INTERVIEWS
Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne Talks New Album Moment and Recording During the Pandemic
Dark Tranquillity have experienced a different 2020 than most bands. The Swedish melodic death metal pioneers spent most of the year recording their 12th album, Moment (out today), as they watched the world cope with the devastation of COVID-19 from the confines of their recording studio. The band’s homeland of… Please click the link below to read the full article. Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne Talks New Album Moment and Recording During the Pandemic Jon Hadusek You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share o...
Wolfgang Van Halen on Having a Hit Song, Lessons From His Father and a Prank From Van Halen’s Final Show
For the better part of the decade, when he wasn’t battling aging trolls about his lineage online, Wolfgang Van Halen was carefully crafting his own material outside the band that bore his famous last name. Going deeper into the family business, he decided to use the moniker Mammoth WVH — combining his own initials with a nod to the pre-Van Halen band of his uncle and late father, Eddie Van Halen. This week, Mammoth WVH issued his first song, “Distance,” along with its tearjerking video — featuring home footage of Wolfgang and his father enjoying candid moments, concluding with an intimate voicemail message from the guitar virtuoso. A funny thing happened following the release: The trolls went away, and the song shot to No. 1 on the iTunes music charts, staying there for a...
Delta Heavy Celebrates 10th Anniversary of RAM Records Debut: “In Many Ways It Feels Like We’re Only Just Getting Started”
“‘Space Time’ and ‘Take The Stairs’ will always hold a special place in our hearts as two of the records we are most proud of.” Ten years ago, a drum & bass powerhouse was born in London when Ben Hall and Simon James joined forces to form Delta Heavy. They quickly signed with Andy C‘s RAM Records imprint and the duo have dominated the bass music scene ever since. Ten years after their first RAM release, “Space Time / Take The Stairs,” Delta Heavy have now reimagined the two classic tracks for 2020 in celebration of the momentous anniversary. It’s their first release since the pair teamed up with MUZZ for “Higher Ground” after their Only In Dreams Remixes album. “‘Space Time...
Dazed and Confused Book Author Melissa Maerz on the Film’s Enduring Mythology
Over the phone, his voice still sounds like Mitch Kramer. It’s 2020, though, and Wiley Wiggins long ago left behind his signature role from 1993’s Dazed and Confused, the shaggy, beloved comedy film. Life’s worked out better than OK for Wiggins: Now 44, he’s working on a career in video game design and resides in Los Angeles with his wife. Wiggins is at peace being forever associated with his role as Kramer, the semi-cool incoming freshman, and with Dazed, widely considered the most accurate onscreen portrayal of high school life. More than a few cinephiles, including Quentin Tarantino, consider Dazed one of the best films ever. Still, Wiggins tells SPIN that he was “completely ready to never talk about Dazed and Confused ever again” until journalist Melissa Maerz came along. He’s amon...
Monotone Samurai: Chester Watson on A Japanese Horror Film
Prodigious talent can be an albatross. The pressure to realize the promise of your youthful work might weigh you down for an album or a career. 23-year-old Chester Watson spent the last three years crafting his debut album, October’s A Japanese Horror Film that is out on POW Recordings. Though Watson released the 10-track Project 0 and an instrumental album (as well as a few singles) between 2017 and 2020, he felt the pressure of every blog post and article that forecasted swift success. Florida-raised and now Georgia-based, Watson is a skateboarding ballet dancer turned lyrical savant. He started rapping at 13 and racked up hundreds of thousands of YouTube views just two years later with “Phantom.” On mixtapes like 2014’s Tin Wookie, Watson synthesized his few influences (e.g., Earl Sweat...
Jason Lytle on The Sophtware Slump turning 20 and Grandaddy’s End
Of the many things Jason Lytle hadn’t counted on doing in this bizarre year, talking about an album of his that turns 20 was certainly one of them. But here we are, discussing Grandaddy’s second album, The Sophtware Slump, one of the most acclaimed albums of 2000 and to most of the band’s fans, their finest work. “The fact that it’s even happening and there’s enough interest in it is pretty cool,” Lytle tells SPIN. “You couldn’t have gotten me to predict 20 years ago that I would be sitting here talking about it. It’s flattering, satisfying and cool anyone even gives a shit. But there is so much uncertainty. I didn’t know that album was going to stand the test of time.” Grandaddy are set to release a lavish, 20th-anniversary box set containing a remastered version of The Sophtware Sl...
The Story Behind Devo’s Surprise Breakout Hit “Whip It”
2020 has been a year that represents de-evolution on a global scale. The pandemic rages. Economies crumble. Inequality and racial strife run rampant. Authoritarianism is on the rise. Massively. Negative forces that have always simmered below the surface — much like in a seemingly serene David Lynchian universe — have… Please click the link below to read the full article. The Story Behind Devo’s Surprise Breakout Hit “Whip It” Peter Csathy You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet...
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How Miami duo boiish is Conquering Underrepresentation in Electronic Music [Interview]
boiish is signed to HE.SHE.THEY, a UK dance music brand at the forefront of the contemporary inclusive movement. For years now, HE.SHE.THEY has been hosting its own parties around the globe with a goal to promote inclusivity, but in late 2019, they announced their debut as a label. Last month, they announced the signing of boiish, the promising Miami duo steadily impressing throughout 2020. boiish burst onto the scene this year as one of 2020’s most hotly tipped underground house acts. Their official remix of Kaleena Zanders and VenessaMichaels’ track “Creme Brulee,” was added to Spotify’s Dance Rising playlist while their rework of Kesha and Wrabel‘s “since i was young” exemplified their ability to construct records that invigorate dance floors. “For remixes, we try to highligh...
The Doors’ John Densmore on His New Book About Musical Heroes
In his post-Doors life, drummer John Densmore is as much, if not more, of a writer than a musician. The author of two best-selling books, Riders On The Storm and The Doors Unhinged, he began working on his newest collection, The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (And Other Artists), several years ago. Inspired by the George Gurdjieff book Meetings With Remarkable Men, Densmore’s newest work, out on Nov. 17, focuses on the mentors and musicians he says “fed him” over the years. Each chapter highlights a different musical icon, weaving tales of his relationships with bandmates Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek, alongside Bob Marley, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Janis Joplin and many more. The collection is a joyful history lesson for music geeks: Densmore is equ...
Boris on the Making of NO, Pandemic Existence, and the Uncertain Future of Touring
When we look back on heavy metal in the year 2020, we’ll remember the music of Boris. The Japanese trio has been one of the most active bands of the pandemic, releasing a steady stream of music that’s illuminated the experimental act’s past and present. It all began when Boris… Please click the link below to read the full article. Boris on the Making of NO, Pandemic Existence, and the Uncertain Future of Touring Jon Hadusek You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Shamir on New Coming-of-Age Album, Why His Youth Was ‘Cursed’
Five years ago, it might have seemed easy to predict what Shamir’s career would look like in 2020. You might have assumed the mononymous, Las Vegas-raised singer would follow up Ratchet, his acclaimed 2015 breakout, with more albums of fizzy, aggressively catchy electro-pop. He would release a slew of singles in line with “On the Regular,” the thumping, club-ready dance-rap banger that launched his career at 19 and immediately elevated visibility for queer, non-binary pop. He would remain on XL Recordings, or perhaps sign with a major, and try to work his way up to arena shows. Of course, Shamir — who identifies as non-binary but is comfortable using he/him pronouns — did nothing of the sort. After Ratchet, the musician parted ways with XL, experienced a psychotic break and recovery, immer...
Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta on Weight of the False Self, Adjusting to the Pandemic, Podcasting, and More
Like many musicians, Jamey Jasta thought he had his 2020 plans set. He was gearing up to release a new album with Hatebreed in the spring, plus the band had two tours booked with the likes of After the Burial, Havok, Creeping Death, Parkway Drive, Knocked Loose, and Fit for a King. Then, COVID-19 hit. Right as the band was set to begin promoting their new album, the concert industry shut down, and the album’s release date was pushed back indefinitely. Now, Jasta and Hatebreed are set to unleash their eighth LP, Weight of the False Self, on November 27th via Nuclear Blast Records. The album is one of the veteran Connecticut metal outfit’s most aggressive to date, with heavy riffing and powerful themes of self-reflection, loss, and the state of the world. While the concert industry remains s...
