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Tag: music interview

  • POPDUST ON RECORD: Pauli The PSM

    POPDUST ON RECORD: Pauli The PSM

    Pauli the PSM radiates positive energy as he enters our scheduled Zoom call. It’s going to be an easy conversation, something you can tell with interviews right away. We banter about New Jersey and the legitimacy of Pauly D as a DJ, we go through my residency at
    Harry Styles’ MSG run, and then it’s time to talk about him.

    Fans may recognize Pauli as the joyous member of Harry Styles’ mega-talented band, who follows him on his successful 173 show run spanning 22 months,
    LOVE ON TOUR. He plays multiple instruments throughout the show, captivating fans and interacting with the crowd on his side of the stage…but he’s also the musical director for Styles, a relationship that’s been growing for years now.

    And it’s not just Styles he’s worked with. Previous accolades include Maggie Rogers, FKA Twigs, and Jamie xx for musical direction. He’s highly regarded as one of the most prestigious musical directors in the game for a reason.

    Pauli’s prowess in the music industry is unmatched. His appreciation for all genres, all types of music, all walks of life is awe-inspiring. As we talk, I learn that he’s constantly switching genres in his own music because it’s about whatever is inspiring him in the moment. He’s never boxing himself into one specific category, because that’s not what music is about.

    He puts it perfectly: “If you eat the same thing everyday, you’re going to get tired of it.” It’s the same thing with music, he says. You don’t want to listen to the same exact song, or genre, everyday of your life. It’s about switching it up and trying new things.

    With his new single, “I Don’t Deserve You (Sunshine)”, Pauli works with fellow
    LOVE ON TOUR member, Ariza to deliver an introspective dive into his own soul. The song itself deals with the idea of Imposter Syndrome, and feeling you aren’t worthy of something or someone.

    As we delve more into his creative process and his already prolific career in the music industry, I realize that Pauli looks at music as a genuine gift. That’s what makes him so special, and have the success that he has. He’s grateful for everything that has come so far, but he’s driven to keep digging into his soul and creating special music.

    That’s why “I Don’t Deserve You (Sunshine)” feels like a breath of fresh air. Pauli may have perfected dance tracks like “Saucy,” or even spoken word with Idris Elba in his debut album,
    The Idea of Tomorrow…But, with his ever-evolving, fluid approach to making music, the single reigns as one of his best yet.

    There’s a lot to learn from Pauli the PSM, who takes me on a journey for this episode of Popdust On Record. Check out the full interview on YouTube!


    Jai Phillips

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  • Sam Tompkins Is The Next Big Thing

    Sam Tompkins Is The Next Big Thing

    These days, the inception of many careers starts on social media. At first, there was YouTube, now there’s TikTok. This video-based social media platform is where Sam Tompkins began posting clips of himself singing covers of popular songs. While many aren’t successful, Sam Tompkins had a different story to tell.

    His story truly starts with his cover of Bruno Mars’ “Talking To The Moon,” which sent viewers into a frenzy over Tompkins’ captivating voice. From there, he collaborated with JNR CHOI to create a viral remix of the song…which would become the soundtrack for
    millions of TikTok’s by users everywhere.

    He’s a mega-viral singer who has already proven that he’s not letting this moment end. Sure, there’s always the question of “what’s next,” but Tompkins seems to have the formula figured out. His vocal ability has gotten him here for a reason, and fans quickly recognized that his relatable lyrics and hard-hitting choruses are replay-worthy.

    But it’s not just the fans who love Tompkins…who has received recognition from superstars like Elton John, Bebe Rexha, and Justin Bieber. There’s something special woven into his silky smooth vocals that makes Sam Tompkins an obvious choice for the next star in the music industry.

    His debut album,
    hi, my name is insecure, which was released on July 26, is a step inside Tompkins’ soul. While many artists play it safe during the first submissions, it’s clear that Sam had a different approach…and we’re lucky he did.

    The album itself is stunning: an aesthetically pleasing, sonically dynamic masterpiece that showcases his depth as an artist. A ballad-heavy, introspective piece of work with tracks like “lose it all”, which was another hit among listeners and fans. Each song is riddled with emotion and ladened with instrumental backing that just contributes to the well-rounded tracks.

    You can listen to hi, my name is insecure here:

    He’s one of the most exciting artists out there, and he deserves all the success he’s receiving…and while he may make it look easy, we know it certainly is not.

    We spoke with Sam Tompkins about his debut album, touring with The Kid LAROI, and much more! Check it out below:

    Congratulations on your debut album, hi, my name is insecure! As your first official album, what was it like to create a full body of work?
    Creating an album is difficult in hindsight as I’m sure you can imagine, but actually (at least for me), it felt really natural. I loved the writing process and recording and figuring it all out step by step. it was chaos and it was tricky at times, but it just felt right.


    What is the main message behind your album? How does it represent you as an artist?

    I guess the main message would be a problem shared is a problem halved. that’s kinda my mantra as a person and artist to be honest. Be vulnerable and you will find the challenges you’re faced with don’t feel as scary. Saying “hi my name is insecure” straight off the bat as the title for my introduction to the world as an artist just felt like the right thing to do. I am insecure and i will not be ashamed of that anymore. it’s natural… we all feel it.


    While the album title is a bit self-explanatory, what does it mean to you? How did it feel right when making the single and the album?

    I always compare it to
    8 Mile. That rap battle at the end where Eminem’s character basically just insults himself for the first verse using all of the negative things he knew his opponent was gonna use against him basically rendering the other guy useless. When i say i’m insecure and own that, i am essentially taking control and power over the situation.

    You just went on tour with The Kid LAROI…what was your favorite part about touring live? Will we see a solo Sam Tompkins tour soon?

    It was amazing. Honestly, my favourite part was seeing one of my favourite artists doing his thing in the flesh. Yes! I am supporting Myles Smith across America in September and then doing my own tour in Europe and the uk in November!


    Your “Talking To The Moon” cover went viral on TikTok. Can you tell us a little about that experience?

    Honestly, it was just such a whirlwind. I was just bored one night and decided to make the video and it just changed my life in so many ways. Kinda crazy to experience that level of vitality, but it’s something I’m super proud of.


    What are three words you’d use to describe this album?

    “Honest”, “Raw”, “Rollercoaster”

    Jai Phillips

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  • Introducing Velvettica.

    Introducing Velvettica.

    Emily Krueger has always had Velvettica in her soul. Whether or not she revealed Velvettica immediately was her choice, but for a long time she stayed sheltered. She hid Velvettica deep within her, forging her own career-path as a singer who could effortlessly flow from genre to genre…but something was amiss deep down.

    As she grew as an artist and became more in touch with herself, Velvettica couldn’t hide anymore. Sure, Emily Krueger still exists…but a different, more real part of her has also risen to the surface. It’s not merely a stage name, it’s an embodiment of who Emily truly is.

    So, when searching for Emily Krueger, you may find that she’s started a new chapter under the name “Velvettica.” And while for some artists, this would indicate an identity crisis…Velvettica has never felt more herself.

    In this new era, Velvettica is radiating authenticity. She’s fallen in love, gotten in touch with every single part of herself, and poured it into her new era of music. It’s her most honest revelations yet, leaning on the guitar riffs that her fans love watching on TikTok, and combining her lilting vocals to transport you into a new realm.

    Her single, “Telepathic Baddie”, details falling in love with someone and always being in their minds. The sort of telepathy that makes you feel like you’re operating on one brain cell, and with an enchanting beat and Velvettica’s silky vocals…this song is a perfect encapsulation of who Velvettica is as an artist. You can listen to the track here:

    Velvettica’s music is a purely transcendentalist experience that shows she’s found her stride. With the beginning of a new chapter, we spoke to Velvettica about the massive year she’s having and how the transition to this new era has been going!

    PD: You unveiled your new identity to be Velvettica. What inspired this change and who is the real Velvettica?

    I was and still am Emily Krueger. But I’ve completely changed as a person. I was living subconsciously and playing out all the things my parents did. I got to a really dark place and faced death in the eye and decided to rewrite my script.

    I suddenly felt so disconnected from the persona/ego I had built up underneath my birth name, and I felt boxed in. I woke up to the fact that I was so much more than that, and had so much more to share on a way deeper level, and knew in order to reconnect with what I felt deep in my soul was dying to be shown, I had to shed all of that ego, and remember who I truly was.

    The real Velvettica is my proverbial ‘higher self’. She finds peace through fear, finds the self through letting go of the perceived self, and finds balance through extremes, both light and dark.

    PD: When creating “Telepathic Baddie”, how did you channel Velvettica? What was the inspiration for the single?

    The song pretty much wrote itself. It was a gift to me really. I wrote it as I was falling in love with an incredible soul. I had just finished a long meditation and was still feeling completely in another realm. In my moments of silence tuning in, my soul quite literally had a conversation with his soul, in another realm of existence. It was omniscient love, and in that soul-to-soul conversation we spoke of manifesting our dream reality. We’re totally all telepathic baddies and once you tune in you’ll find literal superpowers. We’re all psychic. I allowed the universe to funnel through me and it became the pilot of Velvettica.

    VelvetticaLindsey Ruth

    PD: When embarking on this new chapter, what was your vision for your sound?

    To be honest I didn’t really have a vision. The new sound just happened, and found me rather. I’ve always made pretty much every genre of music, except metal. The first song I made that’s a part of this EP was “Stereo Minds.” It was a new sound for me at the time, but still used elements from everything I’d previously made. It was finally flowing effortlessly. I didn’t really need a vision for it because it was just happening. Then of course once I had consistently made that kinda psychedelic chill rock pop sound for a couple months I started to see the vision that was really given to me.

    So if you’re an artist reading this and “finding your sound” consider trying less and just letting it find you.

    PD: What’s one thing you want listeners to know about your new era?

    The irony is that as much as we could change our identity and choose to reinvent the wheel, we will always be at our core, our true essence. Alongside this new artist project being conceived, I also got married.

    My identity changed in the earth realm as well, and the truth is our identity will change and evolve many times on our journey towards the next life. Amidst all the change and forced or chosen identity shifts we experience, the paradox is remembering to remember exactly who we always were, and always will be – an unchanging light. The new era will be much more vulnerable and real and won’t shy away from the taboo, and I definitely want this project to be something that opens people’s minds.

    PD: What’s next for you this year? Can we expect even more new music soon from Velvettica?

    Most definitely! My 7 song EP ‘Death, Sex & Inheritance’ is out this fall. I’m already working on, and finally collaborating more on the next project and I already can’t wait to show the first singles. I’m in the process of finding the right members to be a part of the band for live shows, and eventually I’d like them to meld into Velvettica’s writing and recording process, becoming an actual band.

    Jai Phillips

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  • Cece Coakley Wants You To Let Your Life Feel Good

    Cece Coakley Wants You To Let Your Life Feel Good

    “Everyone needs to get on a stage and be embarrassed one time in their life,” says Cece Coakley, a singer-songwriter based in Nashville. “I cannot stress enough to anyone who goes to a concert. We see everything, we hear you say things. I know you’re talking, and it’s hurting my feelings.”

    The Tennessee native released her debut EP Tender in 2022 after cultivating an online community. From sharing songs from her childhood bedroom to moving to Nashville and touring with artists like Medium Build, Stephen Sanchez, Field Guide and Ella Jane, Cece Coakley grew up a lot on tour.

    “I was still in college when I first started touring,” she says. “I would play a sold out show opening for one of my favorite artists, and then I would be in the green room, like submitting an essay. It was very Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus core.” In some ways it was a fantasy. In other ways, it was a reality check. Touring wasn’t glamorous, she found, it was exhausting and sometimes even embarrassing. But getting the chance to share her music with the audiences makes the hard shows worth it — so does hearing what her songs mean to people.

    Raised on female lyricists and coffee shop radio, Cece Coakley’s music is rooted in narrative songwriting tinged with nostalgia. She reflects on the past, on home, and worries about the future — don’t we all. But Coakley’s musings aren’t one-dimensional, they’re kaleidoscopic and welcoming, inviting the listener to see themselves in her life, without sparing the specifics.

    Growing up in East Knoxville, she’s inspired by genre-defying female country artists like Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves as well as narrative folk indie singer-songwriters who pull from the world and create new ones. But she’s also inspired by classic country music, bringing in their emotion and soulful yearning.

    Cece CoakleyCece Coakley

    No one is more surprised at this influence than Coakley, who says: “A lot of that classic country is so inspiring with the storytelling and the songwriting that I think I grew up hating living in the South for obvious reasons. But looking back, it inspired so much of my songwriting.”

    But Coakley is carving her own path. She spoke to Popdust about her new music, being on the road, and resisting the urge to be unhappy. Indie-folk singers can be known for their melancholy, she understands, and mournful reflection has been her bread and butter. But Coakley is learning how to embrace good feelings and let them inspire her music, too.

    POPDUST: How did you write your first EP?

    Cece Coakley: I wrote all of those songs before I moved to Nashville. I’m from a town in East Tennessee called Knoxville, and I grew up there my whole life. I went to school outside of Nashville for a couple years, then I got moved home during the pandemic. That’s where I was like, Okay, this is my only chance to full send into trying to do music. I was like, I’m running out of time, I’m in my childhood bedroom. So I just locked myself in my room and wrote every single day until I had something I actually liked. And it all just snowballed from there.

    POPDUST: Did you already have a sound that you were gravitating to, or was it all happening at the same time?

    Cece Coakley: It was all kind of happening at the same time. I think I just never thought that doing music was a legitimate possibility at that point. I went to school for music business thinking, I guess I can be a manager or something. I just wanted to be involved. I was buying myself time in college thinking I would never be able to just full send into music stuff. So I was like, I’ll figure it out by the time I graduate. I feel like it’s a very relatable statement.

    POPDUST: So you decide you’re going to go for it. What next? How did you go about writing the first EP?

    Cece Coakley: Totally, I had been writing songs since I was in the fourth grade, and they were probably the worst songs that have ever existed. So I didn’t have a Taylor Swift starting young situation. But since I never thought of it as a real possibility, I never fully pursued that. Growing up in the South, I was just so inspired by Taylor Swift and those country girls you can look to and be like, Oh, they have the same problems I do. Having very relatable songwriting like that was what first really inspired me. I think I used songwriting growing up as a way to figure out my emotions. I feel like a lot of children don’t have that self regulation tool, so I used it mostly to just be like, Oh, that guy you had a crush on in fifth grade was so mean to you.

    I waited so long to get on Tiktok. I lasted almost all of lockdown without being on Tiktok – I literally need a t shirt that’s like, “I survived.” But I was seeing some of my friends who are songwriters and musicians posting the things they’re creating while they were home, and it getting insane traction. And in my head, I was just like, I can do that. We’ll never have this amount of time to just try. So around August of the pandemic, I downloaded Tiktok, and I was like, I’m going to post something every single day. I’m going to create something. And it got me into such a great habit of just creating to create. I was like, I don’t care if this gets like, 1000 likes, like, I’m just doing this to grow the way that my mind works with music. And having that much free time and the passion to actually try changed my life.

    POPDUST: How did your writing evolve during that time?

    Cece Coakley: I made the decision to just dive in head first. I wanted to focus on being transparent with myself. And I think once you can be so upfront with yourself to know where your weaknesses are, that’s where you can make those weaknesses stronger. So I think that constant internal editing gave me a stronger sense of confidence and compass of where I want to go. I don’t want to look at myself every day and be like, this is what’s terrible about you. But I think having those periods of rebirth — that sounds so dramatic, but being able to clock yourself so you can grow from your weaknesses really made all the difference.

    POPDUST: Did you have a similar period of editing — or rebirth — between the first and the second EP.

    Cece Coakley: Totally. I think during the first project I was just like, oh my god, I can’t believe I’m doing this. Unfortunately, I feel like I didn’t really believe in myself at that point. I didn’t want to let down the people who gave me a platform to share myself so I just wanted to make something for everyone to enjoy. But moving into the second project — and in the project I’m working on right now — it’s been just, what do I like? What do I care about? I think people gravitate more towards art that they can tell the artist is genuinely connecting with. And I think I definitely matured. I wrote the first project when I was 18 and 19 — which should just be illegal. The fact that things that I thought when I was 19 exist forever.

    POPDUST: So you feel like you’ve grown up in the time between?

    Cece Coakley: Now I have multiple years under my belt. Somehow, in three years, I lived so much more life that gave me a different perspective on what I want to say and how I want to say it. Especially because I started touring a bunch and getting to actively play new songs and see the live reaction. So I could edit and change and tweak from seeing people’s immediate reaction. Touring makes you become an adult really fast. You are your own boss, but you also are employing people. It is a very crazy dynamic that I didn’t realize. Getting to tour was like the one thing I wanted to do with my life. And I was like, I will be content, and I will never ask for anything else. But it is the hardest part of the job. Because if you are not at a Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo level, everything is really shitty until you get to the show. You’re driving 10 hours. You’re sleeping on a friend of a friend’s couch, which can be so awkward. You have to rely so much on other people and you don’t really have control over the outcome. So letting myself be grateful for the experience while knowing it was going to be difficult helped me grow up so much so fast.

    POPDUST: How do you embrace the vulnerability of being on stage? It’s one thing to write a song, another to put them online, and then it’s a whole other thing to perform them in person.

    Cece Coakley: I do it because I feel as if I have to. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life. So I’m willing to embarrass myself to share what I have to say. It’s like being a voice for someone. And there are the shitty shows, there are the talking crowds. But then one person comes up to you and is like, oh, I just got out of a very physically abusive relationship and your song was the catalyst for that. Just one of those stories will keep me going for like, a year of my life. I don’t care what I have to do to share with those people. Because if this can help me, hopefully it can help someone else.

    POPDUST: How does that feedback, if at all, inform your writing process?

    Cece Coakley: I feel like I’ll just write 100 songs about my life and figure out what I need to hear. When I try out different sets live, I take into account if people really resonated with a song. That can definitely inform the release schedule and process. But when it comes to writing, it all ends up being about my life. People these days are connecting to very personal and specific songwriting that has nothing to do with their lives. So getting the opportunity to apply personal things in my life makes the listening experience more creative for the listener.

    POPDUST: Is there anyone that you’re listening to now or that you admire doing that type of songwriting?

    Cece Coakley: I really love artists like Billie Marten. She’s based in the UK. I saw her play a solo show in Nashville a couple months ago that altered my universe. She was talking about certain songs she wrote that she was like, Oh, I worked in a pub in London to try and get stories. And this is a song about a regular that came in. That’s so cool. I want to full send in that direction.

    Like Andy Shauf will do whole concept albums about a story or a character. That’s insane. I asked my friends a couple weeks ago, if you could see any show in the Sphere, what show would you want to see? I was literally like, I need to see Andy Shauf in the sphere. Like every album fully acted out on the big screen. It will never happen, but I’m hell bent on finding a way to get him in there.

    POPDUST: You also mentioned Taylor Swift. Who are the other people who shaped your early perception of songwriting?

    Cece Coakley: Not growing up with a phone, it was mainly radio hits. Any artist that I was obsessed with growing up was probably playing on the Sirius XM Coffee House station. The singer songwriter girls like Corinne Bailey Ray, Sara Bareilles, or Nora Jones were so pivotal. Female singer songwriters, stripped and acoustic, was something that I didn’t even know as an option for so long. It was just a cool time for music and I’m taking inspiration from those people who still live in the back of my head. And now the songwriter, girlies are back. Like Lizzy McAlpine. One of my goals for 2024 was to get on the coffee house station. You heard it here first.

    POPDUST: Thematically, what are you thinking about for your next project?

    Cece Coakley: I think this next chapter of music is coming at a very pivotal time in my life of losing people but meeting new people. It’s the crossroads of heartbreak and the excitement of things that are new and shiny. I think for a really long time, I wasn’t writing love songs or songs about being happy. But now I’m like, wow, I wasted so much time being upset or being jealous or complaining that it’s put like a lens over things that were really beautiful. But in this new season of life, I have adopted the mindset of accepting the things I can’t change. And especially being an indie artist, there’s always something to complain about and there’s always something that needs to be done. But reframing the way that I look at my life, like I’m so lucky to live the life that I lead, and I am getting to follow my dreams, no matter how difficult the process to get there is. I think within this next process, I wanted to have music that said life can be good if you let it be good. So the next songs are fun and I had a really fun time making these songs, and I’m really excited to share some new stuff soon.

    Listen to Happy Adjacent here:

    LKC

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  • Akira Galaxy: Rockstar, Poet

    Akira Galaxy: Rockstar, Poet

    Akira Galaxy is a romantic. You can hear it in her music. You can see it in her music videos as she runs across Normandy in a glittering bodysuit. Even when she’s on stage in a vintage nightgown, strumming a glittering silver guitar. I encountered it firsthand in Austin, Texas, while she sat in between SXSW sets, telling me how she’s been reading Eros: The Bittersweet in her spare time.

    “It’s just a lot of reflection of love and loss and sitting with yourself,” she said of her debut EP, What’s Inside You. “And a lot of desire.” Akira’s distinct vocals, her poetic lyricism, the gut-pulling guitar riffs — they all add up pure palpable desire.

    Although What’s Inside You came into the world earlier this year, much of it was written during the height of the pandemic. And while many of us were making sourdough, Akira was falling in love.

    “I fell in love with someone through a computer and through my phone,” she told me. “It was really romantic. It reminded me of back when people would send letters to each other and that was your only way of communicating. And that’s something that will never fully happen again. It was a point in time where that was the only option to connect with people. This person was across the world, the borders were closed. So we fell in love with each other through our minds.”

    Though it wasn’t only this relationship that inspired her EP, the ache for connection reverberates through her music. Inspired by conversations with old friends during lockdown, her hometown of Seattle, and a whole lot of poetry, What’s Inside You is a tapestry threaded together by deep reflection and devastating hooks. It’s vulnerable, but never saccharine. Lyrics like “Give me your impossible devotion” (“Virtual Eyes”) and “No one’s gonna love you like I do,” (“Silver Shoes”) are grounded by poetic details that deftly traverse both the personal and the universal.

    Gaining such craft and skill as a songwriter and musician didn’t happen overnight. Or even over the pandemic. Galaxy has spent the past few years honing her craft — polishing her sound and even studying the art of mime (find her in LA mime classes) to bring intention to her performances.

    And now, with What’s Inside You, she’s finally arrived. “It’s been such a long time coming,” says Akira. I spoke to her about her sound, her stage presence, and her style at SXSW 2024.

    Pet Shop DaysAkira Galaxy

    POPDUST: Your debut EP, What’s Inside You, just released. How did you find your sound?

    AKIRA: I had just moved to LA and was writing a ton. And then COVID hit so I went home to Seattle. I still hadn’t figured out my sound. I hadn’t found a song where I was like, this is fully me. I want to share this with the world. When human physical touch and one-on-one connection were stripped away, it really fucked with my hardware, like anyone. It made me look inward and I was scheduling these Zoom meetings with people I went to school with — like first grade. I hadn’t talked to them in like 10 years. I just wanted to get in touch with all these people who had drifted to the back of my mind. I was really able to reflect on another version of myself. So that’s when I figured out my sound and then the first song I wrote was “What’s Inside You.” And I also bought my first acoustic guitar learned a bunch of Bob Dylan covers like “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.” That’s the first song I learned how to do vibrato with my voice on. So a combination of everything — especially reflection of the past and also accepting this new way of living — blossomed this EP. And that’s when I discovered my sound.

    POPDUST: Now that physical touch is back, is that yearning still there?

    AKIRA: I’ve been reading a lot of Greek mythology recently. Like Eros the Bittersweet by Anne Carson. And there are a lot of themes about desire and yearning. Especially when someone’s away and how that distance creates desire. I just think it’s really interesting to go back in time and see how other people were describing things. That was like their Bible, right? And it’s a really romantic way of describing things that we feel today. Like, the bittersweet taste of honey melting on my tongue. Or an ice cube melting the palm of my hand. Or the veil between us while we’re sleeping in a bed. I’m really into that kind of stuff. And into the origin of colors, and different ways to really describe the things that we’re feeling and try and understand the way we’re feeling.

    POPDUST: It’s interesting that the details that appeal to you the most are from something so fantastical as mythology.

    AKIRA: I feel like maybe I’m just used to picking out that kind of stuff because I read poetry so often to get inspired for my lyrics. So I’ll read a poem and see the big picture of it, but a lot of the time, I’m finding words that really stand out to me and make me feel something. So I’ve learned to look for things like that.

    POPDUST: Your songwriting is similar. A lot of your peers are leaning into the confessional style but your lyrics are more abstract.

    AKIRA: So it’s really interesting that you bring that up because I’ve kind of been struggling with that myself. Because with so much of the lyric writing today, what you hear is what you get. There’s a quote that someone said to me once: The music will make you like an artist, the lyrics will make you fall in love with an artist. I feel that so heavily. For me, if I see lyrics that I love, it’s a spiral where I have to look at all their other lyrics. And a lot of the time, maybe I won’t fully understand what they’re saying at first, but I have to put the puzzle pieces together. And in my own way. I don’t know if maybe what I think the song is about will change a year from then. But to me, that’s what’s really interesting.

    POPDUST: The potential for transformation is there.

    AKIRA: Totally. Like Bob Dylan. He’s very simplistic with his writing in some capacity, but it’s a way that the words are formed together. That’s what I’m aiming for with my lyric writing in the future — aiming to get somewhere near that guy. You can say the simplest thing, but it can be the most profound thing in the world.

    POPDUST: And that’s something that comes from poetry, right? Precision and diction and transformation are such poetic features.

    AKIRA: Yeah. And I’m struggling with that. Because I really like abstract writing. But sometimes I’m like, I don’t know if this is going to make sense to everyone. But it makes so much sense to me in the most profound way. So maybe that’s enough. And maybe it becomes a completely different story for another person. And it’s constantly evolving with time.

    POPDUST: That timelessness is present in “Virtual Eyes.” It has the echoes of COVID and falling in love virtually. But it’s so rooted in the sensation of desire that it transcends the literal meaning and feels like its own thing.

    AKIRA: I wrote that in a day. Actually, I wrote the chorus lyrics about six months prior and then everything else was written in the span of a day. I just remember being in tears. Like, tears on the— on the like, page.

    I was going through one of the most painful times in my life and it was the only thing I could do to feel okay. And I think that’s a really beautiful thing about being a creative person or being an artist is you can pull life out of anything. And you can actually benefit other people too by doing that. So it’s funny because the easiest moments for me to write in are, I think a perfect combination of feeling really happy about a situation — but there being a bit of a tragedy in it as well. In the sense of, like, things are so bad that I have no other choice but to write. Because it’s the only way that I am going to not feel like everything’s in black and white.

    POPDUST: Do you think that’s the only way to write? With — or within — that extreme emotion?

    AKIRA: I think there’s something to be said about just constantly being aware of the smallest little romantic thing. Picking up on little romantic gestures or moments that can easily make their way into a song if you’re seeing all these things all the time. And for me, a really good way to be in tune is constantly like keeping the wheels turning. With everything. Watching films, reading, listening to music, hearing little weird sounds, and new songs, and constantly having that creative flow. And being around other creative people and talking about this stuff.

    POPDUST: I think that’s also what makes your persona — Akira Galaxy, the artist — seem so strong. It’s made up of so many details, from how you show up on stage to lyrics to your visuals. How did you carve that out?

    AKIRA: It’s gonna sound so simple and boring, but it’s just what I like. And it’s just what feels right. Like when I was creating visuals, I mean, the people I was working with were a huge part of it. But when I started thinking about visuals for the song, I just wanted really hyper-realistic landscapes. So I pulled from all the films that I like and, you know, Pinterest was a really good source for me.

    POPDUST: What were the inspirations for the “Virtual Eyes” video?

    AKIRA: I wanted to go to France and I found a bunch of locations in Europe, mostly in France, and in Italy. So I was like, Do you guys want to come to France with me? I need to do this. I need the first visuals to be amazing. And I think a lot of the reason why I felt that way was because it had been such a long time coming. I’ve been wanting to release something since I was like 16 years old. And then I wrote a lot of this EP when I was 20 and 21. So it had been a year or two in the making, and I was like, alright, well, because it’s been so long it has to be exactly the way I want it to be. And it has to be a full representation of myself.

    POPDUST: Many young artists, especially with the immediacy of TikTok, feel pressure to release music as fast and as often as possible. Do you ever feel that pressure?

    AKIRA: Right. If I had released the song that I wrote when I was 16 years old, I probably would have had a really different trajectory. So there’s some beauty in really making sure that it was the right moment. Because there’s that saying that you have your whole life to make your first album. But also, at some point, you gotta let it out and, like, let go of shit a bit.

    POPDUST: Do you have a sense of what the first album is going to be?

    AKIRA: I’m figuring that out in real-time. I have a good chunk of songs that I definitely want to go on an album or an EP and one of them’s my favorite I’ve written — even over “Virtual Eyes.” So I’m pretty excited. But I think it might sound a little more minimal or spacey. I love that, tied in with visuals like Sofia Coppola’s stuff. I mean The Virgin Suicides soundtrack is one of my favorite records of all time.

    POPDUST: And will you draw from all those little moments you’re always cataloging?

    AKIRA: For sure. Yeah. And it’s, interesting, a lot of this newer stuff is gonna be in real time. The past EP was a lot of reflecting and now it’s present Akira. A lot of it has to do with picking up on the little romantic details and life and just being consumed with what’s going on. I mean, I find it really interesting when artists write about things in the third person or from a weird perspective. I think a lot of artists today are like — and I think this is appropriate in some moments — but are only saying “me,” “you,” “I.” I’m trying to refrain from that and get more into the abstract.

    POPDUST: Speaking of doing the unexpected, I heard you studied mime for your performances. How did you get into that?

    AKIRA: It was around the time I wrote “Virtual Eyes.” It was during that period when I was in a really dark time. And I was like, Okay, I need to perform and I need to be intentional about it. So I looked at mime classes in LA and found this guy, Lorin Eric Salm, who’s part of this thing called Mime Theater and he was taught by Marcel Marceau for years in Paris. So he’s the real deal. Initially, we started by just doing core mime stuff. A lot of it was kind of just the way that you stand. It’s called suspension. It’s about how you hold your placement of every part of your body. I think a striking performance can be in the subtlest details, like the way that you look at the audience. It can be in your eyes. It can be in just the way you stand there. But it’s important to have intention. People want to come to a show and see something interesting, They want to try and understand what you’re trying to convey to the audience, even more so than just the song. So, I think that’s what I wanted. How do I express what I’m trying to say to the audience in the most real way?

    Watch the “Virtual Eyes” video here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvp5nShIJXU

    Stream What’s Inside You HERE:

    https://open.spotify.com/album/2MuLsccIzQmcny5aMtpNM3?si=tr66ELGXSwK6tVZiwbWWsg

    Jai Phillips

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  • Exclusive Interview: Obai On His Debut Album, svnteen

    Exclusive Interview: Obai On His Debut Album, svnteen

    At 17 years old, most of us were day-dreaming about our crushes, hopelessly scrolling through social media fantasizing about the day where we don’t live our parents. Unless you’re Obai, one of Gen-Z’s hottest rising stars who just seems to understand the industry so early into his career.

    His music has a hint of nostalgia- a sprinkle of 90’s R&B, a dash of passionate soul, and a whole lot of catchy pop lyrics lie within his songs, where he croons about growing up and relationships. He’s one-of-a-kind in the sense that he has his sound developed and his music refined at such a young age. Music is a gift, which is why Obai is receiving his flowers and garnering a dedicated fanbase.

    It started when he was just 12, posting covers anonymously on an Instagram account. Growing up listening to late 90’s and early 2000’s R&B greats like Nelly, Ne-Yo, and Alicia Keys, Obai was influenced by some of the best…and it shows in his music today, which immediately sent me back in time.

    In his newest project, his album called svnteen, he’s found his stride. Leading singles like “girls like you” showcase his vocal range, which is silky smooth and earworms its way into your brain. “girls like you” is the the epitome of Obai- blending pop and R&B, lighthearted and reminiscent of all the Neo-soul icons we love. He warns the listener, “I fall for girls like you…”

    It’s a valiant effort for a debut album, one that is almost flawless. You rarely get the honor of hearing an artist produce a cohesive nine track album their first time around…and yet, Obai does it. You can stream svnteen here:

    POPDUST svnteen RECS: “dancefloor”, “girls like you”, “missed call.”

    He’s one of the most exciting rising artists in the game right now for a reason. Obai has the talent of storytelling, songwriting, and vocal range all in one. I got the chance to speak with Obai about this exciting time in his career, what this album means to him, and more!

    Check out our exclusive interview with Obai below!

    PD: Congratulations on svnteen! What was the inspiration for the EP?

    The inspiration for svnteen really all came into bits and pieces of my everyday life at 17, also mixed within my friends lives, and what they go through in relationships! I wanted to shed light on many topics that ran through my head throughout the year.

    PD: What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned while making these tracks?

    That sometimes stuff doesn’t need to make sense in the moment and that you’ll one day find the clarity you’ve been searching for as long as you try and stay present within yourself.

    PD: Which was your favorite to create?

    Probably “flyest in the room” or “weekend”

    PD: When you were 12, you made an anonymous Instagram to post covers…when did you start to reveal yourself as the voice behind the account?

    Haha, people just kinda knew after a certain point cuz my voice wasn’t too far from my regular talking voice at the time so when they started to comment new songs for me to sing and they started mentioning my main account. Once that happened, I chose to own up to it fully and not be anonymous anymore.

    PD: How did it help you really get into making your own music?

    I’ve always really wanted to make music, but I will say that seeing people ask for different songs for me to sing made me start to take my voice seriously and pursue my own thing creatively.

    PD: Who were your favorite artists to cover and how did they inspire your style now?

    There were definitely a couple great artists for sure. Off the top of my head, I remember singing a lot of Mario, Chris Brown, Tory Lanez, Bryson Tiller, and of course Justin Bieber. Truthfully, they are all I listened to when I was trying to get better with singing! Literally would sing their songs everyday.

    PD: If you could pick three words to describe the EP, what would they be?

    Moments, youth, infatuation.

    Jai Phillips

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  • Exclusive Interview: Oliver Cronin On “I Need You”

    Exclusive Interview: Oliver Cronin On “I Need You”

    Oliver Cronin sits in his room that doubles as a studio for our Zoom call, you can tell by the paneling on the walls for sound. For Cronin in Australia, it’s early in the morning, for me in Hoboken, it’s about time for bed. We’re here to talk about his new single with Lil Xxel called “I Need You”, a track that is a clear sonic step up for Cronin- one of his best.

    He comes from a lineage of musically-inclined people, with his mother studying music in Africa at one point. As a musician, she was constantly surrounding Oliver with music from all parts of the globe. He took this with him as he began to make his own music, appreciating different sounds and instruments with a keen understanding that clearly set him apart when starting his career.

    After making music on Soundcloud, Oliver Cronin was picked up by his label almost immediately. However, he quickly adds that things don’t change overnight…and a lot of people, including himself at first, thought they do. But your label is there to help guide you, you have to build your platform and fanbase on your own.

    Now ready to put in the work and go the extra mile, Cronin took to TikTok- where he learned to understand the algorithm and post 2-3 times daily. He remixes a track a day, something he says he truly enjoys doing and that’s probably why they perform the best. His recs? His remixes of Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” and, especially, “Popular” by The Weeknd.

    He has ambitions of working with Jon Bellion and Justin Bieber (whom he believes is everybody’s dream collab), but for now is dazzled by all the singers and producers he got to work with while writing “I Need You” and his upcoming album. After collaborating with Lil Xxel for the single, Cronin admits how he likes to make music that makes people smile.

    The track is great, truly polished like he promises. You can hear the work that’s put into it, the attention to the little, fine details that sometimes you miss when working on your own. But it’s the promise of what’s to come for a well-deserving Cronin, who shows promise with every new track he releases. You can listen to “I Need You” here:

    We spoke with Oliver Cronin on the new single, his upcoming album, and more below! Check it out.

    You wrote your new single “I Need You” on a songwriting trip in LA. Can you tell me a little bit about those trips you take and how you draw inspiration from them?

    I’ve only done a few trips there and I love it because Australia doesn’t really have as much talent working on music compared to America in general. So going over there and working with all these different producers, writers, artists that I’ve not really experienced Australia was so eye opening.

    I think it kind of brought out something different in me and my songwriting and my music that I hadn’t really experienced in Australia… so yeah I never really worked with a songwriter and when we made “I Need You” I had like seven or eight people in the room at the time. Which was crazy because I normally work here- in my room.

    What was the biggest message you’d say you got from working with all of those singers and songwriters?

    That collaboration is key. That collaboration is how all these massive records get made and how you grow as an artist

    “I Need You” was described as therapeutic for the both of you to make together. how did you decide to go from kind of like the happier sound to contrast the melancholic message behind your lyrics?

    Both of us really love the juxtaposition in music and doing stuff like singing sad songs and I don’t even know why we wrote “I Need You” how we wrote it…it kind of just came about, to be honest…I always try and make people feel something for my music- I want people to feel how I want to feel so I think it’s a very relatable topic and if you can dance at the same time it’s pretty cool.

    You’ve had success on TikTok, Boys Don’t Cry took off there. You specifically make a lot of music on the platform…so do you ever get tips when you’re on lives with your fans?

    And I love it because when I get to show people how to make music and how it’s actually quite…not simple, but I’m just doing in my bedroom and I’m making great music so it’s showing people that you don’t have to go to big studios. I also love it because sometimes I get when I’m making songs and get stuck…sometimes fans can help with lyrics if I’m on the app.

    That’s actually a sick way to write music, helps with writer’s block.

    Yeah. I don’t think they realize how much they help me. I can knock out a song in about two hours on live, whereas if I’m on my own sometimes it can take me all day.

    You’ve been teasing your new album, even calling it a big step up sonically. What changes have you made to your production process that make it that way?

    It’s going to be more polished. A lot of my work has just been me alone, so working with everyone- singers, songwriters, producers- in my opinion, it sounds more elevated. And yeah it’s very pop but it’s got a little bit of edge to it as well.

    How does “I Need You” represent the rest of the album?

    It’s very emotional. I think I want this album all my music to be emotional and vulnerable… I’m really all about vulnerability in my music and my songwriting. The albums kind of based around the ups and downs of life and growing up and going through love and heartbreak…so I think “I Need You” encapsulates a lot of that.

    If you could describe the album in a few words, what would they be?

    Vulnerable, therapeutic, fun, impeccable, it’s a perfect album.

    Jai Phillips

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  • OTR Takes Us Into The World Of “Be Quiet, They’re Listening”

    OTR Takes Us Into The World Of “Be Quiet, They’re Listening”

    Sometimes in life, your career in music just sort of…happens. At least, that’s the case for OTR, who started out as an aerospace engineer while creating tracks in the meantime. After leaving his job, his music quickly began to manifest into something much bigger when, in 2020, he released his debut album, Lost At Midnight.

    Since then, OTR has made a name for himself in the electronic music world. On his sophomore album, Be Quiet, They’re Listening, he’s collaborated with vocal powerhouses and production geniuses like Bipolar Sunshine, Lizzy Land, JONES, and Kacy Hill and mixed them in with songs of his own to establish who he really is as an artist: a star.

    He’s detail-oriented, which you can hear in the synths and drumbeats in his music, or within the lyrics that somehow perfectly match the tone of the song. With 14 tracks full of life, this album has something for everyone. Ryan Chadwick, the mind behind OTR, has the makings of a staple producer-DJ in the music industry, and Be Quiet, They’re Listening feels like just the beginning.

    You can listen to the album here:

    I spoke with Ryan on the making of his new album and what’s next for him this year!

    Congratulations on your second album, Be Quiet, They’re Listening. How was creating this one different from Lost At Midnight? Does making music feel any easier in a way for you now?

    The first album I was lucky enough to have been traveling A LOT so was inspired by that travel. However, the first half of creating the second album was during lockdown, so that was a bit of a roadblock. It forced me to be more creative on my own and be inspired by what is around me. Making music feels just different now. I think the hardest part about creation is feeling creative. The technical skills are a bit easier now though, but it’s good to always have a learning mentality.

    You went from being an aerospace engineer to a DJ/producer extraordinaire…What inspired you to make the switch to music?

    I think I was forced to make the switch. When I was studying for my masters in aerospace engineering, after having quit a job at Lockheed Martin, a bunch of faculty members at my university decided to leave the program. I didn’t have a way to finish my Masters thesis so was sort of kept in limbo for a year. During that time my music started to take off and I was like “damn I might as well see where this takes me”.

    You have many great collaborations on the album like “Heat Of The Sun” with JONES and “Close Enough” with Kacy Hill. Does your production process change with collabs at all?

    Yeah, if I’m collaborating with someone in person on a new idea the process is to sort of just get the raw idea down initially then I can work around it later in my own studio. Producing around an idea is a lot easier than being sent a complete topline with less room for growth and variation. If I’m writing an instrumental by myself there’s a lot more free flow consciousness on my end, which does not work when there’s another person in the room.

    If you had to pick, what are your favorite songs on the album and why?

    It really is hard to choose haha. My favorite tracks tend to change too. I’ll say right now my favorite is “In The Summer” which releases with the album. I wrote it in London with Lees who is an amazingly talented artist based in the UK. Something about it keeps me coming back. Now that it’s summer I’m really feeling the intro instrumental which is the title of the album “Be Quiet, They’re Listening” along with “Forever” and “Leave You behind”.

    Your singles “Heat Of The Sun”, “Apart Of Me,” “Looking Down From Space,” and “Leave You Behind” are out now. How do they best represent your album?

    I think they represent the growth of the project and how the album as a whole has a sort of arc to it. Each single has a purpose with how it flows into the next section of the album and I think we get a glimpse of that with these tracks.

    You’re looking forward to your North American tour this fall. What can fans expect from your tour?

    I’m building out the live set now and I’m so excited to show everyone what I’ve been planning. Like with the album, I really want the show to have the same feeling of movement and an arc of emotion as it progresses.

    What’s your favorite memory making this album?

    Writing in London was a transformative experience and one that I’d love to try and replicate in the future.

    …

    Jai Phillips

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  • Rising Pop Sensation Lyn Lapid On Her EP, to love in the 21st century

    Rising Pop Sensation Lyn Lapid On Her EP, to love in the 21st century

    How many times can you say you’ve been genuinely impressed by a vocalist’s raw talent? I guarantee this is how you’ll feel after listening to Lyn Lapid’s EP, to love in the 21st century. She’s a classically trained artist who can rock any vocal range, who leaves you guessing and wanting more while delivering a powerful chorus or dainty bridge, whose a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist all in one.

    Lyn Lapid is not normal by any means. She’s mega-talented, almost concerningly so, and her lyrics bring a sort of honesty that is both refreshing and respectable. to love in the 21st century is an ode to popular teenage romcoms trending right now like The Summer I Turned Pretty and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, which cover the agonizing angst and pain you feel while falling in love as a teenager.

    She started by posting covers with her ukulele on YouTube, garnering the attention of fans across the globe. And for a good reason, Lyn’s voice is unlike no other. She’s one of the young talents to start their careers by catapulting into the limelight via social media, following in the footsteps of the likes of pop sensations Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber. And yet, she’s wholly and uniquely Lyn Lapid. You can listen to her EP, which contains hit singles like “poster boy”, here:

    Lyn Lapid’s debut EP is just the beginning, and Popdust got a chance to sit down and talk with Lyn about this huge 2023 she’s been having so far!

    Congratulations on to love in the 21st century! How did you draw inspiration from popular romcoms like The Summer I Turned Pretty and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before?

    I admired the cinematography and storytelling style of The Summer I Turned Pretty and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, so I drew inspiration from those aspects when I was piecing together to love in the 21st century. I also stressed on putting together a majority Asian American cast for the visualizers and music videos, similarly to TSITP and TATBILB because I wanted my project to also be a positive example of Asian American representation.

    The EP takes listeners through the course of a first-time relationship and falling in and out of love…do you like to include a lot of storytelling in your songs or do you find yourself writing from personal experience more?

    I do both! The songs on this next project not only revolve around one story but are also a collection of written personal experiences from me and someone very close to me. The EP tells the story of a no label relationship between a girl and a boy, which is based off a true story.

    If you had to choose, what are your favorite tracks off to love in the 21st century and why?

    I would have to say “like you want me to.” I love repurposing beautiful melodies from classical pieces, and I actually interpolated Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor when writing the chorus of “like you want me to.” I just remember being in love with the song we came up with that day after I came in and showed the writing session the chorus I had written beforehand.

    You started by posting covers and playing instruments like the ukelele on YouTube…how did that help connect you with fans and ultimately shape your music career now?

    I started posting covers with my ukulele for fun, and I think that’s when I realized that I really enjoyed singing and growing a connection with people who enjoyed watching my covers. I shifted focus away from covers when I started putting out original music, and I’m so grateful for the fans that stuck by me and enabled me to have the career I have now.

    Is there a favorite song of yours to cover?

    I’d definitely say “Love Like You” from Steven Universe.

    You’re currently on a tour for the new EP…what can fans expect from a Lyn Lapid show?

    You can definitely expect a lot of me engaging with the crowd. I love performing the songs and having the audience sing along with me, but I also love to engage with the crowd by talking to them. Whether it’s telling the story behind the song before I sing it or teaching them a part they can sing along to, I definitely prioritize keeping the crowd engaged. I also love to rearrange my songs so that it includes a lot of crowd participation. I’d hate for my shows to be boring, so I avoid that by including the audience as much as possible in my set.

    What has been the best memories of your tour so far?

    I’d say meeting the fans. As an artist that’s started on social media, it was hard for me to conceptualize how many people I was really reaching with my music. When I play live and do meet and greets, I can finally put faces to the names of people I had been interacting with on my social media through my music, and it makes me feel solidified as an artist.

    Jai Phillips

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  • Viana Valentine Gives Us Everything With “Fever Dream”

    Viana Valentine Gives Us Everything With “Fever Dream”

    Viana Valentine, Rhode Island-native, knows that we all love nostalgia, especially in our music. Her retro-sounding melodies gives her music a dreamlike quality that sends you straight back to the good old days. Her debut album, Fever Dream, is brimming with seven songs full of life, smooth r&b, dreamy pop sounds, and the promise of honest songwriting.

    What’s special about Viana is that she’s been singing her whole life, taking the stage as a teen and eventually joining the group Royal Street as their leading lady. After Royal Street’s split, no one was ready for Viana Valentine to stop making music…so she began recording herself playing instruments like the piano or the guitar from her kitchen and staying connected with her fans.

    She’s resilient, if you couldn’t tell from her music itself. She “does her own stunts” in the way that she can rock out on multiple instruments while still serving strong vocals and telling an honest, raw story that listeners crave. She’s a band all in one, creating big guitar riffs in songs like “Hella Depressed” and “Fever Dream”, beautiful piano instrumentals in “Sad Summer”, and even soulful, bluesy tunes in “Would You Love Me.” You can listen to the album here:

    Viana is impressive, with the hard work she puts into her music reflected in its beauty. She sat down with Popdust to talk about her new album, Fever Dream, and more!

    PD: Congratulations on your debut album, Fever Dream! What was it like writing and recording your first full album?

    Oh hey, thank you!! The creation of Fever Dream has been a few years in the making and it’s been a really unique process for sure. I actually wrote and recorded the entire album besides the drums in my house with my producer. So, recording sessions consisted of walking upstairs and getting to work, taking breaks to play with my dog in the yard and lots of espresso made on the stove and it helped make the process feel even more personal. I’m so excited to finally have a debut album under my belt. I’ve released singles in the past, but it always kept me feeling like I really wanted to release a full project. Fever Dream is such an honest representation of where I’ve been in life in the past few years emotionally and musically and that’s all I really wanted out of this album, so I’m a happy woman.

    PD: What was your favorite memory creating the album?

    Oh jeez, there are so many! All of the little personal moments around how we actually recorded are some of my favorite memories. Having the chance to record my piano in my house was pretty sweet. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years and I love how unique and just ever so slightly out of tune she sounds on the record. It’s exactly what I wanted. Recording vocals in my closet vocal booth with my lyric notebook resting on my Dr. Martens and hearing the cat paw at the door to come inside will forever be a warm and fuzzy memory for me. Squeezing my other friends in that same booth to create the choir for Would You Love Me was also hilarious.

    PD: You’re a really powerful songwriter. What do you draw inspiration from when writing?

    Thank you for saying that!

    All of my songs are about my life. My music is a journal for me, it’s a way to look back on what’s happened and it’s definitely a way for me to process the seasons I’ve been through. I’m kind of the worst at channeling my emotions in real time. So when something happens, I just need like a solid few months with my piano before I realize how I actually feel about it. Fever Dream inspiration started during 2020, it was the worst year of my life so far, full of grief and loss. I was so numb and having such a hard time feeling creative, but I believe in giving myself creative space when I need it. One day I was at the beach and lyrics floated into my head. Those lyrics were to Sad Summer and that’s when the record really started.

    PD: The album features singles like “Hella Depressed.” How does that song represent the rest of the album as a whole?

    Hella Depressed was the first song that we really finished production wise with the album. I really wanted a dream pop vintage sounding vibe and I think that when we finished Hella, we felt like we knew which direction the record was going to go in sonically. Lyrically, it’s basically about how I’m a sad girl with a brain that constantly spirals, and how I deal with that on a day to day basis. Hella Depressed kind of feels like when someone asks you how you’re doing, and you give a sarcastic answer but with a smile. The tone of the song musically is upbeat and poppy, the lyrical content is about battling depression. I’m happy with the way the musical and lyrical vibes contrast and work together at the same time.

    PD: If you had to pick your favorite songs off Fever Dream, what would they be and why?

    Oooo picking the favorite child! Always the toughest question. It depends on my mood honestly but each song makes me feel different things ya know?

    Evergreen is so straight forward musically, but it’s some of my favorite lyrics I’ve ever written. Fever Dream grooves and has one of my favorite guitar parts. Sad Summer has the most beautiful string parts and is my first real piano ballad that I’ve put out, talking about a really tough time in my life. Would You Love Me is so personal and vulnerable. Picking one favorite feels wrong so I’ll leave it at that!

    PD: What’s next for you this year? Any live performances in the works?

    This year is full of a lot of local gigs, and writing more! Right now I’m working on getting this album out there and starting the planning process for a really fun live show experience for early next year. I’m also learning guitar which is SO exciting. I know a whole three chords, so watch out world!

    Overall, I’m trying to stay inspired and enjoy the process. The music industry can be brutal and being a musician is a wild ride. I’m just going to keep on moving forward and singing through what I go through.

    Jai Phillips

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  • Boy & Bear Talk Their Fifth Studio Album, Boy & Bear

    Boy & Bear Talk Their Fifth Studio Album, Boy & Bear

    Australian indie-pop group, Boy & Bear, have become hometown heroes for a reason. They know how to work a crowd, hyping them up with their unique sound and a beat that can make anyone want to move. Over the past ten years, Boy & Bear have created beloved tracks that have solidified their place in music history…and now they’re back with their fifth LP, Boy & Bear.

    Boy & Bear is filled with 11 classics. With songs like “Strange World” and “Silver Moon”, you can already imagine venues packed full singing along. The band is known for their stadium tours, where they play to crowds of over 65,000 in Australia and have sold out international tours multiple times in a row. Their music is perfect when played live, something any fan can attest to.

    What’s unique about this album is that it is wholly Boy & Bear. They self-produced it, creating most of it in their own studio, and putting their entire identity as a band into this fifth album. It’s only right that it’s self-titled. You can listen here:

    Dave Hosking of Boy & Bear sat down with Popdust to talk about self-producing their own album, Boy & Bear, and more!

    Congratulations on your fifth studio album, Boy & Bear! How did it feel different writing this album than any other one before?

    Well this one was self-produced so we were really working collectively to get the songs to a good place. We also worked a lot out of our own studio next door to the main studio which allowed us to experiment with different sounds and effects. There is something nice about working locally, there’s often more time to work the songs and you really get to chip away slowly, pushing and pulling the tracks as needed.

    What was the inspiration behind the album as a whole?

    I think from a sonic perspective we were enjoying the connection between digital sounds and organic sounds. We used drum machines a lot more and wanted to create a hybrid between the hypnotic nature of the drum machines and the more organic elements of performance. Lyrically I think the songs are a lot about the fragility of our own minds. I’m often fascinated by this, the ability to persevere through adversity, to adapt, to dig deep in times of distress and reflect on what we are all capable of achieving.

    What was your favorite memory creating your self-titled album?

    I think my favourite memories are of when the song really starts to click. That moment when you hear back the final arrangement and feel a strong sense of excitement and achievement. There’s nothing better than hearing the final product come together.

    You’re known for your incredible live performances, being one of Australia’s best-selling acts. What’s your favorite part about performing live?

    I think performing live really is really important to us. It allows us to show our musicianship and to adapt the songs where needed to the live environment. I love the feeling of performance, the free fall that comes from losing yourself in the music in front of a big crowed. It’s pretty special.

    You have a few shows coming up this summer in Australia….what can fans expect from these shows?

    We’ve definitely changed the set list up from previous tours, digging deeper into the catalogue but also sharing some of the newer songs. If we get it right it will really demonstrate the vast variety between the songs and hopefully people will appreciate that.

    If you had to name a few favorite tracks off the album, what would they be and why?

    I really love strange world. I think the arrangement is just so solid and I’ve always loved the lyric. I think it’s a great example of where the arrangement really amplifies the story. The drums to me always felt like they were representing this real sense of determination and energy which suits the songs lyrical drive and sense of hope. I also really love Crossfire. I love playing around with my falsetto and was just super happy at where the vocal finished up. I think the end result was something super hypnotic and full of emotion.

    What was it like self-producing and recording Boy & Bear?

    It’s always interesting having five chefs in the kitchen (so to speak) but I think we navigated this well. We’ve learned over the years that different people in the band bring certain strengths and weaknesses and you really have to know when to speak up and when to just get out of the way of someone else’s ideas. I’m proud of the fact that we did this on our own and I think it shows what we are capable of achieving when we’re at the helm!

    Jai Phillips

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  • The Iconic Brasstracks On His New Single “Indigo”

    The Iconic Brasstracks On His New Single “Indigo”

    One thing about Brasstracks is that he can make a collaboration with just about anyone and it’s a guaranteed hit. But you don’t really need me to tell you that, ask his Grammy awards for songs like Chance The Rapper’s “No Problems” or Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar.” He’s collabed with big names across all genres like Anderson .Paak, Khalid, and Mac Miller, and his recent singles are no exception.

    Brasstracks came back with yet another hit in “Anesthesia” with the ever-talented Mandy Lee of Misterwives for a fast-paced, hard-hitting single that gets you up and moving. He followed it up with “Indigo”, which features the smooth vocals of Adelaide James and also reveals the name of his album. “Indigo” is the perfect representation of Brasstracks’ album: complementary beats paired with talented vocalists, hard sounds and soft words.

    “Indigo” is about something we can all relate to: being a night owl and its consequences. It has all the makings of a hit: lyrics that make you want to scream along, a catchy back beat, and a signature Brasstracks feel. You can listen to the single here:

    Brasstracks has already had a noteworthy, iconic career helping others create hits…but his own music is equally worth the hype. He sat down with Popdust to talk about those collaborations, his new album, and more! Check it out below.

    PD: Congratulations on your new single, “Indigo”, do you have a favorite memory making this track?

    Thank you!!! Yes I do – I remember the moment that we decided to make the chorus sound pitched up, or “chipmunk-esque” to some. After writing the chorus, we slowed the song down a whole bunch and also pitched it all down. We recorded the vocals at this new key and tempo, and it felt like we were swimming through molasses. We had our fingers crossed the entire time, hoping that when we brought it back to the original key and tempo it would sound like what we wanted, and to our surprise, it sounded better than anything we could have imagined. I think I settled on the album name being “Indigo” just a couple days later.

    PD: “Indigo” is about not being a morning person and that edgy feeling you get when you wake up. How does this song set the tone for the rest of your album?

    It goes a bit deeper than that- it’s about being a habitually nocturnal person deeply interested in someone who is maybe a bit socially healthier than you. The twist is, that person hates their life as a “socially healthy” person and would rather spend their time with you. It’s definitely a “fuck mornings” anthem, but it also touches on some of that “the grass is greener on the other side” energy- which pops back up in other records like Anesthesia, Knee Deep, I’m Only Me, Nobody’s Fool. There are a lot of themes of jealousy through the whole album.

    PD: What was it like working with Misterwives’ Mandy Lee for “Anesthesia?”

    A dream. I went to high school with Mandy, and we were friendly but not close. We were in a songwriting class together- generally I was slacking off noodling on instruments while Mandy was seriously presenting full songs to the class every week. Total badass. We reconnected in 2017 playing on the same bill, and man it was so nice to see her. Her energy is infectious, and we exchanged info and just stayed in touch. Both of us went through some rocky label situations a few years ago, and she felt like a lifeline. When I had the idea for “Anesthesia” I hit her up expeditiously, and she breathed some of that infectious energy into the song. We’re big fans of each other, and we want each other to win big time. If music was a gambling game (it often is) I’d put all my money on Mandy and Misterwives.

    PD: This certainly isn’t your first collaboration. You’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the industry like Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson, Mac Miller, and BTS. Does your writing process change depending on who you’re collaborating with?

    Yes and no. Gotta be clear here – I haven’t been lucky enough to “write write” with a lot of these folks yet. I think a big part of my strength comes from being not just a producer and multi instrumentalist, but being a songwriter… I’m just coming into my own now though. It’s taken me years. But I’ve helped on records with all of these folks, and it comes down to making the best record possible in the moment. Putting your ego aside is tough but it has to be done, especially if you’re contributing as a horn player. Working for any of the above listed, it was always important to be a good listener, and if they said they wanted a certain style or era of playing or producing, I was all ears. I’ve studied a lot of different kinds of music, so shifting gears is kind of part of my process. So I’m pivoting based off of who I’m working for, but that is a general part of my process…. I don’t know, complicated question!

    PD: You’ve won Grammy’s for working on “No Problems” with Chance The Rapper and “Watermelon Sugar” with Harry Styles, which were easily the biggest songs of their respective year…can you talk about working with those artists a little bit and how it felt creating those tracks?

    Chance The Rapper is one of the most talented artists of this generation, easily. I watched him damn near freestyle the hook to “No Problem”. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing – that was early in my career. Harry Styles is obviously stupidly talented, and filled to the brim with charisma. My favorite thing about Harry is how he treated me and my friends when I met him. We were playing with Harry on SNL the night Watermelon Sugar came out. Before the show, he came up to our dressing room and spent a bit of time thanking me and my horn players for being there, which was unheard of in itself – but the man INTRODUCED himself to us, like we didn’t know exactly who he was!! He’s a different kind of humble, a different brand of kind. I’ll never forget how he treated us. Meant the world to me and my friends.

    PD: You’re now ready to release your second album, how will this feel different from any of the collaborations you’ve done? And how did it feel different from the process of the first?

    This is the first time I’ve been able to let off an album that conceptually makes sense to me. Everything else has been compilations of songs pretty much. No real concept, just good songs put on a project. Being able to talk about different angle of one concept over the course of 12 tracks is a crazy feeling. I’m stupidly proud of this one. And I feel like I’ve shed some skin- a version of myself that I wasn’t in love with. Releasing this one is important to me to grow as a human.

    PD: What are your favorite tracks off the album and why?

    That’s a tough question. I love every song. I’m excited for folks to hear the most unexpected things from me – I’m Only Me, Tragedy, Knee Deep all come to mind. I’m also excited to display some of the best songwriting that’s ever been attached to Brasstracks- Home Improvement, Cowboy, Nobody’s Fool…. All of them are special!! Rothstein put me on the path of “Make the SONGS good, not just the productions” and I really feel like I’m on that wave now. I take it with me everywhere I go. Indigo is the first time I said “fuck it, I’m making a pop banger” and Addy (Adelaide James) was right there by my side ready to do this thing with me. Good Morning, NY is special because my best friends from high school are doing the skits for it, Matt and Darryl. They’ve been my rocks for 17 years. I’m really proud of all of these records, and I’ve bonded more with every single feature on here because of what we did together. I can’t say the same for a lot of the songs I’ve made in the past. I cherish this one.

    PD: What’s next for you this year? Any tours coming?

    I’m not allowed to talk about it just yet, but we have a couple fun things coming up. In the meantime, I’ll just be promoting the SHIT out of these records, because creating the music is only half the battle. I’m thankful to have people listening to the music I’m putting out and I will never, ever, ever take it for granted.

    Jai Phillips

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  • DYLVN On His New Single, “Tell Them Stories”

    DYLVN On His New Single, “Tell Them Stories”

    DYLVN radiates positivity into the world. You can hear it in his music and you can tell through his social media that he truly enjoys creating the tracks he shares with his fans. A natural-born storyteller with a special way of spinning those stories into songs that everyone can enjoy listening to.

    Hailing from San Clemente, California, DYLVN knows how to make a sunny track reminiscent of summery weather and good vibes all around. We first saw DYLVN break through the music industry in 2020 with his single “Dust Of Love”, garnering him an instant, well-deserved fanbase thanks to his powerful and soothing vocal range and relatable lyrics. His music felt refreshing and his songwriting proved he deserved a place on our Spotify playlists.

    Over the past three years, DYLVN is making his mark on the world through his songs. Now, he’s back with a new EP, “Tell Them Stories”, a song dedicated to all of the people who supported his music along the way. It’s an uplifting track, catchy in all the right ways, an easy add to your playlist. It’s good for driving, singing with your friends, and playing on repeat.

    DYLVN sat down with Popdust to talk about his new single and what to expect from the rest of this year. You won’t want to miss it, so check it out below!

    Congratulations on your new EP “Tell Them Stories!” What was your inspiration behind it?

    Thanks so much!! Truly I’m a very talkative person and love saying what’s on my mind.. I love hearing people’s stories and also sharing mine with my fans. I wanted to express the importance of not taking life so seriously.. and how all experiences (good or bad) lead to a good damn story! So tell them!

    What was your favorite memory creating the track?

    Meeting my friend John Samuel. We made this track the first day we met and the rest is history! The whole experience was insane to make this one. Forever will be a special one.

    “Tell Them Stories” is an ode to the people in your life who believed in you along the way. How has that support kept you motivated while creating music?

    It’s what keeps me goin! I believe in this so much and to have the people I do in my corner keeps me sane. I love bein with them, and can’t thank them enough for all the sacrifices they make to help. When this becomes big I want them to know we gonna be LIVING! Just gotta keep goin!

    You write a lot about your personal experiences. What experiences are the easiest for you to write about and what are the hardest?

    I think it really comes down to a lot of variables. I feel like I can write about a lot but it might feel really abstract sometimes… Any experience that gets me emotional is easy to write about, which is almost everything lol. I feel like I have a nostalgic disorder which makes me value a lot of moments when they become a memory.

    How does “Tell Them Stories” represent your new era of music after your debut album?

    I’m older, have grown as a person, more confident in who I am as an artist and as a human. This era has become more vulnerable naturally as I’ve progressed. This is me and everything that has brought me to this point in my life.

    What artists are inspiring you right now?

    Been listening to a lot of Bob Marley, Posty, Benee, Jack Harlow. Love their originality so much.

    What’s next? Any tours or a new album on the way?

    More music, more music, and more music! No tours yet.. But got some shows comin soon!

    Jai Phillips

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  • Leith Ross On Their Debut Album, To Learn

    Leith Ross On Their Debut Album, To Learn

    What is obvious about Leith Ross’ debut album, To Learn, is that they are incredible at capturing those raw emotions many can’t put into words. It’s what sets Leith apart from the rest as a revolutionary storyteller, creating an entire album brimming with honesty. With singles like “Guts”, “We’ll Never Have Sex”, and “(You) On My Arm”, you’ll hear stories in the form of poetry – complex songs about love, loss, betrayal, friendships, and more.

    Leith Ross’ To Learn feels like a vulnerable confessional, with huge crescendos and soft words, it’s a work of art. Their latest single on the album, “Music Box” received critical acclaim across multiple platforms, garnering Leith more well-deserved respect. “Music Box” was the perfect representation of To Learn as a whole…gentle, hard-hitting, and passionate all at once.

    You can listen to their new album here:

    It’s been a huge week for Leith Ross, who just started their sold-out North American tour on May 18…and you can tell it’s only the beginning for them. Leith’s impact on the music industry will not go unnoticed. They sat down exclusively with Popdust to talk To Learn and what’s next!

    Congratulations on your new album, To Learn! What was your inspiration behind the album?

    All of my big feelings over the last couple years, really. I pretty much exclusively write from my own experience, so I suppose my life is the inspiration!

    Was creating an overall album different from the EP’s and singles you’ve done?

    Yeah, it was! It was longer and more complicated and a bit harder to plan, but on the flip side, very satisfying to finish and it’s pretty cool to have such a big finished product.

    You have great singles for the album like “Guts” and “You (On My Arm)”…how do they represent your album as a whole?

    Actually, I would say that they might be the two outliers sonically! They still fit with the record I think, but the rest of the songs are a bit closer to what I’ve released before, sad folks songs with a little extra something. That being said, the lyrical themes are always similar. Honest and vulnerable and about either very hard personal experience or very intense existential crises.

    Your latest single “Music Box” isn’t based on true events, but it feels very personal and whimsical at the same time. How do you like to incorporate storytelling into your music?

    I always try to incorporate some element of storytelling into everything I do, all my favorite music does. ‘Music Box’ is just the first time that the storytelling hasn’t been about my personal life, and I’ve gotten to create a story from scratch.

    What artists are inspiring you right now?

    Highnoon, Boy Golden, tofusmell, Ash Tuesday, Fontine, searows, Kai Warrior, and so many others, incredible artists who really feel like examples of how to make music and how to move through the world. I love them.

    What are your favorite tracks off the new album and why?

    I think my favourites are “Ask First”, “To Learn”, and “Too Much Time In My House Alone”. They all have a sense of optimism and forward movement that make me feel very happy.

    You’ve had a busy 2023 so far…with this new album and a sold-out North American tour on the horizon. What has been your favorite part about this era for you?

    Meeting so many incredible people. People are the reason for everything, people are the be all and end all for me, people are the reason I do everything! And forming meaningful, (even if they’re brief), connections with people will always be my favourite part of what I do I think!

    Jai Phillips

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