For their debut album, Sans Soucis wanted to pay homage to their grandparents. “I considered my Italian grandparents my primary caretakers for a huge chunk of my life,” they explain. “They’ve always represented a safe space to me. Whenever I think about them, I am moved by their love.”
Soucis’ artist moniker also came from their grandparents – “sans soucis” means “carefree” or literally “without worries” – and it was this uninhibited spirit the musician wanted to tap into while writing the 12-track album. “Having to address and deconstruct a number of coping mechanisms that for the longest time shaped my mindset, it is easier to fall into depression and self-loathing. That’s why I decided to go back to that safety when writing the album,” they share.
The record tells the artist’s coming-of-age story through lived experiences, imagined fantasies, self-discovery, family histories, and personal growth, tearing apart the systemic patriarchy and anti-Blackness that’s impacted their life. The resulting record is a compelling reclamation of their formative experiences that weaves together Soucis’ vast variety of musical influences, from the delicate strings and jazz swing of ‘Giulia’ to the euphoric funk groove of ‘Dancing On This’ and the noughties R&B-infused ‘What You Did To Me’.
‘Brave’ is an emotional stand-out song, including the album’s only feature from non-binary, trans-feminine artist and activist Alok Vaid-Menon, who Soucis wrote to personally to share their admiration before suggesting the collaboration. “It was an immense privilege,” they enthuse. “One of those I still struggle to fully believe in.”
The album is accompanied by a breathtaking short film, directed by CT Robert, that sees Soucis build safe spaces for themself as they transform from a human to an extraterrestrial being. “We wanted to tell this story from an otherworldly lens, where a human being can evolve in the same way in which copper’s process of oxidation leads to the beautiful mineral of malachite – two elements that are strongly connected to my Congolese heritage,” Soucis explains.
Below, Sans Soucis shares the inspirations behind Circumnavigating Georgia, the importance of featuring Alok, and how they hope their music can serve their community.
Circumnavigating Georgia borrows a colonial term that I decided to repurpose, in the process of decolonising my identity from patriarchy and anti-Blackness.
Congratulations on the release of your album, Circumnavigating Georgia. I’m interested in your process leading up to this release – did you begin with a clear concept or was this revealed throughout the process?
I started working on this record in 2021 and the concept became clear right after I wrote this song called “A Tie”. Once this song made its way to me, it was so much easier to write and produce with the concept of this album in mind.
At what stage did you decide upon the album’s title, and what does it mean to you?
For a long time, I thought “A Tie” would be the title of this record. That song made me realise what I wanted to talk about which led me to write Circumnavigating Georgia. It was clear to me how this song represented the synopsis of the whole record. It was one of the last songs I wrote. It contains everything I wanted to say from track 1 to track 11, and that’s how I changed my mind.
Circumnavigating Georgia borrows a colonial term that I decided to repurpose, in the process of decolonising my identity from patriarchy and anti-Blackness. It is a metaphor for an exploration that is not physical – as Georgia the state and country are not surrounded by water – it is spiritual.
If we look at Georgia as a person, I feel like this title has quite a sensual and sexual connotation. Exploring someone’s waters feels very erotic to me if I think about the definition of eroticism by Audre Lorde – a great inspiration for the sentiment that guided me throughout the creation of this album.
As well as inspiring your artist name, your grandparents have played an important role in the album. Can you tell us more about how they’ve influenced the record?
I wrote most of the tracks in their house and talked about how important they were in my life at the beginning and the end of the record. “Giulia” and “Se Avessi Visto Te” are dedicated to their loving memory.
I love the album cover – can you tell us more about the painting?
This painting was made by Pier, aka Royal Rumble. My creative director, Mahaneela, presented me with a selection of artists she felt could be suitable for the creation of an artwork and I immediately fell in love with his work.
Pier’s sensitivity was a true gift. I always told myself that the artwork of my albums should be something inextricable to the music. I wanted to feel as if the two bodies of work were born together. Pier completely understood the assignment. He listened to the music, poured his heart into this complicated landscape and moved us all. We couldn’t stop praising him once he sent us the final version of the artwork.
I definitely wanted to produce this album as if it were a trip down memory lane. Each and every memory of mine is imbued with music, so the genres and styles I went for bring me back to some of those moments I recount.
The album spans a wide breadth of instrumentation and influences and your vocals are just as varied across the tracks. When considering the sound for each track, were there distinct styles you knew you wanted to represent?
I definitely wanted to produce this album as if it were a trip down memory lane. Each and every memory of mine is imbued with music, so the genres and styles I went for bring me back to some of those moments I recount. I love listening to all genres of music, but I particularly connect with popular music, Italian jazz and folk 60s music, 00s R&B and genre-defying artists such as Solange, Rosalia, and James Blake. I think you can probably hear that intention in the music.
I was very excited about bringing all of these influences together and challenging myself to make them work by focusing a lot on creating a consistent vocal sound and having a very intuitive approach to drums and percussions throughout the record.
The album includes a feature from Alok Vaid-Menon, and I was moved to hear of the letter that you sent them. Why was it so important for you to include their voice on the song, ‘Brave’?
Alok was one of the first people I came across when looking for role models and activists when I was in the early stages of coming out [as gender non-conforming]. I didn’t think twice [about reaching out to them] to be honest, I did it intuitively because I was very moved by how they talked about the label’ brave’ when it comes to queer people’s experience. It inspired me to write this song and find more compassion for what I was going through.
I always say that this is the record I needed to write because this is the lesson I was put in front of at this moment of my life.
Across the record, your lyrics tell stories of introspection and reclamation. Can you tell us about how this album has fostered this self-reflection?
The moment I realised this was the album I had to make came to light when I finished writing “A Tie”. This journey of self-reflection came from the willingness to acknowledge how systemically abusive a patriarchal and anti-Black society can be. The damage that it can cause to a single human being, as much as to entire generations. I always say that this is the record I needed to write because this is the lesson I was put in front of at this moment of my life. I am very grateful to have found music as a tool to develop more awareness and compassion.
Alongside the album, you’ve released an accompanying short film that you’ve said gives listeners a “different experience” of the record. Can you tell us more about the visual world of Circumnavigating Georgia, its characters, and any inspirations or references you may have included?
The film is a metaphor for my coming of age. It’s a ‘fantastic’ memory capsule inspired by many conversations I had with my visionary creative director, Mahaneela, and film director, C.T. Robert. The inspiration behind the alien concept shot in the same house mostly came from the marriage between A Fantastic Planet and Master of None’s third season.
In the film, you can see how I am exploring this place – supposedly “Georgia” – as well as unpacking the boxes of my inner landscape to then find myself in a fully furnished home, transformed into this beautiful malachite alien. The alien who cuts my hair represents one of my guidelines in this process of evolution, and the young person appearing in both ‘sexed&sexual’ and ‘If I Let A White Man Cut My Hair’ is meant to represent my younger self.
This album is not only the culmination of a journey of exploration, it is definitely a period piece that travels across a few years of my life, through which I felt confident enough to retrieve those musical memories, held together by something that has always been a physical and metaphorical constant on this path: my voice.
You’ve been releasing your music independently since 2018 – how, if at all, has this influenced your artistry and the album?
Over the years, I feel like I gave myself a chance to really explore which sounds felt most like home to me. That was a nice excuse to learn more about the technical aspect of making music and honing a language of my own, when it comes to personal growth within the society I live in.
Since I started releasing music, I realised how much music speaks to my memories. It feels like my brain has always been soundtracked. This album is not only the culmination of a journey of exploration, it is definitely a period piece that travels across a few years of my life, through which I felt confident enough to retrieve those musical memories, held together by something that has always been a physical and metaphorical constant on this path: my voice.
How are you feeling about taking the album on tour next month? Is there a track you’re most excited to perform live?
I’m feeling quite scared and thrilled at the same time. Playing music live for people can be both an extremely healing experience and a triggering one.
It’s important for me to put things in perspective whenever I can. The world as we know it is hurting. In conscious and unconscious ways, I feel like I’m contributing to this vicious cycle. Trying to explore a life outside capitalism, still cultivating creativity, while trying to be of service to my close community, is something I’ve been thinking about a lot more in the last few months.
I know I’m not alone in feeling this, so if amid such tormented historical times, one person feels moved to go out and experience some music written by a fellow human, I like to think there is still some hope somewhere. I don’t want to take the opportunity of performing some of these songs for granted. They helped me feel more present and honest in my current life, which is a lesson I’m constantly reassessing. I hope this tour can be a healing experience for both myself and whoever is on the other side.
Trying to explore a life outside capitalism, still cultivating creativity, while trying to be of service to my close community, is something I’ve been thinking about a lot more in the last few months.
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