INBOLD MAG - ISSUE 01

INBOLD July 2019 | issue 1

F E AT U R I N G

April + VISTA

april + Vista photo content

Photography and Styling by Haley Rose Pasquinelli

inbold magazine

has been a dream of mine since 2015, when I was a freshman in high school. I fell in love with journalism and printed media and decided that one day, I would create a publication of my own. Thank you to every person who has helped make this dream become a reality. I am especially grateful to my co-editors, Trudy Painter and Natalie Parsons, my mentor, Amy Heishman, and the woman whose grant made each copy possible, Katherine Kies. To whoever is reading this: enjoy our first issue and stay bold.

Nandi Ndoro, Founder and Editor

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who we are

Photography and Styling by Iona Volynets

Inbold Magazine is an online and print publication dedicated to showcasing young creatives throughout the Washington D.C. area. The publication features artists who, above everything else, strive to be bold.

Connect with us: general inboldmagazine@gmail.com Instagram/Twitter @inboldmagazine

editors nandi ndoro, trudy painter, natalie parsons playlist curator trudy painter cover photo haley rose pasquinelli contributing writers lauren butia savannah robinson

ContentS

issue one 3

6

Letter from the editor Delvin Logan

11

Iona Volynets

15

Vinnie Hager

18

April + VISTA

18

Warpstr

22

Travis Houze

34

Haley Rose Pasquinelli

Inbold SOUNDS how to get by - April + Vista arc’teryx patek alyx - yung kayo ice cream - rico nasty palm trees - goldlink puff daddy - jpegmafia, kenny mafia surcharge - umru, warpstr just a stranger - kali uchis, steve lacy trust - brent faiyaz hoyt and schermerhorn - leikeli47 pastimes - paskkal the landlord, ethan andrade, jacob daley

Delvin Logan *** The iPhone photographer proving that design work can start at any stage in life and with any piece of equipment. *** How long have you been into graphic design and photography?

I just started with photography. I don’t even have a camera yet but I’ve been doing graphic design for a long time. I used to edit my pictures on Myspace with Photobucket and other websites like that. I didn’t realize that what I was doing was graphic design. I just thought, “Let me just edit my stuff so it looks nice.” I didn’t know there was an actual name for it. Up until maybe three or four years ago, I didn’t know that graphic design existed.

Are you a graphic designer? I only ask because you add text and an illustrated lightbulb in some of your photographs.

As of right now, I don’t have an official name of my brand but I do really like graphic design.

I actually went to school for it.

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Photography and styling by Delvin Logan

When did you start feeling myself about my feelings, I would comfortable pursuing graphic put it there, in a way, to represent design? my search for what I like and what Over the last couple of years. It was I’m passionate about. I was drawjust a matter of me trying to find ing them everywhere and it got to a myself and what I’m passionate point where I was like “Okay, let me about. I’ve just been this on my pho“I didn’t even put enjoying what I do tos.” The logo just and testing the wa- know graphic grew from there. ters. That’s where the How has social medesign existed.” light bulb idea came dia impacted your from. That’s my logo because I’m development as an artist? always trying to find inspiration. I haven’t really connected with a Originally, the light bulb was just for whole lot of people on social media. myself. I kept drawing light bulbs I sometimes call myself an “extroon my journal. Whenever I wrote to verted introvert” since I love people 8 | Inbold Magazine

“Being able to get myself and others out of the comfort zone is great.”

but as far as trying to reach out to them, I’m pretty shy. That’s one thing I’ve been trying to work on this year. Just in general, the simple fact that social media exists and we’re able to express ourselves using that platform is amazing. Once you express yourself, who knows

who’s gonna see you? You could go viral or you could inspire other people to search within themselves as well which is a beautiful thing.

What’s your favorite subject to photograph?

As of right now, I would definitely say people. Most of my close friends and I come from the same walks of life so being able to photograph them and have them say “I feel great about myself and how this picture makes me feel” is my favorite aspect of photography. Being able to get myself and others out of the comfort zone is great.

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tasha tees

Photography and Styling by Iona Volynets

Designed by iona volynets

iona volynets is a D.C. based designer on depop.

When did your passion for art start?

I’ve always liked drawing and painting. I also had a grandma who was an amazing artist but she wasn’t classically trained or anything. She would come over and pause cartoons from the TV, then paint images of them. She would then cut photos of me and my brother and insert us into all of these really cute scenes, like we were in a space cartoon or something. So that was part of it… I watched her do all of these cool creative projects and it inspired me. But I’ve always liked doing art.

How did you get into the fashion world?

During my sophomore year of high school, I started painting on a lot of my clothing. People were like “Wow, I really love your clothes, can you make some for me?” So I figured if people liked having my art on their clothes then I could do it in a more serious way rather than casually painting phone cases or pants. That summer, I looked up how to make tshirts. I found a bunch of stuff from Michaels’ and I created different designs that I thought would look cool on shirts. Then, I made them.

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Designed by iona volynets

Has DePop been a good platform for turning your art into a business?

I like DePop a lot because you get to chat with people. People can send me what color and size they want and I get to make it very personal.

However, I just found out that DePop now owns the rights to my art.

So if I were to try and make my line an independent business and I got really big, they could be like, “Those are our designs.” I’m not expecting this to be a fashion empire. I just like having it be something I do on the side so it’s not that big of a deal. But if people want to make a big business out of it then they can make their own website.

Do you feel like you’re still being authentic to your vision even though you’re making clothes for other people?

Like I said, when I’m drawing I just think about what I would like on a t-shirt and what I think would look cool. I don’t feel like I’m pandering to a certain viewpoint or anything. I feel like I’m being authentic to what I like and what I like making. Overall, I love interacting ” with people and trying to make a difference in peoples’ lives. Making clothes is something that I want to stick with as a hobby because it puts me in a completely different mindset. It resets and relaxes me.

“I’m being authentic to what i like... making.

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tasha tees

Photography and Styling by Iona Volynets

Vinnie hagEr is an illustrator from Annapolis, MD. Illustrations by Vinnie Hagar.

Why art and design?

My mom was really creative. We would always do little art projects and in general, she did a lot of design work. There were also a lot drawing materials around the house so I was always doodling. When I was in high school, I would draw on my papers and not pay attention in class. One day I was just like, “Why don’t I put this on a piece of paper and sell it?” That’s what I did in eighth and ninth grade. From then, I started doing bigger pieces and getting involved in other art activities at school. I guess it all just branched from that.

What gave you the inspiration to say “Hey, maybe I can pursue this as a career?”

I was in the National Art Honor Society from 10th to 12th grade. Also, at the time everyone was starting to use Instagram so I would post these little drawings on my account. My friends would be like “Oh I want that!” and I would just give it to them. Then I was like “Why do I give it to them for free when I could make 10 bucks or something?”. So I started doing that. Though, honestly, I still didn’t post that much artwork on social media until around two years ago. At that point, I was mainly posting to get into little shows or gallery events. I was going to go into school for business but then I decided, “Let me just do the arts thing and see where it goes.” So far, it’s been good. I go to the Maryland Institute College of Art. 15 | Inbold Magazine

“THERE ARE NO RULES IN ART. WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO... GO FOR IT.”

Was it ever nervewracking to put your stuff out there like that?

No, to be honest I never really cared.

Whatever I liked to draw, I would just put it out there. I just wanted to show people what I was working on.

A lot of your pieces have a theme to them, specifically with the types of patterns and symbols. How did you develop your style?

It all stemmed from making very intricate doodles at school. Later, it branched off into really colorful and imaginative mixed media. It was a natural process. I don’t know where it stemmed from but as you work on your art, it develops and develops.

Just recently, I’ve been getting influenced by other artists and watching art documentaries. I never really had a lot of influences when I started. I just enjoyed drawing. People would say my work was different from what they had seen before and I was like “Okay, cool. It’s not just like a painting of a boat or something.” It was something different to look at.

People would also like searching for small words in my paintings so I continued to incorporate different objects and maze-like things. But yeah, my style just developed over time and with different inspirations.

Are you ever influenced by other

types of media?

Yeah, I might be listening to a random song on YouTube and I’ll just write down the lyrics in a drawing.

Someone might be like “Why did you include those really sad lyrics?” and I’m like, “I don’t know, I just heard them and put them down!”

What would you tell any high schoolers who want to pursue their art seriously?

I would say the cliche: don’t care what anyone thinks. Just do it and have fun with it. Just experiment.

There are no real rules in art so do whatever you want to do... go for it.

You can use social media to promote it. Yeah, share your work. That’s really important. Talk to people and get involved with after school programs. Go to art gallery openings and work on stuff everyday. Draw in class if you don’t want to listen. Just do stuff like this to stay inspired.

I love that. Your positivity is contagious!

Yeah, it’s so important to show people your art and stay positive while doing it. If they like it, they like it, and if they don’t, somebody else will! Just keep making art and exploring different creative outlets.

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Feature

April + VISTA is the D.C. based duo that is defying genres and making music that appeals to them, not just the music industry.

Photography by Agatha Powa

How did you two meet?

April: We went to college together but we didn’t know each other. We met when I reached out to Matt on Soundcloud and asked if he wanted to meet up in D.C. to talk about music and stuff. From that point on, we’ve been working together.

What were some of the helpful resources for you in DC when you were both starting out?

Matt: I started off working with a bunch of the rappers in the area. They were just starting out too and they were going to these open mics like Everlasting Life Cafe. That was one of the places where all the rappers and producers would perform on Saturday nights. It became the center of our little community. There, I was able to meet a lot of the producers, rappers, and creatives in the area that would help shape my sound.

April: In 2014, when Matt and I started working on music, there were still some resources in D.C. but they were dwindling. There were

places like MOUSAi House, a warehouse that had spaces for artists to record, that was especially helpful for us. When that went away, we realized that there aren’t that many resources in D.C. for creatives. Over the years, they’ve been erased. Now, we normally just write at home and then go to studios afterwards.

What’s made you stay?

Both: Student loans.

April: Here’s a big lesson for anyone reading this: when you go to school… make sure you don’t get no loans. That’s something we didn’t realize until later on.

Now we’re like, “Damn, we gotta pay these back. That sucks.”

Matt: If we could, we would dip. I love D.C. and the whole DMV area but I only started travelling last year. My first time going to L.A. was in June and I loved it there. I would love to spend some time somewhere else to see how I develop my sound or grow as a human but… student loans. On top of that, the community we have here has re-

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ally helped us grow and if we were to move right now, we wouldn’t get another community as strong.

April: Yeah. We just recently got to a point where we’re travelling for music, like going on tour and taking extending leases, but we both still work 9 to 5 jobs!

able to work in a team that doesn’t necessarily center around you is a skill in itself. I also learned a lot about the business side of music— what things to look for in a manager, how to negotiate splits, and other things like that. On the creative side, I learned how to think on my feet. Matt and I take a long Wow! What’s it like balancing all of time to develop our songs. We have that? to write at home, then go to the stuApril: It’s very very hard. When we dio and perform what we’ve already put out Note to Self, our second EP, made. Rappers don’t do that. They we were getting to a very frustrated think on the spot. They get beats part of our lives. It sucked having to sent to them, write down all their stay up and record then go to work lyrics, and then spit them out. As right after. Now a vocalist, a rap“Being able to it’s getting even per will say to more strenu“I want you work in a team you, ous because we on this song” and that doesn’t have even bigwhen you walk ger opportunities into the studio, necessarily coming our way. you’ll have five Overall, though, center around minutes to think it all teaches you what you’re you is a skill in about a work ethic that gonna write. One I really like. We time at a studio itself.” handle our own session, they had marketing and design because that’s a whole choir waiting for me and the nature of our day jobs. So our jobs I had to quick figure out how to help us but balancing it all is hard. direct an entire choir for the first time! It’s all really fun actually and That’s impressive. On a different it helps you become a fast thinker. note, we fangirled over how you guys work with other DMV artists Do you ever feel pressure to crelike Goldlink. What has that been ate for a certain audience now that like? you’re getting more opportunities?

April: The biggest thing that I Matt: We do what we enjoy. There’s learned from working with other no pressure for us to make whatmusicians was how to fall back and ever we think are “tight songs”. We be a tool for someone to use. Being realize that for streaming services, 21 | Inbold Magazine

record labels, or anyone listening to our music, it’s easier to put us in certain categories. We’re considered as a branch of R&B but we don’t only see our music as R&B. Our stuff is more experimental and it takes from a lot of different genres to just be called R&B. At the same time, we get a lot of opportunities because people think that we’re R&B. We’ll be

asked to get on R&B songs or we’ll be thrown on big R&B playlists. We get money from this stuff. It’s cool, honestly, but we want to stay true to our own definition of ourselves.

April: Yeah, these are things you have to think about as an independent artist because how you’re categorized in general can determine how many people come across your music.

“... We want to stay true to our own definition of ourselves.”

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April: Yeah, we went to Europe for the first time last year.

Matt: We also did Colours in Germany which was so cool.

That’s awesome! That video is blowing up by the way.

April: We know! It’s exciting. We stopped looking at it though just in case we get negative comments.

What’s been one of the most exciting things you have done as musicians?

Matt: We did a tour with Little Dragon. We were like Little Dragon superfans when that happened.

April: Yeah, going on tour with them was crazy. We were so shook.

It was basically going on tour with your favorite band of all time.

Matt: Exactly! I would say the most exciting thing is a tie between touring with Little Dragon or with Goldlink. That was my first ever tour so it was a big moment. It was also my first time going overseas.

Everyone loves it! You even got a shout out from Masego. If you could give advice to teens who are pursuing music, what would you say?

Matt: For producers, don’t take it so seriously when you’re starting out.

That takes the joy out of it sometimes. You should take it seriously once you get to college. Also, at that age, you’ll start to see people who have “figured it out”. Don’t mess up your own self-image because you feel like you need to be like them. It wasn’t until after college that I really began to fall into who I really am.

April: When you’re in high school, you think to yourself: “I’m aspiring to be a musician… I’m aspiring to be a creative.” You’re not aspiring.

You are that person already! So stop saying that. I’ve learned that in the music industry, especially as a female, everyone is looking at you like you’re the least experienced person there. If you start recognizing now that you’re not “aspiring”, by the time you get to an important point in your career, you will already have the confidence that you need to stand tall in who you are.

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Warpstr

Maryland’s teen producer pushing electronic music into the mainstream.

Photography by Sophia-Liv Maguire Styling by Warpstr

“I want to influence the climate of pop music and what reaches people’s ears...”

When did you start producing music?

I started when I was 12 on a laptop that was handed down to me. At the time, my two older brothers were into alternative-indie rock music.

One of them was into electronic music so I heard a lot of synthwork in his music. I got my first hardware synthesizer around that time.

So right off the bat you were more interested in the instrumental aspects of music?

Yeah, I was really into electronicdance, specifically. Growing up, my dad always played electronic music like Daft Punk and this one Sirius XM station called “Chill”. It was typically UK downtempo stuff.

I was much more into that kind of ‘moody’ dance music. That’s a huge influence on my music taste now.

Who are some of your favorite producers?

Burial and SOPHIE are some of my favorites currently. Most of my music inspirations aren’t hip hop producers. When I started, I was making dance music so my influences are a lot more electronic and club inspired. There are so many people I could list.

Do you have a certain audience in

mind when you’re making music?

In general, I want everyone to appreciate electronic music. I think it’s totally possible for that to happen since we have popular artists like Calvin Harris and Diplo. But these are some of the only electronic artists that we hear. We never hear alternative artists like Burial in the mainstream. That’s because people always put electronic music in this box of “EDM” where it has a “build up, then drop” structure but electronic music is harder to define than that.

You’re right. There’s so much more to electronic music than just festivals and bass drops.

Exactly! Flume is a great example of someone who’s pushing the narrative that inspires me: experimental electronic sounds can be brought into pop music. He’s producing for pop artists and he’s had a lot of hits. Same thing with artists like Cashmere Cat. You’re already in the industry now but when you start talking to record labels, is there anything you’re excited or nervous about?

I want to influence the climate of pop music and what reaches people’s ears in the next few decades. Yeezus

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by Kanye, for example, is one of my favorite albums but a lot of people didn’t appreciate it when it came out.

People are even just now getting hip to 808s and Heartbreak which is one of my favorite albums of his. I want people to be more forward thinking in terms of music production.

hold online shows on a Tinychat server. At some point, I linked up with this collective called “Weird Kids” and I produced a track for their second compilation album. I got on their stream and did a show for the first time. Through that, I met a lot of my current friends.

What’s the best way to get ahead in Do you identify with bedroom pop the music industry? or lo-fi music?

There isn’t an exact way to climb the In a way, yeah! As Internet culture industry. You could work at a stu- rises, people are finding their music dio as a writer or an engineer but as on Twitter and Instagram from artfar as the music inists who produce dustry today goes, “I want People to in their bedrooms. you could just For the most part, be more post things and I don’t find myself forward people will find under the umbrella them. That’s why bedroom pop thinking in terms of I advise people to and lo-fi but I like of music feel more comfortseeing what these able with releasof artists do production.” types ing their work. with their music. I Don’t feel insecure about your mu- especially like when they collaborate sic or art in general. Someone will with experimental musicians, like appreciate it. It’s all about meet- PC artists in the UK for example. ing people who share similar interests and goals as you. You can Yeah, big things can happen when do this in any way; through so- artists of different genres collabocial media, school, or even on the rate. Hip hop entering the mainstreet. I’m actually moving to L.A. stream is a perfect example of that. soon because it seems like the best Yeah, the introduction of hip hop place to meet other artists like me. has definitely created a lot of leeway in the genre. The fact that AriHow did you find the music scene ana Grande’s most recent album you’re in now? is almost completely inspired by A lot of it was through this online trap is a perfect example of that. I streaming show that was hosted by think if hip hop can make it into a group of artists and content cre- pop then we can be a little more ators called SPF420. They would sonically experimental overall.

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Photography by Trudy Painter

Travis Houze The D.C. photographer documenting musicians and thespians throughout the city.

When did you realize you wanted to pursue photography as a career?

Honestly, I didn't really come to full terms with being a “photographer” until after college. I was doing photo and video projects just for fun. In hindsight, I think I was just setting myself up for where I wanted to go. Somewhere around in my senior year of high school, I figured that I wanted to major in videography because I was already doing it in my freetime. In college, I started focusing more on photography and now I’m in the line of both.

college. I’m out of college now but I’m grateful that I’ve been able to work with the same people over the years because I’ve seen their creative growth. Some of the other art driven models that I know are people that I randomly added on social media.

They’ll reach out me and will be like, “Hey do you want to work together?”

Of course, I say yes. It's really interesting to see how our styles translate together in real life. When we're shooting, I realize that each model is different and that each photograph will present itself differently than anything else that I've taken. That's one of things about photography that I really like.

“Value your eye... it will make towards better decisions in the If you had any advice for your high future.”

What is your favorite subject to photograph?

My favorite subjects are people. I've been doing a lot of portraits and emotional shoots lately. I’m really big on hand placement and how people use their hands to tell a story.

I recently did a shoot with a collaborator that was centralized on the way that the subject’s hands moved and presented themselves in the space.

How do you meet the people you collaborate with?

It varies. A lot of the collaborators that I work with I’ve known since

school self or even when you were just starting out what would it be?

Value your eye. It may not sound like a lot right now but it will make so much sense later. The reason I say that is because it is going to take a while for you to realize what you want to do and how you're going to do it. But if you value your vision now, it will make towards better decisions in the future.

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Photography and Styling by Travis Houze

Haley rose pasquinelli The Maryland based photographer preaching self-love and expression through her camera.

When did you get into photography?

I got into photography around eighth grade. I found a film camera at an antique store and my dad bought it for me. My brother was in high school at the time and his girlfriend took pictures at school. I ended up meeting their photography teacher and he was like, “Your photos are amazing. You need to do this when you’re a freshman!” So, I signed up for his classes. He was the person who helped me get into photography. He pushed me a lot.

He would be honest with me and say, “This is horrible. You need to fix this.” or “This is fantastic. This should be on a magazine!” He was such a good influence on me. He pushed me to my limits and got me to a good point in photography.

What was it like pursuing photography in high school?

I had a lot of resources. For example, I had film cameras, like the vintage ones where you put a blanket over your head, which I still use. There were also digital cameras that I didn’t even know about. It

was very helpful just to experiment with these cameras and figure out what I felt comfortable with. Digital photography is my preference but I’ve recently started to use a lot of color film. It’s such a hard process but you can learn from your mistakes. Plus, I like a challenge.

Are you developing your own style as a photographer?

Yeah, sometimes I have my own style. I’m still trying to figure that out but I’m influenced by 80s and 90s styles. People hate on me by saying, “This is something you would see on Tumblr. You’re a copycat!” but I don’t care what they think.

No way! Do people really say that?

Yes. People throw shade at me sometimes by saying, “Oh, you just saw this on Tumblr and recreated it.” I never do that. I’m always trying to think of my own ideas.

Sometimes, other artists inspire me and sometimes they don’t. I’m trying to figure out what my own style is and it’s a hard process. It’s like trying to figure out who you

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Photography and Styling by Haley Rose Pasquinelli Model: Ingridi

are as a person. I have specific styles that I like though. I like colors, flowers, diversity, and street style. I also like people dressing up in weird costumes and because of that, making a photo look amazing.

Everything you’re saying about colors, diversity, etc. totally shows through in your art. It sucks that people hate on you for being similar to Tumblr artists though.

Yeah! I got a lot of hate during my junior year of high school because people said I’m a “tumblr wannabe.”

It hurt my feelings at first but my teacher told me that people are always going to hate on your work because they are jealous that they didn’t take the photo themselves. I’ve had very popular photographers message me and say “Your work is amazing” which is unbelievable.

I‘ve had so many supporters tell me that they would pay for my work but I don’t care about the money.

As long as you like the photo and I like the photo, that’s what’s important to me. I’ve had both a lot of hate and a lot of support over the years but that’s how art works.

day, still remain authentic. It sounds like you’re already trying to do that.

Yeah but sometimes I learn from the criticism. All in all though, sometimes you’ll get hate as an artist and sometimes people are like, “Shit! Your work is amazing!”

When shooting, what do you want to get out of a photo?

I don’t have twenty or thirty year old professional models so I get young, diverse people who have never been in a photoshoot. They get very uncomfortable in front of the camera so I tell them, “Just be you. Show me what you’re feeling right now.” I want to show in a photo what a person is feeling and who they are. That’s what makes me happy about my work: when the emotions of the subject capture people’s eyes. In a lot of magazines, everyone has a serious face so you’ll just look at the clothes and say “Oh, this is nice.” In my photos, if a girl is wearing a bright color, I want her to be happy and comfortable in her own skin. If someone’s wearing something dark, I want them to be sad or angry or whatever they’re feeling. When it turns out well, I can feel the emotions too and that’s so much better than getting money.

I couldn’t care less about money.

“I want to show in a photo what a person is feeling and who they are.”

That’s definitely the mark of a true artist. You just have to receive everyone’s opinions but at the end of the

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Photography and Styling by Haley Rose Pasquinelli Model: Liv Ratnavale