Did you know that in 2021, an estimated 1.7 million Americans turned to kratom for relaxation, pain relief, and to treat depression and anxiety? The industry’s trajectory has been remarkable, and all signs indicate its popularity will continue to soar. However, with a landscape dotted with minimal regulations, many industry experts have raised eyebrows and expressed concerns. Their advice? Go for products that have undergone rigorous third-party testing to vouch for both safety and efficacy.
But here’s the pressing question: How do you ensure that what’s claimed on the label is indeed what you’re getting and that the testing labs uphold the highest standards? To shed light on this, let’s take a look at the ACS Laboratory kratom testing process, where we’ll explore the various tests conducted potential pitfalls that might compromise accuracy, and learn about the safeguards labs put in place to ensure reliability.
A Comprehensive Guide to Kratom Testing
For the discerning consumer, merely reading labels won’t cut it anymore. It’s vital to understand the depth of testing your kratom undergoes and what each test means for the purity and efficacy of the product. Here are some of the most common tests performed.
1. Alkaloid Profiling
At the heart of kratom’s effects are its alkaloids – bioactive compounds that interact with the human body to produce various effects. The main players in this arena are mitragynine and 7-hydroxy mitragynine. But it’s not just their presence that matters; it’s their proportion.
When Kratom testing labs conduct alkaloid profiling, they’re looking for two things:
Presence: Confirming that the kratom indeed contains the alkaloids it should.
Proportions: Ensuring that the levels of these alkaloids are consistent and fall within expected ranges.
This profiling is crucial because it indicates the kratom’s potency and ensures you’re not getting a product that’s been diluted or tampered with.
2. Contaminant Screening
Imagine finding the perfect kratom in terms of alkaloid content, only to discover it’s teeming with harmful contaminants. This is where contaminant screening comes into play.
Microbes: Kratom, like any organic substance, can be a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. Screening ensures these numbers are within safe limits.
Heavy Metals: The soil where kratom trees grow can sometimes contain heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and mercury. A screening test also checks for heavy metals to ensure the product is safe for consumption.
3. Adulterant Detection
The increasing demand for kratom has opened the door to unscrupulous practices, including the addition of adulterants. Some of these might just be harmless fillers, but others can be more sinister.
There have been instances in the market where kratom products were laced with synthetic opioids or other potent drugs. The consumption of these without awareness can lead to severe health complications or even unintentional addiction.
On the other hand, certain sellers might simply dilute their kratom with other plant materials that visually resemble kratom but lack its inherent properties. This not only robs the user of the desired effects but can also introduce potential allergens. Through cutting-edge chromatography and spectrometry techniques, labs can sift through the kratom, ensuring its purity and genuineness.
4. Moisture Content Testing
Moisture content in kratom, while seemingly benign, plays a pivotal role in the product’s longevity and efficacy. Kratom containing excessive moisture can be a breeding ground for unwanted mold and bacteria, curtailing its shelf life and introducing potential health risks.
Moreover, when kratom’s moisture content isn’t balanced, there’s a possible degradation of its essential alkaloids over time. This gradual reduction means that even relatively fresh kratom might lose its desired potency. Labs meticulously assess the moisture levels, ensuring that consumers receive a product that retains its potency and remains fresh for longer.
5. Pesticide Residue Testing
The use of pesticides is a common practice among farmers to protect their crops from a variety of pests, and kratom cultivation is no different. While these chemicals ensure a bountiful yield, they sometimes leave residues that can linger on the final product. When consumed over time, such remnants can counteract the health benefits kratom offers.
Moreover, for individuals who prefer organic products, the presence of these residues can be a significant concern. Testing facilities employ state-of-the-art techniques to test for these lingering chemicals. Their precision plays a pivotal role in determining the levels of contamination and ensuring there’s no compromise on the purity and safety of the kratom product.
How Accurate Is Kratom Testing and Analysis
When conducted by reputable labs using state-of-the-art equipment and methodologies, kratom testing can achieve high accuracy. While no test is infallible, leading labs can achieve 98-99% accuracy in kratom analysis. Factors impacting this accuracy include:
Sample Collection and Handling: Accurate testing begins before the sample reaches the lab. How the kratom is collected, stored, and transported can significantly influence the results. For instance, contamination during collection or degradation due to improper storage can lead to skewed outcomes.
Lab Equipment and Methodology: The precision of lab instruments and the methods employed directly influence testing accuracy. Advanced equipment like High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Mass Spectrometry offer higher sensitivity and specificity, ensuring more reliable results.
External Influences: Factors like temperature, humidity, and even electromagnetic interference can affect lab outcomes. Top-tier labs maintain stringent environmental controls to minimize these influences.
Conclusion
As kratom gains traction in the health and wellness industry, understanding its quality becomes not just a matter of preference but a necessity. Established labs play an invaluable role in this context. With advanced testing methods, they can discern the ingredients of a product, specify exact quantities, and ascertain if there’s any level of contamination.
Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) is a medical condition that occurs when the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, fails to produce an adequate amount of growth hormone. While often associated with children, GHD can also affect adults, leading to various physical and psychological issues. This condition is more common than one might think, yet it often goes undiagnosed due to its subtle symptoms. In this article, we will delve into the causes, symptoms, and treatment options for Growth Hormone Deficiency in adults, shedding light on a condition that significantly impacts the quality of life for those affected, including considerations such as TRT for Men.
Causes of Growth Hormone Deficiency in Adults
Growth Hormone Deficiency in adults can arise from various factors, including pituitary tumors, brain injury, radiation therapy, or genetic mutations. One common cause is pituitary tumors, which can disrupt the normal functioning of the pituitary gland, leading to decreased production of growth hormones. Additionally, certain medical treatments such as radiation therapy, used to treat tumors in the head or neck area, can damage the pituitary gland and impair its ability to produce hormones. Traumatic brain injury, infections, and autoimmune diseases can also impact the pituitary gland, disrupting the secretion of growth hormone. In some cases, GHD can be congenital, meaning it is present from birth due to genetic mutations affecting the pituitary gland’s development.
Symptoms and Treatment Options
Growth Hormone Deficiency in adults manifests through a range of symptoms, including fatigue, decreased muscle mass, increased body fat, and changes in mood and cognitive function. Individuals with GHD may also experience cardiovascular issues, such as high cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease. Fortunately, advancements in medical science have led to effective treatment options for adults diagnosed with GHD. The most common and successful approach is hormone replacement therapy, where synthetic growth hormone is administered to compensate for the deficiency. This treatment not only helps alleviate the physical symptoms but also improves overall quality of life by boosting energy levels, enhancing muscle strength, and reducing body fat. Regular monitoring and adjustments in hormone dosage ensure optimal results, enabling individuals with GHD to lead healthier, more active lives.
Online Sources for Accurate and Up-to-Date Information on Peptides
In the digital age, accessing accurate and up-to-date information about peptides, including Growth Hormone Deficiency and related treatments, has never been easier. Online platforms provide a wealth of resources, enabling individuals to educate themselves about their condition and available therapies. One valuable resource worth exploring is sermorelin reviews, where individuals share their experiences with sermorelin, a peptide commonly used in the treatment of Growth Hormone Deficiency. These firsthand accounts offer unique insights into the effectiveness and benefits of sermorelin therapy.
Additionally, reputable medical websites, research journals, and healthcare forums provide detailed information on the latest advancements in peptide therapies. By consulting reliable online sources and reading authentic testimonials, individuals can make well-informed decisions about their treatment options, empowering them to actively participate in managing their Growth Hormone Deficiency. Keeping abreast of the latest research findings and real-life experiences shared by others fosters a sense of community and support, enhancing the overall understanding of this condition and its available treatments.
Understanding the Importance of Early Diagnosis
Early diagnosis of Growth Hormone Deficiency in adults is paramount to effectively managing the condition and improving the overall quality of life for those affected. Unfortunately, GHD often presents with subtle symptoms that can easily be attributed to other factors, leading to delayed diagnosis. It is essential for individuals experiencing persistent fatigue, unexplained weight gain, or changes in mood and cognition to seek medical advice promptly. Healthcare professionals can conduct comprehensive evaluations, including hormone level tests and imaging studies, to diagnose GHD accurately. Detecting the condition early allows for timely intervention, preventing the progression of symptoms and reducing the risk of complications. Moreover, early diagnosis enables healthcare providers to tailor hormone replacement therapy according to the individual’s specific needs, ensuring optimal results and long-term well-being.
The Role of Lifestyle Modifications in Managing GHD
In conjunction with hormone replacement therapy, incorporating healthy lifestyle modifications can significantly enhance the management of Growth Hormone Deficiency in adults. Regular physical activity, balanced nutrition, and sufficient sleep play crucial roles in supporting overall health and well-being. Exercise, particularly strength training, and aerobic activities helps improve muscle mass, boost energy levels, and enhance cardiovascular health. Additionally, adopting a well-balanced diet rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals supports the body’s metabolic processes and aids in maintaining a healthy weight. Prioritizing adequate sleep is equally vital, as restorative sleep promotes hormone regulation and supports the body’s natural healing processes.
The Ongoing Research and Future Prospects
Endocrinology continues to advance, leading to ongoing research and innovative treatments for Growth Hormone Deficiency in adults. Researchers are exploring new formulations of growth hormone therapies, aiming to improve effectiveness, ease of administration, and patient compliance. Additionally, studies are underway to understand the genetic factors contributing to GHD, paving the way for personalized treatments tailored to individual genetic profiles. Furthermore, ongoing research endeavors focus on enhancing the diagnostic methods for GHD, enabling quicker and more accurate identification of the condition. As these studies progress, the future holds promising prospects for individuals with GHD, offering hope for even more tailored and effective treatments, ultimately improving their quality of life and well-being. Stay tuned for updates on these exciting developments as the medical community continues to explore new horizons in the field of endocrinology.
In the face of Growth Hormone Deficiency, awareness, early diagnosis, and informed decision-making are key factors in empowering individuals to effectively manage their condition. By understanding the diverse causes, subtle symptoms, and available treatment options, individuals can seek timely medical advice, ensuring proper diagnosis and tailored hormone replacement therapy. Moreover, the integration of healthy lifestyle choices further amplifies the positive impact of treatment, promoting overall well-being.
As the field of endocrinology continues to progress, with ongoing research and advancements, the future appears promising for individuals living with Growth Hormone Deficiency. Access to accurate information, both through medical professionals and online resources, equips individuals with the knowledge needed to make informed choices about their health. By staying engaged with the latest developments and embracing a proactive approach to managing their condition, individuals with GHD can lead fulfilling lives, supported by a combination of medical intervention, healthy habits, and ongoing support from the medical community. With continued research, understanding, and community awareness, the journey toward managing Growth Hormone Deficiency becomes a shared effort, fostering hope, resilience, and improved quality of life for all those affected.
Gaming can be an intimidating hobby, if you didn’t really play as a child or you’re an adult with a lot of responsibilities on your plate. However, it’s a good hobby for having fun, blowing off steam, and is incredibly accessible without any need for extra skills. As such, you should give it a go if you’ve got spare time in the evenings and you’re sick of simply booting up Netflix!
However, gaming also carries a pretty big price tag. Top of the line PCs and consoles can cost upwards of £2000 for a fully built system. Building a PC yourself could even cost you more, with the most recent graphics cards costing around £1500 on their own. If you don’t have plenty of disposable income to your name, it can be hard to play games on the settings they were made for.
So, do you need a big budget to be a gamer, especially if you only want to play in your spare time? Let’s examine the idea below.
Tech Companies Offer More Low Budget Lines Than Ever
You might have seen a lot of online discourse around the pricing of new graphics card lines, such as the RTX 40 series. With prices starting at around £1300, it’s easy to think gaming is only for those who can afford it.
However, these companies also release low budget gaming options alongside their newest high-tech series. You might have to dip back a generation, but you’ll still get the frame rate performance you’re looking for. Alternatively, you can also shop at competitors; if NVIDIA is too expensive for you, you’re likely to find budget friendly options at AMD with the Radeon series instead.
Online Gaming is Often Free to Play
If you want to gentle yourself into the gaming scene, try online gaming. Most games that require an online connection are free to play, meaning you can download and set up a character for nothing, but certain things in the marketplace (cosmetic, some upgrades, etc.,) will cost real money.
But even simpler than that, you can access games like mahjong online for nothing. Simple puzzle games you can pass the time with are great for piquing your interest in the gaming scene as a whole. This is especially true if there’s an element of stakes to them without ever needing to put your money into the pot.
Indie Games are Just as Fun as AAA
You don’t need to buy AAA games to have fun. There are a million or so indie game titles out there that promise just as much good game time, if not more so. After all, indie developers aren’t working under the same constraints as the bigger companies. They have a much smaller budget, but their creativity is limitless.
Shop at sites like Itch.io or exclusively search the indie titles on bigger platforms to get 3 to 4 games for the price of just one big title. Give them a chance and you’re likely to find your new favourite game!
PC Gaming Does Away with Console Worries
If you want to game, but you don’t know what console is the best to go with, take them out of the equation entirely. Instead, invest in a good gaming PC and you’ll have access to the best of the best.
Highly customisable and easily upgradable hardware, access to Xbox Game Pass, and various Playstation exclusives are now being ported for PC players as well. You really do have access to everything when you’ve got a desktop or laptop!
Vintage/Retro Gaming is Still Fun
Vintage gaming is still super fun. Indeed, the games you played as a kid (or didn’t get a chance to play but would love to check out!), are still able to buy and install in the modern day. Sure, they might not have any support, and it might take a while to get them working, but if you put the effort in you can play them to your heart’s content.
If you don’t already own the physical disks you can use emulators and online ports; just make sure you’re using a safe version that’s accessible for those with even the smallest amount of computer knowledge.
Try to Ignore Pre Order Offers
Pre order offers are big and shiny for a reason. Give us around 3 times the usual cost of the game and you’ll get super exclusive items that prove just how much you love this game or the series it comes from! However, that promise is just that: a promise. Is the company really going to deliver?
Sometimes they don’t, sometimes they compromise on the quality, and often the game itself just isn’t worth the investment. If you feel you’re going to miss out on something cool if you don’t buy a pre order, sit back and temper your expectations. It’s a game, meaning it’s entirely virtual, and you won’t own that thing in real life!
Grab Free Games Where You Can (and low cost ones!)
Free games cross the web from time to time, on sites such as Epic Games which regularly run free download options. If you sign up and download the launcher, you can quickly access these offers without money ever needing to change hands – now that’s budget friendly!
You can also find a lot of low cost games on sites like GOG, and you should always keep an eye out for a sale. Something you’ve been waiting to buy for a long time should go on sale around 4 times a year, so make sure you catch it!
Good news! You don’t need a big budget to be a gamer. You just need to choose the right platform for you, find the games you truly enjoy, and play on settings you’re comfortable with. You can pick up cheap and free games from various marketplaces, save your money by only spending when you’re sure, and save up for an upgrade if you really get into it.
If you feel stressed while performing a difficult task, try focusing on your breath while sitting comfortably in a quiet place. You will feel much better. Stress often makes you anxious, tense, and worried. However, when you meditate, you feel relaxed and become mindful. Even when you spend a few minutes doing meditation, it can help you restore your calm and inner peace. Meditation can be practiced by anyone. It’s a free-of-cost therapy and is very simple to do. It also doesn’t require any particular equipment. Meditation can be practiced anywhere. You can meditate while riding the bus or even during a business meeting.
What is Meditation?
It is a practice that consists of different techniques to help people focus and obtain a state of awareness. It has got several health benefits. Meditation involves relaxing yourself and clearing your mind. It helps you to focus on one thought at a time. You can practice meditation by focusing on a mantra or nothing.
Meditation and Stress:
The main benefit of meditation is it helps in stress reduction. The body’s stress response is to prepare you to fight or run. Sometimes, this response can be helpful. However, in the long run, it can cause physical damage to your body. Meditation, on the other hand, oppositely affects the body. It triggers the body’s relaxation response. It returns the body to a calm state. It gives time for the body to repair itself.
Stress Reduction with Meditation:
Now, let’s look into some of the specific ways in which meditation can help to manage stress and promote health and well-being.
Meditation Can Help You Reverse the Effects of Stress:
Meditation is the journey from activity to silence. It helps you enter a state of restful alertness and stops the noisy thoughts in your mind. Although you feel you are in a state of rest, your mind is alert and awake. In this state of mind, the body experiences healing effects opposite of the fight-or-flight response. This includes:
Bringing blood pressure back to normal
Breathing more deeply
Reduced stress hormone production
Immunity boost
The body’s usage of oxygen is more efficient.
Inflammation in the body is reduced.
You don’t have to be a professional to benefit from meditation. Even after six days of meditation, you will experience reduced stress levels. If you meditate regularly, your body will benefit from the deep rest. When you meditate regularly, you are giving your body deep rest. It reduces the effects of chronic illness stress and restores your body to its natural state.
Meditation helps in relaxation and gives you sound sleep:
We mostly live in a state of chronic sleep deprivation, which increases our irritability and stress levels. Meditation is an effective therapy for insomnia. It can help you get the sound sleep that is important for your physical and emotional health. Your brain produces more brain waves when you meditate, and that promotes deep relaxation. The brainwaves consist of alpha and theta brainwaves, which are linked with deep relaxation. Hence, after a meditation practice, you get a sense of greater calm. You feel more active and remain more grounded in the face of life’s inevitable ups and downs. At the end of the day, you feel relaxed and sleep peacefully.
Meditation Promotes Concentration and Attention:
You may feel stressed as you try to do multiple things simultaneously. Meditation helps your brain to stay focused on the task at hand. It prevents your brain from wandering away by every passing thought and distraction. The less the distraction, the more your ability to concentrate. This improves your overall effectiveness, and you become less stressed. Meditation also has a positive effect on your memory. All this greatly helps you in achieving your goals in life.
Meditation Has the Potential to Alter Your Brain’s Stress Patterns:
It has the power to awaken new neural connections and even transform regions of the brain. It can even change the brain’s structure in ways that decrease the usual stress patterns and make you calm. It promotes growth in the brain areas that are associated with memory, learning, empathy, self-awareness, and stress regulation. You feel less anxious and are more calm.
Meditation boosts the body’s neurotransmitters of happiness:
Meditation helps the brain to release neurotransmitters that increase feelings of happiness, focus, and inner calm. These are a few of the key neurotransmitters released during meditation.
Dopamine is vital in the brain’s ability to experience pleasure and feel rewarded. It also regulates your mood and sleep.
Serotonin gives a calming effect. It reduces tension and helps you feel less stressed. You are more relaxed and focused. Low serotonin levels lead to migraines, anxiety, bipolar disorder, fatigue, and insomnia.
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) inhibits the activity of nerve cells, helping to control fear and anxiety. If your body is deficient in GABA, you will be nervous, have racing thoughts, and sleeplessness.
Endorphins are hormones that play many roles related to well-being; they include decreasing feelings of pain and reducing the side effects of stress.
Meditation causes the simultaneous release of these neurotransmitters without side effects. Hence, you feel happy and less anxious. Sometimes, you can reduce stress by making little efforts like reducing workload and automating work tasks. For instance, you can automate HR department work tasks by using tools to make check stubs online.
Conclusion:
If you decide to perform a meditation practice, focus first on being more regular rather than the duration of meditation. This means a ten-minute daily practice is more beneficial than an hour-long practice once a week. This practice retrains your nervous system to respond mindfully rather than react impulsively to stressors. In this article, we have provided some significant benefits of meditation. Hence, you must make use of practicing meditation regularly to avoid stress.
Mr Jones Watches, a prominent artistic watch brand, unveiled its final limited edition watch of the year, inspired by the warmth of winter house parties.
Houseparty, launched on Wednesday 1st November, is limited to just 200 pieces and is priced at £245. The watch face depicts a vibrant crowd drinking, talking, and dancing. The watch was designed by Mr Jones Watches’ in-house watch assembly technician, Catarina Morais who is also a London-based illustrator. Houseparty is the first timepiece Morais has created for the brand.
Catarina has also designed the company’s shop tote bags, Christmas cards and illustrated window displays. She also recently hand-painted a mural inside the Mr Jones Watches’ London store in her signature style.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the watch, Catarina said: “This concept of an illustrated house party originated during the pandemic – it came mainly from a place of longing and from being isolated from human connection with many of those I care about.
“I was just starting to develop a more personal and consistent artistic style, and the concept of connections and intertwining appealed to me deeply, heightened by the circumstances… Houseparty captures a moment – it’s a relatable scene that brings us all back to our own memories and experiences. The musical notes fly from speaker to speaker as the hours sparkle in the reflections of the disco ball.”
For its 20th Birthday, Tissot’s Le Locle is getting a birthday re-wrap with Roman blue indices and leaf blue hands that complement the sleek silver dial decorated with a Clouse de Paris pattern. The model comes with the Powermatic 80 movement and is made from 316L stainless steel, making it suitable for casual and formal wear.
The watch is sized at 38.4mm and comes with an interchangeable quick-release bracelet if you prefer wearing a blue leather strap which comes with the watch. Priced at £680, it certainly justifies its price.
Ahead of the release of his new album Blanket this Friday, former Brockhampton leader Kevin Abstract has shared one more single, ‘Madonna’. It follows previous cuts ‘Blanket’, ‘Running Out’, and ‘What Should I Do?’. Check it out below, alongside a new visual titled ‘OTTERPOP’.
With a partnership with MASS Beverly in West Hollywood, FENDI Casa has opened a new space in Los Angeles. This collaboration fuses FENDI’s Italian savoir-faire and MASS Beverly’s expertise in the design world, which has been responsible for some of the prominent décor and design projects in Los Angeles’s most distinguished residences.
Featuring five display windows, one of which imitates the contours of the arches of the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, the new FENDI Casa store covers an area of 275 square metres featuring a succession of cultivated settings and areas dedicated to the brand’s most iconic collections.
In addition, FENDI Casa Los Angeles will host the second event of the special project, The Peekasit Journey, a project inspired by the famous Peekaboo bag, an icon of the Rome Maison.
Hotline TNT is the project led by singer-songwriter Will Anderson, who spent much of his 20s in the Vancouver noise-pop outfit Weed. Having formed the band following a move to Minneapolis, he returned to Brooklyn in late 2019 and was set to open a leg of Snail Mail’s US tour before it was postponed due to the pandemic. After a series of EPs and singles, Hotline TNT’s debut album, Nineteen in Love, arrived in 2021, initially as one long YouTube video whose description read: “Cancel your Spotify subscription.” Now signed to Jack White’s Third Man Records, the band is releasing its follow-up, Cartwheel, this Friday. Anderson plays and sings almost every note on the LP, which was recorded in two sessions: one with Ian Teeple, and one with Aron Kobayashi Ritch. In combining his knack for pop hooks with surging guitars and subtle production tricks, Hotline TNT feels akin to the recent wave of bands putting a modern twist on shoegaze, but rather than drowning in a wash of noise, Cartwheel sounds as relentlessly dizzying as it is warm, blurry yet cathartic, stacking up distorted riffs and emotion in the hope – or even just the possibility – that love will triumph in the end. “There’s a lot in this song/ That’s not in my diary,” Anderson sings on ‘History Channel’, and one way or another, it makes itself known.
We caught up with Hotline TNT’s Will Anderson for the latest edition of our Artist Spotlight series to talk about the origins of the project, working with different products on Cartwheel, signing to Third Man, and more.
After moving to Minneapolis from Vancouver, did you start writing songs specifically for Hotline TNT, or did Hotline TNT provide a home for songs you’d been writing around that time?
I would say both of those things sound accurate. I wasn’t planning on taking the band very far, it was just another project. It’s become clear to me that no matter what’s going on professionally for music, if this all blew up tomorrow, it’s not like I would stop writing songs. No matter how successful or how many people were rocking with the band, I’m sure I would just keep writing songs and putting out records at my own speed. This just seemed to be the one that got the most momentum over the last few years.
Did you feel the need early on to build an identity around the band, be it musical or aesthetic or in terms of ethos, that was distinct from your previous projects?
It was not a conscious thing, that just kind of developed naturally. I think there’s definitely a cult of personality around Will, the guy from Hotline TNT, in the way I present the music online and through social media. But that’s not something I started out when I started making the songs, like I’m going to make this persona. And as far as the ethos goes, that’s been building for years, whenever I started playing in a DIY band in Vancouver. It’s just things I learned over the years, like, I want to do things this way, or I see somebody else doing it and I pick that up and apply it to my own ethical code.
Aside from the presentation around it, do you feel like the way you wrote songs for Hotline TNT was different?
No, I don’t feel like my approach to songwriting has ever changed, really. I think and hope I’ve gotten better as the years have gone on. When I listen back to the first Weed record, it’s for me a little bit hard to listen to because I feel like I’ve gotten so much better since then. But obviously, people are still attached to it, they liked it when it came out, and that’s great. But I don’t remember any difference in the way of sitting down to write a song – it’s just, let’s find some chords that make sense together and think of a catchy melody, use a keyboard if you have to, and just take it from there.
Was it similar with the transition between Nineteen in Love and Cartwheel?
I did work with some more collaborators in this one in the recording studio. Almost every note is played by me in both albums, all the drums are programmed by me, and the songs are pretty much written by me – when I get into the studio, they’re already done. But I did allow Ian, who is one of the producers – I pretty much asked him, “I want you to put your fingerprints on this.” Like, “Tell me what you think of the song structure” and stuff like that. He definitely helped me and pushed me a little bit in ways that I hadn’t really allowed for before – not for any particular reason, just circumstances. The first few 7 inches, I had people helping me record and it’s not like I wasn’t allowing them to add their voice or opinion, but I kind of sought out Ian Teeple on purpose because I love the way he writes songs and makes music.
Along with Ian, you worked with another producer on the record, Aron Kobayashi Rich. How was your collaborative relationship different or similar with each of them?
With Ian, I guess I came a little bit less prepared. I had some riffs ready to go, but a lot of the songwriting took place on site with Ian, so I kind of leaned on him a bit more in the songwriting stage. Aron was a dream to work with, but with him it was four songs and I had those really dialed in. He added some things as well, but not so much with the structure of the song, and I wanted him to do a bit more with fun elements we can add, some character. I think he’s really really good at that, and I love the way his recent records, like the Momma record, turned out. The production on that album’s awesome, and I thought it’d be cool to get some of that flavor in the Hotline songs.
One of my favorite transitions on the album happens not between tracks but halfway through ‘Spot Me’, which you recorded with Ian and kind of reminds me of his work in Snooper. Maybe it’s the way the song brings itself back together at the end, or the final line about “the feeling that will never die,” but I wonder if it was one of the more cathartic ones to lay down.
Yeah, it is. I can’t quite remember how it all came together. I probably had the main riff done when I got to the studio, and somewhere along the line, it seemed like it’s going to make sense to have this breakbeat happen halfway through the song. Actually, I remember texting my friend Doug, who’s in They Are Gutting a Body of Water – he’s been at it for a while, incorporating those elements into his shoegaze band. I was like, “Doug, just so you know, I’m jocking your swag a little bit.” And he was like, “Dude, of course. You have my blessing.” We’ve talked about this stuff so much, me and him. But I tried to put my own spin on it, and I don’t think it sounds too much like like TGABOW.
Lyrically, that song is about a very specific situation, about specific people that I know – not about me, actually, but something that I was a witness to and not a part of. So it’s kind of an unusual song for me in a few ways, because most of my songs are about my own experience, but this is just me sort of telling a story about people that I’m close to – they know they know it’s about them, but I don’t think anybody else does.
Although it’s unusual, I think there are a few other moments on the record where you switch perspectives or inhabit someone else’s experience.
In my opinion, a good thing to do, not only a storyteller but just a human being, is to try to sit in somebody else’s shoes. Some of the songs – probably the one you’re thinking of is ‘I Thought You’d Change’, [where I am] speaking from my perspective and the other person in the relationship. I hope I did that person justice as far as what they were feeling and what they told me they were feeling. But like we were talking before with other stuff, it wasn’t something I set out on purpose. Even with the last album, I started writing a song about my dad, but then I realized this isn’t about what I thought it was about, it’s actually about this person. The lyrics take on their meaning, and after it’s all finished, I realize what I’ve just done.
Do you think you seek out that realization or feeling of catharsis, even if you don’t set out to write about something specific?
Yeah, I think most of the songs I’ve written, especially on this one, have come out of very raw emotional moments in my life, and that seems to be what drives me. Recently, I’ve noticed that I just haven’t had time to sit down with the guitar, but there’s already stuff up here that I’m thinking about, that I just have a feeling that there’s going to be some songs about this situation coming up. If I had time to sit down with the guitar and write some lyrics, I’m sure that’s what would happen. But it’s cathartic, of course. It doesn’t necessarily fix anything about these emotional turmoils, but it’s a form of therapy, for sure – not to be cliche about it.
You originally released your debut album as a single video on YouTube, which was obviously meant as a statement about the streaming economy. But it made me wonder if seamlessness is a quality you appreciate in an album more generally, and if it’s something you sought after with Cartwheel.
Yeah, definitely. I mean, we’re on a bigger label now, of course, that follows a business model that I have less control over. But I wanted to present the album as close as possible to the listening experience you would have by putting on a record or a tape – it’s a little harder to jump around the different songs and pick your favorite songs. It goes back to my piano teacher, when I was a kid, giving me a mix CD, but he would never give me the tracklist because he didn’t want me to jump around to the songs I knew – he wanted me to listen to all of it. That was my way of trying to control what I was putting out into the world, and obviously people are going to take it and remix it and put it out the way they want. People would put up their own YouTube videos of the single tracks and I would hit them with a cease and desist right away. They would beg me not to put up a copyright strike and I’m like, “Look, this is my art, this is the way I want to present it.”
Even thinking about stuff like Gary Larson, who’s one of my favorite cartoonists, he wrote a strip called The Far Side. Some people will say he’s a luddite, but he hates it when people post his art on the internet, on social media, because he wanted to present his comics in two ways: one was every day in the newspaper, and the other was in a collected volume. It’s really hard to fight the internet because it’s just gonna keep moving, but there’s something awesome about keeping the fight up, I think, and resisting and doing things differently. I think you stand out when you do stuff like that.
I actually was up late last night preparing the full album YouTube for Cartwheel. It’s different than how it’s going to sound on Spotify and Apple Music. Obviously everyone’s going to listen to it however they want to listen to it. But if I had it my way, I’d make you listen to the whole album straight through, because we spend time in the studio sequencing the record, this song into this song into this song, and there’s an arc to it. I’m the same way – I’m going to pick my favorite songs off any album I listen to and put those on a playlist or a mixtape, that’s just human nature when we listen to pop music, but as much as possible, I want to give the fans or the listeners the experience that I set out to make. If I help 10% of them try it out, that’s great.
On ‘BMX’, there’s the line, “Crossed off all your thoughts on distortion.” I feel like on Cartwheel, you’re sort of fighting against that, using distortion to amplify the feeling at the core. Is that a distinction that exists in your mind at all in terms of how you use distortion in your songs?
It’s interesting, I hadn’t thought of it that way. It’s a struggle because I don’t want to over-explain the lyrics too much, but if you put a gun to my head and said explain what you meant by that, which is not what you’re doing, I would say something similar. I haven’t thought about it much, bt it’s kind of about, if I’m thinking about a relationship, I’m talking to someone and connecting to someone, is my way of expressing my feelings, which is often writing a song about it – there’s value in that, but I am distorting things and not being as clear as walking up to person X and being like, “Hey, this is how I feel about our relationship.” Instead, I’m going to put it in a song and release it into the world. You’re putting it through a distortion pedal that way.
At the same time, you maybe come out the other end with a clearer idea of what that thing is.
Yeah, you lose something when you express yourself that way, but obviously you gain something too. I love music and I love art, and I think art has value in and of itself, no matter if nobody hears it or a million people stream it every month. It’s therapeutic.
You’ve talked about being skeptical about signing to Third Man Records, a label that has recently picked up a lot of exciting young bands, including Snooper. How and when did you see yourself aligning with the label?
A lot of things happened that led to this moment in me working with Third Man. I have been doing this for a long time, and I want to keep doing it. It felt like the momentum was there and the fan support was there. People work really hard on being in bands, and it’s really fun to be in a band often, and to make art and go on tour and play shows that people are excited about – but it’s also a lot of work. Everybody knows, unless you’re at the level of U2 or something like that, you’re probably not getting paid what you put into it. And that’s fine – the people who are playing in these bands don’t expect that, including me. I don’t expect to get a financial return from the work I put in. It’s not why I do it. But I’m 34 years old, and I have shifting needs and goals in life. It’s great that people are still rocking with the band and want to keep hearing what I’m writing and seeing us play, but it really felt like the time was appropriate to get some more support behind the infrastructure of the band. I have peers that are able to really focus on the art and the music and make their living that way, and it gets very complicated when you tie up art and career goals. But it’s a constant battle, internally, of: am I losing something if I make this my job? On the other hand, don’t I deserve to get paid for the work I’m doing?
If someone’s making money off of your work, it should be you. It should be the person making the art. It shouldn’t be somebody else, it shouldn’t be Spotify, it shouldn’t be a booking agency. It should be you. And that’s kind of where things are. After Nineteen in Love came out, we toured a lot, it was DIY, it was super fun and the shows were great, but we still weren’t making that much money. I’m like, I see the people at the shows, I see people listen to the record – for the amount of work and time I’m putting into it, am I getting a return on investment here?
That’s when the labels started calling and the booking agents started calling, and I was very careful with who I picked to put on the team. We always – and when I say we, I kinda mean me, it’s always been me and various people have been in and out of the band – we always picked people that were willing to run through a brick wall on our behalf. That was the guiding principle of who we let into the circle, and that was Gabe, our booking agent, who was down to meet every demand I had. And with labels, there was a lot of people calling that I just philosophically did not connect with. With Third Man, I did, and they gave me the best offer, and it was the offer that allowed me to continue my vision as an artist while also throwing the most resources at it and support behind it. It was as simple as that, really.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
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