Q&A with Nic Hamilton & SAVS

In isolation in the California desert, Nic Hamilton and SAVS found artistic inspiration in their shared experiences of heartbreak, a cathartic experience that drew the two musicians closer together. Through finding common ground musically and personally, they wrote noRoom, out now. The two shared some thoughts about the experience with us.

What was it like co-writing in such an intimate space, away from other people?

NH: Necessary, I’d say. It was in the throes of quarantine that we decided to get an Airbnb for a week, just to write and be creative together. It’s hard to say whether noRoom would’ve been written if it wasn’t for that artistic isolation we created for ourselves.

SV: being that it was the first time Nic and I had ever spent time together, it was risky! But genuinely so wonderful. Nic is a very diligent and hard worker in whatever he does, and it ended up being such a productive time creating music together. 

How does writing with a partner differ from writing on your own?

NH: I’ve always loved writing with others. It’s how I started making music, in my guitarist Ben Kuhl’s bedroom in Australia, with him thinking of progressions and melodies and me coming up with vocal melodies and lyrics. I’ve had a lot more time alone over the past 2 years, living by myself in the states and sitting down to cry at a piano for hours on end. So I guess I’ve spent a good amount of time doing both. The main difference is learning to listen to the other writer. Taking in their ideas and opinions and working with them to create the best possible song.

SV: I absolutely love the freedom that comes from writing with others. It is much more challenging to overcome the perfectionist mindset when you are on your own, but when you decide to create something with someone else, you run with their energy and their ideas and it is so exciting. However, there are definitely times in which you both envision a direction for the music and have to work through conflict to make the magic. 

What drew you to work together on this song?

NH: Other than the need for a getaway in the California desert, I also just love working with Sav. We’ve become great friends over the past 2 years of knowing each other, and I respect her and love her dearly. This song came from a similar experience we had with two separate partners, too, so that informed why it was so easy to work together on thins song with each other.

SV:  This song specifically has kind of a neat story. Nic and I were experiencing a very similar experience in our love lives at the time and began to vent to one another about it and the vision for noRoom quickly came!

The track you're releasing together is about a shared experience that's also deeply personal. Were you able to find some common ground together in understanding that experience? Did you find it cathartic/helpful to work through your own experience by writing with a partner?

NH: 1000%, all of the above. When we started talking about our recent relationship stories, we realized how similar they both were to each other. We both had someone who, although they wanted to be with us and we wanted to be with them, didn’t have any mental room to facilitate a partner.

SV: Definitely! Writing music is so similar to journaling, and when you write with another human about a current situation you are working through, it’s like you are externally processing your situation and doing EMDR every time you play the song again.

What do you hope a listener feels or experiences when they're engaging with this song?

NH: You can never strive that a listener will get anything specific from a song. The song is therapy for me, a way to express how I felt to be put on standby for someone, if someone relates to that, then that’s awesome. But I’ve also had my Mum and Nan both say that it sounds like it could be a wedding song, so you never really know how it’ll be interpreted.

SV: Ooff, I agree with Nic here, we really have no idea how it will be taken, but I do hope people enjoy the song enough to keep listening and then in that they find some deeper meaning for themselves.