Love is a funny thing, in that it can make or break us. It can bond people together or pull them apart and it's that very powerful yet magical facet that drives Pink Sweat$' music.
Whether he's taking us through the trenches of heartache or the journey of finding your person, the American singer-songwriter is all about sharing the ups and downs of love in all its form.
While he usually revels in these emotions in the comfort of a recording studio, it's time to take them to the live stage. The 'At My Worst' hitmaker is set to embark on the Asia leg of his Pink Moon tour which will see stops in Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Seoul, as well as festival stops in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
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As he makes his way to Asia, Bandwagon caught up with Pink Sweat$ to talk about life on the road, the magic of love, and the beauty of K-pop.
You're heading to Asia soon, what are you most looking forward to the tour?
I'm looking forward to a lot of fun and excitement and great food—looking forward to some good cuisine. I'm also looking forward to just meeting the fans, since COVID hasn't really allowed us to go outside. [I'm excited to] see and feel the energy and all the support that I've been receiving for so long from Southeast Asia.
Is there a particular song that you're most excited to perform on stage?
It's really hard to say, but I can't wait to do 'At My Worst'. I know it's going to be absolutely amazing.
Your songs tend to be quite vulnerable and intimate, talking about personal experiences and perceptions of love. What is it like bringing those very personal and intimate feelings to the live stage instead of thousands of people?
It's very special performing the songs live. You go into this personal space, like the four walls in the studio, and you write these songs with this vision and idea that one day people will love these songs. Then every now and then, you get those songs that everyone just loves and it just feels like magic. It feels like a magical experience [to see it happen live], it's just like 'wow, that worked' you know?
It's so hard to explain, I've been working on trying to explain how it all feels like. One day, I'll have the answer.
I can only imagine it's surreal to write these songs and then have them take a special place within people's lives, that must be insane.
Yeah! Because it's like as human beings, we all have the same set of emotions and I feel like love is one of the most powerful ones. Love dominates [a large part of] all of our lives, whether it's the foundation of just wanting to be loved or loving someone.
I don't think I've ever met a person that said, 'I don't want nobody to love me'. You know, I never met that person but they might exist. All of us, we desire that even from being a baby, you desire the love of your parents, and like you need that love for them to nurture you and help you grow. So, I think it's just the most natural state of being and it's amazing to share that emotion with so many people.
Beyond your own music, you also write and produce a lot of music for other artists. How does your creative process differ when you're working on your own songs compared to other artists'?
The way it works is different for my own stuff. When I'm doing my music, I already know exactly what I wanted to say, I kind of know what I will feel already and I'm just trying to figure out how to make it happen through the song.
But I'm when I'm writing for others, it's more of a collaborative effort. I'm trying to understand their world and what matters to them, what's important to them, and articulate that the best way that I can and hopefully, connect the dots for both of us. It's different because you're kind of a vase for them. It's like I'm pouring a little bit of my stuff into their cup, but I can't fill it all the way up because it has the space for whatever they want to put in there.
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You've particularly been working with a lot of artists from the K-pop industry, like BamBam and SEVENTEEN, and you're also a big fan of K-pop yourself. What first drew you into that world?
In the States now, K-pop is a lot bigger but it wasn't always like that. When I was young, I remember PSY first came out—that's when I started to see K-pop. Back then, it wasn't popular in the States so I remember having a hard time searching for specific things because It's in Korean.
The thing that grabbed me was the visuals because they're just so high-level in the details. I'm like a very visual person so seeing a lot of aesthetics and the perfection that goes into making something really high quality, that's what always drew me to keep up—it started with the videos.
Then I started to learn a little bit more and then you start meeting people, then things elevate. You start to see different parts of it but for me, it really started with the visuals. The production level is insane. I'm so jealous, I wish I could do my videos on that level.
What is it like working with an artist from a genre that's different from yours, and specifically with K-pop, a language that's different from yours?
Always interesting. I think each individual team is different but it's very much interesting. In the States, everything is so free and open, like you just go to the studio with anybody and meet up. So, it's a little different because they have the companies and you do that process and they have to approve of things—I would say it's a lot more business involved. But it's always so interesting.
What would you say is your biggest strength as a musician?
No one has asked me that, that's a great question. My biggest strength as a musician is, I believe, that I am flexible. A lot of people see things one way, everything you do has to be this particular way but for me, I go wherever I need to go with whoever I'm with.
I try to be like water in the sense that I want to just flow. So as a musician, I feel like my biggest strength is just being flexible like if I need to hop on the drums, or the bass or piano or whatever, I'll just manoeuvre in and do what I need to do.
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Going back to your tour, how do you usually maintain your creative spirit and kind of keep the mood up while on the road?
It's so hard to do. I thought I had a good hang of it but I don't, I'm learning how to do that again. Every tour is different; it's like one tour, it'll be like certain kinds of foods that help—like something that reminds me like my childhood, like peanut butter and jelly, I would have that like everywhere I go just to kind of like refresh my mind every day. I just [try to remember] my humble beginnings and just remember that this is all like a blessing and it's not something to take for granted.
For this last tour I just did, it was just having my friends around, just being able to laugh and joke throughout the day when we're on a bus going from place to place. I think this tour in Asia, it's going to be the same thing of having my friends there and trying new things everywhere I go, or like meeting somebody new.
It's just stepping outside of my comfort zone to always like make sure that I'm having a good time because I feel like music is an interesting career, like it's a fun career but also it can be very draining. If you don't remind yourself that you gotta make it fun cause you got all the business stuff happening then it's draining.
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After this tour and going into 2023, what's next for you?
New music. I have so much new music blowing up my hard drive, it's just so much. I can't wait to like it, just start teasing it because I know people are going to be like, 'wow, this is crazy'.
I think while I'm in Asia, I'll be releasing a new song, might be like teasing it, performing it and just testing it out with everyone. Then after that, the goal is to start gearing up for like my next album. I'm really excited. It's a good time, I'm so creatively inspired.
Listen to Pink Sweat$' Pink Moon here.
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