Lorde has broken her silence on her new album, which she had previously announced would be delayed due to the passing of her dog, Pearl. In a newsletter addressed to fans on Tuesday, the singer revealed she has been working on the follow-up to 2017’s Melodrama with producer Jack Antonoff. “The work is so fucking good, my friend,” she wrote. “I am truly jazzed for you to hear it.”
She said she started going back to the studio in December, and to her surprise, “good things came out.” About recording with Melodrama collaborator Jack Antonoff, she added: “It flowed. A thing started to take shape. And then, of course, the world shut down. We’re still working away—Jack and I FaceTimed for over an hour this morning going over everything. But it’ll take a while longer.”
Though she said she wasn’t sure when she’d go back to touring again, she’s excited about the possibility of getting back out there. “I want to eat summer foods in beautiful countries,” she wrote. “I want to use my gift, and watch it grow. Who knows when it’ll be safe to do those things, but I’m craving them, and I wanted you to know.”
The singer didn’t announce a release date for the album, but sympathizes with the fans’ impatience. “I understand— I want nothing more than to feed you treats, pop perfect morsels straight into your little mouths,” she wrote. “But as I get older I realise there’s something to be said for the pleasant feeling of waiting for something of quality to become available to you. You could have something of lesser quality much faster, but as the high quality thing comes into fruition, a warm feeling grows inside you. Do you know what I mean?”
She continued: “So if you can, I’d like for you to try tuning in to the time spent waiting for something of the highest quality to arrive. Enjoy the sensation as it builds. When the moment comes, our wave will crest super fucking high. I can tell you, this new thing, it’s got its own colours now. If you know anything about my work, you’ll know what that means.”
Michael Middelkoop, a film director based out of Amsterdam, Netherlands, has presented a beautiful short dance film named Meeting Point. The short film focuses on Calliope Tsoupaki’s musical piece, which was written in connection to the current events surrounding COVID-19.
Talking about the film Middelkoop said: “A few weeks ago, at the outbreak of Covid-19, I was connected via my agent to Greek composer Calliope Tsoupaki, who’s currently fulfilling a residency in the Netherlands. She created a piece in response to our current global status and asked if I had any ideas for it. I immediately responded to it, and the result is ‘Meeting Point’ featuring Shay Latukolan, choreographer of Stormy’s Vossi Bop and Yseult’s ‘Noir”
Credits
Composer & Artist: Calliope Tsoupaki
Director: Michael Middelkoop
Production: HEAT
Dancer: Shay Latukolan
Producer: Luc de Kock
Assistance: Merle Keller
Director of Photography: Zeeger Verschuren
1st Assistant Camera: Maric Dam
Steady Cam: Jasper van Gheluwe
Editing: Maarten Ernest
Grading: Ruben Labree
Special thanks to: Maene-Ypma, Cinesupply
Charli XCX is not the kind of artist you ever really know what to expect from, but how i’m feeling now certainly isn’t something anyone could’ve seen coming a year ago. An album made almost entirely during lockdown, the latest from the 27-year-old Charlotte Aitchison doesn’t stray too far from the boundary-pushing, futuristic brand of pop she’s associated herself with since her 2016 EP Vroom Vroom – from the glossy synths to the autotuned vocals and ear-drillingly abrasive production courtesy of AG Cook. But in almost every other way, the British pop star’s fourth studio record is the opposite of last year’s ambitious Charli, a defining musical statement that saw her taking the experimental stylings of her recent output and melding them with the commercial sound that put her on the map in the early 2010s.
For one thing, where Charli was expansive and grand in scope, the title of how i’m feeling now hints at something more introspective and vulnerable, even spontaneous. But it’s the now that perhaps stands out the most – Charli’s music was never locked into the present, looking instead to the future, not as some distant point in time but as a real possibility, a world you could visit with the tap of a button (and, ideally, a DAW). But the circumstances we find ourselves in have brought the future closer to us, rendering Charli’s hyperdigital approach to pop all the more fitting. As much as the album is intended as a reflection on the current crisis, it can only be described as such to the extent that it evokes the ways in which quarantine has forced most of us to look inwards, magnifying the personal spaces that give meaning to our day-to-day lives.
Part of the album’s value is symbolic. Besides laying claim to the first in what will sure be a long stream of ‘quarantine albums’, how i’m feeling now is also notable for utilizing a collaborative DIY approach that’s a testament to Charli’s unceasing drive to push her music forward. Though she rose to fame thanks to her appearance on Icona Pop’s chart-topping 2013 single ‘I Love It’, Aitchison first started releasing songs from her bedroom during the Myspace era of the late aughts. It’s one thing for an artist to revisit that DIY aesthetic more than a decade after their big break; it’s another thing entirely to use one’s profile to interact with fans in such a dynamic manner, inviting them to be part of the creative process by embracing the participatory culture of the internet. Despite featuring fewer guest stars than any other one of her albums (none, in fact), how i’m feeling now is a truly collaborative effort made possible only through the digital tools that now govern our reality, with Charli hosting weekly Zoom meetings, sharing updates, and organizing frequent Instagram livestreams, not to mention pulling together her usual host of co-producers.
But while the album is unmistakably of its time, the themes that permeate its shiny exterior are no doubt timeless. More than anything, how i’m feeling now is a love letter to the people that are closest to Charli, especially her boyfriend Huck Kwong, with whom she has been staying during lockdown alongside her two managers. In that sense, the album feels like a deeper dive into the heartfelt moments that were sprinkled onto her previous work, like ‘Official’ off Charli, pulling those tender sentiments further into focus. “I like, I like, I like, I like, I like everything about you,” Charli sings on the blissful ‘claws’, while on the equally euphoric ‘forever’, she proclaims, “I’ll love you forever/ Even when we’re not together”. Charli recognizes the fact that the couple’s previously on-and-off relationship might not always be as intimate as it has been during the past few months, but the time they’ve spent together has helped her appreciate the qualities that make it worth holding onto. “Could’ve fallen, but we only grew/ So I made my house a home with you/ I’m right here and it feels brand new,” she realizes on ‘7 years’.
At the same time, songs like ‘detonate’ and ‘enemy’ serve as an acknowledgment of how such closeness may intensify the insecurities that lie behind the surface, much like the experimental noises bubbling underneath the album’s sugary coating. While the former finds the singer confronting issues of self-trust and admitting that she might actually be closing herself off in new ways, the latter finds hope in vulnerability, recognizing that feeling those negative emotions is part of the path to self-growth and openness. During the track’s interlude, Charli includes a snippet of a voice recording taken following one of her therapy sessions, implying that this is still an ongoing process filled with uncertainty. The presence of her unfiltered voice on the track is a stark contrast to her usual delivery; but rather than standing out as an isolated instance, it acts as a reminder of the emotional rawness that Charli is allowing herself with this album as a whole.
It’s not all about her romantic relationship, though. A sequel to Charli’s ‘Click’, ‘c2.0’ is just as out-there and abrasive in its production as its predecessor, but it’s overtaken by a sense of nostalgia as Charli sings about missing her friends (“My clique running through my mind like a rainbow”), a theme that resurfaces on the even more hard-hitting ‘anthems’, where she sings: “All my friends are invisible/ Twenty-four seven, miss ’em all”. Despite the same sentiments recurring throughout the record, it never comes off as painfully repetitive – rather, it’s an honest representation of the cyclical thought patterns and emotional highs and lows that we’ve all found ourselves trapped in during this period.
But only Charli could write lyrics like “Wake up late, eat some cereal/ Try my best to be physical/ Lose myself in a TV show/ Staring out to oblivion” while delivering one of her most hard-hitting anthems, here assisted by PC Music’s Danny L Harle and 100 gecs’ Dylan Brady. What’s more, she bookends the record with two of the most straightforward club bangers, the sultry, sharp ‘pink diamond’ and the propulsive ‘visions’, indicating that, at the end of the day, she’s here to have fun. “I got pictures in my mind,” Charli repeats on the closer as a driving beat rises in anticipation; but the drop never arrives, instead devolving into something clunky and metallic, distant. We might not be able to party like we used to, but how i’m feeling now leaves us with the hope that this kind of unadulterated joy is just out there on the horizon, and makes sure to give us a taste of what it could be like.
American actress and producer Jessica Chastain seemed to become a household sensation overnight. She stormed the Hollywood scene in 2011 with a stellar year in film which took her from struggling actress to award-winning leading lady. Though her fame appeared to be a meteoric success story, Chastain had quietly been laying the groundwork for her career since she was a teenager. While peers Kate Winslet and Michelle Williams were starring in blockbuster films and TV shows, Chastain was starring in amateur Shakespeare productions in the Bay Area.
After being awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Julliard performing arts school in New York, Chastain took on small roles in TV shows such as ER and Agatha Christie’s Poirot. Each job led to another, slightly bigger one until she was cast in the role of Salomé in the 2013 film of the same name. Her director and co-star was none other than Al Pacino, who recommended her to Terrence Malick who, in turn, recommended her to Steven Spielberg. She went on to star in 11 films over a period of 4 years, a feat which placed her firmly in the spotlight and has led to her being named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. We take a look at some of her best films to date.
Salomé (2013)
Oscar Wilde’s most controversial work, Salomé is a story of lust, greed, and revenge. Following the story of King Herod, his stepdaughter Salomé, and John the Baptist, the play has been the basis of many stage productions throughout the years. Director Al Pacino’s take was the first of its kind – an attempt to merge the stage with film, creating a purely theatrical piece that could be viewed in the cinema. Not only was he hugely successful in his attempt, but he also launched the career of Chastain in the process. Her performance paved the way for her to gain bigger, better roles in mainstream Hollywood.
Could Jessica Chastain be the best leading lady in Hollywood?
The Help (2011)
A period drama based on the Kathryn Stockett 2009 novel of the same name, The Help tells the story of a young woman and aspiring journalist, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, who writes a book from the perspective of her maids, exposing the horror that they were faced with on a daily basis. Not only did the film receive four Academy Award nominations, but it also saw Chastain receive her first Academy Award nomination, cementing her trajectory into superstardom.
Molly’s Game (2016)
In one of her most memorable performances to date, Chastain plays the role of Molly Bloom, a former elite skier in this dramatic retelling of her life story. Based on the book of the same name, Molly’s Game is an eye-opening look into the underground poker scene in Hollywood, one in which A-list actors played against each other for thousands of dollars under the watchful eye of Molly Bloom. Featuring characters that have been speculated to be based on the likes of Matt Damon and Tobey Maguire, this Netflix favorite has been described by film critic Richard Roeper to be one of the greatest poker movies of all time.
Miss Sloane (2016)
A 2016 political thriller which couldn’t be more different from Chastain’s recent horror It: Chapter 2, the film follows Elizabeth Sloane, a fierce lobbyist who campaigns for gun control legislation. Chastain’s performance is spellbinding, demonstrating her precision and skill at taking on a character study and leaving you wanting more from the movie. If it wasn’t apparent to audiences by now, then Chastain’s performance in Miss Sloane is the final confirmation anyone needs that she has earned her place among hr A-List peers.
Of course, with 11 movies released in the space of 4 years, there are obviously many, many more to choose from, however, these performances are notable in various ways. From her launch into the stratosphere with Salomé to her expertly executed character study in Miss Sloane, there is no doubt that Chastain has gone from overnight success to one of the greats. So, which one are you going to watch first?
A quick glance at Dead Pony’s quarantine playlist, and the wide range of influences informing the band’s sound becomes immediately clear. Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, and Kylie Minogue sit comfortably alongside the likes of Wolf Alice, Nirvana, and Hinds. The Scottish pop-punk outfit – consisting of singer and guitarist Anna Shields, Blair Crichton on lead guitar and backing vocals, Liam Adams on bass, and drummer Aidan McAllister – always had a knack for writing catchy rock tunes, from the Queens of the Stone Age-esque ‘Sugar Sweet’ to the driving ‘Speak of the Devil’. But their latest single, ‘Everything is Easy’, the first in a series of songs to be unveiled in 2020, is their most direct fusion of rock and pop yet, bringing together thumping bass, crisp drums, and an infectious hook, while the playfully processed backing vocals offer a nice extra touch. It marks an exciting new chapter for the recent LAB signees, who will no doubt continue to gain traction throughout the year.
We caught up with Anna Shields of Dead Pony for this edition of our Artist Spotlight series, where we showcase up-and-coming artists and give them a chance to talk a bit about their music.
How did you decide to form Dead Pony?
Blair and I formed Dead Pony because we both loved music and writing music. Over the past couple of years we have just been gigging and writing music loads and it has started to all come together.
Do you share similar influences?
I think in some ways yes and others no. We all have very similar tastes in music and we can all agree when a banger is a certified banger. But I think our individual tastes also bring a lot of important and versatile influence to the band. I’ve always really loved the classic icons such as Stevie Nicks, Debbie Harry and Madonna. Blair is heavily influenced by Queens of the Stone Age and The Dandy Warhols, Aidan is more Nirvana and Metallica whereas Liam loves Kings of Leon and The Smiths.
How has your approached to songwriting changed since you formed the band?
Yeah it definitely has. We all write music and find inspiration in different ways. For instance, I find writing music, particularly lyrics, quite an intimate and vulnerable thing at times and it can take me hours or sometimes days to write a song. Whereas, Blair can sit down and bash out 3 phenomenal songs in 30 minutes. There’s nothing wrong with either of these methods but over the years I think we’ve really found a good balance between pouring yourself into a song and also writing something that is fun and sounds cool. Now that we have found that sort of writing. Now that we’ve found what works best for us when writing music, we can really work well together and bounce ideas off of each other. I think that a lot of my anxieties surrounding music writing has eased over the years and we all feel comfortable sharing music that we’ve written with one another. Even if it is shit.
You recently signed to LAB Records. How does that feel?
It feels really really brilliant. We’ve been working so hard for the past few years as most bands do starting out, and it just feels so class that all of our hard work has finally started to pay off. I’m immensely proud of myself and of the boys and I just can’t help but hope and think that this is the beginning of something really good for us.
Can you talk about your new single, ‘Everything is Easy’? What was the inspiration behind it?
Blair and I wrote Everything is Easy last summer after having a conversation about the silly things we believed growing up. It started off with Blair telling me that his dad used to tell him as a child that one day, he just found a little snotter on the wall and decided to pick it off and raise it as his own. That snotter grew up to be Blair. I always loved that story and it just got me thinking of how gullible we all are as children and how, when that feeling of mystery and wonder that goes along with naivety starts to evaporate you realise how silly the things were you believed as a child and how upset you were when you realised that your parents were lying to you. We tried to capture this feeling in the song in a fun and playful nature. I think it’s a song that everyone can relate to as everyone has a story about something wild they believed to be true as a child.
What do you have in store for us for the rest of the year?
Unfortunately due to lockdown we’ve had to put a pause on gigging at the moment. However, we’ve got another two singles coming out on LAB Records and another few fun things planned for the rest of the year. We just can’t wait to get back to gigging and to play these songs live again.
Sun Cycles, a rising singer-songwriter out of Omaha, U.S, has presented her latest single INTO CONFUSION. The song thrives on catchy lyrics and a mellifluous production that brings out a dark unknowing mood.
INTO CONFUSION comes before the release of the forthcoming EP IMAGINARY, which is due to be released this summer. With this song released, we are eager to see what is next for Sun Cycles.
Singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe and Jess Gowrie have announced the formation of a new band called Mrs. Piss. The duo have also shared two new tracks, ‘Downer Surrounded by Uppers’ and ‘Knelt’, which you can listen to below. The singles are taken from the group’s upcoming debut LP titled Self-Surgery, due on May 29 via Sargent House.
Wolfe and Gowrie started working on their collaborative project while touring in support of Wolfe’s 2017 album Hiss Spun. They recorded their debut album as Mrs. Piss at the Dock Studio in Sacramento, California and at Wolfe’s home studio the Canyon, with Wolfe on vocals and guitar and Gowrie on drums, guitar, bass, and programming.
Wolfe, who released her latest solo LP Birth of Violence last year, said in a statement:
Working on this project brought Jess and I so much closer as songwriters and production partners, after reuniting as friends and bandmates. It was freeing and fun to channel some wild energies that I don’t typically put into my own music. We tried not to overthink the songs as we were writing them, but at the same time we did consciously put a lot into crafting them into our own weird sonic vision. This project was a chance for us to do things our own way, on our own terms, and we plan to invite more womxn musicians along for future Mrs. Piss recordings.
Gowrie added:
To me, Mrs. Piss represents a musical chemistry cut short long ago that now gets a second chance. Creating with Chelsea has always been very liberating for me, and we both push each other to try new things: anything and everything. Both of us have grown so much as writers and musicians since our first band together (Red Host), and with the journeys we had to take separately to get there, we both have so much more to say; so much more pain and anger to express. That said, we also had a lot of fun doing it, not to mention how freeing it is to not give a f-k and to just create.
Self-Surgery Tracklist:
01. To Crawl Inside
02. Downer Surrounded by Uppers
03. Knelt
04. Nobody Wants to Party With Us
05. M.B.O.T.W.O.
06. You Took Everything
07. Self-Surgery
08. Mrs. Piss
Named after character from the anime series My Hero Academia, recovery girl is the moniker of electronic producer Galen Tipton, hailing from Columbus, Ohio. Following 2018’s nightbath, their latest self-titled effort was initially released as an EP back in January and recently reissued by Orange Milk as a full-length record, featuring songs from February’s gross/scratch as well as seven remixes. This new, expanded edition is a dynamic, glitched-out powerhouse of experimental pop – or so-called ‘hyperpop’ – in the same vein as 100 gecs and PC Music, though Tipton infuses their own unique personality into those stylings. Highlight ‘that girl is my world (you transphobic piece of shit)’ is as compelling as its title, propelled by a fluid song structure that perfectly complements the track’s theme, while ‘don’t be my light’ incorporates hardcore elements into its already abrasive mix. ‘gross’ drills into your head with its propulsive, intoxicating rhythm, while opener ‘big loud & violent’ is a downright banger.
We caught up with Galen Tipton for this edition of our Artist Spotlight series, where we showcase up-and-coming artists and give them a chance to talk a bit about their music.
What inspired you to start making music?
If I had to trace it back to one moment definitely Guitar Hero 2. Not only did it inspire me to get interested in playing and making my own music, it actually got me interested in listening to music for pleasure and seeking out more of what I liked.
Why did you choose that particular character from My Hero Academia as your moniker?
i really identify with her abilities to heal nearly any wounds. the project started off as a way as therapy for me; a way to work through, heal and “bounce back” from trauma and hopefully give others the energy to do the same. its just as a reminder to myself that no matter what pain i go through i have the power to process, grow, and heal no matter how bad it gets
What were some of the inspirations behind recovery girl?
the biggest inspiration behind this project is definitely laura les of 100 gecs. I’ve been wanting to make pop music for years but have just in general been very embarrassed and dysphoric about my voice. hearing laura’s work for the first time made everything click for me and I almost immediately started working on stuff, not really planning on releasing anything, but just as something just for me to show myself that I could do it if I wanted to. having enough support and positive feedback from friends and peers helped me turn this into a full fledged project.
besides the obvious pc music and post pc music/hyperpop/whatever you want to call it influences i take a lot of influence from digital hardcore acts like machine girl, street sects, deli girls, etc. im really interested in the fusion of pop and hardcore sounds and want to blur the lines between them as much as possible. i grew up on all types of hardcore and metal and whenever I start performing recovery girl sets i want to get people moshing as much as dancing
What was the recording process like?
when it comes to vocals and lyrics im still pretty self conscious about recording and performing, so i would find different ways to “trick” myself into being comfortable. a lot of times i would record over an instrumental or loop of a song that already exists and that I’m comfy with then delete that instrumental and build a track around those vocals, basically remixing and sampling myself. lately ive been recording myself singing chorus’ of pop songs that already exists just to have some sort of familiar reference, then chopping up and sampling that recording and splicing it into the track. as a producer mainly, i’m more interested in using my vocals as a glue to hold different instrumental ideas and passages together and help translate my more exuberant production ideas into a pop lense. from an instrumental stand point i was just trying to be as loud and raw as i possibly could, not thinking too hard about anything and stopping myself from adding too much detail, trying make the project as focused and straight forward as possible without sacrificing energy.
Could you talk a bit about the remixes that appear on the new deluxe edition of the record?
the remixes are all done by friends and musicians i admire and want the world to be watching out for and paying attention to ! there were many other artists who were not able to create and submit remixes in time for release but with all the stems out there now we should be seeing some more amazing remixes out soon !
What are your plans for the future?
currently im working on a few singles and am at the early stages of demoing out a full length for recovery girl. because the project has been very sample heavy up to this point, i’m currently working on building soundbanks of sounds i am making myself to use in the project as a challenge to myself. when it comes to the work released under my own name, ive got an EP dropping this summer as well as full length follow up to my recent Orange Milk release that is nearly done.
would really love to tour either under the recovery girl project or galen tipton project, and there are small chances of either of those happening later in the year depending on how everything plays out with the covid situation.
Chiara Zonca, a beloved photographer and artist, based out of Canada, has revealed a superb series named American Land. In this photo-based series, Zonca focuses on the texture study on the American West.
Portland singer-songwriter Johanna Warren’s music transcends boundaries. To her, all art forms are connected; whether she’s processing life through the medium of music, film, or the Japanese healing technique Reiki, the goal is always to try to find harmony and balance. Warren’s fifth solo album, fittingly titled Chaotic Good, strikes that exact balance, delving into the deepest parts of the human soul in an effort to crystallise peace out of conflict. Confronting the pain caused by a toxic relationship, the record stands out from the rest of her discography for just how raw and visceral it can sound – she channels her full-throated anger on highlight ‘Twisted’, in which her usually hushed delivery reaches a hair-raising crescendo as she howls, “I will not be displaced/ By how much I love you.” Recorded in part at Elliot Smith’s New Monkey Studio, Smith’s spirit looms large over the album, especially on the haunting ‘Bed of Nails’ and the dynamic ‘Part of It’. On piano ballads ‘Only the Truth’ and ‘Bones of Abandoned Futures’, Warren showcases her knack for combining poetic storytelling with hypnotic, dreamy melodies that coarse through your veins like medicine. The struggle might be ongoing, but at the end of it all, there is balance.
We caught up with Johanna Warren for this edition of our Artist Spotlight series, where we showcase up-and-coming artists and give them a chance to talk a bit about their music.
What inspired you to start writing music?
I felt clumsy at best (paralyzed, frequently) in “normal” social situations, but had a lot going on inside. Music made more sense to me than talking.
Who are some of your biggest influences, musical or not?
Plants, mushrooms, Dolly Parton, dolphins, the Buddha, Jesus, UFOs, death, the internet, Kendrick, Alejandro Jodorowsky.
What role does spirituality play in your music?
I don’t make a distinction between “spirituality” and anything else. It’s all sacred, it’s all profane. And it’s all music.
Could you talk about your experience doing the Plant Medicine Tour?
That was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. I wanted to use my concerts as a way to talk about our connection to nature, to raise awareness about herbalism and the importance of eating clean, local food because I felt a certain indebtedness to the plants for my own healing. I played about 75 shows all over the US, and at every one I’d invited local farmers and herbalists to come sell their tinctures, teas, salves, etc. and talk to their communities about what they’re up to and how people can get involved. It was incredibly optimism-inspiring to be greeted every single night by a glowing crew of big-hearted humans and their plant allies, and to watch communities forming and strengthening around those relationships.
How was the process of writing and recording your new album?
Chaotic, and good.
Do you have a favourite song from the album?
Twisted.
What’s next?
I just finished writing a screenplay and am hoping to get it in pre-production this summer so we’ll be ready to dive into filming as soon as that’s possible again.
