STAL: INTERVIEW

February 1, 2018

INTRO BY SERA SNYDER

INTERVIEW BY CAMI LIBERTY

STAL is the latest project to come from M83’s Pierre Marie-Maulini, the group now claiming Los Angeles as home. Their latest single The Crime was just released on January 19th and it comes from their new EP Fresh Blood - out this March, and produced by Eric Palmquist. Maulini was first exposed to the world of synths, keyboards and other electronic elements while touring with M83 that would soon be so prevalent in the music he would create. The first demos from STAL came in 2011, which were followed by an EP and debut full album release. Following those releases they toured with Nothing But Thieves and Matt and Kim. To find out more about how STAL was formed, and hear about their upcoming music, read our interview with Pierre below!

How did you guys come together to make the band?

PIERRE: "I started to think about making my own project while I was on tour with M83. When I came back from it, I decided to start writing demos and I knew I needed a band as I've always wanted to work with a real drummer and a guitarist. Through a common friend in Paris, I met Renaud who was playing in some hardcore bands. We gave it a try and it was just obvious I wanted to work with him. The fact that we were both coming from different musical scenes was a real plus. Jeff came later in the band and he's Renaud's long time friend, he has a great studio in Paris and he's one of the most talented guitarists I know. Even if I compose the music from A to Z, they undeniably bring their own touch to the STAL sound!"

In your own words, how would you describe your music style?

PIERRE: "My music is definitely a bridge between all the music that shaped my musical background like early emo stuff, post rock and a more modern sound and producer-like electronic music, R&B and even post-classical artists like Olafur Arnalds and Max Richter."

Who are some of your musical influences?

PIERRE: "Sigur Ros is the band that changed my life but I love tons of bands coming from different scenes from Baths to Olafur Arnalds. I really loved last year’s debut album from MUNA! Pop music in general is a big influence for me."

You recently released your new single The Crime. Can you tell us a little about the song and the inspiration behind it?

PIERRE: "This track is quite a new path for me, we explored some textures that are totally new for us. I love everything about this track, from the recording to lyrics. We composed it from scratch in the studio with our producer Eric Palmquist. It's a spontaneous track. We started with that R&B vibe on the drumbeat and the chords. Then I added my post rock touch and we thought it was really cool! The lyrics are about relationships in our modern society. Our world has become so selfish that everyone is focused on his/her career or his/her own ego instead of building long term relationships and love. So basically, “The Crime” is about this guy who's really attracted to this girl, she makes his head spin but at the end what matters most is himself."

This March you will also be releasing your EP, Fresh Blood. What can we expect from the EP?

PIERRE: "I can't wait to release the EP as it shows exactly what STAL is, from pop tracks with catchy choruses to some more cinematic indietronic tracks."

Aside from the EP, is there anything else we can expect from you in the near future?

PIERRE: "We can't wait to go back on stage, we'll be playing The Study, Hollywood for a Breaking Sound show this Feb 21st. After that, we'll head to SXSW 2018. I'm sure it's going to be a blast and chaos at the same time haha. We're planning on touring more this spring and summer too!"

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'UP IN THE AIR' / DISCO SHRINE: SINGLE REVIEW

January 30, 2018

BY EMMA SCHOORS

Indie/electro pop artist Disco Shrine recently released a track titled Up In The Air, proving the high and low energy contrasts of the different realms of pop are very much alive and well. The song contains gloomy yet intriguing verses leading up to explosive choruses. It tells the story, quite literally, of her parents immigrating to America from Iran, painting a picture of flying from place to place. It’s accurate in the struggles that face the current state of America and its views on immigrants, heading straight on into the topics that need to be talked about in today’s music and art. It’s catchy yet meaningful and perfect for anyone facing the backlash of today’s society, or wanting a better understanding of it. Disco Shrine’s social media’s + music whereabouts can be found below.

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'CLEAR BLUE' / ELESA MARMO: EP REVIEW

January 29, 2018

BY GABRIELA F. JIMENEZ CARRILLO

Backseats, winding roads, and boys whose names you’d rather forget are all the scenery that Elesa Marmo’s four track EP bring to mind. The young singer’s first foray into becoming a one person act after her indie duo project The Wilts comes of eager and fresh faced. It could easily be dropped into a coming of age movie soundtrack. Although Clear Blue is split into two different genres, pop and indie, it is truly in the indie songs, such as Swimming Pools, where Marmo’s voice and talent shine. Not unlike her previous work in The Wilts, the indie tracks are soothing and yet relay a relatable message. Clear Blue is definitely worth the listen and we look forward to hearing more from the aspiring singer.

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'ONE MORE LIGHT LIVE' / LINKIN PARK: ALBUM REVIEW

January 26, 2018

BY COLIN X. BIRKMIRE

Linkin Park… Where do I begin? Numb, In the End, Crawling, and so many more are modern classics. More so, they are anthems of a generation of people who know that in the end it doesn’t even matter, life continues around us. Linkin Park has become a global phenomenon, so it came as a shock when lead singer Chester Bennington, father of six children, and musical genius, tragically died in 2017. While Chester had suffered from many issues throughout his life, it was still a shocking death to his followers. To celebrate his life and music, the other members of Linkin Park released a live album of their final show with Chester.

The album, One More Light Live, opens with Talking to Myself, a song that truly highlights Chester’s vocals while also producing addictive song lyrics which exhibit many emotions that he must have been experiencing. Next up is Burn it Down, another song highlighting the lead singers vocals, which never gets old to listen to, and never disappoints. Onto Battle Symphony, a song that makes one mentally prepare for their own battle, all the while hearing Chester tell the listener to, “… never back down.” This message from Chester gives the listener the feeling that he is speaking to them. The album continues with a selection of other great hits, including Invisible which highlights Mike Shinoda’s vocals which listeners rarely get to hear. Finally, the last song on the album is Bleed it Out, a great way to end the album, which really highlights the style of Linkin Park. The whole album is a great way to celebrate the life of Chester Bennington, and the legacy that he leaves behind. His music will outlive him and the rest of his band. Rest in peace Chester, and thank you for your beautiful music.

BELLE MT: INTERVIEW

January 19, 2018

INTRO BY MELISSA TUCKER

INTERVIEW BY CAMI LIBERTY

In a world filled with great talent, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. One way to make an impression is by making music that is authentic. The lead singer of Belle Mt does just that with his latest song “Loving You.” Matt Belmont found his angelic sound in a friend’s unfinished family home in the French Alps. After collaborating with award winning Nashville-based producer Femke Weidema, the London born indie artist began releasing awesome tracks like “Hollow” and “Let Me” in 2017. As Belle Mt enters 2018, fans can expect more captivating lyrics and beautiful vocals to echo deep in their hearts and minds.

When was the moment that you first realized that you wanted to pursue music?

"I’ve always worked towards making music my career, for as long as I can remember I’ve been convincing people that I would make it happen. I don’t know where that internal self-belief comes from but I’m so grateful to have it. I guess part of it is trying to prove doubters wrong, everyone has those early on and it’s something you have to get used to because it seems that the more doubters you convince and get onside as you pick up momentum, the more you seem to pick up along the way!"

In your own words, how would you describe your music?

"I’ve thought about this one a lot and currently I’d say it's atmospheric, cinematic, lyrical indie folk-pop... when I use the term ‘pop’ it's such a wide genre encompassing everything from the Beatles (Rock Pop), to Marvin Gaye (Soul pop), Bob Marley (Reggae pop) that it without a doubt encompasses what I do. If you’re writing music that connects with enough people, you’re writing some form of pop. It’s not a dirty word it just means ‘Popular'."

At one point when you first started this project, you retreated to your friend’s unfinished family home in the foothills of the French Alps to experiment with your music. How do you think this environment helped you as an artist?

"It gave me a distraction-free space where I could be simultaneously inspired and bored enough to find that spark. I wrote there at the end of an 18-month period where I'd banned myself from writing songs for my own projects until I was overflowing with ideas. After a while the ideas started to come out in my dreams... daydreams and night dreams. At this point I drove a car full of recording stuff to this house in the south of France in Autumn and locked myself away in one of the least finished rooms known as ’The Batcave’ ...because of the bats. In 7 days, I came up with new songs, the basis of a sound and the name of the project - Belle Mt [Beautiful Mountain]. It was a total relief after all of that time."

You recently released your song Loving You. Can you tell us a little about the song and the inspiration behind it?

"It happened in the middle of the night after an argument, a pretty heated one. My girlfriend slammed the bedroom door and went to sleep and I sat in our living room wide awake, eventually picking up my guitar and playing around some chords I had, just to get out of my own head a bit. The lyrics that came were based around what I wanted her to know at the point when I’d calmed down and escaped the heat of the moment, but now it was 4am and she had work the next day so all I could do was to write them in that song. I didn’t ever think it’d get released at that point, it just felt like therapy but then my producer Femke heard the song and loved it, we edited it together and added the falsetto bit at the end of the chorus and suddenly it was a real song."

What lyric of yours would you say you are most proud of/has stuck with you the most?

"I love the line "Lonely is her favorite place to be" from 'Hollow'. It somehow manages to be melancholic and dramatic and to paint an all too familiar picture in just 7 words. Those types of lines seem to just be delivered up by your conscience and because of that they’re certainly the purest. I also like “…oh I can’t even help myself, so how do I handle someone else?” from 'Loving You'… complete vulnerable desperation."

What do you hope people take from your music?

"I hope they connect with it and feel something. Sometimes that should be elation, sometimes reflection and sometimes sadness, those are all healthy emotions! I don’t really think about other people and what they may think when writing but I’m so grateful when the music connects."

Is there anything else that we can expect from you in the near future?

"There are two tracks coming in January and many, many more in the rest of 2018. Also, LIVE, we can’t wait to bring this music to you live!"

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