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Stef Pesic

6th June 2022

Interview: Amy Bell

Stef Pesic is a London based singer/songwriter. Accompanying himself primarily with guitar, he often genre-hops with songs that have indie rock, bedroom pop and jazzy styles whilst always having a strong melody driving through. A lofi production style along with subtle synth and guitar effects add splashes of colour and a dreamy atmosphere. His lyrics are retrospective and deal with the ups and downs of being in your 20s, whether it be the joys of being in love or the restless nights dealing with anxiety and loneliness. He easily jumps from soft, intimate vocals to soulful and harsh vocal deliveries whilst using sparse chords in which he sings his confessional songs – portraying his deepest and most personal thoughts with fleeting ease.

Hi Stef! Thanks so much for talking to us, what would you say inspires you to create music? 

Thanks for having me! It might sound cheesy but my dad was in a band when I was younger so I definitely looked up to him when I first started playing. I also came to realise that I just love writing songs. I'm really into chords and how they work together - always trying to come up with cool progressions. 

Your new single ‘Call Me, is now out, can you tell me a bit about what inspired you to create this song? 

The song is basically about me being on the doll during the early days of Covid - whilst also feeling lonely and wanting some company. It's quite a sarcastic song and thats why I wanted to keep the music quite light and fun so it was a contrast to the slightly heavier lyrics. 

When did you realise you had a talent for writing and singing? 

When I was super young, teachers at school would say I could sing and I was in choirs and things like that. It was my mum who signed me up for guitar lessons and I haven't looked back since. 

‘Call Me’, is heavily focused on the loneliness and struggle of not having a job and the frustration of the job centre system, which a lot of people have experienced. What was the feeling and creativity you wanted to put into this, and why was this song so important to release? 

I think it was mainly to have something that could be a comfort to an otherwise depressing topic - I didn't take my situation lightly at the time and it was tough, and I'm sure others can relate heavily to it. I tend to write songs that have heavy subject matters but disguise them in indie pop and catchy melodies - so I think this song really works with portraying it's message. 

What was it like to work with director Louis Judkins and what was the vision for the music video? 

Super fun! Louis is a super talented man, has a great vision and we really collaborated on this from the get-go. He designed the shiny suit which I wear throughout and the hand that pops in and out. We just used his green screen in his art studio and just played around really. There was also a empty office booth that we used which was perfect and very much fitting the "job centre" vibe we were going for.

What is the writing/recording process like in the studio? 

We recorded most of it from home! And via Zoom which quite a few people were surprised by. We did the drums in a studio and then stuck it all together. Most people have thought the recording was done live - so I think we did a good job considering at the time we did have a lot of options due to Covid. 

What is next for you?

Releasing my next single in June and then the EP later in the summer! Really excited to get some shows into... we're working on it! 

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