While we love to blast eccentric pop bangers from our speakers to get ourselves in the right mood, sometimes, we just need those spacious lo-fi tracks to calm us when things are a little rough. Embracing this new wave of lo-fi pop with his balmy new single is Portland native Still Woozy with “Kenny”. Building upon simple yet effective guitar-led rhythms, Still Woozy – also known as Sven Gamsky – gently creates a warming production, inspired by his time in the great American plains. Rich with subtle layers and rolling drum beats, the artist effortlessly creates an intimate and imbued soundscape, filled with alt-pop sensibilities and chilled out vocals.

“I wrote ‘Kenny’ after experiencing life in the great plains of Montana for a bit,” he explains. “I met people I will never forget, people never fed by a silver spoon. People who could genuinely laugh about gambling away $60k in one night, people living in what felt at the time to be the middle of nowhere. To me, the space and pace of the song reflect the vastness and loneliness of the area.”

Already cultivating a huge fanbase due to his ever-popular sound, the reserved yet confident artist has been serving up the goods this past year, keeping fans fed with previous electro-pop single “Rocky” and 2020 hit “BS”. Currently sitting on a plethora of music, Still Woozy catches up with us on how he’s ready to bless listeners with an album and dreaming of collaborating with SZA.

Check out the interview below…

Hey Sven! How are you? How has this past year been?
This past year has been all of the things. I’ve been more productive musically than I’ve ever been, but I’ve also suffered a bad foot injury that I’m still rehabbing from. That on top of winter and corona-isolation has been a lot but everyone has a lot on their plates now. But things are looking up! The sun and the leaves are back in Portland.

What’s is your earliest musical memory?
My earliest musical memory is being in the backseat of my families suburban and listening to I’ve got a feeling by the Beatles on my CD player. I must have been 6 or 7 at the time. I imagined that I was performing the song to a huge crowd of people and everyone was feeling the same energy and was, in a sense, united by this feeling. It’s not often that people are on the same wavelength.

You’re from Portland, how has growing up there impacted your sound?
I’m from the Bay Area, but I don’t think growing up here has impacted my musical taste. Almost everything lives on the internet so that’s where I’ve been, discovering old and new music.

Why the name Still Woozy?
There is no rhyme or reason to the name, it just fit and I didn’t question it.

Congrats on your new single “Kenny”, talk us through it? What was the inspiration?
It was inspired by people I had met while travelling in the Great Plains of Montana. It’s a beautiful but intensely desolate place, with endless space and you can see what felt like 50 miles in almost every direction. The people there weather huge amounts of adversity just to get by, and they do it with grace and a sense of humour. One guy was laughing his ass off with his friend as he told me how he lost 60k in a night of gambling. Real genuine laughter at something that would have caused other people like me considerable stress and anger. This song is a little ode to those who deserve so much more.

You’ve had an incredible response to your singles and have cultivated a big fanbase, how does this make you feel?
It’s incredible to have a fan base that is keeping up with my music. It’s everything I could have ever wanted really. They’re all so supportive too, I really just feel so lucky.

How do you want people to feel when they listen to your music?
I want people to feel uninhibited when they listen to my music, like they can relax and get lost In it if they want.

Who would you cite as your inspirations?
My favourite music of all time is D’Angelo’s Voodoo, so I have to cite that as an influence, but I’m not sure how it directly influences my music. I’ve been listening to a lot of the Beatles lately because of their songwriting, and it’s definitely worked its way into my songs.

Who would you love to work with?
My top two collaborators would be D’Angelo and SZA. SZA has an amazing knack for melodies and her vibe is always right on. She really takes time to perfect her craft and I resonate with that.

What’s next for you? What are you most excited about?
I have an album coming in a few months! I’ve never been sitting on this much-finished music in my life! I feel really proud of it all, and I can’t wait for people to hear it.