Gregor McEwan is a Berlin born singer-songwriter with a knack for creating unique, upbeat and heartfelt pop songs. His latest EP 'Summer Breeze' defines the season itself, with carefully crafted feel-good acoustic rooted music that will lighten up your mood with ease.
We caught up with Greg on what made this EP what it is, and a bit about his creative process...
Please talk us through the meaning of your fittingly titled new Summer Breeze EP?
I’m relasing four EPs and each EP contains four songs about all four seasons. Spring and fall have already come and gone in 2020. And when the whole puzzle is done by the end of this year or maybe by the beginning of next year - can’t say yet… it results in a double LP with one season on each side, so that the listener can decide what side to listen to, depending on whichever mood or season he or she is in.
What is it about 'Summer Breeze' that made you want to make it your lead single from the EP?
I simply guess it’s the most summerly song of the EP. When we came up with the idea of kinda quoting The Beach Boys and recorded some surf organs and those Beach Boys-esque backing vocals it became clear to me that 'Summer Breeze' has to be lead single and title track of the summertime EP.
Do you have to be in a certain mood to write?
I believe that writing depends on an incredible number of factors. It can be the people around you, nature or simply boredom. Because of the goddamn pandemic, for example, I have recently written much more intimate, reduced and also more political songs. You think a lot more about social contexts, policymakers and the world at large, and then these thoughts certainly find their way into your own creative work. How was the recording and writing process for 'Summer Breeze' and the EP as a whole?
The basic writing of the entire four seasonal EPs was very very fast. Almost frighteningly fast. The songs just came to me. I couldn’t stop them. Maybe because I have virtually set myself a target or an impulse for the writing of those tunes. But the recording and arranging process took quite some time as we got a bunch of musicians on board and carefully decided which instruments, basic mood and attitude mirrors or catches the general vibe of each season best.
Where do you live? What’s the music scene like?
I live in Berlin and like the city itself the music scene also is very multicultural. So into whatever genre you are - Pop, Rock, Reggae, Soul, Techno, Folk, Jazz,… you’ll definitely find your favourite venue, record store or creative companions here. Lastly, what's next for Gregor McEwan and his journey?
Well, to quote Lord Eddard Stark, "Winter is coming." [laughs]
Check out 'Summer Breeze' here: