Sugar My

Album: Surrender (2022)
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Songfacts®:

  • The pandemic led to many songs about the kind of entropy many of us felt as our lives were disrupted, but few of them are as upbeat and energetic as "Sugar My," where Jann Klose evokes Alice In Wonderland, singing:

    Sugar my lullaby
    Sugar my dreams
    Up is down
    Day is night
    Not what it seems
  • Klose wrote the song with Alex Forbes, whose credits include the Taylor Dayne hit "Don't Rush Me" and "I Dance My Dance" by Nile Rodgers & Chic. They met at a gathering on the Forbes Yacht and stayed in touch, eventually meeting for songwriting sessions. "We wanted to create a feel of a sort of Alice In Wonderland type vibe where there is a palatable sense of confusion and one is not entirely sure what's real and what's not," Klose said. "We wrote it at the onset of the pandemic, so it was very much a strong reflection on how we were feeling ourselves."
  • Alex Forbes told Songfacts about writing this song:

    "Jann Klose and I got together in April of 2020, just after I recovered from a very early case of Covid. I was brimming with antibodies and aching for actual human contact and music-making, most of which had been put on hold — except for virtual visits, which are never quite as much fun.

    Jann was courageous enough to venture over to my place in New York City, and we whipped out our writing materials: guitars, iPhone recorders, pens and paper.

    The planet's new Covid-induced reality had tossed everyone's lives into a blender, and the combo platter of isolation and disorientation served to make both of us more introspective:

    Who was most important to us?
    What had fallen by the wayside?
    Could our friendships and romances survive the shock?
    And would we emotionally fight against it... or embrace the opportunity to deepen our relationships with ourselves and others?
    The more we talked, the more we chose to dive deeper into the Alice In Wonderland nature of feeling 'stuck in between two worlds.' Philosophically speaking, when 'up is down, day is night' you can either go with the flow, or go for the ride!

    What I love about Jann is that he's ALWAYS up for an adventure, so 'Sugar My' became a celebration of that 'go for it' spirit."
  • The music video was directed by Alex Vishno and choreographed by Eileen "EJ" Jaworowicz. It starts with a set of dancers emerging from a fog in masks and uniforms, but then dancing with abandon in casual clothes as they feel free to express themselves. "The idea is that people in the video start morphing from a state of disconnect into an open, free state where they become 'liberated,' Klose explained. "The space we shot in looked fabulous so I think everyone's creativity was sparked and we were all 'allowed' to be exploratory with our movement and performances."
  • "Sugar My" is a track from Jann Klose's seventh album, Surrender. Born in Germany, he was raised in South Africa and later moved to America, gathering influences along the way. "When I first discovered Prince, I wanted to be a performer," he told Songfacts. "He really excited me as far as being on stage and playing and singing. But I listen to a lot of classic rock and Motown and whatever really was popular, which was all across the board."

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