INTERVIEWS
Purity Ring’s Shrines Turns 10: How the Debut Laid a Masterful Foundation for the Future of Pop
Purity Ring‘s Megan James and Corin Roddick describe their debut album, Shrines, as one with very strict rules. “All the drums sound a certain way, all the vocals sound a certain way, all the synths… we created a strict palate of things that sort of worked together and tried to make as many different kind of musical ideas within that palette,” Roddick tells Consequence. Indeed, Shrines — which celebrates its tenth anniversary today, July 20th — is an album that represents Purity Ring operating with only their essentials, forging a path that would later define the sound of modern pop, if only for a portion of the last decade. When you look at Purity Ring’s output following Shrines (2015’s Another Eternity, 2020’s WOMB, and most recently, their EP Graves, which ...
The Sandlot, Sharon Van Etten and The Beast
On June 1, Lauren Denitzio of Brooklyn-based band Worriers tweeted “Ok, so when are we going to talk about the fact that the title of the new Sharon Van Etten record is a Sandlot reference.” Denitzio made a good point, so SPIN reached out to Van Etten to have that talk. That Sandlot reference, the line “We’ve been going about this all wrong” became the title of Van Etten’s sixth album — a beautiful, expansive and exploratory record that is both an honest dissection of the trauma of the last few years and an earnestly hopeful look forward. Fresh off a recent tour of the UK, Van Etten had a lot to say about her new record, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, her line about using the bathroom after doing dishes and which character from The Sandlot she most identifies with. Or as she put it...
Westworld Composer Reveals the Frank Ocean Cover You Might Have Missed in Season 4, Episode 4: Exclusive
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Westworld, Season 4 Episode 4, “Generation Loss.” To read about the music of Episode 3, click here.] Episode 3 of Westworld, “Années Folles,” had two big treats for those addicted to composer Ramin Djawadi’s instrumental covers of pop and rock tunes. Meanwhile, Episode 4, “Generation Loss,” was a little more subtle. Speaking to Consequence as part of our ongoing series on the music of Westworld Season 4, Djawadi reveals that this week’s episode did feature a snippet of music you might have heard before, in a very different context: “Pink + White” by Frank Ocean. The short burst of solo piano can be heard at the 24-minute mark of the episode, accompanying an establishing shot of the New York restaurant where Christina (Evan Rachel Wood) is...
Westworld Composer Reveals the Frank Ocean Cover You Might Have Missed in Season 4, Episode 4: Exclusive
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Westworld, Season 4 Episode 4, “Generation Loss.” To read about the music of Episode 3, click here.] Episode 3 of Westworld, “Années Folles,” had two big treats for those addicted to composer Ramin Djawadi’s instrumental covers of pop and rock tunes. Meanwhile, Episode 4, “Generation Loss,” was a little more subtle. Speaking to Consequence as part of our ongoing series on the music of Westworld Season 4, Djawadi reveals that this week’s episode did feature a snippet of music you might have heard before, in a very different context: “Pink + White” by Frank Ocean. The short burst of solo piano can be heard at the 24-minute mark of the episode, accompanying an establishing shot of the New York restaurant where Christina (Evan Rachel Wood) is...
“Every A&R Has a Horror Story”: Mark Knight Remixes Historic Avicii Song Years After Missed Opportunity to Sign It
The release of Mark Knight‘s remix of “My Feelings For You” marks a bit of a full circle moment for the Toolroom Records boss, but perhaps not in the way you’d expect. Part of Vicious Records’ 30th anniversary celebrations, Knight received the opportunity to put his own spin on the 2010 Avicii classic. Though it was released at a formative time in his career, Avicii’s “My Feelings For You” went on to become a wildly influential record. Knight, who was acquainted with the young star at the time, saw potential in him, but wasn’t quite sold on the DJ’s demo submissions. Speaking with EDM.com, Knight recalls he had an opportunity to sign “My Feelings For You,” and says not seizing on it was a “...
“I Want to Follow My Heart”: Armin van Buuren On Sound Experimentation and the Future of Trance
We caught up with the trance music icon for an intimate interview in Miami ahead of his epic Ultra Music Festival 2022 performance. When you’ve bulldozed as many musical borders as Armin van Buuren has, it’s only a matter of time before the innate need to explore new sonic frontiers bubbles to the surface. But for an aesthete like van Buuren, it comes easy. We recently sat down with van Buuren in Miami, where the pioneering electronic music artist and “A State of Trance” creator opened up in an intimate interview before his dazzling Ultra Music Festival 2022 headlining set. And after all was said and done, it’s clear at this juncture in his storied career that he’s laser-focused on artistic experimentation. He’s particularly e...
“I Want to Follow My Heart”: Armin van Buuren On Sound Experimentation and the Future of Trance
We caught up with the trance music icon for an intimate interview in Miami ahead of his epic Ultra Music Festival 2022 performance. When you’ve bulldozed as many musical borders as Armin van Buuren has, it’s only a matter of time before the innate need to explore new sonic frontiers bubbles to the surface. But for an aesthete like van Buuren, it comes easy. We recently sat down with van Buuren in Miami, where the pioneering electronic music artist and “A State of Trance” creator opened up in an intimate interview before his dazzling Ultra Music Festival 2022 headlining set. And after all was said and done, it’s clear at this juncture in his storied career that he’s laser-focused on artistic experimentation. He’s particularly e...
“I Want to Follow My Heart”: Armin van Buuren On Sound Experimentation and the Future of Trance
We caught up with the trance music icon for an intimate interview in Miami ahead of his epic Ultra Music Festival 2022 performance. When you’ve bulldozed as many musical borders as Armin van Buuren has, it’s only a matter of time before the innate need to explore new sonic frontiers bubbles to the surface. But for an aesthete like van Buuren, it comes easy. We recently sat down with van Buuren in Miami, where the pioneering electronic music artist and “A State of Trance” creator opened up in an intimate interview before his dazzling Ultra Music Festival 2022 headlining set. And after all was said and done, it’s clear at this juncture in his storied career that he’s laser-focused on artistic experimentation. He’s particularly e...
Westworld Composer Ramin Djawadi on the Exciting Musical Twists Promised by Season 4
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Westworld, Season 4 Episode 2, “Well Enough Alone.” To read about the music of Episode 1, click here.] There might not be a big epic cover in the newest episode of Westworld, but there’s still plenty to discuss, music-wise, with composer Ramin Djawadi. That’s because Episode 2, “Well Enough Alone,” continues exploring key questions for Season 4, ending with the revelation that Delos Destinations, the corporation behind the high-tech amusement parks where this future dystopia was born, is up to its old tricks — with a brand new theme park setting that made Djawadi very happy. “I love jazz and actually studied jazz in college as well, and I never get to do much jazz in score. So whenever there’s opportunity, I jump on it right away,” he tel...
Spielbergs Preview 2022 Mad Cool Festival Performance: “We’re Going To Try and Make as Much Noise as Possible”
Norwegian rock trio Spielbergs were set to have a massive 2020. After their 2019 debut LP This is Not the End received some rave reviews, the band was scheduled to hit the road in Europe over the summer, complete with an appearance at Madrid’s Mad Cool Festival. Of course, everyone’s 2020 plans were diverted and postponed, but luckily, Spielbergs maintained their spot on Mad Cool’s 2022 lineup, which features Metallica, Florence + The Machine, The Killers, Jack White, Glass Animals, Muse, Alt-J, The War On Drugs, Carly Rae Jepsen, CHVRCHES, Nathy Peluso, and many, many more. Even better is the fact that Spielbergs have new music in tow — and they’re some of the most powerful songs the trio has ever released. The anthemic “When They Come For Me,” which we recently named as an honorable ment...
Artist of the Month Momma Are a Household Name for the Coolest of Households
Artist of the Month is an accolade given to an up-and-coming artist or group who is poised for the big time. For July 2022, we’re celebrating Momma as they take a swing at fame with their new album Household Name. “I wanna be your next big thing.” So opens Household Name, the latest album from ‘90s revivalists and DIY champs Momma (out Friday, July 1st). And though they seem intimidatingly cool — like success in the music industry would be, like, totally whatever, man — the sentiment is far from ironic. Even if they don’t always take themselves too seriously, Momma is taking the namesake of their record very seriously. They’re going to be household names, or die trying. Inspired by endless label meetings headed nowhere, thousand-dollar-suit execs saying nothing, and a type of rock stardom ...
Hardwell Opens Up About Avicii: “You’re Never Going to Convince Me There’s Someone Better”
Four years after his death, Avicii‘s innate artistry and incomparable studio presence continue to inspire the music industry’s most illustrious players. After torpedoing a four-year hiatus, Hardwell recently caught up with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe to chat about his relationship with the late EDM icon whose talent, he said, “was truly unseen in dance music.” “For me, the death of [Avicii] was definitely the trigger for me to, well, pull the trigger myself, and be like, ‘Yo, I’m taking a break. That’s it. I’m losing one of my friends now,’ and worst feeling in the world,” Hardwell said. “There is no way. There is no solution in-between. There is no way you can still tour.” Avicii and Hardwell. Hardwell/Twitt...
