Exclusive Interview with 'BEYOND THE SUN'

Beyond The Sun, a Toronto-based alt-rock band, has released “Rest of My Days” on June 24 via ONErpm. The relatable song explores the band’s own relationship struggles while urging listeners to think back on their own romantic experiences. Beyond The Sun, a band made up of the brothers Phil, Dalton, and Colin Radu, has developed from a hobby project of three young boys in their parents’ living room into a well-liked act playing to packed houses. They have been chosen to perform this year at Canadian Music Week, an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on June 11 and NXNE, on June 17.

The song’s heartfelt lyrics are framed by a lush guitar-led soundscape and hazy, emotive vocals, giving it an intimate feel. It was co-written by drummer Dalton and Nick Wheeler (of The All-American Rejects), and it was produced by Dalton with contributions from Rob Laska (of Valley), Nick Wheeler, and Graham Whitford (of Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown). The band’s aggressive but sweet delivery is accompanied by high, full vocals that have an almost orchestral quality.

The trio explains that Rest of My Days is not your typical love song. This up-and-coming act has developed a distinct identity and sound for themselves over the course of more than ten years of love for music and commitment to perfecting their craft. As they dive headfirst into writing the first draft of a new EP, their most recent single offers a preview of the music to come. Check out this single and the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you all come from and how it all got started?

BEYOND THE SUN: We’re 3 brothers from just outside Toronto, Canada. We started playing music & performing live in 2003, at the ages of 7, 9, & 11. We were known as Canada’s Youngest Rock band as “Hidden Echo” with another member from ’03-’05 & then Beyond The Sun became a 3 piece & officially started in late 2005.

2. Did you guys have any formal training or are you self-taught?

BEYOND THE SUN: Yeah, we took music lessons from the beginning & had tons of instructors growing up. We’re still great friends with a few of them today.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘BEYOND THE SUN’?

BEYOND THE SUN: Our great-grandfather, Jack Hannan was a drummer in the big bands back in the 30’s-40’s. He played with Duke Ellington, Count Basie & Lionel Hampton when they came to Toronto. He’s definitely the reason we were naturally drawn to music. But in terms of idols, we picked up instruments as kids because we wanted to be like the band Creed. Their music was a huge influence on us in the early days. “Beyond The Sun” was a name that we came up with as 13 years olds, didn’t think much of it then but we’ve been stuck with it ever since.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

BEYOND THE SUN: Most of our songs come from personal experience, we write what we feel or know. Everybody goes through the same things; whether it be love, loss, struggles, triumphs so we feel like listeners can really relate to those things. There are some songs in the catalogue that are story (fiction) based, but even those can end up having some piece of our lives mixed in there. Our music is summed up as Alt/Pop/Rock.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as *Alt/ROCK*?

**BEYOND THE SUN**:

In the early days we definitely tried to emulate the bands we loved. Then after doing it for so long, you find things that work for you & can start to narrow in on what “your sound” is. Even though we’ve been making music since we were kids, it honestly feels like we’ve just started hitting our stride with the last year of releases we’ve put out. Finding the truest sound of Beyond The Sun.

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative and entertainment?

BEYOND THE SUN:

We use music to escape all of that, instead of alienating people or creating division by getting political or spiritual we look at music as something universal. Not matter what age, beliefs, views, etc our music is a home for everyone.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfilment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

BEYOND THE SUN:

This is a complicated answer, when we first finish the demo of a song & hear it back — yes. That is all the fulfilment we truly need, hearing our idea and work come to life is extremely rewarding. However once that song gets released to the world & we have to rely on triggering algorithms to give it a chance of being heard on a bigger scale, that’s when the joy of this process gets bittersweet. The saving grace for us is playing these songs live, that always is the best moment & most gratifying experience for us. Seeing how it reacted with our fans will always overshadow any “release day disappointment” and bring back that initial joy we felt creating the songs.

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

BEYOND THE SUN:

We call it a rely race – Usually the idea starts from a melody that Colin comes up with, then Phil takes that & builds out the story & lyrics. We work on the structure together and then Dalton brings it across the finish line in the studio. We used to do everything just the 3 of us, but in the last few years we’ve really expanded our collaborator network. We’ve really loved co-writing with others, getting an outside perspective on things is always refreshing.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

BEYOND THE SUN: Staying creative can be challenge at times, life gets in the way & we can’t always be working on music. So we now start the beginning of each year in Nashville for a few months to recharge & focus solely on music. Whether it’s co-writing, recording, going to see friends’ shows, etc. It always re-inspires us to keep grinding.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?BEYOND THE SUN: Proudest moments would be, performing in Puerto Rico back to back years. First headlining a radio festival & then coming back to their arena in San Juan. Next would be the music video we made for Holding On To You with David O’Donohue. Filmed in Nashville back in 2019, it’s still is the coolest thing our band has done thus far. Lastly, getting to tour & travel around to places we’ve never been is always an incredible thing.