Ascending producer, Juse Dayne, is gaining his footing this year with NoCap‘s breakout track, “Ghetto Angels,” but the producer’s journey is far from developmental.
2019 has brought a substantial amount of new artists across genres to music listeners’ streaming service platforms. This nearly-instantaneous influx of songs to different devices has its pros and cons when it comes to the discovery of new talent. Withal, the power of the internet provokes a grander conversation about the limitless influence independent artists have within their circuits and the culture overall.
Chappell Roan, 19, showcased a few songs from her EP ‘School Nights’ at the Atlantic Records studio Tuesday. Since her signing at age 16, Roan has been working tirelessly with the Atlantic team to put out her EP. She has named Lana del Rey and Sia as her inspirations, and remains true to the sincerity and authenticity of her music. I got to sit down with her and chat before her performance.
Chappell Roan backstage before her showcase, Oct. 24.
Q: You mentioned that you had come to the city in 2015, and you were just in awe. What’s it like being back now?
A: It’s been such a long time since I’ve been signed. Three years. Being back now is just full circle. This is where I showcased to be signed. It’s just weird coming back and having a product to show. It’s just nice that things are finished, finally. It’s surreal.
Q: Do you go home a lot? Do you miss being home?
A: I still live in Springfield, Missouri. Eventually I want to move to L.A. because that’s where I mostly work, but I did do some songs here. I travel back and forth. I’ll go out to L.A. for a few months, then go home for a few weeks. Being home is nice for a week, or a few weeks. I don’t have anyone to really unload my music problems to. I’m not trying to be disrespectful of any other career, but my friends work at banks, or hospitals, so I can’t be like, oh my god, you know, tour. That’s hard. It’s very hard. And also, I just get major anxiety when I go home. When I go home, I just want to relax, but I always get a lot of questions, a lot of questions, a lot of questions. I just get anxiety going in public so I just don’t go out, I just stay home.
A: You were seventeen when you got signed. How did the meeting process go?
Q: I started writing when I was fifteen, and I would post my songs on YouTube. Then another artist, Troye Sivan, tweeted about me. It got some recognition from another label, so I flew out here when I was sixteen, in January of 2015. And I just performed for them, and when I was here, I got calls from three other major labels, and I went in and showcased for them. I ended up picking up Atlantic. It’s taken that long to make an EP.
Q: You want people to see you as a human, and you want your songs to be about emotion, instead of a singer singing a song. What brought on that philosophy?
A: I write all of my own stuff. It’s a very different connection than a co-write or just even someone pitching you a song, and you just sing it. So when I write, it’s like, I am being completely honest about what happens, about how I feel, about what I wish would’ve happened. It’s basically my journal, and what I want people to take away is that this is who I am, and I’m not hiding anything. I just want to come off very genuine, so other people don’t feel crazy for feeling the same thing.
Q: What’s been your favorite part since signing?
A: My favorite part is doing music videos. The ‘Good Hurt’ music video was filmed in Yonkers. That was my favorite part so far. Tour is really fun, that’s number two. But I love music videos.
Q: Do you have another video coming out?
A: I do, I actually have three videos lined up. Tour only has two dates left, so then videos will come out early next year.
The stage at Atlantic Records before Roan’s showcase.
Roan’s EP ‘School Nights’ features Good Hurt, Bad for You, Sugar High, Die Young, and Meantime. She just finished her tour opening for Vance Joy. Her music can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal.
Caleb Brown is making a name for himself. The Louisiana rapper has gained a large following on Soundcloud while his music videos have been making huge waves across the internet. Best known for his lyricism and socially conscious music, Caleb is the perfect new age rapper. We caught up with him to hear more about the release of his new EP All Dawgs Go to Heaven 2.
On growing up in Louisiana:
“Growing up it was real regular like as a child we got into childish mischief or whatever. We had are ups and downs and it wasn’t until we got older and started figuring out life is real,there’s consequences to my every action. It was fun.”
On how is upbringing influenced the album:
“Seeing a lot of my friends die, a lot of my friends go to jail, a lot of people that were in the neighborhood, just influential people from the area. I was like I want something more out of my life and I know other people do to. That was my whole inspiration.”
On the creative process behind the album:
“Took me a little bit like a year and some change to record it. I recorded a lot of it in my bedroom and collaborated with the producers than we went back over it and mixed and mastered it, it was a fun.”
What track from All Dawgs Go To Heaven, he has the most personal connection with:
“’36 Chambers’ featuring RyaN Jéy, because that really sums up the whole project being that’s one of my big homies we’ve both seen loses and we both understand that concept growing up, that song was just meant to happen.”
What the album symbolizes:
“Getting freedom, because you get so much pressure of your chest, you get to move on beyond things and start to move on. Try and get past a lot of my friends dying, I’m living there life for them since they didn’t get to.”
One thing I notice about your music compared to other soundcloud artists who may rap about Xanax or lean, you are very political and introspective, can you speak to that?
“Because it’s really happening to us. It’s happening to them so it’s just a different perspective. It’s cool what they’re doing but it’s really happening to us and somebody has to talk about it. Let’s talk about something that’s really happening.”
What do you want the world to know about Caleb Brown:
“I’m from the South. And people don’t know that based on the way I talk but I’m definitely from the south, dirty south. And there’s more people like me.”
On upcoming projects:
“I’m going on tour with Jaren Benton this summer. It starts June 28th! I’m looking forward to it”
Use your extra daylight savings time hour to scope out some of the best new releases this month. This week’s Tuesday Tunes includes Bonobo‘s latest, a breathtaking tune by The Cinematic Orchestra, and more!
Happy Tuesday! This week, we’re focusing on tropical tunes with infectious beats that mentally teleport us to paradise. From Deep Chill‘s soothing single, Blinded, to Nora En Pure‘s Come With Me, this week’s edition will lessen the blow the forthcoming end of summer.
We’ve decided to do something special for all of our Knockturnal readers by launching a weekly series that will promote what we deem to be the most underrated (but still just as phenomenal as the chart-toppers) tracks that will be releasing this summer. Find out which ones made the cut this week!
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