After establishing themselves with a wealth of shimmering gems these last few years, including their much-loved 2021 EP 'little love lullabies', New York-based duo corner club make their eagerly-awaited return with the vibrant new single 'dreaming (梦中)'.
Capturing a wonderfully warm and tender acoustic-led aesthetic throughout, 'dreaming (梦中)' makes for a rich and powerful listen throughout. With its warm and humbled aesthetics, sweeping atmosphere, and mesmerising vocals from start to finish, they are returning with one of their most alluring offerings to date here.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and what has been inspiring them lately.
-
What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
Sav: Cello! It’s still by far the most beautiful instrument to me. There’s something so rich about the sound. I never learned to play a string instrument (unless you count the Chinese zither) so I swoon every time I hear some nice strings.
Mike: Guitar. Growing up, my brother had a beautiful blue B.C. Rich Mockingbird, which is a really uniquely shaped guitar, lying around the house, and I loved that thing. It was a much nicer guitar than most players would ordinarily start out with, so I was definitely a lucky kid.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
Sav: Growing up, I didn’t go out of my way to listen to much but it was always around. There was pop radio on the school bus, the occasional Pavarotti record at my grandpa’s house, and the collection of Richie Jen and jazz CDs my dad collected in a cabinet in our kitchen. I always came back to Richie’s song “心太软” (roughly translates to “Too Softhearted”) in elementary and middle school, and listened while I looked out the window dramatically even though I hadn’t experienced heartbreak on any level at all.
Mike: I was all over the place — I grew up listening to a lot of pop, but got really into classic rock and progressive metal as I got deeper into guitar. Later on in high school, I joined a jazz band on guitar so there was some of that, and I was playing violin pretty seriously, so I was listening to a lot of classical music as well.
What was the first album you remember owning?
Sav: The U2 album that came with the first iPod I had. The first one I remember buying though, was Lullatone’s The Sounds of Spring - EP on Bandcamp. Such adorable little tunes.
Mike: Someone had given me Songs About Jane by Maroon 5 as a gift when I was in elementary school, so technically that’s the first album I ever owned. If we’re only counting albums I bought myself though, it’d be American Idiot by Green Day.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
Sav: “Wanderlust” by Eloise is one of my comfort songs. I listen to lyrics really closely and there’s something so simple and romantic about the song without being overly sappy. We’ve heard her perform it live too, and in those few minutes, I felt so much love towards an imaginary person, so definitely a touching song I wish I had written.
Mike: Honestly, I’ve never really heard a song and thought that I wish I wrote it. Everyone’s got their own unique styles and voices. However, there are a lot of production things that make me go, “whoa, I wish I came up with that,” especially when I listen to someone like Flume, where it blows my mind that someone can create sounds like that.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
Sav: I have this stubborn habit where I usually don’t write down or record my ideas unless I remember them a few hours later or even the next day. If I don’t remember it, it probably wasn’t worth keeping.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
Mike: Lately, there's been a lot of Lizzy McAlpine (we’re about to go to her concert!). Otherwise, I’ve been listening to a lot of MUNA, Blackpink, and boygenius, especially after seeing them at Coachella.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
Sav: Eloise!!
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
Sav: Songwriting is like journaling for me. And when Mike and I jam together, it’s a really comfortable shared emotional space that we’ve created for ourselves - no questions asked. So having built this friendship and music relationship together has been really rewarding.
Mike: Definitely, I think being able to work as a duo is a really fulfilling way to create something together. It also never ceases to amaze me to meet fans in person and hear about how they’ve connected with our music. There have been times where we’ve met people at our shows and realized we’ve seen their comments or interacted with them online before, and it’s such a crazy thing to grasp that real people we’ve never met love our music and want to support us.
And what is the most frustrating part?
Sav: I love songwriting. I wouldn’t say I love all the other non-musical pieces that go into “succeeding” as a musician, like content creation and doing our taxes.
Mike: Yeah, you hear it all the time, but there’s so much talk these days about the need to create content and “play the game” with social media algorithms, and it’s hard for that pressure not to get to you. I would argue that doing all that is separate from being a “musician,” but it ends up becoming a tough balancing act.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
Sav: Not advice per se, and funny that I mention this more than Mike does - there’s a producer that Mike loves who we saw live at a secret show in NYC a few years ago. He said something along the lines of “I write the music that I wish existed in the world,” and I think that’s a beautiful approach.
Mike: I remember watching this video many years ago of John Mayer answering a question about the best ways he’s found to market his music, and all he said was “good songs.” He spoke about how a truly good song can get people to open up and share their stories with you, and I always find myself going back to that principle. We both care a lot about the quality of what we create, so that message still really resonates with me to this day, especially in this day and age.
-
corner club's new single 'dreaming (梦中)' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.