Listen Mag A New York based online music-lifestyle publication that brings your new favorite artist to the surface.
Staff Christopher Walsh Founder @chrixtophwalsh chris@heylisten.org Simran Sharma Editor-In-Chief @xosimmy simran@heylisten.org Elaine Tsogtbayar Social Media Coordinator @etsog Bridget McGuigan Writer @brimcguigan
Special Thanks Drax Project @draxproject
Sam Morgan @futuredegramps
Francis Mishak @fran.is
Stimulator Jones @stimulatorjones
Belinda Ung @belindaung
Kalebe Calls Him @kalebecallshim
KALLIETECHNIS @kallietechnis
Billy Pangaribuan @lifeofpbang
Basecamp basecamp.city
Stevie Salle @steviesalle
Mckenzie Tomaschek @kennybambina
John Louis Coloma @jlouisx24
Alpine @alpineband
Brianna Castoro @briwent2mars
Keegan D’Souza
WHEW! The SECOND issue of Listen Mag has ARRIVED. Its been a
hectic couple of months trying to put out this issue and I’m so proud that its here. It features all of my favorite artists and creators that I watch and listen to on a daily basis. With the help of Basecamp, we were able to shoot the cover story over at their NYC location. I’d also love to thank everyone who’s contributed and supported throughout the process of bringing this issue to life. Super excited to create more issues and deliver more content! Also, if you’re interested in contributing in anyway just hit up Simran or me via email. You can check purchase print copies here: https://www.blurb.com/user/listenmag
- Chris
SNAPSHOT
CONTEXT
PLAYLIST KALLIETECHNIS STIMULATOR JONES SUNSET ROLLERCOASTER DRAX PROJECT ALPINE THROUGH THE LENS FROM ROCKAWAY WITH LOVE STEVIE SALLE RAINIER PINILI
SNAPSHOT HOWTH, IRELAND
playlist
curated by belinda ung
Angel / Loyle Carner & Tom Misch Yes, No, Maybe (feat Tom Misch) / Detroit Swindle
Most Really Pretty Girls Have Pretty Ugly Feet / HNNY Keeping Me Under / Two Another
Rolling Into One / Jordan Rakei Like Sugar / Chaka Khan
So Good / Omar Apollo FriendZone / Thundercat
まともがわからない / Shintaro Sakamoto Canopée/ Polo & Pan
Baby Drive It Down / Toro Y Moi Stay Flo / Solange
Post Requisite / Flying Lotus What a Day / Kiefer
KALLITECHNIS PHOTOS: Igal Perets WORDS: Christopher Walsh Rising Montreal native, KALLITECHNIS, is one of the newest artists that’s repping the city by breaking through with her unique and eclectic style of R&B. Her music goes through the cycle of being personal with deep translucent beats while managing to create some fresh upbeat bittersweet bangers. Growing up, she has always dabbled in all forms of art, dating back to ballet lessons at the age of four. Fast-forward to today, where the KALLITECHNIS oversees every aspect in her creative process both digitally and visually. Her Chromatic EP takes on influences from Sade and Anderson Paak, creating a hybrid of deep-funk R&B. During the creative process of her EP, the singer participated in a writing camp in L.A that was run by R&B legend Kenneth Edmond, mostly known as Babyface; and it shows on Chromatic, as you can feel that passionate late 90s/early 2000s influence flowing through each track. “PINK + YELLOW” showcases a nostalgic R&B feel reminiscent to a deep cut Aaliyah track. Prior to jumping into music, the singer-songwriter was pursuing a degree in psychology— elements of which are displayed within her lyrics that delve deeper into the human subconscious, leaving people with a sense of true connection to her. We had the opportunity to speak with the climbing R&B songstress about her connection to colors throughout her work and her personal mantra of SOUL/EGO.
Hey! Would you mind introducing yourself? Hi I’m KALLITECHNIS, and I’m a singer, songwriter, and dancer from Montreal. Where did the artist name KALLITECHNIS originate from? KALLITECHNIS is Greek for “master of a craft”. I took it on as an artist name as it alludes to my ethnicity, and because I liked the idea of living up to such a high standard in fully earning the title of ‘master’. I think names carry destiny, history and a way to be. And so I chose KALLITECHNIS knowing the imposition it would make on my goal setting and lifestyle. And so, I carry the name like it’s my literal mood board, and it’s up to me to manifest what the name represents, or what I want it to mean to my(self) and to my listeners. When it comes to your personal mantra of SOUL/EGO, what does that encompass? SOUL OVER EGO is just a tool I use to re-align with my focus. It’s a phrase I use to snap out of undesired bouts of feelings like anger, self-pity, envy, insecurity, and doubt. I categorize a lot of sentiments, actions, thoughts and motives as either being soul-based or ego-based. To me, something that is based in one’s soul is founded in love, gratitude, and honesty. It has a purpose; it’s proactive. Something that stems from the ego is derived from entities like pride and comparison, which promote a world in which our lives are dictated by a very selfish version of our(selves), one that is prone to be distracted by all that’s superficial. SOUL OVER EGO is me actively choosing to prioritize the soul’s needs over the ego’s wants. At the end of the day, it’s a much-needed REALITY CHECK! I love how you integrate colors with your sound. All of your track cover art is stunning and the Chromatic EP is a beautiful concept. What drew you to this concept?
I’ve always been fascinated by the place colours occupy in our lives, by the impact they can
have on us subconsciously, and by the way, companies use them to influence our consumption. By acknowledging the ways in which colours could be used to manipulate us, I came to grasp just how significant they are to all types of behaviours, and more specifically, to our senses. Music and colour seem to always be intertwined. Whether you’re a synaesthete or not, the phenomenon of perceiving colours as sounds or vice versa is not foreign to anybody listening to music in 2019. Visuals are so closely attached to the landscapes we create sonically as artists. Incorporating visuals into the scheme of your music and how it’s perceived only enhances the experience of the world you’re trying to create for the listener. I carried all of this with me as I worked on CHROMATIC. I thought of what it would sound like to feel the warmth of an orange sunset on your skin. I thought about the cool sensuality of a song like Diamond Baby and what the cover art of something like that would look like. What does colour represent in your world? What does each colour make you feel like? Above all, colours act as letters do: they’re symbols. Knowing what the symbols of your world mean to you, and translating that into music, is just as powerful as communicating any written language. CHROMATIC was a way to inspire people through sound and its association to colour. I intended for the project to open up the portal of imagination. After all, what does pink+yellow even mean? What significance do those colours have to one another? Well, that’s up to the listener to decide. I can’t impose that on anyone. After all, no two people perceive colour in the exact same way! Who am I to decide what the world of my pinks or yellows mean in the world of yours?
Have you always been doing music full-time? Not always. It’s only been about a year!
Who are you listening to right now?
Sade, Drake, Anderson .Paak, Lucky Daye, Etta Bond, Raveena, Snoh Aalegra, Koffee, BenjiFlow, Solange…the list is endless!
WORDS: Christopher Walsh PHOTOS: Robb Klassen, Robert LeBlanc, & Jeff Homann Stone Throw Records signee, Stimulator Jones, is delivering a sense of timelessness through his unique sound. His style doesn’t particularly fit into one genre; Jones manages to integrate 60s funk with early 80s/90s R&B and showcases that throughout his debut album Exotic Worlds and Masterful Treasures. The opener, “Water Slide” is an ode to 70s funk with sultry riffs and the crooning production that you can feel throughout the track. The album creates this upbeat, heartbroken atmosphere filled with bittersweet bangers. Every track effortlessly flows into the other which emulates this funk-R&B breakup playlist. Standout track “Tell Me Girl,” which samples two different tracks, blends together influences from 90s R&B classics like Aaliyah or The Isley Brothers. There are elements of modern alternative R&B that can be compared to an upbeat House of Balloons era from The Weeknd, to create a romantic and intimate ballad—easily making it my favorite track on the album. Before stepping into the role of being the master of funk, Jones experimented by growing his fanbase from being a rapper with a previous persona of Joneski. Having the range to play instruments from the banjo to even a sitar while being able to sing, write, and produce his own tracks, Jones proves to be a master of all crafts. We’ve had the privilege of delving deeper into what helps him achieve his signature sound along with upcoming plans to release new music in 2020.
PHOTO: Robb Klassen
PHOTO: Robert LeBlanc
Hey! Would you mind introducing yourself?
Peace! I am Samuel Jones Lunsford. I was born in 1985 in Roanoke, Virginia. I’ve been playing and recording music nearly all of my life. I come from a very musical family and over the years I have learned to play a wide variety of different instruments and styles - mostly self-taught. I became obsessed with hip hop and rap music around 1996 and subsequently began collecting records, DJ’ing, rhyming, and using samplers. I’ve been gigging professionally since high school, lending my skills to numerous different bands and projects. For the most part I produce, engineer and mix my own recordings, and I have taken great pleasure in experimenting with the recording arts since my earliest homegrown cassette endeavors of the mid 90’s. Let’s talk about your debut project Exotic Worlds and Masterful Treasures. What gravitated you towards creating a nostalgic funk sounding album?
‘Exotic Worlds & Masterful Treasures’ is mostly a collection of material that was recorded throughout 2014-2016, although some of the tracks have even earlier origins. I was coming off of a period where I had been working on a lot of more straight-forward rap music, and I decided that I wanted to challenge myself to do something a bit different. I wanted to try my hand at singing R&B, and inject some more song structure and melodic sensibility into the beats and productions I was crafting. My dad turned me on to funk, soul, and blues music when I was a child - it’s always been a passion of mine. By the time I recorded these songs I felt like I had lived, loved, and learned enough to be able to do this kind of material justice and pull it off well enough. I also want to bring up your Choosey Lover cover! Choosey Lover is personally one of my favorite songs of all time and your rendition is probably my favorite. What made you want to cover this song and delve into R&B?
I covered it just for fun because I’m a huge Isley Brothers fan. Ernie Isley and Chris Jasper were a hell of a musical team - their catalog is kind of ridiculous. Ron, Rudolph, and O’Kelly Isley - the original founders of the group - automatically got songwriting credits on all the records for political reasons, but the fact of the matter is that Ernie and Chris wrote nearly all of those classic 70’s-80’s Isleys records themselves. I’d say Ernie is easily one of my favorite guitar players, and I love his drumming on all those tracks too. After researching, I found out you used to make music under another alias as Joneski. Is Stimulator Jones your alter ego? What compelled you to start over?
Joneski was the precursor to the Stimulator Jones project. I was doing straight up rap music - rhyming, scratching, and doing all the beats myself. As Joneski I released a few different things, including an album called ‘Stimulator Jones’. I decided to just take that album title and adopt it as the moniker for this new project I wanted to do, so then Joneski kind of died and morphed into Stimulator Jones. I had built up the Joneski persona under a pretty restricted musical scope, and I wanted to expand the range of the sounds I was creating. I felt like a name change was necessary as I branched out.
PHOTO: Robb Klassen
Can we expect any new music soon? Yes. I’m finishing my follow-up Stones Throw album this year to hopefully be released in 2020. I’ve got a vinyl reissue of one of my older Bandcamp albums being released by the amazing Oslo label Mutual Intentions later this summer. A rock and roll project of mine called The Young Sinclairs has a new album coming this June via the French record label Requiem Pour Un Twister. Who are you listening to at the moment? Bobby Hutcherson. Larry Heard. ZZ Top. Nina Simone. Primal Scream. Originoo Gunn Clappaz. Jerry Lee Lewis. Lonnie Liston Smith. Beatnuts. Liz Torres with Master C&J. Edan. Diamond D. Ohbliv. Tuamie. Dam Funk. Children of Zeus. Butcher Brown. DJ Harrison. Mutant Academy. Koncept Jackson. Devin Morrison. Kiefer. Linqua Franqa.
PHOTO: Jeff Homann
Did growing up in Roanoke Virginia influence the evolution of your sound? I think it did, in some ways. It’s a place where I had enough isolation to create and live in my own little universe apart from the mainstream, popular world, but I still had access to that world if I wanted it. I could turn on MTV, BET, or VH1 and be exposed to all kinds of knowledge and experiences. I could listen to the radio. I could go flip though the racks at the local record store and get a window into this big wild world outside of my immediate surroundings. I also had my family who were very curious, knowledgable, open-minded people who were always teaching me about different things. There was a local music scene that helped to inform me too. Then in the late 90’s I started to experience the wonders of dial-up internet and that became an immensely powerful tool for me to learn about music and culture. I guess growing up where I did gave me an interesting balance of having the access to technology that could expose me to the outside world, but also having enough isolation to be able to form a weird and unique identity based around some of my own regional tendencies.
Sunset Rollercoaster PHOTOS: Cheng Yo & Pei Yu Shen WORDS: Christopher Walsh
Independent Tawainese band, Sunset Rollercoaster, is dedicated to bringing feel-good vibes through their futuristic laidback 80s-style synth-pop. Implementing psychedelic elements into their sound, the band has become the frontline of Asia’s booming music industry. The band has recently won a Golden Melody Award — Taiwan’s equivalent of the Grammys — for the video for “Slow” off their 2018 album CASSA NOVA. Their most recent EP, Vanilla Villa, takes on elements of funk, R&B, and synthpop. The EP is meant to be listened to in full without skips to create this everlasting dream-like state. While shifting from their initial debut sound, which took more of an indie rock approach, the band began to evolve sonically after adding a new bassist and keyboard player, who heavily contribute to the jazz synth sound, during their four-year hiatus. We had the chance to speak with them about what influences their sound, how the band formed, and more about the music scene in Taiwan.
Would you mind introducing yourselves? Hello all, We don’t mind introducing ourselves at all, Sunset Rollercoaster is a band from Taiwan, an island located in the Pacific Ocean. The subtropical weather is pretty humid out here, but we do have the best sunset by the sea, the best breezy wind in the afternoon during summer. We are all big boys now, some of us are still nerdy, but all mature enough to play in a band, have self-control so our egos would act functionally and normally, we try our best to look chill and not to fuck up our lives or others lives too hard, the most important thing is, we love playing music! How did you guys get into music? Most of us attended music club in high school, learning instruments from then. After entering college, we hung out in bars and venues, that’s how we got the idea of indie music and forming bands so we could write our own music. Following that, how did the band come together? We usually hung out around Underworld, a small bar/venue in South Taipei, that always had bands or DIY parties during the weekend. After checking out and hearing so many bands there, we decided we wanted to make our own band. From the beginning, it was more like a collective, we jammed in our living room with a different line up every time, until we booked our first show at Underworld.
PHOTO: Cheng Yo
Your latest EP, Vanilla Villa, took quite the shift from the upbeat 70s 80s disco influence shown in your last project Cassa Nova. What is the inspiration behind taking on this more jazz-influenced sound? We were really into psychedelic music at a certain point of time, to us, the most psychedelic album is Stone Flower from Antonio Carlos Jobim-- all the melodies, harmonies and rhythms fuse into a melting, and mellow psychedelic journey. It’s so beautiful and it purified our souls. This made us dive into the 70’s jazz, soul, and fusion music world. Has the music scene in Taipei influenced how the band’s sound has evolved throughout the years? Definitely. But it is a subtle and subconscious way of evolving. Things move slowly in Taipei, so time works deeply, sometimes you won’t even notice that things are changing. It was not a casual thing to play in bands, the scene was pretty small, people are really connected to each other, supported each other, like Taiwan night market, things were raw and powerful. Now the scene is getting bigger, and more diverse, but somehow, it’s more like shopping in a department store. It’s not a bad thing though, just a process of evolving. Tell us about VANILLA VILLA! Vanilla Villa is a sci-fi love story! It’s across spices romance, just like men, alien creatures fall in love with earthlings, and he made a nest somewhere in outer space called Villa for having babies. These newborn species have vanilla smell naturally. Can fans expect a North American tour anytime soon? For sure, in October. Who are you guys listening to at the moment? Ned Doheny - Hard Candy Bill Evans - Empathy David Bowie - Let’s Dance Fleetwood Mac - Tusk 腰樂隊 - 相見恨晚 張國榮 - Leslie 任賢齊 - 愛像太平洋
DRAX PROJECT WORDS: Simran Sharma PHOTOS: Billy Pangaribuan MAKEUP: Mckenzie Tomaschek From busking cover songs on the streets of Wellington to having their original songs be streamed 57 million times on Spotify, Drax Project are rightfully living the dream they have worked tirelessly for. The New Zealand quartet of musicians turned friends— Shaan Singh, Ben O’Leary, Matt Beachen and Sam Thomson—are taking the world of pop by an unforeseen storm. Having met as students of music school in their hometown, Singh (saxophone) and Beachen (drums) started busking cover songs as a duo on the streets, only to be joined later on by Thomson (bass) and additionally, by O’Leary (guitar), as the band started to steer more toward original material. After releasing their first and second extended play between 2014 and 2016, the ensemble gained exposure and recognition as their single “Cold” reached number one on Spotify’s viral chart. They even caught the attention of pop sensation, Lorde, who recruited the fellow musicians to open her Auckland shows during the Melodrama World Tour in 2017. In November of the same year, the band released what is now their breakout single, “Woke Up Late,” which immediately gained popularity across New Zealand. The track is now double platinum, according to RIANZ, and has collected over 18 million streams on Spotify since its release. Off of the success of “Woke Up Late,” Drax Project continued to manifest their hard-work and talent by supporting well-known acts like Ed Sheeran and Camila Cabello and releasing their debut EP, Noon, featuring a new version of “Woke Up Late,” with singer Hailee Steinfeld. The re-release with Steinfeld not only gained the band repute in the U.S., but also managed to crack the Top 30 of Billboard’s Pop Songs airplay chart. This past month, they have released the single, “All This Time,” and now, the group is gearing up for their debut album, working vigorously to give fans all the unreleased music they’ve been teasing with for the past few months. In a conversation with Listen Mag at Basecamp’s New York location, a service that provides touring artists with a home away from home, the band opens up about their humble beginnings, touring around Eu- rope, their dynamic with each other, the expansion of their success, and album release.
At the beginning, you started off with busking, what pushed the transition to making original music? Matt: I think we found out after a while, [after] we played a lot of covers, we knew that there was like maybe a ceiling to that. We were still playing a lot of covers while we were writing music, but we were just experimenting. We weren’t like: Sweet! NOW we do originals. Like it was 90% covers and 10% originals. Obviously now we play a lot more original music…felt like it was a natural progression to start writing your own stuff. After playing covers and seeing people go crazy, like “hey, we could do that!” And we couldn’t. We couldn’t do that. Ben: We were writing some terrible songs. Some very bad music. Sam: We were all individually writing our own music but the fact that we were writing our music and doing the cover stuff, it kind of came together. So, was writing original music always the plan? Shaan: Nah, the plan was always…there was no plan. Matt: There was no plan, we were literally like straight performers having fun. It wasn’t even a serious band. Shaan: We were studying music, so we were taking the music seriously but we weren’t like seriously pursuing like pop music or hip-hop or anything like that. Ben: We were kind of like, we play a show, in the end we get asked to play another one after that. And another one after that. Shaan: The first music we made was because Ben’s friend had a project at college, and he needed to record like an EP so we were like, “sweet, we’ll write some music for your EP that you’re recording!” And then we released it as our music, obviously. Ben: And then we just kept writing. All of you play instruments, but only one of you sings as the lead, did anyone else ever try to take that part? Shaan: Ben is singing in some of our new stuff that’s coming out soon. Matt: We all sing when we do like acoustic. If we’re playing an acoustic show, we all sing harmonies. Actually, we’re all singing in the acoustic “Woke Up Late.” While composing a song, what tends to come first to you? Lyrics? Melodies? Shaan: I think majority of the time, it’s like rift, a guitar rift. Sometimes it’s a melody, but I would say like 80 to 90% of the time it’s a rift. Matt: It’s probably easy to write lyrics and melody to a guitar, not a drum beat. It’d be pretty hard to make something out of nothing just to a drum beat. Shaan: Historically, it’s been a rift. Sam: And none of us really play piano as our first instrument. I feel like piano or guitar are kind of the easiest things to write songs to. Ben: We got some really good advice from some friends of ours in New Zealand, who are in a band called six60, and they were like if you can write a song and play it through just singing and with a guitar or piano, that’s a sign of a good song. If it sounds good like that. So, we kind of took that on board. When we’re writing we just try and finish the song just with like a guitar rift or write it around it and put something on top. And then sometimes we take out like the rift that we started with.
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When you guys create music, do you all have to be in the same room or do you share ideas separately? Sam: At the moment, we should all be there. I mean sometimes, it might be like two of us. For instance, Shaan and Ben started off “Woke Up Late,” as an example, and then ended up bringing it into like the group of all of us and, me and Matt made our parts and then we all wrote lyrics together. Matt: Generally, we’re all in the same room when we write lyrics. Ben: We have one like main room and then some of us will leave for an hour and then come back like “what you guys think of this?” Every aspect of music has been like talked through everyone and argued about. Shaan: It’s pretty collaborative. Sam: And sometimes we write each other’s parts as well. It’s not necessarily always, I only do bass and I don’t do anything else.
Sam: It was just really cool to hear from somebody who works at the level he is, and also, he came from a very similar situation. Matt: He started busking, too. Sam: So that was quite cool. We actually got sent a video of “Woke Up Late” being played before his show in Osaka, Japan, last week. So that’s cool. Shaan: So, I don’t know if he had anything to do with that but Ben: We like to think so! What was your favorite city that you played? Shaan: I think my favorite gig was Madrid. My favorite city was Barcelona. Matt: Amsterdam, or Barcelona. Shaan: Oh, Germany was awesome. Everyone got their phone lights out, they love doing that in Germany. So that was crazy. Sam: I really enjoyed Berlin. Madrid was definitely the highest energy. The biggest crowd as well.
Matt & Shaan: We share, sharing is caring!
What was your favorite city that you played?
Let’s talk about touring, you guys have done a lot of it. You opened for Ed, Lorde and Camila, what was that experience like?
Shaan: I think my favorite gig was Madrid. My favorite city was Barcelona.
Sam: They were all quite different experiences. Shaan: The Camila tour was like an actual like full tour. We only did Ed Sheeran and Lorde as an opening slot for those artists in Auckland in New Zealand. Lorde was one night and Ed Sheeran was three nights. Matt: But the Camila tour was around Europe, and that was the first time we had left New Zealand really as a band. So that was eye-opening and seeing all the crazy awesome cities around the world. Eternally grateful to Camila for having us.
Matt: Amsterdam, or Barcelona. Shaan: Oh, Germany was awesome. Everyone got their phone lights out, they love doing that in Germany. So that was crazy. Sam: I really enjoyed Berlin. Madrid was definitely the highest energy. The biggest crowd as well. How do you guys manage your time and stay sane between touring, recording music, performing shows, etc.? Shaan: Time management? I think noise cancelling headphones help. When you’re on a plane or a bus or a car, just being able to not listen to anything is very nice.
Shaan: All of those experiences had different feelings and impacts. Like Ed Sheeran in Auckland was like three nights of 40,000 people. Camila’s tour was like 5-10,000 venues so it was very different. And in countries their people’s first language isn’t English, obviously. Like Paris, and Amsterdam, and Spain, so that was probably the most eye-opening thing we’ve done as a band for sure.
Ben: We were friends before we were a band. So, our manager, our soundman, we’re all really, really good friends to the point where there’s no hesitation to tell someone that you need space or if there’s an argument, you just sort everything out then and there There’s no like grudges.
Ben: We didn’t meet Lorde when we opened for her but Ed Sheeran and Camila, they are just the nicest people. Ed Sheeran in particular, we spent more time with him than we did with Camila, and he was just so down to earth. Almost painfully down to earth. Introduced himself like “Hey guys I’m Ed!” Invited us out to dinner and had like a full 20-minute conversation about giving us advice and mistakes he’s made and things that we should try to not do.
Sam: Well I would say assertive as opposed to aggressive.
Shaan: Yeah, no passive aggressiveness. It’s either passive or aggressive, which is really good.
Shaan: There we go, that’s what I meant! Sam: But also, the four of us have all lived together in some combination in the same house at some point. Not just on tour, you know.
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Matt: It wasn’t like an overnight thing where we suddenly are in these crazy places. We started off literally playing to like no one in some little bars and stuff, it’s been a slow journey. Keeps us down to earth. Shaan: We’re good with each other. How do you guys manage your time and stay sane between touring, recording music, performing shows, etc.? Shaan: Time management? I think noise cancelling headphones help. When you’re on a plane or a bus or a car, just being able to not listen to anything is very nice. Ben: We were friends before we were a band. So, our manager, our soundman, we’re all really, really good friends to the point where there’s no hesitation to tell someone that you need space or if there’s an argument, you just sort everything out then and there There’s no like grudges. Shaan: Yeah, no passive aggressiveness. It’s either passive or aggressive, which is really good. Sam: Well I would say assertive as opposed to aggressive. Shaan: There we go, that’s what I meant! Sam: But also, the four of us have all lived together in some combination in the same house at some point. Not just on tour, you know. Matt: It wasn’t like an overnight thing where we suddenly are in these crazy places. We started off literally playing to like no one in some little bars and stuff, it’s been a slow journey. Keeps us down to earth. Shaan: We’re good with each other. Let’s talk about your records. “Woke Up Late” is double platinum in New Zealand now, do you find it challenging to achieve the same kind of response in other countries, here, for example? Is there any kind of pressure?
Shaan: Exactly, no rush. So, what is your favorite song you have worked on or made? Shaan: Favorite song we’ve made? Probably something that isn’t released. Sam: I really enjoy playing “Prefer,” live. It’s fun but it’s just nice to play too. Ben: Yeah definitely songs we haven’t put out yet. There’s an album coming out this year, not sure when but as soon as we can. Shaan: There’s gonna be a whole bunch of new songs, and we’re so excited. Ben: Some songs that we’ve been writing for like two years, actually finished. Some songs we’ve been playing for all that tour around Europe with Camila. We just can’t wait for them to be out. Shaan: We can’t wait to get them mixed and mastered because then I’ll know which one’s my favorite. Because right now they are all unfinished. We’re doing some small shows in Europe and then coming back to finish the album. Last question, your favorite song at the moment? Ben: Probably Monopoly by Ariana. Didn’t play at Coachella though, was definitely disappointed. Shaan: My favorite song at the moment: Solo, Frank Ocean, Blonde. Still good. Matt: Mine would be right now, Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. Sam: Mine’s TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME however many tootimes there are by the 1975.
Ben: That’s a playlist! Matt: The only obvious challenge is more people. It’s difficult to reach everyone, but it’s been amazing. We’ve been hearing our song around U.S. radio a lot and people are sending us videos saying, “oh just heard your song in like Amsterdam, and Chicago and Malaysia.” Crazy stuff. Sam: In New Zealand there are, maybe like two or three commercial stations that play top 40 pop music. Matt: There’s not that many, you guys have like 3,000. Sam: Yeah what Matt was saying, it’s just a lot harder to reach everybody. Matt: Just takes longer. But I feel like good songs can travel, hopefully ours can too. Shaan: Our song’s been out for a while and it’s like hitting the States now, which is crazy. Better late than never.
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PHOTOS: Tegan Crowley & Jacqui Shelton WORDS: Bridget McGuigan Australia-based eccentric band, Alpine, is back after a four-year hiatus. After losing one of the founding members’ of the band, Lou James, they currently reside as a five-piece group, compromising of Phoebe Baker (vocalist), Christian O’Brien (guitar), Ryan Lamb (bass), Tim Royall (keyboards, guitar), and Phil Tucker (drums and percussion). The band returns with their psychedelic and electrifying new single “Dumb.” The song has a nostalgic twang to it that infringes on the borders of being an upbeat disco track. This infectious track falls within the realm of a dreamy synth-pop which derives from their signature percussion-heavy sound from when they first debuted. “Dumb” proves to be a powerful single to begin their upcoming era, and we’re excited to see what’s next. We had the chance to chat with the eccentric Australian band regarding the evolution of their sound along with upcoming plans to release new music.
Would you guys mind introducing yourselves? Hello! I’m Phoebe. I am answering this interview on behalf of my band/mates/babes; Tim, Phil, Ryan and Christian. We are a 5 piece band from Melbourne. It’s been about four years since you’ve released any new music. How does it feel? Were you nervous at all? It feels very physical. I feel so much anticipation in my muscles. I think my head is trying to ignore the rush of adrenaline I’ve been feeling this past year, it’s been trying to remain calm.. collected. All of us are nervous, but amazingly excited and happy to be exploring new sides to our sonic selves. How do you feel your sound has changed from when your last album? It’s changed in quite a few ways I think. Firstly we have just one singer now, so the vocal lines are more exposed. This new dynamic definitely affects the way we write, and the way the protagonist of these songs expresses them-self. On a simple level I think our new music is slightly more danceable now. Haha. We wanna get down! Tim is writing a whole lot more, and his style is influenced by some elements of house music... and much more, really. You’ll just have to listen. I think our music crosses between a few genres. We don’t plan to make music in a particular genre.. it just happens how it happens which is nice and freeing. I think our music will always sound like Alpine because of our collective agreement in enjoying what we write. Our minds combined = Alpine sound. Yodel eh! You have a tour coming up, but do you plan on doing any international shows? We do, and my gosh... we always want to tour internationally! If the rest of the world will have us, we’ll be there to stop on stages and perform our hearts out.
What are you listening to right now? Does the music you listen to have any impact on the music you make? How so? Personally I am listening to a lot of Sean Nicholas Savage (That song Propaganda kind of makes my spine melt..), Tim Buckley, William Basinski, Judee Sill (I think Soldier of the Heart will make an excellent pre-show jam), Gilberto Gil (Mammamia!), Caetano Veloso (Always..), O Terno, Connie Converse. So many gorgeous songs to fall in love with. We’ve been making a weekly playlist on Spotify of some of the songs we’ve each been listening to.. so there are examples there if you’d like to listen. When I listen to music that gives me feelings, my body reacts in a certain way.. I think it teaches me physically what I like when making sounds. I get inspired by interesting melodies and ways of phrasing things. Music is always inspiring me to write. Often I write lyrics/poetry when listening to other music. Certain music allows me to write in a ways wouldn’t normally write. Like if I’m listening to Roxy Music’s Pyjamarama I might write something with a kind of cocky, pouty tone to it.. Ohh. What do you foresee in the near future for the band? What are you hoping to try out? We are finishing off an album right now which we plan to release a little later this year. We’d love to tour more, grow our live shows, and improve our chops really. My favourite thing in this universe is writing music, so I don’t see that stopping any ol’ time soon. What does “Dumb” mean to you? How did it come into existence? Visually I see Dumb like the end of a cigarette about do drop off. It’s got a kind of nonchalant groove to it, with an earnest subtext. It’s about a love that’s easy to succumb to, but bad for the heart. Letting yourself succumb to the love that ultimately makes you sad feels dumb, but also irresistible. It’s about enjoying that place of gentle recklessness. What are you most excited about during this upcoming tour? I’m excited to see if it’s any good, if I remember how to play and let myself go on stage. I’m excited to see how we are with one member gone. I’m excited to play new songs and reconfigure old ones. I’ve watched a lot of Ru Paul this year so I am also excited about making costumes and exploring who I/we are as performers. Many things that excite and ignite.
PHOTO: Jacqui Shelton
PHOTO: Tegan Crowley
THROUGH THE LENS FEATURING: ALLIE X PHOTOS: Christopher Walsh
STEVIE SALLE PHOTOS: Eric Manuel & Jordan Taylor WORDS: Christopher Walsh
The term entrepreneur has definitely evolved throughout the years; some believe the notion of being an entrepreneur stems from owning a business or selling a specific product. However, with the power of the internet and social media, the profession has molded into a completely new space. Content creators, influencers, or whatever term you feel the most comfortable labeling them, have become the definition of “modern-day entrepreneur.” It’s crazy to think that anyone with a smartphone and decent internet connection can make an entire living off of branding themselves. Even middle schoolers with smartphones have created entire e-commerce businesses by reselling clothes from their local thrift stores or, an even a popular example is musicians becoming successful after recording tracks in their bedroom and creating an entire genre that we drool over known as “bedroom pop.” Innovators of the genre like Clairo, showcase a sense of relatability, in which anyone with a passion for music can create songs they like without the constant pressure of making a hit record. Stevie Salle proves that all you need is a passion for creativity and a camera to make a profit off of whatever you want. This modern-day entrepreneur has built up a loyal following of over 85k subscribers on YouTube. His channel consists of upcoming clothing brands, how to be affordably stylish, along with lifestyle travel content. Leaving his regular day job behind, Salle decided to pursue the daily grind of being a modern-day entrepreneur. Growing his fanbase each day while releasing a few videos a week has indeed paid off. Launching his first collaboration with clothing brand, Article & Goods, his limited edition cross-body bag sold out in less than 24 hours of its debut. We sat down with the Seattle based men’s fashion and lifestyle creator about what drove him to pursue YouTube full-time, much-needed summer fashion tips, and the dark side of random internet hate when you put yourself out there.
Hey! Would you mind introducing yourself? My name is Stevie Salle, I am a men’s fashion and lifestyle content creator + YouTuber based in Seattle, WA. What was the driving force that pushed you to do YouTube? I started YouTube, more so as a hobby. I was always interested in fashion, putting together outfits, and just sharing my personal style. So I decided to create a YouTube channel and start making videos. I never thought it would become - what it is now and I couldn’t be more grateful for everything that has happened since first starting my channel. Would you consider YouTube being your full time job at this point? YouTube / Digital Content Creation is most certainly my full-time job. I left my regular job about 1 year and a half ago - to pursue doing YouTube + social media full time, and haven’t looked back since! Does living in Seattle have a major influence on your style? Yes & no. Living in Seattle, there’s a good amount of people (especially in the city) that always come thru with solid looks, so of course - that inspires you to come through and create your own looks. But for me, I draw inspiration from anything + everything - so yes, Seattle does influence my style, but it’s definitely not the only thing. What are some major style tips everyone should try to implement this summer? Keep it simple, make sure you’re comfortable, and keep a light color palette! What are some essential pieces you can’t live without? Everyday items: phone, keys, wallet, chapstick Fashion items: A good sneaker, some sort of hat, basic tee, and cropped trousers I feel like the biggest con of being a content creator is dealing with a ton of unwarranted rude comments. How do you usually keep your mental health in check when it comes to dealing with that part of that industry? That’s a really good question, and although what I’m about to say may sound super cliche - it is the best piece of advice I could give to anyone who deals with that sort of thing - and it is to just ignore it. It’s so easy to focus on the negative, especially when it comes to negative comments on the Internet - but at the end of the day, the good always outweighs the bad - and that is something I try my hardest to focus on. Choose to focus on those who support you, the positive comments, the things you already have and are blessed with - your family, friends, health, etc ... focus only on the things that truly matter - and anything negative won’t seem so important anymore.
Who are you currently listening to?
Who are currently listening to? Levi you Bent-Lee | Kiana Lede | Drake Levi Bent-Lee | Kiana Lede | Drake
rainier pinili Rainier Pinili is a Filipino-American photographer based in Las Vegas. He draws inspiration from the 70s, 80s, and 90s movies and advertisements. The young photographer explains: “Something about the atmosphere that these pieces of media created made me want to recreate the same aesthetic via photography. For example, old ads from the 90’s advertising, let’s say, women’s perfume, would often portray a lavishly dressed woman spraying perfume on herself surrounded by a hazy mist while walking down a dimly lit suburban street while men stared in awe. These ads created a sort of surreal, almost idealistic vibe, which I always try to recreate. Something about creating an image that idealizes and romanticizes certain aspects of our society really appeals to me. The same thing applies to movies. One movie that really inspired me to create was ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. When I first saw that movie I was in awe of Kubrick’s attention to detail and worldbuilding; the whole movie makes you feel as if you’re actually there. The atmosphere in that movie is insane. It’s surreal. In my photos I tend to try to pay attention to detail and make my photos interesting, while still maintaining that surreal atmosphere; I try to make most of my photos appear as if it’s a screenshot to a movie or a surreal ad in a magazine.” When it comes to his work Pinili prefers to shoot with digital, as he adds, “I prefer shooting digital. It allows me to have full creative control when it comes to developing the colors of the photo, and it’s cheap compared to film.”
