Karen Dezelle

Catch up with indie-folk singer-songwriter Karen Dezelle and listen to her latest single, "Alchemy", from her forthcoming EP, Room For Two, set to release later this Summer.

What first got you interested in music?

Karen Dezelle: I think it's just innate. Music has always been another world for me, very magnetic and transcendental. I have one vivid memory of being about 5 years old in my backyard in Texas playing a toy piano, and my mother noticing I was in a different place when I was doing that and asking if I wanted to take piano lessons. My heart just sort of leapt at that moment in a way I never forgot. I have a 2-year-old nephew now and he is very drawn to all things that make sound. He runs over whenever someone starts playing music and watches, fascinated. I love seeing that because I think, "oh, he's got it too!". Most of my family has this spark for music that's inexplicable, just in our blood maybe and built into the fabric of who we are.

Do you remember the first song that you wrote?

Probably something with my brother. We always had little songs and ideas. The first serious song I wrote was in college. It started on piano and was heavily focused on lyrics. I was very into rhythmic rhymes. Another musician and I were joking recently that there should be a word for the very specific feeling you get when you find something you wrote years ago and you want to cringe and laugh, but love it at the same time because it brings back a flood of memories. It's funny to think how those feelings were so paramount and intense at the time. It always looks different in retrospect.

Which musicians have you been influenced by?

Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, M Ward, Regina Spektor, Ben Harper, Eva Cassidy... so many I love and I love them all differently. One of my favorite music teachers once told me that if you like something, pay close attention, because most things we like are a part of us we haven't discovered yet. I think about that a lot in music and in life. What you're drawn to says something important about where you are headed.

How would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard your music before?

Story-telling forms the basis of my music so in that sense it is definitely rooted in the folk tradition. There is a heavy use of vocal harmonies to add a sort of dreaminess or emotion in certain places and a lot of experimentation mixing acoustic and electric instrumentation, which I hope reflects that most of the songs are about juxtaposition and self-discovery. There is some alt-country harmonics and subtle gospel influence, because I have to pay homage to my Texas roots, and I am really taken with alt-country artists recently like Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, and Sharon Van Etten...I definitely want to explore that sound more.

What were your inspirations behind your new single "Alchemy"?

I wrote that particular song as a gift for someone special to me. It's about the specific things I find wonderful about them, almost like a portrait. In a more general sense it's a contemplation on the mystery of our summons to love and how those inclinations become activated, almost like some sort of divine alchemy. It's also about the transformation that happens when you do love someone, how ordinary things seem extraordinary, and how you are sort of reshaped in the process too. It's not often I write a song specifically for one person. I did it once for my sister too. It's fun to do and it makes the song more meaningful in a way.

Can you tell us more about your forthcoming EP, Room For Two, and how this new EP compares to your previous releases?

The songs on this EP were written at completely different times in my life, so there is a greater span of time covered in this release. Some of them are songs I was never brave enough to release before because they are so personal. Three of them are about relationships; one of them is about spirituality, a sort of ode to a higher power; and one of them is about being fearless about who you really are, retaining what matters most to you, but accepting what is. They are more diverse than previous releases, with more experimentation across genres, and more personal subject matter.

Is there a song from Room For Two that you're most excited to share with your fans?

"Home" is the one that is most meaningful to me. It is deeply personal and writing it was a spiritual experience. Of all the songs I've written, it's probably the one that is most revealing of who I really am. I also have the most hopes for that one meaning something to other people. "I'd Go Anywhere" is also an exciting one because it is a departure musically from previous releases, with heavy Americana influences and a generally more upbeat tempo.

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

I heard someone say once that the reason for writing music is that in certain moments a song can give us just the right amount of escape and just the right amount of connection and so that we find peace in the juxtaposition. My favorite musicians do that for me. Their songs can fill a void. My hope is that, through being radically honest and deeply personal with my music, something universal will emerge and that people will recognize themselves somewhere and feel more connected and less alone in the internal worlds we all carry. I think really good songs leave room for the audience to interpret things and participate in the meaning, so that they can find that connection. That's one of the main ideas behind the title 'Room For Two'. I want listeners to feel like they are involved in the song, that there is space for them there, and that it almost wouldn't exist in the same way if they weren't actively connected to it. Everyone hears a song differently, every single time, and in that way, each time it's played is a one-time experience that only they can create and that can never be replicated. That's what makes music transcendental. It's what makes it so powerful in the way it can connect us to each other. And it's what makes being a musician become a responsibility to deliver just the right amount of presence and space to your audience.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Just that I'm grateful for all of this...the journey of it, the people I've met, the opportunity to make music and share it, and writing this to you right now. So thank you.

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Rvby My Dear

Photo Credit: Luis Ruiz

Catch up with vocalist Gabbi Coenen of Brooklyn-based experimental pop quintet Rvby My Dear and listen to single, "Animal", from their Unravel EP, out now.

What got you interested in starting a band?

Gabbi Coenen: I'm originally from Australia and I moved to New York to study at The New School. I was a jazz musician before I met the band and so I went and studied there and I met Oscar (guitar) and Darren (keys) while studying there. I wanted to start a band just because I wanted an outlet for my original music and it started off as more of a jazz inspired thing but, the more we played together and the more I was writing, it kind of morphed into this experimental pop thing that it is now. So, Darren and Oscar are both from The New School and then Jono (bass) and Abel (drums) came later on - we had a different bassist and drummer before them - but then they came on board beginning of last year.

Which musicians have you been influenced by, individually or as a group?

Well, I think individually we all have very different influences, which I think is good, in a way, because it stops things from being too homogeneous or anything like that. For me, personally, I guess I'm really inspired by a lot of British acts like Massive Attack and Portishead, as well as Australian singer-songwriters; I really admire Fiona Apple and Joanna Newsome and singers like that who have really interesting voices and write their own songs and they've got actual singing and all that. It's really broad, like I'm always checking out new stuff and going back and listening to old stuff. I'm a pretty big music consumer myself, so I try to find inspiration in whatever I think is good and I'll be like, 'oh, that's awesome! I want to try and do something like that!'. It's a lot.

What songs would be at the top of your playlist right now?

Right now, I really like the new Radiohead album, I think it's gorgeous. Actually, I feel like all my favorites have put out albums or EPs in the last few months, like Massive Attack just put out a new EP which I love; Radiohead album; the James Blake album is gorgeous; there's a band from Montreal called BRAIDS who I really love, they just put out an EP a few weeks ago and I saw them live at Rough Trade last week and it was amazing. I'd say those. And, there's a band from the UK called Daughter who I really like, they put out an album at the beginning of this year. There's actually a lot of 2016 releases that I'm really into right now.

Where does your name, Rvby My Dear, come from?

That is [laughs] the name of a jazz ballad by Thelonious Monk. It's a very, very old song from the '40s and I picked it because I wanted something with the color red in it because I have red hair but, also, I really liked that song at the time when I was putting the band together and I couldn't think of a name and I didn't want to put it under my own name and that just, in the moment, really spoke to me. Now, I look back and I'm like, 'oh, I don't know, I'm not sure,' but [laughs] I think it's stuck with us. The change from the 'u' to the 'v' was because it was getting too difficult having the same name as a song and then there was another artist who had the same name and it was just like, we need to do something to differentiate this, so we ended up putting the 'v' instead of the 'u' in the word ruby, which I know is very trendy right now and I kind of cringed a bit when I did it but, hopefully, it will pay off in the long run. I think [laughs].

Which words would you use to describe your sound?

I would definitely say atmospheric and cinematic. There's a lot of dynamics in our music but it's not noise music, it still has some kind of structure and flow to the songs; there's a lot of loud sections and there's a lot of quiet, delicate sections, as well. I think, if you like actually listening to music and really digging in to a song, I think there's a lot that can be found in our music, because it is so layered and textured and has so much going on. There's a lot to keep the listener interested but it's still accessible, in its own way.

What were your inspirations behind your single "Animal"?

It's part of a 2 song EP, so those songs were kind of conceived around the same time. In terms of inspiration, lyrically, that song in particular is about a relationship that is falling apart. I got really into that TV show Hannibal for awhile and that was the little seed inspiration for this song and I made it my own from there - which I know probably sounds really weird and really gross - [laughs] but I was really inspired by that kind of relationship between two people where you're so inside each others heads' and trying to manipulate each other and I feel like, musically, the arrangement that me and the guys came up with reflects that: at the beginning, it starts with this reversed little guitar thing, then it explodes into a big drum hit and then, at the end, it sort of collapses on itself a little bit, like reverse vocals and noise and stuff. It's got a lot going on, that song. We've been playing it live for almost 2 years now before we recorded it, so it's definitely changed a lot in the playing it live process and then actually recording it and all of that, so it's become a little more focused in the direction.

Can you tell us more about the new Unravel EP that you just released?

I like that it's just 2 songs and we basically just wanted to do 2 songs because they're both quite long, so it's already 11 minutes of music with just the 2 songs alone and I felt like they paired well with each other. The other song, "Hidden Threads", which we put out a couple months ago, that one is more quiet, internal, and introspective with the lyrics and I really gravitated towards the idea of having these songs be about, whether you're unraveling yourself or with another person and letting yourself fall apart, how do you put yourself back together after that? That's kind of what they're about. Musically, it's a more focused and refined version of what we did previously on our EP before this and we played around more with some production techniques, but the guy who mixed it, he ended up using the original demos that we had and put them through this synth filter thing and layered them underneath the new mix so there's all those reverse swells and distorted vocals you hear sometimes that the original demo incorporated into it. It was definitely a fun process, putting everything together, and it's quieted down now.

How would you sum up Unravel in one sentence?

We got a live review once who said that our sound was 'like beauty meets dynamics,' so I would probably just say that: beauty meets dynamics.

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

It's hard, because I think people take away different things; someone can listen to something and have a completely different reaction than someone else listening to the same thing, so I just hope that people have any kind of reaction, whether that is good or bad, or positive or negative, I just hope that people will at least listen to it and give it a chance, because I think the music does offer something different that you don't really hear a lot, especially in the scene that we're in in Brooklyn; it's a lot of straight up, four dudes in a band, like, grunge music is kind of the big thing now. So, I think this sound is an antidote to that, it's a little more ethereal, it's a little more textured, and maybe a little bit more time and thought have been put into arrangements and stuff, so I just hope that people at least listen to it, I guess [laughs]. It kind of has to find a way to stand out above all the other music that's out there because there is so much and there's so much really good stuff out there. All I can hope for at this point is that people just at least listen and, whether they like it or they don't like it, that's cool.

Is there anything that you want to add?

We're playing a show on Sunday, June 19th at C'mon Everybody, which is in Brooklyn, as part of a series that the people at Elevtrtrax are putting together and then, on July 3rd, we have a show at Sunnyvale with a band called Jaggery and they're touring from Boston and they're amazing, so I'm really looking forward to that one. After that, I think we're going to be going away to work on the album that we just started recording songs for, which is exciting. Oh! And also, everyone can follow us on Facebook and Twitter @rvbymydear - with a 'v' - everywhere.

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Zolo

Catch up with Toronto-based artist Zolo, watch the video for his latest single, "Thought That Counts", off his forthcoming EP, Mindless Thoughts, and look for more from Zolo World soon.

What got you interested in music and in solo work?

Zolo: I guess growing up, as a kid, I watched soccer, so soccer was my number one thing but I always liked music, like Prince, Michael Jackson, Daft Punk - just various artists. I loved Michael Jackson. I had a friend of mine and he was actually the one that formed the band that I was in and he was like, 'man, you wanna come in this band?' because, every time they would write songs, I would suggest this and suggest that and I was like, 'okay, cool, let's do it,' and then that's how it kinda started.

Do you remember the first song that you wrote?

I think it was a song called "Mechanic". The whole song was, basically, referring to a female and you're going to be her mechanic [laughs] so we used car references like, I think it was, 'I'm a mechanic, I'm going to tune you up,' and, yeah, it went like that. It was pretty cool.

Which other musicians would you say you have been influenced by?

Definitely, David Bowie; I like David Bowie a lot, just his style and his concept. I love Coldplay's sound. I like Kanye West. I like Lady Gaga, obviously. Swedish House Mafia when they were still around. Yeah, those are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head right now. And, obviously, I like Drake since he's from Toronto.

How would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard your music before?

First, I would say it's feel-good music, definitely, with a message. Second, it's a fusion; it's pop elements, it's got some hip-hop elements, some electro - it's got some different sounds. It's got some Caribbean sounds, some island sounds, just a fusion of different music but, overall, I would say it's feel-good music.

What were your inspirations behind your single and video for "Thought That Counts"?

Well, "Thought That Counts", the actual song, I was, you know when you're a child and you're 5, 6 and you're sitting there thinking, 'man, when I get older, I'm going to change the world? That's why they come up with superheros like Spiderman, Batman, all these guys that basically save the world and get rid of villains, because you see so much going on in this world and that we have our own villains and we always wish that we could just change the world. But, growing up, as you get wiser and you lose your kid imagination, you realize this world is kind of shitty and at the same time you know it, you can't really do much, and so it comes down to it's the thought that counts and if we all have that same thought, we could and would change the world.

The video kind of shows it a little different; it just shows a guy that basically is struggling through life and has goals - and we struggle so much sometimes and we all have our dreams - and I guess his wife is there to support him and so she ends up making a new board for him and gets him to be successful and gives him that drive, because we all fall off course sometimes.

Are "Brand New" and "Thought That Counts" indicative of what we can expect to hear on your new EP and could you tell us more about Mindless Thoughts?

Yes, the new EP's called Mindless Thoughts. The reason why I called it Mindless Thoughts is because it's an oxymoron: you can't really think and then be mindless, but my actual thoughts come from my heart. So, it's a fusion of songs, like "Brand New" is going to be on there and "Thought That Counts" is going to be on there and I have a couple of other songs, some more funky crossover songs. Yeah, I've got some really cool songs with the same energy, same vibe, and it's all a transition into feel-good music again.

Do you have a track off of that new record you'd call your favorite?

Yeah! My favorite song on it is "Top Of The World". I wrote the song basically on the concept of, I met a girl and you know that crush stage feeling where everything is going good? I felt like I was on top of the world, so that's the song basically. It describes what's going on, how she makes you feel, and the chorus is, 'she's on the top of the world'.

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

What I really hope that they take away from it is just that, one, they understand it and, number two, they can relate to it. Maybe every song's not for you, but at least one of the songs you can relate and put that in your every day world, like, okay, this is what this makes me feel; so maybe a girl or a guy meet their partner for the first time and their partner makes them feel on top of the world, or maybe they're struggling with something so it's the "Thought That Counts" that gets them inspired to keep going. Then there's other stuff like that, so that's what I'm hoping they take from that.

Is there anything you want to add?

I want to talk about the whole Zolo World. Zolo World means freedom is power and we're very strong about that and being yourself no matter what or who tells you to be something different: if you want to be the coolest nerd, be the coolest nerd; if you want to paint art all day, paint art all day. Love yourself and be yourself because, again, freedom is power. Your freedom is your power.

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Keith' More-Fire

Catch up with South Carolina-based rapper and vocalist Keith' More-Fire and listen to his latest single, "Sugar", off his forthcoming sophomore EP, Six 20.

What got you interested in music?

Keith' More-Fire: My whole family was really into music, honestly. My uncle and my dad had this little band back in New York and, from there, I just picked up the traits that they had; like, my dad used to rap and my uncle used to do beats and stuff and then my other uncle used to do piano and junk and stuff like that, so it all just came together.

Do you remember the first song you wrote that you were happy with?

The first song that I wrote, gosh, that's a long time ago. I'm not gonna lie [laughs], I don't think I can remember the very first song because I write so many, but the first one I was happy with, it was this old song that I wrote called "One To Me". I released it in 2010 and, oh my gosh, it was, it was so horrible. I am so glad that nobody can listen to that no more.

Which musicians have you been influenced by?

Nowadays, it's these new artists. Definitely J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, they're really bringing the old school back into it, like the love for the actual music back into music; some people just do music just to do music or rhyme with something just to rhyme with it and they do it for money instead of the actual passion behind it, so I'd say them two. And, older artists, like Bow Wow is one of my biggest inspirations because he was a kid and then he grew up into the music and he definitely put down a lot of roots. I know a lot of people did not have faith in kids when it came to music, but he was one of the people that actually laid down the groundwork for that.

How would you describe your own sound?

I don't know. I think my style is pretty different. It's really different than other people in the genre of hip-hop because not a lot of people in hip-hop include other things like jazz elements or pop elements; not a lot of people can incorporate and incorporate it good, so I'd say I'm really different from those. I like saying that I can definitely compare myself to Wiz Khalifa, because he always likes to switch it up and he always puts other elements in everything else and he incorporates it into his music and has his own unique style and own unique sound.

What were your inspirations behind your single and the video for "Sugar"?

Andre 3000's "Hey Ya". That's like number 1. "Hey Ya", that song was a masterpiece; I loved it from start to finish and the music video just brought so much funk and so much fun, it inspired me to make a fun-filled music video for "Sugar". In reality, what we did, nothing was actually rehearsed and we all basically freestyled it. We just got a bunch of people together and we were like, you do that, you do that - the only people that did have something laid down was the dancers, their choreography and stuff like that - and we all just freestyled it. It was really fun too.

Could you tell us more about your Six 20 EP?

It's really different from my last EP and my last album and everything about this, it's like I've matured. You have "Sugar" which is definitely one of the evolving songs that I've done, I've never done nothing like it and I really added a lot of other elements into it which made it so different and the next single coming out is going to prove, even more, that I have evolved into something way different than what I was with my other music. I think people will like it though.

Is there a track off this record that you're most excited for your fans to hear?

Oh, yes, of course. The next single actually. I don't know if I should say the name... Nah, I'm not going to say the name yet. It is coming out really, really soon, along with the music video for it. I know that, if people love "Sugar" for what it is, this next single is really going to hit it on the head; it really goes hand in hand. I like the way that I planned this one, because people are going to really see where it's going to go, so this next single is going to be a big surprise for everybody.

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

I have a lot of life lessons in it. If not life lessons, I have a lot of wisdom and knowledge to teach people and the fact that I have the voice and the talent to put it into music to where people can hear it, I'm really glad that I can do that and I'm going to do that 110% because a lot of people, they have that talent or they have that voice and they don't use it. I know a lot of public speakers that really speak about the wrong thing so, with my talent and my voice, I'm going to do it for good.

Is there anything you want to add?

Just to let everybody know that a tour is coming soon and I definitely am going to love meeting everybody that listens to Six 20 and "Sugar" and the next single. Honestly, all my fans, I can't wait to meet them.

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