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Artist Spotlight: Daniela Andrade

Konstantinos Pappis
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Artist Spotlight: Daniela Andrade

There’s a spell-binding intimacy to Daniela Andrade‘s brand of mellow R&B. The Honduran-Canadian artist’s sound has evolved significantly over the past decade or so – like many DIY artists, she began her musical journey by singing covers on YouTube, becoming a minor sensation on the platform in the late 2000s. Having already showcased her soothing vocal style, she went on to experiment with more electronic-leaning textures on 2016’s Shore EP, an approach she refined and expanded on last year’s critically acclaimed Tamale EP. The release saw Andrade putting forward a more distinct musical vision as she demonstrated her linguistic versatility and delved into a more exploratory sonic palette, qualities that she’s only built further upon with her soon-to-be-unveiled project Nothing Much Has Changed, I Don’t Feel the Same. From the short yet hypnotic ‘Puddles’ to the utterly intoxicating ‘K.L.F.G’, Andrade’s latest entrances us with mesmerising vocals and woozy synths, touched up with intricate production flourishes and just the right amount of grit and personality to make it shine through. It’s her most compelling collection of songs to date, and yet it feels like just the beginning for an artist coming fully into her own.

We caught up with Daniela Andrade 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.

You started out by singing covers on YouTube – what inspired you to write your own songs?

Along with the covers I was posting online, I was always writing a lot of original work as a teenager. More like journal entries/poems and short stories. Before graduating from High School I thought my path was going to be in creative writing, just ’cause I enjoyed reading so much. Writing my own songs always seemed to serve as a means of processing things that were/are going on in my own life. I continue to write from that need to figure out what I’m feeling. 

Who are some of your influences, and why is it that their music resonates with you?

Linkin Park, Gorillaz, King Krule, Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator, Destiny’s Child, Lauryn Hill… it’s hard to pick only a few. I think they’re just so lyrically interesting and honest. 

What were some the ideas that went into the making of your new EP?

There was no set plan for this EP other than to create something that made me feel good coming out of a very strange spring. Not being able to go into the studio with Gray Rowan (who I’ve been working with for the last couple years) was weird, so part of the EP was made in the headspace of not having seen people for a WHILE, thinking about times when I wasn’t stuck inside. Looking forward to summer brought back a lot of memories of summers growing up. When I was finally able to go into the studio, I guess a lot of that nostalgia carried over. I didn’t really mean for it to become topical but I was definitely feeling a lack of relation to people (in a physical sense) and the result of those emotions were these songs that strung together both memory and a present summer that felt fleeting and uncertain.

How was the process of writing and recording the project?

Music is really therapeutic for me. Thankfully over the years I’ve been able to get more and more comfortable with trying different things with my voice. I think I felt the most at ease on this record. I didn’t put any pressure to deliver anything clear. I didn’t feel the need to finish my sentences or ideas (because a lot of days that felt like a stretch with so much information during these difficult times).

I love how simple and direct the sentiment of ‘K.L.F.G.’ is, and those production flourishes give it a lot of flavour. Could you give us some insight into how you constructed the song?

Thank you! ‘K.L.F.G.’ was one of those songs that came together real quick in my head as far as lyrics go. I knew I wanted to keep it simple production-wise until the very end. I wanted to give the lyrics a lot of room and break it up with some distortion at the end. I’ve been trying to get closer to guitar sounds with my voice and amp emulations on Ableton Live. I feel like I’m on a never ending search for a properly disturbing kind of distortion I like. Think I’m getting a little closer? ‘K.L.F.G.’ was a great space to keep exploring. 

In what ways do you feel that this EP is different from last year’s Tamale?  

Tamale was a lot of internal piecing together for me, figuring out what I really wanted. In a way, it felt like the first project I could truly call my own, simply because I was ready to be more present and honest with myself in spaces I was in. I feel like the way I approached this new EP was a further result of that process but with new challenges to remain aligned through a globally trying time. It rekindled my love for making music simply to connect with myself like I did as a teenager. I had a lot of fun and didn’t question the content too much, seeing as maybe there was a lot less room for that in my head with all the endless uncertainties going on externally. 

What’s next for you?

I’m going straight to work on my debut album. I also want to start developing a live show that can translate in a physical space with people and streaming. 

Nothing Much Has Changed, I Don’t Feel The Same is out September 30th.

The Title to Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘Borat’ Sequel Has Been Unveiled (And It’s Absolutely Ridiculous)

Konstantinos Pappis
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The Title to Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘Borat’ Sequel Has Been Unveiled (And It’s Absolutely Ridiculous)

The title to Sacha Baron Cohen’s upcoming Borat sequel has reportedly been unveiled: Borat: Gift of Pornographic Monkey to Vice Premiere Mikhael Pence to Make Benefit Recently Diminished Nation of Kazakhstan. It’s an appropriately ridiculous and lengthy name for the follow-up to 2006’s Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

As multiple sources report, the Borat 2 title was revealed during its filing with the Writers Guild of America. Cohen is  credited as the writer alongside Anthony Hines (writer for the original Borat), Dan Swimer (writer for Cohen’s Who Is America Showtime series), Peter Baynham (writer for 30 Rock and New Girl), as well as Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, and Lee Kern.

No release date has been confirmed as of yet, but Collider reports that a test screening took place last week, with the creators aiming for a possible launch “prior to the election in an effort to reach younger voters.”

Listen to Sia’s Inspirational New Song ‘Courage To Change’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Listen to Sia’s Inspirational New Song ‘Courage To Change’

Sia has shared a new song called ‘Courage to Change’. The inspirational track is taken from the soundtrack to the singer’s upcoming directorial debut Music, which stars Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Maddie Ziegler. Listen to it below.

“The only thing that remains constant is change. Now more than ever we need to pull together to fight for humanity, social justice, equality & so much more. It’s time for real change,” reads the YouTube description of the song.

‘Courage to Change’ marks the second song to be released from the soundtrack, following ‘Together’, which was co-written by Jack Antonoff. No release date for Music has been confirmed as of yet. Sia recently joined forces with David Guetta on the single ‘Let’s Love’.

Kanye West Previews New Song ‘Believe What I Say’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Kanye West Previews New Song ‘Believe What I Say’

Kanye West has shared a preview of a new song apparently called ‘Believe What I Say’. It features a sample of Lauryn Hill’s classic ‘Doo-Wop (That Thing)’. Check it out below.

“You ask him to feel protected/And still feel protected,” West raps on the song. “Just one time for the record/Just one time for the record/Don’t agree with the message/Don’t agree with the methods.”

Earlier this month, West self-leaked his contracts with Universal Music Group, the parent company to his label G.O.O.D. Music and Def Jam Recordings, claiming that he won’t be putting out new music until he was released from his contracts. He then set out a plan to “free all artists by any means necessary”.

Kanye West’s most recent album was 2019’s Jesus is Born. He recently released the singles ‘Wash Us in the Blood’ with Travis Scott and ‘Donda’, a tribute to his late mother.

Sound Selection 112: Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, The Habits, Kowloon

Modestas Mankus
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Sound Selection 112: Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, The Habits, Kowloon

Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs ‘Heartbreak’

The latest collaboration includes the electronic-phenom Bonobo and the superb Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. In their throwback-filled track ‘Heartbreak’, the household names of electronic music decided to take it back and pay tribute to the disco scene in New York City over the ’70s and ’80s. In terms of production, we hear a lot of raw drum samples mixed with melodious synths and delay-filled vocal samples that pull us back in time, making it perfect for the weekend.

The Habits ‘Amelia’

The Habits, an up-and-coming alt/pop duo comprised of singer and guitarist Wolf Bradley and drummer Andrew Macatrao, have revealed their latest single ‘Amelia’ — just yesterday. The single marks the first song from their forthcoming EP What’s The Worst That Could Happen. 

‘Amelia’ is a catchy piece of music that is potent to the listener with its ear-pleasing melody and easy to absorb lyrics. Whilst from the outside, the production sounds delightful, the songs melancholic side can be quite mood-altering.

Kowloon ‘Come Over’

‘Come Over’ by Kowloon, a singer-songwriter out of Los Angeles, California, is one of the more irresistible pieces to come out this year. With a minimal production that thrives on prominent vocals, we are taken in from the get-go with the sharp beat of the song. Kowloon’s ability to use subtle elements to elevate the mood of the song is something to take note of too; in fact, it shows maturity from an artist whose first release ‘Walk With Me’ came out just earlier this year.

Album Review: Fleet Foxes, ‘Shore’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Album Review: Fleet Foxes, ‘Shore’

For an album composed and performed almost entirely by Robin Pecknold, Shore might be Fleet Foxes’ most extroverted release to date. The singer-songwriter’s voice doesn’t even feature on the opening track of the record, ‘Wading in Waist-High Water’, where he calls on a relatively unknown singer, the Oxford student Uwade Akhere, to take on vocal duties. When it does emerge on the follow-up, ‘Sunblind’, he uses it to pay tribute to a number of artists who have passed away, from Richard Swift to Judee Sill and Elliott Smith. His lyricism might appear to be a result of deep introspection – such indie folk records are always assumed to be – but this time, it involved making “playlists of hundreds of warm songs to immerse myself in,” as he explained in a lengthy statement, the same one where he uses the phrase “thank you” more than I think anyone ever has in a press release.

It comes as no surprise, then, that Shore is an album whose heart teems with warmth and gratitude. Even as it moves towards a more self-reflective mode, it loses none of its graceful spirit: Pecknold seems intent on absorbing all the beauty of the world around him and using that energy to craft richly textured, gloriously beautiful folk music that’s as personal as it is universal. If the lush walls of sound and ear-pleasing melodies in early Fleet Foxes records were a means of masking the post-adolescent fears and anxieties that lurked underneath, here they serve as a genuine expression of newfound joy and hope in the face of the same kind of existential dread. On the exuberant ‘Young Man’s Game’, he professes to having moved on from the songwriting approach that helped him and his collaborators appear far more mature than their age: “I could worry through each night/ Find something unique to say/ I could pass as erudite/ But it’s a young man’s game,” he sings.

Fleet Foxes’ last album, 2017’s long-awaited Crack-Up, was a knotty, often inscrutable project that seemed to collapse in on itself, leaving you wandering just as it gave you something to hold on to. As compelling as it was overwhelming, the record was steeped in conflict, searching for resolution amidst all the uncertainty and ultimately resting on “I can’t go on, I must go on” as its mission statement. By contrast, Shore is just as complex but much less fragmented: rather being torn between different notions, it oscillates between them, finding comfort in a sense of equilibrium. This explicitly metamodern approach is best epitomised on what is perhaps the most essential song on the album, the light yet life-affirming ‘Featherweight’, where he admits to “staging life as a battleground” in the past, but now holds “love and hate in the balance” and relishes in such simple pleasures as witnessing another warm day.

It’s not that the album resorts to the kind of naivety that would make finding solace seem as easy as adding a letter after the word “war”, and neither does it abscond the musical adventurousness or hefty subject matter of Crack-Up. While both albums are forces of nature drawing on similar elements, one good look at their respective covers makes the differences between them crystal clear: if Crack-Up felt like riding along a wild and unpredictable wave, Shore flows peacefully from one song to the next, leading quietly into its natural point of conclusion. It might not be as experimental or dense as its predecessor, but it is still far-reaching and thoughtful in its composition, from the sweeping orchestral arrangements on the reinvigorating ‘Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman’ to the captivating vocal harmonies that colour ‘Jara’.

On the whole, Shore is as delightfully rich and refined as you would expect a Fleet Foxes record to be – so much so that its 15 tracks are almost too much to take in – but it is also direct and open-hearted in ways that are new and exciting. While Crack-Up felt like it could be a bittersweet but fitting ending to the Fleet Foxes canon, Shore feels like the kind of conclusion that comes with the promise of new beginnings, as if Pecknold could just keep building atop what he has made as he watches the seasons change and continues to hone his craft,

Ever since its inception, Fleet Foxes has been a project defined by its dual nature: more of a solo endeavour during the songwriting phase, but a collaborative process when it came to touring. But as the band will be unable to tour in support of Shore, Pecknold is already planning to release nine new songs come 2021, though this time co-written with the rest of the group, as a means of making up for that loss. This might have come as a bit of surprise a month ago – say, when Pecknold first  debuted ‘Featherweight’ – but listening to the track in the context of this deeply empathetic record, bringing others into his creative process seems like the only possible path forward. As he sings on the chorus, “We’ve only made it together/ Feel some change in the weather/ I couldn’t, though I’m beginning to.”

Watch Bon Iver Perform ’22 (OVER S∞∞N)’ on ‘Colbert’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Watch Bon Iver Perform ’22 (OVER S∞∞N)’ on ‘Colbert’

Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon performed ’22 (OVER S∞∞N)’ as part of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert‘s #PlayAtHome series. Vernon offered a meditative new take on the opener to his 2016 album 22, A Million, while his face was covered with the message ‘Wisconsin/Register to Vote Online or By Mail/By/Wednesday/October 14/2020′. Check our his performance below.

Earlier this week, Vernon and Eaux Claires Festival launched the voting initiative For Wisconsin. “Free speech and freedom begin and end with voting,” a statement read. “If you don’t mark your ballot someone else will define your Wisconsin and your future.”

Bon Iver recently released the singles ‘PDLIF’ and ‘AUATC’. Their last album was 2019’s i, i. Vernon recently contributed to Taylor Swift’s new album folklore. 

Polo G Shares Video for New Song ‘Epidemic’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Polo G Shares Video for New Song ‘Epidemic’

Chicago rapper Polo G has shared a new song called ‘Epidemic’. It arrives with an accompanying music video directed by Ryan Lynch. Check it out below.

‘Epidemic’ marks the first new music from the rapper since the release of his most recent studio album THE GOAT back in May. Earlier this week, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon! for a performance of his song ‘Martin & Gina’. Polo G was recently named as a member of this year’s XXL Freshman Class.

Swae Lee Drops New Song ‘Dance Like No One’s Watching’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Swae Lee Drops New Song ‘Dance Like No One’s Watching’

Swae Lee has dropped a new song called ‘Dance Like No One’s Watching’. The track, which the rapper debuted during a performance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival earlier this month, is reportedly taken from his forthcoming record Human Nature. Check it out below.

So far in 2020, Swae has released a series of one-off singles, including ‘Someone Said’, ‘Reality Check’, and ‘Back 2 Back Maybach’. He was also featured on Chloe x Halle’s latest album Ungodly Hour. His last album was 2018’s Swaecation.

Watch Aminé Perform in a Hot Air Balloon on ‘Kimmel’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Watch Aminé Perform in a Hot Air Balloon on ‘Kimmel’

Aminé was the musical guest on Friday night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! The Portland rapper performed the Limbo tracks ‘Burden’ and ‘Woodlawn’ from a hot air balloon emblazoned with flags from around the world as well as Black Lives Matter messaging. Watch the performance below.

Limbo, the follow-up to 2018’s ONEPOINTFIVE, came out back in August. The LP features guest contributions from Young Thug, slowthai, Vince Staples, Summer Walker, and more.

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