Thanks to the hit collaboration single ‘Say Something’ featuring Christina Aguilera, A Great Big World’s presence in the music industry has been well and truly highlighted. With a promising début album and chill-factor potential, the guys will prove any misconceptions of a “one hit wonder” wrong.
We caught up with Ian and Chad recently to discuss all things music…
Hello there! Thanks for taking the time to speak with us here at Fortitude Magazine! To start, let’s chat about your newly released debut album ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’. What was the story behind the title?
Ian: The name of our album comes from a lyric in our song ‘Rockstar’ and I mean one of the biggest reasons we’re writing music is to connect with people and we’re putting out this album with our hearts on our sleeves and we’re asking everybody out there to see if they can connect with what we share and say. And so far the answer’s yes!
What are your favourite two songs on the album and why?
Chad: My favourite two songs on the album are ‘This Is The New Year’ which was the start of this band. It was the first song that Ian and I sing the lead on. I took one of the verses which was super relevant and meaningful to me and every time I sing it I feel like I’m singing something new and it means something else to me, so that’s why I love that one. The second song would be ‘I Don’t Want To Love Somebody Else’.
I hate to ask about it but I have to ask something about the smash-hit with Christina Aguilera, ‘Say Something’. Why do you think that song really struck a chord with people?
Ian: I think that ‘Say Something’ strikes a chord because it’s a universal message in a song and a message about letting go and I feel like everyone has dealt with that in some sort of aspect in their lives. I also think it’s a really simple song and it’s raw and honest. We both didn’t think that it would be doing what it’s doing now but we think that one of the reasons it might be speaking volumes is because it’s much quieter than a lot of the other music that out’s there.
Do you feel pressure for the next single after the success with the last or does that not cross your mind at all?
Ian: We do feel pressure but if we keep doing what we did to get here, we’ll be fine! If this is all that ever happens to us though, I mean, we are reaching millions of people all around the world and we are super grateful to be a part of it.
What were the writing and recording processes for this record like?
Chad: The writing process for the record varied between songs Ian and I usually will come to each other with an idea either on guitar or piano and add a melody to it. Usually the music comes first before the lyrics. Recording was kind of sporadic over the last two or three years maybe even longer. That was the production of Dan Romer, our good friend an amazing, amazing, amazing human being. As well as an amazing producer!
Ian: Dan Romer, produced most of the record, Johan Alagīa produced ‘This Is The New Year’ and Chris Kuffner produced ‘Everyone is Gay’. So there were several producers and it was recorded in different cities at different times and was recorded sporadically over the past four or five years.
What’s your favourite and least favourite thing about working with each other?
Ian: My favourite thing about working with Chad is that it’s so easy and we’re really honest with each other. We’re not afraid that we’re gonna say anything that’s gonna offend each other. My least favourite thing would be that he’s a reflection of me and brings out my worst as well as my best!
Chad: My favourite thing would be the exact same thing. We’re completely honest, maybe even too honest and least favourite… I dunno. Maybe it’s that we’re spending our entire lives with each other right now and we don’t get one day off from each other! (laughs).
You guys performed at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at the end of last year. How was that experience?
Ian: The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was a lot of fun! Everyone was excited and felt really excited to be there. It was really big and dramatic and it was full of a lot of just fun production. There were no complaints about it all and it was a really unique experience. I closed my eyes for most of the song because there were a lot of distractions… (laughs). I’m not really used to playing that song with models wearing wings walking by me! But you know, towards the end of it, I opened my eyes and kind of went with it a little more. I would do it again! And again, and again!
Thank you so much for your time! Lastly, what can fans expect from an A Great Big World concert?
Chad: Anyone who comes to our concert will probably be laughing, and crying and dancing and hopefully having a lot of fun! There are five of us on the stage going nuts and we just like to have as good of a time as possible.