As summer is coming to an end, our fall issue is finally here! This issue is all about discovery especially when it comes to curating the perfect playlist for new artists to add to your radar. I admit that I’m an avid Spotify listener so their “Daylist” playlist is where I discover new music besides “Discover Weekly,” which is curated weekly by Spotify. I love finding new music that fits the vibe or mood that I’m in– it’s sometimes that feeling when you want to gatekeep because it feels like you hit the jackpot. Whether it's the melody of the song, the lyrics that hits home to this current season in your life or you just can’t stop singing along to the song, I feel like music is one of the core factors to what Local Wolves is all about. Our backlog has showcased really incredible acts and we’re so thrilled to feature Ashe on the cover for our fall issue. Her new era captures moments of coming of age, finding herself through embodying her independence and freedom as an artist. Our fall issue is for the music lovers and we hope you enjoy this issue as much as we do!
Cathrine Khom
ISSUE 68 — ASHE FALL 2024
FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Cathrine Khom
COPY EDITOR
Sophia Khom
DESIGNERS
Lisa Lok, Yoolim Moon
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATORS
Jessica Spiers, Tatiana Diaz de Leon
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Alexis Marion, Ariella Nikita Lai, Jessica Spiers, María Andrea Hernández, Uma Snow, Yoko Zhu
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Alec Ilstrup, Emma Devereaux, Isabel Spooner Martinez, Manuela Bono, Olive Jolley, Sam Green, Tiffany Phung, Vanessa Le, Victoria Huerta, Xuyingnan
One thing about Oahu is there is an abundance of activities and adventures to immerse yourself in. From surrounding yourself in the nightlife of Waikiki to the delicious bites to eat at the local food trucks in North Shore. The best way I’d recommend experiencing the island is locating a good rental car and letting the road take you for an adventure. I’ve done this twice now on both trips I’ve taken and I’ll admit it’s one of the best ways to explore the island. There isn’t a single point in your drive where there isn’t a stunning view and honestly who better to give a tour around the island than yourself?
Although if you’re one for a plan and aren’t sure of how to go about it I promise there are plenty of locals who are always willing to help an adventurous soul. I recall having a map of the island and being incredibly overwhelmed. In the matter of minutes and a single conversation my map was full of gardens, beaches and restaurants I knew I had to check out.
For instance, one of my first stops was a cute, quaint stop for breakfast at Green Garden Coffee. It’s a spot loved by both locals and tourists alike and it’s no wonder considering everything is sourced in house. On top of that, enjoy their coffee museum and garden while sipping on a delicious macadamia nut iced latte.
I’ll be honest when it came to where I saw myself exploring I was really interested in enjoying the native plant life and the serene solitude of the island. I found myself at the Wahiawa Botanical Gardens where you can take pleasure in free entry as well as many curated walks around gorgeously towering trees and greenery. As someone who enjoys leisurely strolls over long arduous hikes this was perfect for me. Although I was snacked on by plenty of mosquitoes on account of it being the middle of July in a muggy area of the island, I will admit I almost found myself getting lost in the natural landscape.
Speaking of solitude, one of the best things I’d recommend enjoying on Oahu are its many local beaches. Of course the hotels offer their own private beach for guests to enjoy, which I also would recommend if you’re one for being dotted on with mai tais and bar food, however nothing beats the energy the beaches like Polo Beach have to offer. I will disclose this is a nude beach, nevertheless, even walking up to the seashore you’re met with a particularly cinematic dirt path. On one side, you have tall greenery to the other is an enclosure with the horses going about their day. The beach itself is expansive and peaceful. The ocean is a gorgeous color of turquoise and there are very few people to get in the way of a perfect spot to enjoy the water on your own.
After all the exploring there’s no doubt in my mind an appetite has most definitely been built up. I cannot stress enough how much of an amazing decision making your way to Haleiwa town center is the best idea for food. On top of the delectable food trucks there’s also plenty of shopping and sight-seeing as well. One food truck I would recommend out of them all is Giovanni's Shrimp Truck. It goes without saying what they’re most known for is their shrimp scampi, lemon butter shrimp and hot and spicy shrimp. There does tend to be a bit of a line however it moves quite rapidly before you’re seated at one of the many tables they offer enjoying some mouthwatering shrimp.
All in all, there’s truly so much to get lost in when it comes to Oahu. Whether it’s the greenery, lounging around, shopping or the food. I’d honestly recommend figuring out a way to do it all and moreover experience it on a solo vacation.
DUALITY OF A CITY GIRL
THE DUALITY OF BEING A CITY GIRL IS THAT YOU GET TO HAVE MANY SIDES TO YOU; YOU CAN BE TOUGH, YET SOFT.
PHOTOGRAPHY & CREATIVE DIRECTION BY EMMA DEVEREAUX
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT — DAVID DONG
STYLING — EMMA DEVEREAUX & DAVID DONG
HAIR — SARAH BOUROUF | MAKEUP — ROBIN STRIGHT | MODEL — SARAH BOUROUF
REBOUNDER
BY JESSICA SPIERS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEC ILSTRUP
REBOUNDER
REBOUNDER is ready to be in the driver's seat. The New York City based band, consisting of brothers Dylan and Noah Chenfeld, Zack Kantor and Cobey Arnor, has cemented themselves as an indie rock staple. The band has played and toured with other bands in the past but knew they would come back and make music together one day. Seizing influences from all genres of music, Rebounder’s sound puts a new spin on the indie rock genre, making it their own unique sound. With their new EP, Sundress Songs comes out September 6, the DIY quartet is ready to get real. Local Wolves sat down with lead singer Dylan to talk about the band’s newest EP, what it’s like working with your closest friends and family and more.
“SUNSET VISION” IS THE LEAD SINGLE OFF YOUR NEW EP, SUNDRESS SONGS . WHAT INSPIRED THAT SONG AND WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO RELEASE THIS SONG FIRST?
DYLAN CHENFELD: I had the music for this song first. A lot of times we write songs to the tracks so for this we had to write the song overtop of that track we already had. The idea was that I wanted to put all these elements together that haven’t necessarily been together and do it in a smooth way. I had this vision that these drums that are big clap sounds and then these funky break fills before the choruses could go together with this surf rock sunshine. It was not the easiest song to make but I do think it’s a special song.
WAS THERE ANYTHING CHALLENGING ABOUT WRITING OR PRODUCING THIS UPCOMING EP?
DC: The challenges were only from the beginning to the end [laughs]. I’m really excited; we’ve had this band for a minute now and it feels like it’s started getting real. My brother and I have been working together on tunes our whole lives with this vision the past two years and we’re just really excited that ‘Sunset Vision’ is doing so well and I’m excited to show everyone. It’s easy to write songs, it’s hard to write amazing songs. Sometimes it’s hard to write a song, record it, teach it to the band and go through the whole process and then realize, ‘Maybe this actually isn’t that great.’ That’s not fun and we do a lot of that because we want the songs to be really special. That culling process is tough.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE FANS OR PEOPLE IN GENERAL FEEL AFTER LISTENING TO THIS EP? ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC EMOTIONS YOU HOPE TO CONVEY?
DC: Some of the songs are about personal things happening, some are about things that we see in the world. I hope there’s a sense of musical cohesion. I don’t know if it’s a particular feeling of ‘Oh, I want you to feel heartbroken’ or something. I hope it’s more of a feeling of enjoying music that hopefully feels a little different than the thing you were listening to before.
I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE PLAYED LOTS OF LIVE SHOWS AND ARE OPENING FOR COIN THIS FALL. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR SONGS CHANGE OR YOU LEARN NEW THINGS FROM YOUR SONGS WHEN YOU PLAY THEM LIVE FOR PEOPLE?
DC: I think there’s a technical answer to your questions where the songs literally change because with live Rebounder, we’ve always kind of had this mental distinction where the live show is a rock show that is dance-y and funky with loud energy. The recordings are a little more subdued because some of the stuff I’m interested in from the live set, as a person who sees a lot of shows, is different from what I want from a record. I’m excited to play whenever we can play. Shows are different when there’s the energy from the crowd. Some artists play the exact same set every night but if something is really going right we’ll huddle up and we’ll be like ‘I feel like we should do this now’ and then we go and do it and be spontaneous. Sometimes we do that too much but I’d rather that than play the exact same show every night.
YOU HAVE WORKED HARD TO WRITE AND PRODUCE ALL YOUR OWN MUSIC AND HAVE WORKED ON A LOT OF OTHER SHOWS AND TOURS IN THE PAST. WHAT’S IT LIKE WORKING SO HARD TO GET WHERE YOU ARE AND WITH SOME OF THE PEOPLE CLOSEST TO YOU?
DC: We all got to tour quite a bit and experience what life was like as hired musicians. It was a great way to learn because you’re not really in the driver's seat but you get the experience. To go on tour with other acts was really
exciting but we knew that we would come back and do our own thing. My brother and I have been in a songwriting partnership forever but I do love being in a full band and doing tours and stuff. It’s nice doing this with people that you love because there’s a lot of time that we spend working that people don’t see whether it’s in the basement studio or we’re on the road in the car for a ton of hours a day. Sometimes it’s these really fun, creative moments and sometimes it’s not fun and not creative. I don’t think I’d be interested in doing this with people I’m not lifelong friends with; Noah and I are brothers and songwriting partners and the other guys I went to preschool with. We love each other and because we love each other, I think that makes the hard parts bearable.
HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED AS AN ARTIST?
DC: I’d hope that these songs are received really well and we get to go play the shows of our dreams and have a lot of fun together. I hope our songs lead people to create their own more interesting stuff. If we can be remembered for making music that sounds unique, that’s more than most people get.
Sabrina
BY YOKO ZHU
PHOTOGRAPHY BY VICTORIA HUERTA
STYLING — ELLIE WARNKE
Song
It was late afternoon when SABRINA SONG answered. Song, a Brooklyn-based musician, spoke candidly. She considered herself an open person, and in her mind, she wore her heart on her sleeve. Her close friends didn’t agree. This surprised her; Song never realized she was hard to read. “When I’m playing songs for people that know me, they would be like ‘this is how you feel?’” Song said.
Her debut album, You Could Stay In One Spot and I’d Love You
The Same emerged at a time “when everything was up in the air.” It was after her graduation, during an uncertain period when those around her were moving and lives were changing. “The songs were born out of this feeling that time was passing rapidly,” Song stated.
Song’s album You Could Stay In One Spot and I’d Love You
The Same explores growing pains, relationships, and the self with a contemplative tenderness, capable of unraveling and binding the listener. Her thesis is distinctively twenties. It’s a soundtrack for early adulthood.
Music, she expressed, was her vehicle for expression. She’d been playing piano since four. For much of her early life, she envisioned a career in theatre. It was only during high school, Song contemplated the possibility of being a singer; it hadn’t been an option that crossed her mind. “It took me a while to expand and figure out what being an artist meant,” Song said. However, she leaped into writing and producing. “[Making music] took a while to make it feel right, but once it did, it was like ‘this what it was leading to,’” she said.
With sounds reminiscent of indie artists like Lucy Dacus, Faye Webster, and Julia Jacklin, Song’s lyrics are wrapped in mellow instrumentals. The tracks are compiled loosely by theme and feeling. You Could Stay In One Spot and I’d Love You The Same was a project that Song didn’t take lightly. She had fleshed out eight of the demo tracks and wanted “to do the songs justice in the way she heard them in her head.” While demos like “Busy Work” and “It Was Not A Beautiful Night” sounded similar to their final version, “Okay, Okay” took the longest to complete due to production. Song collaborated with Torno, who has previously worked with Del Water Gap and Daisy the Great, to produce her freshman album.
SHEER PUFF TOP: URBAN OUTFITTERS
CHECKERED DRESS: JUST
RED SHOES: STEVE MADDEN
JEWELRY: PETIT MOMENTS
BLUE RUFFLE SKIRT: MOLLY GOYARD
WHITE WRAP TOP: ZARA
DOG BLUE BUTTON DOWN: ACNE STUDIOS
GREEN BLAZER AND SKIRT: AQUA
PINK CHECK BLAZER: ADER ERROR
“It was cool to see what someone would add to my ideas and to have a partner,” Song said. “[Torno] really understood the demos and what I was going for and respected that.”
As someone who’s always wanted to articulate herself clearly, Song sees songwriting as a puzzle. She has the emotion in the beginning, which is distilled through the creation process. “That experience has been formative during the album process [in terms of] understanding myself better,” Song stated. “Even though I’m not explicitly writing about being a feminist, the older I get, the more I realize how my experience is shaped by being a woman.”
These themes emerge in Song’s work. “Rage” was born after a terrible dinner with three men. They were discussing politics and women’s issues, speaking over Song. She felt as if she might as well not be at the table. Afterward, she came home and wrote a song about the experience. This was her way of processing.
For Song, You Could Stay In One Spot and I’d Love You The Same serves as a memento of this period in her life. She considers this project – “which might not represent her in five years – a self-contained time capsule.”
“[Creating this album] was one of the first times I was like, ‘I’m proud of this.’ I always felt like I was never doing it. It was never exactly right,” Song said. “I felt like I took my time and made the album I wanted to make. That was so validating.”
Perceptions Perceptions
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ISABEL SPOONER MARTINEZ
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT — PABLO LANUZA
STYLING — ISABEL SPOONER MARTINEZ & MAFE PINILLA
MODEL — MAFE PINILLA
BY JESSICA SPIERS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY VICTORIA HUERTA
STYLING — ELLIE WARNKE
SID SIMONS is figuring it all out. The New York City based indie rock musician’s sophomore album Beneath the Brightest Smiles is the first record out under the singer’s own name. Simons has played with different bands and artists over the years but now he’s taking the lead. “It feels really good to have out because I’ve been sitting on it for so long; I started recording it like two years before. It feels amazing to have out and having it under my name was a bit daunting at first. But it feels more natural now that I’ve played a bunch of shows under my name,” he says. “It’s a different level of pressure with it being solely on you but I think it’s good pressure. It puts me in uncomfortable positions that will make me better at music.”
Beneath the Brightest Smiles effortlessly takes you on a ride through life’s ups and downs, going from upbeat songs that make you wanna dance to slower songs that are honest. The album opens with “Wendy” and "Three Days,” two magnetic songs with powerful guitar solos and drums and then weaves smoothly through songs like “Dirt” and "Only Smile” which slow the album down and brings in Simons’ ability to be vulnerable about the hard parts of life. “I just like taking people on a journey and the same goes for a live show. I get bored very easily listening to something that is the same volume the whole time. I like making people dance and then making people sad,” he says. “The album is kind of like an example of my life and I wanted to incorporate that into the album.”
SID SIMONS
JEANS: ACNE STUDIOS
BROWN CAPE: COS
BLACK BLAZER: THRIFTED
BLACK SHORTS: THRIFTED
GREY BLAZER: DJERF AVENUE
DENIM JACKET: ELWOOD
BLACK HAT: KANGOL
it’s really great having people sing your songs back to you, it’s beautiful.
Taking people on that journey can put an artist like Simons in those uncomfortable positions, especially playing the songs live for a crowd. But whether it’s playing his music live at the iconic Bowery Ballroom in New York or a house show in a random town, playing music live gives Simons’ confidence, showing the impact his music has. “Sometimes I’ll be a little sick of a song but then you see people singing it live and it fuels the fire a little bit. One night we played in Philly and this girl in the front sang every single lyric to all of the songs, especially the song ‘Dead Ringer’ which has so many lyrics in it and she sang every word,” he says. “I feel jaded by that song, I’ve played it for so long and seeing that was so cool. It’s really great having people sing your songs back to you, it’s beautiful.”
Simons has not only grown as an artist but also as a person. Growing up and working on this record has allowed him to open his mind in different ways, whether it’s in life or in his music. “I’ve become far more open minded when it comes to music in general. I was very closed off and thought it was my way or the highway. I only listened to punk music when I was younger and everything else I hated.” he says. “Now I listen to stuff like Frank Ocean and Chappell Roan and that’s all from people putting me onto stuff. I am open to people giving their own ideas on the songs that I write. A song like ‘Wendy’ I would have never written four years ago.”
With his knockout sophomore album, it’s evident that Simons is on his way to proving himself as an artist. He hopes that the songs that he makes are timeless and will be impactful for years to come. “The biggest compliment would be someone wanting to pick up an instrument or wanting to pick up a pen and write after hearing my music. I would hope it would inspire someone in that way. When I hear something that really inspires me, I look for my guitar.”
BY UMA SNOW
PHOTOGRAPHY & CREATIVE DIRECTION BY OLIVE JOLLEY
LIGHTING ASSISTANT — DERRICK JOHNSON
ONSITE ASSISTANT — MACKENZIE BERGER
STYLING — ASHE
It’s been one and a half years since Ashe almost walked away from music forever.
Over a video call from her home in Nashville, nestled in a very large, comfortable armchair, ASHE —born Ashlyn Rae Willson—walks me through the past two years of her life. She is transparent about the exhaustion and anxiety that forced her to cancel her world tour, putting her career on hold, and earnest as she describes the journey of self-discovery and healing that led her back to songwriting. Her third studio album Willson is a testament to Ashe’s resilience, determination, and pure love of art.
The album is a snapshot of a confusing period of her life. The songs are Ashe trying to make sense of it. They contain bits of every emotion she felt over those tumultuous months—grief and hurt and love and hope. They take you on that journey with her; “Devil Herself” is mellow and clever, “Dear Stranger” feels like rising from the ashes of a dark past, and “I Wanna Love You (But I Don’t)” is tragic but tender. Ashe’s writing is as vivid as her voice is strong. Listening to Willson, the stories she sings play behind my eyes in technicolor.
Preceded by Ashlyn (2021) and Rae (2022), this newest release is the last in a trilogy of self-titled albums, and the first Ashe has worked on since she parted ways with her label. Bringing Willson to life independently was a labor of love—thrilling, but overwhelming. “The ownership is incredible. And the payoff is, you know, tenfold. But it’s just an insane amount of work,” Ashe recalls. She was, for the first time, in charge of every little decision involving her album, from merchandise to social media campaigns to handling budget spreadsheets. “It’s honestly a lesson that I’m really grateful to learn.”
Ashe took on more of the creative work as well, co-directing every music and lyric video from her album rollout. While she has always been involved in these processes—and she tells me that she believes every artist should be—a lot of it was new to her. ”It was my first time being involved this heavily in this way. And it was completely liberating.”
The first single off of Willson, “Running Out of Time,” is bright and joyous in every way. It’s the kind of song you’d want to sing with your friends at late-night karaoke or
scream out of a car window. Watching the music video, a colorful, playful thing, I was overwhelmed by the euphoria of it. “Running Out of Time” marks a powerful return to music.
“It was intentional to kick down the door with something a bit more uplifting and less melodramatic,” Ashe explains. “A lot of this album is sifting through and processing a lot of hurt and confusion in my own life—canceling the tour, needing time off, and not knowing if I was going to keep making music ever again. . . . And so I knew that [my] first single back, I didn't want people to think, ‘oh gosh, are you okay?’ I wanted it to be very clear out the jump that I've had a lot of healing and I have a lot of joy.”
Rediscovering that joy has been a very intentional process for Ashe. After reaching the breaking point that led her to step back from music entirely, Ashe moved from Los Angeles to Nashville to spend some time just focusing on herself. She read books, renovated her home—she is surprisingly great at using power tools—landscaped her backyard, wrote letters to herself, and painted. As Ashe began to live her life in slower moments, she learnt
more and more about herself. She realized that she had a lot of self-loathing simmering under the surface and that she was a terrible workaholic. She says that “it went against everything in [her] body to not work.” She needed the rest.
While determinedly not working for those first few months in Nashville, Ashe also came to the conclusion that she is a fully creative person, even outside of music. And I believe her—as she angles her laptop to give me a glimpse of her renovated and painted home, her eyes light up. She radiates the joy that art brings her. While she may have turned away from songwriting, that creative energy is an innate part of her.
The catalyst for Ashe’s return to music came in the form of her friend Suki Waterhouse. “She came to play Bonnaroo in the summer of 2023. She came to town and asked to write, and I was super nervous.” Holding onto the knowledge that the songwriting was for Suki, not herself, Ashe took her up on the offer. “I walked into that session and I just lit up. It was so, so special.”
But I feel like a whole person now, detached from my music and what people think about it.
Writing came so naturally to Ashe that she cried on her way home from the session, thinking, “this is what I’m supposed to do with my life.” She tells me that she was reminded of not only how much she loves music, but how good she is at it. “There was such a reconnection to myself that I was experiencing. I will never be able to say thank you enough to Suki. I wrote her a note. I made her baby a little blanket and there was a note in it that [said] ‘you brought me back to music.’”
Now that she had started, she couldn’t stop. “The next day after that session, I woke up and [wrote] track one of Willson, ‘Please don't fall in love with me.’ Just [in] like 20 minutes. And I called the producers that were in the room with Suki and I, and I was like, ‘I have to record this song today, are you free?’ And they made themselves free. And we recorded that song. And then I was off to the races.”
That first session with Suki forced Ashe to really think about her relationship with music. If Suki hadn’t texted her about writing, she would not have written that day. If she had not moved back to Nashville—the city that she lived in straight out of college, when the success she has
now was still just a dream—she would not have written that day. The music she made in the following months is, in Ashe’s opinion, some of the best songwriting she has done yet.
I ask Ashe if, after all of this healing, she sees a change in how she thinks about music. “I think the biggest difference—and I wouldn't have admitted to it then—[is that] my self value is no longer attached to the success of [my work]. Obviously, everyone wants to have success. It's fun. . . . But it has nothing to do with my value or my worth as a human being.
“I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and be like, ‘oh, if the record is a total flop and everyone hates it, I’m going to be fine, it won't hurt my feelings at all.’ That would be a lie. I can't say that. But I feel like a whole person now, detached from my music and what people think about it. But that's a daily wake-up-and-check-myself [thing], you know, that doesn't go away.”
Ashe is learning to manage her expectations of herself, to remember that she is only human. “I think I went out at a time [when] I had a very low perception of myself. I
didn't feel like I was good enough or that I had what it took to be a music artist. [But] all of the negative self-talk was so stupid and so boring. I just needed to get over myself a little bit. I'm still anxious. Putting out a record, you know, is so scary. But now I have a lot more joy in my life.”
Coming back with new music after nearly two years of radio silence, I wonder if Ashe feels the pressure of a highly anticipated comeback. “I'm trying to block a lot of it out,” she replies. “I think that ultimately what's in my control is the music itself and the art attached to it. .
. . I feel like the mantra of this entire campaign has been, whatever I release, whether it be a song, a music video, a photo on Instagram, a TikTok—I have to be able to stand behind it and not cringe at myself. And that's it.
“So yeah, the expectations are scary. [But] also, things are not that dire. . . . I'm putting a record out. The fact that I did a lot of healing, came back to music, wrote a record, and am putting it out independently is success enough, you know? So fuck everyone else.”
Whatever the expectations surrounding Willson may have been, Ashe more than surpasses them. The album is beautiful and sincere. Her genuine passion for this project is palpable in every aspect of it. Ashe has grown exponentially in her time away and, with the release of Willson and her return to the stage later this month, this new chapter of her career is only just beginning.
BY ALEXIS MARION
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIFFANY PHUNG
Singer-songwriter-producer, TIFFANY DAY, found herself moving from the sunflower state of Kansas, where she spent most of her childhood, to Los Angeles after high school. Growing up, she watched American Idol with her mother and began to consider how fun singing up on a stage would be. Inspired by those entertaining performances, Day would go on to perform “Eye of the Tiger” at her fifth grade talent show, for her first time performing in front of people. Eventually, she went on to teach herself guitar in high school after liking a boy who played it. Day posted a video of her spontaneously singing when she was 17, which went viral, and inspired her to continue talking to the camera and posting impromptu videos. She spontaneously created and posted videos, from singing covers to simply vlogging her life, and ended up gaining 500,000 subscribers by the end of her high school career.
“I think being that spontaneous and organic was just like a recipe for success…I really owe a lot of my beginnings to YouTube,” Day said.
Her YouTube stint gave her the courage to build her image and name, “Tiffany Day,” from the ground up. She moved out of her hometown in Kansas to pursue her music dreams in Los Angeles with no specific plans, but focused mainly on building up her Spotify platform. She enrolled in a university upon arrival, studying topics unrelated to music, thinking she would get signed at some point in college and drop out of her education.
“You know, [with] Asian parents…they really wanted me to have some sort of backup plan,” Day said. “I finished all four years, I have a degree and I look back at it and think, ‘that was one of the best times and decisions of my life.’”
Day chooses to release music independently rather than with a label, after pursuing music throughout and now after her college career. She’s played handfuls of headline shows– opening for artists like Jeremy Zucker and Surfaces and performed at festivals around the world.
Tiffany Day
“I think when everyone starts out, at least for me, I was like, ‘I want to get signed…I want to get this bag.’” Day said. “As a 24 year old now, I'm in no rush to have a big amount of money in my bank account and this is even part of my [new] album too…the whole message is about the journey, not the destination.”
Along this journey, Day gets to use her passion and skills in music to make a living, while still maintaining artistic freedom. “I never want to give up my creative control for any amount of money,” Day said. “I enjoy the journey of it, the hardships and the struggles.”
Using this passion and inspiration from some of her most impactful coming-of-age realities, Day released her new debut album, LOVER TOFU FRUIT, as a product of this journey. When creating the concept for the record, she felt an intense pressure to make a really deep album.
“When I started this album, [I realized] I don't need to make the album that changes everything for me…I think I need to just make the album that reflects who I am right now,” Day said.
Day first chose the three words that make up her album title by writing strings of words in her notes app that sounded nice. However, throughout the couple years of creating the record, those words began to mean more to Day as she discovered more about life, herself, and what family means to her.
“Half a year into making my album, I got a call that my grandpa had passed away,” Day said.
Day’s grandpa had lived in China his whole life, so she explained she had only met him a few times. However, this moment struck Day in a way that made her view life differently, and in a way, forced her to explore her fears and the purpose of her passions.
“We spoke different languages…we weren’t that close but it was still really sad and came out of nowhere,” Day said. “He was the first death in my family bloodline and it truly shattered my ‘ignorance is bliss’ mindset.’”
Although she was in college, studying with friends and recording music on the side, Day explained her eyes had been opened to how fast life moves outside of her world.
“It was this crazy death of my youth moment that sent me into a spiral…[but] I went to a bunch of therapy and started to very much reflect on what it means to live life,” Day said.
Day went to therapy and reflected more on “what it means to live life” and how to accept the unpredictability of life. “If we didn't have uncertainty, and if we knew everything was going to happen, then life would simply just not be worth living,” Day said. “That is what makes life beautiful.”
LOVER TOFU FRUIT began to be shaped around these experiences that so heavily impacted Day’s outlook on life.
“The whole message of the album is that the only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty,” Day said.
She added that the record is about “appreciating what is in front of you.” Day began to draw analogies from her life to give a deeper meaning to the title of her debut album, specifically the “FRUIT” portion.
“The analogy is, you have a beautiful piece of fruit in front of you, and it's your favorite fruit ever, and it's perfectly ripe,” Day said. “Everything is good about it, but you're upset because this fruit is eventually going to rot…so the whole thing is, are you going to sit there and watch it rot, or are you going to cut up the fruit and eat the damn fruit?”
Day felt the realness of life catch up to her, processing it throughout the ten tracks on her new release. The album is an ode to that chapter of her life, one that she says is still ongoing.
“It really just became an album of me processing my grief of my youth and also just the idea that nothing in life is ever permanent,” Day said.
After the years of feelings and efforts that went into her album, Day feels it will soon be time to step back and work on falling back in love with music. “The priority for me after this album is getting my relationship with music back to a place where I want it to be…I miss what making music felt like to me five years ago,” Day said.
Day plans to promote her first album by hosting LOVER TOFU FRUIT picnic pop-ups in four different cities across the country. It will be a time of eating fruit, listening to the record, coloring and hanging out, as Day shares what she’s learned and loves about life through her music.
PHOTOGRAPHY & CREATIVE DIRECTION BY XUYINGNAN
PRODUCER — PEPPER
STYLING — YEN
HAIR & MAKEUP — LIN
MODEL — DAQI
Dying in Your Love
Flores Liana
PHOTOGRAPHY & CREATIVE DIRECTION BY VANESSA LE
PHOTO ASSISTANT — ERIC LIN
MAKEUP — HANNAH LAUREN
STYLING — KASSI REYNA
STYLING ASSISTANT — LEXI MISCHNICK
DRESS: SEA
With her debut album Flower of the Soul, British-Brazilian artist LIANA FLORES invites listeners into an enchanting realm of flower power and whimsy. Raised amidst the idyllic landscapes of South Norfolk and now thriving in the vibrant heart of London, Flores captures the essence of earthy and fantastical elements, reminiscent of folklorian enchantment and imbued with a sense of solitude, nostalgia, and the essence of being alive. Combining jazz with cozy familiarity of indie-folk, Flower of the Soul offers a spellbindingly atmospheric escape, grounded by a deeper pursuit of the human experience, and firmly positioning Flores as a modern yet distinct sound in the current music landscape.
Hi Liana! Thank you so much for sitting down with us for this interview. I have to put it out there first that I absolutely adore your music. It heals my soul in such a calming way and makes me introspect the connection between nature and music, the essence of what it’s like to be human and to be part of a greater scheme of the universe, and is the perfect soundtrack for moments of contemplation and just being centered and present in life.
HOW DID FLOWER OF THE SOUL COME INTO FRUITION? WHAT WAS YOUR PROCESS IN THE CREATION OF THIS ALBUM AND WHAT OR WHO WERE THE MAJOR INSPIRATIONS FOR IT?
LIANA FLORES: It was a long gestation, some of the songs were 3 years old by the time we recorded them. I just wrote a lot of songs and the theme of impermanence and the natural world sort of revealed itself at some point along the way. My major inspirations musically were Vashti Bunyan, Blossom Dearie, Astrud Gilberto, Nara Leão, Linda Perhacs, Nick Drake, the Pentangle, Gal Costa, Joyce, and Claude Debussy. It depends on the song though, each track is inspired by a different sound.
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU’VE EVOLVED AS AN ARTIST OVER THE YEARS AND HOW DOES THIS ALBUM ACT AS A PORTRAYAL OF THAT GROWTH?
LF: I'm not sure how I've evolved. It’s probably easier to see that sort of thing from the outside. To me, I'm the same as always artistically; music is still a means of connection with the world and of seeking beauty handed down from the histories of the music I love. That said, I
like to think that lyrically and musically I've improved a bit since the last project.
THERE’S AN ETHEREAL AND DREAMLIKE FEEL TO THE OVERALL ALBUM THAT’S BEAUTIFULLY ATMOSPHERIC AND ROMANTIC IN ITS PRODUCTION. IT DIFFERS FROM THE PRIMARILY INDIE-FOLK SOUND OF YOUR PREVIOUS RECORDS THROUGH THE INCORPORATION OF JAZZ AND CLASSICAL ELEMENTS. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LEAN INTO THIS STYLE AND ESSENCE OF MUSIC?
LF: Thank you! I've worked with bossa nova elements before, as that’s more-or-less doable as one person; but with the opportunity to record with a band for the first time, I was able to lean more into jazz stylings on certain tracks (like I wish for the rain). I love listening to that stuff so it was fun to write my own jazz standard.
WITH HOW ATMOSPHERIC AND DARE I SAY CINEMATIC IT IS, HOW DO YOU THINK THIS ALBUM IS BEST CONSUMED TO TRULY TAKE EVERYTHING IN? WHAT VIBES SHOULD WE SITUATE OURSELVES IN?
LF: I hope that it can be listened to in any place the listener would like, and that the music can situate you within a peaceful atmosphere wherever you may be.
RECENTLY, YOU ALSO COLLABORATED WITH MATT MALTESE. HOW WAS WORKING WITH HIM FOR “MY HEART’S NOT IN IT” AND WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE SONG? WAS IT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED WHILE YOU WERE TOURING WITH HIM?
LF: It was a real pleasure touring with Matt earlier this year. My Heart’s Not In It is a cover of a song by Yo La Tengo and originally written by Gerry Goffin and Russ Titelman. The collaboration came about fairly simply and quickly, I just recorded my verse and sent it over.
YOU’RE ALSO GOING TO BE SOLO TOURING TO PROMOTE THIS ALBUM, HOW EXCITED ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? IS THERE A PARTICULAR VENUE THAT YOU’RE MOST EXCITED TO PERFORM IN?
LF: I'm very excited and feel very lucky to be touring from September onwards. I'm looking forward to visiting Canada for the first time, as well as returning to Glasgow where some of my uni friends are.
IS THERE A PARTICULAR SONG ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO PLAY LIVE?
LF: I like the energy that Halfway Heart brings to the set; I added it to the album so there’d be something uptempo to play live.
AND FINALLY, IS THERE A PARTICULAR MESSAGE YOU’D LIKE TO GIVE TO YOUR FANS?
LF: Thank you for listening<3
Thank you so much for sitting down with us Liana! I usually like to do a ‘bonus’ quick-question interview that’s voluntary but makes for a fun little trivia section:
WHAT MOVIE OR TV SHOW DO YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFE?
LF : Ratatouille
VINYL, CASSETTE, CD, OR STREAMING?
LF: Streaming for convenience, vinyl as a treat.
IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON (DEAD OR ALIVE), WHO WOULD IT BE?
LF : I think I’d just meet up with my boyfriend and go to the beach.
WHAT’S YOUR MOST RECENT 5-STAR READ?
LF: Mare by Mary Gaitskill
WHAT’S YOUR LIFE MOTTO?
LF: “To leap is life’s way.”
WHAT BOOK DO YOU ALWAYS RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE?
LF: Agua Viva by Clarice Lispector
WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO COFFEE SHOP OR CAFE ORDER?
LF: Latte & maybe a lemon cake
WHAT KIND OF FAERIE DO YOU THINK YOU’D BE?
LF: One that lives in the internet
IF YOU HAD THREE WISHES, WHAT WOULD YOU WISH FOR?
LF: World peace! world peace! World peace!
WHAT ELEMENT OR CELESTIAL BODY DO YOU RELATE YOURSELF TO THE MOST?
LF: Earth
@BELLETHELABEL X @LINDSEYMEDIA
ALLINA LIU @ALLINA.LIU X @LINDSEYMEDIA
STYLIST’S ARCHIVE
TOP: BELLE
SKIRT:
SHOES:
WHEN FASHION MEETS FOOD
BY MARÍA ANDREA HERNÁNDEZ
LE GRAND BUFFET
The convergence of food and fashion unleashes a symphony of sensations. From the after-dinner table, where colors and textures intertwine, to the choice of garments contrasting with the surroundings, each moment becomes an expression of art. Food grants us moments of happiness: from sharing a glass of wine with friends to the first sip of coffee. This fusion is more than a combination; it’s a reflection of our individuality and an invitation to explore and enjoy every moment with all our senses.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MANUELA BONO STYLING — MARÍA ANDREA HERNÁNDEZ
HAIR, MAKEUP & GROOMING — SANDRA HITO
MODEL — CARLA CONCELLON AT UNO MODELS AGENCY
LOOK 1
BLOUSE: RICK OWENS
SHORTS: HANRO SOCKS:
HAT: FELIX MATOS
VINTAGE RINGS: DIESEL
LOOK 2
DRESS: MARTA CASAS
BERET: THE CAST NY
SOCKS: COS
EARRINGS: ZARA
SHOES: AEYDE
LOOK 3
ENTIRE LOOK: MARTA CASAS
SOCKS: COS
HAT: H&M
SHOES: U ROADS
4
TIGHTS:
EARRINGS:
LOOK
TOP: ZARA
SHORTS: ZARA
WOLFORD
VINTAGE
LOOK 5
DRESS: MARÍA ANDREA HERNÁNDEZ
TIGHTS: COS
EARRINGS: ZARA
SHOES: UN JOURS AILLEURS
Owning Manhattan
Nothing specific, but I’m learning French now!
Griff’s album, Vertigo! Running!
Aspiring Architect & Freelance Photographer Katherine Hui she/her New York, NY
@kat.hui
kathui.cargo.site
Nish Nush (the best Mediterranean food ever!)
Cold brew
I’d go for a run, then start my morning off slowly and intentionally with breakfast and listening to good music.
Afternoon walks have become routine for me— it’s like free therapy.
If I’m not shooting a concert (the ideal scenario), I would cook at home, then spend time with loved ones or catch up with friends!
BEHIND THE COVER
I wanted it to be very clear out the jump that
I've had a lot of healing and I have a lot of joy.
