Music festivals are disappointing. There, I said it.
Every few weeks or so, somewhere in the world, people spend a ton of money on plane tickets, festival tickets, and hotel rooms, then spend a ton of mental energy figuring out what to pack and what to wear for some festival that will probably disappoint them.
My recent trip to Ultra Miami epitomized this experience.
As usual, I lost a ton of sleep with the planning. I spent half an hour on the phone with my life coach discussing whether to go (I’m admittedly neurotic). I looked up hotels after I booked one just to reassure myself I got the best deal possible (I didn’t). I checked ticket resale sites every day as I anxiously waited for my press credentials to not be approved.
Then, the ticket I paid double the price on didn’t arrive when it was supposed to. I spent three mornings in a row on the phone with the company, eventually pulling the journalist card and threatening to ruin their reputation if they didn’t come through (hey, it worked). Exhausted the night before the festival, I slept through the Above & Beyond concert I’d gotten tickets for. Then, the friend who’d convinced me to come to Miami got out-of-his-mind high and disappeared, and the only other person there I knew didn’t have time to see me. The interviews I’d planned to do fell through. Almost nothing I went there for actually happened.
The festival itself didn’t live up to the hype. The grounds were small and the stages were basic — nowhere close to the gorgeous artwork of EDC or Tomorrowland. Even Armin van Buuren, who consistently kills it, fell flat. My friends and I agreed he lacked a certain energy.
Still, it had its magical moments. The highlight was Marshmello, who brought up Will Smith for “Welcome to Miami.” After him, The Chainsmokers also put on an entertaining show, and Jauz gave a high-energy performance as always with a set that incorporated the intro to Martin Garrix’s animals and Internet Friends’ “You Blocked Me on Facebook.”
When most people come to music festivals, they’re set on which artists they need to see, which friends they need to meet up with, and what parties they need to go to. The irony is, you can’t control your way toward losing control. Sticking to an agenda completely defeats the purpose of a festival: to let go of stress and have fun. Ultimately, many people leave festivals just feeling more stressed out.
I refused to leave Ultra this way. So, at around 7 p.m. on the last night, when my body was telling me it could not continue even though I was dying to see Above & Beyond at 9:30, I called a Lyft, headed back to my hotel, ate some tacos, and played Above and Beyond from my computer. And it was fucking fantastic. Above & Beyond may be what I came there for, but what you come somewhere for is not always what you stay for. Our desires change, and isn’t the whole point of a music festival to live in the moment?
“When I say ‘life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you,’ I don’t really know if that’s true,” Jim Carey once said in a commencement speech at Maharishi University. “I’m making a conscious choice to see challenges as something beneficial so that I can deal with them in the most productive way.”
That’s exactly how we have to act when things don’t go our way: entertain the possibility that they did go our way; we just didn’t realize it. I didn’t get what I came to Miami for, but I did gain some valuable self-discovery. Perhaps that’s the best we can hope for, no matter where our journey leads.
On Wednesday, Robin Thicke and Pharrell lost their appeal in the infamous “Blurred Lines” copyright case, the landmark music verdict ruled that the groovy 2013 track sounded way too familiar to Marvin Gaye’s much groovier song, “Got to Give It Up.” The appeal results continue the “giving credit where credit is due” debate and is extremely worrying to those who believe that the court’s outcome damages creative freedom in the songwriting field. The three judges in the appeals case were not unanimous in the decision to uphold the ruling; the dissenting judge cautioned that the final result “establishes a dangerous precedent that strikes a devastating blow to future musicians and composers everywhere.” Marvin Gaye’s three children, who were awarded more than $5 million from the original decision, struck back with the statement, “If an artist wants to use the work of others for ‘inspiration,’ they always have been welcome to ask for permission.”
Country Music Turns Its Back On The NRA
Country music has long been linked with a specific type of Americana – one that features flag-flying, blue jeans, trucks, and of course, the right to bear arms. However, a recent edit to the NRA’s website indicates that the classic genre’s relationship with guns is changing. The shift began after the Las Vegas shooting on October 1st, when a gunman massacred fifty-eight people during country music festival, Route 91 Harvest. In the week following the shooting, Rolling Stone reported that many of the musicians featured on the NRA’s website were no longer inclined to confirm their ties with the association. This week, ahead of Saturday’s student-led “March For Our Lives” protests, over thirty country musicians’ names have been removed from the NRA’s online list of associated artists.
That New New:
R&B’s princess of minimalism is back with a new ear worm – Jhené Aiko debuted a double serving of videos for her new track, “Never Call Me.” Global music collector, Diplo returns with a solo EP called “California.” Jack White’s long-awaited album, Boarding House Reach, is here, andreviewsaremixed. Kimya Dawson, Leon Bridges, and Thom Yorke have all announced tours, while Bloc Party will be playing their seminal album Silent Alarmon six European stops this October. Magda Davitt, the artist formerly known as Sinead O’Connor, also delivered dates this week; next month she plays in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In other live news, passes for all of Red Bull Music Festival’s May events are on sale now and on Monday, tickets for Christine and the Queens’ Halloween show are up on Brooklyn Vegan.
More Music News:
Realizing that teachers across the United States like to use their zany music videos in the classroom, OK Go has debuted an educational website. OK Go Sandbox pairs the band’s creative clips with free learning guides that bundle suggested assignments, spelling words and more.
Lollapalooza announced its lineup, and like so many others this year, the Chicago festival features very few female musicians, and a lot of lame excuses as to why male stars always seem to get top billing.
As part of a court ruling for securities fraud, Pharma-bro Martin Shkreli has been ordered to forfeit his copies of unreleased albums by Wu-Tang and Lil Wayne. However, we still might never hear Once Upon a Time in Shaolin and The Carter V; their future will probably be determined by U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. He doesn’t seem like much of a hip-hop fan.
Musical duo Lion Babe, featuring singer Jillian Hervey and record producer Lucas Goodman, always impress when it comes to their video creations. The video for their latest single “Honey Dew” is no different. Expressing the parallels between art and nature, the two R&B creators meander through a sculpture garden. Adorned in fantastically elaborate clothing, Hervey becomes her own version of moving art as she dances through the large stone pieces.
Known more for their urban-inspired motifs, the video for “Honey Dew” is a softer rendition of the duo’s aesthetic than we have previously seen. While Hervey repeats the words “everybody wants a piece,” the visuals and up the song’s implicit innuendo with shots of honey drizzled over a sliced melon.
The Australian rocker’s Star Trek-indebted spoof gives us a glimpse of her upcoming sophomore album Tell Me How You Really Feel, out May 18.
Vocalist Aaron Maine dons a Canadian tuxedo and takes a reverse dive into the churning waves for the Baba Stiltz and Samo’s clubby rework of “Find Me;” the original version appears on Porches’ latest LP The House.
Preoccupations’ latest record, New Material, just dropped this week, and along with it came a collaged clip for dream-poppy new single “Disarray.”
Soul Train fans will love the throwback visual for Migos’ latest, which stars Jamie Foxx in a cameo as host Ron Delirious.
You don’t have to be intimately familiar with Chicago rapper CupcakKe to glean that her work might be sexual in nature – if titles like “Deepthroat” and Cum Cake don’t tip you off, I’m not sure what will – but on Tuesday, YouTube saw fit to censor her video channel, pulling clips for the aforementioned 2016 track and “Duck Duck Goose,” which appears on the artist’s latest LP Ephorize. The video platform replaced them with a message that read: “This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s policy on nudity or sexual content,” failing to realize that CupcakKe is a lot more than just a raunchy female rapper. She’s a one-woman revolution.
Born Elizabeth Harris, the MC discovered her love for performing in church, where she read original poetry “strictly about God.” But by age 18, CupcakKe was ready to pursue less pure material. She unleashed her single “Vagina” in 2015, and its corresponding music video went viral, racking up over two million views on YouTube. The homemade short features a half-naked CupcakKe getting hot and heavy with sexy foods like cucumbers and a pinwheel lollipop. Like many of CupcakKe’s music videos, “Vagina” is a frill-free production, positioning the artist amongst un-styled couches and kitchen tables. CupcakKe is in a familiar space; she is unburdened by the presence of men, and most importantly, she is in complete control of her situation. The combination of these factors produces something very interesting: subversion and perhaps mockery of the male gaze. CupcakKe may be deepthroating a squash and rapping about her “young twat,” but she makes it explicitly clear that her pleasure is the number one priority here.
The two videos that YouTube erased on Tuesday are extensions of CupcakKe’s empowered, sex-positive ethos. Both are shot in modest home settings and feature a lone CupcakKe interacting with both banal and sexual objects. “Duck Duck Goose” feels particularly impactful, and could stand alone as a treatise to reclaim the female body from a musical genre that has exploited it for decades. In the opening moments, CupcakKe crawls into bed with a few of her favorite dildos, licking and sucking and propping them up against a miniature Statue of Liberty to demonstrate height. But unlike the sultry, “come hither” gaze we are so accustomed to seeing in music videos, pornography, film, and fashion ads, CupcakKe is smiling ear to ear. She nibbles and strokes her multicolored dicks, but she also places them on chairs and pats them on the head, as if they were little dolls attending her tea party. It quickly becomes apparent that CupcakKe is commanding her own desires, and she is doing so with a high dose of humor and self-awareness. She is carving out her own piece of female identity, one that doesn’t fit squarely in the “angel” or “whore” packaging society likes to wrap women in. But women who burst out of these boxes are rarely welcomed by the people who boxed them in to begin with.
On Sunday, before CupcakKe’s videos were pulled, music journalist Margaret Farrell saw the rapper live when she made a guest appearance at Charli XCX’s Elsewhere gig. When CupcakKe performed, Farrell overheard “two dudes” standing behind her who seemed to completely miss the point of CupcakKe’s work. “[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][They were] discussing how they loved Cupcakke because she rapped about weird, gross things, but since she’s a woman it’s cool,” says Farrell. The dudes went on to say that it’s problematic when a guy “raps about ‘fucking in the ass and fucking in the mouth’ but when [CupcakKe] does it it’s like ‘fuck me in the ass, fuck me here,’ and that’s just cooler for her to say,” Farrell continues. “Yes, it is amazing that she is asserting her sexual agency and creating a new narrative around sex, but the way they phrased it was like she is their sexual object – it was extremely gazey… It was just a shallow assessment of what she’s doing.”
My assessment of these dudes’ assessment boils down to perceived ownership; that many men cannot understand art in which a woman is not the object of a man’s desire. These dudes clearly couldn’t hear what CupcakKe was really rapping. She’s not draped across a convertible waiting to be fucked; she’s doing the fucking, and it’s not about you. Nearly every musical genre has difficulties with this concept. Rock has a long history of objectifying women and reducing us to greased up RealDolls, and hip-hop has a similar relationship with women. Whether its 2 Chainz throwing cash at butts in “I Luv Dem Strippers,” or the lady bodies used like stage props in 50 Cent’s “Disco Inferno,” it’s not hard to find examples of sexism in the genre. Rick Ross can rap about date rape, Bizarre can rap about getting his sister gangbanged for her birthday, XXXTentacion can land on a Vulture “Best New Songs of the Week” list after gruesome domestic abuse charges. But when CupcakKe raps about enjoying blowjobs? God forbid.
It feels crucial to support an artist like CupcakKe, who is not only wildly talented as a poet and MC, but who is reclaiming her body and right to pleasure, as well as inverting and subverting traditional modes of objectification. The disembodied dicks in “Duck Duck Goose” and the banana in “Deepthroat” signify farce as much as they do arousal; CupcakKe may be swallowing them in one frame, but she’s patting them on the head and pulverizing them with her teeth in the next. She’s reducing one of the most over-analyzed symbols in the post-Freud era – the phallus – to a couple of candy-colored, silicone toys. It’s a righteous reduction, as women have been rendered like plastic playthings for far too long. But even when CupcakKe is trying to extinguish a long enforced double standard of the music industry, she’s not afraid to champion her sexual enthusiasm. One lyric from “Self Interview” sums this up perfectly. “Females have sex on the first night, they get called a ho for that one night stand,” she raps. “Men have sex on the first night, congratulations!” “Most wouldn’t comprehend/Double standards need to end.”
On Tuesday, in response to YouTube scrubbing her videos from its site, CupcakKe wrote on Twitter: “I kn the fuck y’all didn’t deleted deepthroat video off YouTube at 23 million views @YouTube PUT IT BACK UP NOW” When she noticed another video had been pulled, she lamented, “And they just deleted duck duck goose one more and my entire channel is gone.” After only a few hours, and an outpouring of support from fans, the video platform ceded and returned the music videos to the channel. A representative from YouTube spoke to Pitchfork on the matter, stating: “With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call. When it’s brought to our attention that a video has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it. We also offer uploaders the ability to appeal removals and we will re-review the content.” All CupcakKe had to say was, “They back up thanks y’all.”
Metro Detroit indie-pop/R&B group The True Blue has a knack for creating sultry songs that hit close to home. The band – comprised of Christian Koo (vocals, keyboards), Ben Wilkins (guitar), Koda Hult (bass), and Jake Burkey (drums) – has been playing together for around six years, but spent the past two yearshoning the genre-blending, dreamy sound that defines The True Blue.
Their latest single, “What Do You Think of Me?” unfolds like a poetic stream of consciousness, seamlessly combining Koo’s spoken-word delivery and silky vocals. Wilkins’ minimalist guitar riffs act as an anchor throughout the song, whether acting as Koo’s sole accompaniment or buried beneath a layer of distant synths, whirring bass, and boomy percussion. The shape of the song mirrors the agonizing process of ruminating on an ex – overthinking, frustration, and letting go.
Koo, who is known for his honest lyricism, says writing this song allowed him to work through some post-breakup anxiety of his own. “In my heart of hearts I know we’re cool, but [/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][the song is] just me putting every insecurity I had about the situation out there and sort of baring it all,” says Koo. “Once you make that fear or worry into something that’s tangible, then you’re able to put it down.”
The fears Koo voices in “What Do You Think of Me?” are all too relatable: “What do you think of me, like if I post online? / ‘Cause if I post a photo it’s right there on your timeline / What’s the initial thought? / Is it good or bad? / Or am I just overthinking everything I thought we had?” For those emotionally mature enough not to block their exes (props to Koo), the immediate self-awareness in an era when so much of our lives is thrown out to the public can be crippling. You can literally see an ant-sized photo of any person who views your “story” and, chances are, if you’re heartbroken, you’re only looking for one.
Koo’s vulnerable and open lyricism is part of what makes The True Blue’s music so magnetic. “The True Blue has always been about staying true to your gut,” says the frontman. “When people tell me that our music has helped them through a rough time, it’s just something that’s really special in a really primal way – it’s like, ‘my soul connects with this.’”
Although Koo says the band is constantly evolving and changing their sound, we can be sure of one constant – relatable depictions of love, loss, and just being human.
Detroit locals can see The True Blue perform at The Pike Room on April 5th.
While Columbus geared up for yet another snowstorm last week, Austin was getting ready for South by Southwest (SXSW), a yearly conference and festival highlighting music, film, and art. SXSW is notorious for its sprawl – the festival spills over the city limits for several weeks – its off-site events, and the breadth of artists in attendance; showcases put on by labels, outlets, venues, and even countries highlight the vastness of the music industry.
Like SXSW, music in Central Ohio crosses boundaries of genre, geography, and generation. Artists spring from larger cities, like Columbus, but also form in pockets of community found in smaller cities. Colleges, collectives, and a strong sense of locality generate musical projects which are diverse in their approach, instrumental treatment, and subject. This year at SXSW, Ohio was represented by a plethora of creators, managers, creatives, and more. This week, Playing Columbus highlights three musical artists who planted their Ohio roots at SXSW 2018.
DIDI
Hometown: Columbus, OH
First formed in 2013 out of the Columbus DIY scene, didi has impressed both within Columbus and beyond; after the release of their debut album in 2015, the group toured with Speedy Ortiz, Sad13, and Diet Cig, among others. didi was named as a band to watch by Columbus Alive in 2017, and they’ve been featured by Remezcla and PBS. They’re an strikingly talented, tight-knit group: made up of Meg Zakany, Sheena McGrath, Kevin Bilapka-Arbelaez, and Leslie Shimizu, the group splits signing and song-writing responsibilities. They’re also an important figure in the Columbus music canon because of their advocacy for QTIPOC and women within the overwhelmingly white, inaccessible DIY community. Fans of didi can expect more work from the group soon – their second album is expected to be released sometime this summer.
SWOOPE
Hometown: Akron, OH
Ohio has a rich history of hip-hop and rap, a legacy which has crystalized in the work of Swoope. Though he’s now based in Atlanta, the rapper was born and raised in Akron Ohio, where he grew up playing music with his family and within his church. Swoope’s been an iconic rapper within the Christian community since his earliest releases, but it was with his second full-length album, Sinema, that allowed Swoope to cross into the mainstream. Last month, Swoope released his latest project, Sonshine, on a new label, Native No./EMPIRE.
REMEMBER SPORTS
Hometown: Gambier, OH
Remember Sports, who are now based in Philadelphia, PA, formed in Ohio while the band members were attending Kenyon College. After self-releasing their first album under the moniker Sports, they signed to Father/Daughter records in 2015 and followed up with their second full-length project, All of Something. Since then, the group has graduated from college, added “Remember” to their name to avoid any confusion with other bands, and released a split EP with label-mates Plush. Like didi, Remember Sports includes three vocalists – Carmen Perry, Catherine Dwyer, Jack Washburn – who split duties. Their fourth member, Conner Perry, plays percussion for the band. But Remember Sports goes far beyond the expected instrumental components of a quartet, incorporating a remarkable number of instruments, including slide guitar, melodica, drum machine, and field recordings. They’re prolific, too; though it’s only been months since the EP release, Remember Sports already has new material on the way. Slow Buzz, their third full-length, is set to drop on May 18th. The first single from the album, “Up From Below,” has already been released – a pop-punk influenced song with syncopated rhythm and irreverent, gut-punching lyrics.
NEWS ROUNDUP: Rihanna, Lauryn Hill, Pitchfork & More
By Jasmine Williams
Rihanna Snaps Back
Rihanna has publicly accused Snapchat of victim shaming after the social media app displayed an advertisement the referenced Chris Brown’s 2009 brutal assault of the mega-star. The ad, for online game, “Would You Rather?!” makes light of domestic abuse by asking viewers if they would choose to “Slap Rihanna” or “Punch Chris Brown?” After fans pointed out the despicable ad spot Rihanna used major Snapchat competitor, Instagram, to make a statement, posting:
“I’d love to call it ignorance but I know you ain’t that dumb! You spent money to animate something that would intentionally bring shame to DV victims and made a joke of it!!! This isn’t about my personal feelings, cause I don’t have much of them…but all the women, children and men that have been victims of DV in the past and especially the ones who haven’t made it out yet ….you let us down! Shame on you.” -Rihanna
Snapchat responded with an apology and has since blocked the advertiser. On the same day that Rihanna made her statement, Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat decreased by 7%. Don’t mess with RiRi!
The Pitchfork Lineup is Here! And, Lauryn Hill is Back?
Any fan of Ms. Lauryn Hill will tell you, she never really left. However, years of super delayed shows, on-stage tirades, and uneven performances have given the former Fugees member a shaky reputation when it comes to live shows. Now, Pitchfork Music Festival has upped the ante by putting the spotlight on Hill for the 2018 edition of the fest which also marks twenty years since the 1998 release of her seminal (and singular) studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The controversial artist headlines Sunday’s lineup. Although the spot is being billed as an “anniversary performance,” there’s no telling what will actually happen on stage, especially given the fact that Hill has not always been friendly to her caucasian fans and Pitchfork isn’t exactly known for their diverse crowds.
The 2018 Pitchfork music festival runs from July 20th through 22nd in Chicago and also includes Tame Impala, Courtney Barnett, Big Thief, Fleet Foxes, Blood Orange, Chaka Khan and many more.
Other Highlights:
Yo La Tengo’s fifteenth album, There’s a Riot Going On, is out today! Arcade Fire premiered a short film this week while Courtney Barnett, Vic Mensa, and David Byrne all debuted new music videos. Jack White will be playing a “no phones allowed” show at Warsaw in Brooklyn on March 23rd. To gain access to tickets for the Greenpoint concert you have to purchase tickets for this summer’s Gov Ball. MTV is doubling down on their shaky reboot of TRL. Earlier this week Say Anything debuted a new song at SXSW. Tour announcements abound from Fleet Foxes, Liz Phair, La Luz, Beck, Culture Club, and many more, coming to a venue near you. A signal switch in airwaves may be coming soon – IHeartMedia has filed for bankruptcy. In local news, DIY Brooklyn venue, Silent Barn, is closing on April 30th.
On Sunday, in a part of town I rarely get to visit, I sat on a hard wooden bench staring at a wall. From beyond that wall I could hear trumpet, bass, and a drum kit played by invisible musicians. Their presence was confirmed not only by the sound, but by the rows of people sitting in fold up chairs in front of me, who had a better view of the action. The only musician I could see was an elderly woman in a close-cut purple sheath dress, hunched over a piano. She sat framed by a doorway, and if I craned my head to the right, the discomfort in my neck was worth what I could see.
The woman in the purple dress was Marjorie Eliot, and she was playing in the Harlem apartment she’s lived in for 36 years. For 25 of those years, Eliot has hosted a weekly Sunday afternoon jazz concert in her parlor, free of charge and open to whoever can get there on time. This magnitude of kindness is unusual coming from anybody, but especially someone like Marjorie Eliot, who has endured more tragedy than most – even for a decades-long New Yorker. The concerts began as a way for her to ease the pain of losing her son Phil to kidney failure; fourteen years later she lost another son, Michael, to meningitis. Another son briefly went missing in 2011 – Shaun Eliot, who suffers from an undisclosed mental illness, boarded a bus en route to a transition house on Wards Island and wasn’t heard from for over a month, when a nurse at Metropolitan Hospital finally identified him and let Marjorie know he was safe.
I learned about Marjorie Eliot’s personal tragedies days after I left her home at 555 Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem. But I was already well aware of the events’ popularity, however. When my roommate brought me and a couple of friends to Harlem for Marjorie’s March 11th performance, he was somehow under the impression that her cover of obscurity had only recently been blown (isn’t it just like a white man to think they are the first to notice something special?). The fact of the matter is, TheNew York Times wrote about Marjorie’s in 1996, and NPR in 2006. Marjorie’s weekly shindig has pages on Yelp, My Secret NY, Facebook, and Place Matters. The cat is, as they say, “out of the bag,” and has been for quite a while. And that’s okay.
One of the most remarkable things about Marjorie’s was how gorgeous and unspoiled it was by the sheer volume of people in attendance. The apartment was packed like a sardine can. There were people crammed into the kitchen, peeking out from behind the doorjamb. Several rows of metal folding chairs held folks with far better views than mine, but this was the shared fruit of their punctuality. The sturdy wooden pew I perched on seemed to extend all the way down the hall, where more people simultaneously watched the band and waited to pee. And in the last grasp for a place to listen and maybe look, a string of guests lined the doorway and wrapped around into the outside hall, waiting for people to give up their seats. It was one of the few times in life I felt that the old saying, “the more, the merrier” actually applied. I occasionally wondered if the apartment was at capacity, or if Marjorie ever got hassled by the fire department, but not knowing only enhanced the experience – like there was some grain of mischief in music again.
Because Marjorie enlists a rotating cast of musicians on Sundays, the music is nonstop. She relinquishes the piano to a man in a fedora, so she can host and greet friends. Trumpet and sax players emerge from the parlor to rest, and beyond the wall another set of woodwinds and brass picks up. Most songs are instrumental, but Marjorie and a few male vocalists pepper in gospel and jazz standards here and there. I feel fortunate that these songs are rare, as it becomes increasingly difficult not to cry during them. For those of us who don’t do church, this is about as close as we get to seeing God.
Marjorie’s Parlor Jazz presented not only one of the most transcendent experiences I’ve had in my nine New York years, it was also one of the most wholesome, which is probably why the comparison to church springs up (not to mention the Lord-forward lyrics Marjorie sang). It felt so inexplicably wonderful to sit quietly for over an hour, not only not touching my phone, but witnessing dozens of phone-free people marveling at this exquisite music we were hearing, free of charge.
When I was in Paris last summer, my French friends and I ended up at a house party. Sadly, I can’t tell you which arrondissement we were in. By then I had imbibed two beers spiked with some kind of diabolical walnut liqueur, and all I remember is being invited to the party on the street. On the street is how most things begin in Paris, in my experience. Once inside the party, my friend told me that it was “nice luck” that we got invited, as seeing the inside of a Parisian’s apartment is a very rare thing. This moment rushed back to me as I sat in Marjorie’s home. It is just as special to see the inside of a New Yorker’s abode, given the premium put on personal space and privacy in this bustling burg.
While the Parisian soiree was fueled by cheep beer and menthol cigarettes, I was just as thrilled at Marjorie’s party favors. About an hour into my stay, an impeccably dressed woman in her 70s came around with a tray full of granola bars, and later one lined with Dixie cups of orange juice. In a city where the best stories are usually born in the wee drunken hours, it felt good to sit in an old woman’s home, drinking OJ in the middle of the day, accepting the enormous gift she gives the city, every week.
Janelle Monae has spent her artistic career being inspired by the free. Monae’s creative influences stem from the greats who came before, like Prince and Bowie. Her latest video “Make Me Feel” is an honest nod to those who inspired a space for artists like Monae to be their own version of free. In this latest rendition of her craft Monae finds a new sense of vulnerability, bringing the past with her into the future.
Dirty Computer will be the first album Monae has released in five years. Slated for release April 27, 2018 by Wondaland Arts Society, Epic Records and Sony Music, it will also be her first album since Prince’s death. Prince was a mentor to Monae and was featured on her last album Electric Lady. The video “Make Me Feel” is a respectful reference to Prince’s famous video and song “Kiss.”
Throughout the video Monae ignites an exciting, courageous, and fresh statement on what the strength of a sexually liberated woman can look like. From being seen braless, with see-through pants, to crawling through legs of women in a skin tight leotard, Monae engages a body positive perspective of herself and the women around her.
The story of the video follows Monae caught up in a love triangle between a man and a woman. Utilizing this sexually fluid imagery, the song becomes an anthem for those who relate to the bi-sexual experience.
While her new representation of herself and her sexuality are genuine and inspiring, the moments that strike me the most in the video are not the tug of war between her two lovers. Instead I’m drawn to her own fierce sense of self love, an act which can, in and of itself, be an act of resistance and freedom. As an artist and activist Monae’s new video is an ode to how much one can champion in the simple act of being their own free selves.
For 24-year-old CASHFORGOLD, aka Jacqueline Torgerson, her new single “Runaway” is not just an effervescent electropop anthem, but a concrete mark in the pages of her own love story with Berlin-based producer, Tim Schaufert. The two met on Soundcloud circa 2016 when CASHFORGOLD was living outside of Detroit in West Bloomfield, Michigan. She had just returned to Michigan from San Francisco after quitting her desk job as a social media manager in pursuit of creating content that was most meaningful to her – music.
“One of my favorite quotes is by the author Guy Debord: ‘We’ve gone from being into having and from having into merely appearing,’” says CASHFORGOLD. “I hated that I was sitting there ‘creating content’ when I felt like I really needed to be creating my art.”
After leaving her job in the Bay Area, the artist sought refuge in the Detroit area and saw it as a place to recharge and focus on creating music. The same way many of us find our favorite musicians, CASHFORGOLD discovered Schaufert on Soundcloud and asked him if he wanted to collaborate. This marked the beginning of a prolific creative partnership and, later, an overseas romance.
CASHFORGOLD says the first few months of her and Schaufert’s collaboration was strictly professional, but in March of 2017, a magical romance started brewing. Although the two hadn’t met face to face yet, she felt something euphoric and sacred about her dynamic with Schaufert, and decided to express those feelings the best way she knew how. She wrote “Runaway,” she says, “about wanting to leave Detroit and be in Berlin with Tim… and that unfolding love story.”
CASHFORGOLD, who now splits her time between Berlin and Metro Detroit, got her wish, and the song is just as majestic as her love story. Starting with gorgeous, ethereal vocals on top of a whimsical piano melody and haunting strings, she creates the perfect setting for an enchanting romance. “How long would it take / to really escape / I’d meet you halfway / your mind’s my hideaway,” sings CASHFORGOLD, directly to her co-producer and collaborator. After an airy introduction, the song breaks down into booming synths scattered with more resplendent vocal runs. Oscillating between delicate and beautiful to intoxicating and intense, “Runaway” succeeds at mimicking the disorienting feeling of falling in love.
Chris and Amy Dickman of Jersey Shore Indie label Little Dickman Records have been taking good care of bands in Austin for five years now. Their unofficial events showcase badass touring bands from all over the country as well as the bands with releases on their label. We talked to them about how the festival has changed over the years, the challenges of being a promoter at SXSW and why they keep coming back.
AF: Tell us about your showcases and some of the bands you’re most excited to see this year.
LD: This year is our 5th year in Austin throwing unofficial SXSW Rock or Die showcases and we can’t believe it! We have two unofficial showcases and six bands we have worked with are OFFICIAL SXSW showcasing artists this year! That’s huge.
We are stoked for Wednesday 3/15, Hard Luck Lounge, nine bands, including Stuyedeyed, Grim Streaker, Pink Mexico, Ex-Girlfriends, Dentist, Gustaf, Old Lady, John Wesley Coleman III, and Shred Flinstone.
Saturday we are teaming up with our favorite friends over at CoolDad Music and Garden State Beardos to bring a killer Day party to Valhalla w/ The Gloomies, Dentist, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, BOYTOY, Kino Kimino, High Waisted, Sharkmuffin, Honduras & Fruit & Flowers.
AF: What’s your favorite food truck at SXSW?
LD: This is gonna sound very lazy, but every year I find one I like, and I either forget the name of it or I remember and when I come back the next year it’s in a totally different place (maybe ’cause its a food TRUCK?) so I don’t make it back. But at least we are finding a new one every year. Just a few I remember: Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, Tapas Bravas, the killer breakfast taco truck that used to be on East 6th but now I can’t find….
AF: How did you get started booking showcases at SXSW? Why do you keep coming back?
LD: We just decided to go for it and take the chance. Even though no one really knew us yet, we didn’t care – we wanted to get out and be a part of something, so we said F-it and it paid off! We met many wonderful people down there. If we hadn’t started going our lives would be much different.
AF: What are your favorite and least favorite SXSW memories? Does it get easier or more difficult booking and taking care of so many bands each year at SXSW?
LD: My least favorite memory is showing up to a venue and them not having a sound system when we were told they had a top of the line system, so the fall out that happened after that wasn’t my fav.
A great memory was asking INVSN with Dennis Lyxzen of Refused to play and they showed up and put on a hell of a surprise show! Also, getting to meet the Mrs. Magician dudes. I think just getting to hang and see people we’ve worked with play great shows is the best feeling ever.
AF: How has the festival changed over the years and what would you like to see more or less of this year or in the future?
LD: The first year we were there it had HUGE acts – I think it was the year Lady Gaga, Kanye, etc. were there. I think it had gotten out of hand. There was also a bad accident that killed someone. Since then I have seen it become a little more more up-and-coming acts instead of trying to pack in the big names, which obviously feels better to us. It also gotten warmer each year….we will see what happens this year!
Much of the country is still in the midst of winter, but over in Australia, Alice Ivy is spinning summer all year round. Her debut record I’m Dreaming is a surreal pool party, hazy with liquor and puffs of the finer stuff – its collaged snippets could easily invite remixes by the DoLab at Coachella or blare over the soundsystem on a rooftop at some fabulous (and oh-so-elite) LA party.
“I suppose I’ll be taking orders from Dinah next!” A soundbite from Alice in Wonderland leads us into the laid-back dance club that is I’m Dreaming. One of the album’s introductory singles, “Chasing Stars,” is a gorgeous example of how delicately Ivy works with others; it’s catchy, clean, and absolutely on point for today’s pop EDM landscape. “Get Me A Drink” stands out as another potential hit, with tight lyrics and an easy swagger: “My ex just walked up through the front door/I really don’t wanna care anymore/WTF did he bring that girl for/I really don’t wanna care anymore.” They’re the kind of tracks that make you wonder what else the country of Australia’s been holding back (don’t worry, Alice has some Aussie producer recommendations). SXSW has a lot to look forward to when Alice Ivy hits the stage this week.
We sat down with the 24-year-old Alice Ivy, née Annika Schmarsel, to talk about what life’s like as a female producer and how she manages to pare down her work to just the right mix.
AF: You were raised in Geelong, Australia. From a quick Google I got: seaside city, famous for its Wool Museum. Give us a glimpse into what life is like there.
AI: Hahaha, wool museum. I haven’t even been there to be honest! I had a really good upbringing down here. Geelong is super close to the best surf beaches in Australia, so whenever I was on school holidays I would kick it at the beach all the time. It’s a very quiet town, but living so close to the beach was awesome. Geelong itself had a really good punk/rock scene a few years ago so when I was young I used to sneak out of the house at midnight and go see punk shows all the time
AF: What were some of your favorite punk bands from back then?
AI: When I say punk I mean punk and rock. This massive band called King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard came from Geelong and used to play at this place called the National Hotel all the time; I went to most shows. They are now selling out massive tours around the world. I grew up listening to a lot of Motown and Soul Music though.
AF: Love King Gizzard! You sound pretty cool for a high schooler (a lot cooler than a certain Minnesotan who only listened to oldies).
AI: So cool! They literally played in the tiniest rooms in Geelong when I was growing up, it’s insane how well they are doing now.
AF: Tell us about your high school band, Sweethearts. I’m very intrigued by this all-girl group that got to tour Europe at age 12.
AI: So I auditioned to play in this all-girl school band (twenty-five 12-18 year olds). We would cover old soul Motown classics by Marvin Gaye, Etta James, etc. We would also play originals. Playing in this band was super cool because it gave me proper touring experience at such a young age. I toured Europe a couple of times playing the Montreaux Jazz Festival and the Poretta Soul Festival. Also understanding how shows work, writing with other people and getting used to performing at such a young age has had a massive influence on where I am at now in my music career.
AF: You’ve said you’re a fan of “sitting down and listening to whole records”. I’m Dreaming really does have consistent tone and pacing throughout. It’s an album that infuses a room with mood, a mezcal cocktail of a record. Did you end up leaving a lot on the cutting room floor in order to give it this particular feel?
AI: Sitting down and listening to a whole record is the best thing in the world. I feel like today everyone just listens to singles through play-listing and of course radio, so I wanted to create something that would make real sense if you sit down for 35 minutes and listen to the whole thing. So I chose my big songs on the record, and once I established those I wrote [/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][new songs] or decided on the [existing] songs to fit in between. Songs such as “Bella” I revisited and re-worked a little bit so it would fit nicer. I wanted to keep the album super dynamic, so it flows up and down, and feels as if you are being taken on a journey. Choosing the songs was the hardest thing in the world.
AF: I absolutely love all the sound clips from films you interspersed throughout. Was that a concept you had or did it just sort of happen organically starting with a particular song?
AI: Thank you! Honestly it happened organically with the songs! Sometimes I even start a song with a radio sample and work my way around that. A good example is “Charlie.” The radio samples on there are old commercials from the 1950s, soon after the second world war, talking about makeup. I loved this period of time because it was like we won the war! Everything is perfect! Technology was evolving! Yet the Cold War and nuclear disaster was a very big thing. “Charlie” has that feel to it; the horns are so perfect they are almost fake. The feel of the song is like you are on top of the world, nothing can stop you. Not sure if this makes sense in words.
AF: Was the Alice in Wonderland intro a last minute add then? It seems like such a perfect way to encompass the overall feel.
AI: On ‘Touch” I actually also started with a little vocal sample and then mucked around with chords and a drum beat. Then I worked with Georgia Van Etten in the studio to work on little top lines. I really loved the idea of creating something that would take the listener down the rabbit hole.
AF: In 2017, you listed your Korg Minilogue as your favorite new piece of equipment. Not gonna lie: my husband and I just got one. We’re definitely in the beginning stages of figuring it out. Do you normally just jump in writing songs on a new piece of equipment or do you find there’s a lengthy experimentation phase you go through?
AI: I always need a bit of time getting used to a new bit of gear. It’s cool though; working with new gear also influences the kind of direction you are taking your music in. I bought the Korg Minilogue and then I wrote heavy synth driven songs such as “Get Me A Drink” & “I’m Dreaming,” stepping away from more of the ‘soul’ kinda stuff. You are gonna have so much fun with the Minilogue! It’s actually the best thing ever. You can do so much with it.
AF: What artists are you listening to right now?
AI: I’m listening to a bit of Australian stuff. Nai Palm just released an amazing record, Flight Facilities are great. But I’ve also been thrashing that new Mr Jukes record – the features on it are mind blowing. And I can never really walk away from SZA, Frank Ocean and Flying Lotus.
AF: I’ve heard rumor you’re coming to the U.S. for SXSW. Are there any other U.S. tour dates we can expect on that trip?
AI: Yeah, I’m hitting up SXSW! I’m super sad though because I have two Australian festivals either side of SXSW so I don’t have time to play any more shows. Will be back later during the year though!
AI: Melbourne has been so good to me. There are heaps of youth organizations that help young producers start off their careers, there are amazing government funding bodies. About a year ago I realized that I may be a bit of a role model to young producers, especially females. I think that it’s super important to put back into the community and so whenever I have the time, I try to do as much as I can. The Arts Centre classes are a safe open space for young females to express their art. Music, especially electronic music, is so male dominated – the only way to change this is to put your time back rather than just talk about how hard it is being a ‘female producer’ making electronic music.
AF: What female producers are you seeing out in the scene that are really rockin’ it right now?
AI: I’ll list some Aussies who are smashing it right now. Ninajirachi, Nyxen, Saatsuma, Eilish Gilligan. Especially Ninajirachi; she’s 18 years old and doing massive festival circuits around Australia… so cool.
AF: What advice would you give a high-school age girl looking to become a producer? What are some of the first steps she should take?
AI: I’ll send a list of dot points!
Take your time with everything. Don’t feel like you ever have to rush art.
Collaborating with other people is the best way to get better at your own craft. Give it a go!
If they are in reach, reach out to the people that inspire you. They will generally make the time for you and you can learn so much.
Be patient. Every artist needs to do the hard yards first. Good things will always come if you put in the good work.
Alice Ivy’s new album I’m Dreaming is out now on Spotify and iTunes. If you’re headed to SXSW this week, be sure to catch her LIVE! [/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
I’ve been called a masochist for going to Austin, TX’s South By South West festival so many years in a row. SXSW 2018 will be my eighth return trip and this year I’ll be an official artist with all three of my projects – Sharkmuffin, Ex-Girlfriends and Kino Kimino – totaling 17 sets in five days. Aside from the direct coffee IV I’ll be dragging around with me during the week, I’ll be taking my vitamins, (maybe) avoiding day drinking and eating at a lot of food trucks.
Navigating the music industry’s spring break for the first time can seem like a daunting task, so to help ease your South By South Stress, we talked to festival rookies Def.Grls and veterans Dentist, Leggy, and Boytoy, who have each made as many return trips to Austin as me.
Def.Grls (Brooklyn, NY)
AF: What about SXSW are you most excited about?
Mark: I’m most excited for all of the rock and roll, all of the debauchery, for all of the drugs, for all of the emotions and that I’m gonna win the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero’s Quest; The Race for Badger’s Cup!
Craig: I’m most excited to visit the city of Austin for the first time. I’m excited for my first ever SXSW experience. I’m excited for Mark to do all the drugs and feel all the emotions. And I can’t wait to win the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero’s Quest; The Race for Badger’s Cup!
Hannah: I’m most excited for my first ever tour and that I get to be with the GRLS! I’m also excited to play a house show on the way at Carl Fike’s house in Little Rock!!! I’m also most excited by how Craig is already negative points in the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero’s Quest; The Race for Badger’s Cup!
AF: What was booking your first tour like?
Craig: Hannah was the mastermind behind this tour so we’ll let her field this one.
Hannah: It was really confusing and hard and fun! And mostly successful due to the kindness of strangers on the internet. I went to bandcamp and listened to, like, infinity bands in the different cities that would maybe make sense to stop at along the way, and when I found one I really liked, I reached out being like “Hey, you wanna be friends??” And they all put me in touch with a second or third or fourth person who helped us set up all the shows along the way. So freaking cool and friendly.
AF: What SXSW shows are you playing?
Def.GRLS: We’re playing 4 unofficial showcases in Austin! Starting things off with a daytime set on Wednesday the 14th at the 6th annual Uglyfest at Cherrywood Coffeehouse and then playing again that night at the Nochebuena in Space party at Stay Gold! Then on Thursday the 15th, we’re playing on the Midcoast Takeover stage at Shangri-la (where Hannah’s brother is running sound!). Then on Saturday the 17th we’re going to wrap up our time in Austin at the Indicate Interest day party showcase at Hops and Grain!
AF: How are you going to pass the time on the road on your way to Texas?
Craig: We love to do Madlibs, listen to Aqua…
Mark: …pray to Ihop (rule #23 in the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero’s Quest; The Race for Badger’s Cup!)
Craig: …gossiping about our frenemies. But mostly participation in the official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero’s Quest; The Race for Badger’s Cup is very demanding of our mind, body and soul.
Hannah: So true. The official Def.GRLS tour game: The Great American Hero’s Quest; The Race for Badger’s Cup tests each GRL’s mental, physical and psychic strengths. It says so right on the first page:
Mark: Hannah’s in the lead. But I’m gonna win. 4glory!!
Dentist (Asbury Park, NJ)
AF: What’s your favorite food truck / venue in Austin?
Our experience is somewhat limited at this point, but when we were there in 2016 we really enjoyed playing at the Hard Luck Lounge because they had a great outdoor section and a food truck outside with very tasty snacks. We always like playing outside when it’s nice out.
AF: What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you at SXSW?
One of the days when we were hanging out and drinking, we ended up at some cowboy bar and this older guy, probably in his 60s or 70s, asked me to square dance with him. Turns out he must have been a professional or something. Even though I frequently line danced to “Achy Breaky Heart” in middle school during gym class, I couldn’t keep up and had to sit down after 15 minutes or so. Not sure how crazy that is, but it’s a funny memory that comes to mind.
AF: What are your tips for surviving SXSW?
I think it’s all about a mindset. Normally at a certain point you would say to yourself, “I’m tired, time to go home,” but you just have to tell yourself that it’s only one week, and you can find time to sleep at some other point in the future.
AF: What showcases are you playing, and what showcases or bands are you the most excited to go see?
Our official showcase is at BD Riley’s on March 15th at 10pm. Then we are playing two awesome unofficial shows with amazing lineups; the first one is March 15th starting at 4pm at Hard Luck Lounge and is presented by Little Dickman Records, the other is presented by Little Dickman Records, CoolDad Music, and Garden State Beards and is at Valhalla on March 17th starting at 11am. We are down to take on more stuff, so if anyone reading is doing a showcase and wants to reach out, go for it! We are really excited to see Wavves, Andrew W.K, Sharkmuffin, Parrot Dream, Fruit and Flowers, Ex Girlfriends, Pink Mexico, Beams, Albert Hammond Jr., Anna Burch, High Waisted, Kino Kimino, Boytoy, Grace Vonderkuhn and a bunch more I’m sure.
Boytoy (Brooklyn, NY)
AF: What’s your favorite food truck / venue in Austin?
Hotel Vegas always has rad stuff going on. If we’re not playing a show we usually end up just hanging around there. We love the Bloody Marys at Rio Rita’s. Cheer Up Charlie’s is always a good show. And Spider House.
AF: What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you at SXSW?
Chase: I MET MY TOP HEROES IN THE SAME DAY! I woke up and saw Michelle Obama speak on a panel, kissed Iggy Pop’s hand, saw the late Leon Russell play, and ran into Erykah Badu like three times.
Sara: Glenn and I did acid and watched Jacuzzi Boys play at Hotel Vegas. Everyone around us was so drunk and destroying the tree in the yard and that’s where I think it went downhill for Glenn. We went to see Sheer Mag play a show on a foot bridge at like 2am. The bridge was definitely swaying and Glenn kept checking the date the bridge was constructed thinking if it was gonna collapse she had her exit plan.
AF: What are your tips for surviving SXSW?
Adderall and day drinking. Don’t try to overachieve on show hopping. It’s usually better to pick a showcase and stay put for a few hours to avoid all the chaos.
AF: What showcases are you playing and what showcases or bands are you the most excited to go see?
This year is going to be crazy for us! We’re doing Burgerama, Wienermania, Desert Daze, Pond Magazine, Cult Citizen, Quit Your Day Job, Onward Indian, Little Dickman, Siren Sounds, Panache Hangover, and a couple of house parties.
Our schedule is so crazy that I’m not sure we’ll be able to have much free time to see other shows! Basically just the bands that will be playing right around our set times, so it’s cool most of them are our friends. We’ve found it’s better to stumble into thing rather than try to plan a schedule. The random finds are always the most gratifying. Chase wants to catch Princess Nokia.
Leggy (Cincinnati, OH)
AF: What’s your favorite food truck / venue in Austin?
I really like the Whip In! We played there one SXSW – it’s a corner store, bar, venue, and Indian food restaurant combo. Pretty dank. Spider House and Cheer Up Charlies are also really great and beautiful.
AF: What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you at SXSW?
We once rented a one bedroom apartment with three other bands, and that also included their assorted roadies, pals, and makeout partners. It was something like 22 people in there. Pretty amazing that anyone found a place to smooch! ;)
AF: What are your tips for surviving SXSW?
Go with the flow. Don’t be stressed if you can’t stick to a laid out plan of bands you want to see – things are crazy but fun! Always budget more time than you think you’ll need to make it to shows, especially if you’re playing. Austin is HOT! Bring sunscreen and summer clothes. Talk to everyone and make friends. You’ll probably see them again next year!!!
AF: What showcases are you playing & what showcases / bands are you the most excited to go see?
Shows Leggy is playing:
3/12 Strange Brew at Volstead Lounge @ 5:45pm
3/13 Ground Floor Booking showcase at Love Goat @ 7pm
3/13 Room 484 Showcase at Fine Southern Gentlemen @ 11:45pm
3/14 Outer Orbit Booking Showcase at Stay Gold @ 11pm
3/15 Grey Estates Showcase at Voodoo Donut @ 3:30pm
3/15 That’s What She Said Showcase at 1811 Rosewood @ 8pm
3/15 Howdy Gals Showcase at Hole in the Wall @ 10:30pm
3/16 Escapes House Party @ 5pm
3/17 Burgermania at Hotel Vegas @ 5:45pm
3/17 Howdy Gals Party at Beerland @ 10pm
I’m most excited to check out the Old Flame Records Showcase at Swan Dive on 3/17 to catch some pals from Cincinnati (Lung and Dawg Yawp). I also really want to catch Say Sue Me (from Korea) because we are touring with them next month!
Make your band’s first or fifth trip to SXSW easier by…
Finding your place to crash well in advance. Airbnbs can be $600 (or more!) a night. If you’re stuck sleeping in your van, there’s a nice lobby at the downtown Hilton where I’ve taken many mid-day naps while charging my phone.
Packing Light. You’ll be out all day, so other than your music equipment you’ll only want a light (possibly free if you’re official) backpack.
Putting your name, phone number and/or some kind of unique look on all your gear. There are so many bands’ shit lying around, it’s good to be able to easily and quickly identify your own stuff.
Keeping business cards & stickers handy.
Making time to see bands you wouldn’t normally see in your hometown. SXSW is all about the parties, but it’s also a great time to network and connect with folks from DIY scenes in other cities.
Drinking lots of water. SXSW is one massive day drinking contest. You can win if you remember to hydrate!
I was familiar with Kaya Wilkins’ Instagram before I was even aware of her musical career under the moniker Okay Kaya. The Norwegian model/musician/actress captivated me with her online persona, a collage of moments she turns into engaging imagery. The world she shares through her social media was similar to anyone’s, but her honest depiction of life somehow made the mundane comical in its realness.
Her songwriting stands on a very similar sentiment. Kaya sings real, yet comedically told stories about life – or some alternate, imagined version of it – from a feminine perspective. Within her lyrical musings she discusses personal anecdotes about faking orgasms, failed attempts at relationships, and getting an IUD.
Recently featured on King Krule’s acclaimed 2017 LP THE OOZ and Porches’ The House, Okay Kaya is also in the midst of prepping the release of her own debut. The video for her latest single “Dance Like U” continues a storyline which began with her first single, “IUD.” She teamed up with NYC-based filmmaker Adinah Dancyger to create the strangely surreal video series, a dreamlike portrayal of a concept Wilkins had been playing around with in her mind for some time before setting the idea to film. The scenes create a persona haunted by a twin born out of past trauma.
There is something akin to a thriller that coats the experience of these videos. While Okay Kaya doesn’t seem drastically disturbed by her “twin,” there is an element of discomfort that looms in the familiarity of the two figures. Throughout the video, Wilkins interacts with this alternate version of herself, floating in and out of the house, being watched, and simultaneously becoming the voyeur.
Some moments seem as though we are observing a tender interaction between herself and what we might assume is her subconscious. She dances with her twin and shares a moment spinning around the room. It creates an intimate feeling, as though watching a child dance with their own reflection, wishing for the better version of themselves to come to life.
When, at the end of the end of the video, the alter (or inner) ego leaves the room, Kaya leaves the viewer guessing which version of herself is left behind.
NEWS ROUNDUP: Gender Equalizers, Night Mayors, & More
By Jasmine Williams
An App for Gender Equality:
On Thursday, in honor of International Women’s Day, Spotify and Smirnoff partnered together to launch the Smirnoff Equalizer, a tool that reveals the gender breakdown of the artists you are listening to. The streaming platform created that app after collecting data that revealed that 100% of their most streamed tracks in 2017 were performed by men. The equalizer analyzes each listener’s history to produce percentages of male to female artists. It then provides a slider tool so that listeners can discover artists of different genders, including non-binary. You may be surprised by your streaming habits! It turns out that the feminist writer of this news breakdown has been listening to 88% of tracks by male performers versus 13% females. The shame!
It’s a new era for New York City nightlife! Last year the archaic Cabarat Law was repealed and the city has named its first ever Night Mayor. Despite the vampiric title, Ariel Palitz will spend a lot of daylight hours smoothing over the relationships between rigid community councils and venues who often have trouble applying for liquor licenses and getting permits. Palitz is a seasoned promoter and was owner of the club Sutra for ten years. In theory, she will be making it easier for DIY event spaces to operate throughout the five boroughs. Fingers crossed!
Other Highlights:
Anderson .Paak’s new single, “Til It’s Over,” gets the Spike Jonze treatment for an Apple Music video starring FKA Twigs as a working stiff who escapes reality through dance.
On Wednesday, In response to recent criticism of his live shows, Vince Staples launched a GoFundMe page so that he can leave the music biz, he states, “You can decide to donate to the cause of $2 million, which will allow me to shut the fuck up forever and you will never hear from me again…If not, you can choose to let me do what I want to do, when I want to do it…” The next day it emerged that the crowd fundraiser was actually a stunt in promotion for new track, “Get the Fuck Off My Dick.”
Nick Cave announced an unconventional tour this week, he’ll be inviting audience members for open Q&A sessions at spots along the East Coast. He stops at Murrmrr Theatre in Brooklyn on May 5th.
On the film front, Yo La Tengo and King Krule have released special performance footage, the former played a set at National Sawdust and the latter gave a concert “on the moon.”
Q-Tip was recently named advisor-at-large and artistic director of the new Hip-Hop Culture Council at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Billy McFarland, the promotor behind doomed island disaster, Fyre Music Festival, pled guilty to two counts of fraud this week.
Death Hags is the solo project of French singer-songwriter and L.A. Musician Lola G, who last month released her first single “Metal Teeth.” It’s about “women reclaiming their freedom to be angry, strange, loud and dangerous,” and it’ll appear on Death Hags’ debut LP, slated for release via Burger Records this spring. She’ll also be heading to SXSW in March. We talked to her about her dream musical gear, the production process & her personal transformation through solo touring and living in the woods.
AF: I really like when artists create new genre names. I saw on Souncloud you tagged #doompop. Can you describe what doom pop and/or post-industrial is? How else would you describe the sound of your new record?
LG: It’s always hard to describe your own music, so when people started asking me what this new project sounded like, I would say it was “pop songs about the end of the world.” That was the best description I could come up with. I shortened it to “doom pop” because I love writing dark and doom-y bass lines but my pop sensibility won’t go away. I’m a fan of early industrial bands like Throbbing Gristle so hopefully there is a little bit of [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][post-industrial] somewhere in Death Hags.
AF: How and where did you record “Metal Teeth”? What is your songwriting process like? What kind of gear do you use? What is your dream piece of gear you’d love to use for future recordings or live shows? What’s your favorite aspect of the writing and recording process?
LG: I recorded “Metal Teeth” in LA during a session I did with my band DTCV. I played everything except drums. A few months later I ended up scrapping the whole album except for “Metal Teeth.” It’s the only song that felt right. That was pretty much the beginning of Death Hags.
To me the most exciting part in the songwriting process is the initial creative spark. Lyrics or a melody I hear in my head, or a whole song. Recording is more of a mystery. You never know how things are going to turn out. I’ve had some amazing recording moments in places that were basically crappy warehouses and completely empty sessions in professional studios. There’s something elusive about recording and I’ve learned to respect that.
For gear, I have a modified 1980s Electra guitar and a 1970s Univox bass, although I tend to record with whatever Fender P bass they have in the studio. I recently got a Microbrute analog synth that I am in love with. And of course, lots of pedals!
I don’t think I have a dream piece of gear. If I could buy anything I wanted right now, I would probably buy a bunch of synths and get a crazy custom-made pedal from Death by Audio.
AF: Tell us about the personal transformation you’ve gone through with Metal Teeth. What do you want people to take away from listening to the new record?
LG: I spent a lot of time alone in Nature last year and had some intense spiritual experiences foraging in the forest. It pushed me to tour by myself, which is probably the most transformative thing I’ve ever done. Metal Teeth reflects this need to reconnect with the untamed, with the strength and self-reliance that come from really knowing yourself. I’ve only begun the journey so I don’t know where it’s going to take me. Maybe ask me again next year?
As far as this record, if it could give people goose bumps when they listen to it, I would be very happy.
Today is International Women’s Day, and people are celebrating in many ways. This American Life devoted their entire show on Tuesday night to listening to the stories of five women who were sexually harassed by media executive Don Hazen, giving individual voice to members of the #MeToo movement. Mattel came out with 17 new Barbie dolls celebrating diverse and historic women like artist Frida Kahlo, Australian conservationist Bindi Irwin, and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson. Our favorite female and non-binary music festival, The Hum, has announced a new run of shows slated for May, and various Women’s Day events have sprung up across the world. In my own way of celebrating women, here are five groundbreaking female musicians pushing their formats forward.
U.S. Girls
U.S. Girls mastermind Meg Remy has always looked to the past for inspiration – her decade-deep catalog often reverberating with sounds of ‘70s disco and Phil Spector’s girl groups. Those influences haven’t dissipated entirely on Remy’s latest LP In a Poem Unlimited, but Remy has forged something completely new from them. Remy has garnered more widespread attention with this album than any prior release, and while that could easily be attributed to its near perfect track list, it may have occurred as a result of topic and timing.
In a Poem Unlimited chronicles female rage in an era when it’s finally being recognized. From James Bond-tinged revenge epic “Velvet 4 Sale,” to the satirical “Pearly Gates,” Remy and her U.S. Girls collective have crafted something fresh and relevant, wrapping rocky subject matter in swaths of multicolored silk. Standout track “M.A.H.” (“Mad As Hell”) combines these two assets seamlessly, succinctly verbalizing what women have been feeling for too long over an ABBA-esque dance cut. “As if you couldn’t tell, I’m mad as hell,” she sings. “I won’t forget, so why should I forgive?/Supply me with one reason why, boy?” Pertinent questions these days.
CupcakKe
Chicago rapper CupcakKe, aka Elizabeth Harris, has been in the game for longer than you might think. Harris began releasing music on the web in 2012, and her 2016 mixtape Cum Cake caught the attention of critics for its unabashed lewdness. None of that raunchiness is lost on CupcakKe’s most recent LP Ephorize. Harris is the lightning-tongued, pornographic poet we’ve all been waiting for. Her brand of female sexuality is raw and unapologetic, debunking the myth that women are less sexual creatures than men with streams of dirty verses. She celebrates LGBTQ love on “Crayons” and her love for dick on “Duck Duck Goose.” Cupcakke is easily one of the most progressive MCs on these matters, and when it comes to the societal damning of women’s sexuality, she’s furious. “Females have sex on the first night they get called a ho for that one night stand,” she raps on “Self Interview,” “Men have sex on the first night, congratulations!” “Most wouldn’t comprehend/Double standards need to end.” Preach, High Priestess Cupcakke.
SOPHIE
Scotland born, Los Angeles based producer SOPHIE is making pop music dangerous again. The transgender artist is seemingly allergic to binaries, and therefore makes music that is difficult to categorize. There are elements of techno, disco, and deep house, but her work also boasts more the “difficult” sounds of industrial and noise music. “A lot of the stuff I’ve done takes the attitude of disco but tries to bring the sound world forward,” she told Teen Vogue last year. “We’re in a different world now. I’m trying to imagine what music that’s positive, liberating, weird, dark, and real could be in the current day.” SOPHIE has achieved all of those descriptors in her music, and she’s one of the few contemporary artists that can truly be called cutting edge. Her live shows are a mixture of theater, rave, and performance art, and her skill as a producer is unrivaled. She can turn the fizz of soda into a symphony and the screech of latex into a solo. SOPHIE will undoubtedly have a hand in how the future of pop music is shaped.
Moor Mother
Moor Mother is the project of Philly poet, musician, and activist Camae Ayewa, whose music blurs the lines between hip-hop, gothic industrial, and spoken word. Moor Mother is angry, and she has every right to be. She raps about domestic violence, race riots, and police brutality through layers of distortion, and her live sets are a blatant display of her rage. Ayewa’s music is compelling through headphones, but contagious in person; her body thrashes with each verse, making the air around her taut with fury. Her last record, 2016’s Fetish Bones is a stirring amalgam of disturbing poems laid over horror movie noise-scapes. Moor Mother’s sound is a much-needed slap in the face to oppression.
Jlin
Jerilynn Patton is one badass woman. A top-notch producer and steel mill worker from Gary, Indiana, Patton, aka Jlin, has taken the independent music community by storm with her last two records, 2015’s Dark Energy and last year’s Black Origami. Jlin’s music is instantly recognizable, and while it incorporates electronic genres like footwork and house, her stamp of authenticity lies in the clanging metallic rhythms, West African percussion, and dizzying synths she weaves through her beats. Her live sets are robust and disorienting, causing more convulsions than dancing. In an industry, and a genre (electronic music) that is overwhelmed by men, Jlin makes harder beats than just about anyone.
Rhye — the sultry bedroom R&B project of Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist, Michael Milosh — came to Detroit’s El Club last night with special guest Boulevards. With both artists’ subject matter centered around the art of love-making, the show ended up feeling like a two-hour sex marathon, starting out hot and spicy and unwinding into a blissful embrace of sultry sweet nothings.
Funk god Jamil Rashad, aka Boulevards, opened the show with a high-energy and heavily oiled set. The glistening performer took the stage with a demanding presence, stunner shades, and an unbuttoned, Hendrix-esque shirt. Performing songs from his latest record, Hurtown, USA, Boulevards transformed the room into a ‘70s funk palace. You didn’t have to know any of his songs to be completely enraptured in Rashad’s euphoria-inducing performance. Taking cues from Greats like James Brown, Prince, and Rick James, the Raleigh, NC native shined on tracks like “Feelings,” and “Donezo.”
“Feelings” is a synth-powered anthem about trading vices for love – or maybe, letting love take the place of a more damaging vice. Rashad’s languid, spoken-word delivery is joined by an unmistakably funk-infused voice singing, “Give me something good to feel, show me how to feel” that had even the shyest dancers with their hands in the air. For his last song, “Sanity,” Rashad jumped down from the stage and parted the sea of adoring fans, making a pathway for a soul train and hopefully rubbing some of his virtuosic dance moves (and maybe a little body oil) off on the audience.
I honestly needed a cigarette after that set, but Rhye’s voice soundtracked an even more satisfying refractory period. If Boulevards was the climax, Rhye was the seraphic, post-coital spoon sesh. Milosh’s soft, androgynous crooning was so intimate it sometimes felt like he was whispering to the audience from under the covers. Although Rhye’s most recent release, Blood, has been critiqued as a less sincere, more manufactured version of 2013’s Woman, his incredible performance sent a clear message:haters be damned.
Milosh was joined by a full band, consisting of an organ, electric violin and cello, trombone, drums, guitar and bass, and occasionally took to the drums and keys himself. While his voice translated the exact chilling luminosity heard on both records, the added instrumentation allowed for precious moments of improvisation that could only be seen live, creating even more intimacy – if that’s even possible.
The room – which was mostly attentive but upheld a light murmur of buzzed conversation in the back – came to complete silence during the violin riff that kicks off Rhye’s biggest hit, “Open.” The violin captured attention and then the band teased the crowd by holding a trance-like, bare interlude until Milosh’s sensual voice released the tension. Other standout songs were the gentle and pleading, “Please,” where Milosh hopes to heal his lover’s sadness, and “Waste,” a reflection on a painful, unsuccessful relationship – both themes that everyone in the audience could likely cling to.
The entire set felt like an extended lullaby, putting everyone in the mood to go and curl up with a lover, or wish that they could.
Alice Phoebe Lou had me at “She.” She caught my ear at the end of last summer, and was quickly anchored into my permanent collection of artists whom I play on endless loops to make long bike rides through the city a little more enjoyable, her light and fierce vocals scattered over my summer memories.
I stumbled upon Lou on one of those YouTube rabbit holes that sometimes leads nowhere, not realizing then that the simple video for “She,” a montage of Lou playing live at various venues, would stoke a new obsession, filling the essence of silence in my August haze. The song starts out with a long echo chamber like resonance of the word “She” that stretches through a variation of tonalities. That first word had me hooked.
As the song crescendos, the lyrics go on to describe a young girl looking for a place in a world that seems to be falling apart, and having a sense of needing to escape. The “She” Lou refers to is on a journey, leaving society and fear behind to find herself on the other side of the fence in search of a better world. Most of Lou’s work focuses on the idea of breaking away from societal molds; her lyrics ponder the effects our societal habits have on the Earth, the individual, and the creative and fierce spirit we all have inside us, but often forget to fuel.
Lou herself has spent her creative career fighting these structures she so often denounces in her music. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Lou came up on the outskirts of the music industry, busking around Berlin after graduating high school. She found her voice on the streets and her followers in city squares, and though she’s found a larger audience since, with offers from major labels, acclaimed SXSW performances, and sold-out shows across Europe, she has continued giving street performances and independently released two EPs and two full length albums.
Lou hasn’t been held back by her decision to maintain her presence as a fiercely independent artist. The song “She” was featured in Bombshell, a documentary about Hollywood starlet and genius inventor Hedy Lamarr. Because of its inclusion in the film, it was shortlisted for an Academy Award in December; though it didn’t make the final cut for nominations, the announcement was followed by the news that Lou would be re-releasing the song with a new video.
Her second video rendition of “She,” directed by photographer and filmmaker Natalia Bazina, was released on February 23rd. Lou says of the video that “the repetitive lyrics have a sense of powerful femininity behind them, inspired by women who go against the prescribed boundaries and pave the way for other women to be empowered and realize their strengths.”
The video is as ethereal as the song itself and sets bodies in a pool swimming amongst a dark black background, their forms seemingly moving in space. The element of water keeps the song alive with feminine references, and the contrasted bodies build up a sense of the depth, darkness, and light between the contours of the female form. The video is a delicate glimpse into yet another version of the female gaze, a beautifully woven tapestry of images that ignite sensations of freedom, fear, entrapment, struggle, and breaking free.
Lou’s trajectory into music has been a surprising one. As more of what she offers in her musical field comes to life, I feel we will continue to have her passionate music be the backdrop for our ordinary existence.
When you’re a teenager, you start to realize that a lot of the songs you liked as a kid were about sex. Then, when you reach your 20s, you start to realize many of them were actually about drugs. A lot of drug terminology can fly right over your head if you’re not a user and don’t know any users. But becoming familiar with a drug culture is sort of like learning a new word – suddenly, it’s everywhere.
“Sex, drugs, and rock and roll” famously go together, so it’s not surprising that many songs either are about drugs, were inspired by drugs, or mention drugs. Here are a few songs you listened to (and quite possibly sang along to) as a kid without ever realizing they contain drug references.
“Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind
I remember humming along to the “do do do dos” in this song, not realizing that the rest of it included not only overt sexual references like “she comes over and she goes down on me” but also lyrics like “Doing crystal meth will lift you up until you break” and “then I bumped up, I took the hit I was given, then I bumped again.” Yup, this song is definitely about meth.
“There She Goes” by The La’s
Ever since I heard this song in The Parent Trap while Lindsay Lohan gets to know her long-lost mother, I thought it was a sweet tribute to some woman the songwriter loves. But said woman might actually be heroin. “She” is “racing through my vein” because the narrator has literally injected “her” into their vein, according to some interpretations. The band’s singer-songwriter Lee Mavers was rumored to have a heroin addiction, so you do the math.
“Burn One Down” by Ben Harper
You had to be pretty oblivious to miss this, but I was. I thought that what is now clearly a stoner anthem was just a song extolling a “live and let live” ethos and wanting other people to let you live, too. Which it is. But it’s also about the desire to “burn one from end to end.”
“Needle in the Hay” by Elliott Smith
You don’t need to understand the lyrics to know this song is depressing as hell. But once you do know that “6th and Powell” is an intersection in San Francisco where drug addicts hang out and “taking the cure” is a phrase used to describe heroin rehab in William S. Burroughs’ Junkie, it becomes even more sad. So let’s move on to something a little more light-hearted.
“Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” by The Flaming Lips
“Those evil-natured robots / They’re programmed to destroy us / She’s gotta be strong to fight them / So she’s taking lots of vitamins.” What fun imagery! Also, it’s highly likely that Wayne Coyne was on acid when he wrote this (or at least came up with the idea). He’s a fan of the drug, and the cover art for the song’s eponymous album features a girl (presumably Yoshimi) casting a bird’s shadow, as well as the number 25, potentially referencing the drug’s lab name LDS-25.
“Pepper” by The Butthole Surfers
Some have speculated that the lines “They were all in love with dying / They were drinkin’ from a fountain /That was pouring like an avalanche coming down the mountain” reference heroin. What we do know is that lead singer Gibby Haynes struggled for some time with a heroin addiction. Another fun fact: The band members “sprinkled LSD on their cornflakes every morning,” Mark Kramer, a former touring member of The Butthole Surfers, told Noisey.
“Loser” by Beck
In this social outcast anthem, Beck slips in lyrics like “Butane in my veins so I’m out to cut the junkie” and “One’s got on the pole shove the other in a bag with the rerun shows and the cocaine nose job.” Other lyrics like “With the plastic eyeballs / Spray paint the vegetables / Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose” make you wonder if he was on drugs when he wrote it, but he’s actually anti-drug.
“Walkin’ on the Sun” by Smash Mouth
This sounded to my seven-year-old self like a fun song about space exploration, but it’s actually about the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, spurred by police brutality toward black taxi driver Rodney King, the band’s guitarist Greg Camp told Songfacts. “I’d like to buy the world a toke,” frontman Steve Harwell sings in reference to the chaos of the time; though he sees marijuana as a peace-maker, he warns about the perils of harder drugs with a prescriptive in the last verse: “Put away the crack before the crack put you away.”
“Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba
PSA: Alcohol is a drug. Once you understand that, it becomes clear that this is the most drugged-up song on the list. The British version of the album booklet reads, “‘Tubthumping’ is Shouting to Change The World (then having a drink to celebrate). It’s stumbling home from your local bar, when the world is ready to be PUT RIGHT…'” It then quotes Charles Baudelaire as saying, “It is essential to be drunk all the time” — or, as the band might put it, “pissing the night away” (nope, they’re not saying “kissing,” though Americans unfamiliar with the British slang phrase might have thought otherwise). Now that we’re older, hopefully we’ve learned that mixing whiskey drinks, vodka drinks, lager drinks and cider drinks is less a recipe for revolution than it is for a brutal hangover.
It’s the end of an era for pop-punks, emo kids, and sk8er bois – Warped Tour just announced their final cross-country lineup and it’s going to be a very grand finale! The show will hit the road for virtually the whole summer; kicking off on June 21st in California and ending on August 5th in Florida. Warped veterans Sum 41, Taking Back Sunday, Simple Plan, the Used, and All Time Low are along for the ride with more than fifty other artists. In a public letter, tour founder Kevin Lyon reflected on the history of Warped since its start in 1995 and what the future holds for the venture.
“I have been a very lucky person to have traveled across the country and sometimes around the world as one of the founders and producers of the Vans Warped Tour. Today, with many mixed feelings, I am here to announce that next year will be the final, full cross-country run of the Vans Warped Tour. I sit here reflecting on the tour’s incredible history, what the final run means for our community, and look forward to what’s to come as we commemorate the tour’s historic 25th anniversary in 2019.” – Kevin Lyon
After a five-year run around the world, sprawling and comprehensive art exhibition David Bowie Iswill make its final stop at the Brooklyn Museum. Running March 2nd through July 15th, the show mines Bowie history for a mind-blowing display of thousands of music artifacts, drawings, props, videos, and, of course, costumes, some of which have never been seen before. There’s also a framed photo of Little Richard that Bowie was rumored to have carried to every recording session. The show is organized by time and cycles through the many different phases of the Thin White Duke’s career, starting with his early life as David Jones and ending with the making of Blackstar. It’s no accident that the traveling exhibition has its finale in Brooklyn; the legendary musician called NYC home for many years. Exhibition organizers have pulled out all the stops for this one, so whether you are a music lover or art addict, David Bowie Is cannot be missed.
Changes are afoot in the music industry! On Wednesday, Spotify went public on Wall Street, despite the fact that the company lost $1.5 billion dollars last year. Also on Wednesday, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was elected to the Country Music Association’s philanthropy board, but by Thursday, he had resigned due to outcry. That night, Lorde started off her North American tour with a bang – she performed an unreleased song as well as a cover of Frank Ocean’s “Solo.” En Vogue made the Billboard Top 10 for the first time in twenty years with the Ne-yo penned track, “Rocket.” The Kills released a video for a cover of the Saul Williams song, “List of Demands (Reparations).” Jack White gives us “Over And Over And Over,” another unveiling from his next record, this one originally written thirteen years ago for The White Stripes. NPR has got the first play of David Byrne’s upcoming album – you can stream “American Utopia” on their site now. The record’s official release is today. Yo La Tengo has released “For You Too,” the latest from their March 16th album, There’s a Riot Going On. Dinosaur Jr. give us “Hold Unknown” via Adult Swim’s Singles Series. After teasing their reunion with “Octagon Octagon,” Kool Keith, Dan the Automator, and DJ Qbert release “Area 54.” The awkwardly-titled Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation is their first album as hip-hop supergroup Dr. Octagon in 22 years. Lastly, in case you forgot – Dolly Parton is a saint! This week she visited the Library of Congress to celebrate the delivery of the 100 millionth book by her nonprofit, the Imagination Library. The music legend founded Imagination Library in 1995; since then, it has mailed a book to more than a million young children every month.
Dana Buoy is the current evolution of songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Dana Janssen, previously of Akron/Family. Janssen has teamed up with long-time collaborator Justin Miller on a record that’s less folk and more beach party, a cool glass of water, instantaneously refreshing on a first listen.
From the first rolling drumbeats of “Twisted Sky,” the record begs repeat listens. The title track and “Colours Out” stand out with their psychedelic slant; these are the kind of tunes you roll a joint to on a lazy Saturday. Meanwhile, “Whatever” has a sleepy spring swagger to compliment the chillest winter thaw. There’s enough variation to keep things interesting, but the feel and tempo remains consistent throughout. It’s an easy pick for an early morning listen – and as we found out when we sat down with lead singer Dana Janssen, morning routines have been paramount to the creation of these songs. Read on below to hear Janssen’s thoughts on pulling inspiration from dreams and how his recent move to Portland, Oregon influenced his songwriting.
AF: You grew up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. What’s the scene like over there? Without googling, I’m picturing rural.
DJ: Williamsport is rural, yes. A very slow town with not much going on. They seem to be very into the blues and have many blues festivals so there’s that. The little league world series is from there, so that happens every August. Other than that…. not much. But I was always able to get out of town. It’s only a few hours from NYC (where my Dad’s family is from) so we would visit him there on weekends and what not.
AF: You’ve said that your mom was a big musical influence growing up, that she played a wide variety of music. What are some of your favorite childhood tunes?
DJ: She would always play the Rolling Stones but like voodoo lounge era Stones. Old tunes too, but when a new album came out she was on it. Which is cool that she stayed current with the band. Also, a lot of Madonna. “Lucky Star” was the song she would most often put on the stereo on weekend mornings when it was time for me to get out of bed. Blasted it. I always liked this as my alarm clock. I love ’80s Madonna. And she loved playing these club mixtapes. Like 4 on the floor type bangers with a subtle reggae touch. I got into that stuff too.
AF: Sounds like she had a good time on the dance floor back in the day!
DJ: Yeah, she liked to dance.
AF: Your first instrument was a saxophone, then guitar, then drums. When you were first exploring music, did you find ways to interrelate these different forms?
DJ: I generally would go down the rabbit hole of one instrument and get inspired with that for a while, but it wasn’t until my twenties that I would start to cross these together while writing and performing.
AF: Right, I suppose it would have been easier to experiment solo if Ableton had been a thing at the time. Then you can just loop yourself.
DJ: Exactly, although I use Logic. Always wanted to try Ableton. Instead I got into the Octatrack which I’m told is Ableton in a piece of hardware.
AF: Was the production aspect of creating music an easy thing to transition to? Or was it a little daunting at first?
DJ: I took to it pretty quick. When I first started recording, it was with the program Fruity Loops. It had a sequencer which I fell in love with. Then I moved these ideas into Protools. Just being able to multitrack was amazing. Putting together a loop and layering the same sound on top of itself to get this cacophonous sound was pretty inspiring.
AF: Akron/Family was formed in New York. Dana Buoy is a project that sprung out of your move to Portland, Oregon. How did the two cities inform each project and what differences struck you in the creation process?
DJ: When I got to Portland I could afford space. Just being able to have a small home studio setup in my house was amazing, and having time on top of that to actually use it was even better! NYC was always tough because you’re working a lot to float your rent and then you might be exhausted from that so it seemed a bit tougher at times to get yourself motivated to go. Plus balancing everyone’s schedules was a tricky task. Here in Portland, life has been much more relaxing. I feel inspired by the nature out here. The air is amazing. The food is so much fresher. Everything for me jumped up a few notches, in terms of quality of life. When I got here I was able to find a clarity that I used to my advantage in my writing. Also, having time to read more, I took to checking out some books my friend Seth recommended, like The Artist’s Way and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to name a few. These have been so helpful to me when I apply them to my art.
AF: The Artist’s Way! I’ve been making my way through that myself. It took three separate recommendations, but I finally caved.
AF: I’ve technically restarted the book three times. I think it says something in there about not getting defeated and calling yourself a failure. But so far that’s the wall I keep hitting. I tend to be a “haven’t written in five days, suddenly get the urge and now no one talk to me for the next four hours” type.
DJ: I had to make it my practice to get through it too, but well worth the effort.
AF: Alright, Dana (and the universe). Four times is a charm. It’s way too pointed for me not to just do it.
DJ: You got this.
AF: The music world has taken a decidedly political turn since Donald Trump took office.Ice Glitter Goldhas such a light-hearted, sunny feel to it (a welcome break). Do you draw from personal experience when writing music?
DJ: Ooph. Donald. What a fuck. A lot of my subject matter is from personal experience but I also like to write from third person point of view as well. I witness so many great stories that I can’t help but want to make songs out of these. Also, my dreams are a pretty deep well of source material. I like to be in the habit of remembering my dreams as soon as I wake up. I write them down often as the start of my morning pages but not always. Mostly the more interesting ones. I think on this record there is a good balance of these three perspectives: the self, the observer, and the dream warrior.
AF: Do you ever take on source material as inspiration?
DJ: Like topical songwriting?
AF: Topical or even the taking on of a character. Grimes talks a lot about the use of historical figures as characters within her songs. So I was wondering if you don more of a character’s perspective at times.
DJ: Oh absolutely. I have yet to experiment with historical figures. That sounds like a pretty ripe idea! But topical maybe not so much, more taking character.
AF: What artists do you have on rotation right now?
DJ: I’m currently most often listening to artists like LCD Soundsystem, Kendrick, Tamia, El Debarge, Robert Palmer, Funkadelic, De La Sol, Tribe Called Quest, and Mos Def.
AF: Any new artists we should keep an ear out for?
DJ: Dana Buoy, duh.
AF: You have a few tour dates on the docket right now. Can we expect to see more soon?
DJ: Most definitely! The plan is to get out and tour this album. full service. I’m ready to get back on the road again. It’s been awhile since I’ve toured so it’s back to being exciting for me.
AF: A young musician lives in rural Pennsylvania, just finished high school, and is itching to make music. What advice to have for them?
DJ: Well, it’s maybe a little different these days because of the internet, but back in my day it was move to the city and get out and play live as much as possible. I think the experience of being in a room with other humans is invaluable. You learn so much about not only performance and becoming a showman, but about songwriting too. The growth I found during my first tour was unreal. Also, create every day. Even if it’s just playing your instrument, you gotta commit to your craft. become a master. And persevere! This is not an easy lifestyle, but if you can find a way to make it work for you I think it’s worth it.
Dana Bouy’s new album Ice Glitter Gold is out now on Spotify and iTunes. Check out their tour dates below!
03/19 – Portland, OR @ The Know
03/21 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
03/22 – 03.25 Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival
04/20 – Seattle, WA @ Fred Wildlife Refuge
04/21 – Bainbridge Island, WA @ Space Craft
04/23 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
04/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall
04/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Resident[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
On Monday, Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum posted a lengthy Reddit AMA explaining his reluctance to sign autographs for fans. The statement was originally published in a pamphlet Elverum hands out to concertgoers in search of his John Hancock. The statement is six single-spaced pages and nearly 3,000 words long. In it, Elverum not only questions the implications of autographing records, but instills the custom with philosophical weight. “I believe in equality and I don’t believe in god,” Elverum writes. “I believe that successful and well known people are regular people, of course, and I am made uncomfortable by our tendency as humans to elevate some people while not elevating others.” Elverum feels that the second he takes a Sharpie to his work, he is drawing up a barrier between the genuine human-to-human exchange that took place before this request – such as having a conversation.
Despite his unconventional position on this subject, the artist is quick to turn his argument against himself and examine the issue from every angle, particularly that of the fans. He goes into detail about a childhood collection of football cards that he sent to his favorite player Walter Payton when he was a boy. Payton signed every card and returned them, much to Elverum’s wildest delight. The songwriter claims that these cards remain in his parents’ attic to this day. “These little pieces of cardboard were important to me mostly because the boundary had been crossed and erased between this god-like football man from TV and me, a kid from the forest outside a small town in Washington,” he says. “The autographs represented that breach to me, proof that this special man and I were inhabitants of the same world, and there was a real tangible line between us, with evidence!”
The issue of celebrity signatures didn’t come fully into focus until later in Elverum’s life, after average Joes (and fellow Washingtonians) like Kurt Cobain and Beat Happening’s Bret Lunsford made their own mark on music history. The paradigm shifted for Elverum, who even then wanted to maintain relationships with heroes that didn’t teeter atop golden pedestals. “It’s not that I don’t have long rich fantasies of the conversations and interactions I’d like to have with my favorite artists, writers, thinkers,” he wrote on Monday. “I do. I want to personally know these brilliant people, and I enjoy hearing about their secret unglamorous regular life moments, the mechanics of their normalcy. I enjoy the reminders of my sameness with them because it reinforces the possibilities that lay open for me, always. An autograph is detrimental to all of this door-opening.”
Elverum speaks of a particular day in his adolescence, when the brand new Beat Happening album arrived at a local record store where Bret Lunsford worked. For months Elverum and his pals had been hanging around this shop, “becoming more comfortable, acting cool (we thought), and earning trust and respect.” After Elverum and his two buddies bought the new CD, his friends did something that horrified teenage Elverum. “[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][They] took the shrink wrap off the jewel case right there in the store and asked Bret if he would sign it. I felt embarrassment wash over me…I wanted it to be known that I didn’t care if Bret signed my CD.”
Many will disagree with Elverum’s longwinded essay about signing autographs, and even I bristle at some of its melodramatic phrasing, (“I die inside while doing it. My skin crawls. I hate it so much.”) But it’s difficult for me to disagree with Elverum’s stance on this issue, because as a fan, I feel exactly the same way. For years I have wondered why this rite has become so sacred, always preferring to beat the crowd out of the venue to lining up at a merch table for the chance to get an autograph. It seems to be a phony way of meeting your idols, similar to stopping your favorite musician on the street and asking for a selfie. The signature, the picture – the moment in general feels automated and disingenuous. These days I marvel at the reasons someone would want to even meet their artistic heroes, who rarely live up to our image of them, let alone get their autograph.
I say “these days” on purpose. Like Elverum, my childhood was dotted with fandom and autograph requests. I wrote to fan clubs for the signed headshots of Jonathan Taylor Thomas (affectionately known to his fans as J.T.T.) and Rider Strong. I adored the glossy photos, and felt certain that they indicated a special bond between these heartthrobs and me. The last time I remember consciously asking for an autograph from a (somewhat) well-known musician must have been around 2004, when my mom took me to see the ‘80s punk band Youth Brigade in Seattle. Always a master of one-upmanship, my mom gloated to me about how she’d been drinking at the bar with Youth Brigade’s drummer Mark Stern before the band’s set. Envious of my mother’s charisma and ability to legally drink in bars, I was hell bent on getting my own souvenir. After Youth Brigade’s set I spotted lead singer Shawn Stern at the merch booth. He sold me a white band shirt and signed the bottom of it. Even then it was anticlimactic, and if I even still have the t-shirt, it’s been worn and washed so many times, Stern’s signature is likely no more than a faded gray smudge.
My relationship with autographs really changed when yearbooks became a part of my school life. I admit, part of my denial to sign people’s annuals was pure boorishness, but the other part of my argument arose from this question: “What’s the point?” It didn’t make sense to exchange purple Sharpie pleasantries with people I didn’t know or like, and it made even less sense to do it with close friends, who I would see frequently throughout the summer months. Today, asking a professional musician for an autograph makes the least sense. I personally feel more intimacy with an artist by listening to their work and drafting up my own versions of our interconnectedness.
In the fall of 2016, a long distance boyfriend sent me a few packages over the span of our short relationship. Two of these packages contained signed vinyl records – one was a Mark Lanegan 12” signed by Lanegan, and the other was a Cass McCombs/Michael Hurley split 7” signed by Hurley. I was flattered at the time of receiving these presents, but now, long after the relationship dissolved, I wonder what made that guy think I cared about autographs in the first place. What he doesn’t know is that these records are currently slumped up against the rest of my collection, given no special treatment despite their “signed copy” status. Sometimes I even consider giving them to people who would appreciate them more.
Perhaps that is the only capacity in which I can stand to ask for autographs: on someone else’s behalf. Last November Swans played a set of farewell gigs at Greenpoint’s Warsaw. I had no plans on attending, but when a close friend came down with the flu and offered me his ticket, I couldn’t very well say no. My friend was devastated, having purchased his ticket months in advance only to be stuck at home vomiting when the show finally rolled around. I knew I couldn’t leave the gig empty handed, so in an attempt to repay the $50 ticket he’d just gifted me, I went to buy my him a t-shirt. I made my way to the merch table and bought one right before a swarm of fans flocked to the table – apparently Michael Gira was about to start signing autographs. Just as I thought, “Thank god, I can split before all of that hubbub begins” Gira appeared right in front of me, uncapped Sharpie in hand, with an expectant look on his face. I realized in that moment, that though it made me uncomfortable, it would have been far more awkward to tell Michael Gira, “nah, I’m good,” than it would have been to just let him sign the damn thing. I wanted it to be known that I didn’t care if he signed my t-shirt, but it wasn’t for me, anyway.
Twenty-one-year-old alternative-R&B artist Sam Austins released a fun as hell single this week, named after Rihanna’s cosmetic line, “Fenty.” The song is a lighter follow-up to Austins’ anxiety-ridden 2017 debut album, Angst, and celebrates widening cultural perceptions of beauty. The release was accompanied by a massive billboard in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood that shows a gorgeous Austins donning bold lips and a glimmering eye, a testament to his allegiance to the brand.
Although Austins isn’t the first hip-hop artist to challenge societal stereotypes of beauty, masculinity, and gender, he is one of the few. While icons like David Bowie, Prince, and Boy George made room for more fluidity in the rock/pop realm, hip-hop culture has been historically less forgiving of alternative expressions of masculinity and style. Frank Ocean helped in starting to shift hip-hop’s homogeneous image in his 2017 music video, “Nikes,” where he spends part of the video clad in eyeliner and glitter. Austins’ glamorous cover art follows suit and has inspired people all over to share their own versions of feeling themselves.
Since the release of “Fenty,” dozens of fans – including beloved Detroit visual artist, Ellen Rutt – have sent Austins and his affiliated residency, Assemble Sound, videos of themselves singing, dancing, and glowing the fuck up to the infectious song. Produced by Sergio Romero and Detroit’s Ice Pic, the song’s bouncy beat and entourage of background hype-men are the perfect compliments to Austins’ feel-good lyrics: “I’m still fresh off the drop like it’s Fenty / Sitting front row at the show like a Fenty.” There’s arguably no better high than feeling like you are Rihanna.
“Fenty” is a continuation of Austins’ artistic evolution and an excuse to sing into your selfie camera at full volume, no matter who you are.
