Andrew Paley

Catch up with singer-songwriter Andrew Paley and listen to "Come Home" off his solo album, Sirens, out now.

What got you interested in music and in songwriting?

Andrew: I come from a pretty musical family. My dad is a guitarist and he writes folk songs and had a couple albums of his own; as well as my extended family, my cousins are all into music in various ways, so I was exposed to it very young. I grew up around guitars. When I was 5 or 6 I took some piano lessons and started playing around with the keyboard we had at home. So, I was always around it and it just felt like a natural thing to do. In terms of songwriting, I think I was dabbling in writing songs when I was in grade school; I didn't really know that's what I was doing, but I was playing around with chords and structures and putting things together. I think I was 13 when I went to my first all ages show at this club called 242 Main in Burlington, Vermont and saw some punk and hardcore and early emo bands play - including Texas is the Reason - and I got really excited about the idea of doing something like that, making that kind of sound. So that, I guess, got me into putting together a band and going from there.

You mentioned your band, why decide to go solo again to release this full length album?

Yeah, I still play with the band, The Static Age, as well. I think for me, I've been playing in a band context for a long time and collaborating with people is awesome and I really enjoy it. I had this other cache of songs that was growing up over the handful of years and I wanted to find some way to do something with them. There's a different writing process, it's a different kind of playing around as you're recording everything yourself and you can sort of change ideas as you go. It's just a different process and so I've really enjoyed that, as well. The cool thing for me is that I get to have both outlets.

Which musicians have you been influenced?

It's a pretty wide palate. I'd say, going all the way back, my mom was into a bunch of music when I was growing up and so she turned me on to things that, honestly, I still am into, including bands like Tears For Fears; Songs from the Big Chair is still one of my favorite records of all time. I've been pretty deeply influenced by bands that you couldn't necessarily draw a one to one to in terms of the sound, like I love bands like Minor Threat and Propagandhi for the energy and ethic of it. And then, on the other end of the spectrum, people like Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush I really admire for a variety of reasons but also just the way they play with sounds and textures and the way they compose.

What would you say is the best song of 2016?

I don't know if I can pick a best song of the year, but I will tell you that one of my favorite albums of the year - because I don't know if I could pick a single song off of it - is Epoch the album by Tycho that came out a couple of months ago. I think it is absolutely front to back fantastic. I've listened to it countless times and there's no vocals, but just the composition and the way - it was a one man project for a while but now it's a full band - the way they put songs together, I think, is strikingly good.

How would you describe your sound as a solo artist and how it compares to The Static Age?

The album is kind of all over the place. I think throughout The Static Age and in doing the solo stuff - because I enjoy having a wide palate - I always hesitate to sum it up in a phrase or a few key words. On the album there's stuff that's more acoustic where it's just me in a room with an acoustic guitar and that's really it and pretty stripped down and then, on the other end of the spectrum, there's a handful of songs that were orchestrated much more and built on top of synths. So, it's a wide palate, I would not be able to sum it up. In terms of the difference between The Static Age and my solo stuff, I think, generally, there's a live sound to certain aspects of each but throughout it, the band has a sound as a post-punk band and we've played around with what that means in a lot of different ways but there's a general vibe to that and there's a general energy to that. I had this other, like I said, cache of songs that didn't quite fit that, and so it's a wide spectrum of things that don't quite fit that, so that would be the key distinction.

What were your inspirations behind your single "Come Home"?

I think the key to that one is that over the last handful of years I've gotten to know a lot of people who are pretty adventurous in their approach to life and I've seen them go through some good and some bad times. It just got me thinking about the process of going out in the world and trying to do some scary, difficult things; just putting yourself out on a limb and the experience and the exhaustion associated with that and then being able to have an anchor somewhere else in the world that you can return to to rest and hide if necessary [laughs].

Could you tell us more about Sirens?

Sirens was pieced together over a handful of years. It was basically an album that came to be through my recordings in a variety of different places and at different times. Very early on, I wasn't even sure I was putting together a record, I was just recording ideas and giving myself the space to see them all the way through and let the song evolve however it would. Then at some point it was like, okay, I really want to do something with this. The album worked really organically - that also accounts for some of the ways in which certain tracks are quite different from others - but it was just a very organic process based on me taking advantage of whatever space I was in at the time and whatever instruments I had on hand and it eventually evolved into this full album, Sirens.

Now that it's out, do you have a favorite song off the album?

I never know how to answer this question because each song, obviously, I have a different connection to. They're all important to me in different ways. I will say that I'm excited about the direction of some of the tracks that I did near the end of the process of putting the record together and that's songs like "Let Me Go" and "Take Cover". Those ones I'm playing with much bigger soundscapes - for lack of a better word - and the next batch of songs, the stuff I've been working on since buttoning up the album a few months ago, takes that and it builds on it. [Laughs] I will say that I have the same relationship with all of the songs, I can't pick a favorite, but I am excited about the direction of a few of them in particular and where I'm going with that next.

How would you sum up Sirens in one sentence?

I think Sirens represents a series of snapshots across a handful of years of my life, through some positives and through some negative ones.

What do you hope listeners are able to take away from your music?

I don't want to prescribe something they should take away from it, I just hope that they engage with it somehow, that's all. I like the idea that someone would listen to one of these songs and take from it exactly what I put into it, but I also like the idea that someone would listen to one of these songs and take something else from it because of their experience or just finding a different way to relate to the same ideas. I wouldn't want to describe it other than to say that I hope they get something from it.

Is there anything you want to add?

Only that I'm looking forward to next year and, like I mentioned, I'm already working on new songs. Also, there's a bunch of tours coming up, so I'm going to be heading to Japan and Europe in the Spring and we're laying groundwork for a US tour in the Summer, so I'll be pretty busy and all over the place next year.

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Cale and the Gravity Well

Catch up with Cale and the Gravity Well and listen to "Lions and Tigers" off his new album, The Age of Envy, out now.

What got you interested in music?

Cale: It's not necessarily that there was any one thing but rather that I had a musical upbringing. My mother played guitar for a long time and my dad is extremely musically illiterate but he loves music, especially classic rock, which is what he grew up on. So I grew up listening to it for a very long time and I was in music class in high school and did all the musicals and stuff like that. I eventually started songwriting just because, in college, I had a group of friends who did it and I thought it would be fun to try out. It's been a couple years since then - and that's a good thing because I was pretty terrible starting out.

Do you remember the first song you wrote that you were proud of?

Oh, yeah, what was it called? I don't play it anymore... It was a song called "Dirty Snow" which was this sort of lovely ballad that I wrote because, that same group of friends, we were in a band together for a little while and we were trying to do this challenge where somebody would propose a topic and we'd have to write a song about it every week. That was the first one I ever really felt solid on, I'm unsure of whether anybody will ever get to hear it, but that was the one.

What made you decide to start Cale and the Gravity Well?

The reason this got started is because my sister - for years she was a professional roadie and she used to work Warped Tour and, in fact, sometimes, she claims she will still do that sometime in the future - got it in her head that she wanted to start a record label and she knew that I wrote music and could sing and play a little bit, so she asked if I would be interested in starting this up and how could you pass that opportunity by? So, I said yes, fully committing to the idea that she would never make this happen, but she really turned it out, so here we are. The name, unfortunately, doesn't really have an interesting backstory. Honestly, it's a little bit of a bummer because I really feel that everybody's got that story: Lynyrd Skynyrd was the name of their terrible old gym teacher who harassed them for years and Shakey Graves was given to him that one night he first decided that people really liked his music and they were sitting at a campfire or whatever it is. But, no, there wasn't really a pivotal moment. What happened was, I started making this album and we're halfway through and we're starting to do promotional stuff and we needed something to call it. I had proposed this name earlier because I thought it sounded kind of cool - and I also thought that we could come up with something better, and we never did. I was almost going to call it Free Range Cale, but decided that was too Brooklyn hipster.

Which musicians would you say that you've been influenced by?

Generally growing up, it was a little more real, classic rock and especially British invasion; really liked The Clash, really loved Led Zeppelin. Now it's a little wider spread. I like some electronica stuff. I have no experience with it, but I'd love to break into that someday a little bit, but the half and half - not the really heavy house or anything - but like Sylvan Esso, which is Amelia Meath singing and Nicholas Sanborn mixing her live and adding beats and things and it's super cool. I've listened to a lot of blues recently and a lot of folksy stuff. I just downloaded this Freddie King album and have been listening to it all day and all yesterday. I don't necessarily avow that that's who I'm trying to replicate right now, but I think all this stuff sinks in.

What would you say is the best album of 2016 that everyone should hear?

The best album of 2016, oh man. I think if I had to pick any one, I'd point to Andrew Bird's album in April, Are You Serious. That guy is just an unprecedented talent. He writes some of the most memorable, interesting songs that are both comforting and disquieting at once and this album was really quite good. I'd recommend everybody check it out.

Which words would you use to describe your own sound?

For some reason this question is so difficult for me. The first word that comes to mind is chunky, like it's a lot of heavy rhythm and it is kind of like rock and roll. Most of it's rock and roll, even the stuff that doesn't necessarily start out like that - like "Charming Devils" has this reggae beat - it gets there. A lot of it's pretty upbeat, too. I don't know if it's dancing music, but I like to think that it's sunny day driving music.

Could you tell us more about your album The Age Of Envy?

You can expect to hear a little bit of everything. The songs are all pretty different, which some people have told me is a blessing and some people have told me is a curse because there's this tendency to look at an album as a collective piece of art and I think that that's mostly true. And then there's this expectation that it's really supposed to hold well together and because all this stuff is really different, some people don't think that it does. I've had a lot of people tell me that. But, on the other hand, I also see that as a virtue. It means there's a lot of diversity, there's something for every mood, and there's a lot of interesting themes to be explored. I don't think that you would get the same thing listening to this one time as you would listening two times or three times and so on and so forth.

Is there a track off the album you were most excited to share?

A couple times I've been asked this question and every time I have to come back and point to "Lions and Tigers". Which, for some reason, is really just one I love. I really like to play it, I really like to sing it, and I think that the mix came out really nicely and it doesn't really sound like a lot of other music. I'm not claiming that this is going to be everybody's bag, but I think that it's got some kind of distinction to it that really elevates it.

What were your inspirations behind "Lions and Tigers"?

Both "Lions and Tigers" and "The First Storm" are kind of about the same stuff and they used to be one song in two time keys, which was more of an accident of my inexperienced songwriting than an intention, so I had to break them up. I wrote one and then I rewrote the other one and they ended up being two halves of this thing. The inspiration came from, I just had this line, it was "green skin runs thin with age", and I was like, well, what does that mean? It took me a little while but I puzzled it out and I had recently finished, after years, the Wicked Series by Gregory Maguire and I thought that the whole concept of having this re-imagination of this iconic tale was interesting to me, so I wrote this song a little bit about this proverbial Dorothy stuck in the middle of nowhere and bored out of her mind - going a little bit crazy, actually.

In one sentence, how would you sum up The Age of Envy?

If you're looking for happiness, you're not going to find it here.

What do you hope listeners are able to take away from your music?

I don't like to answer this question because I think that what people get out of it is up to them, that's the whole point. It's like that old English class question, what was the author intending with this thing? Music doesn't exist in a vacuum, somebody has to be listening to it or it's the whole 'tree falls in a forest does anybody hear' sort of deal. I don't think there's anything that I want to impart to these listeners because either they'll get what I intended or they won't, but I'm hoping that they get something out of it, something that sticks with them, because it'll be more meaningful if they come to it, rather than reading this interview and trying to fit their expectations into it. It's more about personal preference, all art is subjective. I think there's a line in Daredevil, that series on Netflix that came out last year, and they're looking at this painting that is perfectly white and it's called "Rabbit In A Snow Storm" and the gallery head comes over to Wilson Fisk and says, "it's not really about what's painted there, but rather how the painting makes you feel," and I think that's exactly right.

Is there anything you want to add?

I just want to say be on the lookout for new stuff, we've got things in the works, early next year should be a good time for us so pay attention.

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Josh Ross

Catch up with acoustic folk pop singer-songwriter Josh Ross and listen to his single "She Rules My World" off his album Love Never Fails, to be released January 2017.

What first got you interested in music and in songwriting?

Josh: My sister was taking piano lessons when I was really young and I just started banging on the keys and my parents were like, "oh, we should get him some piano lessons," and it wasn't my first choice but it basically got my feet wet. I joined piano lessons a few years later and I told my dad I wanted to play the guitar and he said, "well, first you should learn how to really play the piano," and so I did that, playing my piano and practicing more and then, when he saw a year later that I was really serious about it, he got me a guitar. Being able to play guitar, I really started to fall in love with music. Around 8th grade, my dad said, "oh, it's great that you can play guitar, but you should learn to sing". I hadn't thought about singing at all and I thought singing was just for girls, but I kind of secretly started looking at a bunch of videos and books and trying to learn how to sing and then just really started to love it. There's something about singing that is so powerful and that got me back into playing the piano and playing a few other instruments. Around that time too, 8th or 9th grade, I just experimented with songwriting; I was like, "oh, what would happen if I just played a few random chords and started writing something?" and something clicked. The first song was terrible, but I kept up with it and I really enjoyed it and I started to listen to other people's songs and started analyzing, what is it that makes that song so good and enjoyable? I started copying not the songs but the structure and I got to find what structure or topics make a good song. It started opening the door for me to start writing songs and to really express myself best; what was most important to me, my feelings about a girl. I think that's what got me into songwriting and music in general.

Do you remember the first song you wrote that you were proud of?

I think the first song I wrote that I was somewhat proud of was called "One More Year". It was just about how time passes and how we're getting older and just the evolution we go through from being young and really outgoing and caring to growing up, becoming wiser, and how life changes with each year. I think that was the first song I was actually pretty proud of.

Which musicians have you been influenced by?

I guess I would say Jason Mraz is at the top. Green Day got me really into music; Green Day got me playing guitar and got me into singing. But I would say now, it's Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson and, most recently, Ed Sheeran. Those artists have really inspired me a lot; I believe they really challenge their musical styles to take new directions. And also Adele. I love Adele. I love that she can sing music that seems like it was written in the '60s or the '70s - or even earlier - and it still feels timeless. I think, with Adele, a lot of her music is timeless and, in general, the music I like most is timeless. Whether it's Ed Sheeran with "Thinking Out Loud" or Jason Mraz with "I'm Yours", I really like songs that could have been performed at any time in history and it would still ring true.

Do you have a favorite artist from 2016 that you think everyone should hear?

Well definitely Adele. I got her most recent album and I've listened to the whole thing quite a few times. I always seem to be impressed by her, she is extremely talented. I also pre-ordered Michael Bublé's latest album. His music is great. I really like to dance with my wife and Michael Bublé's music is so perfect for just chilling out and having friends over or, if you actually want to dance, to get up and dance. His music is phenomenal.

In your own words, how would you describe your sound?

I would say that my music is easy listening like Jason Mraz or Jack Johnson. It tends to be more acoustic and intimate sounding. Even though I have drums and other instruments in quite a few songs, it still has this intimate feeling that feels like I'm right in the room with you singing to you and so the music is very easy listening, calm, and hopeful.

It's pretty straightforward, but what were your inspirations behind your single "She Rules My World"?

[Laughs] Well, very good question. Really, with this whole album in general, the idea was to create a love story. The first few songs on the album - "Do You Wanna Dance?" and "Someone New" - are about first meeting someone, getting to find that woman who you're so attracted to. And then, "The One I Want", I wrote for my wife, Lea, after one of our dates; it was December 27th actually, not long after our first date, but it was then that I knew that there was really something special about her. And then, "Do You Remember?", that was our first dance song; we actually danced to that song at our wedding and I recently recorded a music video for that song, too. "She Rules My World" I actually wrote after we got married and so I think the main inspiration for this song was, I wanted to write a song about both the joys of meeting some girl who's beautiful and wonderful, but also how it changes once you're married and what the relationship looks like. It's not always easy to be the man that she needs and this feeling that I feel, that she needs more than I can give but, at the same time, she gives me a reason to want to be more, to want to keep being the best version of myself. So definitely my wife inspired this song and, really, my hope with this song was writing a song that could be enjoyable for people who are single and just like the lyrics and enjoy the music but, also, the couples who sometimes get frustrated with the over romanticized songs that talk about how beautiful love is and how great it all is. It's not all pretty, sometimes love is really difficult and frustrating, especially when it pushes your buttons down, but it's still worth it in the end. Marriage is for life and it's not easy, but it's definitely worth it.

Is that single indicative of what we can expect to hear on Love Never Fails and could you tell us more about that album?

Yeah, I would definitely say that that song is pretty indicative of the sound throughout the album. So the first song is "Do You Wanna Dance?". This song I actually wrote quite a few years ago, [laughs] I wrote it to ask a girl to prom, actually, but I adjusted the lyrics a little bit when I got married. That one is very much more of a Jack Johnson, kind of jazzy piece. "Someone New" picks up the pace a little bit and I actually wrote that song with my wife. "The One I Want", I already told you about that one, that's a nice acoustic song that was about one of my first dates with my wife. And then there's a couple of stand-alone tracks that are a little bit different, a little more unique, like "Dance With Me (Baila Conmigo)"; I was literally just jamming on my keyboard and messing around and came up with this beat and then I started writing the lyrics for the chorus but every time I tried to come up with lyrics for the verse, they always sounded really lame and kind of stupid. So I played it for my wife and my mother-in-law and was like, "okay, here's the song," and they were like, "oh, that's so cool, I like the beat," and it had more of a Latin feel to it, like a Salsa almost. They're like, "why don't you just sing an 'ahh' or an 'ooh'," and I was like, "okay". I messed around with that and I was like, "oh, that sounds actually really cool!" and so the whole song is just 'oohs' and 'ahhs' until the chorus where I actually sing all the lyrics [laughs]. "Do You Remember?" is a piano ballad and, again, that was the first dance song at our wedding and we recently recorded a music video re-enacting our first dance. And then, "It's Us Against The World", I'd never done electronic music before and I've been hearing a lot of it so I wanted to experiment with doing a couple electronic tracks, so there's actually two tracks on the album - "It's Us Against The World" and "Give You My Life" - which are both electronic; it was a lot of fun to experiment with the different styles. "Somebody That Matters", that's just piano and voice; that was probably one of the most basic recordings I did and, for some reason, it seems to be the most liked and most popular of my songs, actually. I think it was played on SoundCloud 90,000 times or something and a lot of people tell me that they really like that song and, I don't know; it's similar to "Someone Like You" by Adele, except with slightly more hopeful lyrics [laughs], it's not as depressing. That actually was one my last album but I remixed it for this album. And then, "Love Of My Life" is in Spanish and English; again, kind of a nice ballad and the interesting thing about that song is, depending on how you read the lyrics, you could think that it's a love song for a girl - talking about how she's the love of my life and how wonderful it is - or you could say it's a love song to God - you could say it's this beautiful relationship you have with a higher power; that one was quite a bit of fun. And then "Dobranoc (Good Night My Love)" - [laughs] my wife is Polish, so I actually did my best to write some lyrics in Polish and the song is kind of tongue-in-cheek; it's not the greatest Polish but the most basic things you might say like "hi" and "how are you" and basic things like that, so that one was quite fun; we both went to Europe this past year so I wrote that song while I was on the plane to Poland. And the last track, called "Masterpiece", is, again, inspired by my wife. There's a bonus track called "Freedom In E" which is just instrumental, there's no singing on it, it's just piano, and it's a bridal procession, so you could imagine the bride walking down the church in her white dress and looking beautiful to this song; it's similar to "Canon in D" and has that very simple processional sound to it.

If you had to choose, which track off the album would you call your favorite?

I feel like it's very difficult to answer that question because it really depends on my mood. I'm definitely quite proud of the first track, "Do You Wanna Dance?"; it's just so chill and laid-back and a nice, simple song. "She Rules My World", I love the lyrics to that song and the idea; I don't know if that's my favorite song on the album... It might be "Do You Remember?". I really like "Do You Remember?". It was a fun song to play and now that I've recorded the music video with my wife about dancing to it, every time I hear the song I think about that. Maybe that's the one I'm most proud of, but it's difficult to pinpoint which one is my favorite.

How would you sum up Love Never Fails in one sentence?

Love Never Fails is a love story about meeting, befriending, and living the ups and downs of a joyful marriage.

What do you hope listeners are able to take away from your music?

I think that the biggest thing that people can take away from my music is, when they hear my music, they can hear that there's some real heart and soul in it; that they can hear that I really mean what I am singing about. My music can be enjoyable just as listening music in the background; it can be great for being played at weddings or during cocktail hours; but it also is great when you give it 100% of your focus, when you're sitting down - or even if you're driving in your car - and you're really listening to the lyrics and hearing, "wow, this is really true," and you might even get a couple songs stuck in your head and play it over and over.

Is there anything you want to add?

For people who read this interview, I would definitely encourage them to listen to the album. You can find it on joshross.bandcamp.com and you can listen to almost all the songs - I think there's 13 out of 15 tracks - and then, if you choose to buy the album, it's actually name your own price so you can pay $1, $10, $25; and if you feel so inclined during Christmas, you can actually send it as a gift to some of your friends. And I'd encourage you to check out our video "Do You Remember?" because it was a really fun video to make with my wife and we got to do what we love to do, which is dancing and singing together. And also, I have an email list and I'll put up a video for Christmas, a video for Valentine's day, and all the other holidays and send a nice little video and message [join the email list here].

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Eve Minor

Catch up with singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Eve Minor and watch the video for her single "Piggy Bank" off her forthcoming album, Shooting Stars.

What first got you interested in songwriting and in production?

Eve: Well I've been playing piano since I was 4 and I really liked classical music and I would play a lot of classical music and, before I knew it, I was making my own melodies. I just got so curious about different instruments and I learned how to play guitar and I got really into Nirvana and a lot of garage rock stuff. I didn't really know how to sing so well, so I couldn't really sing songs that artists I liked sang so I had to make my own [laughs] and that started the path that I was going in and I really enjoyed it. It just kind of happened naturally and before I knew it I was writing songs and people liked them a lot. As far as production goes, it kind of just progressed into that where I was really excited to make a guitar riff and then I was like, well, maybe I can put a bass over it and see what that sounds like and what if the drum could sound like this so it happened naturally.

Do you remember the first song you wrote that you were proud of?

Yes! I was seeing a guy - I was so young, I was 14 and I had this little boyfriend [laughs] - and he totally broke my heart in a million pieces [laughs]. He was into the same music I was into, he played guitar and we got into a fight and I got really upset and I wrote this really, really cool rock sounding song. It kind of sounded like Smashing Pumpkins and I was like, wow this is really good, maybe I should have my heart broken more often [laughs]. But, yeah, it was a cute song. A heartbreaking song, but it was cute, nonetheless.

Which musicians have you been influenced by?

It's changed. I grew up on punk rock and metal so I think that's my interest in being a really good musician, learning how to play scales and that sort of thing. Currently, I'm really into Danny Brown. He's a rapper and I think he's really, really interesting and versatile and different. I also like Phantogram and I do like some modern pop stuff. I like Alabama Shakes and I really loved Prince, I think he was such a genius. But, I also like a lot of RnB stuff like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and Brenda Holloway's really cool. I have such a diverse choice in music.

Is there anyone you've been hooked on in 2016?

Honestly I think in the beginning of 2016 I really liked Aesop Rock; he did The Impossible Kid and I was totally all about it. This guy produced his own stuff and he's incredible live and he's so talented. And then Atrocity Exhibition came out by Danny Brown so I've been listening to a lot of Atrocity Exhibition. It's so different, like, this guy is rapping over industrial beats and I just think he's so incredible. So, right now I'm very about Atrocity Exhibition.

What Christmas song are you most likely to have on repeat this time of year?

Hmm. I feel like a Grinch if I say I don't have any Christmas songs I like [laughs]. I will say that "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is really cute, that Mariah Carey song. Or "Santa Baby", that's super adorable [laughs].

Which words would you use to describe your sound?

I've heard genre-blender, but I'm honestly not sure because there's so many elements of hip hop in my sound but there's also so much rock and lots of pop melody. I don't know, it's so hard to pinpoint and there's so much funk in it. I would generalize and say pop music because it does have a lot of cool hooks and choruses, but that's a tough question. It sounds good I think, I hope you like it [laughs].

What were your inspirations behind your single and video for "Piggy Bank"?

"Piggy Bank" kind of came out of nowhere. I play a lot of instruments and I play piano every day and I kind of just sat down and I had this really cool - I was playing a lot of Scott Joplin who was an original jazz composer from 1920 - and I was playing a lot of rag and this just kind of happened and it ended up being hip hop bars to this really pop-y kind of song. My friend was sitting next to me and I like to play and make my friends laugh so sometimes I make really funny songs, like, my friends will be hanging out and I'll just sit and play guitar and dictate what they're doing and I just like to make my friends smile, so I was playing that song and my friend was like "oh my god, that's so good!" and I was like "what do you mean?". I didn't want to do anything with it because I was using this little girl voice and he was like "no man, that's so good, you should record that one" [laughs] and I was like "okay, but, I mean" 'cause I'm drug dealing and it's not really [laughs] I sound like I'm 5 years old and I'm singing about dealing drugs and he's like "yeah, but it's so awesome!". I ended up putting a couple musicians together because I really believe in live sounding records, I think it gives a certain energy when you're all in the same room and I had some of my friends came over and I gave them their parts and I charted it out for them and then it came to that sort of song. We had a blast recording it and I was like, "why don't we do a video?". [Laughs]

The video was, initially, more ridiculous, believe it or not. Initially, the ideas behind it were so much more ridiculous and we had so much fun filming it. I got burnt to a crisp! It was the hottest day in New York so I was burnt to a crisp, practically crying [laughs] but, at some point when we were on the beach, I climbed a palm tree and hung upside down and the director was like, "you should be making music like Ludacris" [laughs]. I guess it's just a fun song, just a little piece of my life about having fun and that's why it sounds pop-y and fun.

Do you have plans to release an album or EP with "OMG" and "Piggy Bank"?

I do write songs everyday and I do produce and try to work with people that I really like so "OMG" is part of this little mixtape I'm going to be releasing in the next month - as soon as I'm finished mixing it - there were these collections of more electronic songs where, when I laid out what my album's going to be, they didn't fit with it. So "OMG" is part of this collection of self-produced electronic songs, whereas "Piggy Bank" is going to be remixed and put on the full-length record - which is now called Shooting Stars. Yeah, definitely having two albums come out: one by the end of the year and then one in 2017.

Could you tell us more about what people can expect from Shooting Stars?

I will say it's different. I'll definitely say it's different because "Piggy Bank" in and of itself was different and I want to remix it; I have a couple people I think that will be on the remix that I really like and that I think other people will really like. "OMG" is super hip hop-y/trip hop-y produced that way and now Shooting Stars is going to have a lot of live instruments. I would say it's closer to my influences and the music I like. It's a little more personal, it's going to have a huge sound, and I definitely think people will like it [laughs].

What do you hope listeners will be able to take away from your music?

The mixtape has a very personal song. I lost one of my best friends so I did make a song for him. You know, some of the songs I write are fun, some of them are real deep so I think, in general, I want my listeners to not feel alone and to celebrate life. I talk to all my fans; I get so many cool messages on my socials and people championing me and enjoying my stuff and waiting for more so I just want them to know that, at the end of the day, you're not alone. If you vibe with my music and you feel a certain way, I feel that way too. And celebrate life, that's the most important thing. You only get one life, do everything you want to do, no matter what.

Is there anything you want to add?

Right now I'm really trying to raise awareness for Covenant House which is like a homeless shelter for kids and teens so I do talk about that a lot, I do want to mention that you guys should check this out. I will have shows coming up, I am talking to a couple venues in Brooklyn and New York City, it's just a little difficult because I do everything on my own. A little spread thin [laughs]. But definitely stay on my socials, I definitely have stuff, I definitely announce it and update my Instagram and Twitter and Facebook to let people know what's going on. Definitely just check it and see, for anything cool.

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