With a unique sonic identity, Canguru has been building his discography, releasing impactful tracks like ‘Right Reasons’ and his 2024 album, ‘Your Loving’. Now, following the release of his latest single, ‘West Goes The Sun’, Canguru joins us for an exclusive interview to share an insider’s look into the production, revealing the inspirations, goals, and processes behind the single. As he gives us a glimpse into his workflow, providing an insight into the technical aspects of his approach, we learn more about the ways Canguru continues to ensure the evolution of his creativity, consistently driving his music into refreshing territories as he keeps exploring his influences and discovering new sounds. Stream the new single below and keep reading for our exclusive interview with Canguru.
Hi Canguru! Congratulations on your release of the Trap single ‘West Goes The Sun’! How’s it going?
Thanks a lot! I’m good thanks.
To begin, could you share with us your inspiration behind this refreshing track and the title, ‘West Goes The Sun’?
Well, I’ve always been a Rap fan and I’ve been inspired by this whole new wave of rappers and how they have reshaped the sound of what Rap used to be with new genre outshoots such as Trap. I find it really inspiring to see this scene constantly evolving in all kinds of directions. During the lockdown period, I decided to produce my own Rap album inspired by the music scene of the moment. The title of the single is a kind of play on words on the expression “going west”, which means going wrong.
What message were you aiming to convey to listeners through the lyrics?
These lyrics are a reflection on past times and about the many lessons I have learnt along the way. Overall, it is a song about self-improvement and progress.
What are some of your favorite moments in this piece?
Well, it was nice to ask my friend to record some guitar on it. I also love the lyric line in the chorus: “I’m picking you up, let’s go!” It is a positive way of saying that even though things are going west, we still move forward and look ahead.
Were there any reference tracks that you drew particular influence from for the overall sound of ‘West Goes The Sun’?
No particular tracks but throughout the lockdown period I was listening to a lot of artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Little Peep, Travis Scott, Rea Sremmurd and Gucci Mane to name but a few…
‘West Goes The Sun’ brings a feel-good vibe with chilled beats and guitar hooks, what was your creative process for layering the unique elements in this piece?
My writing process for this single and the rest of the album would often start by searching for samples that would inspire me to rap. In this case, I first found this cool keyboard sample that I looped and messed around with, then I programmed the beat and bass parts. The next step was to record my rap parts. Lastly, I recorded a guide acoustic guitar part, but I wasn’t too sure about it, so I asked a friend of mine to come up with a new guitar part. In the end, his guitar part was better than mine, so we used his.
How would you say this track highlights your signature sound?
I think on this single and the rest of the album I really developed the strength of my baritone voice range a lot more than I used to and I also played around and experimented with a lot of new modern production techniques I hadn’t before by using samples as groundings for developing tunes.
Did you explore new beats or musical elements in this single?
Yes, very much so. I had a lot of fun recording my own drum patterns from scratch, uploading drum samples I had downloaded from a Drake drum sample pack into a drum rack in Ableton Live and recording it all step by step. It was all a very intuitive way of working on this single and the rest of the album.
Was there a valuable lesson you learned while producing this track?
Well, I think the overall lesson I have learnt is that it is inspiring to collaborate with other artists or music producers. In this case, this track was co-produced by me and French Producer Gauthier Matherat and the guitar part was recorded by Eric Renwart. Collaborating with other artists/producers can often be a catalyst for new ideas and bring something new that I would have never thought about in my songs.
Anything exciting plans for Canguru next?
Well next, I will be releasing the second single of my new album and then the rest of the album following that. I am also currently producing my first guest mixes. This is very exciting for me because DJing is something I always wanted to get into, and I always wanted to remix some of my tracks as well as other people’s.
Canguru Online
We conclude our interview with Canguru by thanking him for his time and for taking us behind the scenes of ‘West Goes The Sun’; as he promises new music soon, we eagerly look forward to hearing what innovative sounds and unique energies he will bring in his upcoming releases, and encourage you to dive into his compelling sonic world by listening now to Canguru’s ‘West Goes The Sun’. A talent to keep on your radar, be sure to be following Canguru across social media today.
