Hello everyone, it’s your host Oliver from DULAXI, and today I’m delighted to be joined by singer-songwriter Sean Coats from Pekin, Indiana, United States. Working across Folk, Americana and Country Music, Sean brings personal experiences, emotional honesty and fictional storytelling together in his music. Today, we’re discussing his original EP, Hello Cloudy Skies, released on 30th August 2026.
Before we begin our conversation with Sean Coats, here’s what you need to know about today’s featured project.
About Sean Coats
Emerging from Pekin, Indiana, Sean Coats approaches songwriting as a way of turning personal experiences and emotions into stories that other people can recognise themselves in. His music sits across Folk, Americana and Country Music, with a broader singer-songwriter sensibility that allows him to explore vulnerable subjects through accessible musical narratives.
His latest release, Hello Cloudy Skies, marks an important stage in that development. Released on 30th August 2026, the original EP grew out of heartbreak, emotional reflection and Sean’s desire to create something that could speak to people experiencing their own difficult periods. While the songs draw from real feelings and experiences, Sean also uses fictional storytelling to reshape those emotions into narratives without exposing every private detail of the people or situations that inspired them.
That balance between reality and imagination has become an important part of his songwriting. Rather than simply documenting what happened, Sean allows the emotional truth of an experience to guide the story, giving him room to create songs that can reach beyond one specific relationship or moment. The result is a project rooted in personal feeling while remaining open enough for listeners to find their own experiences within it.
Hello Cloudy Skies also represents growth in Sean’s approach to the technical side of music. Created in his home studio, the EP involved learning more about recording equipment, production and the process of finding sounds that matched the emotions behind each song. Support from an online studio resource also gave him guidance as he developed his production skills and explored new possibilities with his voice.
At the same time, Hello Cloudy Skies reflects the continuing development of an artist who is still discovering his own capabilities. Sean describes himself as relatively new to songwriting and has approached the project with a willingness to experiment, learn and return to the drawing board when something does not feel right. That growing confidence can be seen not only in his willingness to create longer and more emotionally open songs, but also in his increasing comfort with putting personal feelings into his music.
With no public performances yet behind him, the recorded work currently serves as an important introduction to Sean’s artistic identity. His focus remains on creating music that can connect with people, particularly those who may hear one of his songs during a difficult moment and recognise something of themselves in it.
Having this brief introduction to today’s featured project, I’m sure both new listeners and those already familiar with Sean Coats will be interested to hear directly from him about the experiences, creative decisions and personal ideas behind Hello Cloudy Skies. So, without further ado, let’s begin today’s interview.
INTERVIEW SESSION
Oliver:
Growing up in Pekin, Indiana, and developing your music largely through your own experiences, home studio and personal creative process, what parts of your life outside music have shaped the way you understand heartbreak, relationships, faith and the passage of time?
Sean Coats:
I’ve experienced a lot of heartbreak in my life, whether it’s been losing somebody close to me or, of course, going through relationships that didn’t work out. I think it took me 30 years to really realize that I’m not the only person who deals with those feelings. Everybody experiences heartbreak in some form at some point in their life. That was a big reason I decided to write this EP. I wanted to take some of the things I’ve experienced and turn them into songs that other people could connect with and maybe hear a piece of their own story in.
Oliver:
You describe yourself as someone who turns personal experiences into musical narratives, while also bringing fictional storytelling into those experiences. When did you first realise that combining what actually happened to you with imagined scenes could help you express emotions that might be difficult to communicate directly?
Sean Coats:
Well, Oliver, you have to have a little bit of creativity to write music. You can tell the truth, and sometimes the truth works out perfectly on its own, but sometimes in order to make a song flow, you have to add a little bit of fiction. I like taking something that I’ve actually experienced and using those emotions to build a story around it. The details might not have happened exactly the way they do in the song, but the emotion behind them is real. I think that gives me the freedom to tell a better story while still keeping that personal connection to it.
Oliver:
“Hello Cloudy Skies” comes from a particularly personal place, drawing on a real-life breakup alongside the kind of imagery and storytelling you might find in a movie. What was happening emotionally in your life when you first began writing these songs, and what made you feel that those experiences needed to become an EP?
Sean Coats:
Well, I was going through a tough time. I’ve dealt with depression off and on throughout my life, so after my last relationship didn’t work out, these songs were actually pretty easy for me to write. But the EP isn’t just about that one relationship. I feel like there’s a little bit of every relationship I’ve had that didn’t work out in each of these songs. Honestly, going back, writing my feelings down and turning them into songs helped me cope with everything and helped me heal faster. Different feelings and experiences from different points in my life all kind of came together, and that’s when I realized there was enough there to tell a bigger story and turn it into an EP.
Oliver:
You have described this as your most raw and truthful work so far, as well as your longest songs to date. What changed in your songwriting approach that allowed you to stay with these stories and emotions for longer rather than trying to say everything in a shorter form?
Sean Coats:
I’m still fairly new to the songwriting scene. I’ve always loved music and knew that passion was there; I just never really had the courage to pursue it. I think my songwriting continues to grow with every song I write. When I can turn on what I call my “songwriting mode,” everything starts to flow a little better. When the words are coming naturally and I’m really connected to what I’m writing about, it’s a lot easier to let the story go where it needs to go instead of worrying about how long the song is. I think that’s a big reason these songs ended up being longer and more detailed than some of my earlier work.
Oliver:
The title “Hello Cloudy Skies” carries a sense of acknowledging a difficult emotional period rather than simply trying to escape it. What does that title mean to you personally, and how does it represent the emotional world you were in while creating the EP?
Sean Coats:
“Hello Cloudy Skies” was written as a figure of speech for me. It represents those times in life when everything seems good, the sun is shining every day and you feel like you’re in a good place. Then all of a sudden, the cloudy skies start to roll in and that depression hits. To me, the title represents that change—when you go from feeling like everything is going right to entering a darker period in your life. That’s really where I was emotionally when I was writing a lot of this EP, so “Hello Cloudy Skies” just felt like the perfect way to describe it.
Oliver:
Breakup music can easily become centred on one person’s specific story, yet you created this project with people going through their own breakups in mind. How did you turn your individual experience into something broad enough for another person to hear their own situation in it?
Sean Coats:
Well, sort of like I mentioned earlier, I eventually realized that I wasn’t alone in any of this. There are a lot of people out there going through the same kinds of heartbreak and emotions, and I thought maybe these songs could help somebody who’s a lot like me. I’ve been through a lot in life, but music has always been there for me. It’s always been an easy way for me to cope with things. I guess you could say music is my happy place. My ultimate goal is to have people connect with my music and hopefully help them through whatever they might be going through. If my music can just help one person, then I feel like my job is complete.
Oliver:
Your songs sit between autobiography and fictional storytelling, which gives you room to reshape real emotions through imagined situations. When writing these songs, how did you decide which feelings or experiences needed to remain close to reality and which could be transformed into a story?
Sean Coats:
I didn’t want to give out too many private details about my life or the people involved. You always hear people joke about Taylor Swift writing songs about the guys she’s dated, and I didn’t want to do that to somebody else—I didn’t want to “Swift” them, I guess you could say. At the same time, I had to find a way to connect with other people and their feelings, not just what I was feeling in that moment. That’s where some of the fictional storytelling comes in. I can keep the real emotion behind the song while changing certain details or creating situations that make the story something more people can relate to. The feelings are real, even if every detail of the story isn’t.
Oliver:
You have spoken about how your own experiences and the way you were feeling became the main influence on the project. Were there particular emotions that were difficult to put into words at first, and how did songwriting help you understand or process them differently?
Sean Coats:
That’s the beauty of songwriting. You can write some wonderful sunshine-and-roses happy songs, or you can write the sad songs. That’s one of the best things about music all around—it plays with your emotions, and I love that. There were definitely some emotions that were harder to put into words at first, but songwriting gave me a place to put them. The EP really has three different phases: depression, anger, and then the realization that you’re going to be fine. As I went through those phases myself, I would go back to the songs and add to them or change things based on what I was feeling at the time. In a way, the songs grew and changed right along with me.
Oliver:
Faith is also an important part of how you view difficult periods in life, particularly your belief that things happen for a reason and that God can carry people through painful experiences. How did that belief influence the way you approached the heartbreak explored throughout “Hello Cloudy Skies”?
Sean Coats:
Well, Oliver, faith has always meant the world to me. I grew up in the church, and my faith has always been a big part of who I am. I feel like God has been taken out of a lot of music today, and one of my ultimate goals as an artist is to put Him back into music. I’m a very Godly man, and while music definitely helps me through heartbreak and difficult times, I also have to pray and put my trust in God. I know I may not always get the answer that I want, but I have to trust that it’s the right one. That belief helped me through the heartbreak behind this EP and reminded me that even when I’m in those cloudy skies, they’re not going to last forever.
Oliver:
Because the EP was created in your home studio, you were responsible for learning much more than songwriting alone, including recording, production and finding the sounds that suited each song. What was the biggest challenge in teaching yourself those parts of the process, and what did you learn about your own creative instincts along the way?
Sean Coats:
Well, I’m working with this wonderful company that helps me find the right sound for my music and helps me with the production side of things. This was my first EP since upgrading a lot of my equipment, so learning some of that new equipment was definitely a challenge at first, especially getting used to the new microphone and figuring out how to get the sound I wanted out of it. But through the process, I learned that I’m growing as a songwriter and getting better with every song I write. I also learned that it’s okay to put your emotions out there and let people know how you feel, or how you were feeling when you wrote the song. I think becoming more comfortable with that vulnerability has helped me grow just as much as learning the technical side of making music.
Oliver:
You have mentioned spending time finding the right sounds for the project. When you were producing “Hello Cloudy Skies,” what were you listening for in the instrumentation and recording that would make the songs feel honest to the emotions behind them rather than simply sounding technically finished?
Sean Coats:
The biggest thing for me was figuring out whether a song needed to be more upbeat or slowed down a little. I wasn’t just looking for something that sounded good; I needed to be able to connect with the way it sounded. Basically, I needed the music to sound like my emotions. If the song came from a place of anger, sadness or finally starting to feel okay again, I wanted the sound of the song to match that feeling. If I couldn’t feel that connection when I listened to it, then I knew we hadn’t found the right sound yet.
Oliver:
Working with help from an online studio resource gave you another form of guidance while you were developing the project at home. How did that outside support complement your own experimentation, and were there any production lessons that changed the way you now approach recording your music?
Sean Coats:
I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned is how to trust the people helping me. They’ve really made the process about me and the kind of artist I want to be. If I’m not happy with something, there are no hard feelings—we just go back to the drawing board and try something different. They’ve also shown me that my voice can go more places than I thought it could. We’ve made some really upbeat songs, and we’ve made a couple of songs that pushed me into a higher range. I’ve never had voice lessons before, so I’m coming into all of this completely new. I’m always learning from them, especially new ways to use my voice, and they’re helping me take it to levels I didn’t know I could reach.
Oliver:
This project represents not only emotional growth but also a major step in your development as someone who is learning to control the complete creative process. Looking back at the beginning of the project compared with where you were when you finished it, what changed most in the way you see yourself as a songwriter and producer?
Sean Coats:
Honestly, I think the biggest thing that changed was my confidence. When I started this project, I was still learning a lot and trying to figure out what worked for me. By the time I finished it, I felt a lot more confident in my songwriting, my voice and the decisions I was making with my music. I learned that it’s okay to try something and realize it doesn’t work, because you can always go back to the drawing board. I’m still learning, and I definitely don’t consider myself an expert at any of this, but I think this EP showed me how much I’ve grown and also how much more I’m capable of growing.
Oliver:
There is a strong connection between vulnerability and storytelling throughout the project. Was there a point during the writing or recording when you felt particularly exposed by what you were creating, and how did you handle that feeling while continuing to finish the EP?
Sean Coats:
Of course, especially with the title track, “Hello Cloudy Skies.” I remember when I was depressed and started writing it, thinking, “Man, I hope I’m not still this depressed when this thing releases, because then everybody’s going to know what’s going on.” There was definitely a feeling of putting a part of myself out there that I normally wouldn’t talk about publicly. But as I kept writing, I realized that was kind of the point. If I wanted these songs to be honest and connect with people who were feeling the same way, I had to be willing to let people see some of that side of me.
Oliver:
You have not yet performed publicly, meaning that “Hello Cloudy Skies” currently represents an important part of your artistic identity through the recorded work itself. What does it feel like to introduce such personal material to listeners before experiencing that direct connection with an audience in a live setting?
Sean Coats:
I really just hope the music is connecting with people and helping them in some way. Since I haven’t had that experience of performing these songs in front of a live audience yet, I don’t get to see that reaction face-to-face, so I have to let the music speak for itself. I also hope it helps me build more of an audience along the way. I think if people can connect with your music and see a little bit of themselves in it, they’re going to remember you and hopefully come back to check out what you release next. That kind of connection is what I’m trying to build.
Oliver:
Since the EP is intended for people dealing with their own emotional storms, what kind of response from a listener would mean the most to you, particularly from someone who hears one of these songs during a difficult moment and feels understood by it?
Sean Coats:
Honestly, just hearing that one of my songs connected with somebody would be enough for me. But if somebody ever came up to me and said, “Hey, this song got me through a tough time,” that would be amazing. That would honestly be a dream come true for me. That’s what I want my music to do. I want people to be able to hear these songs when they’re going through something and know that somebody else has felt those emotions too.
Oliver:
Your journey with this project has involved learning songwriting, recording and production while also turning difficult personal experiences into something creative. What is the biggest lesson you are taking from “Hello Cloudy Skies” into the next stage of your life and music?
Sean Coats:
The biggest lesson I’m taking from this project is don’t be afraid to let people know how you really feel. I think sometimes we try to hide certain emotions or act like everything is fine when it isn’t. This EP taught me that it’s okay to put those feelings out there and be honest about them. Not only did that help me personally, but those are also the feelings that somebody else might connect with the most. Going forward, I don’t want to be afraid to be honest in my music and let people hear the real emotions behind the songs.
Oliver:
As you continue developing as an artist, how do you see your balance between real-life experiences and fictional storytelling evolving, and are there parts of your story that you feel you have only just begun to explore through music?
Sean Coats:
Absolutely. Like I was saying earlier, when you’re writing music, you have to have somewhat of an imagination to get the rhyme and the flow right. If you’re just writing down exactly what you feel, chances are it’s not always going to make a good song or even rhyme, although sometimes it does work out perfectly. I think I’ll always take real experiences and real emotions and mix them with some fictional storytelling when the song needs it. There are definitely more parts of my story that I haven’t explored through music yet, and as I continue growing as a songwriter, I think more of those stories will eventually come out.
Oliver:
Looking beyond “Hello Cloudy Skies,” what would you like the next chapter of Sean Coats’ music to reveal about you that listeners cannot yet hear in this EP, both as a songwriter and as a person?
Sean Coats:
I think the next chapter is going to show a completely different side of me. My next big project is “One Nation Under God,” which will be my first full-length album. “Hello Cloudy Skies” showed a lot of the heartbreak and emotions I was going through at that point in my life, but this album is going to show more of my faith, what I believe in and who I am as a person. Faith has always been a huge part of my life, and like I said earlier, one of my goals with my music is to put God back into it. I also think listeners are going to continue hearing me grow as a songwriter and hopefully hear sides of me that they haven’t gotten to hear yet. I’m still figuring out exactly what kind of artist Sean Coats is going to become, and I think that’s part of what makes this next chapter exciting for me.
“Sean Coats turns the uncertainty of heartbreak into a space where vulnerability, imagination and personal conviction can exist together, revealing an artist still discovering his voice while already understanding the value of making listeners feel less alone.”
~ Oliver (DULAXI Team)
EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE
Hello Cloudy Skies presents Sean Coats at a revealing point in his development, where songwriting, home production and personal experience are becoming increasingly connected. What stands out is his willingness to let the songs follow the emotional movement of the experiences behind them rather than forcing them into a fixed shape. His combination of real emotion and fictional storytelling gives the project room to remain personal without becoming confined to one story, while his growing confidence suggests an artist with considerably more to explore.
~ Oliver (DULAXI Team)
CLOSING
Our conversation with Sean Coats offers a thoughtful look at the experiences and creative decisions behind Hello Cloudy Skies, from the heartbreak that helped shape the EP to the process of learning how to record, produce and trust his own artistic instincts. His openness about vulnerability, songwriting and faith gives further context to a project built around emotional honesty and connection.
Thank you to Sean Coats for taking the time to speak with DULAXI and for sharing such personal insight into his music, creative process and journey as a developing songwriter. We encourage readers to spend time with Hello Cloudy Skies and discover the stories and emotions that Sean has brought together across the EP.
As Sean continues developing his sound and looks toward One Nation Under God, there is clearly more of his story still to unfold. For now, Hello Cloudy Skies offers an honest introduction to an artist learning to turn difficult experiences into music while searching for ways to connect with people who may be walking through similar moments.
Thank you for spending time with DULAXI. I’m Oliver, and we look forward to bringing you more conversations with artists whose music has a story worth hearing.