Now Playing: “Pastel Summers”
By Mattea Overstreet
There’s a turning point in the life of a young creative. Expression becomes a necessity, and songs turn into lifelines. For 22-year-old songwriter Eloy Bazan, music became a mirror, a map, and a refuge. His debut album, Pastel Summers, threads together the messy and meaningful stories that mark us forever.
A five-year labor of love, Pastel Summers includes songs that Eloy began writing as a teenager, like the fan-favorite “Tie Dye Skyes.”
“I wrote this song when I was 17. Now, five years later, it’s finally seeing the light of day,” he shared. The song captures the ache of a first goodbye with a nostalgic and cinematic air of longing.
“Butterflies” is a standout emotional centerpiece. “I wrote it for my sister,” Eloy says. “It tells the story of an older sibling who stepped up to be a parent when they never should have had to. It’s a heartfelt tribute to the sacrifices she made.
” With soft-focus romance in ‘Polaroid Kisses,” school-year heartache in ‘Summer School Crush,’ and shimmering optimism in ‘All Year Long’ (featuring Sophie Cahal), Pastel Summers unfolds like an honest and aching scrapbook of bittersweet youth.
Q: Why a concept album?
Eloy: My recording arts professor, David Dow, talked about how concept albums started dying out with the invention of the shuffle button. That stuck with me. I had half the songs already, but they felt like pieces of a puzzle, forming only the border, not the whole picture yet.
Q: Were you always planning to release these songs as your own?
Eloy: To be honest, these songs were never meant to be heard. Some I wrote just to process my feelings, and others I originally planned to give away to other artists. But the more I wrote about what I was going through, the more I relived it, and the better I understood why those things happened to me.
Q: Why did you ultimately decide to keep them for yourself?
Eloy: I’m glad I chose to keep these songs for myself, because they tell my story. It just wouldn’t have felt right for someone else to sing them.
Q: How do you feel now that it’s finished?
Eloy: I feel so much better. I’m incredibly grateful that God has given me the gift of creating — it’s something I’ll never take for granted.
Pastel Summers is a testament to the raw beauty of youth, finding your voice, and learning to share it bravely with the world. Listen and learn more from Eloy on IG @eloy209official
