Stay Over is the sonic alter ego of singer Oliver Feighan, and makes for one of the more interesting projects you’ll listen to. The project serves as one that looks to inspire, and be there to pick you up.
“Stay Over is the imaginary friend in the back of your head cheering you on and telling you to do whatever the fuck you want and be whoever you want to be,” Feighan explains. “It’s my personal superhero who lets me know — no matter what I’m going through or what I think about myself — I’m still free. I still make art. Stay Over is yelling, ‘Let’s keep going. Let’s be the light. Let’s get this shit done’.”
On the notion of getting shit done, that moment for Stay Over happened in 2018. When previous musical projects fell apart and a long-term relationship ended, Feighan packed up and moved from New York to Los Angeles. Throughout his first year in L.A., he did some couch-surfing and used Air BNB frequently — all while putting together initial ideas for Stay Over, drawing on influences as diverse as Kid Cudi, Death Cab for Cutie, and a longstanding passion for poetry and the work of William Shakespeare.
One day, Feighan met Bananabeat founder and Grammy-Nominated artist/producer, Cisco Adler. That’s when a lot of Stay Over would go into motion, as Adler ultimately signed him to Bananabeat after hearing a handful of demos. Then in 2019, Feighan moved to Cocoon Malbu to write and record his EP with Adler and co-producer Robbie Winward.
“Cisco is like a coach,” he says. “For years, I was making music without direction. I felt lost. Cisco pushed me just enough. We really trust each other. He’s the O.G. The atmosphere inspired me. When I was a kid, some of my happiest memories were going to the beach in the summer with my mom and my sister. Malibu reminded me of the same feeling from my childhood.”
Behind deeply personal lyrics, Stay Over was able to achieve a breakthrough with his debut single, “Breaking Glass.” Within a few weeks, the track organically tallied 113k streams and was placed on a handful of playlists, such as Spotify’s New Alt.
Now, ready to follow-up the single, Substream is excited to team up with Stay Over to debut his newest single, “Happy.” The song subverts societal expectations over masterful synth echoes, guitar loops, and percussion. The song is one of intense self-reflection, as the sings on the single, “I’m supposed to be happy / What happened to me? / What if I don’t fit the mold that they want me to be?”
“I wrote and recorded the demo for this song in Philly at the house I grew up in at 5 AM. It’s about growing up. It’s about me trying to figure out what the fuck is going on. Trying to figure out why I’m not as happy as I used to be. Everyone in my life used to know me as the happy kid,” Stay Over tells Substream. “Then over time I started getting sad. It’s been confusing. I’m coming to terms with it. Asking questions. Searching for answers. Trying to figure myself out. Accepting who I am and being okay with it.”
Listen to the single for yourself below, and keep your eyes out for an accompanying music video later this month as he teams up with Make Sure Your Friends Are Okay.
