Wed, Oct 26, 2022
Backxwash is one of the most exciting voices in hip-hop right now. Her unique brand of industrial hip hop relies on strange samples and horror film aesthetics to comment on the existential dread of our modern age. This profile highlights how she came up with her sound and look, while digging deeper into the themes present in her music.
Wed, Nov 23, 2022
The music of Gaelynn Lea is complex and ethereal. Her timeless folk sound continues a tradition that dates back centuries, bringing it into the modern world with the aid of technology. It's empathetic art, with both a lyrical perspective and a musical sound that are fundamentally shaped by the artist's own physical disability. This episode is an exploration of Lea's perspective on folk music, exploring how she's adding her own voice to the long historical parade of folksongs, and digging in to the perspectives that she has gained living and creating as a disabled artist in the modern world.
Thu, Dec 29, 2022
Abhi the Nomad makes his living off music. He plays to sold out shows in New York, and takes a band on tour. And yet, he'll openly tell you he's not a rockstar. That's because Abhi is living a life that's seldom documented and never glamorized - the life of a middle class musician. Sometimes that means breaking barriers and inspiring fans, but often it also means playing to empty rooms in small towns and wondering what you're doing with your life. This episode dives deep on that reality, exploring Abhi's highs and lows, and learning how he's come to find success and peace with his musical career, even if it's not exactly like it looks in the movies.
Thu, Feb 2, 2023
Foonyap had a promising career path ahead of her. After starting violin at just four years old, her natural talents were starting to gain the attention of the classical world. But with that attention came anxiety, and pressure. So Foonyap rebelled. She rejected the classical system and set out on her own musical journey. That journey has twisted and turned, including a stint in an indie-folk collective, a vampire-sex-metal-disco band, and finally, a raw and powerful solo debut. In this week's edition of Polyphonic Magazine, I talked to Foonyap about her unlikely career path, and the personal philosophies that have carried her through it.
Thu, Mar 2, 2023
As a teenager, Kaelin Ellis spent his days diving through YouTube, discovering the surreal sounds of beat makers like J Dilla, Madlib, and Ju$T Blaze. These discoveries sparked a passion, and now a decade later, Ellis is establishing himself as one of the hottest up-and-coming voices in the beat making world. As a student of music history, Ellis likes to combine more contemporary hip hop beats with the timeless sounds of funk and soul. This dedication to knowledge and exploration has taken him far. In recent years, Kaelin Ellis worked his way into an unlikely collaboration with Lupe Fiasco, and now he's starting to step out from behind the mixing console, putting his own voice forward and making a name for himself as one of the funkiest voices in hip hop.
Thu, Mar 23, 2023
Over the past few years, I've had an ongoing creative collaboration with Brian Raine. Most recently, we worked together on a lyric video for his song "Who in War." In this month's edition of Polyphonic Magazine, I sat down with Brian for an in-depth conversation about how that project came together. The conversation was a rare and intimate look into the creative process, and how one takes a song from a roughly sketched concept in MIDI to a fully fledged production, complete with an elaborate video.