Conversations with the Shoegaze ELVIS PRESLEY

Written by: Tom Wilson @thetomwilsonexperiment - Sense Music Media

Love – its presence, or its absence – is one of the core emotions that shape our world, and what we do in it. U.K. born, New York-based troubadour Coyle Girelli knows this all too well, and has crafted an impressive body of work that sets Elvis-style crooning against dreamy shoegaze soundscapes. His work has seen him work with everyone from PEKING DUK to K-Pop behemoth BTS, and ahead of the release of his gorgeous new LP Funhouse, he spoke to SENSE from New York.

The Interview

Pardon the bargain basement question (we’ll get to the good stuff in a minute), but what bands and artists have had the biggest influence on you, and why?

I try to pull inspiration from everywhere really. There was a lot of music played in my house growing up. My parents both love music. My grandma would play Italian operas – Puccini and Verdi mainly. My dad played a lot of Americana like Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty. I feel like I kind of marinated in all of that music as a kid and that’s stayed with me. To this day I still love all that stuff. I love the opera and go regularly in New York to the Met. Puccini is the greatest melody writer in history in my opinion. I just love anything that makes me feel. That really connects. And love Americana. The imagery, the earthy sounds of the music and the heart-on-sleeve lyrics.

As well as this I’d say over the years that David Bowie, Kate Bush, Springsteen, Roy Orbison and THE BEATLES are constant influences. Musically this new album was more influenced by the music I was listening to when I wrote it.  A lot of Leonard Cohen, THE WAR ON DRUGS, ALVVAYS, Hamilton Leithauser, CIGARETTES AFTER SEX and Springsteen.

What is life like in New York at the moment?

Like most places it’s been a weird few years here but the city bounced back pretty quickly. It’s got its manic, non-stop energy back and people are out and about making life happen. I love New York. It felt like home the first time I ever came here and it inspires me every day. It was the main inspiration behind this new album. I wrote it during the first months of lockdown when I was out of the city up in the woods in Vermont missing it.

In listening to your music, I did the music journo thing and tried to describe your music in my head. I came up with “shoegaze Elvis Presley”. How did I do?

Oooh I love that. “Shoegaze Elvis Presley” is a quote I’m keeping. Good band name as well.

Your cover of Bittersweet Symphony is sublime. What do you think makes a good cover? And what do you think makes a god-awful one?

Thanks man! What a tune hey?! That was a fun one to record and dive into. I’d always loved that song and when HBO asked me if I’d record a version for My Dinner with Herve I leapt at the chance.

I think the first thing that makes a good cover is making sure you understand and feel the lyrics as if they were your own. Putting the wrong emotion into the lyrics is a song killer. Then it’s respecting the melody. Don’t change it for the sake of changing it. Respect the melody and the writing. By all means, add your interpretation of it, but so often you hear a cover butcher a song and you’re just like, “Why? Why did you feel the need to do that?”  

You’ve got a pretty impressive resume of collaborations. How did you end up working with BTS?

Thanks! Yeah I’ve been very fortunate to work with a lot of incredible artists and writers.

The BTS collaboration was one of those things that kind of just happened. They heard the song and really dug [it] and did an amazing job in the studio with it. They made some really smart changes here and there. I love how it came out. And then watching the song just skyrocket once it was released was pretty special. BTS are a phenomenon. Unlike anything else on the planet and their fans are unbelievable. So much love for the BTS Army.

Who would be some of your dream collaborations – living or dead – and why?

Elvis – no explanation needed. What a voice.

Puccini – he is the greatest melody writer of all time.

Bowie – I always thought I’d get to meet him and I’m very sad I never did. A genius and one of the greatest and most important artists of the 20th century.

Springsteen – ‘cos he’s the boss isn’t he!

What can you tell me about the creation of Funland? How long have you been working on it? And what were some of the biggest challenges in creating it?

Funland is a magic collection of songs full of interesting characters, sounds, smells and moments. It’s a night out on the town. It’s a love-at-first-sight and it’s a teenage heartbreak. It’s getting lost in your city and finding the best secret bar you’ve ever been to.

It all came together pretty quickly. I threw myself into writing as soon as Covid lockdown kicked in and before I knew it I’d written a lot of new music which I started separating into albums. The collection of songs on Funland seemed to fit together and tell a story of a place and a moment.

One I got back to New York I took it into the studio and recorded the parts and finished it off. It all came together pretty quickly. I tried not to overthink it and just let it do it’s thing.

It all felt good off the bat, so the biggest challenge was making sure I kept that feeling as I added more to it and properly recorded the drums and rest of the instruments in the studio. A lot of the final vocals I ended up going with were the first rough vocals I first laid down as they just had the right feel. 

The closer of Funland, Porno, is amazing. What inspired it?

Thank you! Yeah, Porno is an interesting one. It’s like a pub song or something. Celebrating total chaos with a wink and a scotch. An ode to love, life and all the madness in between. It was a fun one to create. There are a few other messages and comments I put in there but I’ll leave those for the listener to interpret as they hear it. 

Love, or the lack of it, feels like one of the oldest themes in music, and it feels like you explore it a lot in your songwriting. What have been some events in recent life that have inspired you to write songs?

I guess so. I tend to write pretty instinctively. I try to just let the song come out and don’t really fight it so that’s all coming from experience. I’ve had my fair share of heartache, like anyone, and it’s been a source of inspiration either consciously or subconsciously over the years coming to the surface when I sit down to write a song. I feel like there’s a pool of stored memories, feelings, traumas and experiences that kind of just sits there – somewhere in the middle of my chest and when I’m in the right zone I pull from that pool. 

You might be the first artist I’ve ever interviewed who has released a Christmas album. I have to ask – did you make it home for Christmas? Or was it a Covid casualty?

I kind of love Christmas music. I know that’s not a very cool thing for a rock musician to admit but it’s true. So many great songs, especially the classics, so I always wanted to make a Christmas album and it’s always surreal writing and singing Christmas music in July. 

I did manage to make it home finally for Christmas. I also managed to avoid catching Covid while I was back so I could make it back to NY. I spent some well overdue time with my family back in Leeds and Manchester. Caught a few Manchester City matches at the Etihad, ate a lot of food that I miss in the States – fish and chips, sausage rolls, a good roast, drank a lot and chilled out. T’was perfect.

Funland is out February 25th.

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