by Meredith Schneider | Nov 30, 2017 | 5 to 7
**Originally published on Impose in December 2016
We caught up with the highly revered Juliette Lewis on a freezing cold day working from home. There was a strange sense of excitement in the air for about an hour before the phone call, which may or may not be attributed to the holiday season. (Or our immense love for this woman and all of her talents. Could be that.) My nerves had gotten the best of me, as I explained to my father earlier in the day that Lewis recently released her first collection of songs in years – an incredible EP titled Future Deep – and that seeing her perform live this past summer had really increased my faith in her ridiculous amount of talent.
Check out the fun – but all too quick – conversation we had with Juliette below. We’ve included the EP for you to rock out to for the rest of the year and beyond.
How are you today?
I’m pretty good. Just a few more days until Christmas. I’m not sure. When is it? (laughing) Where are you based out of? I’m in Los Angeles right now.
I am actually in Kansas City, Missouri.
Wow, that’s neat.
So we’re snowed in right now. Is it OK out there? Heard it’s been raining.
Oh yeah. It’s raining and it’s freezing per L.A. weather, which is great. (laughing) It’s good. We needed rain so it’s all good.
Absolutely. Alright, let’s dig in! Your career is super expansive and amazing. Everything you touch turns to gold. So we were wondering, what keeps bringing you back to music?
That’s sweet. When I was a kid, I was always involved in music. So when I was a kid – before the art mediums were segregated to the extent that they are now – I took dance and sang in musicals and created characters and did storytelling. Then, I got successful doing one thing, which was mainly actin gin movies. When I turned around 30, I thought, “Holy shit, you’re 30 and you didn’t do that thing you wanted to do.” And that thing was to make music.
For me, it begins and ends with a live show and the live show experience. I always likened The Licks – my first band – to like, when you have a band out of high school. The music was really energy based, I wrote songs specifically to perform live. It’s not until now that I’m really enjoying the process of making the album. I got into the idea of making rock music as a collective, so I worked on this record [Future Deep] with Brad Schultz – who produced half of it and is a songwriter as well as a member of Cage the Elephant – and Isabella Summers – who is in Florence & The Machine, I did a few songs with her. For Future Deep, I wanted to work with people and write songs that I dug.
What keeps me coming back to music – and any art form – is necessity. I was touring for about five years and wasn’t making movies. What brought me back to acting was the thought that I wasn’t done and I still had more to say. In both mediums, I feel like I still have more to say. So it’s about navigation of those two streams – those two currants – and it’s proved challenging but exciting at the same time.
Fair enough! Your live performance – like you said – is crazy. I knew you made music and I had heard it before, but I didn’t get to see you until Riot Fest Denver this year and you KILLED IT. Your Evel Knievel outfit, your presence. What made you decide to go with that?
I don’t know! (laughing) I like showmanship. But at the same time, there’s no other way I can be on stage. I don’t know how to do a sedate show or a whatever show. Every show I do, it’s like my life depends on it. And it’s the people that bring it out in me because I want to move every single set of eyes I see in the crowd.
Music – for me – has been sort of spiritual in the sense that I used music to get over a lot of fears. I used to – believe it or not – have a fear of crowds that was happening when I lost my anonymity at around twenty. I never wanted to go to malls or concerts or any place where there could be crowds. The great irony is I formed a rock band and now there’s no crowd I can’t put myself in front of. I don’t throw myself in every crowd, but mostly it cured me of my fear of people. I like the idea of bringing danger and electricity and unpredictability to a live show experience. It’s an expression to me against the anesthetized, plastic part of our culture that’s been happening, especially with women in the arts where there’s this weird, unspoken way with which we deal with women in the arts.
I also feel like a superhero on stage. And Evel Knievel, he wore a badass suit. So I got one made. (laughing) I was inspired by David Lee Roth and others growing up, and he wore great outfits.
performing at riot fest denver 2016
I wish I could pull it off! You do everything right!
Well thank you, I’m glad you were there!
Very happy I got to experience it. So what do you do to prep for a live performance like that though?
It’s weird because when I started my band, I very much approached it – and I guess acting more and more as I go on – by trying to maintain energy. So before I go on, I stretch and love looking at a venue or a space before it’s filled. Every stage has an electricity or a vibe, which is one of the pleasures of touring. You have all that came before you in that space.
I am inspired a lot by my band this time around. I had a bass player named Juan Alderete (The Mars Volta) and his groove alone would excite me for a show. He’s one of my favorite bass players of all time. I was just really excited to play with the group of people I put together. I always know why I’m doing it. I love people and having them come into a space to form a collective and shed their fears and problems and get into a space where we all unite and celebrate life, love, and music.
One ritual I do have is when I’m putting makeup on my eyes. When I’m doing my eyes in the mirror, there’s a focus and I’m doing vocal warmups while I work on it. I always do my eyes, but everything else I sweat off.
So Future Deep makes you feel like a total badass when you listen to it. Are there any fun anecdotes that you have from creating it?
Each song has a whole life of its own. “Hello Hero” is a song Isabella and I created in London. I met with her, we talked about music. It’s so neat to talk about something, to play a song and to create a beat or melody and watch it all come to life. When Brad and I made all our songs, it was snowing. I went to Nashville and we bunked out at a studio there and it was so great because it was snowing outside so we didn’t want to go outside. We made “Any Way You Want” and “I Know Trouble” – which is very inspired by “I Put A Spell On You”.
A lot of the best songs will sort of write themselves. I usually work with musicians who will play something and it will unlock a whole story that is sitting there within me, or a melody. If you’re connected to your truth, you can then access it.
One time, they took me out to Bowling Green, KY. I basically kidnapped most of the members of Cage the Elephant and made my EP. Drummer Jared Champion, Matt, and then Brad Schultz took me out to a bar in Bowling Green. I have a rule where I don’t accept shots or drinks from strangers, but (laughing) I just missed that rule. It was their southern hospitality. I was wrecked in the studio for two days and they just made fun of me. So that was good, I was like a member of the band for a minute. I passed the test. (laughing)
The whole record was made in a couple weeks. It started because I knew Brad Schultz from ten years ago when we were both touring in London and then I heard a recent record of theirs, and I digged the sound a lot. New rock n’ roll doesn’t have a whole lot that’s carrying the torch of soul and groove in the music, but they do it. They do it right.
Do you have a favorite song from the EP at all?
Definitely. We played most of them live the past year, so I do. These songs live take on a life all their own. Like “Future Deep” takes on this dance tone, and people are super into it. “I Know Trouble” is definitely a favorite as far as just a soul-ripping blues song. I love “Any Way You Want” as an out of the gate rock track. And “Hello Hero” is one of my favorite things I’ve done of all time. It’s dancey with big beats and the grooviest bass line. I love “Hello Hero”.
I will have to say I do everything haphazard because I’m totally independent. Vinyl is coming in two weeks, I’m making all of this myself. There’s a lot of freedom in it. Then there is social media and things like this interview that are fun and very helpful.
Over the years, have you had anything interesting or fun on your rider list?
We have such a basic rider. One, we’re so punk rock and low budget. (laughing) There is NOTHING fun on our rider. We play little rock clubs where you’re lucky if you get half your rider. PLUS I always have a couple vegans in my crew, so we prioritize getting them fed. Especially in Europe. So there’s nothing fun ever. Socks? I’m not vegan, but ginger cookies. I like ginger. Nothing exciting. (laughing)
What would your advice to young girls chasing their dreams around the world be, especially with our current political climate?
My biggest advice is to find your truth. I learned how to sing from jazz music, and I realized imitation isn’t bad as long as you develop who you really are. To imitate Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald – I used to sing like that. Then I got with Linda Perry and she helped me get more courageous. She asked me what I like and what it is I want to say and we just started playing. So I would just tell people to try. There is no perfection. Be willing to make mistakes in your art and keep doing it. Stop it with the pressure.
I think with social media, people like writing and directing their own bits online and putting themselves out there. Perhaps there’s less perfection. But then on the flip side, there are young girls who say, “I can’t take a bad picture.”
I’m really big into doing what you fear. Not in an unhealthy way, but to stand up and speak a poem you wrote that was meaningful to you. Say it in front of people. There are so many inspiring things that come from that and you’ll find that there are other people who hear and feel your truth. You’ll find who you’re meant to speak to and where you’re supposed to be.
Please break the mold and don’t get lost in beauty stereotypes. Nowhere in my art am I thinking about being safe or attractive. My deeper concern is expression and connection. That is the end all be all.
I got the privilege of touring with Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and it showed me that with certain artists, I don’t see any age. I don’t see anything but a one of a kind voice and a musical force with the most incredible songs. I got to tour with her and Cat Power f0r a month and it was such a phenomenal experience. Two completely different women and musicians. It was so liberating.
You do amazing things, woman.
Well thanks! I’m just open to opportunities and trying not to overthink. I try to leave it to chance. I don’t always feel prepared, but I’ll go for it and do my best in that moment, where I’m at. This record we just made is nothing I would have been able to write ten years ago. But ten years ago was what I could do at that time.
Do you have any big plans for the holidays?
Yes, I’m going to go to the snow. I grew up in California, the snow is like a miracle of life. “OH MY GOD! THERE’S SNOW!” I just want to be surrounded by it. I love that you’re surrounded by it and can’t drive right now. We’re going to Utah. I’m going with my guy and his kids and my sister and their kids for New Years. I’m really excited to play board games and to be stuck with each other and do things in the snow.
As far as Christmas, I’m just doing my thing with family. Should be relaxing.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Try and be active in the things you believe in and connect with other groups who are also active. Try to protect the vulnerable. That’s the main concern with our political climate is those people who have to be vulnerable by whatever things are about to be laid down. Right now is a very inspiring time. People are finding their voice and coming together. I’m going to that march on Washington for female rights at the end of January. We’re all coming together. It’s amazing.
___
To get your own copy of Future Deep, head over to juliettelewis.com. Keep up with this unicorn of a human on Facebook.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 29, 2017 | 5 to 7
In August, Los Angeles-based pop singer/songwriter JADE released her debut EP to critical acclaim. Featuring the beautiful singles “Find A Place” and “Wait For Me” alongside seven more incredibly produced tracks – including our personal favorite “Won’t The Rain Come Soon” – the made quite the impression, floating her ethereal vocals effortlessly over both acoustic and more electronically-driven tracks.
If you haven’t gotten a chance to listen to the flawless lines on PINK, check it out below and then read on for a fun little interview JADE did with us recently!
What is the first song or album you ever remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
I think the first artists I had been introduced to were Bryan Adams and Michelle Branch. My dad would always play their music in the car or throughout the house.
Was there a moment that it struck you and you realized you were going to pursue music, or did it kind of slowly evolve?
It slowly evolved. I liked to play the “famous game” as kids with my friends; we were big time celebrities and we would try to write songs and preform them to each other. Eventually, I started doing it on my own. It went from being a game, to a hobby, to a lifestyle.
You have such a – dare we say it? – unique voice. It’s raspy and delicate at the same time, ethereal almost. Did that come naturally, were there vocal lessons involved?
Thank you! I did take voice lessons to help control my pitch and my breath. But my style of singing has evolved through listening to other artists and realizing certain words and phrases are easier to sing depending on how you pronounce them. A lot of muscle memory!
Your album PINK has been out for a minute, and it’s an absolute gem of a release. If you could sum it up for us and say your album is a Thanksgiving dish, which one would it be and why?
If my album were a Thanksgiving dish, it would be green bean casserole. People like it and it’s important, but there are bigger and better things to come!
“Wait For Me” was, of course, a beautiful single to release leading up to dropping PINK. But we are absolutely enamored by “Won’t The Rain Come Soon”. What specifically inspired it, if you don’t mind us asking?
Thank you, WTRCS is one of my favorites. It’s about the different struggles you go through in different periods of your life and wondering when you’re gonna get a fresh new start to something that can be better.
What was studio life like? Immerse us in the experience!
It can be very long days. Sometimes up to 13 hours. No snacks, but we usually order Uber Eats so we can stay on task! A lot of water and caffeine for everyone. Sometimes we’re all really pissed off because something isn’t working how we want it, so we’re all keeping to ourselves or feeling kinda low. But then two hours later we’re jumping up and down screaming along with the lyrics, talking about how we’re gonna take over the world. It’s a unique experience that I wish everyone could try it!
Do you have a favorite song or favorite song to perform, whether it is your own or someone else’s?
Off of PINK I think “Sorry” is my favorite! Off the next album we’re writing, there’s a lot of really fun songs that I can’t wait to preform. I also love to sing “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I can’t wait for this new album that I’m currently working on to come out! It’s emotional, fun to move to, has songs that will get stuck in your head, and is more mature sounding. Every song is a bop. 2018 will be a good year!
___
PINK is out
now. Keep an eye out for new music from JADE right
here!
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 28, 2017 | 5 to 7
Winston-Salem-bred indie rock/alternative collective Foxture – comprised of Marlon Blackmon (Piano/Keyboard, Vocals), Eddie J Reynolds (Guitar), Andrew Irving (Drums), and Ross Barnes (Bass) – is showing us some pretty incredible chops with the release of their E D E N EP, a sparkling, six track collection that seems to bounce right out of the speakers with its energy. From the very beginning, there is no other way to describe what E D E N does better than to call it “groove-inducing,” as your hips are immediately swaying from the time you push “play.” Smooth percussion blends perfectly with Marlon’s ethereal vocals, and you’re transported to another place entirely.
In honor of the release of E D E N, we got a few words with Marlon, and a couple with Eddie. Check it out below, and let us know what you think of the EP!
What is the first song or album you ever remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
Marlon: The first album I remember hearing was a Greatest hits compilation by the Temptations. I was very very very young, but they were my dad’s favorite artists collectively. I have always lived at least 25 to 30 minutes away from.
I guess there wasn’t really a striking moment beyond the first impression but after listening to those songs over and over, I began to learn the lyrics and their song “My girl” was the first song I learned lyrics to. From that point on I realized that I liked music, and became curious of what else was out there.
Eddie: Outkast’s song “Roses” from their The Love Below album was the first song I remember hearing. I heard that piano drop and 3 stacks yell out “CAROLINE” , and it changed my view on music with how it’s made and how versatile and unique it can be. My brother actually introduced be to it when I was nothing but a few years old. He pulled out a book of CDs, his full collection and asked me to select one of them, and that album stuck out to me. The second I heard it, my eyes lit up.
What is the Foxture origin story like? Was it a meet-cute?
Marlon: Well, Ross (bass) Eddie (guitar) and Andrew (drums) had already known each other from being in a band called Oceans Apart. I (Marlon, vocals and keyboard/synth) had been posting songs that I had recorded in my bedroom on bandcamp and Soundcloud, and people started contacting me for shows. I was just not interested due to stage fright and more specifically, the fear of not being able to replicate the layering of various parts and sounds from the recordings to a live setting influenced my interest on playing shows. So a few days after I released a solo version of our song “Surrealism” a friend of mine, who had been keeping up with what I had been working on, asked if I would be interested in playing her benefit concert for Louder Than Words, which is a benefit to help kids follow their music related dreams no matter their financial status. I thought about it, said yes, and took to a Facebook group for musicians in the area, and made a post asking if anyone wanted to help me out with full versions of songs that I already have (about 4 or 5 songs at this point). Eddie immediately responded and said, “Yo I have a bassist and a drummer” and we met up for practice and have been a band ever since.
Fast forwarding through the month that we had to prepare and learn all 5 songs, the show itself was the most awkward I have ever felt LOL. It was in this gorgeous concert hall at UNCG, under bright, bright, bright fluorescent lights. This was my first ever show, so I was super awkward and uncomfortable and we messed up pretty bad. But I remember walking fast backstage after that performance, sitting on the floor, and saying, “We need to book more shows.” I refused to let THAT performance define us and wanted to overshadow it so badly.
Your EP Eden dropped recently. If this collection of songs were a Thanksgiving meal item – whether it be an app like fancy cheese, the stuffing or cranberry sauce or turkey, or dessert – what would it be and why?
Marlon: Hmmm, I would have to say, red velvet cake. The icing would be reminiscent to the effects that we put into the album, and when you cut into the, soft, fluffy textures that seemingly melt in your mouth, its very satisfying.
Eddie: Mac & Cheese. Get lost in the gooey and cheesy goodness.
The music you make has always had a lightweight feel to it, but Eden has this almost translucent, otherworldly feel to it. Was this a noticeable and purposeful step in your sound, or did it just kind of happen organically?
Marlon: So, this is the sound that we have been trying to hone in on from the beginning. Emotions and feeling can be very abstract things, therefore we want our music to be as dreamlike as possible. We want people to have no choice but to fall into a lucid, hypnotic sense of thinking, and experiencing our music in general.
Any fun anecdotes from the recording process?
Marlon: We often laugh at the fact that I wrote “Understanding pt. 2” before I met the guys, and way before I wrote “understanding pt. 1”. Before I decided to change the name to Foxture, I recorded solo projects under the name “Lock & Key” and after realizing that a million bands and artists had that same name, I wanted something that was my own, that didn’t exist anywhere else. I liked the way foxes carry themselves in the wilderness, so because “Fox posture” didn’t roll off the tongue how I wanted it to, I merged the 2 words into “Foxture”, and “understanding pt. 2” was the first thing that I posted under that name.
What are you most looking forward to about this release?
Marlon: I felt like whatever the understanding series was going to be, THAT would be the second part of it. There was also a creative challenge of looking back at previous instances that inspired “understanding pt. 2” and trying to connect them for my own development as a person. We tend to understand (HAH) things better in hindsight anyway and, at that time, I was experiencing some serious writer’s block and that was a perfect way to open up and articulate the series more accurately.
With this release, we are looking forward to being able to communicate our vision more effectively and accurately. We are more than happy with this record and we had a lot of fun making it as well. I would say this ep is a perfect setup for a full length album, which we are currently working on.
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And we can’t wait to hear it! E D E N is available now. Keep up with Foxture here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 24, 2017 | 5 to 7
This September americana collective JD & The Straight Shot – comprised of vocalist/guitarist Jim Dolan, guitarist Marc Copely, bassist Byron House, violinist/fiddler Erin Slaver, and drummer/percussionist Shawn Pelton – released their sixth studio album, a ten track full-length titled Good Luck And Good Night. From easy listening guided by intense lyrics, to beautiful choral pieces, to simplistic compositions, this album covers its bases, blessing us with some incredible music to play during the holiday season especially.
We got a few minutes with lead guitarist Marc Copely to get a little background regarding his involvement with the band, and takes us inside the recording circle.
What is the first song or album you ever remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
My babysitter put on Led Zeppelin IV and that was it for me! I was stunned and have never looked back.
Was there a moment that it struck you and you realized you were going to pursue music, or did it kind of slowly evolve?
It was fast. I started late, around 13 years old, but picked it up quickly. I did my first gig a year later and haven’t stopped.
You are the lead guitarist and musical director of JD & The Straight Shot and you also produced the band’s new album Good Luck And Good Night. How did you become a member of the band?
My friend Charley Drayton called me to be in the band. He was the band’s musical director then, so he initially hired me. I started MD’ing the band about five years ago and we’ve grown and changed quite a bit since then – from an electric blues based band to the form we’re in now, which is mostly acoustic, and roots-based.
Good Luck And Good Night is such a fun, driven album. Are there any overarching inspirations that contributed to the work itself?
Thank you! We’re always listening and always talking about what to do next. I think the fact that the band you hear on the record is the band you hear on tour is important. We each brought our own musical personalities to the recording, so it’s imperative that those are the musicians that you hear on stage.
Do you have any fun anecdotes from the recording process?
Well, we tend to sit in a circle and play through the song we’ll be recording and sometimes before you know it, we’ve been jamming for an hour and forget that we’re in there making a record! We get carried away with the fun, but I guess thats the point, right?
The band recently released a music video for your track “Run For Me”, a warm, live performance for your fans to enjoy, woven with old race horse footage. What inspired the video’s concept, and what was it like to shoot?
The shoot was easy. It features us playing a gig and was shot all in one take. No acting chops needed! Our frontman Jim had the horse racing idea since he wrote the song lyrics and had the concept for the song. I love all the old racing footage in the video. Amazingly cool.
Here’s the video to check out:
What is the band most excited about with your new album?
We love the fact that it sounds like us. It’s purely what we all sound like with no trickery at all. That record is us in a room playing music, so we’re really proud of the honesty of the album.
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Good Luck And Good Night is available now. Keep up with JD & The Straight Shot here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 22, 2017 | 5 to 7
Relatively new to the scene, rock trio
Invisible Candy – comprised of Jen Smith (cello), Carter Zumtobel (drums), and Colin Campbell (guitar/lead vocals) – often refer to themselves as “Brooklyn’s chamber rock sweethearts,” but might just be on their way to having the world believe them. The fact that a rock trio features a cello prominently is already alluring enough. Take three distinctive performers who proudly proclaim their newfound love for “flowers, German expressionism, fake blood, and obviously candy,” add the frenetic, romanticized sound that steadily flows from the speakers, and you’ve got genre-bending rock that encapsulates chamberpunk ditties like “Mental Hatchets” alongside sweeping indie rock tunes like “Simone”.
In honor of their latest single we got a few minutes to learn more about the band behind that intense, enigmatic sound.
What is the Invisible Candy conception story?
Jen Smith: We’re not a concept band, but I could see us going in that direction. We have divergent influences from the past that we could weave into a modern sound and build a narrative around that process … that’s the dream, right? But as of now, the origin story is three people met through mutual friends and started making music together. The name literally came out of a dream and since inception we’ve been challenging ourselves to write more freely … more psych, more garage rock, more experimental.
Colin Campbell: We’ve all been in bands that had several more cats to herd at once. So a trio, at least as the constant core to then ornament, was immediately appealing.
Carter Zumtobel: 
With your collection of bold personalities, what is the writing process like? Does it vary from song to song? Take us inside your process!
JS: Well, this EP we’re working on is somewhat “soaked” subject matter – heavy, drunk, woeful. Even though our original batch of songs is from Colin’s notebook, Carter brings a new element with the drums and we have to work as a collective to find what the cello will add. Nothing is set in stone. We revisit a lot of songs on a structural level just to see what happens. And it’s usually a fun jaunt, not at all a confrontational or frustrating process. We will have some new material soon too, and that might come from Carter’s writing and my arrangement or Colin on lead guitar and me on keys or any number of combinations. We’re all about the possibilities right now.
CC: I generally use simple pop structures with lyrical references from an otherwise useless liberal arts background. Part of me always wants to coax audiences into something sweet and entertaining, almost saccharine, then twist it with something a tad more sonically or lyrically demanding.
Your latest track “Mental Hatchets” is so, so good. Do you mind discussing the inspiration?
CC: It’s of course an unironic bullet-pointed list of why we’re living in a globalized urban utopia!
With so much good music being released right now – especially since a certain event last year – we’re falling over ourselves trying to keep up with it all! It makes me wonder, is there pressure with an up-and-coming band to have a message or stance with everything?
JS: For me, it’s important to have a stance and to have integrity, on stage and off. I’ve seen lots of bands lend their talents to benefit shows, and we are participating in that movement too. We’re donating a set to Thursdays for a Cause at Our Wicked Lady in Brooklyn on 12/14, for example. That’s something we’d like to do regularly, as well as put our resources behind artists from marginalized communities.
As artists, we’ve looked to the past for inspiration, like the antifascist movement Rock Against Racism, to see how musicians felt and dealt with such troubled times historically. And I think off stage, we’ve all taken steps to educate ourselves on structural oppression and we talk to each other pretty freely. The openness and acceptance in this band definitely helps me effect changes in my non-performer life.
If you could be a superhero, who would you be, and why?
JS: Superman, because I am a masochist and I want to know what it’s like to control your otherworldly strength in every human gesture, thereby taking notice of every delicate and unbearable human gesture.
CC: Professor Xavier because he does his ass-kicking under a cozy blanket on a levitating barcalounger.
CZ: Rod Kimble, stuntman extraordinaire.
BIGGER question… if “Mental Hatchets” were part of a Thanksgiving meal, what part would it be and why?
JS: I think cranberry sauce cause it’s a small portion with a lot of zing!
CC: The stuffing, just cause it’s all I can think about right now.
CZ: Keep on rocking in the free world.
___
Catch Invisible Candy at Gold Sounds Bar in Brooklyn on November 29th. Keep up with the band
here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 17, 2017 | 5 to 7
Los Angeles-based dream pop trio Ròsa released new track “Stranger” today, a glittering pop anthem perfect for a fiery autumn romance. As the electric guitar wanes in the background, the lightweight vocals take over and create an ambiance of beauty that takes over your eardrums – and your surroundings – from the first few chords of the track.
In honor of the new single, we got a few minutes with the guys to talk about a little bit of inspiration, texture, and trust. Check it out below!
What is the first album/song you remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
I (Will) grew up with The Beatles playing all the time. So hearing them is literally my earliest memory. As far as consciously listening to an album, the first was either Led Zeppelin IV or Madman Across the Water by Elton John. My father did right by me in this department.
What is the origin story of RÒSA? (Be honest… was it a meet cute?)
The way we met was super cute of course. We met at a religious conference and became best friends or something. We realized we all wanted to do the same thing and went for it. So, Jesus Christ brought us together.
Your single “Stranger” is about feeling discomfort with modern romance. If you could have it your way, how would things be different?
I’m not too sure I know enough or have enough of a perspective on modern romance to suggest how things ought to change. The song is more of an existential concern than a cultural critique. That being said, I think it’s all too much of a self-interested game. I think honesty and vulnerability ought to be the norm from the very beginning. The rules for this game we have created establishes the potential for increased dishonesty and self-centeredness. We all treat each other as means to an end, rather than as ends in themselves. I am speaking to a part of myself as well. I don’t see myself separated from this pathology.
What was the production process like for the track?
“Stranger” began on an acoustic guitar, which is actually very rare for me now. This particular song came to the guys (Tay and Mike) a bit more completed and mapped out as well. There wasn’t much fighting between us with Stranger. It all came very naturally. We never really fight when writing but have discovered that Taylor is harder to please and sometimes will think a part is bullshit that we are okay with. We really trust each other though and any differences are talked through super rationally. Good vibes only in the studio, ya know?
How do you imagine people listening to “Stranger”?
I prefer people listen to Stranger doing nothing but focusing on every sound and texture that we worked so hard to create, because I’m a narcissist. However, if it had to be a soundtrack to our lives I’d want it to be the background music at some swanky/cultured get together in that neighborhood that has been recently gentrified where no one feels emotionally safe. The kind of gathering people go to in order to feel a sense of social worth. The kind of gathering where everyone is looking for someone to fuck. That’s a thing right? Idk. The chorus of Stranger is a question for those people, ya know? I don’t imagine our music is incredibly challenging on the surface but I’d like it to challenge people as much as it could.
Let’s keep it in the realm of romance. Celebrity crush… go!
I don’t trust celebrities. I think the whole concept is fucked up. That being said, Ellen. I know there exists some complications with my choice but the heart wants what it wants.
Touché. Anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks for talking with me. We’re here for a good time not a long time, ya know? Idk, I feel like that shit’s important.
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Keep up with Ròsa here.
by ImperfectFifth | Nov 8, 2017 | 5 to 7
On December 1st, the debut full-length from
Sunset Neon – the nostalgia pop music project from multi-genre musician and producer Bret Autrey – will be released. His intention with this project was to hone in on 80’s inspired pop sound, a far cry from his work as Blue Stahli. In honor of the release of his new lyric video for “You Are The Sun” – which makes us wish it were about to be summer instead of winter – we spent a few minutes with the artist to get the low down on his process and the eighties.
What is the first song or album you ever remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
There’s two that stick out. Once was the small window of time that my mom had a record player and would put the soundtrack to Top Gun on. I’d get so amped up on stuff like Dangerzone, I’d just bounce around the entire living room. The other was visiting family on a farm in Oregon and I was running around in a Max Headroom mask. My cousin had just started driving, so she would drive me into town and play Front 242 extremely loud. I’ve been in love with drum machines, synths and samplers ever since.
Was there a moment that it struck you and you realized you were going to pursue music, or did it kind of slowly evolve?
This is really the only thing I know how to do. I’m just lucky enough that I can make a living doing it. The first recording I ever made was when I got ahold of a tape player and blank tape and recorded myself humming the theme to the A-Team. We had a piano in the house that was saved from being taken to the dump by some church. I would plink around and work out melodies on that beat up old thing. Later on I discovered programming music and sequencing chopped up one-shot samples in DOS in the glorious mono 8bit of Scream Tracker. After getting better sound quality in Impulse Tracker I started sampling that old piano, and loading in synth loops I sequenced on a Roland keyboard to warp and twist in weird ways. I absolutely lived for the times I could be messing with programming music in hexadecimal in a DOS tracker or chopping out atmospheres and sound FX recorded in from VHS movies. It’s what I lived for then, and what I have to do now.
Historically, you’ve been a rock musician. When you chose to go into this 80s music project, did you already have an idea for what you were doing or did it kind of develop organically?
With my main project, Blue Stahli, I genre-hop all the way from upbeat funky breakbeat stuff to purely electronic sound design to riff-heavy electronic rock. While doing all this genre-flailing, I would kick out a few nu disco-esque tracks or start leaning towards a more indie pop type of sound. Once the itch for this started lining up even more, it became clear that a lot of these tracks that didn’t really have a home before could all exist under a dedicated project for exploring all the more colorful lo-fi 80s influenced stuff. So I’d say it all reached a point where Sunset Neon *had* to exist.
You were quoted saying “I’m freakishly excited to create some weirdo VHS music.” Could you elaborate on what “weirdo VHS music” is, at least in your opinion?
Some of my favorite things are lost movies or straight to video fare on VHS. The memories of a room lit only by the small screen (in this case, I was watching everything on one of those small portable TV’s hooked up to a clunker of a VCR), and the feeling of the synth scores and lesser known songs that would accompany some of these movies just washed over me. I see the “weirdo VHS music” as Sunset Neonbeing part of the soundtrack to a strange forgotten VHS from 1986 who’s music you love so much you record it to cassette and listen to it until the tape snaps. You’ll hear bits of these songs warp and glitch, sometimes like you’re hearing the process of them being sampled from VHS to an old sampler while the power is flickering.
How was the writing/production process different this time around, creating this “weirdo VHS music?”
This was really all about going back to my roots with tracker music. So just destroying the audio and one shot synth sounds (some of which were made by stacking single cycle waveforms on top of each other and getting all wonky with the layers and filters) and exploring warping stuff with the effects you have to enter in hexadecimal and revel in the fact that all those little bits of information are coming together to form a beat that makes you want to move and evokes emotions. It’s a more stripped down approach, while somehow also being a bit more complicated in other ways.
Everything we’ve heard from your debut album feels like it could be used in a kitchy 80s “throwback” movie (a la Hot Rod) or a fun musical. If you could create anything with this music, what would it be and who would you collaborate with?
Oh hell yes, that is absolutely the intent. It *should* feel like a pure fun jolt of video haze from a guilty pleasure movie you’ve seen 87 times. I would love for this to show up in a movie or tv show (even something animated!) built on the same love for that glow. Stranger Things, Ready Player One, anything that is fully in love with this atmosphere. I have a feeling there are some astounding people who will be creating in this realm that we still have yet to see, and I can’t wait for all of it.
If you could be any character in an 80s movie, who would you choose and why?
A cross between Wolff from Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone for the way he always seemed to know what to do, and Fletch or Axel Foley for always having the perfect string of jokes to accompany getting out of situations in the most hilariously badass way possible.
What are you most looking forward to about this release?
I’m really just excited for this to be out there and connect with people. I do this because I adore it and try to create songs that have an atmosphere you can get lost in, so I hope that these songs serve their emotional purpose for someone out there whether they’re connecting with the more dance-oriented fun material, or the dreamy lo-fi love songs.
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Starlight is available for preorder
now. Keep up with Sunset Neon
here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 26, 2017 | 5 to 7
Canadian-based artist management company and record label Forward Music Group has had quite the year. Celebrating 10 years of helping artists bring their music into the world, they’ve taken it upon themselves to release an official 2017/2018 sampler – which is phenomenal, by the way – amongst some other really fun celebratory things, including a mess of live dates in October titled the “10th Year Anniversary Revue.”
And we’re totally on board, as this company certainly has a lot to celebrate. Their discography is extensive and includes artists like Michael Feuerstack, Gianna Lauren, Paper Beat Scissors, Sleepless Nights, and many more, while the amount of artistry they’ve brought to the world out of Canada makes them a standout for the country at large. Luckily enough, we stole a few minutes to chat with Owner/Operator Kyle Cunjak, who has quite the view of the industry, and a little bit of insight on the last ten years.
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What is the first album/song you remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
I’m going to approach this two ways and cheat a bit by giving you two experiences and three albums:
1 – Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense was a constant throughout my childhood. My dad loved this album and would play it non-stop. We’d both sing ‘Burning Down The House’ together and I was transfixed by David Byrne’s dance moves and style.
2 – The first albums I remember REALLY hearing, and I mean they had a profound influence on me, were Rancid’s …And Out Come The Wolves and Beck’s Mellow Gold when I was around 10-11 years old. They both blew my mind. I had no idea music could sound like these records. The former my aunt Cathy gave to me for my birthday because my older cousins were into them and I’m sure she had no idea what the music was like. The latter I heard at my friend Victor’s and remember BEGGING him to dub me a copy before a family vacation. When he wasn’t able to do this fast enough, I convinced my folks to drive me to the record store so I could buy Stereopathetic Soulmanure.
Of course I had been heard music prior to these and been to concerts (Bob Dylan, quite boring to an 8-year-old but also when I first remember smelling marijuana and likely got contact-high) but nothing stands out like those three, quite polarizing when put back-to-back, albums.
Any fun anecdotes or interesting memories from Forward Music, as you celebrate 10 years?
There are so many to mention – getting stranded by a “snowstorm” in England and inventing the most insane/fun songwriting game, arriving in Berlin for the first time without knowing anyone and with no place to stay but somehow ending up on Nils Frahm’s floor for a few magical nights, travelling Canada by train for free playing music in the lobby cars, etc…
One of the best parts about playing music is that you get to travel with your friends. So important for character building and life experience. It’s something like a free vacation and when you’re in your early twenties you definitely get up to some shit, even as alt-folk bands. However, the problem-solving, logistical, and organizational skills you develop are incredibly valuable. I’m confident that any musician could win The Amazing Race with ease.
Your 2017/2018 Sampler was curated quite excellently. Who was involved in the process, was it difficult to narrow it down? Was there an overarching theme?
When developing samplers, we reach out to our artists and ask for suggestions. This one came together quite quickly under a deadline. I really enjoy sequencing records and have a lot of fun trying to make songs from multiple genre songs make sense together.
There are a number of instrumental-heavy tracks here due to the growth of our sister label Backward Music that we started in 2012 and which features primarily instrumental music. It’s our outlet for releasing one-off projects with a minimal budget on various formats and with no pressure. Surprisingly, it’s been one of the most successful parts of our catalogue. Go figure.
What made you choose to go with the horse drawing on the front by Gianna Lauren? Was it commissioned, or was it something pitched to you?
That horse is so handsome how could I not have put it on the cover? When compiling this sampler and beginning to think about art, I asked all the roster artists to draw their interpretation of a horse. We had a lot of submissions, some better than others, but Gianna’s horse stood out.
Right now you have a ton of shows scheduled in Canada to celebrate 10 years of Forward Music. Any chance we might nab something in the states?
Unfortunately not at the moment. It’ll spare you the dull legalities but it’s extremely expensive and difficult for Canadians to play in the USA right now, especially without agent/label representation as is our case. It’s a shame because we’re SO CLOSE geographically and we’d be in Portland (Maine), Boston, and New York every month spending money on food, gas, hotels, records, etc… if the terms were reciprocal between borders. Unfortunately it’s easier for us to get to Europe to play music outside of Canada.
Dan Misha Goldman has a green card and performs in LA from time to time. We’ve also done development in America with a few artists in the past and have plans for a couple others but it’s all quite far in the future I’m afraid.
Please send more US bands over to us in Atlantic Canada though, we’d love to have them and I’m always game to help out with promoting shows.
Both the live and recorded version of “Onwards” (Paper Beat Scissors) are incredible. What made you choose the live version to highlight, specifically?I’m glad you enjoy these! Tim has a very captivating style and voice – intense, unique, and beautiful. This live version of Onwards is from a special orchestral show that Paper Beat Scissors performed in Montreal last April at
La Sala Rossa and will be released as a digital EP in the coming year.
Dan Misha Goldman always has some of the most inspiring instrumental work in his music. What made you choose “Hollywood, Jerusalem” to work its magic on the release?
Another thing we try to do when compiling our samplers is to highlight songs that may not have gotten proper attention. This song, off his Champion of the Afterworld album released earlier this year, fit into that category. It’s sonically so beautiful, subtle, and interesting.
There is such a quirky collection of artists included on this mix. How do you imagine people listening to it? (Holding a glass of brandy, driving under the night sky? You can get detailed here!)
It’s definitely a eclectic mix of music. I like to think there’s something for everyone here and that a compilation like this might challenge people to listen to a genre they’d otherwise not seek out.
What I hope at least one person does when listening to this compilation is ride a horse. That would make things come somewhat full-circle with our branding.
If you could get any celebrity to promote the Sampler, who would you choose and why?
Probably Neil Young. He’s a hero, major influence, and fellow Canadian who I think would actually dig the music.
What is the biggest piece of advice Forward Music has for us now, in its tenth year?
If I’ve learned anything in ten years it’s that nothing is predictable so I’d prefer not to offer any advice because I don’t think it’s relevant. However, I will offer my personal motto when working within music, both in the “business” and when performing, which has saved me so much time, stress, and money. NEVER RUSH!
Anything else you’d like to add?
Keep fighting the good fight, damn the man, enjoy breakfast, appreciate nature, and submerge whenever possible.
___
Keep up with Forward Music Group
here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 24, 2017 | 5 to 7
Norwegian indie folk duo Tuvaband – comprised of Simon Would and Tuva Hellum – have been crazy busy prepping to release their debut EP, which is set to drop in November. The pair – who are incredibly socially conscious and tend to lend that activism to their art – recently released their single “Trees” to critical acclaim. The song, which touches on the importance of our natural habitat, is an ethereal taste of what’s to come.
With that in mind, we were ecstatic to catch a few moments with the band leading up to their big show at Mirrors Festival. Here is what they had to say.
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What is the first song or album you ever remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?
I can’t remember. I do remember that Aretha Franklin was one of my first favourite artists and that I had a lot of her albums. I wanted to become the new Aretha Franklin. A mix between Aretha Franklin and Gwen Stefani (when she was in No Doubt).
The first album Simon heard was Radiohead – Amnesiac. His uncle had bought it and they were listening to it in the car in Ireland. It’s still one of his favorite albums.
What is the origin story of Tuvaband? Was it impossibly amazing?
I was studying child welfare, and the girls I was living with was tired of hearing me make annoying sounds and doing my man-vocals out loud in our apartment. They told a guy in our class, to bring me to his studio to make me try to sing normal. I did, and it was the most fun I’ve had. I started singing with this guy and another musician. I thought we were a band and told my family and friends. Turned out we were just jamming. I went to my room and started making my own songs, and called myself Tuvaband as a joke. I would never sing in front of people, but gave my parents a Tuvaband CD for Christmas.
Back in Oslo after my studies, I met Simon and his friend in a bar, which were looking for a girl to sing a duet with. After three hours at an afterparty, when people had started falling asleep, I finally sang with Simon and his friend. Many months later I asked if Simon could play guitar in Tuvaband. We found out we would rather be a duo than a band and therefore could keep that name.
“Trees” is incredibly beautiful. We know production happened in two separate apartments, but what was the process like for this one? Lyrics first, melody first? Concept vs. words? Paint us a picture!
Thank you so much!
I’de written the lyrics earlier, but the melody we were just jamming, it’s the first song we had which started from a random jam. We had to structure the song together later to make it sound more like a song. There was a lot of rounds trying to record it and make it sound good. I think it took us almost a year to make it right.
What do you hope people glean from this track, specifically?
It would be nice if some people like the song so much that they will listen to the lyrics. First about the rainforest, then about our self-destructing behaviour, and then maybe produce even more thoughts about what we could do differently when it comes to the environment.
Your new EP is due in November. Can we expect other equally as socially conscious tracks on it? Is there an overarching message in its tranquility?
A lot of the songs I write has a similar message to the one in ‘Trees’, but the EP has a lot of different themes. It’s constructed in a way as a story, which evolves as the EP progresses. It goes from being about dealing with a trauma, then the aftermath of a trauma. And then when you are done dealing with this, it shifts towards the world around you, which is where ‘Trees’ and two other songs come in.
What are you most excited about with the upcoming EP release?
It’s nice to finally get something out that we’ve been working on for a long time, and to show people that we have more songs. We are close to finishing yet another EP, so it is about time to release the debut EP.
I have to say that we are both really excited about releasing a really nice music video, made by Marius Mathisrud and Oscar Juul Sørensen, for one of the tracks on the EP too!
Alright. The tough one. Cats or dogs?
It’s definitely cats for me. I’m the cat lady, but with no cats. When I’m 65, I will probably have 14 cats. If I ever start a side project as a musician, my name would be ‘The Mother of Cats’. Simon is a dog person and had a dog growing up. That says a lot about how different we are from each other.
Anything else you’d like us to know?
We are playing at Mirrors (festival) in Hackney, London, 28th of October. We hope to see you there!
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Catch up with Tuvaband during a Rough Trade In-Store gig on October 27th, and at Mirrors on the 28th. Keep up with Tuvaband here.
