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Indigo Summer interview

When Nashville singer-songwriters, Bryan Edwards and Hope Nix, met at a songwriters’ night at the famed Hotel Indigo, they quickly realised the potential of working together.

Ditching their solo careers to form as a duo, they began making music as Indigo Summer in 2010.

They have release their self-titled debut album, and are excited by what they can achieve together, musically.

Indigo Summer sat down with me in Nashville, to discuss why working as a duo has altered both their career paths for the better, and set them in a completely different direction.

Congratulations on your debut release! What was the experience like, and what did you set out to achieve on this album?

Bryan – Well, being the first one, we wanted it to come together naturally and we probably wrote more than 17 songs, (of which twelve made the album). It didn’t take long. It came together very quickly and naturally. It is what it is. This album is our big ‘Hello!’ to the world. This body of work fully represents the beginning of who we are. I know we will grow as artists, but this is our foundation and the house we are building is big enough for everyone.

Hope – We’ve been working on it for a couple of years. This our first album as a duo. I am proud of all of the songs on this record, as well as, the unique sound we created. There are lots of upbeat, fun, beachy songs that I think will have people singing along with their windows rolled down, and then there are a few very vulnerable, emotion-driven songs. There is definitely a song for everyone on this album. Wants What It Wants is our favourite song on the record – you can hear a pin drop when we play it live.

Indigo Summer
Credit: Indigo Summer

You’ve both had successful careers as individual songwriters, how does the process differ working together as a duo?

Bryan – We usually write together at one of our homes, and we’re constantly writing down song titles so we have ideas to work from. Like, the song, Pop Fizz Clink was something we saw written down, and we thought, ‘how can we write a song around that?’

It’s very fluid for us, it’s not a struggle for us writing. It’s never forced and we know when to let each other go off on a tangent on a song. For this album, we co-wrote with other Nashville writers, including Ronny Criss, Andrea Pearson, Jessica Roadcap, Adam Bruno, Kyle Jennings, Larry McCoy, and Colby Dee.

Hope – Being in Nashville, you grow so much as an artist, there are so many talented people here, you have to grow.

I’ve grown so much vocally and, while I used to write heartbreak songs, I now think my song writing is cleverer. With Indigo Summer, it’s just us and we’re not compared to anyone else.

Bryan, you also co-produced the album. What was that experience like?

I co-produced with David Dorn, he plays in our band, is super talented, and has worked on other projects. We worked with a lot of people we are very familiar with, and recorded three or four songs at a time. I know what kind of vibe I want for a song, and David’s really good at putting together what works.

Can you tell me about how you both first met, and why, as solo artists and songwriters, you decided to take the plunge and form as a duo?

Hope – We met at a songwriters’ night at Hotel Indigo in 2010. I’d just moved to town and was writing a lot when we met. Bryan became one of my writer buddies. He helped me write a lot of my solo stuff, and helped me with figuring out harmonies. We have totally different voices, but it works.

Bryan – At the time, I had just had a song, If She Could See Me Now, that was cut by Jason Aldean, so I was fully anticipating big things to happen. I met Hope, and was pleasantly amazed when I found out she was available to write with. We started playing songs together, and, when she would back me up, everyone would ask me if we were a duo. Then, one summer we said, ‘let’s work together’.

Bryan, can you describe the moment when you realise Jason Aldean is going to cut one of your songs?

It was probably my ‘top three’, top moments! I remember exactly what I was doing and how it all went down. I’ve also opened for Jason Aldean, as well as for Keith Urban, and Charlie Daniels.

What can fans look forward to after the release of the self-titled album?

Bryan – The stuff we have already written is quite a different sound to what we’ve done in the past, but you will always know it’s us. It’s a fine balance, but you just have to go with the flow, but be yourself.
We just want to play shows that make sense to our mindset of making great music.

Indigo Summer’s self-titled debut album is available now. Watch the music video for A1A below:

[brid video=”172009″ player=”531″ title=”Indigo Summer A1A”]

Megan Gnad
Megan Gnad
Megan Gnad worked as a reporter on daily newspapers before heading into the world of music journalism. Since moving from New Zealand to London in 2014, she began freelancing for UK and Australian publications, focusing mainly on country, roots and Americana genres. Time spent in Nashville has only increased her love and admiration for the music, and those working tirelessly and passionately to keep it alive and well.

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