INTERVIEWS
![Crucast Collective Set to Ignite with Rising Talent and Live Events After Pandemic [Q&A]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/crucast-collective-set-to-ignite-with-rising-talent-and-live-events-after-pandemic-qa-1050x600.jpg)
![Crucast Collective Set to Ignite with Rising Talent and Live Events After Pandemic [Q&A]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/crucast-collective-set-to-ignite-with-rising-talent-and-live-events-after-pandemic-qa-80x80.jpg)
Crucast Collective Set to Ignite with Rising Talent and Live Events After Pandemic [Q&A]
Like many of its counterparts, Crucast, one of drum & bass and bass music’s most prominent brands, had quite the unexpected year in 2020. A UK-based record label and artist collective, Crucast has been fostering the growth of some of bass music’s most talented rising acts. However, amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the game plan for live events and music releases had to shift. While still striving to elevate bass music’s rising talent, Crucast has set some major plans for 2021. Crucast founder Joe Lazcru kindly took some time to chat with EDM.com about how it’s been adapting to societal changes and what’s next once the world returns to some semblance of normalcy. EDM.com: Crucast has been steadily building quite an impressive roster...
The Four Weirdest Bands From the 1970s
Doug Brod has always wanted to write a book about music. It makes sense. He is a former SPIN editor in chief and has worked at Atlantic Records. But Brod wanted to find an angle that “has never been covered before and would actually surprise people and shed new light on something.” He does that splendidly in They Just Seem a Little Weird: How Kiss, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz Remade Rock and Roll. Brod has always been a fan of ‘70s hard rock bands and these four are his favorite ones. “I’ve seen Cheap Trick probably 52 times. I’ve seen KISS a number of times, and Aerosmith and Starz, I’ve seen them a lot.” After doing some research, he found the connection between these four groups. “All of them are represented in a 1978 Gene Simmons solo album. In ’78, when KISS did four solo albums...
The Dirty Nil Want You to Smash Your Phone and Crank Their New LP, Fuck Art
Luke Bentham was taking painting lessons in a community center when inspiration struck for the new Dirty Nil LP, Fuck Art. “There’s this old man sitting at the back of the class, and he’s such a whiny asshole,” the singer-guitarist tells SPIN. “He keeps putting his hand up, and he’s like, ‘Um, my bushes don’t look like your bushes.’ And the teacher’s like, ‘OK, well, don’t worry, Mr. Gallagher. Take your time; you’re just learning.’” After several rounds of bellyaching, an exasperated Mr. Gallagher threw his paintbrush on the table and muttered, “Fuck art.” The story had Bentham’s bandmates — drummer Kyle Fisher and bassist Ross Miller — in stitches. But once the laughter subsided, they knew they’d found the title of their third studio album, which follows 2016’s Higher Power and 201...
![Martin Garrix on Pushing Himself Creatively and Producing the “Craziest Music Ever” in 2020 [Interview]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/martin-garrix-on-pushing-himself-creatively-and-producing-the-craziest-music-ever-in-2020-interview-1050x600.jpg)
![Martin Garrix on Pushing Himself Creatively and Producing the “Craziest Music Ever” in 2020 [Interview]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/martin-garrix-on-pushing-himself-creatively-and-producing-the-craziest-music-ever-in-2020-interview-80x80.jpg)
Martin Garrix on Pushing Himself Creatively and Producing the “Craziest Music Ever” in 2020 [Interview]
Despite a stressful year by all accounts, Martin Garrix found a way to share new music, launch innovative projects, and identify ingenious ways to connect with his fans. Ahead of his ballyhooed performance at the first-ever Tomorrowland New Year’s Eve celebration, the chart-topping producer chatted with EDM.com to recap his year and offer fans a preview of what to expect next. Amid a dire and uncertain climate, the dance music superstar seemingly never lost his unrelenting creative stride. He released music at a steady pace under several unique alias, as Martin Garrix, GRX, and his Ytram moniker. Starting new aliases relieves the pressure of conforming to expectations, allowing his creativity to flow freely, Garrix told EDM.com. “Producing music as an a...
Cobra Kai Workout Mix: Cast Shares Their Go-To Pump-Up Jams
Cobra Kai and music go together like Daniel and Miyagi. Just think back to all the needle drops: Johnny Lawrence brooding to Foreigner in his Firebird. He and LaRusso singing REO Speedwagon together. The Alan Parsons Project closing out the pilot. These moments are all over The Karate Kid spinoff series, and they always get us pumped up. But, what about the actual cast? What songs get them pumped up? In anticipation of Season 3, which premieres on Friday, January 1st, Consequence of Sound sat down with your favorite heroes of Cobra Kai to hear what they take to the dojo with them. From AC/DC to Meek Mill, their responses extended well beyond the show’s ’80s roots. Peyton List, aka Tory Nichols: “I’m sometimes embarrassed by my music tastes. I feel like it’s a lot of Doja Cat or something b...
Christine and the Queens on Finding a Stage in Quarantine: “It’s Almost Like Circling Back to the Beginning”
As our Annual Report continues, we’re taking a look at several ways live music changed in a year where most of the world was in lockdown. Today, we share our conversation with Christine and the Queens, an artist with a unique approach to quarantine performances. As Héloïse Letissier presumes, there probably are some “really insular musicians” who found the lack of touring this year somewhat calming. Under her moniker of Christine and the Queens, the French pop star is not one of those artists. “I’m always saying I come from theater, but it kind of formed a relationship I have with the stage that is very much essential,” she tells Consequence of Sound over Zoom from her Paris home. Performance is in fact entirely indispensable when it comes to the concept of Christine and the Queens. Just t...
Save Our Stages Fest Raised $2 Million for Independent Venues: “This Moment Brought Millions of People Hope”
As our Annual Report continues, we’ll be taking several looks at how live music changed in a year where most of the world was in lockdown. Today, we share our conversation with Save Our Stages Fest’s Stephen Sternschein on what’s being done to preserve live music and venues during this pandemic. The American experience of the COVID-19 pandemic is dominated by unimaginable numbers made real: 300,000 dead, 16 million infected, an estimated $3-$5 trillion hit to the country’s GDP over the next two years. Tucked inside that last figure is another statistic, revealed over the summer, that made the year even darker for music fans: According to a nationwide survey of club owners and promoters conducted by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) this past June, 90% of independent music v...
Phoebe Bridgers and beabadoobee: Artist and Rookie of the Year in Conversation
Our Annual Report continues today with the announcement of Phoebe Bridgers as our Artist of the Year and beabadoobee as our Rookie of the Year. Stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of the year as 2020 winds down. If you’ve missed any part of our Annual Report, you can check out all the coverage here. There wasn’t a single person whose life wasn’t hit by the hard curve of 2020. Countless studies have been conducted and essays written about how this year impacted the music industry in particular, from delayed releases to canceled tours to financial distress. Artists planned, and the pandemic laughed. Yet, even in these darkest of times, there were those who found ways to not just keep the flame lit, but ignite a blaze. In an amazing testamen...
Stephanie LaFera, WME’s Head of Music, on Racial Injustice and Planning Concerts During a Pandemic [Q&A]
2020 will certainly go down in the annals of music history as not only one of the most difficult, but also among the most seminal. The music community—and the entertainment industry at large—have had to completely rethink their strategies in order to stay afloat. AEG, Live Nation, and a number of other music industry giants have struggled to remain in business. But deep within the roots of music, innovators like Stephanie LaFera, WME’s Head of Music, have used these unprecedented times to reshape the music industry. LaFera oversees a team of agents whose roster includes major dance music acts such as Calvin Harris, Kygo, Steve Aoki, TOKiMONSTA, Martin Garrix, Marshmello, Eric Prydz, Grimes, and many more. In the midst of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, LaFera has succeedi...
blackbear Thrived This Year — and Probably Will Next Year
If you’re part of blackbear’s friends and family, you got a Balenciaga sweater for Christmas. “I’m like the Aunt Karen of the family,” bear — real name Matthew Musto — tells SPIN. “I get anxious because I’m like, ‘Who did I get a gift for? Who did I forget? Is so-and-so gonna fit in the sweater I got them?’” It’s a good holiday for the people in blackbear’s life. And it’s been a good year for him too, despite the obvious madness. “It’s my son’s first year on the planet,” he says. “[Midnight] has eight or nine teeth already, and they just keep growing,” he adds, laughing. “There’s never been a dull moment.” Lately, dull moments have been rare for the 30-year-old singer, songwriter and producer. With “hot girl bummer,” the lead single of his fifth studio album, everything means nothing, he h...
Paul Stanley Pledges to ‘KISS 2020 Goodbye’ With Explosive Sendoff
If music does indeed possess the healing powers so often ascribed to it, who better than four “masked” musical super-heroes to kick the dumpster fire that is 2020 to the curb? Slayer might be louder and meaner, U2 more spiritual, but for a feel-good rock ‘n’ roll all nite and party every day ethos that can help put the last 10 months in the rear-view, it’s KISS for the win. KISS guitarist/singer Paul Stanley promises that “if there’s a way we can kick 2020 in the ass with an eight-inch-heel to say goodbye to it, let’s do it!” Stanley is speaking from pre-Christmas band rehearsals in Los Angeles, conducted under “very strict COVID regulations.” The quartet is readying for a New Year’s Eve show that’s extravagant even by KISS standards. The global livestream concert is taking place at The Ro...
Pixar on How Personal Experiences Influenced Soul
Soul marks a series of firsts for Pixar. It’s the first film the studio has ever released with a Black protagonist, a music teacher voiced by Jamie Foxx; it’s the studio’s first film with a Black co-director in screenwriter Kemp Powers; and the first Pixar film to go straight to streaming. Due out on Christmas via Disney+, Soul follows Joe Gardner (Foxx), a music teacher whose aspirations of performing jazz come to fruition after he nabs a cushy performing gig with a well-respected group. That is, until he falls to his death. Now, left as a metaphysical soul, Joe endeavors to return to Earth to his body before it’s too late. It’s an imaginative journey that the Emeryville, California-based animation studio brings to life with a startling array of visuals that feel unprecedented. Edito...
