As ambient pop goes – you certainly don’t get anything as dreamy, sultry and emotionally driven than Cigarettes After Sex. Their minimal sound scape that dances with silence is sparse, angelic, sometimes haunting, but always captures the romantic lust we all wish for. With new music on the horizon and a Brighton live date locked in, we asked lead singer Greg Gonzalez some questions to find out more about Cigarettes After Sex.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in El Paso, Texas.

Is there much of a music scene there?
It’s a fairly tight knit scene, but there’s a lot of great players & bands there for sure.

Do you think where you lived or live now has influenced your music?
It definitely has as most of the songs are addressing specific memories. For instance, ‘Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby’ takes place at a house I was living in my hometown, while the song we just released ‘K.’ takes place in Brooklyn & on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Can you remember the first album you bought?
The first albums I can remember buying were Michael Jackson’s Thriller & a Greatest Hits cassette by The Monkee’s.

What drives you to write music?
I usually just have to write music basically as a compulsion that’s always been with me.

How did Cigarettes After Sex form?
I formed the group in 2008 with a few friends based around a set of songs I had just written.

Is there a story behind the name?
I was seeing a girl who I had “friends with privileges” type relationship with. She would always smoke after we were together & got me into it as well. One night after we were together the name just came to me. It was just what we were doing at the time.

How would you briefly describe your music?
Maybe just as slow romantic ballads.

What are the band’s main influences?
Francoise Hardy, Cocteau Twins, Red House Painters, Mazzy Star & late 50s/early 60s songs like ‘I Love How You Love Me’ by the Paris Sisters.

What inspires your lyrics?
They’re mostly inspired by relationships I’ve had or have. Like taking little snapshots of moments in time maybe.

I hear you are working on a new album which I am excited about. Are there any details you can give us about it?
It’s going to be around 9 to 10 songs & should be released around June of next year. Though we should be able to release a few more singles leading up to it.

What has been a musical eye opener for you? 
There’s been so many over the years. The one that was the inception of the idea for our first EP was hearing the Cowboy Junkie’s cover of ‘Sweet Jane’ again & learning that they recorded the entire album, Trinity Session, with it over the course of a night with a single microphone in a church. I adopted this approach for that EP & we’ve stuck with it ever since.

What music are you listening to at the moment?
I’m always listening to a lot of different things, but some songs that have stood out for me lately have been ‘Ou Va La Chance’ by Francoise Hardy, ‘Megitsune’ by Babymetal, ‘Circle’ by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, ‘X’ by 21 Savage & Metro Boomin & ‘Against the Wind’ by Bob Seger to name a few.

What are your future plans until the end of the year & after?
We’ll be touring through November as well as mid-December & then finishing the album right around New Years. 

Website: CigarettesAfterSex.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CigarettesAfterSex
Twitter: twitter.com/CigsAfterSexx