BLANKS: INTERVIEW

October 29, 2021

by emma schoors

From the summery synths that line “What You Do To Me” to the understated elegance of “I’m Sorry,” Blanks’ debut album Nothing Lasts Forever And That’s OK is a splash of musical radiance.

Netherlands-born Simon de Wit, commonly known as Blanks, didn’t conjure up his first full-length LP in a vacuum. Instead, he took to finding the sweet spot between nostalgia and futurism to make his mark in the music world. Mashing tried-and-true 80’s electronics with fresh vocal techniques, “Chasing After Memories” sounds like running after times long gone, while “Ok To Cry” thematically suggests, “Why don’t we dance to a sad song?” The creeping melancholy of growing up is no stranger to being a thematic backdrop for songs, but Blanks approaches it with a certain, hard to find poise.

We caught up with the blooming musician to find out the specifics of how his first album came to fruition, plus what he hopes listeners take away from his new songs.

Your innovative “STYLESWAP” series has gained massive, worldwide traction. Where did your inspiration to reimagine songs come from?

Blanks: “It happened by accident! At the time I created my 80s cover of ‘Better Now’ by Post Malone, I was listening to a lot of 80s music. On a day of in the studio, I just started playing some chords with a vintage synthesizer, and started singing the lyrics of ‘Better Now’ over it. That sounded so cool I made it into a thing! And the rest is history [laughs]!”

How would you describe your sound, and has it changed over the years?

B: “I would describe it as indie-pop mixed with 80’s new wave! I’ve always loved the music from the 80’s and 90’s, there’s just something nostalgic about it that warms my heart!”

Are there any specific artists or songs that helped you in forming that signature sound?

B: “Songwriting-wise, I love everything Jon Bellion does! Every song he writes just has a vibe to it that touches my soul! Other artists that really inspired me are Tame Impala, Charlie Puth, and Jeremy Zucker.”

“What You Do To Me” is the captivating lead single from your latest project, Nothing Lasts Forever and That’s OK. What was the songwriting process like for this song?

B: “The songwriting process of ‘What You Do To Me’ was so fun!! I remember writing that chorus over the drums and synths and just listening to it on repeat for a week. I struggled with writing the right verse for the song, but once I had it, I was literally jumping around in the studio [laughs]!”

Speaking of the album, it’s your most ambitious project yet. What was making a full-length LP like?

B: “It was so much fun and took so much more work than I thought it would take at the start [laughs]! My goal with this album was to show my full musical palette. So, besides happy songs, I also started writing slow ballads, like I’m Sorry. I wrote the first song for the album 1.5 years ago. When Covid hit, I started writing more songs, which eventually turned into this album! With more time in the studio, I started working on songwriting and production like I’ve never had before. I really think my best work so far is on this album, and I loved making a body of art with an idea and concept behind it!”

Which song from the record took the longest to write?

B: “‘Dance Like This.’ I just couldn’t figure out a good verse! I seriously wrote 15 verses before I found the perfect sound!! Totally worth it though [laughs]!”

What is the overall message that you hope listeners take from the album?

B: “I hope that if someone puts on the album, the music makes them feel something. Remind them of happy memories, people or special places, maybe even get a little bit melancholic or sentimental, that would be amazing. And the best thing would be if they’d let the album be a soundtrack to some of their new memories!”

Is there anything else you’d like to share with fans?

B: “I love you guys so much and can’t wait to see you all!!”

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KARA MARNI: INTERVIEW

October 25, 2021

by abby samuelson

Representing London’s best in R&B is Kara Marni, producing cool beats and smooth melodies to get anybody dancing. She’s recently released her new EP State of Mine and has such an incredible story behind her work, between mental health struggles and learning how to record and produce on her own during lockdown. She’s learned how to deal with getting out of her head and into her music — bringing her listeners into her vulnerable state that truly captures the raw emotion that she ultimately turns into a strength. We’re excited to share our exclusive interview with her here!

What’s been your favorite song to record so far?

Kara: “‘Trippin’ because it was the first song I recorded myself in #ShedLeopardStudios, AKA my garden, and was super proud that I actually managed to make it sound somewhat professional!”

Let’s hear about your track “Over You.” What does Toni Romiti bring to the feature on this single?

K: “I love that Toni displayed her strong female perspective in her verse, ‘Back to brand new, like I never even knew you,’ and flipped a rubbish situation she was put by an ex and used it to empower herself.”

Has handling your music career surrounding Covid changed at all?

K: “Yes, during this process I’ve become a lot more self sufficient in all aspects. I’m now able to properly record my song ideas myself; from playing chords on guitar/piano into logic, comping my vocals, mixing and etc. It’s actually been really liberating. Now I can do what I want, when I want, and how I want!

Tell us about your single “2nd Nature.” What is it about and what’s your message you’d like your listeners to hear?

K: “I wrote ‘2nd Nature’ during lockdown about being so comfortable with someone that being around them became addictive. I really wanted to reflect another angle of the song with the video so I played on the title by utilizing three elements of nature — fire, water, and air. And it’s based on how my feminine energy in control of the elements.”

What’s your favorite childhood memory from your hometown?

K: “Trips to Kenwood — a place near me where I spent most my childhood covered in melted ice cream and fizzy drinks, many happy memories there. And also going trips to Camden Town has always been somewhere I’ve associated with one of my idols Amy, and when I walk around I always feel like there is a presence there.”

What’s your favorite track on your new EP State of Mine?

K: “‘Sick Of Me,’ my most vulnerable song off State Of Mine. Wrote it during the height of lockdown when I was really struggling being with my thoughts 24/7 with no distractions from being able to go out and do stuff and when my anxiety was thriving. If any of you reading this have also wished you could escape your mind for a bit, then this ones for you.”

Who is someone specific you’d like to collaborate with?

K: “Kehlani… she’s an absolute queen.”

What’s your favorite part from playing at festivals?

K: “Seeing people know all the words to songs I started off writing at home… will never get old.”

Who has inspired you most to get where you are today?

K: “Mummy Marni, she has always taught me to feel the fear and do it anyway and to go after my dreams no matter how unattainable others think it is.”

Can you tell us of any potential projects you have coming up?

K: “I may or may not be releasing something I’ve never done before… an acoustic EP… stay tuned!”

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MORGXN: INTERVIEW

October 20, 2021

by emily harris

morgxn is high off the excitement of so many of their projects coming into full fruition. With their newest EP, MERIDIAN: vol 2 coming out November 11th, and a tour supporting Smallpools starting on November 1st, morgxn is finally getting back on the industry grind following the pandemic. We had the pleasure of speaking about all these new projects and what it means for the future!

How does it feel to be putting new music out?

morgxn: “I’ve thought about what would happen if I just didn’t share these songs, and every time one of the songs would basically pull me back. In a way this is more of a statement than it is something I’ve worked on. it is how I fell apart and how I made it through. It is how I watched the world burn and how I burned too. It’s how i made sense of the unknown and how I have no idea what’s on the other side. I’ve obviously released music before, but this one feels urgent. Incomplete and complete at the same time.”

What song off the EP are you most excited for fans to listen to?

morgxn: “A friend told me ‘BURDEN should come with a trigger warning’ and so for right now… that’s my answer.”

You recently released a lyric video for your new single “DON’T THINK ABOUT IT!” What was the writing process for this song like?

morgxn: “The song was one of the last songs I wrote at the top of 2020 just before the pandemic hit. I thought it would be my first release on this project that already included most of volume 1 and some seeds of volume 2. I was in a terrible limbo situation that I still haven’t fully articulated, but it’s how I felt writing the song. ‘Don’t tie a string around my neck to keep me grounded’ — it’s the line that sparked the whole journey. To be told how to be/who to be/what to do — especially in this industry — is something I’ll talk more about at some point.”

In August you performed on Jimmy Kimmel with Sara Bareilles! What was that whole experience like for you?

morgxn: “I mean… a dream? I got to shoot it in the first venue I ever performed a night of my own music and with Sara Bareilles. I did it with a song I released in the pandemic. With 85 million global streams a year later, and culminating in a live performance on TV.”

You’re also heading out on tour with Smallpools! Are you excited to be back on the road again?

morgxn: “I’ve been rehearsing my set at home and the only audience I have is my dog (who does famously sing along)… but I sometimes feel emotional thinking about the moment we get to actually do it together. It feels like I have no idea what it will be like — like I’ve never played a show before. And I hope it will be something intimate and special when it finally happens.”

Is there any date of the upcoming tour you’re most excited to play? Any city you’ve always wanted to visit?

morgxn: “I feel like this is setting up any city to feel angry at another city. Every city is special. And I don’t mean that in a Hallmark kind of way — it’s just at this point sharing music and touring the last five years — there is always a special memory with each city. Some big, some small. I’m excited to play Toronto because it’s been so long since I’ve left the US.”

Can we get any hints towards what’s going on the tour setlist?

morgxn: “I will play ‘translucent’ in any city it is personally requested — otherwise it’s mostly new songs and a special cover.”

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WHEELWRIGHT + TEDIOUS & BRIEF: ON TOUR

October 19, 2021

by kayla kreller

Self-proclaimed coyote boy, Wheelwright (formally of Jared & The Mill), has just embarked on a fall tour and is ready to bring his neo western blend of pop and grunge to cites all across the U.S. Whether you’re a new fan or have been following him since the Jared & The Mill days, you do not want to miss these shows!

Alt-pop artist Tedious & Brief will be joining Wheelwright for the Midwest leg of the tour. As a Chicago native, the show at Shubas Tavern on October 23rd should be extra special for her and we’re excited to be there to capture the night!

You can check out all of the tour dates below and visit wheelwrightphx.com for tickets.

Wheelwright Tour Dates with Tedious & Brief.jpg

WATERPARKS: INTERVIEW

October 19, 2021

by emma schoors

Waterparks has been on a constant roll for over half a decade. Their 2016 debut Double Dare was almost immediately succeeded by records in 2018, 2019, and a live album in 2020, not to mention vigorous, worldwide touring. 2020 meant the rigor that usually reigned over the Houston-based trio’s daily schedule had dissipated, and lead singer Awsten Knight found himself stuck at home with no one but himself to draw inspiration from. If Greatest Hits, the band’s fourth studio album, is any indicator, that drastic change in environment didn’t stop him from writing the band’s most lyrically rich, sonically magnetic songs yet.

We sat down with Knight to talk the new album, writing at home, and firing back up for the upcoming tour.

Has the Greatest Hits album cycle been different from the last?

Awsten: “Definitely, you know that. We were at home. It was so strange. I'm trying to think of how to say it without sounding dumb and repetitive. It was a really odd thing because when we launched Fandom we were in New York, and then the next day we went to the UK to go do a bunch of press and all these random small shows and stuff like that. With this, we were all just in my living room, and we were like, ‘Woo! It’s out.’ It’s been interesting because so much of what we've had to do has been just online, and I think everybody's had to get more creative with releases and doing things I guess a little outside the box online. It’s already kind of like, I feel like one of my strengths, I guess I would call it. I mean it was still fun, but it’s definitely been like, I prefer seeing people's faces instead of just trying to do everything through the computer.”

You described the record as being, in part, about seclusion and self-examination. Can you take us through any specific songs or moments that are inspired by these themes?

Awsten: “When we started touring at the top of 2016, that was our first time really leaving Texas and to start going around and seeing all these people full time, just being like, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ And then going home and seeing nobody, zero people for a year? That really makes you kind of examine, because you get used to these really high highs or these bursts of people being excited to see you or be around you or whatever. That’s what the song ‘Magnetic’ is. It’s kind of examining the part of you that feels larger than life or sought after, versus the person you are when you're alone, and being alone, it really forces you to look at yourself and spend time with yourself and be like, ‘Oh, weird.’ Very, very therapy heavy times. Even sonically, I feel like there was more rhythmic stuff that made me want to move or kind of dance or whatever. Even the opening track, ‘Greatest Hits’ into ‘Fuzzy’ and all this stuff. So many of these songs are just because I wanted to make stuff that made me want to move as opposed to sitting on my couch all day. I was like, ‘What would I want to dance to right now, what's gonna make me feel good to dance around my apartment to?’ That was definitely more prevalent this time than last.”

When you’re recording, are you thinking, “I’m going to tour this album,” or are you just thinking about the creative process?

Awsten: “I try not to. I definitely don't aim, or at least with this album I didn't aim to be like, ‘…and then live, this is going to go like this,’ because I feel like whenever I'm just at home sitting at my makeshift studio or whatever, I'm just like, ‘What’s a sound I just haven't heard a band do?’ I try and imagine what I would be jealous of if somebody else did it and then just try and make those sounds up or implement sounds I've heard other places, or variations of those sounds into a band setting.”

One silver lining of this past year or two seemed to be a drastic increase in the time you were able to devote to songwriting. Do you write more proficiently/like the songs you write when you’re alone better?

Awsten: “That’s hard to say. I think I maybe like them both equally. Because when we are touring and stuff and I'm writing, I usually write when I'm by myself. I'll go back to my bunk and write something, or if the doors aren't open yet, I’ll walk around the venue and write. You know what I mean? I think what I did prefer this time was just having, normally it's kinda like, ‘Oh, you leave for the next tour in like two weeks.’ And you're like, ‘Fuck.’ You need a second to try and catch yourself or recharge, but you also know ‘I need to be writing in this time.’ Otherwise stuff’s not going to be ready for the timelines that we have. This was just kind of like, it felt like there was less pressure on it because since nobody in the ‘industry,’ in the business knew what to do, it was very like, ‘Okay, just do whatever you want.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah!’”

A Night Out On Earth tour starts later this month and carries into December.

Awsten: “So scary.”

Are you more scared or excited?

Awsten: “Not in that kind of way. It's going to be a different kind of tour. We're going to be very, it's still very safety cautious. We’re not just completely back to normal. This tour is going to be a tour in a bubble essentially, you know what I mean? Don’t leave the bus, masks all the time unless you're eating or sleeping, no going anywhere after the show, no one backstage, it's going to be interesting.”

What are you most looking forward to about being back on tour?

Awsten: “We got to do some smaller shows in the UK a month and a half ago. We played all the new songs, and then we kind of got to see which ones went harder live. And then which ones, this was such a difficult thing, but basically cutting some of them out and switching them out with older ones just based on yeah, they really went off for this one. This one, they seem to enjoy it, but they didn't really do anything. So what I'm excited for now is to basically display a shitload of songs that just go so hard in front of people and that people react to so heavily. So I'm glad we got to see what works before we decided to go. I'm excited to see everyone just lose their fucking minds because it's been so long.”

What do you enjoy the most about live music in general?

Awsten: “What I enjoy the most is seeing everybody's reactions, and that's why I care about tailoring the set based on how people react. Because, I’ve told the guys this too, I can play perfectly and have the best performance of my whole life, but if the crowd is a bummer, I'm going to be like, ‘That shit sucked.’ I like seeing people react and I like hearing them. Honestly, my favorite thing about performing is to see how they perform. When I say they, I mean an audience, you know what I mean? When crowdsurfing is immediate and they're singing louder than me and shit, I'm like, ‘This is a good show. This is what I want.’ It makes me excited about these songs. I've heard them thousands of times before they've come out, because I'm constantly making new versions of the demos, tweaking them, and doing this and that and adding new things. It’s so much. So I know what the songs are for me is very solidified. But then when I see everyone just climbing on each other, I'm like, ‘Holy shit.’ That’s what’s exciting to me. My favorite thing is seeing other people’s reactions.”

It brings new life and new aspects to the songs that you hadn’t thought of before, because of people’s reactions to them.

Awsten: “It does, actually. I especially noticed that with Fandom. I haven't noticed it with Greatest Hits as much because we haven't gotten to really go hard on the touring for it, but for Fandom I realized, ‘Oh my God, these live versions are insane.’ That's part of what made me want to do the live album that we put out, the live album/DVD thing. Because versions of ‘[Reboot]’ or ‘Worst’ or ‘I Felt Younger When We Met,’ there's so many of them that just feel just completely different live and they just feel so cool and big. It’s the same reason I like remixes. Because I feel like a song is fully realized by the time we're putting it out, but then when I hear a completely new take on it with new chords, maybe a different tempo, I'm like, ‘Whew.’ It’s the same kind of thing hearing them live, you know?”

Absolutely. There are live albums that you enjoy more than the studio albums because there’s those little moments, or they’re just completely different.

Awsten: “Everything from the old albums, as far as Double Dare, Entertainment, stuff like that, I prefer the live versions so much more. I mean, I still like them, they definitely have their place and I wouldn't change a lot of things. Maybe quality or mix or whatever, but I wouldn't actually change what they are, because it's meant to be a snapshot of where you were at the time. But I'm like, dude, ‘Stupid For You’ is so much better now, and it's so much more confident. That was recorded really before, or I guess we had just started really touring when that album was recorded and I'm not naturally a very great singer. I definitely learned through repetition and necessity and I'm not even saying I'm incredible now, just I definitely can do what needs to be done. But now when I listen to the live versus the album one, I'm like, ‘This is way better.’”

Is there anything else you’d like fans to know about the upcoming tour?

Awsten: “Honestly, I just hope they go and I hope they have a very good time because I know that everybody has been waiting on this kind of thing for so long. I'm just curious to see how America reacts to it, because different continents respond differently to different songs. I'm excited to see everybody again, and I'm excited to have that energy because I mean, I can dance around my living room all I want, but nothing actually compares to 1,500 people doing it louder than me and climbing on each other.”

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