Surprise Baby - Sarsten Noice (Used with permission)
By Jason Barnard
Surprise Baby, the collaboration between musician Sarsten Noice and producer Claire Morison, defies easy categorisation with a dazzling rock meets indie pop sound highlighted by their debut EP, “Too Right”. In this interview, Sarsten discusses Surprise Baby’s origins, influences and the cathartic nature of songwriting.
Can you tell us about the origins of Surprise Baby and how the collaboration came about?
Surprise Baby started to take shape in 2016/2017. I was living alone for the first time in a number of years and writing a lot as a result of my new found solitude. I had been putting a band of my closest friends together and we were saying yes to any and every show we could get our hands on. Claire and I have been collaborating and recording together since before either of us lived in LA, so I suppose Surprise Baby was just an extension of our longstanding musical partnership.
But the new beginning came about when we endeavored to record the first ‘Surprise Baby EP’ at Company Studios in Glendale CA. We felt tight as a band and excited from playing so many live shows that year. It was a real learning experience and unfortunately we didn’t end up keeping most of what we tracked, except for ‘Bless the Loser’ which has to be one of my favorite songs on the EP and maybe the strongest tune.
On your debut EP, “Too Right”, the themes of relationships, self-growth, spirituality, and transformation are prevalent. Can you elaborate on how these themes influenced the songwriting process?
The themes really came out of the writing process, I didn’t go into writing with the intention of exploring these themes. It just turned out that what I was going through at the time was a lot of change. A major breakup, falling in love again and getting my heart smashed, being exposed to prayer and meditation for the first time, struggling with unhealthy coping mechanisms, in short, growing up. Songwriting was the tool I had to process and channel the strong emotions I was experiencing.
What inspired the creation of “Poison the Well”?
A really hooky base line! I came home one day and my dear friend and collaborator Ozz, who was staying with me at the time, had been writing and came up with this bass line. I remember as soon as I heard It I had a vocal melody in my head. We sat down, I found a complimentary guitar line and we recorded a demo in a couple hours if that.
Can you share the inspiration behind “Motorcycle” and the significance of exploring the theme of escapism in your music?
I think I sometimes have an easier time expressing how I’m feeling through songs, and a harder time actually talking out a conflict or desire. I think ‘Motorcycle’ is an example of that. It is somewhat fictional but came from a real feeling of being out of alignment with a partner and not knowing how to reconcile that. Putting the feeling into a story and letting the character in the song experience the escapism was cathartic for me at the time.
As a songwriter, you mention using songwriting as a way to process your internal world and give intense emotions an outlet. How does this cathartic process influence the creative direction of your music?
I’d say it influences the creative direction by allowing for abstraction and experimentation. Because our emotions are always changing and influenced easily, I find the creative direction to always be shifting subtly and it becomes more of a time capsule than a manifesto.
How has your background, being originally from Northwest Montana, and where you are now – Los Angeles, influenced the themes and atmosphere of your music?
Growing up in Montana gave me a limited but unique range of musical influences. What my parents listened to and what mixed tapes my sisters made me, and then what my friends exposed me too. This included a lot of indie folk and indie rock. All the music filtering over from Seattle and the Sub Pop world reached us and had great influence. Moving to LA and finding community here opened up my world to more garage rock and psych rock which has come through in my choices in guitar tones and arrangements.
Are there specific artists or musical influences that have played a significant role in shaping the musical identity of Surprise Baby?
Radiohead, Little Dragon, The Black Keys are just a few influences that definitely shaped my writing.
Looking ahead, what can fans expect from Surprise Baby?
We will be releasing a two song 7 inch later this year, and we are in the process of recording a full length record right now that will be coming out in 2025.
