DELA KAY: INTERVIEW

October 20, 2023

by martina rexrode

With her latest single, Dela Kay is presenting a side of herself that is eager to show the vulnerability and complexities of modern dating. “Let You Down” is her first release since last December and one that you aren’t sure to forget. Dela is gradually becoming an emerging voice in the world of alternative-pop music, and we had the pleasure of talking with her about this new single, the inspiration behind its lyrics, and her biggest goal moving forward! Keep up with Dela on social media (@delakaymusic) to be the first to know about new releases.

Your newest single “Let You Down” is officially out! What was the inspiration behind this song?

Dela: “‘Let You Down’ originally began with me imagining the perspective of the other person in a previous relationship of mine, but quickly turned into a reflection of my own feelings. It’s about the trust, vulnerability and fear of self-sabotage that comes up when dating someone new and the process of navigating through that. It’s the first single I’m releasing off of my new project and one of the very first songs I wrote with my producer and co-writer, Stefano Pigliapoco. It’s a very upbeat song and one of the more pop driven songs I have. I’m so excited for my fans to hear it and think it’s one a lot of us can relate to.”

Did the process of writing “Let You Down” differ in any ways from past releases? Do the lyrics touch on any subjects you’re tapping into for the first time?

Dela: “I think writing was a little different because it was one of my first few writes ever with Stef, so we were both still getting in the groove of writing together. But honestly once we wrote the chorus, writing the rest came together super quickly. I touched on a similar subject in an older song, ‘The Worst Part,’ as far as working through self-sabotaging tendencies and insecurities. ‘Let You Down’ is definitely a different vibe–although it touches on the fear of self-sabotage, it is also really hopeful and the struggle of trusting something new when it feels good.”

This is your first release of the year! What kind of growth have you seen in yourself as an artist and a songwriter since the release of “Daughter” almost a year ago?

Dela: “I’ve grown a lot! ‘Daughter’ was a very one-off song specifically done for my dad, so it wasn’t my typical sound, much like ‘The Worst Part’ or ‘Old News.’ They always say you have to find the right producer, and I genuinely feel like Stefano and I collabing was a perfect fit. He had been doing a ton in the alt/emo scene and that’s stylistically more so where I wanted to go. I had been developing my sound with producer and friend, Ryan Dulude, and so when Stefano joined in, it really felt like I had a strong team officially locked in.”

Does “Let You Down” hint at themes or stylistic choices fans can expect in future releases?

Dela: “I think it’s the perfect first song for my fans to hear to gear them up for my upcoming singles. I have a lot of songs that are even more in the alternative lane moving forward, and I’m just super excited to show my fans everything as a whole project.”

How has your Nashville upbringing influenced the ways in which you go about songwriting and creating music?

Dela: “I grew up in a very musical household, so songwriting and storytelling was always at the forefront of all of my music, making sure everything I was creating had a strong foundation. I’m really strong with finding melodies, so I typically like to make something melodically first, and then seeing what feelings it evokes and then moving forward writing lyrics.”

Which artists have had the biggest impact on the evolution of your sound throughout the years?

Dela: “Paramore, Avril Lavigne, The Maine, Green Day, Blink-182, Maggie Lindemann, Charli XCX, Kim Petras, The Story So Far, and WILLOW to name a few.”

What is your biggest goal after having released this new single?

Dela: “I honestly just want to gain momentum, gain more fans, and have it open up more opportunities for me business wise, and also hopefully allow me to be able to tour more! I’m excited to keep it moving forward with all of this new music from this project — so many songs coming that I absolutely love and think my fans will enjoy, too. :)”

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PHILINE SONNY: INTERVIEW

October 17, 2023

by mariah estran

Indie/pop artist Philine Sonny is giving listeners a taste of what’s to come.

Recently releasing her newest single, “Drugs,” her enthralling movie-like soundscape and lyricism paints the scene. The German-based singer is introducing the story that will play out as the EP Invader — set for release next year.

“I do remember that while writing, I always had a very clear vision of how the two characters in the song look like,” she says about creating “Drugs.” Her thought process dives into each visual aspect the song can convey. When developing the track, she thought of who she was describing, what they see, and even where they live. The result became a moment of illustrative lyricism coated in a spirited guitar.

Preparing for the EP release, she mentions: “I think it’s bolder than what people might be used to from the first EP.” A project guiding her along as she learns to let go while embarking on the new chapter of her creative tale.

In the meantime, the singer talks with us about the new single “Drugs,” working on the upcoming EP, being a DIY artist, and what inspires her along the way.

You’ve recently released your single “Drugs.” It has such a moving, cinematic feel of being fearless. Tell us more about developing the track and understanding how to express these emotions.

Philine: “I actually wrote ‘Drugs’ a few years ago now — at the same time I wrote ‘Lose Yourself.’ They’re sister tracks, in a way. They both come from the same place of me feeling limited by my anxiety and overall cautiousness. While ‘Lose Yourself’ focuses more on the invisible aspects of struggling with that, ‘Drugs’ is about what happens after you’ve decided to live a more careless and reckless life, all in the context of growing up in a small town, falling in love and aiming for a brighter future.

I don’t remember if the song and lyrics came to me easily. But I do remember that while writing, I always had a very clear vision of how the two characters in the song look like, how it feels to be around them, what the place they live in looks like, what she would say if he asked her one of those questions in the song — so it was just about finding the right words to describe what I was seeing; just like a movie that was there first and I just had to retell the story.”

How would you say “Drugs” introduces us to the overall story of the upcoming EP Invader?

Philine: “I always feel like I’m too much and squeezing myself into others' lives, which is the central idea of all of the songs on the EP. The main character in ‘Drugs’ is doing just that. He'd sacrifice anything for her, which he thinks is a way of showing love and showing that you care. In reality, you can’t just do that. You can’t just attach yourself to someone, love bomb them, and offer yourself to them over and over again even after they’ve made clear they don’t need or want your help because you think that’s a nice thing to do. You need to take responsibility for your own emotions.

That's what I feel like I’ve learned in therapy, and what I think in hindsight is what ‘Drugs’ is about.”

I understand you have a DIY approach to your sound and visual imagery. How is the EP heightening those skills?

Philine: “When I made my first EP, I was still in the process of learning how to produce, record, and write. It was also my first time releasing music, so the whole procedure was very new, and I didn’t think about many things until they needed to be done, you know?

Now I know what is about to happen, so I can think about the visuals in a bigger context, which is so much fun. So, for the video, I chose a technique called ‘mixed media animation,’ which means you print out each frame, scrap each one with a small knife, draw on it, burn the edges, whatever you like, basically, and then scan it. The scans I knew would be great for merchandise and vinyl design, cover artwork, and so on, plus the analog style works great for press pictures too.

The first time around, I wouldn’t have considered all these things from the get-go, so I feel like now the whole project makes much more sense, and I can be so much more creative in every aspect of making the EP, which finally makes it feel like a cohesive piece of art.”

So far, how would you describe the sound we are going to hear on Invader?

Philine: “Oh, I think it’s bolder than what people might be used to from the first EP. I’ve had so much fun trying different sounds, sometimes weird ones — I loved cranking up the gain and screaming into the mic from across the room. I wouldn’t say it’s experimental or something like that, it’s still warm and emotional, but I’ve definitely arrived on my new path of learning how not to give a fuck.

The EP feels like the first step in the right direction, and I’m very excited to get back to producing to explore more in that direction.”

Who have been some of your musical inspirations as you piece together this project?

Philine: “A huge inspiration has definitely been Dijon — that’s where the idea for all the roomy stuff came from. Wunderhorse made me keep it rough in the parts that needed it, and Paolo Nutini’s ‘Last Night In The Bittersweet’ was an inspiration for my bass and drum sound.”

What can listeners expect in the meantime? Possibly more singles and visuals?

Philine: “Yes, there are five tracks on the EP! There’s gonna be more handmade visuals by me and more exciting things that I still have to keep secret.”

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BEST EX: INTERVIEW

October 9, 2023

by martina rexrode

After getting her start deep in the punk scene in the band Candy Hearts, touring with pop punk powerhouses, and playing Warped Tour, frontwoman Mariel Loveland adopted the moniker Best Ex and switched gears. The haunting, hazy synths that inhabit Best Ex’s debut album With a Smile are worlds away from Loveland’s past endeavors while also staying true to her refreshingly vulnerable lyricism. We spoke to Best Ex about everything surrounding this debut album as well as a brief dive into what led Loveland to where she is now.

Congratulations on the release of your debut album! Is there any way to describe how it feels to have your first full-length project out in the world?

Best Ex: “It’s honestly a day I never thought would come. I’ve spent years trying to find the right sound and saving for studio time. I’ve worked so incredibly hard, both with my art and the business side of things, I just hope people give it a chance!”

What inspired the title of the album, “With a Smile?”

Best Ex: “The title track, before I had named it, inspired the album title. I was really racking my brain trying to think of what encompassed the themes on this album. I wrote the title track very early on. One of the first I wrote for the album. Throughout the whole writing process, the line ‘I’ll swallow my fears until my belly’s full and I’ll go outside with a smile’ had been constantly in the back of my mind, I feel like it just says so much, particularly about the way women are pressured to always be pleasant in public, but also the way we’re supposed to look at the atrocities happening in the world — climate change, inequality, war, disease, inflation, the current state of the GOP — and just enjoy our lives like it isn’t happening.”

At its core, With a Smile seems to encapsulate the experience of being human in today’s world, particularly as a woman. What themes would you say that the album touches on?

Best Ex: “That’s exactly what the album is about. I wanted to create an album that showed a very raw side of womanhood, the kind of stuff that often hides behind the smile society tells us we need. Women are always supposed to be grateful, humble, obedient, kind, and ever-willing to sacrifice themselves for the people around them. But behind those pressures is a real person.

That’s not to say this is an album just for women. It really focuses a lot on humanness in general. I think everyone can relate.”

How does this album capture how your life has evolved since your 2020 EP release?

Best Ex: “My life is so different from when I started writing this. I literally hear myself coming of age on the album. I was very unsettled and insecure in 2020. I wrote Good At Feeling Bad before the pandemic, I’d recently gone through horrible breakups (both a romantic and friend breakup), I had lost my job as a writer and I was living in my mom’s basement just waiting to start my life and figure out where to go from there.

The pandemic really helped me sort myself out. When I listen to this album, I hear a person rapidly growing up. Today, I feel much more confident. I worked really hard to achieve most of the things I hoped for back then, this album being one of those! I went from my mom’s basement to an apartment in Brooklyn and it feels like a fairytale.”

Which songs do you feel sum up the album best in terms of its overall theme?

Best Ex: “Like I said before, I think the title track. It’s so much about wallowing in your house, sitting in that sheltered place where you look out on the world and let your insecurities and fears take the best of you.”

Is there any advice you received during your previous musical ventures that you still carry with you?

Best Ex: “Yes! There are two amazing pieces of advice I always think about from people far more successful than me. One is that no one will care more about your band than you do. That means you have to be your champion. If you don’t have a team, if you don’t have people around you who are going to be your cheerleader, you have to be your cheerleader and you have to do it all yourself. Don’t become complacent letting other people steer the ship, they’re not as invested.

The second piece of advice is a statement: ‘it will never be enough’ in regards to success. A music career thrives on external validation, and it’s very easy to think ‘if I get to this level, I’ve made it’ and ‘wait, actually, if I just do this one more thing, I’ve made it.’ But there will always be something else. You need to find your own validation within yourself and enjoy every moment. I look back at the times wherein the moment I thought I was failing, and I was in fact ‘making it.’”

What do you hope listeners take away most from With a Smile after listening from start to finish?

Best Ex: “I really just hope that listeners relate. I want them to hear something and think, ‘Hey, I didn’t think anyone else noticed that or felt that way,’ and know that I’m here, I do, and they’re not alone.”

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'NEW PLANET HEAVEN' / HUNNY: REVIEW

October 6, 2023

by emma schoors

Available now via Epitaph Records, HUNNY’s new planet heaven is a solid second full-length from one of California’s finest and most consistent alternative acts.

Named after collaborator and friend Derek Ted’s Los Angeles studio, the record was born of the band’s renewed “campfire-style” approach to melodic brainstorming. According to guitarist Jake Goldstein, getting out of their own way and being “less precious” about what goes out is among their new objectives, and it shows. This album is them kicking their feet up without handing over a bit of proficiency.

Drummer Joey Anderson suffered an injury before the band’s tour with Waterparks this April. Instead of canceling their appearances, the band pressed on with a drum machine. On opening night, they expressed that this was fresh to them, too, then delivered a set that saw the live debut of lead single “action → reaction.” Anderson’s return made his role in the band crystal clear. “Loser” earns its wings with his cheery backbeat, and his attentiveness as a performer meant that even in a crowd of mostly new faces, he found each and every HUNNY fan and sent them a smile and a nod.

On the last night of tour the band sent “big star” into the stratosphere, sparkling with optimism and warmth to match its mid-June release. “Don’t stay in your old ways / Big star, can’t fall off it / You’re something supersonic,” vocalist Jason Yarger assures. Just over a month later, “solo” made its grand appearance. With an intro more attuned to the likes of 2018’s “Rebel Red” or 2017’s “Hard to Believe,” the third single deploys guitarist Jake Goldstein’s instrumental prowess alongside bassist Kevin Grimmett’s fiercely reliable lines.

“89cc” poses the age-old question: “Would you still love me if I was a worm?” Directed by James Baby and produced by Rachel Goldfinger, the corresponding music video features Yarger wearily entering “worm world,” and eventually being transformed himself. One might expect the more radio-friendly tracks to have been chosen as singles. While that’s true, it’s nowhere near where catchy hooks or pop-rock resonance end on new planet heaven. “Not prophetic, but it feels meant to be,” Yarger sings on opening track “bothering,” welcoming the album in with luscious guitars and a treasure chest of quotable lines.

“sixteen stitches” sees Yarger revisiting the uncertainty that defined 2015’s Pain / Ache / Loving (“I got a new scar from old decisions”) while “my own age” offers a slower acoustic burn. Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Courtney is featured on “ring in ur ear,” a heavy hitter that harks back to previous collaborations like “Saturday Night” with Bleached. Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark enjoys an unexpected mention on “nothing amazing happens,” and “all my luck” calls upon the romantic alternative charm that forged their fanbase in the first place.

With a string of album release shows set, HUNNY is looking forward to a successful end of year, made even sweeter by their upcoming tenth anniversary as a group. new planet heaven is a supersonic new direction for the Southern California-based quartet.

HARLEY LUCK: INTERVIEW

October 6, 2023

by martina rexrode

Harley Luck is no stranger to reinvention. On October 6th, his single “Stay” will be re-released after its initial debut nearly three years ago, showcasing not only Luck’s musical evolution but his emotional maturity as an artist and a person. The single was written just days before the beginning of the pandemic and, even though it’s being released years after, there are still notes of those raw feelings within the lyrics despite its upbeat tempo. As an emerging artist in today’s industry, it can be difficult to separate yourself from others, but Luck’s career is off to a promising start — or, restart.

What inspired you to re-release “Stay” under this new moniker? How does this release differ from its original release?

Harley: “I chose to re-release ‘Stay’ because I didn’t feel like I related to it anymore. I wrote this song when I was 17 with an entirely different perspective than I have now. I decided to evolve the song into something new that I could relate to while still keeping the foundation from when I first wrote it. Now I can hear both my current and past throughout the song which I think makes it even more special to me. I’ve always loved the concept of artists ‘reimagining’ their songs, and I can see myself doing that going forward. Lots of songs get released and forgotten within a couple of years. Instead of letting them collect dust in my catalog I’d rather evolve them into a new entity and keep them fresh.”

In which ways do you see the emotional themes of the early pandemic (isolation, loneliness, uncertainty) still resonating today within yourself or within the music being made just a few years later?

Harley: “For me, the pandemic was a very isolating period of time. I was at home with my family in New York during the entirety of it. Throughout it my mental health went down the drain. It was hard for me to adjust to the lack of socialization because I was used to being surrounded by my friends everyday. Ultimately, the loneliness I felt is what pushed me to start writing songs. I used my journals to therapeutically express what I was feeling. From there, I started putting my words to music on my computer. I wasn’t satisfied with anything until I made the production for ‘Stay.’ It was the first song that I thought was good.

Now that I’m three years removed from that time, I still make music for the same reason. It’s a therapy for me to express what I can’t verbalize. Whenever I feel off I write about it and even if they don’t become complete songs, it still helps me get past whatever I was going through. I’ve never found anything more relatable than music because there’s so many emotions that the human vocabulary can’t comprehend but music can.”

Which songs, albums, or artists did you gravitate towards during those times?

Harley: “During this time I found a lifetime inspiration in Harry Styles. I had listened to his music before and had been a fan of One Direction since I was nine years old, but I never really followed his solo project. I started listening to his songs and instantly fell in love with them. I began following him, watching interviews, and listening to live performances he had done. Everything about him felt relatable and comfortable. As a teenager going through an isolating period of time I found his music to be a safe place. I admired his positivity, individuality, and sound, inspiring me beyond music. I was discovering myself and he was the perfect role model to look up to. Even now he is still my favorite artist and inspiration.”

Do any of those artists’ influences show up through “Stay”?

Harley: “Harry Styles’ album, Fine Line, was a big inspiration for ‘Stay.’ I didn’t realize it when I was making the song, but looking back I can hear similarities in his songs ‘Golden’ and ‘Watermelon Sugar.’ Each song means something unique lyrically, but I feel the same emotions through the music. Those songs are happy and energetic, reminding me of summer and sun. When I wrote ‘Stay,’ I had just gotten back from Hawaii (three days before quarantine went into effect), so I had the warm, beachy vibe on my mind.”

How has your own personal style and artistry evolved with this re-release?

Harley: “I’ve definitely evolved from when I first wrote this song. The transition from 17 to 20 has major changes in terms of your perspective on life. I wrote this song as a kid that liked music and wanted to explore it. Now, I’m an artist pursuing that passion. My fashion is bolder, my personal philosophies are more mature, and my music has a much wider range. I used to stick pretty closely to the indie rock genre, but now I’m exploring R&B and soul, which has been so much fun.”

Which aspects of the indie pop-rock genre would you like to explore as your career grows?

Harley: “My favorite part about the entire genre is the guitars. An indie guitar riff will always make me vibe and I think that is something I will take with me as I grow into different genres. I think guitar is the most sonically pleasing instrument and it’s really fun to play around with the different tones that you can make with it. If there’s a song that isn’t relatable or engaging but it has a guitar solo in it, I love it. One of my favorite songs that uses guitar perfectly is ‘She’ by Harry Styles. The rest of the song is amazing, but the guitar solo outro is incredible.”

What is the underlying feeling that “Stay” leaves you with this time around?

Harley: “The underlying feeling I have when it comes to ‘Stay’ is excitement. This is a pivotal point for me as an artist because I’m starting fresh. I have so much internal motivation to explore and evolve my music and this is just the beginning. I’m already planning ahead and testing new waters so I’m really excited to see everything come together.”

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