headphones, lay on the floor, and close your eyes when you listen. But truthfully, that’s just how I hear the record and I’m fascinated by how differently people experience music. One night I had a small listening party amongst close friends and it was so cool to see all the things they took away from the record that I never would’ve thought of. I think albums end up reflecting the listeners’ emotions and interests back to them in ways that’s almost impossible for the composer to predict.”
How did your partnership with producer Erik Kase Romero come to be? What was it like creating this album with him?
Evan: “Erik and I met almost ten years ago when our bands at the time were regularly playing in the New Brunswick basement show scene. We shared a lot of bills together and were friends, but we really connected when I asked him to produce my first EP World Before Us. That was the first time we collaborated and it immediately clicked. After that, I played on a lot of sessions that Erik was producing, including his own work as a songwriter. We’ve developed a huge amount of trust through all these sessions, and when it came time to work on this record, we had laid the foundation to do a lot of experimentation. We set a lot of limitations (for example, we decided all drums would be recorded in mono with no toms on the main drum part, and that we would use any keyboard or wind instruments) and that really quickly set focus and intention to the sessions. I think that’s where it starts to become really fun too, when everyone feels some sense of stakes and we all enter uncharted territory together.”
How have the New Jersey and New York music scenes influenced your identity as an artist? Do you have any advice for up-and-coming artists looking to break into their local scene?
Evan: “I think the most valuable part of being in NY/NJ is that there are so many artists of all disciplines all around you. No other area in the country can beat it. However, it’s really hard to ‘make it’ as your own artist in New York and I could see how it could actually be way more attainable if you lived somewhere where the cost of living isn’t so intense. You know, somewhere where it’s reasonable to have space to rehearse and record and you could go out on tour without your living expenses at home being so outrageous. But I do think I’ve become a more well-rounded artist from being in New York for so many years and I really value the community of visual artists, filmmakers, actors, musicians, dancers, etc that have enriched my artistic life.”
Which aspects of this album release are you most excited for?
Evan: “I’m really excited for it to become a social thing. The music takes on a different life when it gets in other people’s ears and when you start playing it live. You end up hearing things in the music that you didn’t know were there before. The record for me has been about connection, and I’m hoping the release will be the final stage of realizing that intention.”
Is there anything else you want to share with our readers about your music or any future plans?
Evan: “Album release show! August 23rd at Alphaville in Brooklyn. It's going to be a wonderful night joined by Molly Murphy and Tennis Courts.”