IN CONVERSATION WITH IAN SWEET

interview by JANA LETONJA

Balancing emotional candour with sonic experimentation, IAN SWEET, the project of singer-songwriter Jilian Medford, enters a new chapter with Shiverstruck, her upcoming album shaped by transition, pressure, and self-redefinition. Long associated with the confessional intimacy of indie rock, Jillian now moves beyond that framing, embracing a sound that feels more immediate, tactile, and alive—eschewing digital polish in favour of raw, human imperfection. Written between New York and Los Angeles, the record reflects a period of personal rupture and creative clarity, anchored by the lead single Criminal Kissing. As the boundary between artist and project continues to dissolve, Shiverstruck signals a shift toward something more self-assured, less about being defined by emotion, and more about owning it.

Shiverstruck feels like a turning point. What does this album represent for you personally?

Shiverstruck really feels like the most “me” thing I’ve made and truly represents where I am in my life right now. It’s full of vulnerable moments that can even lean uncomfortable at times, like being confused, contradictory, overly emotional, or messy. The things we usually try to hide or clean up about ourselves, I wanted to let shine on this record. And in turn, I think it gave this record a sense of confidence and intention. 

The album comes after a period of major change. How did that influence your creative direction?

A lot changed while I was making the record, like adjusting to living in New York, which really affected me creatively and personally. Being in a new environment forced me to get outside of myself and look outward for a lot of inspiration. There’s something about living in NY that can feel really energising and inspiring, but also isolating and intense at the same time, and I think the album also has that push and pull.

You chose to avoid digital production and focus on human, imperfect sounds. What led to that decision?

I was really craving instrumentation that felt more human. I wanted this record to still have fingerprints on it. I wanted you to hear the slight imperfections in it. I wanted the songs to reflect the messy and unsteady feelings I was going through in real time.

How does working in a more tactile, analogue way change the emotional quality of your music?

A lot of the album is about being emotionally exposed and wrestling with those uncertain feelings, so it made sense for the production to reflect that too. Whenever something started to feel too pristine or too digital, I started to feel detached from it. I wanted it to truly feel like I was living inside the song with all of its rough and exposed edges. The more tactile approach gives it that energy and feeling of really getting down and dirty with your bare hands and making it feel lived in.

Over time, the line between you and IAN SWEET has blurred. How do you understand that relationship now?

I think for a long time, I treated IAN SWEET as this version of myself that was maybe more confident or more emotionally certain than I actually was in real life. And a place I could store the messier parts of myself that I wasn't ready to face head-on. But really, we are one and the same. IAN SWEET is an extension of who I am, and something clicked for me to stop trying to drive a wedge between the two.

Do you still see the project as separate from yourself, or has that distinction disappeared?

IAN SWEET is still an exaggerated version of myself in some ways, but it feels softer now that they can co-exist. I want to share all the parts of myself in my music, even just being Jilian on a day-to-day basis.

How does your newest single Criminal Kissing set the tone for the rest of the album?

At its core, the song is saying it’s okay to not have everything figured out yet. It’s okay to be confused and to repeat old patterns. None of us are perfect. I wanted to write about those contradictions without judging myself too harshly. There’s humour in it, and there’s also heartbreak. Life can fall apart and get messy, but then you pick yourself back up and try again, and think that sets the tone for the album pretty well.

Your music is deeply confessional. How do you decide what to reveal and what to hold back?

When I’m writing, I try not to censor myself too much because the whole point is being honest before my brain has time to filter it or overthink it. There are some things I keep closer to the chest, but I don’t intentionally hold anything back. 

You’ll be touring with American Football before your own headline run. What are you most looking forward to on both tours?

I can’t wait to tour again. It’s been a while. It feels really surreal to tour with American Football because I’ve been a fan of their music for so long. It's going to be a really special time, and getting to meet new people and hopefully new fans is always one of my favourite parts. I’m both so excited and so nervous for my headline tour. It's going to be incredible to perform these new songs and see the life they take on in a live setting, and see how people connect to them, like building our own little world together every night. I’m going to miss my dog, but it will be so worth it.

What excites you most about this new chapter?

Shiverstruck feels like a new beginning for me in a lot of ways. It helped me to feel a lot more confident in what I was making and cracked something open creatively, and reminded me why I fell in love with making music in the first place. I also feel really curious again, which is the best feeling as an artist.  I just feel excited to keep creating and making things.

What do you want listeners to feel when they hear Shiverstruck for the first time?

These songs carried me through a pretty confusing and transformative period of my life and helped me come out of it with a clearer perspective and understanding of myself. The idea that they might help someone else feel a little less alone in figuring things out, too, is really meaningful to me.

TEAM CREDITS:

photography WRENNE EVANS
styling SOPHIE STEDMAN
hair ISABELLA WILSON
makeup KATIE MANN
production THE GOOD HUMAN GROUP