Interviews

Music Interview: Cody Simpson & The Tide

Australian singer-songwriter Cody Simpson has been in the public spotlight multiple times and his name is one that someone can’t forget. But where in the world is Carmen Sandiego Cody Simpson? While we were off living our lives, he was living his creating a whole new project, Cody Simpson & The Tide. We’re on board for this. Following his release of Free back in 2015, Cody took some time off to eventually create new music for us to enjoy. Recently, him and his band released their new EP Wave One featuring the lead track “Waiting for The Tide.” The four track EP is there for your listening pleasure.

And in case you were curious to see if you could see Cody Simpson & The Tide IRL, you’re in luck. They’re heading out on a West Coast tour this Fall. Check out the tour dates below after our interview!

The Young Folks: A lot of your fans haven’t heard new music from you in a while since Free. Just to catch up, how have you been and what have you been doing over the past two years?

Cody Simpson: I spent a fair bit of time living by the beach in Venice, practicing guitar and relaxing, writing poetry, things like that.

TYF: I respect the fact you took time out to really unwind. What have you learned about yourself during your time away?

Simpson: In my solitary and silent moments, and during an almost self-imposed exile I found the vision for this band I’m sharing now. It all came to me like a dream. A concert I saw in my head. Guitars, blues, rock, surf music, poetry. The whole thing. I had many personal breakthroughs and came into my own during a single summer.

TYF: You’ve been in the spotlight for a while. How do/did you adjust being in the public eye for so long?

Simpson: You just have to detach from the whole game from an ego standpoint. If your ego is attached to your success, or your bank statements, or even your art and work – that’s when the suffering and negative impacts occur. I’ve made a conscious effort to stay a voyeur on the situation and it’s helped me stay grounded and focused.

TYF: What is your definition of success? Are you someone who creates huge goals like, “I want to be able to sell out massive stadiums in five years” or are you more of seeing what happens and going with it?

Simpson: I think it’s a balance. It’s important to have long-term vision without losing sight of day-to-day reality. If both eyes are focused on the goal, there are no eyes to focus on the work. It’s good to have one on each.

TYF: How did your band meet one another and what was it like putting all your new songs together?

Simpson: We met each other through different mutual musical relationships we’d made living in Los Angeles. I met my drummer Adrian [Cota] through a friend of mine and we both ended up meeting our bass player Reef when we saw him playing with another band. We sort of went up to him and asked him to jam with us. We ended up jamming as a trio a few times at the house I was living at in Venice. Every Friday we’d have people over to play, and we’d perform for girls we’d invite over, or girls and people we invited in from the street. It was groovy. We just started playing a lot of blues. Then eventually developed a sound.

TYF: I read in previous interviews that poetry has entered back in your life. How have you incorporated poetry in your new music?

Simpson: A lot of the lyrics have stemmed from poems I’ve written in the past couple years. “Waiting For The Tide” especially. Poetry is the only adequate outlet I have to express my thoughts, so it felt fitting to tie it into the music too.

TYF: What do you envision for Cody Simpson & The Tide in the long run?

Simpson: I envision us attempting to uplift as many people as we can. To perform our shows kind of like sonic rituals in which we can either liberate, uplift or simply plant some kind of seed in an audience member’s mind that will someday grow into a magnificent tree. Just incorporating positive messages into the music and hopefully sharing it with a lot of people.

Follow Cody Simpson & The Tide on their socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/codysimpsonmusic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CodySimpson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codysimpson/

Tour Dates: