Get to know the artist SIDEWAYS and his upcoming single “SOS!” He is a Dutch-Indonesian singer/songwriter who’s known for his guitar-based sound, and in the past he participated on Immortal Songs and collaborated with WJSN, as well as worked with big names like singer SHAUN and Ailee.

His new single “SOS” is a pop punk influenced track that has a nostalgic sound to those of us that grew up in the 2010s. Pop punk influences are not only heard in the melody, but in the lyrics as well that speak of a toxic relationship, a classic subject in the genre. The single doesn’t follow traditional song styles of pop punk, as SIDEWAYS adds in his own creative flavor with a rap verse halfway through the song. It brings a modern twist to the classic melody. There’s definitely been a resurgence of popularity for this genre, and “SOS” leads the trend. It’s a great song to add to your summer playlist this year.

SIDEWAYS took some time to speak with The Kraze about himself, his inspirations, and his musical style. Check it out below!

Q: For our readers who are getting the chance to know you for the first time, can you please give a little introduction about yourself?

SIDEWAYS: Hi everyone I'm SIDEWAYS. I'm a Singer/Songwriter and Music Producer. I come from The Netherlands and I'm half Indonesian. You might know me from my collaborations under my previous artist titles (Justin Levai/Undaunted) with Ailee and Shaun or my participation on Immortal Songs with XITSUH, WJSN, and DJ KOO. I make music in the styles of Pop Punk, Alternative Rock, and Emo Pop.

Q: What artists were your inspiration for getting into music?

S: Honestly, there are so many artists that I could name. But I grew up listening to artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, Toto, and Queen. My most recent music is however heavily inspired by different artists such as blink-182, Machine Gun Kelly, Mod Sun, YUNGBLUD, and Sueco to name a few.

Q: Do you have any advice for those who are passionate about music and wanting to pursue a career in it?

S: Just go for it! In the current digital age we live in, it's so easy to create and distribute music all on your own. Don't think about it too much! Just make the music you love and be consistent and the people that will love you for you will come.

Q: How did you work with artists like Ailee and SHAUN? 

S: I got introduced to SHAUN by my friend Flash Finger. We pretty much immediately started to work on music together, and I think we've made over five songs over the last eight years. I got to know Ailee through DJ KOO, who pitched our demo song “Heartcrusher” to her, [and] she loved it so much she asked it to be one of her songs for the album butterFLY. I asked if we could be featured artists on the song and she gladly approved.

Q: What is Pop Punk?

S: Pop Punk is an Alternative Rock genre. It's now probably the most popular commercial Rock genre in the world, which is pretty funny since Pop Punk has always been a genre of music mostly very creative outcasts or so called "Punks" would create. I'm glad to see it's getting so much love these days.

Q: How would you describe “SOS,” and what is the song about?

S: “SOS” is a Pop Punk song with Hip-Hop/Urban elements in the song. The song is actually about one of my ex-girlfriends who was a total controlling creep that I ended up running away from. I'll spare everyone the details but she was very toxic. I hope people that have had a similar toxic partner can relate to this and rock out on this song!

Q: Which artists in Korea make similar songs to “SOS” or the Pop Punk genre?

S: There's actually been so much of a Pop Punk influence these days in Korea. There's major artists like SOMI or Taeyeon who've recently implemented the style into their music. But there's great underground artists like LØREN from THEBLACKLABEL and YongYong who've been making amazing Pop Punk-style songs! Personally I'd really like to work with YongYong some day, she's awesome.

Q: What's your background? And how does it tie in with the Korean/Asian music industry?

S: I'm half Asian, so I've always had a big curiosity about the music industry in Asia. I luckily connected with a couple of cool creatives from Korea quite early on in my career, so I naturally grew fond of the Korean music industry. In 2017, I decided to take a deep dive and move to South Korea as it started to feel like my second home after visiting a couple of times. I wanted to challenge myself and see what I could do there. I can say after roughly four and a half years, it was one of the best decisions of my life and I'm so grateful for all the amazing people, creatives, and opportunities I've met or gained over the years.

Q: Would you like to say anything else to our readers?

S: Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this article. I hope you guys are just as excited about “SOS” as I am! We're going to blast out so [many] songs this year and I hope we can all celebrate the releases of those songs together. Thank you so much :D

Stream the new single “SOS” here!

Follow SIDEWAYS on social media:                   

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7LkQQYIZEJcWY0So6p81uu?si=J1i2Xc3LR6CYVyQYjNsDcg        

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/callmesideways/                    

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sidewaysmusicofficial                    

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/callmesideways                    

Website: https://linktr.ee/callmesideways

Edited By Rashelle B.