Sandi Glowe looks both to the past and the future on is it the past that affects my will?, her debut EP for AnalogueTrash. Since signing with the label in December 2022, she has released two well-received singles - Silent Town and Where the Light Goes - and made appearances on the two most recent editions of their Label Sampler series.

Sandi began writing songs on guitar at the age of 16, but she states that the initial steps to her musical self-discovery began when she moved from Rome to Manchester at the age of 19. The move heralded the start of an evolution in her creative process; one that saw her progress from looping melancholic guitar melodies in her bedroom to working in tandem with producers with very different influences – including synthpop and pop-punk - in order to achieve her own musical vision.

Now based in Italy once again, she regularly returns to Manchester to record and perform new music. The fruits of Sandi’s immersion herself in that city’s musical culture and history is something you can hear on is it the past that affects my will?, and while there’s an overarching sonic theme to the EP, the tracks themselves aren’t linked together in one story or concept:

“is it the past that affects my will? explores my dreams and my fears,” reveals Sandi. “It looks at both sides of the coin: feelings of hope and feelings of hopelessness. With the EP, I wanted to paint a world of surreal images to talk about feelings that we all feel and have felt.”

She continues, “I didn’t reference specific artists in the writing process, I have always been naturally drawn to melancholic melodies and that’s what generally guides my songwriting. However, in terms of production me and my producers had different references in mind for each song to add emphasis to the tone and message of the lyrics. The ethereal and romantic dreampop textures of Cigarettes After Sex were the main reference for Blackpool’s sound, for example.”

“Michael Andrews’ Donnie Darko soundtrack, with its John Barry and Ennio Morricone influences, inspired the production for Where the Light Goes and industrial rock acts like Nine Inch Nails and Ministry can be heard in the production choices for Silent Town and elements of She Holds All the Pain of the World. As diverse as that may sound, the EP works really well when played from start to finish in its entirety, something that was very important to me during the recording and production process.”