“There’s too many influences out in the world for me to make one kind of music.” Portland based artist, Still Woozy, known off stage as Sven Gamsky, refuses to be boxed into one music genre. The outcome is Gamsky’s long awaited debut album, If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is, a stunning 13 track genre blend album and comforting exploration of being stuck in your own head.
Inspired by an array of artists like D’Angelo, Steve Lacy, Jack Johnson and Sublime, Gamsky’s first long body of work features influences of rock and roll, acoustics and alt pop delivering a dreamy DIY and overall confident sound. Similar to his past singles, Gamsky self produced his debut album with producer Lars Stalfors under Still Woozy Productions via Interscope Records.
If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is, features three previously released singles (“Kenny”, “Window” and “Rocky”) in addition to 10 new tracks and the album’s latest single, “That’s Life.” Gamsky’s catchy lovesick vocals are coupled with bright instrumentals on the bittersweet nostalgic single. Tracks like the album’s opener, “Woof” and “Drake” showcase what Gamsky does best, creating his own spin on simple hard hitting lyrics and wrapping them in warm soft spoken melodies.
Watch the official music video for Still Woozy’s song “That’s Life” here:
“It’s a representation of how I feel in general. There’s always moments where you feel good and there’s moments where you feel like shit. I kind of wanted to have both of those. It’s kind of hard for me, a lot of the times when I make music I make it from this place of longing or feeling — dealing with my own emotions — my own turbulent emotions. It would be kind of misleading if all the songs were all like so happy.”
Gamsky’s straight to the point lyricism is what keeps his music authentic and relatable. In the opening lines of “Drake,” Gamksy sings, “all I want is to be happy / all I want is love.” These vulnerable lyrics are carried through the album’s entirety in tracks like the optimistic, “These Days” and the punchy and personal, “All Along.” A track Gamsky calls “the most personal he’s ever gotten with a song, “All Along” takes a fresh approach to the signature soothing vocals in Gamsky’s music with defined and assertive vocals that serve as a declaration of relief after the end of a bad situation.
“I hope that if there are people that struggle — which I think a lot of people struggle. I think they can find some solace in this album and even take themselves less seriously. I know sometimes it can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders and every decision you make is the be all end all just for anything. I remember feeling that through my whole life and it’s not the case.”
If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is, is not the summer album you want to skip. It won’t be long before fans can experience Still Woozy’s chill vibes live. In tandem with his album, Gamsky announced the Northern America and European “If This Isn’t Nice Tour” kicking off this Fall with special guests LoveLeo and Wallice.
