Alexander Biggs Has An Insatiable Appetite For Creating

After the success of his single ‘Figure It Out’, Melbourne’s Alexander Biggs has just released his, intriguingly named, debut EP Still You Sharpen Your Teeth. Over the past eighteen months, Biggs has added a myriad of accolades to his belt, including receiving airplay on triple j and BBC Radio 1, as well as touring with the likes of Frightened Rabbit and Julien Baker.

Influenced by such musical luminaries as Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes and Bon Iver, Biggs creates music with an introspective and melancholic bend, sentiments well explored on Still You Sharpen Your Teeth.

We caught up with the singer and songwriter to discuss his BIGSOUND experience, what fans can expect on his upcoming EP launch shows and his constant need to create.

Music Feeds: What have you been up to this morning?

Alexander Biggs: I’ve recently been getting into chess. Like, that’s my recent obsession in the house. All my roommates have been playing a lot. So, I had a bit of a cheeky game. I’ve been trying to, like, learn all these cool tips ’cause otherwise, I don’t really play much otherwise, to ace them and become a chess master.

MF: That’s a good plan! So you have can tournaments with your housemates?

AB: Yeah, I usually get my ass kicked though. But sometimes I’ll put them in a really good checkmate that I didn’t see coming, and I’ll pretend I did it on purpose.

MF: What got you into creating music?

AB: I guess I just really loved music. I always had this obsession with it, it was only a matter of time until I started making it on my own. I guess I’ve been on the trajectory since I started learning music as a kid.

MF: You just played BIGSOUND, how’d you find it?

AB: I loved it, it was a lot of fun! It was my first BIGSOUND playing, but third-year up [in Brisbane], so I kind of knew what to expect a little bit, other than the playing. It was cool to take my friends up to play with me and my band. I had a lot of fun, and it was some much-needed vitamin D.

MF: Who else did you end up seeing at BIGSOUND?

AB: Angie McMahon and Tom Stephens were really big highlights for me. Both incredible songwriters, and incredible bands as well.

MF: You’ve spoken in the past about the relative ease of recording music now, and the subsequent oversaturation it’s caused in the scene. What do you think is the best method for artists to ensure they’re being heard?

AB: I think the best method for being heard as an artist is to make good content, because at the end of the day if you’re not making good art, all the press in the world won’t help you. I think it’s important to really jump into your own world and write those songs, and write good quality content. Be your own moderator, but also just release. Like, when it comes down to it, I’m not going to listen to something that sucks [laughs].

MF: You just released your single ‘Figure It Out’, do you have any plans to release another single?

AB: Um, I don’t know. I guess we’ll… figure it out [laughs]. I guess we’ll see. I’m kind of more keen for just writing. Whether we do a new single or not will come about, but I’m just more keen on making more songs right now.

MF: What can fans expect on your EP tour later this year?

AB: I think they can expect me playing a lot of the EP songs, plus maybe a new song or two. I guess I can give them an insight into how I wrote the songs, and why I wrote them, and what the whole EP is about. Plus they can see my pretty face.

MF: So, you’ve written a few new songs since the EP?

AB: Oh, I never stop. I’m really excited to put the new batch out. But I’m also excited about this batch coming out.

MF: It’s good that you have so many creative juices flowing and are creating so much.

AB: Yeah, yeah. I mean, it sucks sometimes – you’ve got to, like, give yourself a pep talk. But I mean, I have thought about that. Like, will there ever be a point where I break-even with my song-writing, where I have it all out that I’ve written? Or am I just going to keep building it up until it overflows?

MF: Do you do any other creative things, other than music?

AB: I like to draw a little bit. Make some poems every now and then. And just produce, which I guess is a bit creative in a different sense. I always find something to keep busy creatively. It’s just so fun! How fun is it to just bring something into the world out of nowhere?

MF: Do you find that your song writing is changing over time?

AB: Yeah, a little bit. I like to think that I’m not staying stale. I think it’s a very natural and organic progression. I mean, I’m always going to love what I’m making, right?

MF: What are your creative goals for next year?

AB: I want to put out three times as much music next year, that’s the only one I’ve got. I’d also love to tour a lot, but creatively, I just want to make a lot more songs and hopefully get them all out quicker!

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”Still You Sharpen Your Teeth is out now’. Listen here.