Singer-songwriter Fenne Lily will be performing a livestream concert for Capital One City Parks Foundation’s #SummerstageAnywhere tomorrow (July 29) at 6pm EST. For decades, SummerStage has been one of New York City’s biggest summer festivals, but has gone fully digital due to the coronavirus pandemic. The virtual show will be available to watch for free through the foundation’s social media. Find more information about the event here.
In a statement to Our Culture, Lily said: “Big thanks to Tim Berners-Lee for inventing the internet – it’s the only thing keeping the idea of live music alive for me right now, I miss playing shows more than I like the excuse to not socialise or dress myself. Very happy I’m still able to play a show for Summer Stage, even if I don’t get to be in Central Park with my Friends.”
Fenne Lily recently announced her upcoming album, BREACH, set for release on September 18 via Dead Oceans. The album will include the previously released singles ‘Alapathy’ and ‘Berlin’, and deals with “loneliness, and trying to work out the difference between being alone and being lonely.”
Future SummerStage events include a set from Pabllo Vittar/ Dude Beat on August 4th and a Culture Talk from Chris Frantz (Tom Tom Club / Talking Heads) & Julia Cumming (Sunflower Bean) on August 12th.
Following the release of two EPs last year and the massive success of single ‘Is it Just Me?’, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emily Burns is back with a new project called I Love You, You’re the Worst. If you’re looking for a collection of supremely catchy yet emotionally resonant pop jams, look no further – Burns’ latest EP achieves just the right mix of vulnerability and self-deprecating humour, from the quirky production and bouncy hooks of ‘I Love You, You’re the Worst’ to the upbeat yet earnest ‘Terrified’. Whether sitting down at the piano to deliver a heart-wrenching, melodic ballad like highlight ‘Curse’ or coasting on vibrant pop synths like on opener ‘Hello’, Burns wears her heart on her sleeve, and her music is all the better for it. And with a lot more new music in the works, it looks like this is just the beginning.
We caught up with Emily Burns for this edition of our Artist Spotlight series, where we showcase up-and-coming artists and give them a chance to talk about their music.
What inspired you to start making music?
I grew up in a very musical household. My parents loved music and were always encouraging me to listen to brilliant songwriters like Elton John, The Beatles, The Police from a very young age… they made falling in love with music very easy. Both my brother and my Dad played guitar and I didn’t want to get left behind. Then after I picked up a guitar, words and melodies followed very naturally. In my guitar lessons when I was around 9, I kind of just started doing my own thing, rather than learning what I was actually being told to learn. My teacher realised I was starting to write my own songs and so helped me to record my very first demos.
What are some of your musical influences?
When I first started playing guitar, I fell in love with the likes of Newton Faulkner, Jack Johnson and Corrine Bailey Rae, so I kept things very acoustic in my early days of writing. Then as I grew up I started listening to a lot of RnB and soul music and I think that influenced the melodies I write and love today.
What were some of the ideas that went into the making of your new EP?
All of my songs are true stories about my life. I always say that me releasing a song is like opening up my diary for the world to see. I want people to listen and really feel how I felt when I wrote them. These four songs feel like a level balance of “make you want to cry” and “make you want to dance.” There’s a definite theme of unrequited love in this particular EP. I was lucky enough to work on it with some of my favourite people, so I think you’ll be able to hear how honest and vulnerable it is.
How was your approach different fromMy Town?
With the My Town EP I really wanted to show a more stripped back side to my music. When I’m writing songs, they always start out on just the guitar or piano, so with this EP I decided to keep it that way… not add too much production and keep it pretty raw. The ILY,YTW EP is a lot fuller.
What was the inspiration for ‘Curse’?
I wrote “Curse” about how everyone else seems to be able to fall in and out of love all the time, and it feels as though I’m an outsider, looking in. As if love is this transcendental world that only I don’t know how to access. I decided to use the word “Curse” as a metaphor … making out that love is evil and that I don’t actually want to find it. The irony of the song is that I’m just saying all of these things to save pride. Of course, everyone wants to be in love. Right?
What was the process of making the music video like?
I’m not gonna lie, when a massive VHS camera turned up at my front door, I was a little stressed, but the challenge of making a music video during lockdown ended up being really fun. I wanted the video to reflect the loneliness in the song, so it was actually ideal to be shooting it in isolation. Fortunately my housemate was willing to head up to Primrose Hill with me at 4am one morning and get some shots of me looking out over the city… Sophie Colfer then added some beautiful animation over the top of the footage I shot, which I LOVE. She really brought it to life and I’m super pleased with how it turned out.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
First and foremost, to celebrate the release of this EP, I’m going to be doing a live-streamed show from Studio 3 at Abbey Road Studios on July 30th. It’s really special for me because I used to work behind the front desk there for 4.5 years! So it’s amazing to be heading back and performing there. Once the I Love You, You’re The Worst EP is out in the world, I have SO much new music to release. Including some really exciting collaborations which I can’t wait to tell everyone about.
I Love You, You’re the Worst is out now via Island Records. Tickets for the live-streamed show at Abbey Road Studios are available to purchase here.
A.K. Paul is back with a new song called ‘Be Honest’. Recorded during quarantine, it’s the third solo track from the London artist and Paul Institute co-founder. Listen to it below.
Along with the new track, Paul announced that the label he founded with brother Jai has more music slated for release soon.“I’m really happy we’re releasing new music with Paul Institute this summer,” he said in a statement. “It’s been a while coming and the last couple of years have been perilous at times for PI, particularly because of a legal fight that set us back. So besides it being sick music, to return with such a strong set of releases feels like a vindication of our rights as artists too.”
Speaking of ‘Be Honest’ in particular, he described it as being “about giving up control for a moment, allowing yourself to feel something beyond what you’ve known. It’s a song about liking something you didn’t think you would like, feeling something you didn’t think you would feel — and as you come to your senses being faced with the prospect you’ve only half lived…”
Last Saturday (July 25), The Chainsmokers played a ‘drive-in’ charity concert in Southampton, New York called Safe and Sound, with ticket packages ranging from $1,250 to $25,000. Though the event was supposed to abide by the necessary safety precautions, footage soon surfaced showing attendees disregarding social distancing measures, TMZ reports.
As a result, gov. Andrew Cuomo has now announced a New York Department of Health investigation of the concert. “Videos from a concert held in Southampton on Saturday show egregious social distancing violations,” he wrote. “I am appalled. The Department of Health will conduct an investigation. We have no tolerance for the illegal & reckless endangerment of public health.”
Dr. Howard Zucker, New York’s health commissioner, added: “I am at a loss as to how the Town of Southampton could have issued a permit for such an event, how they believed it was legal and not an obvious public health threat.”
In a statement to the New York Times, event organizers In The Know Experiences and Invisible Noise said that temperatures were taken, parking spots were limited to 20 feet by 20, bathrooms were positioned six feet apart, hand sanitisers were widely available, and masks were handed to anyone who came without one.
K-pop group BLACKPINK have announced their highly-anticipated debut album. It comes out October 2 via YG Entertainment/Interscope. According to the teaser poster, it’s referred to as THE ALBUM, though it’s officially a self-titled LP. Below, check out its official artwork.
Last month, the quartet – consisting of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa – dropped the lead single from the album, ‘How You Like That’, which reached 82 million views in just 24 hours. They have now also announced a new single coming out next month, with the promise of a “surprise feature”.
Back in 2018, BLACKPINK released the compilation LP BLACKPINK IN YOUR AREA, which collected songs from 2017’s self-titled EP and 2018’s Square Up EP. After the success of that project secured them a deal with Interscope, they released Kill This Love EP in 2019 and played a gig at Coachella. Earlier this year, BLACKPINK made a guest appearance on Lady Gaga’s ‘Sour Candy’ from her latest album Chromatica.
Lana Del Rey has released a new spoken word album, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass. Featuring music from producer Jack Antonoff, it serves as the audiobook version of her poetry collection of the same name, out now via now via Interscope and available for purchase through Google Play and Audible (the album does not yet appear on streaming services). Below, check out the sample track, ‘LA Who Am I To Love You’.
First announced back in December, the album is one of two spoken word poetry projects the singer is planning to release this year, the second of which is titled behind the iron gates – insights from an institution and has no release date as of yet. Back in May, del Rey unveiled the track ‘patent leather do-over’ from that album.
According to the intitial announcement, proceeds from the audiobook will “benefit Native American organizations around the country, whether it was for preserving their rights or trying to help keep their land intact”; in July, del Rey confirmed Navajo Water Project as the beneficiary.
In addition to the two spoken word poetry albums, del Rey reportedly also has another LP in store, titled White Hot Forever and scheduled for release on September 5th. The singer announced the album in a post that sparked controversy where she spoke about double standards in the music industry. Her last album was 2019’s Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday starting today, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this new segment.
This week, we have a stunning highlight from Taylor Swift’s surprise new album, in collaboration with producer Jack Antonoff; another colourful single from the Gorillaz’s Song Machine series; a spacey, dynamic new cut from The Avalanches featuring Jamie xx, Neneh Cherry, and Australian artist CLYPSO, as well as Mick Jones of the Clash on drums; a playful, driving new single from Samia; the sprawling, ambitious lead single from Metz’s recently announced upcoming album (and their longest track yet); the bright, heartfelt opening track of Katie Dey’s new album; and an evocative, shimmering new single from Madeline Kenney.
Check out the full list of tracks below, and follow our Spotify playlist for last week’s additions.
Best New Songs: July 27, 2020
Gorillaz, ‘Pac-Man’ feat. ScHoolboy Q
The Avalanches, ‘Wherever You Go’ (feat. Jamie xx, Neneh Cherry, and CLYPSO)
It’s been about month since Bill Callahan announced his new solo album, Gold Record, and every Monday since then, the singer-songwriter has shared a new song from the album. Today, he’s released the fifth track from the LP, titled ‘The Mackenzies’. Listen to it below.
Another spare yet subtly stunning track, Callahan’s latest finds him telling the story a man who ends up going over for dinner at the house of some neighbours he’s never spoken to. “I’m the type of guy who sees a neighbour outside and stays inside and hides,” he sings.
JPEGMAFIA has dropped a self-directed video for a new song called ‘living single’. Clocking in at two-and-a-half minutes, the new track opens with the rapper interpolating the lyrics from Mariah Carrey’s 1996 single ‘Always Be My Baby’, of which he posted a cover back in February. Check it out below.
‘living single’ follows a series of singles released in 2020, but it’s the first with a lowercase title. Earlier this year, he put out the tracks ‘BALD!’, ‘COVERED IN MONEY!’, ‘BODYGUARD!’, ‘CUTIE PIE!’, ‘THE BENDS!’, and most recently, ‘ROUGH 7’ with Tommy Genesis. He also made a guest appearance on BROCKHAMPTON’s ‘chain on / hold me’. His last album was 2019’s All My Heroes Are Cornballs.
Rilo Kiley have announced they will be reissuing their self-titled, self-released 1999 debut album, a collection of demos also known as The Initial Friend EP. Now, for the first time in 20 years, the album will be available in limited edition vinyl and on digital platforms on October 2 via Little Record Company. Below, revisit the video for single ‘Fug’, and check out the album’s tracklist and cover art.
Formed back in 1998 in Los Angeles, Rilo Kiley inititally consisted of Jerry Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock. They booked their first show at the Silverlake venue Spaceland shortly after, and none other than comedian Dave Foley was in the crowd that night. He loved their music so much that he ended up funding their first demo recording, and eventually, their debut LP.
In a new statement, Foley recounted that experience: “January 1998, I was a young man, young compared to now, hanging out in L.A’s alt. rock club scene. One night in particular, I found myself at Spaceland, at the bar drinking when a band started playing. They were good, so good that I stopped fighting for the attention of the bartender and turned to see who it was. On stage was a very young, delightfully unpretentious group named Rilo Kiley. Between songs they were charming, smart and funny. During songs they were brilliant. After the set I introduced myself and learned that this was their first public performance. I was astonished.”
He continued: “They invited me back to their rehearsal space for Thai food and to hear some songs they didn’t have room for in the set. Dreamily, I filled my belly with noodles and my head with one great song after another. I was in a full on, pop music fan swoon. Having decided to force myself into their lives, I suggested (insisted) that I should fund a demo recording. They relented. I also tried to talk them into changing the band’s name. They were unrelenting. A lot of years have passed. I remain proud to know Rilo Kiley and grateful that I had the opportunity and ability to be of some help.”
Rilo Kiley released their final LP, Under the Blacklight, in 2007, four years before they broke up.
