Bogues dropped its sophomore EP today titled Life, Slowly. This stripped down indie project, fueled by Nashville, TN musician AJ Gruenewald, draws influence from artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and The Hotelier. Life, Slowly is an emotional five-track EP displaying a powerful creativity that stays with you long after the music concludes.
Bogues is taking on 2018 with early accomplishments beyond the release of Life, Slowly. Fresh off tour supporting Fossil Youth, Bogues is setting out for a string of release shows starting today with Safe Bet.
In addition to these runs of shows, Bogues will be featured at Bled Fest this May alongside other artists: Hot Mulligan, Joyce Manor, Foxing, Norma Jean, Mom Jeans, Jetty Bones, and many others.
We had the opportunity to talk to Bogues more in-depth about Life, Slowly, the music video fro “Transcendentalism” and more:
ST: On March 2, your sophomore EP Life, Slowly drops. What are you most excited about with this release?
B: I’m both excited and nervous about having to follow a record up. I’ve never done a project with multiple releases before. It’s different. There are expectations with a 2nd release. It’s nerve wracking on the one end, but it’s also a cool personal challenge to try and showcase growth from release to release.
ST: Where was this recorded and who had a large impact on the overall creation of Life Slowly?
B: I recorded this record with Gary Cioni of Barbershop Studios. We ended up doing it at his house. Perks of being a solo musician and all that. He had a HUGE role in what direction we took with production, which was perfect for me. I’m 100% not a producer. It was great to have someone with an ear for that contributing to the record. Another engineer at the Barbershop, Brett Romnes, mastered everything for me and made it sound nice and big. And I had Michael Herrick help me with the art for everything! Can’t thank those 3 enough. They really killed it.
ST: What song off Life Slowly means the most to you personally?
B: Probably “Orchard to Bartnick”. I had a lot of time to put some TLC into the lyrics and what I was trying to convey in the song. It represents sort of the beginning of the end of something youthful. That change is something I’ve been having a hard time wrapping my brain around. Most of the songs on LS revolve around that topic. I’m just a little more smitten with this one.
ST: On February 16, you released your first music video with “Transcendentalism”. What was this experience like for you?
B: It was my first time doing a music video, and the videographer’s first time doing one with a storyline. It was a blast, we both put a ton of work into it, and we both brought a lot of ideas to the table on it. A lot of the scenes were just awesome to film. The bat scene was on a lake at sunrise. We’d already been filming for 2 hours and we were all delirious. Michael kept pushing me to punch the ground more, and I’d already busted one of my knuckles a bit, and we were laughing and cursing each other in the middle of this beautiful morning and it was so special.
ST: What made “Transcendentalism” stand out as the track to represent visually?
B: I think I wanted to do that one because it was short and simple. I wanted to make a music video in an attempt to really add something to whatever song I chose, and the other tunes already had a lot going on.
ST: Now that you have one music video under your belt, what plans are there to approach this medium with other tracks off Life, Slowly?
B: I’ll definitely be doing another video on this release. As far as when, haven’t given that part much thought. But now that the first one is out, the process seems less intimidating. All of the scheduling and shooting and editing and everything else is doable now. I don’t know which song it’ll be for, but I’m excited at the idea of getting to do that again.
ST: Recently you were on tour with Fossil Youth and company. Overall, how was that run?
B: It was fantastic. Fossil Youth, Rich People, and Northbound are great people across the board. It was my first tour in 4 months, in contrast to 2017 when I was out every other week basically. I had to get adjusted to the way tour is all over again. The shows were great. Played some old places, some new. Went to a state I’d never been to before. All in all a perfect first tour back.
ST: With little downtime, you’ll be back on the road starting March 2 for the “Life, Slowly Release Tour” with support from Safe Bet. What are you looking forward to most on this headlining run?
B: I think I’m most looking forward to hitting my home region hard. Almost all of the shows on this run are in spots I’ve hit half a dozen times at this point, so I’m anxious to see if the new record brings some new people out! Also looking forward to Cheesie’s. Gourmet grilled cheese in Chicago. Unbelievable.
ST: What can fans expect from this healthy string of performances?
Hmm. I don’t know what they should expect. Hopefully a performance that they can connect to and that feels intimate and close to them in some way. Everyone’s different, but I’d love to do that for as many people as possible.
ST: What bands/artists are you jamming to right now?
B: Future Teens – Northeast Indie Emo
Phoebe Bridgers – Indie Singer Songwriter
Rich People – Jersey Alt Rock
All acts very deserving of attention.
ST: This year is starting off strong for Bogues. What else are you hoping to accomplish in 2018?
B: I love touring, so a lot more of that. I put the record out early in the year, so it’d be good to release another song this year, too. I really just want to stay in people’s faces as much as I can.
ST: How can fans best support Bogues?
B: Come to the shows and talk about my music. That’s it. The higher the attendance at shows, the better my chances are at landing those support slots and heading out with those bands that are bringing 3 digits crowd wise every night. The more people talk about my music, the more people check it out. It’s as easy as throwing a retweet on something I post or taking a screenshot of my stuff when you’re listening to it and blasting that out. Simple stuff like that really does so much for a small, developing artist.
What are your thoughts on the sophomore EP Life, Slowly from Bogues? Are you going to catch a live performance this March/April? Leave it in the comments down below or hit us up on Twitter: @SpinThoughts!
TAGS: Bogues | Fossil Youth | Safe Bet | Bled Fest
Email: spinningthoughts@outlook.com
Twitter: @SpinThoughts
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