Montreal’s Stars have released a new holiday single, ‘Christmas Anyway’. Give it a listen below.
Talking about the new song, the band said in a statement: “In a world where the algorithm (and other horrible things) has made us all feel further apart, going home for the holidays isn’t easy for everyone. What is it about these days that makes us feel we have to go home to face the loved ones we simply cannot ever be at peace with? We have no idea, but we do know that sometimes a simple song can get you through at least a few minutes of holiday hell. We hope this one does that for you. We love you all. Merry Christmas.”
Stormzy has shared a new video for ‘This Is What I Mean’, the title track to his latest album. Filmed during last week’s album launch party in Soho, the clip features appearances from Amaarae, Black Sherif, Jacob Collier, Ms Banks, and Storry. Watch it below.
This Is What I Mean, the follow-up to 2019’s Heavy Is the Head, arrived last Friday. Ms Banks, Amaarae, and Black Sherif also guest on the title track, while Collier is credicted as one of its co-writers.
Swim Camp’s Tom Morris is back with a new single called ‘Pillow’. It comes alongside the announcement of his signing with Julia’s War Recordings, the label run by They Are Gutting a Body of Water’s Doug Dulgarian and formerly home to feeble little horse and Wednesday. Morris wrote, performed, and produced the track, which was mixed by Mark Watter (Alex G, Prince Daddy & The Hyena) and mastered by Heather Jones (TAGABOW, Sadurn). Check it out below.
Molly Bloom, the legendary poker host and author, recently hosted the “Molly’s Barcelona Game” tournament in Barcelona as part of the SBC Summit. The summit, a gaming convention for executives and managers of Spanish-language casinos, was held from September 20 to 22 at Fira Barcelona de Montjuïc.
On the second day, the audience had the opportunity to hear details about Bloom’s experience hosting the world’s most exclusive poker games that attracted some of the biggest names in Hollywood, from Tobey Maguire to Leonardo DiCaprio. Molly Bloom remarked: “This industry thrives on strong and resilient people, and I know what it takes to be successful. That is why I am excited to share my story with the audience of SBC Summit Barcelona: we have a lot to talk about”. Some of the industry’s top directors and other C-level executives also had the unique opportunity to play in a poker game hosted by Molly.
Who is Molly Bloom?
Molly Bloom has had a very interesting life and her memoir “Molly’s Game” inspired the Oscar-nominated hit film of the same name, starring Jessica Chastain. Molly was born on April 21, 1978, in Colorado, United States, and was raised by a strict family. She was a talented skier, however, her dreams were dashed when she had an accident while trying to qualify for the Olympics. After that Molly stopped skiing altogether and went on to graduate in Political Science from Colorado State University. Following her graduation in 2003, she took a year off and moved to Los Angeles, where she began working as a waitress and a bartender.
The Rise of Molly Bloom
Almost a year later Darin Feinstein, one of the owners of the hip Viper Room nightclub, approached 25-year-old Molly to work as his assistant. The club, which was already visited by famous people from the world of music, film, and fashion, became a venue for elite poker games. Molly’s responsibilities included serving the players food and beverages and performing other duties at Feinstein’s request, such as counting enormous sums of money. “Everything was amazing and unbelievable”, Molly wrote in her 2018 autobiography “Master Bet”, “I stood in a corner of the Viper Room counting USD 100,000 in cash!”
With only celebrities and billionaires being invited, gambling at the Viper Room immediately became one of the trendiest pastimes among the Los Angeles elite, and Molly started throwing bi-weekly gatherings for Darin Feinstein and his wealthy patrons. Molly made most of her money from tips – one night she made over $7,000 in tips.
Molly Bloom, the owner of the game
By 2007, Molly had recruited hundreds of new players and organized many events at the Viper Room. Feinstein observed Molly becoming more self-reliant as she managed the games and he made a futile effort to control her before firing her. After years of managing the game and with a long list of contacts, Molly decided to start her own poker tournaments. She leased a penthouse at a hotel, using sophisticated casino dealing equipment, and employed people to assist her. In 2008, the global financial crisis led to a decrease in underground poker and Bloom decided to move her business to New York.
The Downfall of Molly Bloom
Soon after, Molly moved her poker operation from Los Angeles to Manhattan, New York, where she had fewer contacts. Her clientele were no longer the famous but rather Wall Street executives and far less reputable gamblers who were placing far smaller wagers than those in Los Angeles. Regular raids on underground poker games forced Molly to relocate her business to Long Island. Bloom received a $116,133 tax lien in 2010 for failing to pay the necessary taxes on her New York events.
34-year-old Bloom was arrested on April 16, 2013, along with 33 other people who were also accused of participating in a $100 million money laundering and illicit sports gambling scheme from games in Los Angeles. The maximum punishment for Bloom was 10 years in prison, six years of supervised release, and a $1.5 million fine. After entering a guilty plea to a lesser offense, Bloom received a probationary period of one year and 200 hours of community service. Bloom’s attorneys explained to the court at the sentence that Bloom had a significant financial load and had agreed to forfeit $125,000 in poker winnings as part of the plea deal. It was suggested that Bloom receive a sentence that did not involve any jail time because it was thought that she had a “small part” in the scheme compared to many of the others who were accused.
Molly Today
With all of this now behind her and having no money to her name, Molly decided to begin writing. In 2014, Molly published her book “Molly’s Game”, a memoir of her time and experience in the underground poker life. The book was a big success, giving Molly the means to get back on her feet and also paving the way for the movie adaptation. Today, Molly is a highly sought-after inspirational keynote speaker, being interviewed in several shows and media outlets, including The Ellen Show and The Los Angeles Times.
Betting is all about using your knowledge of a particular sport or outcome to your advantage. For many bettors, the main aim of going into this activity is to win big by taking huge risks. But, at the same time, others try to win comfortably while taking minimal risks.
However, the fact that there are so many ways of placing bets makes it unreasonable for anyone to lose a wager. With bookmakers like Cardano sportsbook, the possibility of winning big now looks pretty realistic. In addition, many significant sports competitions are available to bet on in the bookie, like the FIFA world cup.
Hence FIFA betting is one of the ways bettors prefer to spend their money whenever they log into a sportsbook. Furthermore, crypto is now one of the most used forms of currency for sports betting. Therefore, most bettors who bet on crypto bookies like the Cardano sportsbooks are big on strategies.
Strategy in betting is essential as it differentiates a good bettor from an average bettor. Besides, FIFA betting and design go hand in hand, and a lot of knowledge is greatly needed to bet in competitions like the world cup. Therefore, the primary purpose of this article is to discuss the FIFA betting strategies for big winnings on the Cardano sportsbook.
Sports betting with the Cardano Cryptocurrency
Cardano, with the symbol ADA, is a new cryptocurrency regarding its use in sports betting. The coin’s principal goal is to enable quick cryptocurrency transactions, which is needed in sports betting. Furthermore, since Cardano’s introduction into the cryptocurrency market, many sportsbooks have picked it up. As a result, many showed interest in it and added it to the list of acceptable coins on their platforms. Hence, the main reason why Cardano is one of the best coins for placing bets on sports.
The betting market is ruled mainly by sports as it is what brings a large number of customers. Currently, the numbers are very high when we talk about the number of sports played globally. These events occur daily, and bettors can stake any possible amount on the games. FIFA’s betting with fiat currencies wasn’t profitable because of its currency limitation. However, the restrictions on Cardano sportsbooks are far less severe than those of fiat sportsbooks.
Is Cardano legal for sports betting?
Cardano’s newness in the sports betting industry raises questions about its legality. However, Cardano is safe and completely legal to use for sports betting. Cardano is a coin that bears similarity to ethereum, the second most valuable coin. However, the only issue one might face in sports betting with Cardano is scam sites. Hence, you should be able to navigate the crypto betting world to a place that suits your needs.
FIFA betting strategies to win big on Cardano sportsbook
Sports competitions like that of the FIFA world cup are anybody’s game. One cannot decide on a winner from the onset, nor a team that would breeze through the competition. Hence FIFA betting requires critical thinking and analysis to win big.
● Stick to the big teams at first
One key strategy that works for newbie bettors is to stick with the already established teams when just starting. It means riding the wave with them as they are your best choice for banking profits. Therefore you have two options when betting on the stronger teams.
Firstly, you can stake high on them with opportunities that seem inevitable. Secondly, you can gamble lightly on the higher outcomes, which is a safe bet. Although, the profit won’t be much and it all depends on your choice.
● Scour the Cardano betting market for the best odds
The odds Cardano “A” will give you on their markets will not be the same as that of Cardano “B.” Hence, you have to scour the market looking for the best FIFA betting sportsbook with the best odds.
Therefore, it’s like shopping in the market, browsing through categories, and selecting the cheapest and most appealing. Also, with many Cardano sportsbooks in the industry, you can take a bite of the apple from each.
● Use sports database platforms(Check The Stats!)
Never shy away from using statistics, especially player and team stats. They are crucial in determining if you make profits and to what profit level. In addition, there are so many sports databases on the net, accessible with the click of a button.
Hence if you decide on an option, check if it has been favorable earlier on different sports databases. Especially for FIFA competitions, they have databases going to the first-ever game. Therefore for FIFA betting, these databases could prove advantageous in making big wins.
Shy away from your favorite team
We become sentimental when we place bets on our favorite team. As a result, sports bettors have faltered because they continue to bet in favor of their favorite team. To avoid experiencing two heartbreaks when things go wrong, bettors avoid placing wagers on their teams.
Advanced Betting Strategies
Place Early Bets
The odds on particular bet options fluctuate as the set time for the game approaches. It could either increase or decrease, but in most cases; the latter has been the most prevalent. Hence, you do your analysis earlier, make your decision, and place your bets. Although the changes might not be significant in some cases, it is worth something.
● Try out Bet Hedging
Bet hedging is a risk that works primarily in your favor. People use it to reduce the risk on their bet or when they want a guaranteed profit. This strategy involves placing a bet opposite to the outcome you selected. So it is like putting two different bets, which are opposite to each other. Although the win might not be much, it caters to any losses.
● Put faith in the Underdog.
Competitions like that of the FIFA world cup have always seen the underdogs pulling off a miracle. The odds attached to the underdogs are usually very massive, especially when facing bigger teams. Hence, to win big from FIFA betting, put a little faith in the underdogs from time to time and wager on them.
Irene Cara, the actress and singer best known for her role in the Academy Award-winning film Fame and leading the Flashdance soundtrack, has died. Cara’s publicist, Judith A. Moore, confirmed her death on Twitter, writing that Cara had died in her home in Florida and that the cause of death was “currently unknown.” She was 63 years old.
“She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films,” the statement read. “Funeral services are pending and a memorial for her fans will be planned at a future date.”
Irene Cara Escalera was born in 1959 in the Bronx, New York. She began taking dance lessons at the age of five, getting her start on Spanish-language television before making her way on the PBS series The Electric Company as a member of the show’s band, the Short Circus. She went on to perform in several Broadway shows, including Galactica, Maggie Flynn, and Sparkle, the latter of which was adapted into a musical drama film in 1976.
Cara became a household name following her appearance in the 1980 film Fame, where she portrayed Coco Hernandez and sang the original title song and ‘Out Here on My Own’. The film’s success earned Cara Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, winning the latter. She also won an Oscar for Best Original Song at the 1980 Academy Awards for ‘Fame’ as well as a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical.
Following the release of her debut album, Anyone Can See, in 1982, Cara sang the title song for Flashdance, ‘Flashdance… What a Feeling’, which was co-written with Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey. The sngle peaked No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Cara the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance that year.
“Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief,” Moose’s statement continued. “She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.” In a follow-up post, Moose said that she and Cara had been working on “amazing projects that would have made her and her fans incredibly happy,” adding, “Her manager and I will finish them. She’d want that.”
Late-night calls for binge-watching random TV series on your favorite streaming site. The best way to keep yourself cozy and entertained this winter is to pull the blanket over your head and choose your favorite serial killer shows from the list of top shows in New Zealand Netflix to stream through the night.
Since stories based on the lives of serial killers are all the rage this season, we recommend starting with those. The finest serial killer TV series have engaged the audience due to their countless murders, ingenious methods, and gruesome crime scene photos.
Here are a few of the finest serial killer television programs you must see. These shows are accessible easily on a New Zealand-based streaming video website. Therefore, if you are a Kiwi resident, you may watch and enjoy streaming TV shows whenever you choose.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022)
An authentic, suspenseful thriller on Netflix, Dahmer is among the most horrific shows you’ll ever see. Curious to know the justification? It’s because the story is based on a true event.
From 1978 through 1991, Jeffery Dahmer tormented the United States with his atrocious actions. He was America’s foremost wanted serial killer, the “Milwaukee Cannibal” or the “Milwaukee Butcher.”
On May 21, 1960, Jeffrey Dahmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over 13 years, he slaughtered 17 men and boys, perpetrated sex crimes, and engaged in cannibalism.
Night Stalker – The Hunt For A Serial Killer
A nocturnal monster accountable for a string of seemingly unrelated killings and sex offenses in 1985 Los Angeles must be halted, and young policeman Gil Carrillo and renowned murder investigator Frank Salerno are in a race against time.
The Serpent (2021)
This sophisticated and flamboyant serial killer in Thailand in the 1970s encroached on tourists who had traversed the “hippie path.” He poisoned them and confiscated their belongings and passports before killing them.
Tahar Rahim portrays Charles in the series. The docudrama chronicles him and his partner Marie-Andrée Leclerc (Jenna Coleman). At the same time, they toured the globe for a year selling gemstones before a Dutch diplomat named Herman Knippenberg began looking into the killing of two Dutch tourists, which led him to the murderer’s wormhole.
All of the purportedly real-life incidents are dramatized in the series.
You (2018)
A quality characteristic, handsome boy opposite the door is Penn Badgley’s, Joe Goldberg. And if it’s unlucky for you, you’ll discover his terrible secret. He is preoccupied with romance, so things might take a dramatic turn if he develops a desire for you.
In the first series, he sympathizes with a woman he encounters in a bookstore but eventually proceeds to manipulate and dominate every facet of her life. The psychopath serial killer erupts when things don’t go as anticipated. You can also watch Harlan Coben Netflix Shows.
The Raincoat Killer: Chasing A Predator In Korea (2021)
This authentic Netflix show chronicles the brutal murders and the manhunt for the serial killer Yoo who used a hammer to torture and scorched his captives, most of whom were wealthier elderly folks and prostitutes.
The notorious incident, with its detailed depictions of cannibalism, also sparked discussion about the death sentence for the mass murderer.
Beyond Evil
This is the tale of two courageous men who will do all it takes to catch a recurring serial killer. The two are compelled to go deep than what the documentation seems to indicate to identify the murderer. Check out the IMDb rating before watching the show.
Inhumane serial murderers devastated India’s capital city of New Delhi in the 2000s. When the investigators started searching into the incident, additional horrific circumstances surfaced, such as the finding of beheaded and dismembered victims across the city.
In an unexpected development of circumstances, the murderer challenges the police in an open letter.
Hannibal (2013-2015)
An FBI particular detective and criminal analyst approach the renowned forensics psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) to study more about the mentality of violent mass murder.
But he has no clue that he is speaking directly to a dreadful mass murderer. The two’s relationship serves as the foundation for the program.
Hannibal is a complicated person. He is an outstanding chef and also a cannibal who also happens to be an intelligent psychotherapist.
He can produce elegantly presented meals using the victim’s limbs, but he will occasionally take great measures to control Graham.
Mindhunter (2017- 2019)
A 1995 non-fiction novel Mindhunter: Within the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, offered as motivation for the tv show, which blended depiction of actual events with meaningful conversations from interviews with mass murderers.
Given the incredible work of the entire cast, Cameron Britton, who portrays notorious mass murderer Edmund Kemper, was nominated for an Emmy. Holden and Bill are based on real-life events that occurred to former FBI agents John E. Douglas and Robert K. Ressler.
Conversations With A Killer – The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019)
Ted Bundy was convicted of multiple murders and rapes in the 1970s or even previously. Nevertheless, he was sentenced to die and put to death in Florida in 1989.
Throughout his trial, a dashing Ted gained national attention and garnered significant media coverage, notably after he escaped detention near Colorado in 1977.
The Netflix docudrama exposes some important interview recordings with the murderer’s family, friends, living victims, law enforcement authorities, and others.
Wrapping up
These suggestions have undoubtedly spared you the hassle of choosing which film to see, which may be challenging given how much substance each offers. Nevertheless, we hope we were able to help you make a decision.
Jennifer Lope has announced her first new album in nine years. This Is Me… Now is set to arrive sometime in 2023. J. Lo broke the news on the 20th anniversary of her 2002 album This Is Me… Then with a video in which the old album cover transforms into a new photo. She also shared the album’s tracklist, which you can check out below.
Spanning 13 songs, This Is Me… Now will include a track called ‘Dear Ben pt. II’, a sequel to the 2002 song ‘Dear Ben’ about Ben Affleck, who she recently married. Lopez’s most recent album, A.K.A., arrived in 2014.
1. This Is Me… Now
2. To Be Yours
3. Mad in Love
4. Can’t Get Enough
5. Rebound
6. not. going. anywhere.
7. Dear Ben pt. ll
8. Hummingbird
9. Hearts and Flowers
10. Broken Like Me
11. This Time Around
12. Midnight Trip to Vegas
13. Greatest Love Story Never Told
Though born in London and now based in Los Angeles, singer-songwriter Cornelia Murr spent time living in various locations around the United States growing up. On her debut album, 2018’s Lake Tear of the Clouds, she drew inspiration from the landscapes she experienced in upstate New York, mirroring the cyclical journey of water as it moves down from the Adirondack Mountains.She produced the record with My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James, relying on her evocative vocals, mellotron, Omnichord, pocket piano, guitars, and percussion to create a spectral, meditative soundworld. After releasing the standalone single ‘Hang Yr Hat’ in 2021,Murr has returned with Corridor, a six-track EP out today via Full Time Hobby. Though the process of making it was marked by solitude and uncertainty, the collection is enchanting as much for its delicately intimate portrait of past and fragile relationships as it is for the sonic pathways Murr traverses to explore them. It’s a plea for change as well as an opportunity to refocus, learning how to carry every place you’ve been along with the simple knowledge that growth happens naturally, without fail.
We caught up with Cornelia Murr for this edition of our Artist Spotlight interview series to talk about her songwriting journey, the making of her Corridor EP, and more.
It’s been four years since the release of your debut album. How do you look back on what it meant for you as a songwriter?
The more time goes by, I just feel so grateful for the way that came together. I’ve definitely learned since making it how hard that is, to get such great people in a room, to get the space. That record was a product of some really good luck and some really good people around me and some amazing timing, and it just was one of those magical moments where things gelled. And I knew it at the time, I knew that we were doing something special, but it’s more clear to me with time that it doesn’t happen all the time like that. The producer, Jim James, was so good for that project, and I’ve encountered some great collaborators since, but that was an especially good kind of crew. I feel like that record has a sound that developed organically in the days we were making it that was a pretty cohesive, somewhat unique sound, or I’d like to think so. And I just can’t wait to make another one and see what that world sounds like.
What was your relationship with songwriting before that record came out?
I’ve had a long relationship with songwriting. I felt a pretty natural inclination towards it since I was really young, I was writing little melodies with words when I was like 6 or 7 years old, just singing to myself all the time. When I was in high school, I did meet sort of a mentor, this woman who was teaching a songwriting workshop at this school that I was going to when I was like 14. We became really close, and we recorded some of my songs as demos. But it took me a while as an adult to feel like I could show people what I was doing. I guess that was in my early 20s, I started opening up to friends a little bit. I made that record when I was 27, so throughout my 20s, I was writing stuff, beginning to share it, but not publicly for the most part, just with friends. But I was also starting to play with other people, mostly as a backup singer, singing harmonies and playing little things like synths and stuff. It was a slow process of getting more comfortable performing; I didn’t actually perform as a solo artist much at all. So it was a huge shift – I didn’t even play under the name Cornelia Murr. I didn’t really know what my music name was going to be, and that just sort of came together because I had to choose a name to print the vinyl.
Did you find yourself having a new level of confidence after making Lake Tear of the Clouds? How did it affect your headspace creatively?
I think around the release of the record and beyond, it still kind of blows me away that anyone responds to my music. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that, probably because it was such a private thing for a really long time. It’s hard to believe that it’s out there and people are listening to it. And of course, it gave me some confidence in some ways. But I think it also has made me more critical. Doing music in your private life and then sharing it and it becoming your professional life, that’s certainly a wild shift, because it’s the most intimate thing to me. My songs are the most intimate offering of who I am that I can share, so once that’s open to the public, it can feel a little different sitting down to work on songs with that other side of the coin in my head.
But I try to feel like I’m totally alone when I’m working. I worked for a couple years in New York City in this dress shop that had a buzzer on the door, so you couldn’t get in – I had to let people in. It was very small and expensive, and it was empty most of the time. It wasn’t filled with customers, especially on winter days, maybe nobody would come in all day. It was kind of great in that way. And I started bringing instruments to the shop and hiding them under the desk, and it was a really productive space because I wasn’t supposed to be working on music; there was no pressure on me to work on music, in fact I shouldn’t be, and that just made me want to do it all the time. There’s something about that that I thrive on when writing.
Do you feel like your output slowed down after the release of that record, in terms of the time it took to write and flesh out songs?
I generally am a pretty slow songwriter. It does often take me a long time to finish a song. It goes one way or the other, it either comes out all at once – rarely that happens – or it takes me sometimes years to finish a song. I’ve always kind of been like that, so it’s remained pretty similar. But I’ve spent more time working on music in the last few years than I used to. I’ve definitely devoted myself more to it. And I’ve written lots of stuff, but what happens is, it kind of piles up. A reason why I’m trying to get more into releasing things more fluidly or quickly is because I’ve written tons of stuff in the last few years, but I get sort of tired of things quickly. I feel like there’s been all these batches of songs from different chapters of time, and I don’t know if I relate to them anymore. But that’s okay – I don’t know if that’ll ever change. There’s just so much, and a lot of it doesn’t get finished, which was a huge problem for me. But I’m always working on stuff. If anything, I’ve probably had more output in the last few years, it just hasn’t come out.
What importance did the idea of a corridor have for you in this stretch of time?
Obviously, there isn’t a song on the EP with that title, and I didn’t feel like I wanted to call it any of the song titles. First of all, I like the word “corridor”, I think it has a nice flow to it. But in a few ways, it seemed as an image to fit the process of making the EP, which was mostly a very lonesome process. It’s not just about the pandemic, but that was part of it, sort of an elongated stretch of time that was not clear when it was going to shift – when there would be a new door. Personally, I didn’t know if I would put this music out, I didn’t know when the next musical chapter would come. I was confused, honestly, over the last few years. The single that I put out in 2021 was made just before the pandemic, and it was essentially what I hoped would be the beginning of a full-length record, but then things shut down. I’d had a lot of what felt like false starts or doors closing – I kept feeling a bit stuck in what felt what feels now in retrospect like a hallway, a little bit of limbo, I guess. I also like to not look back on it simply in a negative way, but that it serves a function, this stretch of time. I feel like such a different person in so many ways after the last few years, and a corridor serves the purpose of bringing you somewhere else. As much as I felt confused and lonely a lot of the time while I was making these recordings that are on the EP, I’ve learned so much from it all.
One of my favourite moments is on ‘Again’, when you sing, “Don’t let me skip the middle for the end.” I love that you’ve put it almost halfway through the EP, because it’s where you present that most intimate version of yourself.
That’s really cool, I didn’t even really realize that. But I think there was something there subconsciously, why that’s there. That song certainly didn’t feel like an end, but it’s about a relationship, worrying that the end is in sight prematurely. It’s about realizing that you can easily accelerate the ending of something after a momentous beginning if you don’t learn how to settle into the next phase of the relationship, which I think takes a lot of humility.
The EP mirrors the cycle of a relationship, and ‘Again’ makes sense after the personal revelation of ‘Hero’. Did you write that song in hindsight?
That song was written in some amount of hindsight, yeah. It was right around the end of something. It was written about looking back on the recent end of a relationship, and how we often walk away from each other with our own narratives completely of what happened. And to some extent, that’s always going to be the case because we all have our own take on things, but if we don’t have enough of a shared narrative, there’s maybe more room for us to see ourselves as either the hero or the victim of the story. It’s a really alienating thing to do that’s maybe comforting, too, because it maybe makes it easier to walk away from something if we just see it the way we want. But we don’t learn as much from each other or connect as much with each other.
It’s funny talking about these two songs, ‘Hero’ and ‘Again’, they’re such different sonic worlds, but it’s probably just a theme in what I’ve been thinking about in the last few years, humility in a relationship. In the early stages, there’s this momentum, this big upswing of joy and the freshness of something new and seeing yourself in a new way, but I’m interested in what the necessary evolution of a relationship is beyond that. Because it does have to change because we’re always changing, and really allowing someone to know you requires showing other facets of yourself than just the initial impression. And I guess I’ve had a hard time with that. [laughs] And found it in other people, that it’s hard for them too. It’s hard for all of us to really let ourselves be seen and to really see another person. I’m kind of obsessed with that because it’s challenging to me.
What did you learn from self-producing Corridor that you’d like to carry forward?
I really love recording, I think that might be the thing that I love most in the various aspects of this work. Being at the controls myself is really empowering, and I also have grown more appreciation for working with a producer – it’s also very challenging not to have feedback and to be in a vacuum, which I, for the most part, was. It takes me a lot longer to figure things out when I’m by myself because I’m more prone to change my mind or just not know what’s working and what’s not. It’s a difficult thing, I don’t think I would choose to be entirely alone in the way I was in the future. It’d be nice to have other players come through, which I did have on this EP a little bit, but not very much. I don’t feel like I’m ready yet, but I would like to work myself up to the point of feeling like I’m ready to fully produce a full-length record. I learned a lot about my taste; I feel like I still am learning.
Do you have a clear sense of how you’d want to work on a second album?
Yeah, I do have the beginnings of a plan together. I’m in the process now of just combing through what songs I think should go on it – a lot of them to consider, and some that I’m trying to finish. I don’t know if I have a sonic palette that I’m going for, I think I’m going to enter it pretty open and see what comes from it. Basically, I’m going through the songs and trying to demo them in a really simple way and be completely open in terms of production this time around.
Is there anything that we didn’t talk about that you’d like to share?
I don’t know if this is worth including, but I like this little story that I had these recordings sitting around and I was kind of ready to move on, just writing other stuff and thinking about other music. But it was annoying me that they were pretty close to being finished recordings and I had put them down for a while in the last year. But then at a certain point, roughly six months ago, out of nowhere I was like, “I have to finish these recordings, come hell or high water, whether that means just finish them and never listen to them again or finish them and put them out. I just need to wrap up this batch of recordings.” I got really obsessed with this process of breathing a little bit of new life into them, and it was right in that time that Full Time Hobby reached out out of the ether. They just emailed me and they’re like, “Do you have any music?” And I was like, “You know, I do.” The timing really felt a little magical.
And it also felt right because I went on tour in the UK in Septemberwith one of their other artists, Dana Gavanski. I was born in the UK and I’ve spent quite a lot of time out there, and I had been missing it. I hadn’t been quite a few years, and I used to go almost every year. I have some cousins out there and some friends and I was really pining for London, so it’s been really cool to have this relationship more with the UK again. That was my first time playing out there, and I think maybe there are more people listening now in the UK. I’m just really grateful to have made that connection with the place that I’m from – I can’t say I’m from there, but I was born there anyway.
Do you have any early memories of London or the UK?
Yeah, I definitely have memories from living there as a kid, both in London and in Hertfordshire a little bit. I started going to visit my cousins out there pretty much every summer for pretty long stretches of time, so I spent a lot of pretty formative time as a young person there, rambling around the city. It’s a very special place to me.
We were talking about things coming together kind of magically for the first record, but it feels like it’s happening with this EP as well in terms of the release, despite the process being more isolating.
Yeah, there’s definitely something that came together in a similar way. Hopefully every record will have that quality of things coming together, but I’m sure it’ll be really different every time. I guess I’m just starting to learn that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
MIKE and Wiki have teamed up with the Alchemist for three new tracks: ‘One More’, ‘Be Realistic’, and ‘Odd Ways’. The EP arrives in conjunction with a new campaign from Patta and Tommy Hilfiger, and the title track is accompanied by a video from director Nicholas Stafford Briggs. Check it out below.
“The 1st time i ever heard the word Girbaud or Hilfiger was from a Grand Puba verse,” Alchemist wrote in an Instagram post. “They said they wanted to do something with @wikset , & asked me if there were any other dope new artists from NY I thought would be dope to add to the mix. I showed them one video of @mikelikesrap and they were instantly sold. I had been working with Mike & had been wanted to work with Wik , & they already rocked with each other , so it was perfect.”
“We all linked in Amsterdam, ate some fire Surinam food, listened to beats, and put the play in motion,” he added. “They said do whatever we want and gave us full creative control with the music. We ended up making a full plate, but the first course is a 3 song 12” featuring Mike & Wiki , produced by The Alchemist, brought to you by Patta & Tommy Hilfiger.”
The Patta x Tommy collection lands on Friday, December 2. MIKE has a new album coming out on December 21 called Beware of the Monkey.
