Tag: Eclectic

Elly Kace – Nothing (feat. Jas) [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

This is a tricky one- I think open, cathartic and free are perhaps the clearest words to use.

Tell us a few things about your new song “Nothing”. What is the main idea behind it and what is your creative process like?

“Nothing” is the first track dissecting a larger concept that makes up my LP, “Nothing I see means anything”. I sonically examine and meditate on each word of that sentence through the record- and the track examining “Nothing” very quickly became about anger and rage. The feeling of being stuck in and defined by a box and the injustice of it. I wrote the song by meditating on vocal loops on each letter of the word “n” “o” “thi” “ng”- these loops are layered into the backing track as the spine for the rest of the instruments to land on. You can hear that the best in the beginning. That grew into lyrics sharing my personal experience facing the realities of how society has defined me by my body. I wanted to honor my anger in this track so it could shift and change.

Which is your most personal and honest lyric?

For me its the bridge:
“Have you ever felt emaciated?
Close to nothing as you can be?
It is a foreign feeling
to bloom away from the lady like roots
the male gaze gave me.”

Because it is probably the most honest and raw moment from my personal perspective. I have literally starved myself in my life to fit into the boxes others needed me to fit into and growing away from that is so strange- also great. I have many friends who have expressed to me they feel the same. It felt really vulnerable to sing that and share that with others who have felt it.

Your vocal delivery is impressive. Tell us your favorite vocalist!

Aw, thank you! I am not sure I can choose ONE favorite vocalist. I am pretty old school, so my mind jumps to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Barbra Streisand first- but I am also a huge fan of Dolores O’Riordan, Sarah MchLaughlin and above all, the queen- Beyonce. If you can’t tell, I listen to a lot of singers and a lot of styles, and I feel a bit guilty to not list at least twenty. But I will practice some self control here and leave you with these six. 😉

Favorite album of the past decade?

….I will try! Im really in love with Deacon by serpentwithfeet and What Now by Sylvan Esso- but there are so many more! Alt J’s “this is all yours” AND Beyonce’s “Lemonade” have been evergreen favorites for me FOR the last decade, so that must be listed.

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

I do a lot of yoga, astrology study and meditating. This record got me involved in Tibetan singing bowls as healing practice and I have been super focused on how sounds can heal. I also practice singing a lot (I’m a professional opera singer too), and love to interpret the works of other artists. Other than that, I spend lots of time with my amazing partner in crime and our cute cat Lyla making pizza and hanging at the farmers market in Brooklyn.

Should we expect an album in the near future?

Yes! “Nothing” is the first music video release for my first ever concept album “Nothing I see means anything” which releases on 11/19. I am really looking forward to discovering who it belongs to. 🙂

Thank you!

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Magdalena and the Mystical Birds – Lyric Lockdown Live [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

honest, uplifting, transformational, live

Tell us a few things about your new work “Lyric Lockdown Live”. What is the story behind it?

It is a live album recorded at the beginning of the lockdown in an empty theatre, where we were about to launch the band with our new material. We didn’t give up, we used it as an opportunity to thrive and have something positive to focus on during the months of uncertainty and a fear of change. Songs were written between 2017-2020 by Magdalena who had been experiencing her own inner transformation dreaming about spreading her wings. That dream has been hatching for a long time and needed lot’s of nurturing and patience during the lockdown. The album is a reminder to keep dreaming, working behind the scenes and being patient for the right door to open… “It has been only … a little challenging year…”

Which song of the album reflects you the most?

“This Love isn’t mine” or “Shaking hands with the Devil”,

Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?

The band has many influences as each member has a story and style to share. Magdalena is the main singer-songwriter in a band. One one hand she has deep foundation in music with master degree in musicology (Like Bjork) on the other hand – she loves silence and catches up inspiration when it comes to her. We could say that she has been influenced by Frida Khalo, Rumi or Bjork or many mystics and brave people who dated to be themselves. Music and lyrics with Mystical Birds are deep on one side and uplifting on the other. The listener is always lift up by being encouraged to “Rise and Shine”, to know that “love is much bigger then a piece of cake” or that “good girls go to heaven on their own the other go where they want…”

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

biggest challenge
1) to let go what people think about us
2) to create and enjoy life despite of all obstacles and restictions.

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

This is music for those who dare to go deeper and transform themselves into who they want to be. This is music for those who like an authentic sound (well, is is a live album at the end) a bit of uplift, blues and energy.

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

I can answer this question only as myself not a band, and out of musical context but here we go.
I remember when I was about to land in Jakarta (Indonesia) at night time with a one year student visa to study in Bali, $200 in my pocket only and realizing that my big dream was about to start but I have no clue where to stay overnight, how to speak a foreign language and how to survive on my own!
Luckily the spirit of adventure was bigger than my fears and I found shelter, friendship and confidence – all in one night!

Thank you!

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Maggie Dave – Old You (Video Edit) [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Atmospheric, dark, meditative

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

“Old You (Video Edit)” is a futuristic R&B track that explores the grief of drifting away from someone you used to know. As we continued to produce the song, the vibe slowly morphed inward, exploring traumatic memories that I find challenging, but creatively rewarding places to write from.

Which is your most personal and honest lyric?

“I blame it on a lot of things / On the booze / I think I gotta be smarter / And start blaming it all on you”

What do you enjoy most? Writing music or performing your music live?

Collaborating in the studio with our featured artists and musicians is the most invigorating part of making a song. Encouraging those new perspectives, so everyone feels like they’re contributing something special and uniquely their own – is very important to us.

What would you change in the music industry?

Greater inclusivity on behalf of labels to hire more women, dismantle false justifications that support toxic work behavior and invite diverse perspectives to the table to creatively drive innovation in new music and support new artists.

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

Jogging at night! And trying to read more.

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

Back when you actually had to rent TV shows on DVD, I once had one of the discs for “Six Feet Under” checked out for three months past its due date. I had lost it in my old apartment in San Francisco in 200The late fees were outrageous.

Thank you!

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Sugarmoon – Try A Little [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Vintage folk-pop

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

Ryan McMurtry: “Try A Little is kind of about when you want someone to just let go a little bit, and enjoy life more. We love that raucous jazzy sound you hear in old acts like Dr John or The Mamas & Papas, really groovy but with a bit of menace behind it. So I guess we had that in mind when we worked on the arrangement.”

What is the story behind your name?

Sophie Jones: “We like to say it’s because we’re sweet and we come out at night! Also, a Sugarmoon is the supermoon that hails the arrival of spring and refers to the sweet sap that seeps out of maple trees. We chose it after a long night at the pub, so perhaps we were all thinking about waffles.”

What do you enjoy most? Writing music or performing your music live?

RM: “We absolutely prefer performing our music live! That’s what we’re all about really, playing live shows and connecting with audiences. The recording / releasing side of it has been keeping us going during the pandemic, but we are excited about playing lots of gigs in 202”

What would you change in the music industry?

RM: “I’d stop people being able to make noise complaints when they move next to music venues. When the venue ends up having to close, up-and-coming bands suffer as they’ve lost yet another place to grow and learn their craft.”

SJ: “It’s crazy to me that even today there’s still so much gender inequality in the music industry, with most big festivals (and a lot of small ones) still booking far more male acts than female. I know there are plenty of reasons for this that go beyond the music industry, but it just seems weirdly archaic for 2021!”

If you were asked to rescore a film, which one would you choose?

RM: “I’d go for something like Sunset Boulevard – there’s so many great elements to work with as it’s partly noir, also a comedy, the fading glamour and the tragic price of fame. Those are the ingredients of some gritty, bittersweet songs!”

SJ: “I’d remake the Godfather as a musical, but also make it about vampires. It’d be called The Bloodfather and it would have such bangers as ‘Gonna Make Him An Offer (He Can’t Refuse)’ and ‘Horse Head In My Bed’. That wasn’t really the question, was it?”

What is the most useless talent you have?

SJ: “I can open a beer bottle with pretty much anything. Lighters, forks, a guitar – as long as it has a solid bit, I can probably open a beer with it. Although I guess that proves to be useful quite often!”

Thank you!

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Katayoun Goudarzi & Shujaat Khan – This Pale [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

emotional, exciting, heartfelt

Your sound is really exciting, blending many traditional elements. Tell us a few things about your new work “This Pale”.

We wanted the album as a whole to relay a story, while each song stood on its own. We also wanted to ensure that the recording was emotionally uninterrupted, which meant that the songs were to be recorded in the same order as they are heard on the CD. And, while the tunes were all composed by Shujaat, he called upon us to bring our own thoughts into every piece and improvise as we saw fit–for me that was the most exciting part.

We also believe, to the best of our knowledge, this album marks the first time sitar and Iranian ney have been recorded together.

Which song of the album reflects you the most?

They all do, to some degree, because the album spans a large spectrum of emotions.

What do you enjoy most? Writing music or performing your music live?

For me, the enjoyment mostly comes from the process of creating the music.

Why do many people lose touch with their culture? What is the role of music to fix that?

Perhaps a lot of people feel that they need to lose their own culture in order to blend in with a new one. I myself feel that no matter where you go, you need a strong foundation to build upon and that requires an understanding of the culture you were born into and raised with. And music plays a big role as it can act as a database of shared emotions and memories, a tool for communication among members of a society, and a device for preserving language and literature and voicing opinions.

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

Our music requires some attention, so I would hope that people listen to it when they are ready to set aside some uninterrupted period of time.

What would you say is your biggest vice?

Ice cream for sure

Thank you!

Together In Hope – Against The Wind [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Touching, Inspiring, Powerful

70 Artists from 12 countries over 16 months. Tell us a few things about the new song “Against The Wind”

Against The Wind is the result of a collaborative music project called Together In Hope. The project brought together a community of artists and producers from around the world to record the single as a message of solidarity and hope for communities across the Global South most negatively impacted by the tide of COVID-19 that has swept across the globe.
All the musicians and production team generously gave their time to create the track and all proceeds will support the In Place of War COVID Emergency Relief Fund. The resulting song is a soothing and uplifting blend of classically-inspired contemporary pop with some sections rapped by artists who brought their own lyrics to their parts of the track.

What was the biggest challenge in making this song?

Recording a song during a global pandemic is a challenge in itself. When that song features contributions from nearly 70 artists in 12 countries, most recording remotely from their homes, the challenge was really blending all those different recording environments into a unified sound that reflected the message of Against The Wind. After 16 months of recording and production we’re really pleased we made the effort to create something all the artists and producers truly believe in.

Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?

First, the fundamental reason for the song to be made was for marginalized communities in areas of conflict in the Global South suffering from
the most adverse effects of COVID-19. Thinking of people in need of help was our first influence and inspiration and how we started this long yet valuable music journey to give hope through heartfelt support and donation.
Secondly, Beethoven. The line from Chorus Symphony, “All people become brothers wherever your gentle wing resides,” aligns with the core of the song that emphasizes the value of togetherness and solidarity in these uncertain times.
Lastly, working with global artists was an inspiration. Talented artists of different genres and countries voluntarily brought their voices, time, and commitment, which definitely inspired the producers and artists in completing the 16-month recording journey. Plus, their distinctive voices and different vocal styles influenced the song production in mixing and mastering.

How Important are political statements by music artists? Can music have an impact on politics?

Against The Wind was not produced for political purposes, but we thought it could play a meaningful role in drawing people’s attention toward those who are politically marginalized. Music is a universal language that unites people across cultures and communities, inspires and comforts people in times of need and sadness.

What needs to be changed in the music industry?

In a context where music is becoming more provocative visually and sonically, Against The Wind aims to emotionally touch listeners’ hearts through its mellow sound and soft style. Also, we hope various artists come together and create more works of art to bring positive influence to the world, showing how the universal power of music has a wide-ranging impact.

The track closes with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. What is the idea behind this choice?

In the initial stages of creating the concept for the song, we met with a world-renowned Korean-European pianist, Won Jae-Yeon. While performing in Germany, he listened to the Against The Wind demo and came up with a brilliant idea. He thought of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, The Chorus, which begins with a scale similar to the demo, and he suggested rearranging our song’s intro to something based on Beethoven’s symphony. April 2020, just as the production of Against the Wind began, was an also celebratory year – the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. We felt that the lyrics of the original Chorus Symphony, translated as, “All people become brothers wherever your gentle wing resides”, carry the message of solidarity and support, which is the DNA of the Together In Hope project. So, the intro was rearranged and played by Won Jae-Yeon on a Steinway piano, which is more than 100 years old, planting deep meaning in the music.

Thank you!

Alix Tucou – Portraits [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Imagination, Soundscapes, Bass Trombone.

Your music has an experimental tone. Should music as a form of art always challenge the listener?

I think that it should “sometimes” challenge the listener, so the challenge will be full rounded you know ? If Music challenges always, we are going to get to used to the challenge which will become the “normality”…

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

I love to collaborate with other peoples…On this Album I had the chance to work with extremely talented Musicians like Simon Denizart (piano) , Thomas Julienne (Upright Bass) or Dustin Carlson (Guitar). I had too the luck to work with visual artist on some songs like “Somewhere” on which I crafted the Music around a piece of Art from Fiber Artist Grazia Inserillo.
As much as songwriting is a very introspective process, nourishing it with external inputs is very important to me.

Favourite album of the past year?

Djesse Vol.3 by Jacob Collier.

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

I think it would apply to all of us: Keeping going on and believing in yourself and your quest.

If you were asked to rescore a film, which one would you choose?

I would love to score for Ghost Dog of Jim Jarmush…there are some strong similarities between the personality of the main carter and a musician or an artist in general, to me !!

You’d give up making music for…

Nothing !!!!

Thank you!

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Periscopi Invertit – El Poder Del Cant [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Groovy Mediterranean Jazz

Tell us a few things about your new work El Poder Del Cant.

Extra information about “El poder del cant ” song:

The first time I heard this song it was sung by a choir and it really captivated me the beauty of this melody. I really liked the song and I decided to create my own original arrangement giving to it a more groovy flavour transforming it into a latin song. Later on, when I decided to start my band, due that i wasn’t finding the guitar player I needed, I looked for alternative solutions and decided to call an Oud player that I saw in a jam session. He liked my music and, as I was looking for a darbuka, he advised me to introduce one of his friends. We started putting together all my songs and “El Poder del Cant” was one of the songs that we were enjoying more while performing it, so people was having fun dancing.

In this track I’m actually mixing music different styles. The melody and lyrics belong to a Catalan folk song (El Poder del Cant) written a few centuries ago by an anonymous writer. To create the accompaniment I took as a reference the Catalan rumba (Gato Perez, Peret) songwriters, but instead of using the flamenco palmas that you can easily hear in most Catalan rumba songs, I added the Algerian players Yaz Fentazi on oud and Karim Dellali on the darbuka. Last minute, a friend who plays Steel pan offered himself to record some of the accompaniment for this song. I thought that it would be an interesting addition.

Catalan Rumba is normally played by Catalan gypsies, they mix Cuban latin grooves with flamenco + the lyrics that can be either in Catalan or Spanish.

I would say that it is my own way to play a Catalan Rumba. So the gypsies create their own lyrics instead of using Catalan folk melodies

I forgot to mention the singer….when we started the band there was no singer, so we started to put together the songs as a four piece band (bass, keyboard, darbuka and oud), but at the end, as most of the Catalan folk melodies have lyrics, we decided to introduce the singer Laura Guarch in the band and her voice helped to greatly improve the sound of the track.

Information about the band:

You can check out the facebook page

That’s one of my last posts I did that explains about the band

I’ve been posting from time to time about “Periscopi Invertit” band. For the ones who don’t know, “Periscopi Invertit” it’s a musical project that I started a few years ago, after finishing my music studies. I always been curious about mixing music from different styles and periods of time, and I always had the need to don’t lose the connection with my background. I’m originally from Barcelona, I’m Catalan and it makes me feel connected with my roots to create music using my cultural background as a reference.
The first band I put together under the name “Periscopi Invertit” was based in Barcelona and we were just covering songs from other artists that were mixing their folk music with jazz. This band didn’t last much, because just after a few months of creating it, I moved to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, I decided to just use Catalan folk songs and create original arrangements, mixing the songs with funk/latin or jazz styles, but again, after a while I moved country and landed in London.
After a while living in London I restarted the band, we build up a couple of 45 min sets and did some gigs. A promoter (Feferity) who saw me playing in a jam session, was interested in my music and he introduced me to a sound engineer who was up to record an album for us. I took the offer.
Finally the album is recorded and waiting for mixing and mastering.
As the pandemic seems to reach to an end, I decided to launch the first single. It will be available on Spotify and all major platforms from the 24th September.
Check it out!

What first got you into music?

The magic of the sound

What do you enjoy most? Writing music or performing your music live?

Performing live

What would you change in the music industry?

I would set up a system where the artists could get better remuneration for their online streamings

Favorite music related film?

I never thought about it!

One last thing we should know about you?

I love to mix music styles from different backgrounds and periods of time

Thank you!

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Rebecca McCartney – Remember Less [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Eclectic, moody, smooth.

What is your creative process like?

Most of my songs start off as 30-second-ish voice memos on my phone, where I get an idea for a melody and some lyrics, usually at the same time. I’ll record whatever comes to me and then usually come back to those ideas later and build them out into something longer and more developed. Usually both the original words and melody will change, but sometimes there’s a piece that sticks all the way through. My new song, “Behind Closed Doors,” actually came really quickly almost as one whole piece. I sat down with my Strat and played two chords over and over for the verses, which came together pretty easily. Then I faked a bass line on the guitar for the chorus, and had this idea for a melody that I thought was really fun. That’s the same one you hear in the final version. The last piece of the song to really lock in was the bridge, which didn’t get written until I was in the studio with my producer (and friend) Jakob Leventhal. I don’t think I had a bridge yet, or maybe I had something mediocre, and we came up with this mood-changing-feeling of the “why don’t you come over” line, where the song becomes less about the annoying dude and more about my perspective of the relationship. If you’re reading into it, you know. After we tracked the song and Jakob played most of the instruments, we sent it off to this great drummer Jason Berger, who brought a totally new feeling to it with those driving drums. Then I got the idea to make the drums in the bridge feel a bit more like a breakdown, which Jakob actually maneuvered in the mixing phase with a bunch of chopping. Then with Dan Knobler to master it in Nashville, the whole thing came together — which is a pretty good microcosm of my creative process a lot of the time: it’s a lot of hands on one project trying to help me bring out my voice from some small idea that starts it all off.

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

I really love working with other people to make something together that we could have never done on our own, but I don’t get that privilege all the time. Like I mentioned before, having other people on a project really helps me do things that I couldn’t have ever thought of on my own, and I love getting to pull other people into genre zones they don’t usually get to explore. I also love hopping into other people’s projects to do the same for them, and usually have to work on putting my ego aside to help voice their ideas more than my own. So yes I love collaborating. It can be taxing, but there’s nothing more rewarding to me than making something together with friends. Per the loneliness of songwriting, I’ve definitely written my share of songs alone, and sometimes have felt really proud of those, too, but I’ll take working with others over working alone any day.

Favourite album of the past year?

“Lianne La Havas” by Lianne La Havas. It’s insanely good. No skips.

What would you change in the music industry?

I’d LOVE to see more representation of non cis white men in positions of power in the industry. I think we could have a much more loving, community-driven way of making music if everything weren’t oriented towards profit for those men at the top.

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

I hope people can come into my music with all their full emotions, after any sort of day, and just be able to zone out from the world and dance on a table. Then when a super in-your-feels one comes on, they can sit down and cry. Emotional range.

Should we expect an album in the near future?

Wellllllllll there’s an EP on its way. I’m releasing four singles through the fall (the second just came out) and then the full EP with five songs will be out in December. An album will definitely follow at some point……. Follow me to stay updated about when everything’s coming out!!

Thank you!

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Instagram

small dogs – Vieques & Dark Rum [Interview]

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Describe your sound in 3 words

Younger Bruce Hornsby?

You blend in a very cool way electronics with guitars. Tell us a few things about your new song and your creative process.

I spent some time doing research in Tanzania that involved performing and recording with various hip-hop and Afrobeats artists. Ever since then I’ve been very into the production style that’s in a lot of Afrobeats music and in particular how the producers quite naturally fuse so many wide-ranging genres. So I guess just listening to people like Mr. Eazi, Buju, Nissi etc definitely influences how I approach the production in my tracks.

However, I still grew up on 60/70s music and I am primarily a guitarist/vocalist and express myself best with those instruments. I also love the storytelling of artists like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell and I will quite often start a song on the acoustic. So it’s hard to shake my roots but I’m definitely trying to learn and update my songwriting and production with lessons from other places.

Which is your most personal and honest lyric?

I do usually stress over the lyrics a lot but with this song the whole point was to just get in the studio and make something without overthinking any aspect of it. So that is definitely true of the lyrics here. They we mostly meant to just take the listener somewhere and not be particularly over personal or honest. But there is still pretty much something behind every line here.

I quite liked the rhymes in ‘we’re far from bed-stuy and our lives, sailboats float, in the stream’. This summer I was in Miami and the Florida Keys and I guess this line is about being somewhere far from home where time moves slow and watching the sailboats make their through the gulf stream.

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

Wowww hard question. Basically any of Jae 5’s beats on the last two J Hus albums (for example ‘Must Be’ or ‘Play Play (feat. Burna Boy’)). Something like ‘Pour Me Water’ by Mr. Eazi. I really love how the keys and bass and everything works together in ‘African Giant’ (by Burna Boy).

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

Anything chill really… I see my music popping up on a lot of holiday and yoga playlists haha and I’ve been told it’s good for night driving. So maybe those scenarios?

What would you change in the music industry?

Promoting more ethical streaming services and payment systems. We’ve got to a point where it’s really easy to make music and get it out there but we’re so far off the stage where people are actually equally and fairly remunerated for their art. I think a good place to start would be more user-centric accounting as opposed to the pro-rata systems that Spotify/Apple Music use… (user-centric = if you stream an artist they would get direct money from your subscription fee, whereas pro-rata = all subscription fees go in a big pot and are then divided up between whoever gets the most streams overall, so basically Drake takes all)…

But yeah I guess that requires some more equitable minded thinking from Spotify and their 3 major label mates, and then again multibillion companies have never exactly been the bastion of progressive thought… so musicians of the world unite?

What would you say is your biggest vice?

Overthinking, haha (see all the above).

Thank you!