Laidback and lo-fi, ‘Baby Boy’ is the new single from Memphis-based musical outfit Doter Sweetly. The song is all about its progression – understated vocals that rise into beautiful falsetto, loose guitar chords and washy drums that burst into an urgent acceleration before taking a breath and relaxing into the original tempo once more.
I had a chat to frontman Elijah Poston about the story behind the song, some advice from his bass guitar teacher and Jeff Buckley-themed day trips…
Words by Annie Rew Shaw
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Annie) Hey Elijah! Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Of course! I am from Memphis, Tennessee. Born and raised here, I went to school in Seattle and New Orleans but found myself back in Memphis making music with my friends. I’ve been making music for as long as I can remember but Doter Sweetly have been playing and releasing music since 2015.
What’s behind the name Doter Sweetly?
Names are always a tough one with me. Before, we had the name Grandpa Grew Trees (from a Young Jesus song). I felt like there was something missing in that name, and Doter Sweetly felt right because it felt like the name of the person who writes the songs I write. It always feels weird to have my own name as the main focus, because I prefer to have a more collaborative approach when it comes to arrangement and instrumentation. Doter somehow feels more honest as to who I am than my actual first and last name.
Congrats on your new single, ‘Baby Boy’. What was the main inspiration behind the song?
‘Baby Boy’ became a term of endearment I used with a lot of my friends three or four years ago. I still use it and wanted to write a song with it. The main guitar idea kind of banged around in my head for a year before I actually put the words “baby boy you’ve been in a rut” to it.
The song is about idealisation and the damage that seems to come from it. It starts with imagining a life ahead of you that’s ‘bigger’ and ‘better’ and more fulfilling than the life you have now. Feeling the crush when you realise how hard life can be. But more than that, discovering that jealousy and frustration about ‘where you are’ in life only makes you ignore the innumerable special and precious things that you have now. Basically, ‘Baby Boy’ is a song I wrote to myself about taking a moment to love the life I’m leading.
Who would you cite as your biggest musical influence?
OK, so ‘biggest’ is a hard term for me. Choosing a number one is nearly impossible for me, as I’m sure it is for most musicians. The one who hit at just the right time and place was Jeff Buckley. I had never heard of him, and an uncle showed So Real to me and his voice and his songs broke me. I remember at the time it was summer and I went on little Jeff Buckley day trips to his old house, his memorial in the zoo and the cobblestones on the river downtown where he swam and lost his life by Mud Island [in Memphis]. I think about him often and I wonder when we may have crossed paths when I was a baby at the zoo or Overton Park.
Have you got any live shows coming up?
The only one I know we have coming up is on 13 November here in Memphis at the Hitone. Still hoping to make it out to The Garage and play a set in London sometime though!
What’s the best advice you’ve been given as a musician?
I had a bass teacher Ed who told me to be patient and a life in music will work for you. It was simple advice but it’s all about the idea that if you are good to the music, the music will be good to you. That resonates with me. That, and being patient while you’re being good to the music.
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