INTERVIEWS
How Alessia Cara Sat on the Floor and Made a Difference on Her New EP
Alessia Cara spent last summer finding strength in pain. She gravitated further toward the melancholic pop tracks she’s known for, harnessed all the negative emotions she remembers feeling at the time and twisted them all into the bubbly six-track concoction, This Summer; her third release and first nontraditional project, created entirely on tour. And this (actual) summer hasn’t been much different. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter returned July 17 with This Summer: Live Off the Floor, an acoustic reimagination of last year’s emotive EP, complete with recording sessions done mostly on a studio floor, a full band — credited entirely on the project’s cover art like some of her favorite vintage jazz records — and an overarching charitable cause behind it. [embedded conten...
Since the Face Been Revealed: Koreatown Oddity on Little Dominique’s Nosebleed
Two years ago, Dominique Purdy, better known as Koreatown Oddity, torched the werewolf mask he wore during his shows. “I haven’t been performing with it [since 2017] and ain’t nobody says shit,” Purdy jokes. “I got more hair on my face and more hair on my head. Maybe they thought I had the wolf head-on for real.” Little Dominique’s Nosebleed (Stones Throw), the latest album from the independent Los Angeles-based rapper, is the first with his face on the cover. Fittingly, it’s also his most personal and profound. Little Dominique’s Nosebleed is a memoir scored by Purdy’s progressive beats, his sincere and sometimes hilarious look in the rearview mirror as he rolls into the latter half of his 30s. He raps conversationally, delivering insightful punchlines with a great comedian’s timing as he...
![Steve Aoki: “Tomorrowland Is Where Technology and Magic Meet” [INTERVIEW]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/steve-aoki-tomorrowland-is-where-technology-and-magic-meet-interview-1050x600.png)
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Steve Aoki: “Tomorrowland Is Where Technology and Magic Meet” [INTERVIEW]
Tomorrowland is known for creating one-of-a-kind immersive experiences, constantly pushing the boundaries of live event production and culture. With the announcement of Tomorrowland Around the World, the festival’s first virtual concert, expectations and anticipation are at an all-time high. Steve Aoki is no stranger to digital concerts, headlining the highly publicized Fortnite in-game concert experience, “Party Royale,” alongside deadmau5 and Dillon Francis back in May 2020. Ahead of Aoki’s Tomorrowland Around The World performance, EDM.com spoke to the Dim Mak Records founder about his thoughts on Tomorrowland’s debut in the digital concert space, his take on virtual events post COVID-19, and his new Latin music label Dim Mak En Fuego. ...
Old Men on the Back Porch: Presidents of the United States of America’s Debut Turns 25
It’s been a quarter-century since the Presidents of the United States released their eponymous debut. And while the record found its way onto virtually zero year-end lists, its quirky tunes have somehow — against the alternative odds — endured. Name another band that incites a shopper to look around the fruit aisle at the local grocery store in preparation of warding off an ensuing ninja attack. Or a band that has, for the last 25 years, caused you hum, “kitty at my foot and I want to touch it…” Peaking at number six on the Billboard 200 Chart, Presidents of the United States of America produced four singles (“Lump,” “Peaches,” “Kitty,” and “Dune Buggy”) that dominated mid-‘90s radio and earned heavy MTV rotation back when the network actually played music videos. [embedded con...
Omar Rodríguez-López Talks New Three-LP Box Set and Working With Erykah Badu
Over the past 25 years, Omar Rodríguez-López has been one of the most visionary and diverse musicians, producers, and artists on the planet. Fusing the post-hardcore and punk sounds that originally brought him to fame with At the Drive-In alongside the psychedelic, electronic, ambient and Latin influences that have contributed to his solo work and other projects (the Mars Volta, Bosnian Rainbows, Antemasque, a tangential yet integral role in Le Butcherettes, and much more), Rodríguez-López hasn’t just developed a style that’s all his own, but an evolving catalog of sounds that are distinctly his. Part of what makes Rodríguez-López so unique — whether he’s performing, producing, or directing films — is his complete lack of formal training in music. While others may be concerned about music ...
Patty Smyth Talks Doing the Theme Song for a Show She’s Never Watched
There isn’t anything quite like hearing a radio hit from one’s youth revamped as the theme to a hit TV show. Yet that is what so many folks of a certain age have collectively experienced upon binge-watching three seasons (and hopefully counting) of the acclaimed Netflix series G.L.O.W. And no better tune has inspired Americans to forgo the “Skip Intro” button than Scandal’s anthemic 1986 hit “The Warrior,” whose infectious riff immediately gets you into the mood for some meta-comedy about a meta-sport. “Yeah, it’s always fun singing that line,” laughs singer Patty Smyth about the most well-known single from her time as the powerhouse frontwoman of the New York-based hard rock group who first hit the scene with their 1982 single “Goodbye to You,” the natural bridge between Blondie and ...
![Atari CEO and “Beat Legend: Avicii” Developer Discuss New Rhythm Game, Share Unearthed Photos of EDM Legend [EXCLUSIVE]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/atari-ceo-and-beat-legend-avicii-developer-discuss-new-rhythm-game-share-unearthed-photos-of-edm-legend-exclusive-1050x600.jpg)
![Atari CEO and “Beat Legend: Avicii” Developer Discuss New Rhythm Game, Share Unearthed Photos of EDM Legend [EXCLUSIVE]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/atari-ceo-and-beat-legend-avicii-developer-discuss-new-rhythm-game-share-unearthed-photos-of-edm-legend-exclusive-80x80.jpg)
Atari CEO and “Beat Legend: Avicii” Developer Discuss New Rhythm Game, Share Unearthed Photos of EDM Legend [EXCLUSIVE]
Earlier in the month, we went hands-on with Hello There Games‘ upcoming rhythm game Avicii Invector Encore Edition for Nintendo Switch. While many fans of the late EDM icon are anxiously awaiting the release of the console-based musical adventure, its developers teamed up with legendary game publisher Atari for a newly-released mobile game celebrating the life and work of Avicii. Appropriately titled Beat Legend: Avicii, the game allows players to explore the beautiful soundscapes created by his timeless melodies anywhere in the world on their mobile devices. Before the release of the game, EDM.com had the pleasure of speaking with the game’s lead developer, Oskar Eklund, and the CEO of Atari, Frederic Chesnais, for an in-depth conversati...
Come Back and Love Hinds
Hinds never wanted to be a pop band. Sure, there would be occasional pop melodies they’d toy with, but full-on? Not for them. With their third studio album The Prettiest Curse, that changed. Ditching the lo-fi, chaotic, garage rock ethos strung throughout their first two records, the Madrid-based four-piece opted for something bolder, reworking their musical formula and taking a leap into a more polished arena. And with this evolution, the band, comprised of Carlotta Cosials (vocals, guitar), Ana Perrote (vocals, guitar), Ade Martin (bass) and Amber Grimbergen (drums), has strengthened their bond. Formed in 2011 as a duo called Deers featuring Cosials and Perrote, the band reemerged after a hiatus under the Hinds moniker in 2014. With the release of their surf-rock-tinged debut album Leave...
Chrissie Hynde Talks 40 Years of Pretenders and Punk Rock
“I’m having the time of my life,” Pretenders’ frontwoman Chrissie Hynde quipped when asked how she’s holding up. It’s a strange sensation releasing an album during a pandemic and not being able to tour. However, music has remained a grounding force for her and her bandmates, as evidenced by the band’s latest (and 11th overall) album Hate for Sale, which came out last week. For Hynde, the album is a work that was years in the making and a long-overdue opportunity to finally capture the band’s live chemistry on a record. Despite technically being the first album in four years under the Pretenders banner, it’s the first to fully feature the band’s current touring lineup since 2008: Hynde, guitarist James Walbourne, bassist Nick Wilkinson, and founding drummer Martin Chambers. “We’ve alwa...
An Oral History of The Freshman: Matthew Broderick, Andrew Bergman, and Michael Lobell Revisit the 1990 Comedy
On July 20th, 1990, The Freshman hit theaters with all the right pieces. It had solid pitch, one of Hollywood’s sharpest scribes in writer/director Andrew Bergman, and ’80s icon and heartthrob Matthew Broderick. To top it all off, the mob comedy managed to even wrangle the Don himself Marlon Brando, who had all but retired by that point. It wasn’t a summer blockbuster, but it was a success for TriStar. Critics loved it, audiences enjoyed it, and the box office returns managed to nearly double the budget. In the years since, however, it has garnered a cult following, and many view it as one of the last great works of Brando’s legendary (and oft-puzzling) career. To commemorate the film’s 30th anniversary, we recently spoke with writer/director Andrew Bergman, producer Michael Lobell, and st...
![John Digweed on the Intricacies of a VR Festival Performance and the Impact of COVID-19 on Dance Music [Interview]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/john-digweed-on-the-intricacies-of-a-vr-festival-performance-and-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-dance-music-interview-1050x600.jpg)
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John Digweed on the Intricacies of a VR Festival Performance and the Impact of COVID-19 on Dance Music [Interview]
John Digweed is amongst a rare breed of time-tested electronic music DJs—a dance music veteran thriving in the music industry for almost three decades, without compromising on the quality and integrity of his sound. One of Digweed’s notable achievements is producing the first-ever commercial compilation for a nightclub in partnership with fellow iconic artist Sasha. That’s to say not much has gone under Digweed’s nose in modern dance music history. Of course, as the COVID-19 pandemic has ruptured the music industry’s lifeblood of live music events, like most DJs, Digweed has had to adjust. That’s come with hosting regular livestreams, playing virtual festivals, filling the void of empty hours once spent on the road or in the club, and making difficult decisions on when and how to resu...
![“Future Rave” Pioneers David Guetta and MORTEN Claim Their Territory With “New Rave” EP [Exclusive Interview]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/future-rave-pioneers-david-guetta-and-morten-claim-their-territory-with-new-rave-ep-exclusive-interview-1050x600.png)
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“Future Rave” Pioneers David Guetta and MORTEN Claim Their Territory With “New Rave” EP [Exclusive Interview]
Just over a week ago, David Guetta and MORTEN were sitting virtually for a studio session that would result in a finished four-track EP, “New Rave.” Out today via Parlophone, it’s an EP primed to change the EDM world forever. Produced as part of the pair’s “future rave” project, “New Rave” packs a heavy, high-energy punch with pitched up techno synths, meticulously placed vocals, and driving bass downbeats. Standouts are “Kill Me Slow,” the powerful, vocal-driven introduction, and “Bombardment,” a dark and suspenseful instrumental. As a whole, the EP demonstrates the producers’ ability to continue their project’s transformation, moving beyond the original “future rave” sound pioneered in t...
