Swedish producer and multi-instrumentalist, sir Was – a moniker for Joel Wästberg – is today sharing his new single/video, "I Wanna Feel Like That" which arrives as the latest instalment from his forthcoming album, Let The Morning Come, out via Memphis Industries on 15 October 2021. The track, which arrives with a stunning visual accompaniment directed by Damien Priest and features Joel's brother, Nils Wästberg follows on from previous singles supported by BBC 6 Music, KCRW, Stereogum, Clash, Hypebeast and more. sir Was is set to perform live at Chats Palace, London on October 21, 2021 – tickets are available here.
"I Wanna Feel Like That" continues to mine Joel's penchant for tar-thick grooves and subtle funk-indebted electronica, fusing his soaring falsetto with dreamy hooks and inspired arrangements. Arriving entirely self-produced, Let The Morning Come brings sir Was's most condensed writing to date looking to mirror the immediacy he found in the music of his youth – "I Wanna Feel Like That" arrives as another striking example of this.
Speaking about the new single, Wästberg says: “'I Wanna Feel Like That' is about how to visualize this desire to be an updated version of your own self. The only way I could think was to compare myself to an imagined self. My longtime friend Tobias Sondén, an actor and to me, a physical genius, came to mind. He moves in a lovely way and he would represent the “ultimate” version of myself. And to add more to the mix, my brother, Nils Wästberg contributed another aspect and finally, there was Fredrik Wallin (Little Dragon), a tall and completely different type of physique. Together with my buddy and cinematographer, Damien Priest, we went out and made the video. Anything to be and feel like that!"
2020 was supposed to be Wästberg’s big year. Still riding high from the release of his second album as sir Was –2019’s Holding On To A Dream – the Swedish multi-instrumentalist was booked to open for Little Dragon across Europe and the US. When the tour was cancelled due to COVID, he decided to channel all his energies into writing new music instead, but in August of 2020, he received some life-changing news. Tests revealed he carried the gene for a rare, hereditary condition causing multiple strokes.
“At first I got very sad and scared,” says Joel of the devastating diagnosis. “But at the same time, it was like all the other worries I carried suddenly didn't matter. I just got this very intense feeling of being alive.”
This dichotomy lies at the heart of his beautifully bittersweet third LP. Meditating on love, growth, self-acceptance, forgiveness, mortality and the passing of time, Let The Morning Come, which arrives self-produced by Joel, contains his most candid writing to date. And yet, for all the heartache that comes with being cruelly confronted with one’s own mortality, the prevailing impression Wästberg leaves listeners with is one of hope, resulting in a collection that is life-affirming in the very truest sense
sir Was, praised initially by Stones Throw Records founder, Peanut Butter Wolf, has received support around the world with multiple playlists on BBC 6 Music, plays on BBC Radio 1, KCRW, Radio Nova, Radio Eins and more. Alongside this, he has performed and collaborated with Little Dragon, Efterklang’s Clasper Clausen, Falle Nioke (on the recent collaborative Marasi EP) and Junip as well as performing at Eurosonic, Mad Cool and Benicassim Festivals.
