EUPHORIA. S E T YO U R S E L F F R E E / I S S U E 7 MARCH 2018
jessica barden
EUPHORIA. Editor-in-Chief LAURA ERSOY
Fashion Editor JASON TEZGEREVSKI
Photo Editors JACK ALEXANDER (UK) PAIGE WILSON (LA)
Writers AIMEE PHILLIPS COURTNEY ROSEMEYER LUCY CHAPPELL MERLIN TAVERAS NICO SEIDITA RUTH BLANEY VICTORIA SANDERS
Photographers BREE HART ED WHITMARSH JACK ALEXANDER JERRY MAESTAS MEG QUADRACCI NATALIE SOMEKH
Stylists EDITH WALKER MILLWOOD FIONA DOWNIE GARY SALTER KATIE QIAN
Makeup / Grooming AMANDA BOURNE CLAIRE SQUIRES LUCY GIBSON SHAMIRAH SAIRALLY
letter from the editor
Hello readers! I am so excited to be able to finally share this brand spankin’ new issue with you! The team and I have been working tirelessly at making my vision come true, so we hope you love it! You may notice things are a little different... We’re not only covering new music! Don’t you worry, we still are showcasing the best new music. From this point forward, we’re setting ourselves free and featuring the best in class in TV, film, music, art and photography. I’d like to present to you, our first issue marking our return to print featuring three cover stories on Alex Aiono, Tom Grennan and Jessica Barden. Stay tuned for our next issue due out in June!
- laura
founder / editor-in-chief @lauraersoy
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photo of tom grennan by jack alexander read more on page 23
CONTENTS 8 breakthrough acts to watch 19 girls on film: pixie levinson by courtney rosemeyer
23 tom grennan by aimee phillips
32 bohnes by laura ersoy
38 spring beauty essentials by merlin taveras
40 bonnie mckee by nico seidita
46 fickle friends by aimee phillips
53 alex aiono by laura ersoy
64 10 trends we’re obsessed with by jason tezgerevski
76 lauv by laura ersoy
82 sir sly by laura ersoy
89 jessica barden by lucy chappell
102 yungblud by aimee phillips
ON THE COVERS Tom Grennan wears a top by Calvin Klein and jacket from Moschino. Jessica Barden wears a dress by Kitri Studio. Photos by Jack Alexander.
DAGNY
BREAKTHROUGH ACTS TO WATCH IN 2018 Do you get a thrill of discovering a new artist before mainstream pickup? Before even your closest friends? Well, discovering new music is part of our core. We’ve made a easily digestible list just for your music-listening convenience. It’s still early 2018... How will you find your EUPHORIA. this year? photo of dagny by laura ersoy
áine cahill
the academic
WATCH FOR... words: ruth blaney photo: press
In October 2017, The Academic made a breakthrough in music technology, which garnered them a huge amount of attention, using the Facebook Live feature as a loop pedal, making use of the small delay which occurs in between pressing “go” and the video appearing on Facebook. They intricately planned out the production for this, and the end result is a mesmerizing performance which you can find under “Bear Claws (Live Looper Version)” on YouTube. Aside from their musical innovations, the Irish band have had a wildly successful and fast-climbing year. They released their single “Bear Claws” in July 2017, to media praise and less than six months later, their debut album Tales From The Backseat in January 2018 to critical acclaim. Their sound has been compared to the anthemic melodies of The Strokes and “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” in particular, is a wildly catchy, soaring guitar anthem, with a chorus that was made for crowd-filled arenas. Listen to: ”Permanent Vacation” Notes: Catchy, dance-along and feel-good. words: ruth blaney photo: press
The 23 year old singer-songwriter has been described as “the pop queen Ireland was waiting for.” She cites modern pop trailblazers such as Lady Gaga and Marina and the Diamonds as her inspirations and a similar cynicism and disdain for materialism and opulence masked by big pop melodies to these artists is prominent in her tracks. Her voice is big, bold and soulful and her songs dramatic and cinematic. She released her first single “Black Dahlia,” in 2015 and since has been building hype through the airwaves with a handful of singles to her name. In 2017, she topped many breakout and “Ones To Watch” lists, signalling an impatience for the public to see what she will deliver in 2018. Listen to: “Blood Diamonds” Notes: A modern and sinister “Material Girl.”
bad sounds
words: ruth blaney photo: press
boy pablo
words: ruth blaney photo: press
Bad Sounds are a five-piece indie pop band from Bath, UK, founded by brothers Ewan and Callum Merrett. They describe themselves as a predominantly hip hop band but their distinctive sound also has some elements of indie pop meshed with 70s funk, and there’s definitelya hint of Beck lyrically, as well. The band gained momentum in 2017 with the release of their single “Wages”– which Radio 1 presenter Annie Mac awarded with the coveted “Hottest Record In The World” title for the week– and was also featured in FIFA ‘18 and supporting Rat Boy on tour. Musically, they have named Gorillaz and Michael Jackson as influences. With only two EPs out so far, “Wages” has put the band in the public eye, racking up over a million Spotify streams, and their innovative yet pop friendly discography make them ones to watch this year. Listen to: “Avalanche” Notes: Described by Annie Mac as “the sound of the future.”
The 19 year old Chilean/Norwegian musician hit the scene in 2017 after the release of his first single “Everytime” and its charmingly low budget music video, followed soon by the equally popular and catchy “Dance, Baby!” Atmospheric and lo-fi, the melodies of boy pablo are similar to that of the likes of Beach House, and his songs deal with themes of love, lust and longing. He performs with four of his friends from school, and the group are currently embarking on their first headline tour. Listen to: “Beach House” Notes: Slow, funky and vintage ode to running away.
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dagny greta isaac 12 | EUPHORIA. Magazine
words: laura ersoy photographer: laura ersoy
How’d you get started in music? I guess I started in my hometown, originally, I wanted to write music and that was kind of what my big passion was. Just the feeling of creating music, and then, I started performing… and there was no turning back at that point. Then I moved to London and that’s when I became very serious about it and realized just how many people were serious about music and figured out what it takes to eventually go on a tour like this and be releasing music. What artists have you been obsessed with lately? I’ve been obsessed with this one song that someone played me on the tour bus, “Wolf” and “Porcelain” by Skott, and it’s been on repeat. As a fast rising artist, is there a piece of advice you would give to someone just starting out? Three things: follow your gut always, learn your instrument, and be persistent, don’t give up. Like, I’m 27 and I just went on my first US tour now. Some people do it when they’re 19, but I was a fucking child when I was 19. I was not one of those people that was super switched on, I just wanted to travel the world.
words: ruth blaney photo: press
The Welsh singer Greta Isaac has been on the scene since 2015, but she began a new project of interpolating folk and simplistic melodies with catchy pop harmonies in late 2016, releasing the single “Don’t Tell,” an acoustic and sultry track about the thrills of secret romance. She has been compared to the likes of Joni Mitchell and she describes her style as “a fusion of acoustic percussive instruments & choppy electronic samples.” Her honey sweet vocals are reminiscent of Grimes but her instrumentals are far more stripped back and subtle. She is currently on tour with British singer, Martin Luke Brown. Listen to: “You” Notes: Slow, seductive anthem of obsession.
hey charlie
words: laura ersoy photographer: ed whitmarsh
the night cafe
words: ruth blaney photo: press
How’d you start out in music? Sophie & Lizz met studying at university together. Then about a year ago they met Lauren through a cheeky bit of Facebook stalking. For those who haven’t heard you, what three words would you use to describe your music? Energetic, powerful, fun! What or who has inspired you most? Sophie: Avril Lavigne, when I was 15. Lizz: Definitely Joan Jett! No doubt about it. Lauren: First rock band I ever loved was Queen. Later watched School of Rock and knew I had to be in a band. Tell us about your latest release “Love Machine.” It’s a song we wrote together jamming one day. We’re really excited about it! A little heavier than what we’ve put out before… Who are some newer artists you’ve been loving? Yungblud, SWMRS, Demob Happy If you had the power to tour with anyone – dead or alive – who would it be? The Runaways, The Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys.
Liverpool-based The Night Café have been releasing tracks since 2015 but rose to prominence in 2017 with the release of their debut EP and breakout single “Mixed Signals” and ended the year as one of indie’s biggest rising acts. The boys of the band have stated themselves that 2017 they really came into themselves in terms of sound and direction, after supporting Blaenavon on tour. Their tracks are centered around the soaring hopes and melodrama of youth, and have been praised by many publications for their energetic live shows and concert experience. Listen to: “The Way of Mary” Notes: A bubblegum flavored, sweet and catchy ode to love.
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the night game
words: laura ersoy photographer: cortney armitage How’d you get started in music? Before Boys Like Girls, take me back to the very beginning. Watching Paul Simon VHS tapes, Graceland VHS tapes and the Simon & Garfunkel Live In Central Park concert. I started playing the ukulele when I was three, and forced my friends to play instruments when we were nine. Our first band was called Pegasus, and then it was called Wasabi. Why branch off from what you were doing to start a new project, a new sound? I think people evolve. Sounds evolve. It was 2013 and I was working on music for other people and feeling uninspired and sick of wearing the shoes of someone else and wanted to create something great. In 2014, I basically locked myself in a room and said I’m going to do something that truly moves me, or I’m going to quit music. Maybe life has more for me — and I think I found something that really inspired me and made me want to keep going and it was making this album. I met Francois Tetaz along the way and he was a huge inspiration to the sound and the process, introduced me to Ciaran, who’s in the band, and Dave who plays drums in the band. It just fused together and took on a life of it’s own. It’s been fun singing again, it feels good.
the pale white
What’s your go-to drink? Water and Diet Coke. I don’t drink. I used to, but. I was so good at drinking that my numbers hang in the Hall of Fame. words: nad khan photographer: ed whitmarsh With each new release, rising Geordie rockers The Pale White continue to cement themselves as one of the most exciting new guitar bands that the UK has to offer. After gigging relentlessly around their home city of Newcastle and the surrounding areas, the trio consisting of brothers Adam (vocals, guitar) and Jack Hope (drums) and Tom Booth (bass), have spent the last six months honing in on their blistering live shows, hopping on tour with the likes of High Tyde and The Amazons. Tracks like “Reaction” and “That Dress” have propelled the TPW into the eyes and ears of those that matter, setting them on an exciting path to recognition. The band’s latest effort “Downer” is yet another huge number, which will no doubt attract yet more fans of catchy indie rock with a heavy swagger. As The Pale White prepare for a hectic year, we chatted to the lads about having your songs played just about everywhere, mad gig crowds and becoming Full English breakfast critics. What is the secret to your success so far? We work really hard and rarely think about anything else. We rehearse and write a lot and are constantly talking or thinking about the band. Be it video ideas, artwork, riffs, set lists we’re always firing ideas off each other. We don’t really look towards anyone else either, we just focus on what we are doing and don’t get caught up in what other people expect from us.
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peach pit qty
words: ruth blaney photo: press
Canadian-based quartet Peach Pit’s atmospheric, subdued surf rock splashed with bubblegum indie rock sound has been slowly but surely building an energetic fan base since 2016, with similarities drawn to the likes of Mac DeMarco. Their eponymous track “Peach Pit” quickly garnered over a million streams with members of the online community falling in love with the nostalgia-inducing summer melodies of the song, but perhaps their most signature song is the electric “Drop The Guillotine,” released as the lead single from their debut album in September 2017. The band have just finished touring Europe, and their catchy, romantic hooks are sure to bring them in an even larger fanbase in 2018. Listen to: “Alrighty Aphrodite” Notes: Fun wordplay and a very funky guitar intro.
words: ruth blaney photo: press
QTY are representing New York in this year’s lineup of new Dirty Hit acts. The band stand out from the rest of its label-mates by opting out of the sleek and glittery indie melodies prominent in their contemporary label acts by showcasing a more gritty sound, inspired by its New York-based alumni; The Strokes and Ramones-esque guitar driven alternative rock. They were described by NME as “New York’s most exciting new band.” They released their debut album at the end of 2017, and it’s filled with suave commentaries of life and love. The album was produced by Bernard Butler, who has worked with The Cribs and The Libertines and the similarities are certainly prominent in the record. QTY are set to be the band to bring 2004 back into 2018. Listen to: “Sad Poetic” Notes: Woeful yet self aware, sounds like it came right out of the brain of Julian Casablancas.
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rotana
photographer: nicole busch “Music was something that came to me later in life. I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia so that was never in the realm of the possible for me, just because it didn’t exist in our culture and a lot of people consider it to be just forbidden for a woman to be displaying herself, or expressing herself. It wasn’t really until I graduated college and working full-time for an oil company called Saudi AramCo, the largest oil company in the world. There was this moment in my life where I was super young and fresh and was experiencing tremendous success at work. They were kind of pushing me to the front lines as a female, making all this money and I was depressed for the first time in my life. And I started to look at my depression and realize because I really had no idea who I was as a human being. Growing up in this system, and kind of conformed and was happy, but I just reached a point in my life where I didn’t know what I believed in or who I was, really. And out of nowhere, I don’t have a glamorous story for you, but just out of nowhere I began to think about what it would feel like to sing, and to write songs.
sam fender
So, after a year I decided to move to LA, after never having written a song or any formal training and I just figured it out. I brought music to me. I just moved here and the teachers and the most amazing writers just gravitated towards me and responded to the fact that I can write, and I can sing, and tell a story.” words: ruth blaney photo: press
Newcastle based rocker Sam Fender differs from many of his contemporaries due to his lyrical content; no love songs or anthems of youth, but the singer delves into more political and gritty topics such as the corrupted media, government, millennialism and sexual harassment. His tracks have been lent a hand by Arctic Monkeys producer Barny Barnicott, but he’s far from just another indie rock pop act lacking in substance and trying to ride on the coattails of the Sheffield band. His tracks are loud, anthemic and soulful; arena ready. Most importantly, they say something important about the world, an uncommon feat in the current pop climate. Listen to: “Millennial” Notes: A roaring act of defiance against the negative connotations associated with the term.
sophie meiers
words: ruth blaney photo: press
until the ribbon breaks
writer: laura ersoy photographer: press
Described as one of the few female frontrunners of “Soundcloud lo-fi,” Sophie Meiers is a young Lana Del Rey trapped in cyberspace. The sultry and silky singer-songwriter released an impressive nineteen songs in 2017 alone, most which feature collaborations with fellow lo-fi producers and which generally seem to infuse elements of slow jazz with the ambiance of vaporwave, and with a strong focus on image on visuals, the singer has garnered a strong online fanbase. Meiers is definitely one to watch in the online music community, and is likely to breakthrough into mainstream soon too. Listen to: “Don’t Be Scared”
How’d Until The Ribbon Breaks come about? It was formed almost as an experiment. A way to try and marry my love of both music and film. To develop a platform where I could create both simultaneously. What can fans expect from your upcoming album? Does it follow any recurring theme or concept? Yes, it is about my personal battle over the last few years with addiction and alcoholism. I am now in recovery and amazed that there is even a record to speak of. Listening back to it, I’m struck by how much it was almost a subconscious cry for help. Where do you draw inspiration from? It can be anywhere, rarely music as I increasingly find myself yang other means of relaxation. Audiobooks, Nike rides along the seafront and more often than not; considered silence. What artists have you been obsessed with? Nina Simone has been a life long love of mine, as have the words of Paul Simon and , the books of Cormac McCarthy to name a few.
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PICS BY PIXIE
girls. on. film. writer: courtney rosemeyer photos by: pixie levinson
How did you get started in photography? I got my first camera at around 6 years old. All of my photos were mainly of my pet cat, Muffin. She was an annoying model as she kept jumping all over the show... but the love of photography stayed with me. I took an Art Foundation Course at Chelsea College of Art, to find out what my niche was. I started taking photos of my friends on nights out and based most of my work around taking organic shots of real situations. The course lead me to being offered a place at London College of Fashion where I received a Bachelor of Arts in Photography. Talk us through your gear. My gear is constantly changing depending what job I am on. When on a fashion shoot, it will be a totally different setup to if I am on tour. Either way, I will always have a point and shoot on me at all times! For point and shoot, I use a Contax T2. For a fashion shoot or on tour doing stage shots, I’ll use my Sony A7RIII. Sony is great as; the ISO is insane. This helps me to create the most incredible live shots, but whilst I’m with my friends just having fun I use my iPhone to upload video stories online. Plus, I can’t forget my Polaroid camera! I’ve got so many boxes of Polaroid film shots that I love.
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How did you get into live photography? I got into live photography naturally. I had a lot of friends who were performers, I would go to see them live and snap them for fun, watching them perform. This has now developed into a full time gig. Were you always influenced by music photography? It’s the people first for me. I really love faces and emotions. The music environment and performance presents many opportunities for this sort of work. I studied fashion photography and will shoot fashion features when I can but then the clothes take priority; although as a former model, I know what the right person wearing them adds. Mostly I enjoy anything that involves being able to capture an interesting face or a raw moment. What’s an average day like for a tour photographer? I usually wake up on a bus heading to the venue to shower, drop off our kit and then head to a workout. We love yoga, so we’ll always be on the hunt for a good studio. Of course food, and then it’s the promo for the singer or band. This could be radio shows, interviews then the gig. I see my job as being the invisible person on the sidelines capturing moments without getting in the way. After a live show, we usually get back in the tour bus to drive through the night to the next location. At about 1 or 2am, I’ll edit photos on the bus from that day, so they are ready by morning. Do you think the subject is just as important as the photographer when it comes to tour photography? I think my job as a photographer is to bring the best out of my subject. Some people may be shy in front of the camera and it’s your job to make them feel comfortable. I have been really lucky working with such a talented performer. Dua has an amazing stage presence. I love working with her. Good energy is contagious, and she’s a pleasure to photograph.
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Tell us about a moment that you’ve loved capturing. There have been so many amazing live shows as well as TV shows. We just performed at the Brits! It was the most amazing experience to be there and see what goes in to such a big production. I such a newfound respect for television, being on the other side and seeing firsthand all the work that goes into making the show. It’s insane! Another favorite live show was the New York City date on Dua’s Self-Titled Tour. It was just an amazing show, and the energy was electric. Your photos always have a sense of fun and playfulness, how do you create this vibe? Thanks! I just have fun taking photos. I mean my photography is mostly show business and fashion. I am not working in a war zone. It should be fun. I think as a creative, I am grateful to be able to work and share art with other people. I am so grateful to be able to work in my passion. I love what I do, so I guess that comes across in my photos! What advice could you give to a budding photographer? I would say learn your equipment back to front, always have a backup battery and memory card on hand. Learn about film photography as well as digital. Always carry your camera; you never know when you’ll come across a dream shot opportunity. And don’t be afraid to put your art work out there. What’s next, new and exciting for Pixie Levinson? We have another tour coming up in a few days, we are heading to Australia where I used to live so that will be great catching up with old friends! In the long term my plan is simple: to just keep doing what I love. And I hope that if photography is your passion you will take the risk, as it is very rewarding.
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TOM GRENNAN
ready to take over writer: aimee phillips photographer: jack alexander stylist: gary salter grooming: claire squires using bedhead by tigi and mac cosmetics special thanks: sam greenberg vintage
TOM
Grennan is an unlikely popstar. The Bedfordshire lad’s first memory of being able to sing was drunkenly crooning along to The Kooks’ Seaside” on a karaoke machine at a party a few years ago. Since then, he’s featured as a guest vocalist on Chase and Status’ “When It All Goes Wrong,” released two EPs, a number of singles, and is now hurtling towards a UK tour in March and the release of his debut album, Lighting Matches in May. When we meet him, it’s the eve of the NME Awards. Dressed to kill, Tom rocks up to The Blues Kitchen – the Brixton bar that’s our spot of choice – every inch the geezer, proclaiming that he’s spent “hours” searching for a gold cap for his tooth that he lost in a bag of rice. He’s half an hour late but all is swiftly forgiven due to his endearing, bubbly nature. He’s keen to get photos of his outfit for Instagram, and even compliments the waiter on his “cool” attire, making a mental note to track them down for himself.
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Having only stepped on to the scene two years ago, you’d be forgiven for thinking that gravelly, soulful-voiced Grennan is already rock royalty. With an eccentric dress sense and confident swagger, he comes across every inch the British lad. In person, however, he’s charming, polite and incredibly down to Earth, or as he so eloquently puts it, “I’m as normal as it comes; I shit from the same hole!” “I played football when I was younger and never really listened to much music apart from grime,” Grennan says.
“Music wasn’t part of my life at all.” So how does a boy who has never really been interested in music become an artist with over 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify? “My life motto is that plan B is not an option!” he declares. Having moved to London to study acting at university, Tom started making music, buying a guitar and learning to play until he was confident enough to start doing open mic nights. Eventually this led to a record deal and the aforementioned stream of releases. Originally, however, Tom had a promising career in football. As a teenager, he played for Northampton Town, Luton Town, Aston Villa and Stevenage. He was even close to playing in the US but the lure of music was too strong, backed by affirmations from friends and family that he was blessed with a unique voice worth pursuing. Does he ever regret giving up footy? “My dream is to play at Wembley stadium but I’m so glad I’m into music and singing, so
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I wouldn’t change it for anything now,” he says. “But don’t get me wrong, if a charity football game comes along, I’m there!” Like all dreams, though, Grennan’s journey hasn’t been without its hurdles. Despite originally being pushed into a music career by his friends, he was met with taunts– most likely stemming from jealousy– when he decided to go of it. “It was when I had the thought of wanting to make it into a career that I started getting a lot of shit for it, saying, “You’re never gonna do it, you’re not good enough.” The topic seems to be a sensitive spot for the singersongwriter, as he becomes reticent, drawing back and affirming that he’s no longer friends with those same people. Despite this initial impediments, the the rising star’s career has been going from strength to strength. Picked as one of NME’s “100 Most Essential New Bands’ To Watch” in 2018 and with his latest single, Sober, getting its first play as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record in the World on Radio 1, it’s an exciting time for the 22-year-old artist. The upcoming album sees Tom working with Grammy Award winning producers Fraser T Smith (who’s previously worked with Stormzy, Adele, Kano, and Plan B) and Dan Grech (Liam Gallagher/ Killers/Radiohead). With producers from different backgrounds, Lighting Matches is sure to be a unique fusion of sounds. Although Grennan says that he “wasn’t listening to much music,” when he recorded the album, “so I wouldn’t say much music influenced it”, his love of “classic-sounding records like Adele and Amy Winehouse” is sure to have an impact.
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“My music’s honest. I think that’s what my fans like about me...”
“I wanted orchestras, brass, big vocals, backing singers,” he says, “I think we narrowed it down from 120 songs or something.” Although the album’s title was taken from a song of the same name on the record, Grennan tells us enthusiastically that it has a deeper meaning: “It’s about igniting something; becoming a musician, igniting new songs, igniting new beginnings, igniting new memories… igniting everything!” The artist may be known for his cheeky chappy persona but his bravado is stripped back to reveal a more emotional side in his music. In fact, he’s said in the past that he’s actually a “pretty deep guy” and not the tough lad that everyone thinks he is. “Sober,” which will be featuring on the upcoming record, recounts a night when Grennan got “really really really drunk, like one of those ones where you’re like, ‘I don’t ever wanna drink again’ drunk.” “There’s a deeper meaning to the word ‘sober’ for me,” he says, elaborating. “My music’s honest. I think that’s what my fans like about me, that I’m honest. I want them to know honesty and that’s what I tried showing them in ‘Sober.’” Was it cathartic, writing about this drunken night of dubious decisions when he was sober the next day? “You’ll always have that little bit of worry of whether it’s too much to put out, or too soon to put out,” he says, “but I’m trying to let everyone into my life and into my music.” Having spent a lot of time in the studio creating his upcoming album, Grennan’s ready to get back on stage. “I’m a performer!” he emphasizes, adding, “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a whole different kettle of fish and a whole different mindset and environment.
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I love being in the studio but my home is on stage performing and lapping it up.”
“If the crowd is giving me energy and I can feel it, that’s when I’ll perform my best.” The stage is definitely where Grennan comes into his own, strutting around and feeding off the crowd’s energy. On tour, performing night after night can get tiring, though, even for the most passionate of artists. With his UK tour kicking off in March, we wanted to know how he plans to keep the flame burning brightly. “If the crowd is giving me energy and I can feel it, that’s when I’ll perform my best,” he says, becoming animated, as if the mere mention of being on stage flicks a switch. “Even if they’re not, I’ll still try and do it. If I’m feeling tired and worn out, if the crowd’s fucking buzzing, I’m fucking buzzing!” Tom’s sure to be playing a host of festivals this summer, including Isle of Wight and Reading and Leeds, although we doubt it will be long until he’s playing at his dream of Glastonbury. He’s already well on his way, with his largest show to date being announced, at London’s O2 Academy Brixton later this year. This is un-doubtedly set to be the year when Tom Grennan’s songs will be in everyone’s ears and his lyrics on everyone’s lips.
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bohnes
Tell us about Bohnes. How did it come about? I was in a band called The Cab, and it was kind of coming to an end. Mentally, I knew that I was ready for the next step. I started the band when I was 14. And so when you’re 14, what you want to do, and what everyone else in the band wants to do changes dramatically when you’re 24 years old. Think about how much you grow from when you’re 14 and 24. Exponential. It’s crazy. There were guys in the band that didn’t like being in a band, that wanted to get “real” jobs and guys who gained confidence to do their own solo thing. It was one of those things where The Cab was almost like college. I learned so much, and I met so many amazing people, and we had the greatest fans in the entire world. Probably a highlight of being in The Cab was just meeting all of the fans and hearing their stories. I hit this point in my life where The Cab was going to, at least temporarily, be finished. And I had no idea what to do. I was completely like “Well, shit.” Do I go get a real job? Do I start another band? Go solo? And it was really important to me to not have the new project called “Alexander DeLeon” because I didn’t want anyone to think I felt like my name was bigger than the band. It had nothing to do with “Oh, you guys, my brand is bigger than the band and I am big enough to where I’m going to do my own thing.” So, I went to Paris and started traveling the world to kind of figure out what I wanted to do and figure myself out.
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When I was in the Catacombs underground, where there are millions of bones, I’m gonna call myself Bohnes. How’d you get started in music? My mom could not hit a note if she tried. You could give her a million dollars and she wouldn’t be able to sing in tune. But my dad was a professional singer. And his mom, my grandmother was a singer who was pretty famous in Mexico, she sang mariachi. It was kind of in my blood. When I was a little boy, I wanted to either be Batman or a professional basketball player… I would have dinner, do my homework and then from about 11pm to 6am I’d write songs. Then at 6am, I’d hop into the shower, go to school and everyone else would be groggy and still waking up but I’d be fresh and awake. Then when school was over, at basketball practice, I’d crash and go nocturnal. So I always enjoyed writing at night because there’s no distractions, no texts, my mom’s not yelling at me. How would you describe “Six Feet Under”? “Witchcraft” is a Frank Sinatra cover, which I love it because my dad used to sing it to me as a kid. I put one tweet out, no videos, no press, I just wanted people to know that I was doing something else, but I wrote those songs really fast. So “Six Feet Under” is probably the first song that I actually consider Bohnes. This is what it’s going to sound like, this is what it is.
GET TO KNOW... People that listen to the whole album, like my friends and some fans, who I’ve shown the entirety of the new album, everyone says that it sounds like if Justin Timberlake started a heavy rock band like Rage Against the Machine. There’s a lot of heavy guitar riffs, there’s definitely darker elements on the album, but the vocals are super pop. So instead of hearing synth lines, there’s heavy guitar. My background is listening to Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, NSYNC, so the harmonies on “Six Feet Under,” if I could show you the vocals without any music, the chorus sounds like a five-part harmony. What do the skull masks represent? The masks represent that Bohnes isn’t just me, it’s a thought process and a universe that I built. Anyone could be Bohnes, and underneath man, woman, gay, straight, doesn’t matter where you’re from, your sexual orientation or the color of your skin, underneath it all, you’re bones. The masks represented that we’re the same and anyone could wear that mask and we’re all people: we all live, die, fall in love, lose, fail. That’s who we are at our core, and again not to be morbid, when you die, everything disappears and your bones are left to tell your stories. What can fans expect from your upcoming album? Does it follow any recurring theme or concept? It’ll be out early next year. Yes, it’s as close to a concept album without it being a concept album. One of the reasons the project is called Bohnes is because it was at a point in my life, where it really hit me. Life and death really hit me.
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Death is actually this incredibly beautiful thing because it forces you to live. If we all lived forever, there would be unlimited amount of time and we wouldn’t catapult ourselves into adventures because we could do it later. Life is short, so it makes us want to travel the world, fall in love, and do these things. I guess the entirety of the album is based around time and life and death. My favorite song on the album is a song called “Coffins” and it’s a love song and the main lyric in the chorus us “If you walk out the door, know that I will too, I hope they build coffins for two.” It’s kinda realizing that one day, you will die but being okay with it knowing you have someone you’re walking life with that’ll go with you. If you had the ultimate celebrity power, what would be on your tour rider? I would put a basketball court in my house… which I’m working on doing, it’s a pipe dream. If I had Jay-Z money, I would buy a house in about 20 major cities and they wouldn’t be extravagant, it wouldn’t be over the top. Super modest houses, 2-3 bedrooms in all my favorite cities. Rome, Tokyo, New York, Nashville, Kawaii, cottage in Iceland. Just places I could stay and to encourage my friends and family to travel more and be like “don’t pay for hotels, just stay at my place and go see the world.” For everyone that I love, I just go say, “get the hell out and go see the world.” Buy little houses and apartments, no mansions just little spots. writer/photographer: laura ersoy
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GET TO KNOW...
bonnie mckee
Six time Grammy nominee, Bonnie McKee, has been an underestimated, yet major force in the pop music industry. While building up her own repertoire as a singer, her expert songwriting skills landed her collaborations with pop idols; such as Kelly Clarkson, Kesha, Britney Spears, and most notably, Katy Perry. One of her biggest accomplishments was when she was able to work on the platinum certified single “Roar” for Katy Perry. McKee describes the experience of working on Perry’s music as a learning experience. She recalls working in the studio with Max Martin, who opened McKee’s eyes to the “mad science” that goes into making the ultimate pop hit. McKee’s biggest takeaway from learning the behindthe-scenes of the music industry was how songwriting, symmetry, melodies, repetition, and lyrics ultimately connects with a major audience. McKee’s career was not something that was handed over to her, it was something that she built on her own. Growing up, she recalls: “My dad was very musical and we had a lot of artistic people in my family. My dad was a doctor, my mom was a stay-at-home mom and a transcendental meditation teacher, so nobody had any connection to the music community whatsoever. It was a path I needed to clear on my own.” So, since the age of twelve, Bonnie McKee started writing and recording her own music on CDs. She’d handed out a CD in the hopes that it would reach the right person, and eventually, it did.
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At fifteen, McKee landed a record deal with Warner Brothers, and moved to Los Angeles the following year. Here, she started making a professional music career and released her debut album, Trouble. McKee states that “It’s incredible that [her old music] saw the light of day.” While Bonnie McKee started at a young age, trouble soon came her way. “I always wanted to be an artist and I started writing songs out of necessity. I was broke, I got dropped from my first label, and I knew I needed to reinvent myself,” Although writing songs for other artists wasn’t her initial plan, McKee was met with great success. “People were paying attention to my songs and I thought getting into songwriting would turn the attention back on me, once I could prove that I could write for somebody else. So, it was always a vehicle into getting back to being an artist again.” After being dropped from Warner Brothers, McKee never gave up. While she continued to write for other artists, she took the initiative to put an extreme focus on her own musical career. This mini-series was the build up to McKee’s major comeback. In 2015, Bonnie McKee put out her first independent release: the Bombastic EP. This visual EP was “fun, confidence building, and empowering.”
ROMPER miracle eye
GET TO KNOW... “It was very sparkly and had a lot of organic elements to it,” McKee describes, “I think it was cued at the person I was at the time.” Bombastic included “I Want it All,” a badass, leather jacket kind of jam; “Bombastic,” the fierce, bubblegum pop song perfect for any workout; “Wasted Youth,” an anthem about the importance of staying young at heart; and “Easy,” an aesthetically pleasing visual mashed with a deep desire of affection. Now, Bonnie McKee is returning to the independent music scene with brand new music. While Bombastic had themes of colorfulness and empowerment, her recent creations dive into darker and more vulnerable tones. “Thorns,” which came out later in 2017, was our first taste at McKee’s new sound. This change in style spurred from being unable to feel rejuvenated from funky pop music, while also having “...a bit of an existential crisis.” Although her new music is exploring darker realms, McKee still has found empowerment and enlightenment in her own journey. Her most recent songs, “Hey Alligator” and “Mad Mad World,” continue fans down this stormy journey. When writing and creating these songs, McKee was inspired by the various tragic and gloomy events that occured in the past year. When talking about “Mad Mad World,” McKee stated, “I wrote it the day after the Las Vegas shooting, and there was a lot of political turmoil, and just scary things happening in the news that I felt like everyday I woke up and was inundated with negativity and apocalyptic doom.
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I was really moved to write something about it and I feel like other people want to hear about that too. They probably need to hear a song like that too.” While 2017 had been a politically tragic time for many, Bonnie McKee was inspired by the amount of people who spoke out and fought for basic human rights. “It’s very scary, but also very comforting to see people speaking against evil. Speaking up for their rights, and for those who can’t speak for themselves,” she continues, “It is a really inspiring time, and will prove to be fruitful, artistically-speaking, for a lot of people.” While the songstress is always busy making her own music, she still is inspired by today’s pop music. “I love Dua Lipa,” she exclaims, “I think ‘New Rules’ is the best song of the year. I love Billie Eilish, Troye Sivan, there’s a lot of exciting new stuff coming out.” Fans can look forward to more releases from McKee in the near future. “One of my resolutions was to not be so precious about my music. I’ve released very little, even though I write a million songs,” she insists. In addition to new music, she also promises that music videos should also be on the horizon. “I’m going to be a lot more active on apps like Spotify and Apple Music and it’ll be great to get it out for the fans, without radio or major label middle man,” she says, “I’m planning to take full advantage of that this year.” writer: nico seidita stylist: katie qian photographer: jerry maestas hair/makeup: amanda bourne
GET TO KNOW...
fickle friends
You all met at university in Brighton – At what point did you know the group was a winning mix? Natti: I don’t think we ever knew. When we started out we were really shit, like so bad! We just had so many different influences that it was a big old mess. As soon as we wrote “Swim” that’s when we thought we were onto something. It was my band and my music and I wanted people to play for me so I begged a bunch of my coursemates to join the band and that’s how we became Fickle Friends. How did it feel when you finally got signed? Did anything change? It took ages. We had to sacrifice so much. The big thing really is being able to do it full-time and not have to work three jobs and be in a band. Are there things you miss about being independent? The control, I guess. If something goes wrong now it’s not our fault, it’s someone else’s and I get angry. Back then, if we fucked up, we only had ourselves to blame. How does it feel to be finally putting out the record? Very nervous! And very glad that’s it’s finally here. People kinda pigeon-holed us a bit, saying we were like The 1975 and Paramore, and obviously with the singles we’ve chosen to put out, I understand. Hopefully with the album people will see some more depth and take us a bit more seriously.
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How has your sound evolved since you first released “Swim” in 2014? I think it’s a lot more intelligent and progressive pop; it’s quite ambitious, it’s a little bit different. I want it to be our own thing and for people to start recognising our music and saying, “Ah, that sounds like Fickle Friends!” I think a lot of it comes from the music we’ve been listening to and watching the changing landscape of music. The bar is getting higher and higher and that makes us challenge ourselves. In the past year, we’ve been digging deeper and I think that’s reflected in the record. From the band’s Instagram it’s clear that you do a lot of the production yourselves. Is it important to you to retain a sense of creative control? Oh yeah, it’s completely ours. I’m proud of what we’re releasing. I don’t want it to be a watered-down version because we want to keep the label happy. I want them to be happy but I want to be happy myself. Do you feel confident that your fans will love the new tracks on the album? I hope so! I think because there’s such a huge variation there are going to be some tracks that are quite Marmite, which is fine but hopefully that means that people will be very passionate about a couple of songs and it will play to everyone’s tastes. I hope there’s something exciting in every single song.
GET TO KNOW... Did you work on every track collectively as a band or do some of you take the lead on writing lyrics and producing? It’s mainly just me, Jack and Harry that are writing partners. That’s been one of the learning curves over the past couple of years, figuring out what really works. Jack’s the producer, Harry will start sections of songs at home and send them over and I do all the lyrics. Me and Jack work on all the melodies together. When we’ve finished the song we’ll get Chris to slam down some guitar ideas.
“...No we’re not.” Our #1 bucket list producer, the guy we always wanted to work with in a dream scenario was Mike Crossey [Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Twenty One Pilots, Jake Bugg]. He was based out in LA at the time so we flew out when we heard that he wanted to work with us.
What inspired the songs on the album? It’s personal experience but I do draw from other people’s experiences too. The whole album is a reflection of the past ten years. It’s a confusing time of your life, from 19 to 26.
Looking back at when you released “Swim” in 2014, what would you say feels different now? I think I’m mentally a lot more mentally stable! I’m more of a well-rounded person and a lot less selfish, I think that goes for everyone.
It’s about feeling a bit alienated, a bit weird in your own skin and not knowing who you are. First relationships, getting your heart broken, learning and growing stronger. Mental health has also been a big part of that. Being able to speak about that is important when our fans are going through the same things.
It’s kind of weird when you’re just starting out. All you want is a record deal because you don’t have any money and you think it’s the most important thing but I’ve now learnt it isn’t at all. You realize you’re in this with four of your best friends and much more appreciative of the work that our team do and our fans as well. You go from only thinking about yourself to caring more about those around you.
You recorded part of the album in LA – that must have been amazing! How did that come about? It was pretty surreal. We were doing writing sessions for a month before we even started working on album stuff. When we first signed our record deal, our label said we were ready to do the album even though we were like,
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It was weird... but in a good way. We grew so much as writers. Whilst we were out there we felt so inspired that we wrote the rest of the album upstairs. Now going into Album #2, we’ll know what we’re doing... but debut albums are always a learning curve and they’re always really turbulent.
writer: aimee phillips photographer: bree hart stylist: edith walker millwood
A CLOSER LOOK:
ALEX AIONO writer/photographer: laura ersoy
ALEX
Aiono is twenty two year old singer, YouTuber, and producer from Phoenix, Arizona. He is most widely known for uploading his mash-ups of popular hits and putting his own twist on each on YouTube, where he currently has over 5 million subscribers. Mostly, his YouTube channel consists of vlogs, mashups, original music and covers. At the start of 2017, however, he started releasing original tracks, starting with his smash debut, “Work The Middle,� which has just over 12 million views. Many of his songs have gone viral over the last few years. Every time he shares new music, it is almost guaranteed to receive millions of views. His career had humble beginnings. He started off busking at the Santa Monica Promenade, but eventually lead to bigger and better things because he made some connections in the music industry and was signed to the Universal Music Group label, Interscope Records.
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You’ve had a whirlwind year already, but I want to hear about the very beginning. What’s been your most memorable part of the past year? Man, it has been a whirlwind year. I was just thinking about it because the year pretty much started with “Work The Middle,” and then the most recent thing is “Does It Feel Like Falling” so it’s crazy that when I think about this year in retrospect, it’s been so wild. I released my first original music with a major label, and I’ve toured throughout the US two times, been to Europe five times, gone around the world a few times, hosted Arthur Ashe Kids Day, then played shows with some other amazing artists. It’s all been so amazing, I don’t think I can pinpoint a highlight. Take me way back: How’d it all start? Waaay back! I grew up, my mom and dad loved each other a lot and I was a product of that. That’s how I got here (laughs). No, I grew up in a family where my parents were all about music and loved listening to it, my sisters & I love music the same. It was just super natural. Not supernatural, it was… Super. Natural. Very organic and real. Music was just something that was my favorite thing as a kid. Was your family was supportive of your music? It’s not vital, but it’s definitely such an important thing for me to have family support. I know a lot of people don’t have their family’s support and, not even just in their career choices but in anything, family support is something that is super important to me. Like I said, it’s not vital, it’s not like you’re not going to be successful if your family doesn’t support you, but when I look
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back or look at my future family, I encourage any families that it’s all about support; supporting dreams, a lifestyle, each family individually or separately is so important. How’d it feel getting the call from Interscope? It was at such a crazy time because “One Dance” had come out and started making waves. Started to make waves?! It went viral! (laughs) Yeah, but it’s funny because even then it was already at like 8 million views. It was the biggest video I ever did, the coolest thing that ever happened. When they reached out, it had just started. I had interviews, I had all different magazines and blogs adding up and then had other labels coming at me. And Interscope is obviously such a big label, I think I would consider them one of the titans of major labels these days. They have everybody: Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Maroon 5; we’re talking like real frontrunners. And they have an amazing range. Yes! When they came to me and we’re talking, they said we have all these people but we don’t have the young, male singer… You. And I just felt so lucky to be thought of, let alone, get signed. It’s been such an amazing journey with Interscope so far that it’s almost like a whirlwind. I feel like we’ve been signed for two days, but it’s already been a year.
I love all of your mash-ups and sing-offs. How do you assert your creativity into other artist’s art and make it your own. Also, have you gotten any feedback from the original artists? (laughs) I’ve had a bunch of love from some of the original artists like Hailee Steinfeld, Meghan Trainor, Nicky Jam. One of the moments I realized how big the world is, is when I first heard it, I asked one of my friends. I said, “Yo, I’m going to cover this new Drake song, what’s a cool Spanish song?” So he asked one of his friends who actually lives in Mexico, and I had never heard the song then looked it up and it already had hundreds of millions of views. That’s when I realized this could be special because I’m going to tap into something that my entire fanbase doesn’t even know about it. Nobody’s requesting it, but it already had so many views after only a month of being out. Back to your original question of putting my own style into it, I think I pick my songs that I want to do, and make the track and the vibe of it how I feel. It’s just something that’s, again, super… Natural. Not supernatural. Just very organic to me and I can’t really explain how I do it, but I just have fun and do it. I mean, that’s a good way to make music, to have fun with it. It’s my favorite way, it’s the only way. You could say it’s super natural. Super. Natural.
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Tell me about your heritage. I read that you’re Samoan, and grew up in New Zealand for a little bit… When you first said that, I thought you said “Tell me about your hair” and I was about to be like “well, it’s really curly.” My heritage, yeah, my dad comes from New Zealand and his dad comes from the island of Samoa, so you got it right on the head. My mom comes from the island of, uh, Los Angeles (laughs). My mom’s just a Valley Girl. They met in California, but I’m just half white, and half not white. Would you say your Samoan culture has peeked through in your music or style? Because in some songs I get kind of an island feel. Yeah! I think it’s one of the biggest things that influences me from my culture is that, if you look back at the Polynesian culture, there is so much music that surrounds it. You have Dinah Jane [from Fifth Harmony], you have all these amazing reggae bands, even The Rock who was singing all over the Moana soundtrack. There is seriously so much musical talent out of the Pacific Islands that kind of goes, not unnoticed, but some people didn’t know until now. So I feel very lucky that we get to become the mainstream people to push that. Musically, I definitely feel the island, and like you said, it’s a vibe. Not even necessarily a sound, or a specific instrument, or genre. There’s that vibe and I feel it when I listen to artists from the Caribbean, just naturally there’s that vibe of rhythm and cool.
I first discovered you when WilldaBeast was posting teasers from the “Work The Middle” music video. How’d that collaboration come about? It’s crazy! They’re amazing. I met Will at the Radio Disney Music Awards last year so the 2016 awards show. I told him I was such a huge fan and he said “Bro, I’m a huge fan of yours. Let’s do a video!” That kind of sat as an open-ended, then “Work The Middle” came out. And one of the reasons why I love Interscope so much, is that they give me so much creative control, and they asked “What do you want to do?” And I said “Let’s get WilldaBeast in there for choreography and let’s box.” The video, in general, was such a fun thing to make because it was such a collaborative experience. We went to Will and said “Make the choreography amazing. Make these girls look so beautiful and powerful and strong,” which I feel translated to all the dancers Caché [Melvin], Jamie [Hauptmann], Delaney [Glazer] and Jade [Chynoweth], especially. They all just looked so strong, independent and at the same time they were sexy, fun and cool. It was such a fun video to make. Tell me about YouTube. Have you had a strategy, or just posting what you want, when you want and hoping your fans were into it? I did. I followed a super strategy when I first started out because I hung out with a lot of YouTubers who follow “the strategy” and there’s nothing wrong with following it.
I feel like when I was following a hardcore strategy like post at this time, post with these tags, do this, do that, say this and that, I wasn’t having as much fun. It was becoming like a job. It only got me so big. It definitely worked, it got me to like 200-300,000. Maybe even 400,000 using those strict strategies. But it was also like cover this song, cover that song, and I was starting to cover songs I didn’t necessarily like or artists that aren’t my favorite and I came to a point where I was like “I’m not happy making YouTube videos.” I decided I don’t care about the strategy, I’m going to keep a couple things and still post on a specific day, but forget tags, and forget trying to follow the trends and do songs that I like and that I think would translate. So if a brand new song comes out, and I’m into it, I’ll cover it. But if I’m not, I won’t, and not feel obligated to. There’s been a lot of big songs and people would ask why I didn’t cover it, but I can’t be like “Because I don’t like it!” It’s not because it’s a bad song, but didn’t feel like I would make a good cover of it. Once I started doing that, oh man! That’s when everything started changing. “One Dance,” and “I Spy,” and all my videos with Will [Singe]. We were in the studio, and I was just like “Let’s have fun!” With Will, I was like “Let’s do an old Usher song!” Boom. It’s so important to have fun. That’s my biggest advice I’d give to everybody when they’re talking about YouTube.
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“I’m really pouring my heart out in this music.”
“How do I get popular, how do I do this?” Don’t worry about it. Just trust your inner child. Do that, have fun. And you’ll have more success and happiness along the way. What’s next? What’s new? What’s exciting? We’ve been doing so much new stuff with the music, and I feel like this music is so real and honest, and things I’m going through that I’m just excited for the fans to hear it. Don’t get me wrong, all the music we’ve released already “Work The Middle,” “Question,” “Does It Feel Like Falling” they’re all real to me. But this next music is like, I’m in the studio, I’ve gone through some real, gritty, heartbreaking stuff. I miss yous, and meaningless I love yous, I’m really pouring my heart out in this music and I’m just so excited for everyone to hear it and be like “Alex is a real person!” At the end of the day, your music is like your diary. 100%. So, make it whatever you want. Exactly. Tell me about “One at a Time.” “One at a Time” is, to me, the epitome of a real relationship. You know, it’s not perfect, it’s not “no fights,” it’s real. One at a time. You obviously have problems with me, and we’re probably not going to fix it all. I had a girl who hated how I chewed my food. And it’s like… I’m not going to change how I chew my food, but the song is about, even though there are problems, we’re going to go through them one at a time and figure it out.
So you collaborated with T-Pain on that one… How’d that come about? Yes! It was amazing. He started the idea, he sent it over and originally it was just going to be me, so I put my vocal on it, finessed it a little bit to be a little bit for me, and we tried putting his verse instead of my second verse and it sounded great. So I was like “alright, let’s do it like that!” And he was down, and he was so cool through the whole process and is a big inspiration for me. Tell me about “Thinking About You,” which you also just recently released. “Thinking About You” was my soul food. I needed it. I was in a pretty interesting space. I had broken up with somebody and wasn’t really talking to them, and the missing somebody start kicking in. I did “Question” and it was kind of like “I’m better off without you, don’t come back to me,” and “Thinking About You” is kind of the opposite because I miss people so much. Even while you feel like you’re better off without somebody, you’re still going to miss them because you’re still dealing with somebody who was a big part of your life not being there anymore. That’s the essence. The reality of even though you know it’s for the best, you can’t help but function without thinking about you. And every time I try to delete the pictures… I can’t. I want to, but I don’t want to. It’s a big piece of your life especially if it’s someone that you love.
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10 TRENDS WE’RE OBSESSED WITH THIS SPRING One of our favorite fashion seasons is just around the corner! Spring calls for lighter layers, brighter colors, more playful style and another chance to breathe new life into your wardrobe. Here are some our favorite notable trends to look out for and get inspired by this spring. words by jason tezgerevski
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BLOUSE missguided $31
SKIRT topshop $40
JACKET forever21 $27
Print on Print Are you looking for a unique way to wear prints? If so, then you should definitely give the print on print look a try! We all know that wearing one bold print can bring an understated outfit to life, but don’t be afraid to combine two of your favorites. One simple rule to follow is determine which one of the two will be the “dominant” print. This should be the more eye-catching of the two, which can be a brighter color or a busier pattern. Choose something less flashy so that the dominant print can shine for the second piece. For instance, you might want to wear a mustard colored striped shirt with a gray checkered blazer. In this scenario, the mustard shirt acts as the dominant print. Wearing two flashy prints can be a bit overwhelming in some situations so always be mindful of the event or occasion when mixing and matching.
DRESS zara $50 PANTS nastygal $40
Pastels
Ah, pastels. They are such a gorgeous and understated palette to wear. From pastel hair to articles of clothing, this hue isn’t going anywhere soon. These airy hues such as light pink, lavender, and periwinkle can add that muted touch of femininity you’ve been looking for. Additionally, pastels are simply perfect when it comes to outfit versatility. You can wear a graphic t-shirt with a pastel skirt for a fun night out or pastel blouse with your favorite distressed denim to brunch. If you’re concerned about work attire, a pastel blouse with your choice of trousers is a win-win to look polished and on-trend.
TOP topshop $84
PANTS river island $84
TOP zara $45
TOP lulus $44 EUPHORIA. Magazine | 67
Borrow from the Boys Have you ever glanced in the direction of the opposite sex and felt sincere jealousy over their casual, comfortable wardrobe? Well, who says you can’t borrow some style from the boys?! Boyfriend jeans look exceptional with nearly any top from t-shirts to tanks. For a laid back and androgynous spring look, you can pair boyfriend jeans with a crop top or even an oversized tee. These unconventional combinations encompass both feminine and masculine style in a completely flattering way. Don’t forget to throw a varsity jacket over one of your favorite little black dresses, either! The oversized trend does not seem to be going anywhere so don’t be afraid to pop into the men’s department too.
PANTS forever21 $48
JACKET lulus $82
SHIRT zara $45 JACKET urban outfitters $149 JEANS anthropologie $158 68 | EUPHORIA. Magazine
SHORTS revolve $148
TOP forever21 $58
SHOES lucky brand $129
JACKET zara $50
Fringe
Fringe it up, baby! Wearing fringe is an easy way to add instant style and elevate your outfit. We especially love fringe purses because they can be worn with almost any look in an effortless way for a fun flair. If you’re content with your current purse, then why not snag a pair of fringe boots? A t-shirt, jeans, and fringe boots makes for a hip and casual look that’s perfect to wear around your college campus, local show, or weekend getaway.
DRESS zara $50 PURSE topshop $48
Vintage Checks Vintage is always a classic look no matter what. This spring, we are loving the comeback of vintage checks and plaids. This print can be worn as a tailored skirt for an office job, or a fun plaid buttonup which can be worn over your favorite band t-shirt. Need a quick way to bring basic to the next level? Simply throw on a plaid vintage detail whether it be a blazer, hat, or skirt. We promise the compliments will follow!
JACKET zara $149
PANTS h+m $35
SHIRT urban outfitters $49
TROUSERS topshop $85 70 | EUPHORIA. Magazine
DRESS nastygal $60
TOP urban outfitters $44
TOP mr. por ter $305
TOP topman $35
Vertical Stripes Guys, are you sick of your solid-colored polo shirts? Need an effortless way to add style into your wardrobe? If you answered yes to either question, we’ve got you covered. A t-shirt or button-up top with vertical stripes is an spring staple. Either one can be worn with a pair of jeans for a tailored look that will elongate your torso and can even make you look taller.
TOP forever21 $20
forever21 $20
L: topman $40 R: boohoo $27
Tropical Vibes Want a unique outfit without trying too hard? This spring, tropical-themed clothing is a total hit for the guys. A floral print or even palm tree graphics are highly recommended! You could wear a palm tree print shirt under a jean jacket with your favorite pair of joggers or chinos. This look just screams fun and is sure to be a conversation starter.
L: zara $30 R: ralph lauren $100
Athleisure GQ agrees with us: athleisure is one of our favorite casual looks. Athleisure is a combination of athletic wear that can be worn at your leisure when out and about typically running errands or chill outings. We recommend wearing track pants since they’ve definitely made a comeback! Tailored sweatpants are not only extremely comfortable but can be worn as a trendy go-to paired with your favorite sneakers. For an easy and fashionable look, wearing athleisure is the answer you’ve been looking for. We’re here for this trend, just make sure to keep the athleisure “going out” pieces separate from your gym attire!
TOP todd snyder $78
SWEATSHIRT champion $69
SWEATPANTS kappa $100
SNEAKERS adidas $130
PANTS adidas $65
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TOP urban outfitters $34
SHORTS revolve $148
JACKET all saints $525 HOODIE forever21 $15
Monochrome We’re totally obsessed with monochrome outfits for men during any season. Wearing an outfit in the same hue might seem boring to some, but it actually looks really fashionable and intentional when worn correctly. The easiest way to accomplish a monochrome look is to focus on different textures. For instance, if you were to wear a black cotton t-shirt with a black leather jacket over it, we think you’re #ootd worthy! Monochrome allows you to look put together with minimal effort. Great when you need to grab and go or for a night out: white on white to show off your tan, dark greens for a military inspired look, rinse & repeat.
JEANS stitch’s $145
Crossbody Bags The crossbody bag is an essential accessory for the urban gentleman. We believe they look extremely stylish while serving an incredibly functional purpose: to carry your laptop, college textbooks, or any other item that’s too heavy or large to fit into your wallet. Luckily, there’s no real trick to pulling off the crossbody bag. Just remember to stick to neutral hues, if possible. This will make it easier for you to match with any outfit you decide to wear for the day.
coach $375
mr. por ter $250
urban outfitters $34
topman $35
zara $50
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GET TO KNOW...
lauv
Meet Ari Leff – the San Francisco-born artist who performs under the Lauv moniker. Lauv started writing songs at the age of 13, and was inspired by love and breaking up; although he had never previously been in a relationship or experienced heartache himself. “The first song I can remember was called ‘Parting Ways,’ but I had never been in a relationship so I don’t really know how that worked.’”
with his music. “I want people to feel more comfortable expressing what they feel and not being so afraid to be vulnerable with the world. I spent so long being so afraid to be who I was and to express that... Then I just let it out.”
Within less than three years of releasing his debut EP, Lauv is making huge waves across the genre styles of pop, indie electronica, deep house music and EDM.
Originally, Ari thought it might be more practical to write songs to sell to other, more established musicians. However, none of his work started to take off until he put out his first song online: “The Other.” He published that along with “Reforget” online under the name “Lauv” because it celebrated his Latvian family roots.
As he revealed in a previous interview, Ari first fell in love with music when he was five years old and began learning to play the piano. By the time he was 7, he was playing the viola as well, and then he added guitar to his repertoire by nine.
He posted it on a friend’s blog, and it became a huge viral success. Then he watched in surprise as “The Other” spread to Spotify and then went through many popular playlists until it finally reached the “Today’s Top Hits” list. He ended up including it in his 2015 EP, Lost in the Light.
Throughout high school, he experimented with writing and mixing his own songs using little more than his instruments and his laptop. Leff later went on to attending the prestigious, New York University and studied Music Technology at the university’s Steinhardt school. He spoke about his interning experiences at studios in the City as an assistant picking up food for artists. He recalls picking up soup for Jessie J.
Writing love songs was one of Lauv’s natural talents, and he rode the wave of popularity from Spotify to debut his ongoing playlist project. He called it “I Met You When I Was 18.” He made this collection of songs while he was going to NYU. This group of songs is like an autobiographical summary of this first exciting chapter of his life, which included a lot of romance but more than that as well.
The move to New York was what opened bigger doors for Ari. He fell in love and started taking more risks
Soon, the aspiring music artist began relying more on his vocals and mixing in his songwriting.
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GET TO KNOW... By the time he created his top hit “I Like Me Better,” his creative process was already undergoing a big change.
Lauv collaborated with British songstress Charli XCX on her hit single, “Boys.”
“With ‘I Like Me Better,’ I was just in the moment, and I got that melody... I didn’t want to forget it, so I ‘voice memo-ed’ it on my iPhone. Then, I was like, ‘I’ll probably replace it later with an instrument,’ but then I pulled it in, and then I was messing with it and reprocessing it and doing all these crazy [things] to it. Then I was like, ‘Maybe this is actually doper than using an instrument because it’s my voice, and it’s nobody else. Everybody has a unique voice, right? I loved the idea of just being able to put that in there and have it be not like another instrument that anybody can pick up.”
These connections were just what he needed to prepare for touring, which was the new opportunity that came up for him when “No Promises” went on to break through the top 40 songs listed on Billboard’s “Hot 100” list.
He commented later that while this song is mostly happy, it has more depth for him because he wrote it after the relationship that inspired the song had ended. To him, the song will always have a subtle, sad undertone. After all, no relationship is completely free of hardships. As he grew up, he transplanted himself as a rising star into the Los Angeles music scene. Along with the move to Los Angeles, Lauv’s next big break was signing on with Prescription Songs to officially score his first major hit as a songwriter. He got to co-write “No Promises” along with Cheat Codes and Demi Lovato. Working with Cheat Codes gave him more experience playing with hip-hop, tropical housemusic and EDM sounds in his remixes as well. Not much after the release and success of “No Promises,”
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By November 2017, he was opening for Ed Sheeran’s concerts in Manila, and his fan base only continues to grow world tour started on March 4, 2018 and won’t end until August. He’s beginning in Asia and Australia, and then he moves on to the United Kingdom by April. After that, he’ll play at America’s famous Firefly Music Festival, then Norway’s Slottsfjell Festival, and the tour won’t end until he showcases at the big Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands. In almost every interview, he repeats how important it is to never give up. While he admits that it’s easy for musicians to forget why they started their music careers in the first place, he has always tried hard to focus on his craft and be honest with expressing himself fully in his music. He strives for authenticity in his work because he believes that is the secret ingredient to making something people will want to share.
writer: laura ersoy photographer: natalie somekh
GET TO KNOW...
sir sly
You Haunt Me and Don’t You Worry, Honey are both very distinct collections. How’d the process or inspiration differ between your debut and sophomore albums? Landon: I think the first album, a lot of the influences we were talking about were a little bit more contemporary, at least sonically. Then the second album, I think, was a little bit more varied and a little more classic. I think a lot of older funk stuff was really influencing us. A lot of funk, soul and some hip-hop which you can hear the uses; like sampled drums, and some old classic stuff like Prince, Bowie, a little bit of the mystery mixed with honesty. The lyrics are really heavy on the second album, but we wanted to bring a bit of that magic that artists like that brought to the table. “High” was featured on a couple different TV and film soundtracks. How does it feel hearing your music being played back in so many different mediums? Landon: I have to be honest, I’ve heard it on the radio maybe once or twice, but I listen to mostly NPR. I actually did see it accidentally in something and was surprised! Which is funny because we know about all those shows, we have to give our say before they’re allowed to use it. It’s funny to hear it after forgetting it was supposed to be in something. Then its like “Oh! There’s our song in the credits.” I think it’s always cool to see people latching onto something, hopefully with the cultural moment of weed being legal– 82 | EUPHORIA. Magazine
ized in a lot of places allows people to listen to a song like “High” without having any kind of assumptions. People don’t look at weed the same way they used to. We could write a song about it, and people won’t necessarily skip it just because of the subject. We love your most recent music videos. What was the process for each? Did you have much input into the concepts? Landon: Between albums one and two, that was a big thing that changed for me. We’d done the route where people would send us ideas and they would write the treatment and then we would work with that director to bring that idea to life, but with this album I really wanted to collaborate with people, so I had a friend named Kevin [Clark] directing both of our music videos so far. We worked for a long time writing the treatments and it was really important for me, just like the album came from us being the creative center. I wanted to be able to do the same thing to the visuals to bring the cohesiveness to everything. It was way more involved than we had been with music videos before. Hayden: I also think there’s a perception at-large that once you’re signed to a major label, your band is supported in that way that everything just happened. Or so-and-so director just wants to work with you all of a sudden. I think subconsciously we were all guilty of that the first time around, but the second time
GET TO KNOW... making these videos, Landon in particular, was like “this is how we’re doing it” and I think that got us way further, way more satisfying and the results were better. Often times you’ll hear stories of major labels taking full control over what an artist says, does and releases, but I think it’s critical to a band’s story for them to tell it themselves in some ways. Landon: I think the only other way to do that is to bring ideas to the table. That kind of became the obsession: we wanted the people, the label and management teams, to be the kind of people who are inspiring to work with. I think the only way to do that is to force yourself into that place. I’m not a music video director, I’ve never written anything like that. But surely if somebody else could do that, I could get together with someone who has, and come up with something great together, rather than just somebody else dictating what they think is cool to us. Talk us through your stage set-up. Hayden: We’ve been bringing out the brain with us this album cycle. It’s something that started in the music video. It’s a big, glowing brain made of panty hose tubing that’s painted and stuffed with cotton and LED lights, woven and sewed together. It was made by an artist named Amanda Yamashita. That was fun because it’s from the music video and feels kind of good to have it on stage and driving around the country with us. It’s like a little totem. From concepts to music videos to stage, we made it be one that was a little more road-ready, but it’s been with us through this whole process.
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Landon: We used to have five people play with us live. Now, this album cycle, we’ve pulled it back to be just the three of us. It was a little bit of figuring out how to do it in the right ways and make sure we were all busy and having a fun time on stage, but also that the music was sounding the way we wanted it to. That was a lot of work on Jason’s end, being the tech wizard and sorting that out creatively. And us practicing stuff, what worked, what didn’t work. A lot of it being our own parts and having them played back. Jason’s super busy the entire show. He’ll have one hand on one keyboard and another hand on the other keyboard triggering samples, and singing, playing bass guitar. Hayden is really busy on the drums, we wanted to get him away from the drum kit for a little while and have him do some stuff over on his own sampler. Some things we do differently every night, but little bits of human change every night which is cool. It’s been amazing, I think, we figured out a way to constantly play the show really well with three people. I think that was a really good growing moment for us as a band. What’s next for Sir Sly? Landon: We’re trying to push ourselves creatively. Hopefully we’ll have music out in the next couple of months but I don’t think we know for certain until we have the songs recorded the way we want them to sound. Only time will tell! writer: laura ersoy photographer: meg quadracci
don’t mess with
jessica barden writer: lucy chappell photographer: jack alexander styling: fiona downie // assistance: lois jenner hair: shamirah sairally makeup: lucy gibson
“I’VE
never been to a rave in my life, I’d probably have a panic attack and die.” Jessica Barden, the female star of mega-hit show The End of the F***ing World (TEOTFW), tells me she didn’t really go out until she was 21. “My social life has had a bit of a reversed youth.” Well, she has been kinda busy. I sit down with Jess after her EUPHORIA. shoot to chat about acting, being a girl, and imitating Jim Carrey. If you haven’t seen TEOTFW just know that you should. Tonight. The 8x20 minute bold, honest, violent and funny runaway-teen romance series started life as a comic by American writer Charles Forsman before being developed into a short film in 2014, in which Jessica starred. With additional writing by the brilliant Charlie Covell, it was later commissioned by Channel 4 and now exists as a fully fledged TV phenomenon that left audiences desperate for a second series before they even finished the last episode. EUPHORIA. Magazine | 89
The story follows 17-year old James (Alex Lawther), a gentle supposed-psychopath and Alyssa, also 17, the unapologetic and idealistic girl who persuades him to escape their depressing existence in suburban England and embark on a road-trip to find her father. The result? A string of misadventures involving blood, heartache and being chased by the police. And for Jess, it’s a dream role. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I was finally given the chance to lead a show, which is a big thing. Whatever work you get you, you feel so fortunate and you try your best but if you’re only doing one or two scenes today you can’t settle into a character. When you’re a lead working with a collaborative team, it’s a really empowering feeling. There weren’t any boundaries. I could make Alyssa my own. And all the crew – the lighting guys, sound guys – everyone did it because they liked the script and believed in it. After that kind of experience, you know that if you never work again, that creative side of you, that part of you that’s a bit weird and eccentric...it’s nice to know that we all channelled that into something that we’re proud of.” Proud they should be. The show has since topped Netflix ratings since its release this January, has a 97% ‘Fresh’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, has become the subject of thousands of pieces of fan art and music video edits, and you can buy Alyssa and James t- shirts, posters and phone cases. So it’s done pretty f***king well.
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Luckily for Jess, acting just happened to be a job. “I think I’d be sectioned if I wasn’t an actress. I think people would be like ‘Why is she talking to herself all the time?’ Growing up, me and my brothers and friends, we’d just go around doing different voices all the time, telling stories.”
“I think I’d be sectioned if I wasn’t an actress...” After working on TV productions near her hometown in Yorkshire, she moved to London at 16, after making a deal with her mother that either she stay at home and start her A-Levels that September, or stay London for three months for auditions and if it didn’t work she’d come home. As you might guess, she went, and didn’t come back. “I just said, ‘No, I’m gonna do it.’ I’d read interviews about Liza Minelli and Meryl Streep sleeping on benches and I thought, at least I’ll have a house!” She rented a flat in Chelsea while performing at the Royal Court in Jerusalem. “I look back now and think it was ludicrous. It wasn’t glamorous. I’d been to London once before to meet my agent. But I respected the opportunity. I didn’t go out and I kept my head down, otherwise my mum would have been like, ‘Well, you’re coming home then.’ I had to take it seriously.”
HAT topshop JACKET topshop BLOUSE orla kiely TROUSERS topshop SHOES camilla elphick
EARRINGS 32.4 JUMPSUIT mih SHOES camilla elphick
For some, TEOTFW may be the first time they are seeing Jessica on screen, but she is no industry fresher. Named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2015 and as one of last year’s Evening Standard’s rising stars, she has appeared in a variety of shows including Channel 4’s BAFTA-winning drama Ellen, popular US series Penny Dreadful, as well as ITV’s Vera; and in on big-screen successes including Hanna alongside Saoirse Ronan and Cate Blanchett, Lullaby with Amy Adams, period-drama Far From the Madding Crowd with Carey Mulligan and The Lobster opposite Colin Farrell. All before she was 25. Her characters have ranged from precocious terminal patient, tearaway teenager, bawdy schoolgirl, vulnerable prostitute. A young actress’ dream, to be able to play interesting, complex girls. “But I audition for basically 99% of the things that I’m sent. Even when I was younger I used to read scripts and wished I could play the woman who’s 50 or the men’s role because I related to it more. I’ve always been the eccentric person in a film. Or the friend who’s really funny. Even since I was 16 or 17, because I look young and I would walk into rooms with an accent which wasn’t classically well spoken as other actors. Everything I did was described as ‘gritty’. I got really bored of being called gritty because I’m really not! Inside, I’m an old soul, I’m friends with 70 year olds. I’ve never had a fight in my life. I’m actually from quite a nice place, it’s just I don’t speak how people speak in London where all the work is.”
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But in an industry that seems to like putting people into boxes at times, Jess wouldn’t have had it any other way. “I never would have done anything different. A lot of actresses that have northern accents I know say they wish they’d got elocution lessons. I don’t regret anything like that. I just wanted to make sure I was always learning things. That was always the plan. I’ve never been the type of actor that just stands on the mark and says the lines. I didn’t want to be in five things at once and then disappear. I didn’t go to LA when everyone else went when they were 18. I stayed here and I did plays for no money and got to work with directors like Richard Wilson. That doesn’t equal you being famous, but it means that when I’m 40 years old hopefully I’ve built relationships with people who are respected within the industry and I’ve gained enough experience to start reaping the rewards for that. And be more confident as an actress.”
“Alyssa was different... She represented every type of woman.” And in The End of the F***king World, Alyssa is not a simplistic female role, nor conforms to type. It’s a breakout for Jess. “Alyssa was different. She represented every type of woman. Typically if there’s an arrogant character with all of Alyssa’s stereotypically ugly traits, they would cast a girl where they made sure her hair
EARRINGS dinny hall BLOUSE veda SKIRT veda
“I got really bored of being called ‘gritty’ because I’m really not!”
EARRINGS 32.4 SUIT sandro TOP rag + bone
didn’t look nice, or her makeup – but they never tried to make Alyssa not look attractive which was important for me, because it’s this thing in movies where there’s a pretty girl that’s sexy and she never gets the funny lines. Or the girl who gets the funny lines wears glasses.” But that isn’t real life. “No. That’s not good enough in this day and age. Because, for example, somedays you wake up and you feel really confident and if a guy yells at you in the street you yell back, and other days you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m really glad actually that man wolf-whistled me because I really needed that today.’ Theres nothing wrong with that. It’s just called being a girl.” Indeed, Alyssa goes from swearing at a waitress to crying alone in a bathroom to robbing a man to rescuing a lost child. As the push for more interesting and exciting female characters gathers momentum in the filmmaking industry, Alyssa feels real and relevant. A new teen heroine. And it shows – since TEOTFW’s takeover on Netflix, Jessica’s Instagram following has catapulted from 3k to 850k (and counting). A rewarding, if not slightly daunting experience. “I’ve had it for years! After more people saw the show... It was a weird adjustment. The internet turns really different and you wake up every single day thinking, ‘Are they going to be horrible today? What do they think I’ll contribute to their lives?’ Then you realise it’s not a world that anyone controls and I was just suddenly relevant on it. My phone felt like
an imposter in my house. But I knew I had to stop taking it so seriously. And when you get the blue tick you learn where your followers are coming from and it said female aged 16-24, so that’s a massively positive thing. These are the people I actually want to watch the show.” Nowadays, things we watch in the media often need to do more than entertain us. They need to say something. And, as Jessica describes, The End of the F***cking World does that. “You never know when you’re going to be in something that’s a hit. And it’s not even dependent on how good the material is. It’s about everything aligning. It’s about being in something that has a theme that’s relevant, simple as that. Music, film, TV– it’s always been there to explain to people the ins and outs of what’s happening in the world, in a way. It’s always there to inform. Diversity and equality are huge problems currently. So there’s been a massive push of TV shows which are taking on the fact that everyone should be represented. Everyone should be able to watch a TV show and be able to say ‘Oh, that’s who I’m gonna be when I go to school tomorrow’. I had that when I was a kid. I’d watch Jim Carrey movies and pretend to be him the next day because it was fun and it’s using your imagination. And I think TEOFTW does do that, because the characters are relatable. And the similar thing with women’s roles. They’ve been pushing this for years. I was just lucky enough to be in a show where I was allowed to make
Alyssa with no boundaries – it was set in a world where there was nothing specific on it. That’s what we need to keep creating. This is why I don’t want to fall back on playing a safe female role written to look nice and say really cute lines.” She’s keeping to her word. Soon, Jess will be seen in the independent film The New Romantics directed by Carly Stone, shot in Canada last year and due for release for this summer. The story follows Blake– played by Jessica– a 21-year-old hopeless romantic, with nothing to write about for the school paper. “Carly’s films are always about being in your early 20s and feeling like you’re not good at anything. So many stories centre around the most interesting person in the room. Blake isn’t that person. I was interested in that and can relate to that.” Blake becomes a sugar baby to make her column more interesting and, in doing so, begins to question whether society should be judging these women. “It’s not about the glamorous side of it. It’s about the psychological side of it. It’s not on the surface as sinister as prostitution or escorting which is why I was interested in doing it. It’s much more about genuine relationships.” Despite her experience, Jess recalls being nervous on set with American actors, including Camila Mendes of Riverdale. “I’m a perfectionist and a bit of a control freak on set. And it was terrifying. I didn’t understand the words they were using in Canada. Their on-set slang is totally different. I was the only English person in the cast and I kept thinking, ‘I have no right to be here. People are going to think I’m an imposter, taking
a lead role from an American person.’ But by lunchtime I was like ‘Right, I just need to get on with this.” Ok, now so her answer to my question “are you a hunter or a gatherer?” make sense. “Definitely a gatherer. Sometimes it’s a bad thing that I go somewhere and think everyone’s going to be my friend when I meet them. I am just friends with anything. My wedding’s going to be like the Addams Family. I’m just really sensitive and I love talking to people and want everybody to have a nice time, bring everyone sweets. I am that person.” I also ask her what she thinks about when she’s alone in her car, but she doesn’t drive. So, naturally, we end up talking about one of her hobbies which include running and swimming, but also: The Sims. “Sims is great. Sims 2. I know all the hacks and game cheats. And how you get promotions and then your helicopter comes. I’m such a loser.” What? What do you mean about the helicopter? “It comes when you get to the top of your career ladder.” Right. Well if world’s were to collide Jessica’s helicopter might not have come yet, but she is definitely already soaring. And as for that second series of TEOTFW? “We always spoke about season two. We came to the end of Chuck’s work but it had already evolved in the script and some of the characters like Terry and Eunice were Charlie Covell’s work anyway. I would like it to carry on because it really is a dream job.” Let the dream continue.
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GET TO KNOW...
yungblud
If you don’t already know Yungblud (real name Dominic Harrison), you soon will. The fast-rising young star’s unique musical style consists of poetical, politically-charged lyrics set against head-bangingly good rock music that’s filled with catchy guitar hooks and breakbeats. “I just love music that pushes boundaries,” he says, “artists that did their own thing no matter what.” The young star’s sound is no doubt influenced by his life-long love of hip-hop and rock. “To me, those two genres are about more than the music. They represent an attitude and a way of thinking. They talk about real shit.” Harrison’s musical career seems to have been destined from birth. Growing up, he says he was surrounded by a family who were very opinionated about music. “Round the Christmas table, we’d spend two hours arguing over which genre was the best. There’s a picture of me, straight out the hospital, sat in my car seat with a Beatles ukulele and a microphone next to me. So I didn’t really have a choice to be honest.” Despite this, he affirms that even if he “wasn’t into music,” his family would have supported him. Nevertheless, you can’t fight destiny, and Harrison says that music helped him through a trying adolescence with ADHD. “I felt something I’d never felt before when I listened to songs,” he says. “Music was one of the things that fuelled my nutcase-ness. I could use that as an outlet to get what was going on in my head out.” 102 | EUPHORIA. Magazine
“The only three people in the world that I felt understood me growing up was Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys, Eminem and Joe Strummer [The Clash],” Harrison says. “Alex painted a picture of what growing up in the North was like. As a 14 year old kid, I could relate to that. The songs take me back to when I was in the park at 13, with my best mates in Adidas hoodies, smoking cigarettes and thinking we were the best fucking things in the world.” It was when he moved to London at 16 that Harrison says he “experienced the real world” and subsequently became angry with it. “Politics is so relevant for everyone right now, not just young people,” he enthuses. “I just can’t believe and I don’t think it’s right that no one’s singing about it in commercial pop or rock music. I think it’s because it’s risky and that’s the problem. A lot of us are so fucking privileged, because at the end of the day, it won’t make a difference to us if a lot of shit goes wrong, and to me, that’s not the mentality that we should have.” Harrison channels his frustration into lyrics that dissect controversial topics such as sexual assault, gentrification and sociopolitical pressures on young people. “At the end of the day, I don’t want to preach to anyone. I don’t want people to think, who the fuck does he think he is? All I’m doing is saying what me and my friends think and wanting to encourage people that you can say what you can think because that’s how you change things.”
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GET TO KNOW... “For me, if you’re not talking about real things and pushing boundaries, you’re not a real artist, you’re a singer. I don’t wanna be a fucking singer, I wanna be an artist.” Yungblud is most certainly the latter. At just 19, he has the electric stage presence of someone many years older. “I grew up on Mick Jagger, Freddie Mercury and Kurt Cobain,” he explains. “Every time they stepped on stage it was a performance. People have paid money to come and see you, give a fuck! You need to put on a performance! I want people to leave my gigs going, holy fuck! That was the best thing I’ve ever seen!” The charismatic artist has just released a self-titled EP and been on a European tour that he says has left him “on cloud nine.” “Every night I just can’t wait to get back on stage,” he recalls. “Now I’ve had some time off I’m a bit depressed.” As soon as I get on stage, no matter how tired I am, five minutes before, something switches on. Bang! I love it. It’s the best feeling in the world. When I get on that stage, I am wholly, ultimately myself. That’s incredible to feel because we’re in a world where we put so many fronts up and pretend to be something else because we have to conform to this idea of what’s cool.” His favorite song to play at the moment is “Polygraph Eyes,” a tale about sexual assault linked to “lad culture” that many can sadly relate to. Inspired by what he saw on nights out growing up in the North of England.
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“Too many blokes are getting heavy / When a girl looks unsteady… / We all know what happens next / A bit of fun turns to regret.” It’s a topic that he says he has “wanted to talk about for a while” but worried that he “couldn’t quite do it justice. If I’m going to attack an issue like this, I need to nail it.” “If a girl wants to wear a short skirt and get as pissed as she wants, that does not give you a right to touch her. That’s her prerogative.” It’s clear that Harrison has all the components to be a voice of a generation that feels unheard and undervalued, and it’s this honest, relatable persona has undoubtedly been a key factor in attracting his loyal fanbase. He says that “the most touching thing” is that his fans have been reaching out to him on Instagram, telling him the same things he felt about his idols growing up. It’s this that keeps him grounded. “I never wanna be an artist that disconnects from the people that are putting me on that stage and thinking the same way as me. I’m here to fucking speak to people.” “My biggest fear is not being heard and being silenced. I was very misunderstood growing up because of my ADHD and was put in a box. Right now I have an outlet to speak about shit, that’s why I’m so furious and I’m not fucking stopping.” He may still be new on the scene, but Yungblud is just getting started. writer: aimee phillips photographer: jack alexander
stylist: edith walker millwood hair/makeup: shamirah sairally
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