L E A: INTERVIEW

August 19, 2021

by tiffany arunarsirakul

L E A is a Los Angeles-based alternative-pop artist with Jersey pop punk inspiration, who was featured as an MXL Creator in 2021. With EP Jersey Boy releasing, we expect big things from “Pebbles,” a song that people could relate to on multiple levels. Her EP ties her Jersey roots to her LA influences, where L E A says, “Jersey Boy rehashes old feelings, brings out this masculine energy, welcomes me into a more rock-leaning genre, and allows me to embrace my emotions.” We are excited to see L E A’s creative musical journey soar!

What is your inspiration for “Pebbles”?

L E A: “Wildly enough, my inspiration came from a TikTok! I still can't get over the fact that two songs off my EP exist because of some creative exercises on TikTok. Aside from that, the story came from wanting to take a flirtationship real slow to quickly losing patience and knowing what I want.”

Would you say that this single has a stronger message due to us experiencing quarantine?

L: “Hmm, that's a good question! But no, I don't think so. I personally have always been a go-getter. When I want something, I'll fight for it. I can see how people could relate this to being impatient cause we've been isolated for so long though!”

Your EP Jersey Boy releases this month. What is your overall message for the EP?

L: “I feel like this EP is my journey back home. Metaphorically, of course. Though I have moved on from my hometown, I realized how much of me still lies within it. I feel like I brought Jersey to LA.

Jersey Boy rehashes old feelings, brings out this masculine energy, welcomes me into a more rock-leaning genre, and allows me to embrace my emotions.”

L E A, you are called the love child of Katy Perry and P!nk. Did these two artists have any influence on your works?

L: “You know what's funny, I was actually in a writing session with Mike Grubbs AKA Wakey!Wakey! (that's enough spoilers!) and he had told me after listening through my EP, that the whole project sounds somewhere in the middle of P!nk and Katy Perry. Ever since then, I kinda ran with it! As much as I absolutely adore P!nk and everything she's ever created, I feel like my music style almost accidentally lends itself to her sound. I never planned on comparing myself to her, but it just so happened that way! Since then, I've been so inspired by her approach towards the rockier side of pop and her story of growing up as a tomboy.”

How was the transition from New Jersey to Los Angeles? How did it change/inspire your music?

L: “The transition was almost seamless at the time I was first introduced to Los Angeles. I had been living there for a few months at a time for two years and I knew I wanted to move there after college. With the anticipation leading up to the big move, my friends constantly called me an ‘LA Devotee.’ I'd say that really impacted my music when I first got out there. I have a playlist I started in 2016 called ‘California Beach Pop’ which has now grown to almost 1,000 followers on Spotify. I made it because I wanted to make music just like that. I started making pop music leading up to the big move, but the longer I have been out here (I still love it just the same) the more I realized how grounded and influenced I am by the music I grew up with and the music scene in New Jersey. I actually had a long conversation on the phone about this with a good friend I went to high school with. That was kind of the moment I realized I wanted to name the EP ‘Jersey Boy.'“

What got you into music? Have you always wanted to be a part of the music industry?

L: “Music was really all I ever knew growing up. Having been adopted, I'm the only one in my family that has pursued music to such an extent. My mom recognized my talent at such a young age and she really encouraged me to take lessons, join choirs, and audition for musicals. I always say this, but music is quite literally the only thing I know like the back of my hand. I'm good at a lot of things, especially creative things, but I'm only great at music.”

In 2021, you were featured as an MXL Creator, as well as being placed on two Pandora Editorial Playlists in 2020. How does it feel to accomplish these recognitions?

L: “You know, every time I see someone else mention it, I take a moment to reflect on how grateful I am for accomplishments like that. I think we're always trying to get to the next goal, landmark, or chapter, that we sometimes take for granted what we've already earned. I've had such an empowering experience with both opportunities and I'm honored to have gotten where I am today with the support of MXL Mics and Pandora!”

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

L: “Learn. Learn. Learn. Knowledge is so powerful. Learn new ways to take your music to the next level and keep challenging yourself and your creativity!”

What can we look forward to in the near future?

L: “May have dropped a big hint here in this interview for the first time ever! But aside from that, I'm continuing to work on new music, traveling, performing live, and so much more! Thank you for having me.”

FIND L E A ONLINE

WEBSITE TWITTER INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK

EBEN: INTERVIEW

August 18, 2021

by emma schoors

When EBEN set out to create Dandelions, he envisioned something grander and more artistically satisfying than he had ever released before. A boatload of ambition and one tight-knit creative team later, the five-track EP and accompanying 20-minute short film were born. Dandelions leads listeners through the inner and outer-workings of a breakup, with frustration, grief, and eventual optimism as guiding themes. In a time of uncertainty, EBEN’s music is a sonic, stable reminder that pain can be one hell of an igniter for hope.

You're a singer, songwriter, and producer. Did you grow up in a musical family?

EBEN: “My dad, he played drums his whole life. My grandpa was a musician. He actually had one of the first live television shows in Baltimore that ever aired, which is really cool. Music’s been in my life forever.”

Do you have a first memory of music?

E: “I do. I remember my dad, he had this little recorder in his car and he would always record me and my little brother singing. So that really is the first memory that I can think of where he was like, ‘Oh, you guys are great singers. You have it in your blood.’ You know what I mean? So that'd be my first recollection of being aware of it.”

For fans who are a little less familiar with your background, you were on American Idol in 2012 at age 15. What inspired you to leap onto a national stage at such a young age?

E: “I mean, it was so fun. It was awesome. I just wanted to go see how far I would get. It was just for fun. I had no expectations. Me and my parents were like, ‘Let’s just go see what happens. If it happens, awesome. If it doesn't, it just wasn't meant to be.’ You know? I went and auditioned and ended up making it to the Top 24, which was an incredible experience. That was the first time I'd ever been out to LA or anything like that. I was just a musical theater kid from Cincinnati, so I had never really been introduced to the music industry until that point. When I went out to LA, I literally decided in my head, I was like, ‘I'm going to live here one day. I will be based here.’”

Was that when you decided music was going to be your career as well?

E: “I kind of had already decided that. I did musical theater professionally in Cincinnati for years, and I wanted to go into Broadway and live in New York and go down that whole path, but then did American Idol and I was like, ‘Wow, that's way more interesting.’ At least in my head, you know what I mean? That's just what I'm drawn to more. Now, what, ten years later? Ten years. That’s crazy. We’ve been living in LA for about six, seven years, and it's been an amazing, amazing ride.”

What's the most exciting show you've ever played?

E: “Radio City Music Hall was one of the greatest nights of my life. I was opening up for a band called Why Don’t We, and there were two nights, sold out show. It was one of the most amazing moments ever. The whole crowd knew every single one of my songs. There was this moment where I was performing this song ‘Freefall,’ and everyone in the whole place, like 6,900 people, put their phone lights up. It was such a magical moment for me. I will always remember that for the rest of my life.”

Are live music and performing driving factors in making your music?

E: “There's no other high that can compare to being on stage and being so connected with the audience, to where you just feel like you're in a room and it's just thousands of your best friends and you're just turning up and going crazy. And you're not nervous. It’s such a huge, natural euphoria. It’s unexplainable, really. There's no drug that could ever compare to that feeling, not even close. In regards to music for the live show, I go into sessions, I'm always thinking of the live show. I'm like, ‘Okay, we're making this record. How could I perform it live? How can we make it insane live?’ You know? So that goes into my deciding what music to drop as well. Is it going to be fun live and are the fans gonna be having the time of their life hearing this song on stage?”

What's the most exciting show you've ever been to?

E: “Travis Scott's Astroworld in Chicago was the most insane night of my life. It was wild. Also Coachella. Coachella was insane, but that's a whole other beast of a situation. Specific show wise, I'd say Travis Scott's Astroworld. It was crazy.”

“Jenny” is the lead single off of your most recent EP Dandelions. It’s inspired by Forrest Gump, but can you take us through what the songwriting process was like for this track?

E: “Writing it was so much fun. It's such a quirky record. In the session, I forget who brought it up. I'm pretty sure it was Danny Klein, who’s a part of Some Randoms, which is a producer duo, incredibly talented. We were just talking about, no one really talks about how shitty Jenny was. She was a true piece of work, you know what I mean? Obviously until the end, blah, blah, blah, it's a movie. But she treated Forrest like absolute trash, you know? So we were like, ‘Let’s write a song kind of influenced by that side of the movie and by that part.’ No one really talks about it. So that that's where that kind of stemmed from.”

What inspired you to mix music and film?

E: “We were in the depths of quarantine. I had a whole tour set up, obviously I had to cancel. Everyone lost a lot of momentum, especially myself. So I was like, ‘Okay, this isn't going to last forever, so let's prepare.’ I want to do something super unexpected, especially from an artist like myself that's at where I'm at in my career. I'm not yet A-list and selling out arenas and everything, but what would an A-list artist do to kind of have everyone turn their heads? So I called Evan. I was like, ‘Yo. I want all the music videos for the whole EP. I want it to all go together and I want it to be this whole story.’ I had the story with the music, but I just wanted it to visually be represented in a way. So Evan came over, and we kind of sussed out the basic storyline of everything, we found a bunch of pictures for the aesthetic that we wanted to do. Evan was like, ‘Let's do this cyber punk type of futuristic vibe.’ And I was like, ‘That’s so badass.’ Like yes, let's do that. And then it really just stemmed from there. Brandon Phillips, who was my drummer and musical director, he colored the video and was also the cinematographer. He’s incredibly freaking talented. So we had him on Zoom, because he lives in Memphis and Evan’s over here. We're trying to get this together, and then slowly but surely brought in more people to the team, like Tim Ogletree who produced the movie, and it all came together. It was an exciting adventure to make this, especially just having to deal with all of the COVID restrictions, we just had to figure it out and we figured it out and it's badass and I'm so incredibly proud of it.”

How did it feel to watch the film for the first time in its completed form?

E: “We all were just in shock that what we had envisioned is actually on the screen. Because a lot of the things that we were talking about, that should cost lot of money. Special effects and this, that, or the other. We talked to some special effects house and they're like, ‘We need $250,000.’ Like, go fuck yourself. Absolutely not. You know what I mean? So we figured it out, and we did it. People don't believe us when we tell them the budget of what we did this for. They think it's a million dollar budget, so that's what we're going to go with. That's just another thing. We did this and we executed it in every way, shape and form that we wanted to. I'm just so thankful that Atlantic was so supportive, like unbelievably supportive with the whole project and everything. A lot of the team, they didn't really know what they were going to get. So they really put their trust in us and we delivered. We delivered tenfold, honestly.”

What does success mean to you?

E: “We finished the film, so I'm good. Just the fact of us accomplishing what we truly set out to accomplish. We actually did it. I finally have my EBEN team. Tight knit, we have our people, it's my team, and I’ve never had that before. A lot of it was me and my friends just trying to do whatever to make it happen, you know? I have my Atlantic team and my best friends who are always going to be there, they're my family. Like they're my ride or die. They're my boys. Success to me, I don't know. That's only something that I can answer in my head. Success is different for everybody. Success to me could be, ‘Oh, I want to be a billionaire. Then I'll feel successful.’ But it’s like success for somebody else could be like, ‘Boom, I can pay rent every month. I'm successful.’ I don't know. It doesn't really matter. I'm just happy. That's all that I really care about. I'm just happy that this film is everything that we wanted it to be. And I'm just super excited for people to see it and see my artistic vision.”

What do you hope listeners take away from the EP and the short film?

E: “I hope that what they can take from this is that this whole project is about a real, proper breakup. Not just boyfriend and girlfriend. Love of your life type shit. You know what I mean? I hope that they can see that time heals, and that in time there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that you can get through it. You just have to walk through that pain to get to the other side, to be able to open up your heart for somebody else. So I just hope they think the music’s dope.”

FIND EBEN ONLINE

WEBSITE TWITTER INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK

ABIGAIL BARLOW: INTERVIEW

August 17, 2021

by danielle holian

Abigail Barlow is the mastermind co-creator of the Bridgerton Musical that has gone viral online, especially on the likes of TikTok. Alongside this she has an astonishing musical discography of her own to-date. From being a social media sensation as she shares sneak peaks of her music, to documenting the progress of the aforementioned musical with her musical partner Emily Bear with big dreams of turning it into a full-scale production, she's been turning heads with her effortless talents. We caught up with Abigail to discuss all things music below.

You have an edgy, poppy sound to your music. What or who inspires your musical abilities?

Abigail: “I take inspiration from everywhere. I love a good top 40 track as much as the next girl, but I also love deep diving into my Spotify recommended and finding artists and sounds I’ve never heard before. It’s so inspiring to hear my peers breaking boundaries in pop music and it constantly inspires me to do the same.”

How have social media platforms played a part in regards to your music? Especially in the last year during the global pandemic of COVID-19 when musicians couldn't play live shows?

A: “I’ve been posting my original music on TikTok since I was 16 and it was called Musical.ly. I figured out early on that social media could be the perfect vehicle to find an audience on my own as I went on the pursuit of making music professionally. The better I got, the larger the audience of people who wanted to hear what I had to say. Social media is SO personal and it’s very special to have that intimate connection with my listeners. I love hearing how my music helps them get through hard times, because writing it did the same for me.”

You are the co-creator of the Bridgerton Musical, and went viral sharing snippets of the progress on TikTok — what inspired this project? And how did you create the partnership with Emily Bear?

A: “Emily and I had met writing another musical a year and a half prior, so our collaboration was nothing new. However, during the pandemic, we were both equally as frustrated in our solo careers and were looking for a change of pace. Feeling pretty hopeless after hearing multiple ‘no’s’ from the industry, I turned to Netflix to get me through my depressive episode. When I stumbled upon Bridgerton and subsequently binged the whole show in 12 hours, I was BUZZING with inspiration. I ran to my piano and wrote the first song from the perspective of the main character, mainly as a songwriting challenge to get out of my head. When it blew up on TikTok, I knew if Emily was on board we could create a big project to at least keep us busy through quarantine. Little did I know… what started as a passion project to break the pattern of ‘no’s’ we had been hearing would change our entire lives. FINALLY, we had a resounding YES!”

And what draws you into Broadway musicals in general?

A: “Musical theatre is inherently genre-less. If the music moves the story along, whatever the story may be, it is musical theatre. That freedom of genre is so unlike any other form of music media. Pop music is very structured and formulaic, and can get monotonous to write sometimes. When I get to write for characters in a story, I get to exercise my acting skills and put myself in someone else’s shoes. I get to decide the moments where words aren’t enough to describe a character’s emotions. They have to sing! I think that’s my favorite part.”

What drives you forward as a songwriter, compared to a performance artist?

A: “As a songwriter, I love finding new ways to say the things that have been said in music a million times before. I love exploring my perspective of the human experience to find universal truth and relatability. Everyone lives life differently… but at the same time, you’d be surprised how shared the human experience can be, especially when it comes to love and heartbreak. As a performance artist, I pride myself on my optimism in trying new things. I’m a big believer in reassessing when something isn’t working for you and changing things up constantly. Taking risks and being fearless has been SO important in my growth as a performer.”

Can fans expect an EP/album from you this year?

A: “Yes! Emily and I have announced we’re releasing our ‘Unofficial Bridgerton Musical’ concept album on September 10th 2021!”

What do you want the listeners to take away from your music?

A: “I want people to feel like they’re on a journey when they listen to my music. I want them to laugh, cry, smile, frown, as long as they feel an emotional connection to it. If my music can help someone cope with whatever they’re going through, I’ve done my job as an artist.”

Who are you listening to at the moment?

A: “I’m currently in a very serious Paramore phase. Revisiting their whole discography has got me so excited to explore that pop/rock perfection in my own music.”

And finally, what’s one fun fact about yourself for our readers?

A: “I can sing with my mouth closed! It’s my freakiest party trick. ;)”

FIND ABIGAIL ONLINE

TWITTER INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK

TRINIDAD CARDONA: INTERVIEW

August 16, 2021

by danielle holian

Trinidad Cardona's “Dinero” is sure to be the song of the summer and is currently the #1 viral track on TikTok. "I literally went one night from living regular...to now you have the #1 trending song on TikTok… it’s insane. I just wanna say thank you," Trinidad comments. From living a regular man's life while doing deliveries for money prior to the song's release to now having a trending song, the track's streams immediately jumped up to over 65 Million streams basically overnight, and has 1.3 Million TikTok videos made while climbing the charts. Unclear Magazine caught up with the artist to discuss all things music.

For our readers, please tell us a bit about your background in music.

Trinidad: “‘Jennifer’ was my first song where I decided to be a singer. I had only made a handful of songs before that, and ‘Dinero’ was my second or third song after Jennifer.”

Who or what are your musical influences?

T: “My musical influences are a lot of The Weeknd, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Brazilian Funk. It shows in my new music and I can't wait for you to hear.”

What inspired your viral hit “Dinero?”

T: “This song is really just about me being broke and liking a girl. It just came together in the moment, not much thought in it.”

And how does it feel to have such a popular song on TikTok?

T: “To say I was surprised would be an understatement, I wrote the song when I was 17 and I’m currently 22. I made the song so long ago I almost forgot it even existed, so I am really excited to see how much people like it.”

What do you want listeners to take away from your music?

T: “What I'm hoping fans take away from my new music is emotion. I want to make people feel what I feel.”

How has your music evolved since you began?

T: “I've taken the last year to learn to record myself and have made over 300 songs. I can’t even describe the growth because it’s changed so dramatically.”

Who would be a dream collaboration for you, right now?

T: “There's so many people I want to work with I can't name just one. I'd love to work with everybody.”

And how has the pandemic helped your creative juices?

T: “The pandemic has allowed me to truly study and focus on progressing as a writer. Sometimes I take breaks for a week at a time just to get my mind right.”

Finally, what’s one fun fact about you for our readers?

T: “I really love numerology. Life path numbers and angel numbers play a big role in my daily life.”

FIND TRINIDAD ONLINE

TWITTER INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK

JORDAN HOLLYWOOD: INTERVIEW

August 14, 2021

by abby crabill

Jordan Hollywood began freestyling at a young age, eventually finding his way into an impressive career. His career includes experience co-writing for various artists, performing, and even running a record label known as The Wasted Youth.

Jordan's recent release, “The Ugly Song,” is a collaboration with Timbaland. A music video for the song has also been released. The music video even pays homage to the original “Ugly” video.

Without looking too far into the future, we can expect some new music from Jordan. He will be releasing his new album, Only The Paranoid Will Survive. We can also expect new, creative visuals from him as well.

Can you describe a little bit of your background and how that got you into music?

Jordan: “When I was 12 I used to hang around a bunch of people that rap and they would be outside freestyling. One day I was just freestyling with them. I didn’t know what I was doing and they just gave me the confidence to keep going and after that it was no looking back. At that time I was battle rapping kids at school.”

You released your latest single “The Ugly Song.” Can you tell us a bit about this song and how it came about?

J: “My producer SkipOnDaBeat was going to work with Timbaland to make some beats. Skip called me before his session and said, ‘I really wanna sample a Timbaland song and play it for him to show homage.’ I said to him, ‘Let’s pick a song that’s not that obvious.’ We went through his whole discography and when we heard ‘Ugly’ from Bubba Sparxxx we just knew that was the one to sample. Skip made the beat and showed it to Timbaland and he loved it. Then I immediately hopped on the record. The next day we sent it to Timbaland and he flipped out and loved it. We asked him if he wanted to jump on it and he didn’t text us back with a yes or no, but instead he sent us back a version with his voice on it.

I also loved shooting the video. ‘The Ugly Song’ video was directed by Austin McCraken. This was our first time working together. When we first linked up I had an idea for like 12 scenes and he looked at me and told me, ‘Yo, I don’t know how we’re gonna pull this off. We might have to use a green screen.’ I never shot using a green screen before. I realized with the green screen I could do whatever I wanted and started changing my ideas to make it as clever and creative as possible to match the song. I pay homage to the original video with the lawn mower scene at the end.”

What was it like working with Timbaland on the song?

J: “We did everything over text. Everything was done virtually towards the height of COVID. It was when people weren’t working in person. It was awesome though because of his energy and what we did was powerful. Now we’re getting ready to lock in the studio together and create more.”

If you could collaborate with any artist right now, who would it be and why?

J: “It’ll be too hard to pick one. I’m gonna say The Weeknd and J Balvin. The Weeknd is the most incredible artist that I’ve ever heard from his videos to his mixing to his production. I’m just a massive fan. J Balvin because you know I’m Colombian as well. A lot of people don’t know that. I always liked him. I watched his documentary and I just connected with him. I related to a lot of the things he was saying, made me a fan. I would also say Kendrick Lamar because his creativity as a whole and his talent and his flow is amazing. He’s probably the most talented rapper in the world.”

Which do you prefer, co-writing or creating for yourself?

J: “Creating for myself by far because the stuff I can talk about in my songs won’t work for somebody else. If I’m writing for somebody else I’m talking about their experiences which is hard for me to be as intimate, since they aren’t the experiences I witnessed firsthand.”

What is one of your most memorable experiences as an artist?

J: “Going on tour because that was always a dream of mine. It was better than I imagined it. Dropping my album Sorry For This was one of the special moments for me too. I was at a dark place in my life and it changed everything for me. It put me in a position to make money and be happy again. It led to me signing to QC as well.”

What is one of your favorite singles so far, and why?

J: “My favorite single is ‘The Ugly Song’ because I’m in the best place mentally that I’ve ever been in my life. This is the theme song for it right now. And I feel great right now. Everything feels right.”

How is running a record label a different experience from being a performing artist?

J: “I treat it all the same. To me there is no difference. At the end of the day it’s the same goals. Whether it’s for myself or my artists, I want to put out the best music possible. I want to be creative, I want to push boundaries, I wanna ensure we enjoy ourselves. I treat my artists’ career as if it’s my career.”

What can we look forward to from you in the future?

J: “You can look forward to my new album Only The Paranoid Will Survive. It’s my favorite body of work that I’ve ever created. I feel like everything that I wanted to accomplish with this album I accomplished. I took my time, I’ve never been so proud of my work before. You can look forward to me doing live shows and seeing more visuals. I would be lying if I told you everything coming because I get more creative as the days go on. I try not to look too far into the future anymore. I try to enjoy what’s going on right now.”

FIND JORDAN ONLINE

TWITTER INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK