Cristovam

1) Tell us something about yourself that your fans may not know.

A: Hm... Let’s see, I’m going to tell you a couple of things and hopefully there’s something

new in there: I’m super passionate about studio gear and I run a recording studio where

I also compose music for films; I love the ocean and I love to do free diving... I also ride a boat!

2) How did your grandfather influence you to get into music?

A: My grandfather was the founder of the second-oldest radio in the Atlantic. He was super

passionate about radio and music, that passion was passed on to my dad along with a

big record collection and a big pile of radio paraphernalia. My dad also became a heavy

music consumer and so, growing up, I was constantly surrounded by music. A lot of 7”

records would spin on my father’s old Jukebox when I was a kid, and that was always

fascinating for me to watch and to listen. I guess the whole thing made me want to make

music and so it started with learning guitar and pretty soon, I became obsessed with writing songs.

3) How has being from the small Portuguese island of Azores influenced your music, if at all?

A: I think the place where you’re from and the place where you live will always influence

heavily the way you express yourself as a human being, and I’m no exception to that.

The more I travel, the more I realize that the Azores are a very peculiar place, and I feel

very lucky to have been born here. I grew up surrounded by the ocean which may seem

claustrophobic to some people, but to us, Azoreans, the sea is a way of life. It is where we

find our peace and the capacity to dream. I think the calmness of our daily life, our

permanent contact with nature is something that is part of who we are, and I think it is

also part of my music because of that.

4) What was the process like putting together Golden Days?

A: This whole record was done in a very different way. I wanted to work with my friend and

producer Tim Hart for a while. We agreed to make this record either in Brisbane,

Australia (where he is from) or in the Azores. Unfortunately, the pandemic disrupted our

plans, and so we decided to do the whole thing while being physically apart.

He had some recording gear, I did too, and so we just worked these songs through

zoom sessions and sent audio files back and forth. For this particular song, I recorded guitar and vocals and sent it to him, he tracked drums on the other side and then called his bandmates from Boy & Bear to do some tracking. Killian Gavin recorded electric guitars, David Symes recorded bass and Jon Hart played keys.

5) What was the inspiration behind the single?

A: It was an early morning and the sunlight had this tonality that reminded me of an old

photo I have from an incredible summer when I was 19. I remember that summer in a very

nostalgic and vivid way because it was the last one before embarking on adult life, so,

there was this strong feeling in the air of reaching the twilight of your youth...

On that morning I was thinking a lot about those days and I recall feeling a bit nostalgic

about it when I grabbed my guitar and stumbled upon this interesting melody. Suddenly

the words just started coming out of nowhere and I think I almost wrote the entire song

there. It was one of those moments where you feel like the song is writing itself, and you

just have to go with it.

6) What's next for you throughout the rest of 2022?

A: There’s a lot of new music coming soon, a few more singles in line to be released shortly

and a full record out in September. After that there will be a lot of touring and doing what

I love the most which is playing music live!

Follow Cristovam:

Facebook - @cristovammusic

Instagram - @cristovammusic

Twitter - @cristovammusic