Author: Admin

Lorensa – Strangers Instead [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Touchy, angry, sassy.

Tell us a few things about your new song “Strangers Instead”. What is the main idea behind it?

“Strangers Instead” happened after a break up. I arrived to NYC to pursue my dream. All I was thinking about was how do I put it all on a paper? How do I release my emotions out? So when I was in the studio I sat with my co-writers and asked them: “Why do we start a relationship if at the end we are going to end up as strangers?! like why are we doing it to ourselves? why can’t we just be friends at the end? how can I trust somebody else?…” then we came up with “Strangers Instead”.

Which is your most personal and honest lyric?

“Do you think about me sometimes?
Like I think about you?
Heard you moved on way too fast –
Got someone brand new.
Dose she give you butterflies?
Dose she have a clue?
About what we used to have
And what we both been through…”

Do you have an artist that you would describe as a hidden gem that we should know about?

Whitney Houston!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is the biggest challenge you have faced as an artist so far?

The biggest challenge I have faced as an artist probably will be the fact that I am from a different country. I came to the US to pursue my dream without my family, friends, money and language… I was going through a journey by myself. At times I felt like I was losing myself, that I might never be heard as an artist, but there’s something in me that kept pushing harder every time I got lost, every time I thought it was my limit.

In which state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?

It really depends. For example: “Strangers Instead” is a pretty sad song and also angry. But you can actually dance to it. So when you are in your’e feelings – you can listen to the song, to the lyrics to the emotions. But you can also listen to it when you’re feeling confident in yourself.

What is the one habit/thing you cannot live without?

LOL, that’s a funny quotation cause I feel like it’s gonna be an obvious answer which is: singing. Sometimes I find myself singing without even noticing and then people react to it which is so funny… then I stop ’cause they keep telling me to keep singing.
One time, I was in a store and the song by Bruno Mars came on and I love Bruno. I think it was the song “Just The Way You Are”. And I sang the high notes to myself and then one of the producers of ‘The Voice’ turned around and said: “Your’e a singer! I am the producer of the voice. You should be on the show!” So, yeah… my answer is defiantly singing.

Thank you!

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Spence Paull – Crush [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Fresh, genre-crossing, groovy.

Tell us a few things about your new song “Crush”. What is the story behind it?

You know what having a crush on someone ~feels~ like? I wanted this song to what having a crush on someone ~sounds~. Giddiness, warm butterflies, uncontrollable smiling…I think all of these elements are mirrored in the production and writing of “Crush”.

The story behind it is a bit cheeky, to be honest: there was a coworker that I developed a bit of a crush on. We continued this harmless little flirtation for so long that I thought, “what if I just told them that I had a crush on them? Would it ruin our friendship? Would they like the idea, and entertain it?”. Naturally, I had to write a song about it, and thus, “Crush” was born!

What first got you into music?

Fun fact: I was tone deaf until age eight. Like, could not hold a pitch, nails on a chalkboard tone…not cute. When my grandmother (the only musician in the family) suddenly passed away, I could sing…Spooky, eh? I say that because while I’ve always been drawn to the arts, my first love was acting, not music. Though, since discovering my voice at age eight, music has been my mistress…and we have a love affair for the ages.

Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?

It’s perhaps a bit cliché to say I draw inspiration from all artists, but it’s true! I find inspiration in all genres, styles, time periods – you name it. That said, if I had to pick a top three, they would be Quincy Jones, Taylor Swift, and Michael Bublé. Quincy brings a level of production mastery few can rival, creating a timelessness to every artist’s record he works on; Taylor has a way of capturing and expressing the human experience unlike any other songwriter to date; and Michael (a fellow Vancouverite) has seamlessly placed jazz and big band arrangements on the pop tracks, which is no easy feat!

Crush has a lovely groove. Tell us a song with a groove you wish you had composed yourself.

Funny you should ask because I have entire inspiration playlists dedicated to the tracks I produce for this exact reason: finding tracks that sit in the same place in my body as the one I’m making! Some key artists I turned to for inspiration for “Crush” were ABBA, Dua Lipa, and Lizzo. That said, if I had to pick a groovy song I wish I composed, it would have to be “Radio Gaga” (Queen).

In which state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?

In general, I want people to feel transported when they listen to my music. Transported to where, though…that is for everyone to discover themselves! For “Crush”, however, I hope people have grins from ear to ear, and are addicted to that happy feeling so much that they want to listen again, and again, and again.

What would you say is your biggest vice?

Chocolate. Need I say more?

Thank you!

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DARGZ – Lou’s Tune [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Groovy Good Times

Tell us a few things about your new song “Lou’s Tune”. What is the story behind it?

I had recorded Moses Boyd’s LP Dark Matter and gotten chatting with ihm about recording a bunch of different break beats, grooves, samples and the first stages of Lou’s Tune were created. There was a particularly beat he played that got me thinking of a melody. I then added some bass, strings, flute and brought it all home with a vocal sample.

Do you like the idea of collaborating? Is songwriting a lonely process?

I love the idea of collaborating. I started my musical career in a band The Postelles which started when I was 13 so I’ve always created alongside other people. It’s inspiring to hear other peoples’ stories, favourite music, and particular flavors they bring to the creative process.

Who is your favourite beat maker?

These days I’ve been in love with pretty much everything producer Inflo does (Sault, Little Simz, Jungle), big fan of DJ Dahi as well as the all-time greats like Q-Tip, Sly Stone, and Joni Mitchell (whose rhythms were so interesting I consider her a beatmaker!)

What would be your dream performance venue?

As a New Yorker, Madison Square Garden is the mecca so any insane scenario that saw me on stage there would be amazing.

Favorite music related film?

Tom Hanks’ That Thing You Do is my favourite music film because it captures the magic of an act in the early days just trying to figure things out.

What is the most useless talent you have?

For awhile I thought my clarinet playing was pretty unusable during my indie-rock days however I’m starting to come around to thinking I could get back into it and use it on an upcoming DARGZ tune so maybe not so useless after-all.

Thank you!

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Silas Armstrong – So Much For Love [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Catchy, emo synth-pop.

Tell us a few things about your new work “So Much For Love”.

It’s a break up beat. The first verse is about an ex girlfriend, the second verse and middle 8 are about my absent dad. The chorus relates to both relationships and the parallels of heartbreak.

Which is your most personal and honest lyric?

“The way you make me feel, mentally I have to caste you out”

Favourite album of the past year?

Currently, Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

What is the biggest challenge you have faced as an artist so far?

Taking myself seriously. I’m much more comfortable taking the piss. Comedy is a crutch for me so being open and honest with my lyrics publicly has been quite a challenge.

When not writing music, how do you spend your time?

If I’m not writing music I’m working on it in one way or another. Promoting it, marketing it, producing and directing content, and working with other musical projects. I’m currently working with Brixton Chamber Orchestra and a new start up for artists and creators.

What would you say is your biggest vice?

Nowadays its alcohol, PS4 or crisps.

Thank you!

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Robyn Bennett – Fight Song [Official Music Video]

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Robyn Bennett is back, spreading good vibes and some serious groove with her single “Fight Song.” A high energy, positive, call-to-action anthem with a blend of funky guitars, urban drums, vintage keyboards and brassy riffs. Originally written during a transportation strike in Paris, the song now takes on a whole new meaning during this
global pandemic, where musicians around the world are fighting to keep their art alive. This song is for all the fighters out there : whatever your battles may be, don’t give up.

500 Year Flood – My High Love [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Groovy, sensual, smooth

Tell us a few things about your new song “My High Love”. What is the main idea behind it?

My High Love is an ode to self love. It’s a positive and uplifting song that encourages women to seek their highest love. To treat themselves lovingly, with kindness and with care.

“My High Love” contains more pop elements than our previously released music, but maintains our characteristic neo-soul guitar lines at its core. The song is melody driven and accompanied by a blanket of wavy synths and hard hitting drums.

For which lyric you are most proud of?

We wrote this song with our good friend and frequent collaborator Robin Schorr. When we write with Robin she is mostly lyric focused and we are mostly melody focused, although we all do collaborate on both sides of the song as well. One of our favorite lines from the song is “hear the moment, feel the sound.” We love the paradoxical nature of it. It seems absurd, but it’s actually not. There are several moments where we, as humans, can actually hear a moment, whether it’s a tense, intense or exciting situation as well as feel a sound. Everybody who is in love with music can relate to actually feeling a sound but also, there are certain sounds in meaningful or dangerous situations that you can quite literally feel.

Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?

Kay-Kay: I find myself being most influenced and inspired by strong female forces in music. I’m currently finding a ton of inspiration from Sinead Harnett, Snoh Aalegra, H.E.R., JoJo… but my inspiration doesn’t come solely from R&B artists. I also find so much inspiration in the voices of Cam, LÉON, Brandi Carlile and so many other incredible women.

Fili: Aside from every artist Kay-Kay mentioned, I also take inspiration from “guitar playing songwriters” like John Mayer and Omer Fedi as well as “groovesters” such as Vulfpeck and Cory Henry. We always have some sort of guitar/groove element in our music.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced as an artist so far?

Kay-Kay: I think for me, the biggest challenge is just figuring out the right path to take. There’s no set guide to success in the music industry, it’s all just figuring it out as you go. But it’s been fun to try out new ideas and let inspiration guide me!

Fili: I think discovering our sound, as artists, was a big challenge. We both have so many influences and we have played several different styles of music all our lives but when we first started writing music together it took us a while to actually get to our sound, and most importantly, a sound that we both loved and felt proud of. I feel we now have a sound, a voice. The idea however is that the voice/sound will be ever changing. We’ve found our sound at this moment in time, but hopefully in years we will have yet another voice that we identify with because I believe it should always be moving in any direction other than standing still.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Kay-Kay: I would tell my younger self that there is no one path you have to take in life. What may work for one person may not feel right for you, and that’s okay! Follow your intuition and keep going, always. Focus on your own creativity instead of looking to others around you. Always look inward to guide yourself forward.

Fili: I would tell myself to make it a goal to get out there and meet as many people and musicians as possible and from the beginning collaborate and write with them. Be confident in your talent and skills and get in rooms with other musicians as much as possible.

What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?

Kay-Kay: I would either start a clothing brand, be an event planner or be some sort of nomad.

Fili: I’ve never done anything aside from music related work so it’s very hard to imagine, but I know it would need to be something that didn’t involve working at an office every day. Something creative that involved problem solving and traveling. Seeing the world. Something where I love what I’m doing, I get to travel and see the world, meet new people, all while making an enormous amount of money. If you find out what that job is, please let me know.

Thank you!

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Fia Nyxx – Don’t Shame Me [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

I would describe my sound as soulful, sultry and empowering

Tell us a few things about your new song “Don’t Shame Me”. What is the main idea behind it?

“Don’t Shame Me” is a pop-inspired, rhythm and blues anthem, declaring my power and asserting my strength as a woman and an artist. This song goes out to every woman (and man) whose ever been taken for granted, been made to feel inferior, or had their confidence shattered. “Don’t Shame Me” rebels in the face of anyone that’s made you feel like you’re not good enough. It’s time to stand up for ourselves; take that power stance!

For which lyric you are most proud of?

SamJGarfield and I had a blast working (and re-working) these assertive lyrics around intricate beats to evoke impacting reactions and really bring out a character that’s unapologetic and self-empowering. It’s so important to be your own hype man. We wanted to tell a story, keeping it real, a little campy, and most of all relatable. I am proud of the lyrics overall for their honesty and for their dynamic delivery, which, I believe, is what makes them so effective.

Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?

I have always been inspired by powerful female vocals, innovative artists with an element of risk, and raw, gritty music from the motown era. One of my favorite artists, and a huge inspiration for this song, is Christina Aguilera. She’s a powerhouse and a fearless leader, with vocals and performance qualities that are untouchable. She’s played a big part in the artist I strive to be.

What would you change in the music industry?

I wish the music industry was less based on social media followers and engagement, and more based on talent and innovation. Social media is so ill-reflective of what’s really going on. It doesn’t show the moments of doubt, insecurity or countless rejections that even the most successful artists experience, therefore painting an unreal picture of what it’s really like to come up in this industry. Social media can be so taxing, harmful and exhausting, but it’s a game you have to play to get your music out there. I’ve always been an artist that prides myself on keeping it real with my fans

What is the best advice you’ve been given?

The best advice I’ve ever been given is to find happiness wherever you are in your life at that current moment. Recognize that you’re exactly where you are meant to be and embrace any aspect of that reality that makes you happy. Lately, I’ve realized I spend a lot of time thinking ahead… constantly working to reach that next level, achieve that next big step in my career, or in life in general.. And I forget to embrace the moment. Our lives are just a collection of moments and memories, and I choose to make as many of them as I can enjoyable!

What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?

Any time I got in trouble it was usually involving cute boys. I remember in high school, the guy I was super into was known for being the ‘bad boy’ and was always finding his way into trouble. My parents, and most of the parents for that matter, knew he had a reputation and tried to forbid me from seeing him. (I hope he’s not reading this ha). One night I decided to sneak out and see him and just as it always did when he was around, trouble found us. To make a long story short, we ended up getting pulled over by a fake cop and held at gunpoint, when thankfully this maniac decided to let us go and get back in the car. We immediately drove off and called the real cops to report what had happened. Thankfully we were fine, and I snuck back into my house unnoticed. However, the next morning my parents saw everything on the news. I think I was grounded for about 6 months after that! Ha.

Thank you!

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CITIZEN:KANE – Smog EP [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Schizophrenic, moody, quaint.

Tell us a few things about your new work “Smog EP”

Before I started creating the tracks, I decided that I wanted to make a “dub influenced EP”. And to be honest, most of the time that methodology doesn’t work: I say to myself “ok I want to do this kind of track” but at the end the final result does not match with what I wanted to do. So, this time the plan was accomplished 🙂

Which song of the EP reflects you the most?

All of them together. The dub influences are in all of the tracks and in some of them are more obvious. But there are different moods and that’s where I like to be: swinging from one mood to another is what reflects me the most.

Who is your favourite beat maker and which rapper’s flow do you enjoy the most?

It is difficult for me to highlight one single beat maker, but what I can say is that I like the work of people like Emilio Portal, Stanislav Tolkachev, Mr. Scruff (early work), Amon Tobin, Terrence Dixon, Donatto Dozzy and so many others. And I love Roots Manuva’s flow.

What would be your dream performance venue?

I would say Berghain (Berlin).

Which book should we read while listening to your music?

Patrick Süskind’s “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”.

What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?

The idea of having kids brought some troubles dealing with it (but after having them it was no trouble at all).

Thank you!

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Kutiman – Guruji [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Deep warm groove
Sounds kitschy but that’s the first 3 words that came into my mind

Your music blends many different genres and has an experimental tone. Should music as a form of art always challenge the listener?

Not at all. I think music has many different roles to play in our life and everyone can choose to listen to whatever music they like. Sometimes I like to listen to music that challenges me and sometimes I like cachey songs that just makes me feel good. I’m not trying to challenge my audience I think I’m trying to chalange myself.

What first got you into music?

I was 6 years old and I heard my neighbor playing the piano.. I just fell in love with it and started taking piano lessons.

Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?

So many and I’m really bad at remembering them when I need to.. I’ll try to name some of them..

Alice and John Coltrane, Jimmy Smith, Terry Reilly,
Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Bill Withers, Nikhil Banerjee Lakshmi Shankar, David Axelrod, King Tubby and many more…

What would be your dream performance venue?

It would be outdoors surrounded by nature..

Which book should we read while listening to your music?

Well unfortunately I’m having problems concentrating while reading so i don’t read books

One last thing we should know about you?

I just moved my apartment and studio back from the isolated desert to the city after almost 10 years..wish me luck:)

Thank you!

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