Sweet Limb’s music journey began at the age of eight when he heard Michael Jackson, and he cites Frank Ocean among his modern-day inspirations. Influences of the latter can be heard on “That Good Energy”. With its mellow, hypnotic instrumental, the self-produced track immediately draws you in and keeps you hooked with its poetic storytelling and Sweet Limb’s captivating vocals as he sings about exchanging good energy, inspired by his girlfriend.
Elaborating further, Sweet Limb says, “‘That Good Energy’ is about vibes – good ones. I can detect bad ones within seconds of meeting someone. I think a lot of people are a good judge of character but I like to think I have a pretty decent radar.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Sweet Limb about the latest music, adapting during a pandemic, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
I’m originally from Pearland, Texas just outside of Houston, but I’ve lived in Austin since 2008 and prefer this blue dot.
I’d describe my music as alternative R&B. It doesn’t sound like Boyz II Men but I do sing about a lady so there’s that. I have my influences (specifically Frank Ocean) but I don’t want to sound like anyone else. Like the great Lionel Ritchie says, I want Instant Identity.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
I had some time before I started my new job; it was about a month or so, and I had a short stint of hypomania. I stayed up for almost two days writing and recording those songs. The Fresh EP I released in August was born out of that. Once I felt more “normal” or whatever, I wrote my new single “That Good Energy”.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
This song has more of a wavy vibe. The previous EP was a glimmer of that with a bit more angst; this single is all about vibes and energy, man. The previous EP has the best song I’ve ever written and probably will ever write: “Passenger”. I’m super proud of that song, and I’ll never stop promoting it. Ever.
I wrote “That Good Energy” for my girl. She’s sweet, intelligent, cute and puts up with my sh*t. A lot of R&B songs are low key toxic, and I just wanted to show my appreciation for someone that means a lot to me and brightens my day, you know?
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
Honestly, I have anxiety and treat everything as if it’s kind of a big deal, in fight or flight mode half the time which is never fun. I like staying at home, ordering takeout and watching movies so I just get to do more of that now because of the pandemic. Now, I just have a mask tucked away in every corner of my life.
Writing lyrics is always a challenge. There are millions of songs written about love, so what else are you gonna say? How can you stand out and not blend in with everything else? I battle myself every single song, but I’ve learned to navigate, meditate, dive into sonics, and freestyle melodies, which makes me feel like a proper magician that might actually pull off capturing the lightning in a damn bottle.
What was the last song you listened to?
Sweet / I Thought You Wanted To Dance by Tyler, The Creator, Brent Faiyaz and Fana Hues
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
Imma sound kinda old but there was something about the time where you would download MP3s, make a playlist, and throw it on your iPod Classic. I miss that.
But having Spotify on your phone is just mad convenient and a game changer. CDs skipped and would get scratched, but I miss going to Sam Goody and dropping 20 dollars on a CD I only knew one song of because I heard it on the radio.
Cassettes could get tangled if you got unlucky with your player and it’s just a true headache from there. Vinyl feels cool and that’s some of the only shopping I like to do, but if you’re lazy like me you don’t want to get up to flip to side b. There apparently are players that do that automatically but I don’t have that kind of cash, man.
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
Instagram (@sweetlimbchris). I feel like boomers invaded Facebook. I really don’t tweet anymore as I digest enough social media as it is, and I’m on TikTok only to laugh.
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
Thank y’all for your time. I really appreciate you, and I look forward to checking out y’all site and the post! I hope you have a good rest of your day 🙂
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