Ivy Eye is fusing together a love of classic disco/funk, and R&B records, along with adoration for modern pop songwriting and its sleek production.
Basking in the debut release of “Peace of Mind,” the UK-based duo of Matthew Benham and Rory Sheppard, has been writing songs for many years, and in the past 6 months, they have given Ivy Eye the time deserved to finesse and craft their sound.
Dipping listeners into an upbeat fusion of funk-infused components, the effervescent charisma that comes pouring from “Peace of Mind,” has you mindlessly bouncing to the beat. Immersing us in a disco/pop gold radiance that serves up an eloquent offering of magnetism, you can’t help but gravitate towards the likes of Ivy Eye as your curiosity peaks through each sonic element showcased.
With a delectable vocalization of soothing melodies that embodies a mesmerizing cascade of lyrical motifs, the song's narrative touches on finding peace of mind. Being left to the listener's interpretation, the vast meaning drenched in the brilliant songwriting techniques leaves an extensive gap for you to connect the dots with your own personal experiences.
The rhythm takes full control in “Peace of Mind,” and that becomes apparent during the initial moments the sound waves touch down. With the nostalgic eras infiltrating the musical arrangement, Ivy Eye delivers a timeless ambiance in their debut to the music scene. A sleek quintessence is grasped as the refreshing panache that surges from Ivy Eye have us focused on the brighter days ahead.
Stressing their point through an avant-garde explosion of wistful hues, we’re thrilled to see what Ivy Eye has in store for us next.
Hello Ivy Eye and welcome to BuzzMusic. First off, congratulations on your debut release “Peace of Mind.” We love the feel-good vibration that floats from the song's meaning. What inspired the lyrical content portrayed in this record?
Thank you very much! We are thrilled to finally be able to share this song with the world. The lyrics are very much purposely vague. However, they do come from personal experiences which appear to be very common in today’s society. Although the track has a ‘feel-good vibe, the lyrics are very much about the conflict of everyday anxiety. Sometimes you feel good, other times you don’t. We feel this may be particularly relevant with the world being in the current ‘age of anxiety. How was it that you two decided to form Ivy Eye? With continuously perfecting your craft for some time, what made you decide it was the perfect time to release your debut single? We met back when we were in college in 2013, and played in a few different bands together experimenting with various genres and styles yet somehow always came back to a mutual love for classic Disco and Funk records i.e Chic - Risque and Michael Jackson - Off The Wall. After getting back in touch during the UK lockdown back in October 2020, We began to rediscover old songs we had written back in college and also writing about 30 new songs and one of those so happened to be ‘Peace of Mind’. This track naturally felt right that it should be the first song we release as it showcases the foundation of our sound. You recorded this song at your home studio, and we love the energy that comes from it! Could you please share a glimpse of what the creative and recording process looked like? As Matt (Vocalist and Guitarist) lives down on the South Coast of the UK and Rory (Bassist and also produces) lives in Lincoln (which is almost the opposite end of the country) we have really had to adapt how we work as everything has been written over Facetime. It would usually start with recording an idea and then a lot of sending back and forth, adding layers and elements until the track is at a place we are both happy with. From there it goes to Mix and Mastering. It’s all very much trial and error as this ‘e-workflow’ is different to us but for now, it works and we can’t wait to be able to get into a studio together. With the world currently going through anxious tendencies due to world events, what are some ways that you continue to find your own peace of mind?
For us, we have always found music as a form of escapism. Whether that be working on a new track or spinning a Prince record, We have always found music to be the one thing that, without fail, metaphorically transports us to somewhere else for a while. So I guess if we were to label that, that would make us escapists in the way that we seek distraction from reality in the form of entertainment and the fact that you will very rarely find us not listening to music says a lot…So in other words...music, music, music. What has been your favorite personal release of this year? The classic question that never gets easier to answer...For us it’s between three: To start with Justin Bieber’s album ‘Justice’. We were a bit blown away with the latest release from him, so much so, we actually did a cover of ‘Peaches’ as we loved the track so much and we also love the track ‘Hold On’. Great to see Justin releasing new music! Another album that has been released that we can’t stop listening to is Giveon’s album ‘When It’s All Said And Done...Take Time’ with tracks like ‘The Beach’ and ‘World We Created’. The trumpets in that track are so nice. His vocals are unbelievable. We found him on Instagram with a short cover of ‘Who Hurt You’ by Daniel Caesar and have been obsessed since. Lastly, SG Lewis’ album ‘Times’. Wow. We think this comes under the ‘Nu-Disco’ area which has more of an electronic sound to classic disco but we love it. The track ‘Feed The Fire’ is a banger and also ‘One More’ in which SG Lewis is working with none other than Nile Rodgers. In our opinion, working with Nile Rodgers is one of the biggest accolades you can earn in the music industry. Fair play.