The Music Issue | Volume 6 | Issue 3
Blue Lotus Music Collective Broadside interview Featured artist: Jessica Carey Anousheh Khahlili
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Word on the Street RVA Bikes Blue Lotus Music Collective Featured Artist: Jessica Carey Subterranea Broadside Richmond Hip-hop Diamond Greene
01 02 03 04 06 08 10 11
Anousheh Khahlili The Unknown National Anthem Joy’s Paradox in Melancholic Music Heavy Metal Flea Market Free Tobey: How Sweet Saved Halloween Album Reviews Fashion Ediotrial
12 14 20 22 23 24 26
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR If there is one thing I know better than anything else about this beautiful city, it’s that no matter what day of the week it is, music can be heard somewhere in Richmond. Acoustic folk music at The Camel, heavy metal from Strange Matter, or a big-name artist performing at The National — music is everywhere. We have dedicated our winter issue of INK to the amazing performers who have made their mark here and the events and activities that have been inspired through music. Also back by popular demand is our Word on the Street spread as well as the ever-popular fashion editorial. And if that wasn’t enough for you Inkaholics, we also have a fold-out poster of Richmond’s infamous metal-mashing aliens GWAR. I hope you all enjoy this issue and please like us on Facebook, follow us on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram and subscribe to our Youtube channel. We want to hear from our readers and learn what you all want to see and learn about. Sincerely, Cort Olsen
Executive Editor Photo by Anna Shcherbakova
FEBRUARY 2014 6.03 EDITOR IN CHIEF Cort Olsen MANAGING EDITOR Daniel Potes COPY EDITOR Meagan Dermody FASHION EDITOR Jennifer Mawyer WEB EDITOR Rebecca Metcalf DESIGNERS Sagal Hassan Miranda Leung Anna Shcherbakova Veronica Sung CONTRIBUTING STAFF Mikayla Baumgartner Jessica Clarke Jose D’Alte Brandon Geib Emmett Methven Alexandra Mitchell Chloe Oelhafen Carola Rojas Shannon Roulet Zachary Stapel Trevor Wells COVER BY Emmett Methven ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Mike Rodriguez David Mistler
IINK MAGAZINE and the STUDENT MEDIA CENTER OFFICES 817 W. Broad St. P.O. Box 842010 Richmond, Va. 23284 Phone: (804) 828-1058 Ink magazine is a student publication, published quarterly with the support of the Student Media Center To advertise with Ink, please contact our Advertising representatives at inkmagazineads@vcustudentmedia.com Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the VCU Student Media Center.
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www.facebook.com/inkmagazinevcu www.inkmagazinevcu.tumblr.com All content copyright © 2014 by VCU Student Media Center, All rights reserved. Printed locally
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on the
street
Campus Life
worD
story and photos by Mikayla BaumgaRtner
If you could give a piece of advice to a group of people, what would it be? “Go with your instinct and go at your own pace.”
If you could give one piece of advice to a group of people, what would it be?
— Jason Kress, sophomore
“Be honest.” — Sampson Hijar, junior
If you could change one thing about the world what would it be? “For more of a thought process — for people to consider other points of view, even if they don’t agree with them. People don’t think that way; it’s ‘if you don’t think the way I think then you’re wrong’. Just look at politics. No one shoots for what makes sense anymore. They just pick sides.” — Kyle Monroe, junior
What is your greatest struggle right now? “My greatest struggle is probably doing things I’m supposed to do. I can’t bring myself to do them — no matter how important. I think maybe I’ve always thought life should be full of things you want to do, not have to do.” — Daijah Eames, freshman
Has anything inspired you lately? “Yeah, I think so. I recently got a job at VCU, which is exciting.”
Who is your biggest influence? “My mother.”
What did you get a job doing?
Why?
“Redesigning some websites and posters around school.” “Yes.”
“Because she kind of raised us by herself and getting older, I realize how hard that is. Although she had the financial support of my father, she didn’t have the emotional … She’s a strong woman.”
What do you love most about it?
— Kelechi Anyaugo, junior
Are you a graphic design major?
“I like making things that people use.” — Michael Couchman, sophomore february 2014
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R V B A i k e s
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If you told most people that you were going to ride a fixed-gear bike with no brakes through Richmond in the middle of the night and drink heavily while doing it, you’d probably get laughed at. However, there’s a select few who do this every week, and they do it right under your nose. They brave freezing cold temperatures, pitch-black streets in dodgy neighborhoods, and not-so-careful drivers; they do it with only a pair of cycling lights, the occasional helmet, and their equallyas-crazy comrades pedaling with them. This hodge-podge group is made up of people from all walks of life: couriers, commuters, chain-smokers, health freaks, the young and the elderly. Everyone is welcome, so long as they have a bike and beer money. Many of them are members of unofficial clubs, sporting denim vests with patches representing their different outfit. On any given ride, you’ll see members of Dad’s House BC, Skullbong Rules Earth, Girl Cave and Gene Pool (just to name a few) chant-
ing, racing or just dicking around. To put it simply, they’re Richmond’s fun-loving, non-violent version of motorcycle gangs. However, underneath the alcohol-fueled debauchery, there’s an incredibly rich culture surrounding the RVA cyclists that dates back to at least 2004. They’ll host events such as the Thursdad’s night ride, a weekly red-eye bike tour of the city, or the huge Slaughterama Bicycle Festival, where each club will compete for prizes and clout. They’ll even host film festivals with movies from across the world, i.e. Bike Smut Presents: Porny Express, the Richmond Bike-film Fest, etc. The guys and gals populating RVA’s bike lanes don’t care about trophies, living in the capital of anything, or who did what and when. If there’s any shared dedication among them, it’s to those everlasting moments of unpretentious, unadulterated fun. They drink, laugh and ride like it’s their destiny. Story and photos by Jose D’Alta
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B l u e L o t u s Collective What began as a simple urge to make music with friends has evolved in the last few years to become a collective of bands taking the music into their own hands. While not a unique idea, collectives have always had a strong place in artistic communities, whether it’s New York art collectives from the ’80s or popular modern music collectives such as Arcade Fire and Odd Future, these collaborations of artists inevitably lead to artistic growth and strength. This collective, known as the Blue Lotus Collective, started as a loose group of musicians all wanting to get together and play music. Through the organizational effort of founders Will Nelson and Clifton Gibbons, they were transformed into a cohesive and active group. Consisting of many different bands and musicians, the Blue Lotus Collective combines genres to make an awesome mix of local music that is both eye catching and head turning. One such musician, Andrew Harrison, known as “Ashes,” had this to say about collectives: “Collectives are sick because it’s a ton of friends getting together and caring about each other’s music, it brings everyone together and brings solidarity into the music making community.” Several other such collectives have also recently formed, such as The Gene Pool Collective and the Subterranea Collective, what all of these collectives have in common is their love of music and shows. Starting out playing at local house shows, these collectives grew and gained plenty of community attention. The Blue Lotus Collective used this attention to get residency at popular restaurant and bar Emilio’s, which allowed the collective to play most every other Thursday and gave both the bands in the collective and the restaurant a mutual relationship that helped them grow. Having finished the residency, the Blue Lotus Collective is actively searching for more talented artists and more and more locations to play in. Story by Daniel Potes Photos by blue lotus collective
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Featured Artist Jessica Carey
INK: What kind of materials did you use? Jessica Carey: I just used a thin sharpie and some water color for the first. I haven’t found exactly what my favorite medium is yet, so that was basically a result of experimentation, but I kind of like it.
Miley in puppet form come from? Does it have a kind of message or meaning behind it? JC: Basically just this idea that Miley has become a spectacle. There’s not really any positive or negative intention behind it.
INK: About how long did each piece take to finish? JC: The charcoal pieces are done pretty quickly. Once everything is drawn accurately, then rendering takes no time at all because the paper is toned so all your mid-tones are already there. It’s just a matter of going back in with the darks and lights. So probably only a couple of hours depending on the size. The colored ones vary depending on what I’m using, like the colored pencil ones take much longer than the ink or paints because blending them is another whole process.
INK: What’s your perception on Miley having gone from long brunette hair with a Disney image to her pigtail buns and crazy wardrobes? JC: I actually think that it’s completely normal for a twenty-something year-old to experiment with their appearance. I don’t understand why people find it so bizarre, I mean, she’s a pop star. I almost admire her for being so ballsy. It’s only weird to the public because we basically watched her grow up. There’s no way being under a magnifying (glass) your whole life is enjoyable. I’m not a huge fan of her music, but I just think everyone needs to relax with the constant critiques in terms of her appearance
INK: Where did your inspiration to make 4
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and if you’re not a fan, just watch something else! There’s room for everyone! INK: Can you list the names of each person in the piece with all the artists in one, starting from the top middle and going clockwise? JC: Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Freddie Mercury, Madonna, David Bowie, Britney Spears, Elton John and Lady Gaga. INK: Was there any certain reason why you picked those eight artists to come together or were they just randomly put together? JC: Those eight (to me personally) are the most easily recognizable names in pop. They have this iconography about them that makes them identifiable in less than a second, which is kind of incredible in itself.
INK: Also the name (if any) of the guy with the flashy colors? JC: That’s my friend Matt! I had wanted to do a portrait of him for a while because I don’t really do boys’ portraits and he has, like, a really structured face that I thought would look cool straight on. And it’s actually a finger-painting because when I sat down to paint it all my brushes were dried out and just a hot mess. And I’m too broke to buy any new ones. INK: Out of the three self-portraits you gave me, which is your favorite and why? JC: Probably the one of me drawing myself because it’s first time I think I successfully made an immediately recognizable self-portrait. I learned how to check my accuracy and little tricks like that freshman year that were really helpful, and it was the first time I stuck out a drawing from start to end that had no affiliation with a school project. I just did it on my own time and it kind of gave me a little motivation. Self-portraits are cool, too, because you can basically draw yourself however you want. It’s like a less-boring, more-laborintensive version of a selfie. interview By Carola Rojas Art by Jessica Carey
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Subterranea The professional world of music had become treacherous in past years. Record labels fighting artists over money, the ethical debate over music piracy and the inflated egos that surround music culture have taken their toll. The problem seems to be that the focus has become success and popularity at the cost of the people creating the music and the music itself. The music scene in Richmond has grown rapidly in the last few years due in part to the vibrant and unassuming music culture built on a very different idea — that when likeminded artists join together to help each other be best they can be, they will. The Subterranea Multimedia Collective isn’t your typical label, conglomerate or even collective; in fact coming up with a concise definition of what they are goes against the spirit of Subterranea. Taking the term collective quite literally, Subterranea is the people that comprise it more so than any of their objectives. “It’s a collective, everyone is friends. It’s dudes who it feels good to play with but we don’t necessarily share a sound with,” said Brandon Graig, the lead singer of Basmati. 6
“It’s more about the people in it I like, they can hang out without always being serious like ‘Oh, we have to release this record.’ It’s loose, it’s relaxing, we joke around a lot, it vibes well.” The Subterranea vibe has taken a foothold in the city and, for good reason, they have succeeded in joining a variety of different sounds into a cohesive bevy, as Head of Press and musician Michael Barry put, is “All of us in Subterranea come from such a wide variety of backgrounds in music, from punk to folk to jazz to jam rock to metal and back around. What connects us as like-minded people is that we are all very appreciative of all kinds of unique and forward thinking things that different artists in all genres do with their sounds.” The diversity within the collective results in some of the most notable shows around, with acoustically based acts such as Brother Wolf, We Never and Antiphons contrasting the punky, noise-influenced Navi and New Turks. The retro melodic-emo style of groups such as Cheyenne, Parentheses and Freaky J and the Bears contrast the electronic styling of Lotus Grid, hue and 88, as well as the bands Subterranea might be best known for, Night
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Idea, Houdan The Mystic, Way Shape or Form and Basmati with their ability to meld melodic influences into progressive math-rock. Though they have grown in number over the past two years of the collective’s official existence, they try to keep the ties loose, the idea being that they are not a label but a collection of artist who all help each other create shows and get bands to wherever they decide to go. “It’s more of a bunch of guys working together to get where we wanna be,” said Carter Burton of Night Idea In fact, an official list of band that form the collective has never been made, they’ve simply grown together through like-minded creativity and passion for the music they make. “I’d love to have a list but we would inevitably be leaving people off the list who should be on it. I feel like that’s kept us from making one almost. I don’t know if some people would want to be associated or have to deal with the problem of people asking to be on the list, which is the worst,” said Reid LaPierre of Houdan The Mystic, Night Idea and co-founder of the collective. “We’re also not a record label, if you’re a record label you’ve got to be doing a ton of stuff and I’m playing in four bands and I’m not trying to get into all of that.” This isn’t to say that Subterranea hasn’t helped bands that have joined their communal spirit get their music out there. Aside from their web of home grown basement recording studios run by various member of the collective, last year in a partnership with Worthless Junk, Subterranea was able to crowd source the funds to press vinyl’s for Cheyenne, Way Shape or Form and Shy, Low, who has since been picked up by the Seattle-based Spartan Records. For the greater portion of the bands, “It’s mostly pay-what-you-want digital releases,” Barry said. “We’re not hard to find.” As far as the collective has come over its short life, LaPierre has even bigger plans for the future. “I’d love to be able to crowd source more printing of records, really whatever a band wants to do, to help them do it. Set up a show, and if it takes $900 to press 300 vinyls, have a show at the Camel with like four of the Subterranean bands, take all the money from the show and instead of splitting it between the four bands, let it all go to our friend’s record or whatever. We could make half of it in one night.” The affinity for vinyl has to do just as much with the art as it does the sound of a record. Keeping in the spirit that Subterranea is more
than just about the music, it serves as a canvas for band to convey the ideas of the piece though more than just their music alone. “I like vinyl a lot. It’s kinda cool because you can put more art and care into a vinyl than you can put into a CD case,” LaPierre said. “The sound is great too obviously but it’s nice to have a big piece. It’s a big ordeal; you can carry it around with you. I love to hand a band 15 bucks and not just get a T-shirt for it.” This idea of community within the collective reaching out to join with the creative spirit even beyond that of Richmond is what sets Subterranea apart. In an effort to open up the range of the local scene, Subterranea brings in acts from all over the country to play shows with them, forging bonds between bands with original ideas about the music they’re creating. “We find some bands whose music we like, and asked them to come play Richmond when they were looking for shows. We then book them with Subterranea bands, which is easy to do because of out variety in genre and pretty much guarantee them some sort of turn out for the shows,” Barry said. “They’d get a good turnout and want to come back to play next time they were on tour, and in turn inform bands they have played with (or) are friends of what we have here in Richmond.” As the reputation of the collective continues to grow, they have found themselves playing less house shows moving onto more legitimate venues such as The Camel, Gallery 5 and Strange Matter though the house shows will never stop. “We’ll always be playing house shows,” Barry said. “It’s our roots.” Many bands that Subterranea brings in come back for more once they love the positive attitude the collective creates. “Roz and the Rice Cakes from Rhode Island have played here three, maybe four times because they know they have fans and will have a good show,” Barry said. This spirit is what seems to set Subterranea apart from the traditional music scene. There are no egos, no pretention, no stepping on other artists to get ahead; instead there is a spirit of good will and a desire to help everyone succeed in what they want to do. As their website plainly states, they’re a collective that strives to be more, more open, more communal and more about the art. To check out the bands of Subterranea, visit their website subterraneacollective.org. Story by Zachary Stapel Photos by auxsend.tv
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Broad s i d e “You know other people got married and had kids, and we decided to fuck off for the rest of our lives. We’ll never grow up.” That was just one of a few inspirational gems that members of the hard-hitting pop-punk band Broadside imparted to me at Kingdom’s Halloween show featuring another Richmond local band Conditions. Broadside has been around for a few years, and with this time they have managed to gain quite a cult following here in Richmond and are extending their reach to other locations on the next tour they were about to depart on. I first met the members of Broadside at Sound Check Studios, when they performed with On My Honor and Veara. Their sound rivaled that of such bands in the pop-punk scene as The Wonder Years, Major League and Valencia. What caught my attention the most was the way they were capable of commanding the audience just as well as the headlining bands as opposed to the other local bands opening the show. I was able to sit down with the members of Broadside before their show at Kingdom, which turned out to be the most entertaining interview that I have conducted to date.
INK: Tell me about Broadside. Oliver (Ollie) Bierman: Andrew and Jade started in a band in L.A. and they started becoming homosexuals so they moved to Virginia where it was legal (joke). Then they pretty much said, “Fuck that old band and let’s start a new band and call it Broadside.” I don’t know how Josh came into the picture. Josh Glupker: Jade and I were working at the same restaurant and at the time my band was about to break up, so he said, “Come on, pussy, if you want to be in a real band, come be in my band,” and I committed that day. We played our first show three years ago today. OB: One day I got a message on Youtube, at the time I was doing R&B covers and Andrew hit me up asking me if I would be interested in joining a band, because I guess their old vocalist peaced. So I’ve been in the band coming up on a year now. Jade Estrella: Ever since Ollie came into the picture, it’s been like a completely new band. Not like a new sound, but a better sound. We 8
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feel like our songs are real songs that are more relatable to the fans. INK: Who do you guys take inspiration from? OB: We all come from different walks of life, but as a whole I feel like we are all inspired by like the early 2000s pop-punk scene, like Saves The Day, Taking Back Sunday, Limp Bizkit. But then we all branch out and like our own type of shit — like Jade is really into post hardcore, I’m really into rap and R&B. JE: Andrew writes all of his stuff after listening to Slipknot. He will listen to a whole discography and then goes and writes his shit. INK: Are there any local bands that you guys admire? JG: Oh yeah definitely: Conditions, Strike Anywhere, Lamb of God, Battle Ghost, you name it. INK: How was it making the music video for Storyteller? JG: It was hot! 90 percent [of the time] that we weren’t shooting, our shirts were off. Andrew Duntan: We all had towels and water bottles, so like after every single take we had to stop and and like wipe our faces off and hydrate. JE: The spot where we shot the video, we had to lift all of our gear up and carry it up like a 20/30-foot hill. We felt like we were almost at like a 90 degree angle. By the time we got up there we were already done. OB: It was cool though, because we are all babies, we needed some kind of reward. So the party shots were actually just of us partying and they just happen to be filming it. So it was just cool at the end of the day we could just act a goddamn fool. INK: Where was the video shot at? JE: Oh we can’t tell you that. OB: We can’t tell you but just know it was all Richmond-based. JE: Maybe on the wrong side of the river but still in Richmond. OB: And definitely close to VCU heads, you know close enough to throw a baseball, if they’re strong. INK: When are you guys heading out on tour? OB: We’re heading out on [November] 1st. AD: Our first show is going to be in Staten Island, New York, then we go to Thomas, Massachussets, then over to Connecticut, then we just start making our way back down the coast. OB: Our next Richmond show will be [November] 10th at Sound Check Studios.
INK: What do you guys think of the poppunk scene here in Richmond? OB: It’s very hit-or-miss, in the sense of there is a pop-punk scene, but they only come out when the bigger bands come through, and even then sometimes if the wind is blowing too hard that day the kids won’t come out. I’m not shit-talking or anything, but it’s just really hard to get kids motivated on pop-punk out here. Richmond is a very tough and angry city, and so most of those kids are the same type of person. I found that a lot of the kids that are into the hardcore scene, are also the pop-punk kids, so like I said it’s hit-or-miss. It’s a tough crowd to gage.
INK: Where can people find more information about the band and where can they hear more of your music? OB: We are on all social media outlets — Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter — and it is all BroadsideVA or BroadsideOfficial on Instagram. As far as our records go, we have Bandcamp and our Facebook links right to our website along with the rest of our social media pages thanks to the magical world of the internet. Interview and photos by Cort Olsen
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Richmond Hip-Hop
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“Barbara Streisand records all of her music out of her guest bedroom. I saw that shit on Good Morning America one day and it blew my socks off,” Michael Millions tells me this whilst I sit down in his living room. We’re talking about his new studio versus his old and surprisingly enough, the living room is the new one. “My old studio was nice, it had all the equipment and it looked legit, but we didn’t need it, I just decided we should invest in some nice equipment and do it from here,” he said. His attitude is refreshing — sure, a studio looks cool, but recording music from his living room sure sounds a lot more comfortable. I soon find out that the simplicity of his recording style is fitting to his Richmond roots; with that same raw approach to the art of music thriving amongst hip hop organizations, musicians and associated artists within the city. The Student Hip–Hop Organization, which started in Richmond at VCU in 2006, has seen a surge in video and music collaborations across Virginia. Musicians are rapidly releasing original work and, as Millions puts it, “everything is elevating at the same time.” It seems Richmond is becoming a creative hub, just last month both Millions and Richmond-based newcomer Cullen Bonham put out records, only a month earlier hip hop artists Nickelus F and Ohbliv collaborated to put out Yellow Gold 2, all productive efforts that aren’t going unnoticed.
The William and Mary Hip–Hop Collection, an archive that was put together last year by William and Mary professor Kevin Kosanovich, has recently become the subject of international attention, with students from as far as Oxford in the United Kingdom seeking to look at the documentation of what Kosanovich calls “a diverse and progressive community.” The hip–hop archivist can only agree with Millions’ excited attitude about the direction that Richmond hip-hop is heading in – with both of them agreeing that the direction is unique. “What I am really excited about is that there are so many talented people pushing the boundaries of what hip–hop is” Kosanovich says. And while the effect of pushing those boundaries can be heard in the music that has been pumping out of Richmond, according to Millions, it’s the feeling that pushing those boundaries creates that has been the most significant. “I’m a rapper, so at one point I used to talk about shooting and killing and selling drugs and all of that crazy shit, but I was a kid, I wasn’t doing half of that shit. But now, times have changed and it’s OK to be artists, it’s OK that I’m a little weird, it’s OK to be smart, it’s OK to be yourself.” Story by Rebecca Metcalf Photo by forest pando
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DiamondGreene Diamond is a regular Richmond-native high school student at day and an up-and-coming R&B artist by night. I discovered this talented gem when she was competing for a single distribution deal for a talent competition hosted by WU-TANG management which she won. She recently released her single ‘Jokes On Me,’ along with a music video with well over 2500 views on YouTube. I sat down with Diamond to get to know a little about her past, present and future.
INK: How would you describe your music? Diamond Greene: My music is made to empower young women my age to be who you are no matter what anyone tells you. Even through the break-ups you have to stay true to who you are. INK: What made you want to pursue music? DG: I wanted to [pursue] music when I was little and started singing in the church choir and I have been going ever since then! INK: What are 3 words to describe your music? DG: I would say fun. Relatable. Me. INK: What do you think has been your biggest break so far? DG: My biggest break was when I was featured on Channel 6 because now people can put a face to the name. It was an amazing experience being on TV and getting my music and name out there. INK: What differentiates you from different artists your age? DG: I’m an artist who puts school at the top of the list because I am a student first. Many artists rely on music for everything, but without an education I wouldn’t be able to go far. I have cheerleading practice and homework and then when all of that is done I focus on my music.
INK: Who are your musical influences and why? DG: My musical influences are Beyoncé because she has attitude and Alicia Keys because she has a soft side but she also empowers women. INK: Do you have any rituals before you perform? DG: I pray and thank God for bringing me this far, to allow me to do what I was [sent] to do and to send his angels to surround me as I perform to do my very best and give my all. INK: How do you balance being a student and being an up-and-coming musician? DG: When I’m not doing homework, I’m working on music and new material. If my homework isn’t done, I usually will not start anything dealing with music, but when I get a few lyrics I’ll stop my homework and write them down so that I won’t forget them.
DG: Success is being happy with what you’re doing. I don’t define success as materialistic value because to me money is nothing. I’d rather wake up every day being happy doing what I love to do rather than getting up everyday dragging along because I don’t INK: Did you have music want to go to work. Having a goal around you when you were and setting out to achieve it is besmall? DG: I did, my mother listened to a ing successful. lot of old music and gospel music, my dad would listen to old music, INK: If you could perform with anyone dead or alive who and my aunts and cousins sing would it be? so whenever I’m around family there’s always music floating in the DG: It would be Whitney Houston because she was so genuine atmosphere. and an amazing artist. She may have had her faults but musically INK: How would you define she was an inspiration. success?
INK: Do you write your own music? DG: I’m just starting to write my own music. I have a song on my EP called “Headphones” that I did write along with another individual named Wayne Truss. Eventually I would love to put out an album of songs that I wrote myself. INK: Well it was nice getting to know a little more about you and I cannot wait to see where your music takes you! DG: Thanks! Interview by Jessica Clarke Photo provided by Diamond Greene
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Anousheh Khalili
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INK: When/how did you get started with music? Anousheh Khalili: I started taking piano lessons when I was very young, probably 6 or 7 [years old]. I took classical piano lessons until I was about 15, playing recitals and competing and all of that. I always loved singing, but I never formally trained as a singer. I quit piano lessons at 15 in favor of writing my own songs. I started playing by ear and soon developed my own style of piano to accompany my vocals and lyrics. INK: What genre would you describe your music as? AK: I honestly don’t know — it’s been hard to define, always. I guess my favorite interpretation so far of my genre is “Smart Pop.” I will always write songs with a dark undertone — sad music is my favorite! — but I also love a catchy melody. The lyrics are important to me as well, at the very least I always strive for my lyrics to be meaningful and cleverly done. No songs about going to the club for me. INK: Do you write all your music? AK: I write all of the lyrics, melody and piano in my songs. In high school I had a songwriting partner — she played guitar. I loved it, but our musical relationship ended when I was in college. In recent years I’ve collaborated with my band members or producers on the instrumentation and arrangement of various songs. I love collaborating; it gets me out of my own head.
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INK: What is your favorite part about being a musician? AK: Having a viable creative outlet and being a part of an art form that connects us all. I also love performing — it’s this rush that you can’t replicate doing anything else. INK: What’s the hardest part? AK: Hauling gear to shows! Actually, the hardest part is the desire to pursue it as a career — there’s no clear-cut path to success. It’s emotional and personal and difficult to juggle business and artistry. A burden and a blessing at the same time. INK: Why do you like creating music? AK: Making music makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile. I am alright at a lot of things, but music is the one thing I am truly good at. This might be naive, but I believe that music is important. I don’t think I know a single person that doesn’t have a favorite style of music, it connects us all. It’s a universal art form, and has a deeply important place in history — changing lives and starting movements. To me, music is proof of the soul.
INK: Are there any specific environments you like or preferences you have when writing and recording? AK: I write at home mostly, or at our practice space with the band. When I do record I prefer to do it for days and days at a time. Not always possible, but things flow so much better when you have lots of time blocked off to bury yourself in the work. INK: What musicians were/are most influential/inspiring to you? AK: I mentioned them above, but as a youngster definitely Tori Amos (she was a piano player after all), Bjork, Nirvana, etc. Nowadays I have an appreciation for newer artists — a lot of them in the punk-turned-folk genre. Neko Case, Ryan Adams, Cat Power, Songs:Ohia, Neutral Milk Hotel … these are some seriously badass songwriters. My husband introduced me to a lot of great music when we met 12 years ago, including some local heroes: Homemade Knives (my husband’s band) and our friend Jonathan Vassar. Still two of the best songwriters I have ever heard. I also have a sick fascination with pop music — I still listen to pop radio to keep up with the newest hits. INK: When/where was your favorite performance? Tell me about it. AK: With DJ Sharam in 2008, in Costa Rica. I was doing some touring with him for a couple of singles we’d collaborated on (these are EDM songs — euro house club stuff). We played at this festival and I came out and sang a couple of songs. There were about 4,000 people in the crowd, and they literally sang EVERY WORD of “Say Hello.” Such an incredibly crazy feeling, I’ll never forget it. INK: How does it feel that “Say Hello” was nominated for a Grammy? AK: It’s awesome! I’m very proud of that song, and going to the Grammys was really exciting. At this point though, it was a while ago (2006). I’m ready for another.
INK: I love your album title “Let the Ground Know Who’s Standing on Him?” What was the idea/inspiration behind that? AK: The title is inspired by something I was trying to tell myself at the time — 2005, a long time ago — to stand up on my own and not be afraid. I was very young, and was coming off of some emotional times I had breaking up with my first bandmate. We had a duo called Estella’s Muse in high school that lasted until our first year at VCU. We were very close and breaking out on my own to write songs again was scary. Most of the emotions behind that title (and album) stem from that fear, but also excitement to be moving on to something new. INK: Do you have any upcoming projects or ideas you’re trying to bring into fruition? AK: I do! Secret stuff! Just kidding, but yes I do have some schemes I’m working on. New music, new producers, big promotional plans. Sign up for my mailing list to get the news first! INK: What advice would you give to a musician who’s just starting out? AK: My advice would be: FOCUS. I was never very good at that ... try to focus on what you want to achieve, small-term goals first. The music business is really fickle, even more so now than it was when I was young. The internet is full of crap to sift through, so the things that stand out are focused and concise. Think about your vision, your audience, your show. Don’t be afraid to collaborate. Listen to people you care about when they tell you things you don’t want to hear. INK: What would you tell someone who is trying to get their foot into the music industry? AK: Don’t get discouraged. You will probably be rejected and ignored by nine out of 10 “industry” people you reach out to. Keep trying, and don’t crumble. Thicken up that skin! It’s business. Focus is great advice here as well. Find people that inspire you and try to work with them. The music industry is not structured at all anymore, so if you have a great idea, you can probably achieve it without a big label’s help. You can make it happen with the help of smart people that have a common vision. Interview by Mikayla Baumgartner Photo by SARAH WALOR
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INK: Do you have a consistent band or do you usually perform alone? AK: These days I primarily play with a band. I still play solo sometimes, but generally with the band. INK: How has music affected your life and shaped you as an individual? AK: I’ve been connected with music as long as I can remember. I played so much classical music as a child, and as a teen in the ’90s, the music that I listened to was everything. I still remember how intensely dedicated I was to my favorite artists, how their songs and words felt like the soundtrack to every detail of my life. I was absolutely obsessed with Tori Amos, along with PJ Harvey, Bjork, Radiohead, Nirvana, Hole, NIN, etc. Even the Lilith Fair ladies, all of those female musicians were my role models. The music of that time really shaped me as a songwriter and musician.
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The Unknown
National Anthem When millennial Richmonders think of D.C., they think of the POTUS and grade-school trips to monuments and memorials. Others think of hardcore (“harDCore”) veterans: Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, and Bad Brains’ H.R. How many think of “the real D.C.”? The city’s large black population and its distinct culture is a big part of Washington, but is vastly unknown to the rest of the country. The heartbeat of this community is go-go, a scene of music that’s totally unique to the District. Although it never captured the attention of major record labels, go-go has been popular in D.C. since the mid-1960s. Named for the go-go clubs that it’s played in, go-go music is a live experience that features audience participation via call-and-response lyrics. It’s a local variant of funk that’s centered around layered polyrhythms that are created with a variety of percussion instruments, including the conga drum, Cuban timbale drums and the cowbell. Go-go features elements of jazz, soul and Latin music as well. This past September, a documentary titled “The Legend of Cool Disco Dan” was screened at the Byrd Theater in Carytown. The film dissects 1980s D.C. through the eyes of Cool Disco Dan, a D.C. graffiti artist. The film touches on poverty, crack-cocaine and “Mayor-for-life” 14
Marion Barry, but the glue of the film is go-go music. Cool Disco Dan and others’ street art was inspired by the go-go scene and its “crews,” groups that would represent different neighborhoods at the go-gos. The documentary describes the sense of community that people feel during these congregations. The shows provide a release after the work week has ended and a rush of excitement from hearing your name during “roll call,” a part of the show where bands would read the names of audience members from notes that were thrown on stage. The roll call would be captured by the PA tape recordings people made of these live shows, copies of which were later sold on the streets of D.C. Hearing your name on a PA tape would make you a momentary legend, like the musicians themselves. “The Legend of Cool Disco Dan” is a great snapshot of one of go-go’s most popular decades. The DVD (narrated by Henry Rollins) can be ordered online. For further reading, check out “The Beat: Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C.” (available at the VCU library), which profiles different go-go bands and dissects their community. Because of D.C.’s proximity to Richmond, go-go culture has spilled into the river city on multiple occasions. The “Godfather of go-go,” Chuck Brown, played at the National Folk Fes-
tival when it came to Richmond in 2006. “The Beat” is pretty clear about Brown’s contributions: “History is replete with argument regarding who started other uniquely American musical styles … However, in Washington, D.C., most folks would answer the question ‘Who started go-go?’ with one name – Chuck Brown.” Although I couldn’t remember this myself because I was 12 years old at the time, my father remembers the go-go legend listing off half a dozen different addresses he had previously lived at in Richmond at the 2006 Folk Festival, including several in Church Hill (and the address of the state penitentiary). A piece by NPR titled “Remembering Go-Go Legend Chuck Brown” reflects on the artist’s history, saying: “Chuck Brown got his start in music shining shoes on the streets of Richmond, Va., in the early 1940s.” Chuck Brown’s last ever concert was not in D.C., but in Richmond at the Hat Factory in February of 2012. He died in May of that year. By 2008, the visiting National Folk Festival (which stays in a city for 3 years) had spawned the first annual Richmond Folk Festival, where another D.C. go-go band, Experience Unlimited (“E.U.”), drew large crowds. Spike Lee’s “School Daze” featured E.U.’s single “Da Butt” on its soundtrack, briefly boosting the bands nation-
al popularity. The Folk Festival guide for 2008 described the local following of the genre as an “almost rabid obsession.” Although the Richmond Folk Festival features acts from all over the world, go-go bands from just 100 miles away perform year after year. Trouble Funk performed at the Folk Festival in 2009, and the following year Rare Essence played. At this year’s Folk Festival, the Chuck Brown All-Star Tribute Band performed. The group, a celebration of the now deceased Chuck Brown’s popular music, was joined on stage by Big Tony from Trouble Funk, Sugar Bear from E.U., Buggs from Junkyard Band and Jas Funk of Rare Essence, as well as Chuck Brown’s daughter, KK. The best way to enjoy go-go is live. On December 29, Rare Essence is playing with Experience Unlimited and Junkyard Band at the historic Howard Theater in Washington, D.C. If you’re unable to see that incredible line-up, keep your eyes peeled for the Folk Festival’s 2014 schedule. There’s a pretty good chance that a prominent go-go band will have Richmond bustin’ loose in the coming year. Story by Alexandra Mitchell Photos by cort olsen
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How can INK have an all-music issue and not talk about GWAR? On December 29th, GWAR came back to their roots here in Richmond during their Battle Maximus Tour. Alongside the rampaging aliens were Thrash Metal fanatics Iron Reagan led by local metal superstar Tony Foresta to perform one hell of a metal show at the National. Iron Reagan opened for GWAR with their fast paced thrash metal with a large banner of Ronald Reagan with a mountain of skulls piled behind him. I have to be honest: I did not understand the connection between Ronald Reagan and the mountain of skulls, aside from the fact that most people believed Ronald Reagan was going to be a war monger in the early days of his presidency. Nevertheless the tyrannical imagery resonated with GWAR’s bloodthirsty audience. I myself could not help but join in in the aggressive moshing, which ended in me breaking my pinky during an intense circle pit. Unaware and surprisingly unaffected by my injury, it did not stop me from rocking out throughout the entire show. Having never been to a GWAR show before, the anticipation for the blood soaking performance and epic stage battles that GWAR is known for was exhilarating. It was like being baptized except instead of water it was waves upon waves of blood wash-
GWAR Battle Maximus Show
ing over the entire audience. Like a child of the Hitler Youth, during GWAR’s famous “killings of celebrities and famous individuals on stage,” I found myself screaming, “Kill them now!” Several times I felt the arms of other audience members being thrown over my shoulder in a sign of camaraderie which was both welcoming and at the same time oddly expected. Watching the epic monster battles took me back to my childhood of watching old Godzilla movies in my parent’s basement, except the battles were taking place right in front of me to the rhythm of double bass drums and shredding guitar solos. Once the show was over I could not wait to go home and Instagram my blood soaked body just for the sake of letting others know I survived. It is the strong opinion of this writer that if you have not been to a GWAR performance, then you are doing yourself a great disservice. No matter if you are a fan of metal or not, going to a GWAR performance should be on every person’s bucket list. Story by Cort Olsen Photos by Shannon Roulet
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Contemporary Issues
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Joy’s Paradox in Melancholy Music In my room, locked safely away in a case under my bed, is one of the most important things in my life: my acoustic bass guitar. The instrument is made by Gavelstone and has a three-sunburst finish. The smooth wood lets it retain a strong natural feel that led to its name:Walden. The name is taken from Henry David Thoreau’s novel of the same name about his time alone with nature. The instrument resonates with the words in that book. Over the last seven years this instrument has perpetuated my love for music to unknown bounds and allowed me to enter into a world about which I am truly passionate. Music has led me through an array of life choices and comforted me during some of the most extreme moments of my
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life. Whether this comfort came during good times or bad times, it could always be counted on. With my love of music I discovered something odd; I love depressing music. My favorite songs and bands are rarely ones where I feel the need to lift my feet, they are the ones that make me lay there unable to move as line after line of melancholic soundtracks soothe me. As I learned I was not alone in this experience I began to wonder at its peculiarity. With love and wonder, I dove into research and found that through a variety of means my love of sad music was serving to fulfill aspects of my life and had the potential to do so for others.
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serve to create full image of the individual who finds himself or herself in a position where depression is driving towards negative stimuli. While the melancholic music can clearly be seen as perpetuating the problem, Bodner established that the music can also be used as a vehicle through which to increase communication and help treat people who have MDD. The music can serve as a means for those with MDD to identify their problems with a particular song, transmitting this information to a therapist. It also can help those who feel alone due to their MDD connect with others who have felt what they are going through. Vuoskoski, a member of the musical faculty at the University of Oxford, has managed to reveal several defining personality traits of those who listen to melancholic music. These include “openness to experience,” which is defined as “a sensitivity to art and beauty, to a preference for diverse and complex music styles, and to the experience of aesthetic chills in response to music,” as well as subdivisions within empathy which included fantasy areas (the ability to connect to fiction characters), and empathetic concern (which is correlated to feelings of concern for those going through a tough time). Vuoskoski has also suggested that the intensity of emotion experienced for sadness was tied to how liked it was. He also found that sad music tended to elicit a strong “positive valiance” with individuals who held said personality traits (Vuoskoski et al. 314). His work has also shown that “although sadness was the most salient emotion experienced (in response to sad excerpts), other emotions such as nostalgia, peacefulness and wonder were also clearly evident. These other emotions can be characterized as positive and pleasurable” (Vuoskoski et al. 314). A research assistant at the University of New South whales, Garrido and Schubert has also added explanations of the benefits people receive from sad music. Based on in depth interviews, and an array of indirect questions they have discovered that the individual
listening to sad music often are experiencing emotional arousal, mood regulation, a cathartic experience, contemplative reflection or nostalgia. While the individual experience is indeed different, the overarching mentalities and responses seem to have strong connections between people. These connections when examined all possess, or have the ability to possess, positive connotations and beneficial effects. The information gathered from research heavily supports the fact that there are positive benefits that can be harvested from listening to sad music despite its association with depression. Sad music has the capacity to help individuals with depression communicate their feelings.
Individuals with the personality traits openness to experience, empathetic fantasy, and empathetic concern are shown to be attracted to and at least enjoy and aesthetic pleasure from the music. Some of the reported benefits recorded are cathartic experiences, and emotional arousal. Reflection and mood regulation have been shown to be effective methods of handling the stress of everyday life. Overall melancholic music can lead to positive responses, and potentially increased emotional health. Story and photos By Brandon Geib
Additional information can be found in these resources: Bodner, Ehud, et al. “Finding words for emotions: The reactions of patients with major depressive disorder towards various musical excerpts.” The Arts in Psychotherapy 34 (2007): 142-50. Print. Garrido, Sandra, and Emery Schubert. “Negative Emotion in Music: What is the Attraction? A Qualitative Study.” Empirical Musicology Review 6.4 (2011): 214-30. Print. Vuskolski, Jonna K., et al. “Who Enjoys Listening to Sad Music and Why?” Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal 29.3 (2012): 311-17. Print.
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Sad music can generally be identified by a “slow pulse and gentle rhythms, with no sustained tension, slow manner, and low rates of intensity.” An enjoyment of sad music is based on a consistently different individual basis. However, among this individuality, commonality and explanations still do exist as to why humanity has a deep attraction to the melancholic tendencies of some music and why it is beneficial. While depression is a personality characteristic that does contribute to an attraction to sad music it, along with several other characteristics, allow individuals to receive benefits from melancholic music. Bodner et al. and Vuoskoski et al. have done extensive research into the separate personality traits that encourage an attraction to sad music while Garrido and Schubert have shown what some of the responses to the music are, and how they are helpful. In the work by Bodner, a professor in the music departments and interdisciplinary department of social sciences at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, there was an examination of individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and their reactions to various musical excerpts. The study maintained a focus on how individuals with depression have a “negativity bias” that attracts them to stimuli that reinforce a negative view of the world (Bodner et al. 143). This creates a cycle in which MDD patients are drawn to negative stimuli that solidifies their bleak outlook on life and encourages the individual’s depression (143). This harm can also be used as a means of helping MDD patients. Bodner has proposed based on his data that “participants might resist speaking of their own affective state but they will more easily be willing to use sad music as an object on which to project their emotions,” (148). Bodner has described some of the traits attributed to depression as “passivity, resistance to change, compulsive tendencies, the victim role they frequently assume and difficulty in emotional awareness and in its verbal expression,” (143). These characteristics
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Contemporary Issues
Heavy Metal Flea Market
The musical talent that inhabits Richmond constantly fuels the city. Any day of the week a show can be found somewhere; from Shockoe Bottom to Carytown, music thrives. Last November the local punk refuge and metal capital Strange Matter managed to hold an event that allowed music to transcend merely lyrics and instruments, which was the first annual Heavy Metal Flea Market. No matter who you are, everyone has been to a typical flea market at least once in their life. People gather together in either a commuter parking lot or community building and sell their homemade wears such as soaps, jewelry and candles. Strange Matter’s Heavy Metal Flea Market was no different; it just had a rock and roll edge to it. Homemade soaps made by Nouveau Riche Soap had their Bathory Blood Line line of soaps with pentagram design on the label. From the Black Lodge sold an assortment of accessories ranging from patches with “X-Files” references to sticker packs of
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the 1980s television show Twin Peaks. Lilith Apocrypha was selling patch artwork and animal skull art, while Henry Ephemera sold vegan made candles. What excited me the most about the Heavy Metal Flea Market was a custom clothing booth called Kylla Custom Rock Wear. Kim Dylla creates custom denim vests and jackets, as well as pants for both fans and bands alike such as the legendary Slipknot, which was one of her first clientele. Other small businesses at the flea market included vendors that sold lingerie with a punk edge (spikes and exotic colors), vintage movie posters, incents and candles, and nature photography. Anyone who is a fan of heavy metal, rock and roll, or anything made from organic materials should definitely check out these vendors. Most of them can be found on etsy or ebay or have personal websites (links can be found on the Ink social media pages). Story by Cort Olsen Photos by Daniel Potes
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Free Tobey: How Stay Sweet Saved Halloween The festival had been cancelled. Upon return from class, I discovered that a wellplanned trip to Virginia Beach for Tobey Fest was now out of the cards. It was there that I had hoped to catch a glimpse of some bands that had recently found their way into the top of my playlists, such as The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die. As I spiraled through the misery of this loss, I got another e-mail. This one concerned Richmond’s Stay Sweet Records. Those responsible for some of the best booked shows around, as well as the perfection that is Stay Sweet Fest. For those of you unaware, Stay Sweet Fest is a gathering of some of the best emo, punk, pop-punk, hardcore and post-hardcore bands in the land. Stay Sweet Records had decided that tragedies require immediate action and in one swift move picked up the best of Tobey Fest and plopped them down right in Richmond at the ever-loved Camel just in time for Halloween and dubbed their resurrected creation “Stay Spooky Fest.” On October 27th I entered into the Camel donned in a Chris McCandles costume, about whom “Into The Wild” was written, accompanied by a small host of characters including Minnie Mouse, Sonic the Hedgehog and a crowdsurfing chicken. There we found the show already under way. By the time the headliners began to take the stage everyone had enjoyed at least one enthusiastic sing-along, belting out lyrics they knew by heart. Opening up the headliner sets was United Nations, a band who no one can be in, and who despite being sued by the actual “United Nations” still has managed to release a killer LP and EP. Diving headlong into the performance they battled through song after song of their screamo-laden power-violence with enough vigor to remind us all why we go to shows in the first place. By the end of the set Geoff Rickly had crumpled to the floor and was channeling all of the crowds desperate energy as he began pounding the ground with tensed fists and scorched vocals. As everyone caught their breath and wait-
ed for their highs to die down Diamond Youth quickly took their spot on stage. Without missing a beat they provided a sincere rendering of alternative rock that wound up and down in tempo as well as volume, urging a fading crowd to grin and move with them. To follow up we got Baltimore’s Pianos Become the Teeth. This group brings more emotional weight to the table then most acts out there. With poetically personal lyrics and a passion in his voice that could make Vader shed a tear, frontman Kyle Durfey sang to the hopes, fears, and trials of a more than welcoming crowd. Together we rode through desperate intonations and a sense of solidarity that becomes a message; through everything, we are not alone. With the promise of an endorphin drenched closer to the evening The Menzingers came in. Utilizing a brand of melodic punk that hasn’t been compromised throughout three sterling releases, the band weaved together ornamental guitar, pulsating bass, and textured drums that pull you through each change and nuance in tone. All this is rounded out by rough yet coherent vocals that pull everyone in to some of the best gang vocals ever experienced. Just before we were left to
wander aimlessly home after the barrage of soul inundating performances the Menzingers announced with a coy grin that they were “going to get a little weird on [us].” With that they dove into a cover of the Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” that ground out many a nostalgic cries of satisfaction. And so the evening ended and I was left with one last hope and thought: Please let there be a sequel next fall. Story and photos by Brandon Geib
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ALBUM REVIEWS Album reviews by Chloe Oelhafen Bangerz by Miley Cyrus The much-overblown album “Bangerz” teased expectations with instant hit “We Can’t Stop;” however, “Bangerz” itself isn’t as much a conglomerate of Top-40 gold, but an experimental collection of songs that mix hip-hop, pop and electronic sounds which work together to create unique and catchy music. “FU” and “Do My Thang” are catchy and powerful while “Someone Else” and “Maybe You’re Right” are surprisingly reflective songs that blend electronic beats with ballad-style lyrics. Cyrus’s gimmicks may have been what attracted us to the album, but the overall uniqueness of Bangerz will make you stay. MGMT by MGMT MGMT had a lot to live up to after the widespread popularity of their debut album “Oracular” Spectacular. They followed up miserably with the flop “Congratulations.” MGMT has now come out with their self-titled third album that reminds us that making music whilst stoned never sounds as good sober. “Alien Days” and “Your Life Is a Lie” are fluid enough while “Introspection” is reminiscent of The Beatles circa “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” days. The psychedelic flair is apparent more than ever in this album, perhaps so much so that a few songs fail to find a rhythm. Most of the songs on MGMT are experiences in themselves, so for those looking for another “Electric Feel,” let yourselves down easy. The music is the definition of chill and diehard fans and psychedelic rock enthusiasts will no doubt adore the mind-bending sound. Bitter Rivals by Sleigh Bells Sleigh Bells cranked out another album so quickly after “Reign of Terror”, one had to wonder if it wasn’t too quickly. “Bitter Rivals” doesn’t stray from Sleigh Bells’ noise-pop genre, yet struggles to distinguish itself from their other two albums. The album’s title track is a quality blend of Alexis Krauss’ dreamy vocals juxtaposed with the regular harsh riffs and pop hooks. “To Hell With You” shows Krauss’s vocals at the forefront of this album, which are refreshingly soft against some experimental beats. “Bitter Rivals” blurs when every beat resembles the last, but finds strength in keeping with their style of unavoidable head-bob inducing music. Free Your Mind by Cut Copy Cut Copy’s new album “Free Your Mind” tries too hard to let you do just that. Known for their 80s synth-pop dance music, “Free Your Mind” builds on that and blends psychedelic sounds bound to change the festival rave scene. Cut Copy intertwines the dreamy, distant vocals of a typical 80s hit and the synthesizing riffs of acid-house sound. “Free Your Mind” is so rattled with different influences it loses steam; There are no hooks, only battering beats layered on euphoric melodies with Dan Whitford’s vocals crooning over the chaos. The electricity of the album straddles the line between chill and upbeat, but in Cut Copy’s case, it may have been better to just choose a side. Nothing Was The Same by Drake Drake returns to the music scene with his most dependable ex-girlfriend-bashing and ragsto-riches songwriting ammunition. Ultra-monotonous track “Started From The Bottom” quickly became mainstreams prime party song, leaving us teeming with expectations for the rest of the album. Yet, “Nothing Was The Same” is as almost entirely as tranquil as its spring sky cover art, with Drake’s smooth voice ovear similarly downtempo synth tracks. The music is rapt with serenity, and its pairing with lyrics like “I wanna take it deeper than money, pussy, vacation/ and influence a generation that’s lacking in patience,” Drake embarks on a hefty ambition that falls flat of said generations expectations. “All Me” and “Hold On We’re Going Home” attempt to perpetuate the origin of Drakes success; cockiness juxtaposed with raw regret and smooth reassurance. Unfortunately the overall glum vibe of the album leaves the listener melancholy rather than inspired. 2011s “Take Care” changed expectations for radio hip-hop-so why does “Nothing Was The Same” beg the question, what actually changed?
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ALBUM REVIEWS Album reviews by Trevor Wells
Marshall Mathers LP 2 by Eminem Eminem returns with his eighth studio album titled “Marshall Mathers LP 2”, his first project since 2010’s “Recovery”. The controversial rapper returns to his old serial-killer persona, but fails to reconnect with content like he used to make on the first “Marshall Mathers LP”. The album is scattered and inconsistent, and it sounds as if Eminem has really lost his touch lyrically. Songs like “Stronger Than I Was” are cringe-worthy. (2 out of 5)
Reflector by Arcade Fire With their fourth studio release after a life-changing trip to Haiti, Arcade Fire have reinvented themselves again with 2013’s “Reflektor”. The band takes a rather darker approach with this project: they sound more funky, vibrant, but encompassed with a shadowy overtone. This is their wildest and most experimental effort in their career, and it’s a big risk. It’s a risk that works though, with bohemian-sounding tracks like “Here Comes The Night Time” and “Flashbulb Eyes”. (4 out of 5)
Matangi by M.I.A. M.I.A.’s fourth studio album, “Matangi”, has the Sri-Lankan pop star returning to her old sound but still creating different music all at the same time. Heavily influenced by modern-day house and dub step, M.I.A. pieces together her most different musical effort yet. “Matangi” is bold and brilliant, letting in light of her previous work but also making huge efforts to change her approach musically. Experimental tracks like “Double Bubble Trouble” are the reason why this artist stays relevant, breaking grounds. (4 out of 5)
Beyoncé by Beyoncé In her most concentrated, experimental album of her 17-year career, Beyoncé makes a personal statement with her self-titled “Beyoncé”. Dense, dark, and leaning more towards hip-hop style of production, Beyoncé has made her most important work yet. Alongside masterminds such as Timbaland and Hit-Boy, Knowles co-produces instant hits like “XO” and “Partition”. Beyoncé is a giant leap for the pop icon. (4 out of 5)
Because the Internet by Childish Gambino Bouncing back from a wish-washy debut, actor/rapper Childish Gambino unveils the highly anticipated ‘Because the Internet”. Scattered, conflicting, and mostly experimental, Gambino takes a strange musical turn that pays off for the most part. The rapper is at his most vulnerable and emotional with Internet, highlighting the role Internet plays in relationships, including his own. The album features appealing tracks such as “The Party” and “The Worst Guys”; however, many other tracks may come off as lengthy and tedious to the casual listener. (3 out of 5)
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(right) Medium Leather bag by Proenza Schouler at Roan
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Fashion Director & Lead Stylist Jennifer Mawyer / Photographer Emmett Methven / Hair & Make-Up Melanie Dunn at Salon Vivace / Model Dorian Maris / Fashion Assistants Moriah Beasley & Chesley Goodstein / Jewelry IRIS MAYA by Chesley Goodstein www.irismaya.com february 2014
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(left) Forest Fern Strappy Tie Dress by French Connection at Eurotrash / Gold Collar Necklace by IRIS MAYA / Gold Clip on Earrings by IRIS MAYA / Animal Frame Clutch at Fab’rik // (right) Sequined Top by 3.1 Phillip Lim at Roan / Cleo Velvet Jacket by Jarlo at Eurotrash / Faux Leather A-Line Skirt at Fab’rik / Silver Cuff at Fab’rik / Silver Brooch Necklace at Fab’rik / Plier Necklace by Wendy Padgett at Fab’rik
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Evening Blouse by Veronica Beard at Roan / Metallic Shorts by Ecote at Urban Outfitters / Print Choker by iris maya / Turquoise Stone Body Wrap by iris maya
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Geomaze Beading Tunic Dress by French Connection at Eurotrash / Drop Crystal Collar by iris maya
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(right) Butterfly Print Trousers by Lanvin at Roan / Drift Suede Sandal Bootie by Jimmy Choo at Roan (left) Maneater Tee by TS&J Girl at Fab’rik / Nail Necklace at Fab’rik / Red Gem Necklace at Fab’rik
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