INTERVIEWS
Interview Tips for DJs From Veteran Music Journalist, Kat Bein
Whether you’re a new DJ on the scene or a veteran music producer, taking interviews about the music you make is weird. It’s uncomfortable and awkward. In fact, for most people, talking about yourself is. In interview settings, it’s not too challenging to see why sharing a homegrown song requires confidence, vulnerability, and even a little courage. Strangely though, not much in the way of written guidance exists out there for musicians, particularly in dance music. How then should they navigate these encounters? What are some ways interviews go wrong? We sat down with Kat Bein, a quirky and skilled music journalist with an exhaustive list of legends along her career path, to lay the groundwork for what we believe is a much-needed guide for DJs. Bein has chatted with Boys Noi...
BLACKSTARKIDS Get Real With Puppies Forever
There’s something to admire about the effervescent gleam that radiates from BLACKSTARKIDS. From the bravado they proudly carry on songs like “Britney Bitch” to an aesthetic consisting of neon clothes and flowing afros, the group’s inherent charisma stems from simply being their authentic selves. The trio—consisting of Ty, The Babe Gabe and Deiondre—manages to infuse diverse musical influences into the experimental sounds they create. Their latest album, Puppies Forever, shows off blistering confidence that has only soared since last year’s Whatever, Man. From the slick boasts and shy bars of “Fight Club” to the pop-punk glow of “I Hate Being in Love,” their latest offering is as infectious and shiny as they are. However, “ACAB”—which stands for “All Cops Are Bastards,” is the boldest and m...
Joshua Ray Walker Writes Songs Fit for Country Classics
Concept albums are a thing of the past in country music. High-minded conceits like Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West and Willie Nelson Red Headed Stranger were much en vogue in the 1960s and ‘70s. Today, an album like Sturgill Simpson’s The Ballad of Dood and Juanita are the exception, not the rule. Yet that’s exactly how Texas singer-songwriter Joshua Ray Walker came out of the gate. His third long-player, See You Next Time, completes a trilogy beginning with his 2019 debut Wish You Were Here that marks him as one of country’s most exciting storytellers. “I didn’t want to have that stigma of a concept album on my first releases,” Walker, sporting a cowboy hat, vest, and short-sleeve button-up, admits over Zoom backstage from the State Fair of Texas. The idea, revolving around...
Old Dominion Connect Through Time, Tequila & Therapy
Old Dominion lead vocalist Matthew Ramsey calls from Los Angeles, where his band just played on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote Time, Tequila & Therapy, their fourth studio album. Although they’re one of the more successful acts to emerge from Nashville in the past decade and achieved multi-platinum sales for their previous three albums, Ramsey admits they still aren’t quite comfortable with their status in the country world. “I still feel like someone who doesn’t belong at the party — I feel like I’ve snuck in,” Ramsey says. “I think we all feel like that as a band, sometimes. We’re just waiting for somebody to tap us on the shoulder and say, ‘Guys, how did you get in? You’re not supposed to be here.’ When that happens, we’ll be like, ‘Oh, you’re right — sorry,’ and we’ll leave.” This s...
How UPSAHL Ended Up Writing for Dua Lipa and Became ‘Lady Jesus’
For Taylor Upsahl, pursuing anything other than music wasn’t an option. “We had a band room instead of a living room in our house,” she recalls over Zoom on a break from the studio in Los Angeles. Growing up with a dad who performed in punk bands, that was life for the singer known simply as UPSAHL. “There was never really a moment where I was like, ‘Oh, I want to do music.’ There was never another option for me.” After graduating from high school, the Phoenix native relocated to Los Angeles, where she spent all her time in sessions. It wasn’t long before she landed her first record deal. In 2018, she became the first artist to sign to the reopened Arista Records. What followed were two EPs — 2019’s Hindsight 20/20 and 2020’s Young Life Crisis — as well as a handful of singles. It took her...
Apparently Billie Eilish Loves Dubstep—And Skrillex
Have you ever wondered what a dubstep song from Billie Eilish would sound like? Neither have we. But it’s now top-of-mind thanks to a new interview with The New Yorker, who chatted with Eilish and her brother FINNEAS, a prolific music producer and the mastermind behind the vast majority of her recordings. The Grammy-winning siblings recently took the virtual stage at the The New Yorker Festival, which featured discussions and performances by some of the most prominent names in music, literature, politics, film, art, and pop culture. And of all the things to analyze at such a prestigious summit, Eilish and FINNEAS chose dubstep. Eilish is apparently a fan of Skrillex and his old-school sound, which longtime diehards have been clamoring for as he continues to produce pop-ori...
Elderbrook Sets a Dance Floor-Focused Tone With Innerlight EP
At 7 pm, when the majestic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the legendary venue in Morrison, Colorado is glowing with the remaining light of day, the noticeably young audience for the triple-bill of Louis the Child, What So Not and Elderbrook is already throwing up in the aisles. Elderbrook, born Alex Kotz, is aware of the heightened energy of the waiting crowd, but it doesn’t interfere in his relaxed Zen state. He is sequestered in his cozy dressing room, which is outfitted like a high-end boutique hotel. There are quality snacks, designer bottled water and a chic bathroom. He shows off a brand-new tattoo on his inner wrist. It’s an acronym: WWPBD, which stands for “What Would Pooh Bear Do.” The tattoo is a reference to the wisdom of A.A. Milne’s beloved character. It’s a reminder for Kotz to ask ...
Alice Cooper on His New Audio Memoir, the Legacy of “School’s Out,” and Who Should Play Him in a Movie
When Audible announced its ongoing “Words + Music” audio program — in which some of rock’s biggest names combine storytelling with music — it made perfect sense that legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper participate in the series. As evidenced by his newly-released entry, Who I Really Am: The Diary of a Hollywood Vampire, Alice tells great story after great story. Throughout the audio memoir, he is comparable to a “rock ‘n’ roll Forrest Gump” — recounting experiences in which he crossed paths with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Syd Barrett, Frank Zappa, John Lennon, and Keith Moon, among others. Additionally, you’ll hear new acoustic versions of “School’s Out,” “Is It My Body” (a tune from which a line was plucked from for the title of his Audible release), “Poison,” and other classics. Advertis...
Celebrating 25 Years of Psytrance: Infected Mushroom Talk Virtual Reality, NFT’s, and New Album
After two decades of pioneering the psytrance genre, Amit “Duvdev” Duvdevani and Erez Eisen of Infected Mushroom are somehow just getting started. Having formed in 1996 at the height of the electronic music boom, Infected Mushroom have since released over a dozen albums and earned a reputation as one of the best-selling groups in Israel and the dance music scene at large. Over the years, we’ve heard high-profile collaborations with Lady Gaga, Steve Aoki, Matisyahu, Paul Oakenfold, Jonathan Davis of Korn, Ray Manzarek of The Doors, and many more. Now the two are scheduled to head back home to where it all started to celebrate 25 years as a group at Israel’s Yarkon Park, in an annual gathering with their hometown fans. “We love going back to Israel where we started produc...
James Blake Wants You to Feel Something
Ten years ago, James Blake released his debut album. The English songwriter-producer has a self-described analytical brain, which he uses to examine his old music and improve upon it. Within that past decade, Blake has slowly earned his spot as one of the most prominent indie-pop musicians out there. His list of collaborators includes Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Bon Iver, SZA, Travis Scott, and many others. He’s an artist that, despite his sparse compositions, only grows in stature. Now, with his fifth album, Friends That Break Your Heart (out on 10/8), he’s taken the time to look back at his career and scrutinize what’s changed. Regardless of his long and impressive résumé, the biggest difference that Blake notices between then and now is his self-esteem. “I’m just more confident,” Blake...
Al Jourgensen Looks Forward to a Spring Tour, America’s Continued Political Awakening—And the End of Ministry
Between massive creative highs and cold hard realities, it’s hard to believe Al Jourgensen hasn’t jumped out of his densely inked and pierced skin. In his 40th year as chairman of industrial-rock progenitors Ministry, “Uncle Al” is probing both sides of his yin-yang harder than ever. The light: Ministry’s politically bracing and sonically engaging new album, Moral Hygiene, was recorded under strict pandemic protocols in Jourgensen’s home studio in Southern California. These sessions also yielded material that could herald the return of Lard, his summit meeting with punk provocateur Jello Biafra, as well as the majority of a follow-up LP which the frontman describes pretense-and-irony-free as “the best music I have ever made in my life.” The dark? The tour celebrating the 30th anniversary o...
Todd Rundgren on Working with Kanye West, Skipping His Rock Hall Induction: “True Halls of Fame Are for Retirees and Dead People”
If you live in Maui, like Todd Rundgren does, you do not have to apologize for just chillin’ your way through the pandemic. Rundgren, though, has done anything but that. The veteran multi-hyphenate — producer of landmark albums for Meat Loaf, Grand Funk Railroad and others, as well as his own robust repertoire — has been characteristically hard at work and, save for being off the road, has not slowed down a great deal during the past 19 months. He even went “on tour” earlier this year with a series of virtual concerts, performed from Chicago and targeted to specific cities. Rundgren has also released four singles during the past year or so, slated for his next album, Space Force. That includes collaborations with Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo (“Down With the Ship”), Narcy (“Espionage”) and, most r...
