Music Interviews

Where are you currently based?

Nashville.

How did you first start playing music?

As a Filipina Canadian growing up in Vancouver, I was so lucky to have my loving, large extended family singing and dancing, at every turn.  My Lola (grandma) played and taught piano and encouraged me to take lessons..and to practice!

What’s been happening recently?

Like so many artist’s when we talk about our current releases that are out, our head is deep in the new songs we are writing.  Isn’t that the way with everybody?

You have a new EP on the way, what’s the title?

“Feelin New” It reflects a feeling we all seem to want to feel, after all of the isolation and sadness of our pandemic 2020 year.

What influenced the sound and songwriting?

The inspiration is usually right in front of me every morning I wake up.  Great artists like Prince, Diana Ross & Michael Jackson inspire me constantly and releases that just dropped by my living idols (Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars & Pink Sweat$) getting me going as well.  We can’t forget to mention brand new beginners who arrive with a hot new sound.  The way I feel about inspiration is that we are all so very lucky to be living in a time with the media hitting us from all sides. It’s everywhere, not just on the radio, newspapers and magazines like old school.

How did you go about writing the music?

Most of my songs start with a progression or groove I have in mind.  On occasion I hit up a fellow keyboard player friend in Vancouver, Jonny Tobin, for a co-write to the changes, but so far the songs come together in my writing studio.  I always have a topic in mind before I start: it can be from feelings I need to air, issues in life I want to resolve or jams we all get ourselves into.

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?

We record and mix in Nashville, my production partner is Joseph Magee, my mastering engineer is Rob Burrell. And wow, there are so many great players in town, seriously the best in the world.

How did you approach the recording process?

I come in with my song ideas in a fully laid out Pro Tools session.  We then start with working lead vocals right away.  This helps us build the arrangement. Then we make a groove dependent choice; we either go out to a commercial studio for rhythm section basics or bring those players to our own studio.  After basics are done, we refine the arrangement, sometimes over and over.  I end up doing several keyboard over dubs and then we start final vocals/harmonies.  Once we are happy, my partner looks at some final sonic sweetening and we head into the final mix.

I understand you were a touring Polynesian dancer as a kid.  How does this influence your songwriting and production?

I’m a groove machine after all of those years dancing.  The rhythm has got to feel right, no matter how simple the song is.

You come from a Filipino family in Vancouver, please tell us about how that affected your start in music: 

The stereotypical jokes are spot on; lots of karaoke and dancing at home and family gatherings.  There was no shortage of opportunities to get up and perform.  Plus Earth, Wind and Fire, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and every variety of funk played in our house.  Let’s not forget, ballads, ballads and more ballads.

I heard that you have BS degree in Genetics when you were fresh out of high school.  How does your scientific mind impact your production work? 

Hehe, when I have time I learn new software, pretty darn quick. Pro Tools, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom, plugins, etc.

You balance songwriting, playing multiple instruments and producing as well as all of your visual production.  Your music sounds and looks great, in what order and when did you learn to do all of these jobs?

First, I got the encouragement to come to Nashville on my playing and singer/songwriting potential. Once I arrived, I learned producer chops by first contributing to my own songs, then taking on a more responsible role.  Second, I really have to thank some pros in Nashville for encouraging me to express myself, not to hold me to their opinions on how my music should be.  Third, my own recording projects led to invites to work on other artist’s tracks. To sum it up, I just gotta say if you want to learn your craft, it helps to learn from people with years and years of experience.

In terms of the visual part of the job, so many of us have been learning quickly, how to get video and still content out to the world.  With technology so available, hardware and software, it’s a situation of why not?  And if you need to learn a skill let’s say in Lightroom…just go get it on YouTube.  How exciting is that??  I love the visual part, it’s my jam.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars, Silk Sonic.

What do you like to do away from music?

Two things, I design costumes for Halloween and sneak away to teach Zumba classes on occasion.  You can’t take the dancer out of me.

What’s planned for 2021?  

I’m very excited for my EP release on April 23rd!  In addition to the EP,  I’m also releasing a music video for the title track “Feelin’ New” on April 14th. The concept for the “Feelin New” music video, is my dance persona and our recent world-wide, online video community inspired her choices. The result is a high energy, community cast of dancers and people with “good feels,” guaranteed to inspire all of us to sport a new smile and feel the groove; a welcome remedy for all we have lived through this last year.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

Fav food is sushi, fav hangout is a dance floor in an R&B Soul club where everybody moves!

Listen to “Feelin’ New”:  https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/jerricaalyssa/feelin-new

Website: https://www.jerricaalyssa.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerricaalyssa/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JerricaAlyssa

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jerricaalyssa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJerrica/

Spotify Artist: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7svpLgNXYYB60f7zoLkcNb?si=FtZZMnxgSNmJU6El-C-O2Q

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jerricaalyssa

What is your name and role within Hoko?

Nathaniel Hoho – I am the writer and vocalist for the band.

Where are you currently based?

NYC has been my home for the longest, but this year I spent most of my time in Australia between Sydney and Fremantle WA. I love Freo and am eager to get back.

How did Hoko form?

HOKO formed while I was living in LA working on projects for some other artists as a songwriter. I was focused on being a writer for nearly two years with no interest at all in doing an artist project but as I started collecting more and more songs of my own I started to become obsessed with the idea. Now I’m obsessed with the idea of playing shows.

Your EP ‘Heathen’ is being released on March 26 what influenced the sound and songwriting?

HEATHEN is the first half of a project we’ve spent almost 2 years conceptualizing.

Our aim was to create a body of work that sounded big, but was also sonically interesting, with songs that are accessible, but also have layers and complexity. All of my favorite albums give me something new every time I hear them, so that’s always something in the back of mind when finishing a song. Visually we wanted to pay homage to the artistic direction of artists like David Bowie & Queen who created beautiful images that stand on their own as art, not only as an accompaniment to the music.  We’ve been influenced by artists like Terry Gilliam, Cary Foji Fukunaga, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Danish designer Henri Vibskov. Currently we are exploring a dark and muted world. Despite some peoples first impressions visually we are not a hard rock or metal band, haha. For HEATHEN I wanted to create something that embodied some of the struggles I endured trying to find my own voice as an artist for HEATHEN. Mentally I was constantly fighting the pressure of wearing a mask, for fear of not fitting in, based on the opinions and judgments of my peers. We come from a very Alt/DIY background, but for HOKO we wanted to focus on writing Pop music for the first time, which can be taboo in the circles we come from. We worked on HEATHEN bouncing between NY and LA, and ultimately landed back in NY at the end of creating it. LA stretched us creatively into new territories of Pop and the energy of NY kept us inspired to hold fast to our desire to separate ourselves creatively.

What’s the meaning and story behind the lead single ‘Big Mistake’?

I’ve heard that every relationship is practice until you meet “the one”? My dating history involves some pretty big red flags that I failed to miss while wearing hormone enduced rose-colored glasses…including an ex going to prison as an accomplice to kidnapping and armed robbery… I feel like most songs come to you and write themselves through you, but I’m pretty sure Big Mistake is song about some of my exes. Sonically, Big Mistake is a Pop song with sitar’s and yoyo’s weaved through it. It’s perfect example of the line we wanted to walk for HOKO. Exploring Pop, but keeping it unique and a little cynical. For the record, I have no hard feelings towards any of my ex’s that may read this. Everyone is someone’s Big Mistake, I know I am!

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?

Because the project was created over such a period of time I would work on it in different locations. At home, both in NY, LA, and Australia. In NYC we worked at Shifted Studios in Brooklyn. In LA we worked at several of our friends studios. Michael Freeman is our mix engineer. Producers that we worked with are Mike Irish ( of Shifted Recording ) John Hill ( Santigold, Portugal the Man, Cage the Elephant) and Andrew Wells ( Kaiser Chiefs, Halsey ).

What programs/equipment did you use?

I work mostly on Logic it feels like the most versatile DAW to me. However all the songs were run through so many different DAWs depending on who was doing what. Mike is on Ableton, John Ableton and PT and Wells on PT.

How did you approach the recording process?

Really no rhyme or reason we just worked with what we had around at any given time and did our best to give it a nice vibe. We used starters from fireplaces at times for HiHats that we recorded on our iPhones. At the very end we had our friend Gus Oberg come in who produced a few of The Strokes records to record some live drums, but we only ended up using them for a few tracks.

What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of Heathen?

The most challenging part of creating Heathen was that we wanted to try and create something that sounded unique to HOKO – because this was our first project finding that sound took some time. You start a project with endless possibilities so finding lines and similarities that can run through a collection of songs took us a little bit of time to find. The most rewarding part by far has been releasing the music and hearing from fans who are listening and connecting with the music. We haven’t been able to tour or play a show yet due to Covid but we have been speaking with fans over social media from all over the world. Its an amazing feeling to know that something you put so much of yourself into is connect with someone else. It really brings the whole creative process full circle.

What do you like to do away from music?

Good question. I really work on music nearly everyday in some way and if I don’t I feel a little lost. The last year has been alot of time conceptualizing artwork and music videos for HOKO. Other than that I love to swim, surf, eat, hang with my dog.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

At the moment I’ve been listening to alot of The Strokes, Hot Chip, and Grimes.

What’s planned for 2021?

We have some festivals coming up in US and are planning to be touring the end of the year in the states.  We also will be releasing more music!

Favourite food and place to hangout?

NYC – love to hang at Niagara and eat next door at Miss Lillies.

https://www.facebook.com/HOKO

Where are you currently based?

Hey! I’m originally from a city called Pune in India, but am currently based in Los Angeles.

How did you first start playing music?

The first time I really got into Western music in general was when I was 14 (Having grown up in India, I wasn’t exposed to western music initially). My dad played me Smoke on the water by Deep Purple and I was hooked right from the first time I heard the main riff. From there onwards, I got my parents to buy me a guitar and kept exploring the world of classic rock music, learning songs by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton and all the other legendary bands and musicians of that era. That’s what help set and build my strong foundation in music. I then started playing in bands locally, writing original music and started experimenting with electronic music production. I found that by applying all the musical concepts I had learnt through classic rock music to my new production skills and writing originals on them, I was really onto finding my sound. I decided to then move to Los Angeles in 2016 to test the waters in the global music scene. Ever since then I’ve been constantly writing, releasing and performing my music and have been growing constantly both as a musician and an artist. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the future.

What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been so far?

Initially when Covid hit and the world went into a lockdown, I too panicked like the rest of the world and was uncertain as to how long it would last and how I would cope with everything. However, as time passed, I realized that since I was home all day, I could really focus on creating and finishing my existing songs. It also challenged me and got me to push myself into really getting creative. In order to still stay proactive as a music artist, I had to figure out ways to make quality content (both audio and video) right from my home. This is when I started experimenting with vlogging, making loop music videos from my home, using green screen and animation videos. I learnt a lot in the past year and developed a lot of new skills and 2020 turned out to be one of the more successful years for me as an artist in terms of growing my fan base, social media and streaming numbers. But I really hope the world goes back to normal especially with all the vaccines coming in as I have a lot of new music and videos dropping that I want to test out in live crowds.

Your new single ‘Olivia’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?

Olivia is about a girl (not named Olivia) I met a couple years ago and immediately fell for her. There was just some intense sense of familiarity I felt with her and was absolutely hooked onto her. It was too soon to communicate exactly how I felt about her as we had only just met a week prior so I decided to put all feelings down in a song and the result was the song ‘Olivia’. Me and her only lasted about a month and a half but the song has helped me with courting a lot of other women haha.

How did you go about writing Olivia?

The goal was pretty clear to me. I wanted to pour all my feelings for the girl out in the song but more importantly accurately convey why I felt so strongly about her. I wanted to bring forth the instant sense of familiarity I felt with her. She never felt like a stranger even though we had only recently met which is what made me keep exploring with chords until I came up with the warm and pretty progression that I wrote the song over. Then came the time to write the lyrics down. I wanted to put forth my feelings softly, subtly yet effectively and had to make sure I wasn’t coming on to strong with my words and phrasing choices as I had to create a warm and light vibe rather than a powerful one which took me a while of going back and forth on the lyrics till I had the finals words penned down. I also made sure I sang the song in a soft falsetto once again to make sure the aura I was trying to set and the feelings I was trying to convey were brought out accurately.

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?

I write, perform, produce, record, mix and master my songs all by myself. The whole goal I have with my music is for the listeners to hear my songs exactly how I intend them to. I feel in today’s world, renting a professional studio, hiring producers, engineers isn’t necessary. It could be beneficial but isn’t necessary. I make all my songs in my home studio setup and see them all the way through; from the initial idea and inspiration to the final product. I feel the lesser people involved in the process of creating a song the more the song stays true to its creator’s original vision.

How did you approach the recording/production process?

Once I had the song written down and the chords finalized and laid down. I brought the project onto my loop station setup in my home studio and just started experimenting with adding and subtracting elements to and from the song. I started building layers, adding synths, drums and percussion and the song process was pretty straightforward. The coolest part was creating the little catchy hook that really drives the song. I was exploring a lot of vocal formant change effects and came up with a really nice melody to use with the effects and create sort of a mellow, positive drop section and I’m really proud of it haha.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

Honestly, thanks to Spotify, I have been discovering a lot of indie underground artists that I’ve really enjoyed listening to. Most recently, I got exposed to Josh Fudge, Julyan amongst several others. I’ve been straying away from all the popular music and have been really into exploring new artists and finding inspiration in their music and talent. I feel these underground independent artists have more soul and originality in their music that most of the major artists have been lacking.

What do you like to do away from music?

When not making music, I love to read books, I like to drink beer and play pool with my friends, I have really gotten into cooking recently, but most of all I love playing with my dog.

What’s planned for 2021?

I’ve got a bunch of new songs and music videos coming out this year that I’m super stoked for. The next one to watch out for would be my song ‘Lead Me On’ that’s dropping on the 7^th of May. I’m really excited to see what feedback I get on that. Other than releasing music, I plan to play a bunch of live shows and pop up events locally with my band once all the venues start opening up and the live music scene hopefully gets back to how it was before the pandemic hit.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

My favourite food place in Los Angeles has to be Dave’s Hot Chicken. There are so many good food places and restaurants to explore in LA but I freakin love Dave’s and could eat it every day if I wanted haha. Other than that, I love hanging out with my friends at this low-key pub called ‘The Brickyard’. We go there every weekend to kick it with a few beers and play pool.

Instagram – www.instagram.com/flyghtclub_

Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/c/FlyghtClub/

Official Website – www.flyghtclubmusic.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/flyghtclubmusic

Twitter – https://twitter.com/flyghtclub_

TikTok – https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJcbyJAC/

Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/04sc7vUeHWn4byAA2TqsNX?si=F0SBWA9xR9y6-ffO5RukQg

Apple Music –  https://music.apple.com/us/artist/flyght-club/1547355050

Collaborating on projects like this is relatively new territory for you – is it something you’d like to explore further now?

Yes! Definitely something I’d like to keep doing and get better at. I’ve always been relatively closed off with my song writing, so I’d like to one day make a collaborative project of sorts!

How did you first link with KP Hydes and how do you think his presence on ‘Lush Lyfe’ changed the original idea you had for it (if it did)?

I met KP a while ago at a gig in Canberra. He’s really good friends with one of my good friends/band members, and of course we have a really cool bond. To be honest, the original idea wasn’t really a song at all, just a drum groove that I had on my hard drive for a while. Wasn’t till KP had come for a visit one night we decided just to work on it. Lush Lyfe came about really, really quickly.

Is this the sort of music we’d hear you listening to outside of your own project? What’s the sort of music that’s getting you by these days?

Such a hard question to answer, simply because my tastes change so often. I’ve been listening to hip hop for a while, but also have been getting into more of an electronic vibe these days. It really depends what mood I’m in.

It’s a vibe of a track that spotlights your vocals as it does KP’s – what was the best part of this experience for you as a vocalist and songwriter?

Funnily enough, the vocal hook at the end of the song, was originally part of another song I had written about a year ago, but it just seemed to fit in perfectly. I think the best thing about this collab though was how easy and fun it was just to mix something with KP. We didn’t have to stress or try too hard, just kind of went with it.

It also shows a lot of versatility for you as a performer – how important is it for you to remain pushed and challenged creatively?

This is something that I’ve actually thought about a lot recently. I think it is definitely important to always push yourself, and I try to approach song writing, practise and even just listening to new music in the same vein. I’ve only just noticed that I don’t ever really stop thinking about music.

You’re back on the road, how has it been preparing these shows after not being able to tour for so long?

I guess it’s both weird and not weird at the same time. I love being on the road but also love being at home making music and hanging with friends! I think a good mix at the moment is doing me really well.

Now ‘Lush Lyfe’ is out, what is coming next for Oly Sherman?

I’ve just wrapped up an album, so plenty to come from that!

Saturday 17th April Since I Left You Sydney
More Info

Friday 7th May The Bearded Lady Brisbane
More Info

Thursday 13th May Treehouse on Belongil Byron Bay
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Friday 14th May Flow Cafe Old Bar, NSW
More Info

Saturday 15th May Sol Bar (Loungebar) Maroochydore
More Info

Thursday 20th May The Lansdowne Sydney
Tickets

‘Lush Lyfe’ is out now.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Triple J Unearthed

‘Leaps – Miles Apart’ is out now via Leaps and Bounds’

Scottish party starters Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 have announced their new album ‘The Difficult Number 2’released on 30th April digitally and on special limited-edition vinyl.

Produced by Paul Gallagher – front of house engineer for synth-pop pioneers CHVRCHES – the new album features a whole host of eclectic guests from Larry Love (Alabama 3) to Gavin Mitchell (Still Game), combining a mixture of tried and tested fan favourites with brand new tracks featuring the band’s signature singalong magic. The lead single, G.T., was championed by BBC 6 Music’s Amy Lamé, as was follow-up single Ted Dancin’ which reached No.7 in the Scottish Charts.

Big, warm and immediately uplifting, The Difficult Number 2 was born out of a love for dance music, affirming the eleven-strong outfit as joyful, genre-hopping purveyors of music to move your feet to.

It’s preceded by the EP ‘This Is Your House’ which is out today and features  dance music icon Mary Kiani and Dopesick Fly frontman Ant Thomaz and a remix from Micky Modelle

Listen to the EP here and buy it here now.

We caught up with John McAlinden, aka The Colonel to hear more…

Where is the band currently based? 

We’re like Neapolitan ice cream a mixture of Glasgow , North Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. People can make their own assumptions on which area we consider to be chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. 

When was the full band first formed?

It was the 10-year anniversary of our first gig last year, but for a while we were a massive collective sometimes up to 20 bodies, wild but brilliant days. There were points that different people in the band hadn’t met each other until they were onstage playing a gig together. In the last 3 years we’re down to a starting 11 with a couple of subs and it’s the best we’ve sounded , but the collective chaos years were fun. 

What influenced the sound of your second album, The Difficult Number 2? 

Some  songs I can’t pinpoint the exact influences like Ted Dancin and Peace Love & Mustard it’s more about fun happy vibes, community and dancing, but other songs have more obvious influences, part of what we do is to hop in and out of different genres. G.T. – Bowie/The Beatles/Elton John,  Cross The Road – Toots and The Maytals/Madness/Road Safety, Funkier Than Funk – James Brown/Funkadelic/INXS, we were lucky 2 of our heroes agreed to sing on the album Mary Kiani who used to sing with TTF and is now based in Australia. We love our dance music , a few of us would go to every night we could in the Arches nightclub in Glasgow and the song This Is Your House name checks all the nights we loved there Colours, Inside Out, Slam, Relief, Pressure , Death Disco. The Arches was a special place. Larry Love from Alabama 3 sings on Country As Muck,(Country As Fuck if you buy the vinyl). Alabama 3 are one of the best bands of all time. Unique bringing Acid House and Country Music together,  inspired and inspiring to us. 

What inspired the title of the album? 

We couldn’t decide on a working title, but I came out with The Difficult Number 2 to the band and they all laughed and liked it, so that stuck. As a band we focused most of our energies on being the best live act we could be and there are so many of us, it can take time to get a consensus or get everyone on board working on songs. It’s taken 7 years to bring out a 2nd album. Other bands have split up , got back together and recorded a 2nd album quicker than it’s taken us to do ours. It’s just seeing the funny side of how shit that is. Most bands 2nd album doesn’t live up to the 1st, but Garry John gaffer from our label Button Up calls it a greatest hits album because half the songs we play live and we know our audience loves them, so I think it’s been worth the wait. We’ve got enough new songs to give folk something fresh and exciting. I also like the fact the word cult is in difficult as we’ve often been accused of being one. 

What’s the creative process like for a band of eleven?

Every song is different. My cousin Gary who plays bass , but started on keys then moved to guitar writes 1 classic song a year. Pretty much fully formed other than lyrics and melody and I come up with those. Cross the Road started just as a song I would sing to my kids , but then I came into jamming and the guys were playing a reggae/ska groove and it just fitted well on that. Some songs develop like Disco Colin , that we jammed then played live,  but without set parts,  but once we’re in the studio recording the brass will spend time working on parts and we all tend to step our game up. This is Your House and We Are The Dinosaurs were fun ones because we developed them further when in recording the album. Gal our producer has loads of amazing synths and drum machines as well as ideas, so we all enjoyed messing about with his gadgets. I write lyrics most days  so it’s generally something I’ve been writing about that will make its way into a song if I’ve got a message or idea I want to convey, or just some nonsense or something I find funny that I hope comments with people. If a lyric comes with a melody normally I’m onto a winner.

When was the album recorded and how did you approach the production process? 

We recorded it before lockdown over the course of about a year, just occasional weekends and days here and there. Gal who produced it, helped inspire us to try new things and up our game and take the sound to a different level. The band all had input , but by the time we had everything recorded. It would mainly be me , Gal and Disco Colin(Keyboard) sitting listening, bringing things in and out. Doing that as a 3 was a good thing as its democracy in action. My philosophy is to serve the song. If your idea isn’t the best for the song you need to put your ego to the side. 

How has a band so renowned for their live shows been coping over lockdown? 

We’ve all had our ups and downs , but I think we’re all in a pretty good place at the moment, we’re lucky we all have day jobs so it wasn’t as difficult for us, as other musicians and crew. There are more important things going on and we know when live music returns we’ll be part of bringing happiness to people, so we’re really looking forward to that. As a band that’s been together for a long time it’s probably been a healthy thing to have some space for a while, as we can appreciate each other and what we do collectively more. It’s not how we planned it , but you need to try and take some positives out of negatives if you can.  

Where are you most excited to play live when the time comes?

Festivals, festivals , festivals. All the festivals!!! Playground , Belladrum , Party In The Park, Party at The Palace , Lindisfarne and Woodzstock. 

What track off the new album are you most excited to play to a live crowd and why? 

Ted Dancin’, loads of 6th Dijon have sent us videos of them dancing around their houses to it. Folk are going to go wild for it live. This Is Your House and We Are The Dinosaurs as well, just to see what happens , how the crowds react and what interaction and connection we get with them. 

What does the rest of 2021 hold for the Dijon 5? 

We were lucky to get some funding from Creative Scotland to do an album launch streaming gig from our spiritual home the Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom, that will go out on the 1st of May. We’re recording in the Barras Market as well as the Ballroom and parts of the building, so will be great for folk to see different bits of the Barras they’ve never seen before, with some history, comedy and usual Dijon visual explosion, because there’s no crowd we’re pulling out all the stops so it’s all singing all dancing, all kicking our own height. After that any live music at all even if that’s playing in peoples gardens. 

https://www.facebook.com/colonelmustardandthedijon5

What is your name and role within Kyoshi Mother?

My name is Leah Wilkie, I front the band playing keys and singing, and I do quite a lot of the song writing as well.

Where are you currently based?

I live in Newtown, the boys all live in and around Newtown and Marrickville too so we’re more or less based in Sydney’s Inner west – a great hub for local artists.

What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been so far?

Well, Covid for me personally was amazing. I loved being able to slow down, and to do a lot of self-work and self-reflection. We don’t get a lot of opportunity to do that in our society, we really have to make time for ourselves if we want it. I felt that collectively too, everybody really needed to realise the importance of slowing down and learning to sit with ourselves. On the other side of that, I am also excited that things are opening up again for everybody – although I do hope that everyone can find a bit more of a balance coming out of their experience in 2020.

Your new single ‘Mother’ is out today, what influenced the sound and song writing?

Collective feminine energy was the big inspiration for Mother! I really felt energised by a lot of the amazing women in my life, and inspired by some of the leading female artists in the scene too like; Allysha Joy, Moonchild and Nai Palm. I really wanted to honour the creativity, and the divinity that lies within us and is all around, through nature, connectivity and love.

How did you go about writing Mother?

Well, I was sitting at the piano, I had the bass line and the vocal melody in my head already, and then I settled on some chords. The lyrics really just flowed straight out of me at the time – something that does not happen often in the writing process for me. It was something that I just really needed to express – It was also a reminder to myself to honour my own creativity and divine femininity too. To always show myself more love!

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?

We did most of the recording at Coda Audio and at Yianni’s house (our guitarist and synth player) over 2019 with our recording engineer Felix Abrahams. Felix also mixed our record, we did that at his place, and Madalyn Henly from Viking Lounge Studio is our mastering engineer.

How did you approach the recording process?

We went in a little blind, it being our first record and all. We definitely learnt a lot coming out of the experience, we know what we would do again and what we would totally change next time round. But we had a lot of fun recording and adding parts in, we really took our time with everything too. We preferred to sit on ideas and flesh things out as they came rather than rushing.

You’re playing 8th April at Waywards – Newtown, what do you have in store for this gig?

Yes! We are so so excited for this show, I am bursting to play live again. The show is going to be huge, we’ll be playing some tunes off our upcoming record, there will be ethereal soundscapes and improvised interludes and jams (amongst other things) – we always love throwing in some improv and just vibe off each other.

You have a debut album pencilled in for around August 2021, can you give us a hint of what to expect?

The love child of a caramel slice and a sticky date pudding, but for your ears.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I’ve been loving Edu Lobo’s album Cantiga De Longe, some delicious Brazilian music, Yussef Dayes’ and Tom Misch’s latest creation What Kinda Music, Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange – some crazy creators from Melbourne, and Epoch by Alfa Mist.

What do you like to do away from music?

I love to read actually, always got a couple of books on the go. I practice yoga often, I run small groups for friends too – honestly it keeps me sane! I’ve just started running women’s circles too – something I am extremely excited about continuing. Cooking is also a very cathartic practice for me. I’m also a music teacher, so I pour lots of my energy into that. I absolutely adore the crazy cycle of knowledge, and sharing something that I’m so passionate about with others is just so incredibly rewarding.

What’s planned for 2021?

For me, 2021 is all about honouring my own needs, and really becoming the person I want to be, surrounding myself with beautiful humans, and creating my own opportunities. I’m also really excited to see how Kyoshi’s path unfolds this year, really focus on expanding our flavour but mostly just really enjoying one another and enjoying the journey.

https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/kyoshi

https://www.facebook.com/kyoshiband/

https://www.instagram.com/kyoshi_band/

Her unique take on Americana music (infusing it with pop, rock and neo-roots) sets her apart and makes people take notice.  Her new single, “Have It All” is no exception.  A soaring tune, that showcases her vocal prowess, and not to mention songwriting skills – the new single is a powerful anthem for those finding their voice.  “This song is for anyone who can’t use their voice,” says Toner, “whether it’s out of fear or because the system has told you to be quiet, this is for you.”  The SOCAN Songwriter of the Year grew up in New Brunswick, and was surrounded by music.She was classically trained on the violin and spent many years with the prestigious New Brunswick Youth Orchestra with whom she played Carnegie Hall. She continued on to study theatre in Toronto and spent 10 years in a successful acting career including shows produced by Mirvish Productions and Soulpepper Theatre. Three Toronto productions Toner was part of have won Dora awards. For 7 seasons she was an integral part of the repertory cast at the Charlottetown Festival before returning to her first love: songwriting.

https://aliciatoner.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/aliciatonermusic

https://www.instagram.com/aliciatonermusic/?hl=en

Where are you currently based?

I still live at home with my parents in Temecula, California.

What’s been happening recently and how has you Covid experience been so far?

My COVID experience has been pretty positive because that’s been the most time I’ve ever had to work on music and to really just delve into what I love.

How did you first start playing music?

I’ve grown up with a lot of music. Mormons have an entire hour… Well, not an entire hour, but they sing a lot in church and a lot of Mormon kids get piano lessons. So, my family was always musically inclined and all of that. So, I’ve always played instruments and stuff, but I got my first guitar and I’m the best at the guitar. I got my first guitar when I was 13.

Your new single ‘Violent’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?

I would say the sound, it’s a Lil Peep type beat. So of course, Lil Peep influenced it. The writing, what influenced the writing is honestly, I wrote that song really fast. It literally just came to me, but at the time, I was in kind of like a bad relationship. So, I’m sure the reason those kind of painful lyrics came to me so easily is because that’s kind of what I was feeling on the inside.

How did you go about writing Violent?

I just found the beat and then it was really catchy. I just decided to write to it, and in 30 minutes, it was done.

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?

I recorded it in my bedroom on my Apple headphones late at night. I actually couldn’t even sing that loud because my parents were sleeping. So, on the, “… back door,” part I had to kind of do it quietly, which it probably wouldn’t turn out maybe better if I had full done it, but I don’t know. Then it was produced by a guy named Khalil in Turkey. Yeah, it was a YouTube beat.

Violent blew up on TikTok, how did this come about?

Someone just asked for it on TikTok. They were Like, “I need Violent on TikTok,” and I was like, “Say less.” So, I put a screen recording of it up and then it kind of just went from there.

How has this massive exposure impacted your life, I hear it led to you being signed?

Yes. I got signed, which has been really great, and it’s also impacted my life. It’s stressful in a way to have that many eyes on you, but it’s also really rewarding in a way that I feel kind of a responsibility to speak out on issues and just be really honest and be a good person in the industry because obviously, there’s a lot of good people, but I feel like there’s a good place for me to… I’m really relatable and a lot of people can… I’m a good story of success because I came from a really bad place and look at me now.

You grew up as a Mormon with a very strong connection with your mother, how has life changed over the years?

I’ve always been really, really close to my mom. I think I would say the person I got closer to, I didn’t used to be very close to my dad, but I’m really close to him now, too. I have a really good relationship with both my parents, but I left the church when I was 13 or 14. I just kind of stopped going and told my parents, “Oh, I don’t believe in this.” But they’ve always been very, even though I don’t believe in… Obviously, it’s been a struggle telling your parents you don’t believe in that and I was always super rebellious and kind of a bad kid sometimes. So, our relationship was really strained, but I think my parents understand now. They just understand who I am, why I did those things. Yeah.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I listen to a lot of Slug Christ and I was into a lot of Future and Earth Eater. I listen to a lot of Midwestern emo music like The Story So Far. That’s lately.

What do you like to do away from music?

To be honest, my other hobby is literally just smoking. I like to bake, and I like to cook. I really like to eat. I’m a foodie.

What’s planned for 2021?

To release the best album that’s ever been made.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

That’s my favorite food and my favorite place to hang out in my garage. I know it sounds crazy. I love my garage. I have done everything in this garage. There are so many memories here, but now, we have a nice TV and a couch. Yeah, I just like hanging out in my garage.

Where are you based?

Glasgow, Scotland 

What influenced the sound behind your debut EP on In The Event of Capture Records, titled Pàrtaig?

I wanted to make something that combined my love of warm, emotional, electronic music with my Scots Gaelic heritage. Trying to bring a stomping barn dance vibe and the club energy of Glasgow together. I tend to see my music on two sides of the fence.  Either being industrial and driven, like Glasgow or slow and melancholic, like the Outer Hebrides. I wanted to try and fit these two headspaces together, so set out to make a bunch of tracks that contained both, rather than being opposed to each other and this is the result.

How did you approach the recording and production process for the EP?

It was varied.   Mostly trying different composition and structural techniques and pieces of equipment out.  The majority of it was made on my modular system, mostly just jamming with bleeps and bloops, hooks, samples and percussive things then fleshing out ideas and parts until they came together in a satisfying way.

What track are you most excited to play live when the time comes, and why?

Hard to choose!  The title track definitely, but it’s Yamazona I’m most excited to hear.  It’s got a dense thump and a slightly odd but glowing feeling to it. I think it will be potent over a big system.

The title of the EP is the gaelic word for Partick which is where you’re from in Glasgow. What do you think makes the city’s nightlife and club scene so special? 

A satisfied Glaswegian crowd is a formidable force. When an artist plays the right song in the right setting, crowds just explode with energy.  It’s spontaneous, No one can really predict it but when it happens, you get this intense feeling in the air which is palpable for everyone involved. It’s hilarious, genuine and long may it continue! I personally think it’s a combination of endless optimism and being continuously disappointed by the weather that gives us that extra special something. 

What is your creative process like and how much has lockdown influenced this?  

Good question.  It’s definitely changed since last year but I’m not sure if that’s entirely lockdown related or just that things were naturally at a crossroad for me in terms of my workflow.

 I’d been working on my studio setup for about 3 months prior to lockdown to encourage this new process so they weirdly dovetailed in March. Suddenly I had a lot of extra time and a new studio environment to distract me from the external chaos. I think I possibly did a year’s worth of problem solving and ironing out snags in a week, and got straight into making music with a sense of urgency which I think was in part due to the anxiety of the situation.

In my creative space, I’ll typically have thought about something that day or I’ll become aware of being in a certain mood.  Pick a sound, possibly manipulate a sample or find a nice oscillator tone and within about 5 minutes I’ll have a basic idea, then I just follow my instincts. Sometimes I can feel it instantly adding up, sometimes it doesn’t. I just try to trust my gut and ignore my head. 

How did you begin working with ‘In the Event of Capture’?

Through a mutual friend who had sent ITEOC a bunch of tracks I’d been working on late in the summer.  We then got in touch and discussed the possibility of doing something together and it all just seemed to naturally take shape from there. 

When did you first decide you wanted to make music? 7 years old. Listening to a compilation of electro music. As soon as I heard a synthesiser/drum machine/sequencer combo for the first time. I will never forget it. I was instantly obsessed. 

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Cristian Vogel, UR, Boards of Canada, Delia Derbyshire, Carl Craig, KDJ, Aphex Twin, Stefan Betke, CAN, Parliament Funkadelic. Also by my two grandfathers, who were both musical.

Once the world can dance again, where are you most excited to play?  

Any outdoor music event, preferably in the sunshine

What does the rest of 2021 hold for you? 

Clearly keeping myself and those around me safe and well, and hopefully lots of interesting musical adventures.  Getting more confident performing with my modular system (in the studio for the moment).  Releasing more music, I have an album ready that I think explores the more experimental/weird side of my musical mind. It’s turned out sounding like I am having an internal conversation with my ancestors via a modular synth! Really keen to work with a filmmaker and bring other dimensions into that. Have an  EP in a similar vein to Partaig which is done and dusted and some other tracks recorded and ready for something. A thumping summer party track that’s almost finished. Lots of music, Be nice to get to the Western Isles at some point later in the year (lockdown permitting)  just to breathe and remind myself of life outside the city. I daydream that I’ll be able to take a battery operated drum machine with me and I’ll find a PA system setup on the beach to entertain myself with the seagulls and sheep all nodding along.

www.facebook.com/intheeventofcapture/

Intheeventofcapture.bandcamp.com/

www.instagram.com/we_should_hang_out_more/