issue 08
UNDISCOVERED: find your new favorite artist with our top up-and-coming picks!
CHAPEL
on life in a pandemic as a musician popular culture and music: from TikTok, to WAP, to politics
black lives matter: a much-needed conversation about humanity with
RUTH B.
a letter from the founder / manager — To say that the past few months have been a learning curve would be a huge understatement. Trying to adapt to the new online format of the music industry, managing full-time work and online school, and finding some degree of mental sanity have been bridges I didn’t quite expect to have to cross all at once. Normally, myself and the rest of the team have been very timely with our issue releases, and I hate the fact that this one took all the way until October to be ready for release. However, it might not be our most riveting issue yet, but I can speak for myself, if no one else, when I say that it’s probably my proudest yet. My team has managed to compile an entire issue worth of content in the middle of a global pandemic! Moving forward, at least until there’s some sense of normalcy within the music industry, I’ve made the difficult decision to pause our bi-monthly issue promise. I’ve never been closer to giving up this project than I was when I was trying to force myself to have this issue ready by July. It’s just not realistic right now, and it’s not fair of me to put that kind of pressure on my team. Plus, I never want to push out any content that isn’t truly honest and authentic, and anything rushed during these times will likely not present itself in the form of the quality pieces we always strive to put forward. What you can expect from us in the near future are issues released on our own terms. Hopefully not with extensive gaps in between releases, but at least enough time to create an authentic, unique collection of work in a pandemic. You can expect a refocus on web content, both in the form of features on our site and on our social media. I’m immensely grateful that I have this platform, and the fact that I’m currently putting out the eighth issue of my very own magazine as a teenager is incomprehensible to me. However, I know that the right thing to do is put the mental health of myself and my team at the absolute top priority, which is why we need to take a step back and work on our own terms until concerts return and we can safely return to the lives we lived before the virus - which may be a long haul still to come. In this issue, we focused a lot on social issues in the media, adjusting to a digital-based industry, and a few of our favorite songs and records released since May. Primarily, we wanted to highlight the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, especially its prevalence in the music/media industry. I’m honoured to feature Ruth B., an incredible singer/songwriter from my very own home country (Canada) as our cover star for Issue 08. She has provided us with a fabulous outlook on the BLM movement and why it is so important to her. I urge our readers to familiarize themselves with Ruth if they haven’t already heard her hits; she is an incredible human being with a great perspective. I am equally nervous and excited to put out this issue, but I sincerely hope you all love it. After this long, it just feels good to finally have it out! Well-wishes to all, and I can’t wait for the day we can all reunite in a non-digital universe once again. — Meg Clemmensen
contents issue 8
november 2020
5 UNDISCOVERED 12
how i’m feeling now
16 Chapel 20 WAP 21 TikTok 24
Zella Day
26
Politics in Music
28
Petals for Armor
36
Ruth B.
45
folklore
50
KCM Photographers Spotlight
52
Scott Helman
16
Chapel
24
36
Zella Day
Ruth B.
52
Scott Helman
Founder/Manager Meg Clemmensen Copy Designer Rebekah Witt Copy Editor/Distributor Mary Perez Cover photo courtesy of Scott Lazer
Contributors Mia Andrea, Polina Bakgof, Ravyn Cavanaugh, Gianna Cicchetti, JenaRose Dahlstrom, Lexie Dopwell, Emily Ellis, Ashley Gallegos, Sophie Harris, Adrienne Joelle, Emily Lantzy, Faith Logue, Vic Maltese, Katie Marks, Jessica Matilszki, Lexi Matuson, Caitlyn McGonigal, Natalie Melendez, McKenzie Moore, Emilia Rangel, Emily Richardson, Piper Rosas, Cris Rulli, Ibbi Schwartz, Leeann Spangler, Mallory Thompson, Chelsea Tiso, Devyn Vaughan, Hannah Wayland, Mickayla Whitt, Emily Wilson, Tanya Wright, Anna Xu, Emily Young
A special thank you to our Patreon supporters, Shona, Jaidyn, Teriann, and Nevada! Sign up at patreon.com/kindacoolmag and support us for as low as $2/month!
kindacoolmagazine.com
@kindacoolmag
UNDISCOVERED If one thing has ever stayed consistent at KCM, it’s our love for underground, rising artists. Our passion lies in discovering hidden gems and providing coverage to talent we love and believe is bound for excellence. The past several months have been challenging for everyone, but they have especially taken a toll on any smaller artists in the music scene who rely on touring and physical sales to obtain income. Using the platform we have, the team has decided to share a handful of our favorite rising stars right now. It’s part of our commitment to the music journalism scene - provided unbiased coverage without any boundaries. Rather than offering just one artist on our radar as we usually do in each issue, we’re thrilled to present a multitude of our favorite musical findings! Words by Mia Andrea, Gianna Cicchetti, Meg Clemmensen, Cris Rulli, Lexi Matuson, Mallory Thompson, Mickayla Whitt
FEATURETTE Comprised of power duo Lexie Jay and Jon Fedorsen, Featurette is an electro-pop act based out of Toronto. Since the release of their 2016 debut, Crave, they’ve been making their mark as unique and 100% authentic to themselves. After heading out on a variety of promotional tours, releasing some filler singles, and taking time to write, they came back stronger than ever in January 2020 with their second record, Dream Riot. If you’re into powerful female-fronted bands, modern dance pop music with inspiring messages, or just genuinely nice people, you’ll want to keep tabs on Featurette. @featurettemusic
RALPH Toronto-based pop queen Ralph is straight on her way to becoming one of pop music’s next big fads. Her nostalgic, retro aesthetic is absolutely to die for, and it’s probably what landed her opening slots on tour with big names, such as Carly Rae Jepsen. Ralph has been on our radar long before that tour though. We’ve watched her grow from the girl with the breakthrough track “Cold To The Touch,” to the girl who released her bold and flashy 2018 record A Good Girl, and now, finally, to the girl who’s taking the dance pop scene by storm with a nonstop series of tunes that’ll be impossible to get out of your head. Each one seems to be better than the last, and it’s clear that she doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. Catch Ralph’s music before she becomes pop’s next big star — she’s one of the kindest and most fashionable gals you’ll ever get to know. @songsbyralph
kindacoolmagazine.com • 5
MEET ME @ THE ALTAR The pop punk girl trio Meet Me @ The Altar consists of members from three different states who met on YouTube. The band combines early 2000’s pop punk vibes with a modern sound, creating a sound so incredibly unique to them. In 2018, they released their debut EP Changing States and continued to gain fans with the release of their 2019 EP, Bigger Than Me. Since then, the band has continued to release music that perfectly embodies the fun, upbeat vibe the band is about. With two singles already released this year, the trio shows no signs of slowing down. If you’re a fan of energetic beats and strong women, then you’ll want to keep your eyes open for what Meet Me @ The Altar does in the future! @mmataband
THE BETHS The Beths, an indie pop quartet hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, should definitely be on your radar for the rest of 2020 and beyond. Their super catchy, sugary-sweet power-pop sound will have you hooked instantly. The band first emerged on the scene in 2016 with their EP, Warm Blood, and then released their debut album, Future Me Hates Me, in 2018 to critical acclaim. This July, The Beths put out their second LP, Jump Rope Gazers, an album packed with guitardriven jams that also explores some softer sounds. The band has been gaining even more fans since this most recent release and the attention of some major rock acts, such as Death Cab for Cutie. If you love fun, female-fronted indie pop/rock, check out The Beths! @lizstokedstokes
THE BEACHES Toronto-based band The Beaches is a group of girls who really know how to rock. Their signature sound takes influence from rock n’ roll, but with a poppy twist. The Beaches’ music is bound to make you instantly feel like a badass the second you press play. After selfreleasing two EPs, the band’s first album, Late Show, came out in 2017. Their most recent release was last year’s EP, The Professional, which is full of upbeat tracks that are perfect to dance to. The Beaches has been doing plenty of virtual events and shows during quarantine, and they’ve shown no signs of slowing down since the pandemic. If you love powerful girl groups paired with lots of guitars, keep your eyes on The Beaches to see what they have in store for the future! @thebeachesband
6 • kinda cool.
@thebeaches
YOUNG CULTURE The Albany-based trio Young Culture has been making major waves recently. Forming in 2015, the band released their debut EP, You, in 2016. Mixing poppy sounds and vocals with upbeat rock instrumentals, their music feels like a band you’ve known your whole life. With a comforting familiarity to their sound, the band by no means makes ordinary music. Following two more EPs, Blue and (This is) Heaven, and some tours, Young Culture has been gaining lots of attention. The band announced they signed to Equal Vision records in September and released their self-titled debut album in October. If you’re looking for a fun band who treats their fans like lifelong friends, you’ll want to keep your eyes on Young Culture. @YoungCultureNY
W3APONS Rock trio from Saskatoon, W3apons, are the next big thing. In 2018, the band independently released their first single, “Off the Top of My Heart,” and it did very well, breaking the top 20 on the rock charts in Canada and peaked at #40 on Billboard. The band’s sound is reminiscent of AC/ DC mixed with Rage Against the Machine, but it is also something that is their own unique sound. On June 19, the band released their most recent single, “Bye Baby Gone,” and the response was amazing. The track has been at #9 on the Mediabase Active Rock charts in Canada and also peaked at #17 on Billboard. Just before the pandemic hit, the band completed a cross-Canada tour with Theory of a Deadman, and if those performances were any indication, W3apons has a bright future ahead of them. All three of the members - Jordan, Tallus, and Myk - are incredibly talented and have an incredible stage presence that can capture the audience’s attention easily and keep them entertained. To keep up to date with W3apons, make sure to give them a follow on Twitter and Instagram, as well as checking their music out on Spotify/AppleMusic/Youtube! @w3aponsmusic
@W3apons
HONEY CRUSH Honey Crush is a very new band that has a ton of potential! This Florida-based foursome just released their debut EP, Waiting for Nothing, on October 16th and it has constantly been in rotation since I first heard it. Their EP is full of fun, laidback indie pop/rock songs with lyrics that are hard not to relate to. Every song feels like it could pretty easily be put on a coming-of-age movie soundtrack. If you like chilledout guitar music that has a lot of heart, this band is for you! This is only the beginning for Honey Crush, so I’d definitely recommend keeping up with the band to see what’s next for them. @honeycrushband
kindacoolmagazine.com • 7
CHARLOTTE SANDS Born and raised in Massachusetts, Charlotte Sands has the type of music that will hit you where it hurts and also make you feel better. She’s been going strong since 2019 and her most recent track, “Sweatshirt,” will keep you vibing during your time inside. Charlotte takes inspiration from early 2000’s pop/punk, and her sound feels like a reimagined 2020 pop punk. Charlotte contains flair that I would compare to a grown-up Jojo, and her catchy songs are definitely what you need right now. She is a fiery singer with the blue hair and angst to match. Her lyrics are both emotional and relatable and make me want to scream about all the boys who’ve wronged me and then dance with all my friends. She is expected to release an EP by the end of 2020, and I don’t know about you, but I’m patiently waiting for it. @charlottesands
FAKE SHARK Vancouver-based indie-pop trio Fake Shark is composed of Kevvy, Louis, and Tony. The band debuted in 2007 with their album Zebra! Zebra! and are still making great music today. The band has always had a unique and fun sound that really makes their music stand out to the listener. They have always been the type of band to have an original, distinct sound while remaining true to who they are and the type of music they want to produce. Over the years, Fake Shark has released five albums since their debut, with the most recent being House of Mirrors on July 10th, 2020. This album will definitely have you throwing a dance party in your house! If unique, creative bands are your thing, make sure to check out Fake Shark’s music on Spotify/Youtube/Apple Music, and keep up to date with everything they’re up to by following them on Twitter and Instagram! @FakeShark
WANDERER Wanderer is the project of Adam Simons, who some KCM readers might know from his time playing and touring with The Maine. Wanderer has been around for a while, but his debut full-length release, Songs for the Night, was released this past January. His 80s-tinged pop songs are super catchy and are perfect for any drive, especially at night! Wanderer released a few singles in August that carry a similar vibe, and Adam is currently releasing some music under his own name that showcases a more acoustic-driven side. No matter what he’s doing, Adam Simons is someone to have on your radar, and I recommend digging into the Wanderer discography for some bubbly pop tunes! @wanderersongs / @adamsimons @wandererband / @adamsimons
8 • kinda cool.
ANNIE DIRUSSO Based between NYC and Nashville, indie-rock artist Annie DiRusso is your new favorite artist. From her groovy guitar riffs to her introspective lyrics, DiRusso’s music is a perfect mix of rock and singer/songwriter with a bit of twang thrown in from her Nashville influence. With several viral videos on TikTok, her first two posts both have just shy of 200k views. With seven singles under her belt, she has been releasing music since 2017. From heart wrenching songs like “Jonathan” to cathartic self reflection in “20,” DiRusso has proved that she is a force to be reckoned with. Annie is clearly a creative soul and an innovative artist. Her latest single, “Judgements From The World’s Greatest Band,” is about The Beatles poster on her wall watching her have a one-night stand. Keep an eye out for her debut album in 2021! @anniedirusso
RICH PEOPLE Described as “Jersey raised, but Philly-based,” Rich People is composed of vocalist and guitarist Robert Rich, bassist Conner DeMuro, guitarist Blake Horner, and drummer Ty Key. They released their debut record, Jacob’s Ladder, in 2015 and their sophomore record, Grace Session, in 2018. After opening for Grayscale’s 2019 North American Tour, the band released their third LP in August titled Harmony. The band has grown in the past five years, but they have stayed true to their emo rock roots. Their music is fueled by bittersweet lyrics and melancholy guitar, with a backbone of a lively drum beat. If you’re looking for true alternative/punk rock, look no further! @richpeopleband
COURIER CLUB Straight out of Philadelphia, PA, Courier Club has made waves recently. The band features Timothy Waldron on vocals and guitar, Ryan Conway on guitar, Michael Silverglade on bass, and Jack Kessler on drums. Recently, they’ve been in the news for their virtual festival formerly titled Block by Blockwest, a music festival taking place on Minecraft. However, the band is much more than that. Full of indie dance jams, their debut EP, Drive Like Your Kids Live Here, is full of catchy hooks and guitar riffs that’ll blow your mind. The band’s style is reminiscent of early Vampire Weekend and Two Door Cinema Club, throwing in their own spin on the alternative genre. Check out their EP and the music video for “It Takes Time!” @courierclub
@notcourierclub
kindacoolmagazine.com • 9
LEMONDROP Nashville’s Lemondrop is exactly what the indie scene needs to be right now: fun and energetic, but also a personal showcase of individuality. The alternative-pop band released their first EP titled Shut Up Move On this past August, and the release captures their bright sound in five unique songs. Vocalist Joni Lemons never fails to give the listener goosebumps as she sings along to Lemondrop’s emotional lyrics, which are beautifully contrasted by the group’s catchy guitar progressions and danceable melodies — it’s the formula for the perfect addition to anyone’s coming-of-age playlist! So roll the windows down, turn the volume up loud, press “play” on Shut Up Move On and put on your best pair of rose-colored glasses, because the future is bright for Lemondrop. @lemondropband
JOE P TikTok has easily become an outlet for many rising artists, and there’s no doubt that indie rocker joe p uses the app to his advantage when sharing his latest music with the world. The former frontman of the New Jersey-based alternative band Deal Casino is now pursuing a solo project that feels both familiar and experimental. Joe’s bass-driven song “Mr. Sandman” is a perfect tune for the fall season — it’s comforting and his distinct mellow voice complement’s the song’s dreamy tone. On the contrary, the sound of “Leaves,” joe p’s most recent release, is unapologetically loud and leaves the opening verse’s melody stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Joe’s solo releases are unforgettable and a perfect match for fans of alternative and indie rock! @joepthehyena
the UNDISCOVERED playlist
10 • kinda cool.
@allcapstrey allcapstrey.com
CHARLI XCX sheds light on social distancing with
Words by Meg Clemmensen Charli XCX has been one of my favorite artists since 2014. But the Charli whose “Boom Clap” charted as a single from The Fault In Our Stars’ soundtrack is not the same Charli who went on to release two experimental records in 2017, or who opened for Halsey and Taylor Swift on tour. 2019 Charli was a completely new breed of powerhouse, pumping out her best work yet with her self-titled record Charli. Most authentically, we see her as she paints herself in her latest release, how i’m feeling now. On April 6th, Charli took to social media to announce the release of a brand new record. This album would be a collaborative effort between herself and her fans, showing lyrical previews along the way, livestreaming songwriting processes, and allowing the artists who follow her to design her single artwork. It would be created using exclusively the tools she had available to her while quarantined inside her home. With zero songs yet completed, she set a release date for herself on May 15th. Not too long after the official launch of the month-long project, the untitled record became how i’m feeling now - a collection of songs coming from the most raw, isolated depths of Charli’s brain to help her better make sense of the current world state. The first single that the impromptu record produced was entitled “forever.” Very similar to a lot of Charli’s noteworthy, pop-
12 • kinda cool.
driven ballads, this track is just slow enough to be considered a heartfelt love song within Charli’s realm of genre. Despite still including touches of experimentation, special effects, and a wicked breakdown, “forever” takes down the BPM a notch from where Charli’s music often lies. Its production quality is just as well-done as your average leading single, even though it was entirely put together in about four days. Fans got the next taste of Charli’s 2020 record with the release of “claws,” another love song dedicated to her boyfriend, this one quite a bit more up-tempo. Anyone who is familiar with the experimental indietronica duo 100 gecs would likely recognize the production style as none other than Dylan Brady’s work. Charli and Brady work together fabulously to create a lovesick anthem that sees Charli absolutely smitten with the character she writes to. The sound that is created is something quite reminiscent upon tracks that may have come off 2017’s Pop 2, not to mention the lyrical ode to fan-favorite “Unlock It.” After the release of another single, music videos, and merch drops, along with keeping fans updated constantly with new lyrics, song titles, and artwork, Charli threw together all last-minute preparations to release the album on May 15th as originally promised. From the first track to the very last note, every aspect of the record felt authentically Charli XCX-stylized. Nothing fell short of
expectations, and the record sounded exactly as if it had been under works for a typical record creation process length. Complete with an inspiring creation process, how i’m feeling now marks both one of Charli’s greatest works yet and probably the only album I’ve yet to see on the market that has been entirely created amidst quarantine. While this 11-track record produced quite a few new favorites, some of the greatest standouts include nostalgic pop tunes “7 years,” “enemy,” and “detonate.” Tracks such as “c2.0” create continuations on Charli’s old fan-favorites (this track being an ode to 2019’s “Click,” changing situations that the lyrics handle to apply them to current circumstances), and tracks like “anthems” long for the world to return to normal once again. “party 4 u” sees a slowed tempo - likely one of Charli’s softest songs to date, albeit including techno-based effects as usual. Like much of the album, these tracks talk about the things Charli knows best right now: her love for her boyfriend and how much she misses her friends. Choosing to start the record with “pink diamond,” a heavily electronically produced track that sounds very similar to some of Charli’s works from when she began dipping her toes into experimental electro-pop, is a choice that sets the tone for the remaining 37 minutes. It is loud and unapologetic, and
nothing else on how i’m feeling now comes through any differently, despite the wide array of tempos found through Charli’s latest emotional expression. Charli XCX is one of the most remarkable pop music writers of the 2010’s - and now 2020’s. Her style is incomparable to anyone else’s, making her an excellent producer as well as performer. Her ability to express raw emotion via music and create an utterly unique sound time after time is proof of her excellence. Though we’re all going stircrazy adapting to our new reality amidst the global pandemic, Charli uses these complex thoughts and emotions and turns them into art, giving a voice to all of our feelings. how i’m feeling now serves as a comfort album while social distancing and quarantining, and Charli’s creation process that was not only incredibly quick, but also included her fanbase every step of the way, is yet another reason why her artistry is a force to be reckoned with. As our world continues to adapt and more new music is birthed through quarantine, Charli has comfort in being the first artist to announce and release such a project. how i’m feeling now is now streaming wherever you listen to music - immerse yourself in all the feelings of discomfort and uncertainty; this record won’t fail to help you feel a little less alone.
kindacoolmagazine.com • 13
La Dispute • December 2019 by Sophie Harris
morgxn • May 2019 by Sophie Harris
CHAPEL
speaks about life in a pandemic + new album
Formed in Atlanta, GA, Chapel is an indie pop-rock duo consisting of two members, Carter Hardin and Kortney Grinwis. Hardin is the vocalist/keyboardist, while Grinwis plays the drums. You may have heard of the band all the way back in 2016 when they were announced to be opening for the band Waterparks. Releasing their first EP back on November 17, 2017, Sunday Brunch became a staple for today’s indie scene. The EP features hit songs like “We’ve Got Soul” and “Fool’s Gold,” which have both almost racked up one million streams. I chatted with Hardin about life as a musician during the pandemic and the longawaited debut album from the group.
Interview by Faith Logue To start off, how has life been for the band during the pandemic? It’s been like six months now, which is unreal; it has felt like the longest month ever. Life right now has been kind of insane and unpredictable, because the entire industry is kind of upsidedown, so like nothing really makes sense and we don’t really know what to do. For us, though, it has been good creatively [speaking] because we are still able to write music and come up with new ideas. Besides that, the world is on fire and we are trying to find the most positive things to do during this time. Are you still able to get together to record music? Fortunately enough, Kortney and I live together, so we are still able to be creative and all these things. The thing that is crazy though is that we had everything wrapped up and the album was supposed to be out now, but because of COVID, everything got pushed back and that kind of just made us want to write in general. Now we are in this spot where we have all these new songs with an album done and we are like, “what do we do?” That’s the thing we’re trying to figure out right now. Continuing onward, how has the process been to finalize things for an album? SO hectic! I’m just kidding. The album is done and for us; we feel like all the boxes are all 16 • kinda cool.
checked off and we feel like everything is off of our chests. I feel bad that it’s not out though, because of how many of our fans [really] want it out. It feels good that it is done, but uneasy that it’s not out yet. Is there a certain theme the album will have (for example, Sunday Brunch had the theme of breakfast foods)? Yeah, I think thematically, that is who we are as a band. For the album though, the theme truly is that it feels like you are at a chapel. For Sunday Brunch, I felt the theme was sort of messy like a brunch on Sunday after a Saturday night of partying and the chaos that ensues. The album is really about being vulnerable, and we have a lot of vulnerable songs on the album as well. There have been unreleased songs you’ve played live (like “Mushy Gushy”); can we expect any other unreleased tracks that fans are familiar with to be on the album? Oh yeah. Like the last tour with Super Whatevr, we played like two unreleased songs besides “Mushy,” because we thought the album would be out by now. Anything we played that is unreleased will be out, besides like covers. “Mushy Gushy” is a song that fans have really enjoyed hearing live, how did you decide that would be the first single released after “Friends?” That is a great question, because that was
going to be another song completely because Kortney definitely didn’t want “Mushy Gushy” to come out for a long time. I thought she was kidding but she was being for real. I think it was time to put it out because people have been giving me crap about not putting it out yet, so I was like, if people know it and want it, then we might as well put it out. “Mushy” just felt cool and nice and it wasn’t really much of a statement; it was just something fun to put out. There is a common theme of love that entices your music, do you plan to keep writing about topics centering around love and relationships? Do you know what’s funny? I get crap from Kortney all the time about it and she’s like, “Can we stop?” I’m not trying to - there’s not a part of me that wants to do that. I guess there’s something subconsciously wrong with me, so I write about things relating to love and relationships. It’s not like I sit down and say, “Let’s write a song about the homies!” it just kind of happens. Like “Friends” is more about friendships than relationships of that sort. I
would say on the new album coming out there’s like two songs about love. I just feel like love is such a strong thing that it is hard not to write about it, so it just is always kind of there. Will the album be released sometime this year or not until 2021, considering the pandemic and its influence on the industry? That is a great question and I think it circles back to what you and I were talking about how much the pandemic has impacted the industry. The music is coming out regardless, however we are still trying to figure out the best time to release it. We’re glad that we didn’t drop the album before the pandemic and the shutdowns that happened, because we wouldn’t have been able to do anything with it. It’s just a weird situation all around. When the album is released, do you plan to do a full headline tour? Yeah, that’s the goal of course. We have been doing support for like three years now, and it would be so cool to come on our own show. It’s
also a lot better because we would have more than seven songs out and would be able to do a full tour. If you were to do a headline tour, what opening acts would you pick? I feel like I would want to tour with just friends or honestly by ourselves - though I love this band called 90’s Kids that I think are from Nashville. Honestly, we would just pick who we were feeling that week or anyone that people yelled at us and said, “Y’all have to take this person!” Kortney would say Lucy Daydream as an act she would take on tour. Speaking of tours - when curating a setlist, how do you decide as a band to play unreleased songs? I think what decided that is we had spent three years playing the same songs, so we just wanted to play something new. I know that may not be smart, but we just try to play songs that have a vibe or are more or less fun. It is also for our sanity’s sake, because of the little amount
of songs we have out. We definitely won’t do that anymore though. Finally, what is some advice you can give to smaller bands like yourself on how to push through the hardship hit upon the industry from the pandemic? Okay, this is great because I am learning as well the more we have been doing this. Something that I really learned this year - and honestly, I wish I learned when we first started - is that you have to keep going. Like as far as songs go, keep writing and keep doing them and putting them out. If you treat everything like a funnel, eventually something will stick. Some people like to treat their art like it’s precious, which it is, because it comes from you and the heart, but if you stay consistent with it and let the world decide what it is, that’s what’s best. Chapel’s newest single “Mushy Gushy” is on streaming platforms everywhere. Make sure to follow their social media @chapelusa and closely watch for their brand new album, which will be dropping soon if all goes as planned. kindacoolmagazine.com • 19
don’t be a pussy
WAP
why “ ” is crucial to feminism in popular culture Words by Ravyn Cavanaugh Why is it that sex is okay to talk about until a woman talks about it? Why can a rapper talk about getting “bitches,” but as soon as a female artist even mentions dating someone, people label her a slut? Seems like a pretty big double standard if you ask me. Two female artists are working hard to change just how taboo it is for women to speak up about their sexual endeavours. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion put out a song earlier this year called “WAP;” or for those of you who are going to pretend you haven’t heard the song yet and ask what that means - “Wet Ass Pussy.” The song is basically a 4-minute sexual awakening for women everywhere, some claiming it to be the femenist anthem of the year. The lyrics go into detail about the artists’ sex lives, accompanied by an equally arousing video. However, not everyone agrees that the song does any good for femenist culture. This probably doesn’t surprise you, but the majority of people in the spotlight who spoke out in disagreement of the song were men. Why are men so concerned with what women do, as if women talking about their astounding pussy game affects them at all? If the word pussy just made you cringe, then you’re also probably part of the problem. Women spent decades being controlled by other people; being told what to do and
20 • kinda cool.
how to act. Well, guess what? Women are kind of over it. Women should be allowed to explore their sexual side and act how they please without someone telling them what’s acceptable or not. If women want to show off their breasts and secure the bag with what they were given, why can’t they? How many more feminist marches do we need to have until people start to listen? That’s why having a Grammy winning artist shed some light on the topic really helps to start a conversation. Cardi B didn’t do anything that a male rapper wouldn’t do or hasn’t already done. People just can’t accept that women are equal and free to do whatever they please. Not only does “WAP” shed some light on women embracing their bodies, it all showcases women of color, which is an even bigger deal. Women in general get criticized on the daily, but women of color experience it even more; because what’s more taboo than a woman embracing her sexuality? A colored woman embracing her sexuality. You know what I think? Who cares who does what? If someone - guy, girl, or anything else on the spectrum - wants to sing about the people they’ve slept with or show off their bodies, then let them. There is no reason sexuality has to be so sheltered as if it’s some secret club you can’t ever talk about. Sex is okay to talk about until a woman talks about it; that needs to change.
changing the charts one
at a time Words by Caitlyn McGonigal It’s an average Wednesday when I overhear a commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts play from the TV in the living room. I wouldn’t have paid much mind to it typically, but this time a familiar tune made me listen a little closer: “Death Bed,” the viral hit song by indie artists Powfu and beabadoobee; one that you might recognize from scrolling down your For You page on TikTok. So, Powfu and beabadoobee on a Dunkin’ ad. It seems pretty straightforward, but there’s a lot to unpack there. It’s a perfect example of the power TikTok has given to small artists and their fanbases. Now, more than ever, the consumer gets to decide what music gets a platform, and what songs they want to showcase to an audience. Some artists, like Powfu and beabadoobee, have found fame seemingly overnight thanks to TikTok’s algorithm. The more viral something goes, the more creators use the song (typically called an “audio” or “sound” on the app), which leads more people to discovering it — it’s a seemingly endless snowball effect. These creators don’t have to have millions of followers, either. Someone like me, with a little over two thousand followers, can attach my favorite song to a video, and on average, hundreds of people will see it. When you factor in hashtags, different trends and challenges, and even people scrolling through the feed for the sound itself, that’s a neverending audience discovering new music every day, all thanks to their peers on TikTok. Viral Hits Overnight Perhaps one of the best examples of the impact of TikTok’s algorithm exists in Lil Nas X’s genre-bending hit track, “Old Town
Road.” Last February, Michael Pelchat (known as @NiceMichael by his followers) uploaded a section of “Old Town Road” to TikTok, and posted a video of himself dancing along to the song. It blew up, and the rest was history for Lil Nas X. The Grammy-winning rapper signed with Columbia Records the following month. It’s worth noting, though, that many of the viral songs that we hear on the radio aren’t on there simply because a big creator discovered it. Not only would that discredit the hard work artists and their teams put in, but it would also discredit the impact that TikTok’s millions users have as a whole. This collective impact is making music more accessible than ever before, and the data backs this up. As of August 2020, beabadoobee has just over 25 million monthly Spotify listeners, landing her the spot as Spotify’s 83rd most listened to artist in the world, and surpassing her Dirty Hit labelmates, The 1975, by over 14 million. Her collaboration with Powfu is still her most streamed song on the platform, with nearly 550 million more streams than her second most popular song, the original version of “Coffee” that was sampled on the collaboration. Even artists with large followings find themselves being discovered by brand new audiences, thanks to TikTok. Take Joji, for example. His unique blend of lo-fi and hip hop made him well known within these respective genres, but when his song “Slow Dancing In The Dark” went viral on TikTok in the spring of 2019, millions were introduced to his music, many of which may not have discovered him otherwise. While “Slow Dancing In The Dark” has a little over a million individual videos on TikTok using it, the song has nearly 430 million streams on Spotify alone. It isn’t the only time he’s gone viral on Tiktok, though. Just this summer his single kindacoolmagazine.com • 21
“Gimmie Love” became the soundtrack for a viral trend on the app. The song has since passed 62 million streams on Spotify. Repeat Virality Joji’s not the only one to go viral several times on the platform. In fact, it’s not far fetched to say that no one’s been the soundtrack for as many trends as Doja Cat. Though she was already relatively popular by the time that TikTok got ahold of her music, Doja Cat went viral on the app for the first time in March of 2019, when her collaboration with Rico Nasty, “Tia Tamera,” became a viral dance trend. Since then, she’s had her fair share of viral hits on TikTok, such as “Boss Bitch” and “Cyber Sex” (which people are still using as the months go by, with seemingly no intention of stopping, by editing different dialoges into the instrumental version and therefore creating new trends every time). It almost goes without saying, to anyone who uses TikTok, that her most popular track to be used on the app is “Say So,” which became popular after a viral dance was created for it. Doja Cat fully embraced the vitality of the song, doing the dance in her music video and even inviting the creator of the trend, Haley Sharpe, to be featured in the video alongside her. Embracing TikTok’s Quirks Like Doja Cat, many artists have actually begun to embrace the platform and the audience that comes with it. It’s worth 22 • kinda cool.
noting that TikTok’s algorithm, and users, don’t handle celebrities exactly like other apps. As I said before, what makes TikTok different is the power it gives its users, and that power translates over accounts and videos as well. Users have the option to hide videos that use certain sounds or are posted by certain accounts, which then can impact how (or even if) that content is displayed on people’s For You pages. All of that being said, celebrities don’t automatically do well on the app because of their status, but those who embrace the TikTok community and the different quirks that come with it, tend to thrive. Take Jason Derulo for example. While, yes, he’s a mainstream artist who’s had more hits than I can count on one hand, he’s taken the time to get to know the TikTok community and the creators within it. It’s not uncommon to be scrolling through the comments of a video and find Jason Derulo interacting with the creator or engaging with their work. This awareness of the community and openness for his work to be part of trends is why Derulo thrives on the platform. He is not simply a celebrity or huge creator when he’s interacting with the community; he treats creators, no matter their following size, as equals, joins in on the trends, and appears to genuinely enjoy what he’s doing, rather than using it as simply another way to get followers. So, when you hear “Savage Love” used in another trend (it’s been part of a handful already), let’s think about why the community doesn’t mind using it for months on end. After all, the power is in the hands of the consumer on TikTok. Whether the users realize it or not, Jason Derulo’s willingness to embrace the app has only made people more excited to use his music on it. Everyone Gets An Opportunity With that power and sense of community in mind, it’s no surprise that many artists get their starts on TikTok. People like to see everyday people find success, and by using the songs of small artists in their videos, users get to make a direct impact on small artists and their work. Groups like Avenue Beat have found success by releasing snippets of unreleased songs on TikTok, leading them to go viral and prompting a full release because their followers
genuinely wanted more. A video featuring a small portion of their track “I Don’t Really Like Your Boyfriend” currently has over 475 thousand likes, which prompted the trio to release it in full. This set the foundation for the success of their viral hit “F2020,” which was also given a sneak peek on TikTok. The songs have over three million and six million streams on Spotify, respectively. Similar paths to success have been taken by artists like Mothica, who has been documenting the progress of her music career to her 354 thousand followers, and mxmtoon, who was one of the first small artists to find success from sharing her work on the platform. Marketing With A Twist It’s undeniable that TikTok has become a form of marketing. As silly as the app and its trends can be, it’s important for artists to understand that their music is good enough that millions want to share it and have it be the soundtrack to their content. So, rather than copyright claiming a sound and having it removed from the app, some artists have fully embraced what makes TikTok unique, and have used it to market their work. Artists like Marshmello or Halsey don’t need to use TikTok - they’re both in the top fifteen Spotify artists in the world - but they understood the value of using the app when their collaboration, “Be Kind,” dropped this spring. Two of their videos using the track have over seven million views combined, and the song is boasting another 200 thousand videos having used it as well. Megan Thee Stallion also noticed the power of TikTok, when her song “Savage” became a popular dance trend this spring. She joined in, creating videos using the song (adding to the over thirty million that have used it), and brought Beyoncé onto the remix, who name-dropped the app in her verse. This remix became the song of the summer, and it’s not crazy to give TikTok some credit for that.
to your Tumblr, or creating videos for your favorite tracks on YouTube. What makes TikTok so unique, though, is the fact that anything can go viral, because it’s up to the user to decide what becomes popular. From 80’s hits and emo throwbacks, to indie-pop ballads or something an average teen recorded on their bathroom floor, it’s all on equal footing. Music gets to reach new audiences it may have never tapped into before thanks to the different trends that make their way onto people’s For You pages. If they don’t like it, they can hide the sound from their page. If they do like it, they can save it or even use it in their own videos. It’s as simple as that. There’s never been anything like TikTok, and I’m tempted to say there will never be anything else like it again. There’s never been a platform that takes the music for what it is - just good music. The artist’s fame or background don’t matter. The production quality doesn’t matter. It could be a Grammy-nominated track, or something a kid wrote in the lunchroom and recorded on their laptop last week - and that’s okay. The walls that have separated listeners and small artists from the Top 100 Charts have begun to crumble, and the power to impact the music industry now rests in the hands of young people, all thanks to the click of a button.
A Once-In-A-Lifetime Platform Social media has impacted music since its inception, whether it be from listing your favorite songs on Myspace, adding a music player kindacoolmagazine.com • 23
who is
ZELLA DAY?
24 • kinda cool.
Interview by Ravyn Cavanaugh I recently got the opportunity to chat with singer/songwriter Zella Day about her career, as well as the release of her forthcoming EP, Where Does The Devil Hide. Zella Day is a free-spirited musician who started playing at the age of 9. Soon after, at age 12, she began taking lessons in music theory, so music has been a big part of her life ever since she was little. Zella Day first released music independently in 2009, and has since gone on to produce with Dan Auerbach from Easy Eye Sound for her latest record. When asked if her success is everything she had hoped, she answered, “I’m not sure if I had hoped for it to be a specific way. Everybody’s journey is different in the industry, and it comes down to an acceptance of where you’re at.” Zella Day went on to speak about how her journey to where she is now took longer than expected, but she is nevertheless happy to be where she is, saying “I am really proud of what I built and am really ready to take the next steps with the EP and this new style of music.” I asked Zella about her writing process to get the insider on how exactly she creates her music and she said her process was “all over the place.” She mentions how her iPhone notes are filled with song titles with no lyrics, while journals are full of lyrics she dreamt about. She says sometimes, she even sits down with her guitar and just starts playing, which ends up being a song with lyrics months later. She described it as “whatever way the song wants to come to me.” Where does the inspiration come from, you ask? Well, much like her songwriting process, inspiration varies and is everywhere. She said she came into the studio with some songs completely done, while others were finished there with the help of Auerbach all within 4 days. She said having to write a song with such little time was inspiration enough for some of her pieces. “When in the studio writing, you need to let go of what you think you want to say and just let what needs to be said come to you.”
Her first single, “People Are Strangers” - from her latest EP - was started on the floor of her bathroom after a night out in LA with her sister and friend. At the time she wrote it, she said she wasn’t sure how she wanted to frame the message of the song, that is, until she went to Easy Eye. Auerbach helped her mold the song into something she didn’t even expect, with the outcome being a simple yet beautiful melody. “The song even means something different to me now than it did when it was born,” Day commented on her single. With the excitement of her fourth EP set to release soon, Day commented on how she’s had to deal with some obstacles before getting to where she is now. At 18, she had signed a record deal with Hollywood Records, where she released her first record. However, she said she soon realized that Hollywood Records wouldn’t be good for her sophomore album. She said that negotiating her way out of that work environment and into another was a big process - one she said took almost three years. She has since found her place with Concord Records, commenting that “being with Concord Records is a completely different approach when it comes to making albums. How this home is supporting me is different.” A lot of it was believing in herself and pushing for what she knew she deserved. When asked if Day had any advice for people trying to follow in her footsteps, she responded with, “Don’t try to follow in my footsteps. Being derivative is never going to make you satisfied as a creator. Being inspired by artists is powerful and important, but express your individuality.” Zella Day’s newest EP will be out August 20th on Concord Records, produced by Easy Eye Sound. Her fourth album is sure to be a success, and I recommend you check it out as it will already be released by the time this interview is out. While you wait for the next body of work by Zella Day, you should check out her three songs she’s already released for early listening. You won’t be disappointed. kindacoolmagazine.com • 25
why is politics in music so prevalent? Words by Chelsea Tiso At the time that I am writing these words, it has been around a month since the harrowing death of George Floyd. I’m sure you remember it; remember watching it, remember hearing about it and the many worldwide protests that followed. I remember feeling angry. For much of my life as a young black woman, I have watched, listened, and cried as the world demonizes and patronizes my brothers and sisters. As I see their names flash up on my Twitter feed, I feel hopeless; but this time, I was furious and simultaneously exhausted. Each day, I was determined to wake up to post on social media about Black Lives Matter, donation links and petitions for my friends to sign and then retire. Emotionally drained yet ready to do the same the next day. The soundtrack to my online activism, as I, like many of you, am bound to my home, was the voices of the impassioned. Politics covers a wide range of issues. Whether you acknowledge it as the struggle for power, a conflict of interests or even an attempt at conflict resolution, music not only does similar things, but it underpins these actions. As an art form that has evolved, lasted throughout history, and is such a vital part of our lives, it critiques, encapsulates and supports many political thoughts. Politically driven songs do more than document moments and movements in history. They animate them, making them live longer than the world they were birthed in. Because of this, combining music with social issues and politics has been employed by musicians for decades. Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” was released right before the 1940’s. It was originally an anti-lynching poem by Jewish songwriter Abel Meeropol, who aimed to comment on America’s racism. Its lyrical contents are a description of lynching, inspired by an image of men being lynched in the 1930’s. Already a politically charged song, the impact that “Strange Fruit” had on Billie Holiday emphasizes the need for songs like this one. Holiday’s involvement and popularization of the
26 • kinda cool.
song resulted in her being targeted by the FBN (the Federal Bureau of Narcotics) due to her refusal to stop performing the song, and yet, it became known as the Song of the Century. “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” by Gil Scott-Heron is a spoken-word call to action released in the early 1970’s, in which references to the political climate and pop culture are backed by a funky instrumental. It inspired artists like Anderson .Paak, Gorillaz, and content creators to create their own variations of the repeated mantra of sorts featured within the song. Though the phrase originally turned up in Black power protests in the 1960’s, this particular song has found its way through the decades, remaining so important and empowering 50 years later. Punk rock as a genre has been incredibly formative since its emergence in the 1970’s. Iconic bands like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Green Day, and The Ramones have been able to inform and influence millions of people though their songs and politically driven tunes. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols by the Sex Pistols has influenced thousands of musicians, and its lyrical contents are political through and through. “Anarchy in the UK,” the eight track on the album, comments on the state of the UK as it goes through the Troubles and what it is like to be a UK citizen during the 70’s. More recently, Green Day blatantly declared their stance on the state of the US during their American Music Awards performance, shouting “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA!” which is just one example of the pop punk band using their platform to make political comments [see “American Idiot” for reference]. Childish Gambino’s “This is America” is a more recent example of this niche genre of music. Its second revival on the social media platform TikTok drove millions of people to create gut-wrenching POVs and compilations of historic moments in history. When it first came out, the content of its music video sparked many a debate and video breakdown. Genius describes it as “a commentary on black life in America and American culture as a whole.” But I advise that you watch the music video for yourself, as many times as you please to fully understand its full extent. The intersection of political discourse and music has been a common topic of investigation for a few political commentators, as exemplified by the books on music as political communication. As creatives take inspiration from the world around them, consumers like you and me are able to make sense of the world. Be it through, but not completely limited to music and other forms of art, songs and albums with political themes are so important. They’re timeless snippets of the world they were made during and highlight our need to express our frustrations or allegiance with the powerful and simultaneously, the powerless. Not a single genre of music is void of political discourse and I just think that’s neat.
kindacoolmagazine.com • 27
PETALS FOR ARMOR: a journey of healing with
HAYLEY WILLIAMS Words by Emily Richardson After touring After Laughter with her band Paramore in 2018, Hayley Williams and the group decided it would be best for all of them if they took a break. The band went back home to Nashville and decided to take some time for themselves and relax. In an interview with Annie Mac, Williams stated that what she believes happened was somewhat of an “emotional whiplash,” where she was going through so much before they released After Laughter, and “as problems do, they stay and wait for you if you don’t figure them out.” She went on to say that once life got quieter, all of these things began to creep up on her. Williams stated that she “just needed help,” therefore, she began doing more intensive therapy. This is when the idea of Petals For Armor was born. Williams went to a craniosacral masseuse, and while laying on the table, she began to have a vision of flowers growing out of her. She recalls it as being not in a beautiful way, but “very painful and very grotesque.” It was this moment that caused her to realize that there was a lot that was trying to grow out of her, “but it was gonna hurt to do it.” After this therapy session, Williams was encouraged by her peers to do what she does best - to write. After realizing that she “has a tendency to deny things that [she is] feeling and writing helps,” she began to write. According to Williams, once she began writing out all of her feelings and emotions, Petals For Armor “just happened.” She reminisced, stating that she had a lot of trouble accepting that it was happening. Everyone was so confused as to what the problem was. They told her to just continue writing and see what happened. She tried not to accept it, but she stated that she “couldn’t deny it was becoming a thing.” She said she is still extremely shocked by it, but she is “so so proud.” Petals For Armor was released in three different parts, each consisting of five songs.
28 • kinda cool.
Each part had a theme. Part I consisted of feelings of rage, lust, grief, envy, mercilessness, and femininity. Part II consists of pride, resilience, security, trust, rebuke, and autonomy. Part III consists of fear, intimacy, pure emotion, healing, redemption, reconnection, and acceptance. The album being split into three parts helps you to follow Williams’ journey through pain, grief, and heartbreak, up until she begins to heal. Petals For Armor is definitely an album that you need to listen to in order, seeing as it tells a story. Petals For Armor begins with “Simmer,” a song about rage, and ends with “Crystal Clear,” which is a song about jumping headfirst into love again. You are able to see Williams healing throughout this record, and it is an extremely powerful thing. SIMMER: “Simmer” could not open the album in a better way. Williams’ airy vocals transition into the powerful opening line of “Rage is a quiet thing / Oh, you think that you’ve tamed it / But it’s just lying in wait.” This line is also ties back to how the project began, with Williams’ rage creeping up on her once she tried to settle down. This song is different from anything that Williams has ever done before, in the sense that this might be one of the angriest, heaviest songs she has ever written. “Simmer” was written out of anger, but turned into a project that pinpoints many specific trigger points for Williams’ rage, such as her ex-husband, who seems to be referenced in the second verse; “a tough one to record” according to Williams. When talking about this song with Annie Mac, Williams stated that the song was “such a shock.” She said that she just began to write, thinking “I have a lot of anger, I’ve went through things that are not justified, and I feel angry.” Out of this anger, “Simmer” was created. Williams realized that if they had not pressed pause on Paramore for a minute, she would not have had access to all of these emotions. She reminisced on her growth, stating “it was very important to me, stepping into my own skin for once and not
denying the things that I feel and the place that I’m at presently.” As Williams realized how much rage was built up in her, she stated that she began to realize she needed to learn more about what caused this. She went to her mother and asked for the story of what happened between her parents, and why her first memory of them was of Williams trying to hold them apart while they were screaming. The bridge of “Simmer” is probably one of the most important parts of the entire album. Williams hauntingly murmurs “Wrap yourself in petals for armor,” which she said is “somewhat of a mantra to try to stay soft in a really really hard world and feel pain and feel everything, let it all come to you and try to put out something that can redeem it all, even if it’s ugly at first.” Williams said that the lyric is what it is because she feels as though “the way to protect [herself] best is to be vulnerable and be okay with having a lot of pain at certain times, and also having a lot of joy at certain times. As long as I’m staying soft to those things and I’m open to letting those things in and out of me, then I actually can survive the world a lot easier than if I stay hard and stay with my fists up all the time.” LEAVE IT ALONE: As the first song that was written for Petals For Armor, “Leave It Alone” is one of the most personal and vulnerable songs on the project. Williams and her Nana share a birthday, and the day after their birthday, her Nana fell down the stairs and suffered a bad head trauma. She got better, but Williams stated that it just “prolonged the grief,” because she wasn’t really there with them and didn’t remember many
things. This is shown through lyrics such as “You don’t remember my name some days or that we’re related / It triggers my worry: who else am I gonna lose before I am ready? And who’s gonna lose me?”. This caused Williams to sink into the thought process of “What is the point of loving people?”. In an interview with Zane Lowe, she went on to say that she began to think “Why? Even in the best scenario, I fall in love, we have a life together, and then we lose one or the other.” This thought process still haunts Williams, as she has begun to realize that “the more you love, the more you stand to lose.” “Leave It Alone” is overall a song about grief, death, and the pain that love causes. The bridge reveals the powerful line “if you know love, you best prepare to grieve / Let it enter your open heart, and then prepare to let it leave.” This lyric promotes the realistic truth about life and death that no one wants to think about. “I am not afraid of me going,” Williams states, “that doesn’t bother me, but thinking of losing other people…” CINNAMON: This song is about being free and being yourself. Williams tampers with the idea of finding comfort within her own home and skin. Her fun, distinct, and haunting vocals mixed with the beat instantly draw you in and make you want to dance. Williams experiments with discovering her femininity through lyrics such as “Eat my breakfast in the nude / Lemon water, living room / Home is where I’m feminine / Smells like citrus and cinnamon.” The first verse gives you a look into her life of now living alone with personal lyrics such as “On the walls of my home / There are signs that I’m alone / I keep on every light / Talk to my dog, he don’t mind.” Through living
kindacoolmagazine.com • 29
alone, she finds ways to find comfort within being herself and finding herself. This lyric shows how she is now able to do whatever she wants, because she is alone and she is free. The bridge leads you into the very powerful lyric, “I’m not lonely, I am free... finally.” This lyric is a reminder to people who are escaping toxic relationships, herself included, that you are free. The burden of loneliness can appear to be very heavy, but through this lyric, Williams reminds herself and her listeners that they are, in fact, free. The music video for “Cinnamon” is very important to note as well, as a distressed Williams walks fearfully around her house, until parts of her home begin to turn into moving beings. Williams sees movement within her wooden floor, her walls, and even her piano. These moving beings chase Williams around her own house, until she locks herself in the bathroom. It is in the bathroom where Williams sees what looks to be a clone of herself laying in the bathtub. This body then sinks down into the water and changes to now look like a blank white canvas, completely renewed. This seems to be very fitting for this part of the song, as the renewed body appears as Williams murmurs “I’m not lonely, I am free,” as if she has now renewed herself by accepting herself and realizing that she is free. This body gets out of the bathtub and slowly walks to Williams, before she realizes that it mimics her every move. Suddenly, all of the bodies are in the open bathroom with Williams and her former clone, and it turns into an all-out funk dance party, which seems to be Williams accepting to dance with her demons and embrace them. CREEPIN’: To me, this song has always been about someone who you simply just cannot get out of your head, no matter how hard you try. This song has such an eerie vibe with haunting vocals, and it is overall just such a different, unique song. The basis of this song basically just seems to be Williams saying “I am free from you now, so why are you in my head still?” Lyrics such as “Strange you’re not a threat to me, and I admire your dedication,”
30 • kinda cool.
seem to be Williams’ way of stating “I admire you trying so hard, but you can no longer control me and I am no longer scared of you.” It takes a lot of strength to take power back into your own hands, but once you do, it is an amazing feeling and it is extremely powerful. In a livestream, Williams stated how this song is about “energy vampires,” which are people who just consistently drain your energy and happiness. Williams does a really good job of explaining how toxic relationships are like an addiction through the lyric, “It always starts as something so simple and innocent / But too much of anything / You’ll never know how to quit / You had a taste, but you don’t want to forget it / Just keep on sucking on the memory of him.” This line explains this concept very well, because you just get so comfortable and used to the toxicity that once you leave, you want to go back, even though you should not. SUDDEN DESIRE: This song is about missing the intimacy of a relationship. Whenever you are missing relationships, you tend to only remember the good parts of it and forget all the bad things that they did to you, because in your mind, you just miss them. Williams compares her former lover to an elephant in the room with the line “Take the elephant by the hand and hold it,” but proceeds to say that “But better to walk beside it than underneath.” This line could potentially mean that she stayed in the relationship that is being spoken of because she was scared of him. This is the case in many bad relationships; the woman fears the other person and will stay with them only to avoid being on their bad side. Williams goes on to compare her grief and depression to a balloon, stating “Won’t fit in the room / Big balloon / Trails me ‘cause I can’t let go / Everywhere I am / It sticks close like a friend / Just like him.” This line outlines the pain that is carried with you after getting out of a toxic relationship. Everywhere you go, any little reminder brings you back to them, no matter how hard you try to fight the thoughts. Towards the very end of the song, Williams says “Too far to go back now,” as she acknowledges the fact that it is too late to change the results, but the pain still exists.
DEAD HORSE: I have always felt as though voice memos within music are extremely vulnerable and powerful, and the intro to “Dead Horse” only proves this. You can hear Williams’ goldendoodle, Alf, bark in the background as Williams states “Alright, it took me three days to send you this... sorry, I was in a depression. But I’m trying to come out of it now.” You can hear the agony and pain within Williams’ voice as she utters these words. Alf barking in the background may not have been intentional, but I believe that it is very symbolic, because Williams stated in an interview with Zane Lowe that her dog has literally saved her life. Struggling to get the words out, Williams said “He would have been waiting at the door for me to come home, no matter what.” On a happier note, this is perhaps the most groovy, danceworthy song on the album. Although the beat sounds happy and makes you want to dance, if you begin listening to the lyrics it becomes a much different song. Williams opens the track with the dark lyric “Every morning I wake up from a dream of you holding me underwater / Is that a dream or a memory,” which to me, seems to relate to having nightmares after escaping a toxic relationship. Their memory begins to haunt you in your dreams, and eventually, it gets hard to separate what really happened and what did not. Williams proceeds to say “Held my breath for a decade,” which I believe to have multiple meanings. It seems as though Williams is referencing being held underwater for a decade and surviving, but it also seems to reference the feeling of walking on eggshells within a toxic relationship. When in a toxic relationship, it seems to become easier to just hold your breath and not say anything, in fear of starting another argument. She follows this up by saying that she dyed her hair blue to match her lips, implying that she began to lose oxygen from holding her breath for so long. Williams even acknowledges her strength, as she should, with the line “Pretty cool I’m still alive.” The chorus is selfexplanatory, as she realizes that she stayed in the relationship much longer than she should have. She seems to acknowledge that she continuously tried to fix something that was not fixable and change someone who did not want to change. Williams even pokes fun at herself and her tiny-ness with the line “Sometimes it’s good to be the bigger person / But I’m so small I can’t compare.” I believe that this song is a lot of Williams acknowledging her part in the relationship and becoming more self aware, as she states, “I got what I deserved / I was the
other woman first.” I feel as though this song was an extreme power move for Williams. It feels as though she is taking back the power and taking back her life. MY FRIEND: Through this song, Williams recognizes true love through the form of friendship. This is a love song to a best friend, someone that you can tell anything to. She has stated that this song is mostly about her friend Brian O’Connor, who she has been friends with since she was 17. They have been through many things together, even both going through a divorce in the same year. Williams begins to notice smaller aspects of her friends through the lyrics “Little wrinkle by your eye / I never noticed / ‘Til right now.” True friendship may be the strongest form of love, and Williams recognizes this with her passionate lyrics throughout the song, such as “If it’s wrong or if it’s right / I am beside you / Famine or fire,” and “My friend, who could take your place?” The outro seems to be a promise to stay with her friends forever, no matter what, as she hauntingly sings “We stay safe together / Escape death forever.” OVER YET: Williams seems to reference one of her Riot!-era lyrics with “If there’s resistance / It makes you stronger / It’s not the end.” This lyric seems to be hauntingly familiar to her 2007 “Let The Flames Begin” lyric, “Somewhere weakness is our strength / And I’ll die searching for it.” Written on a “3-day writing escapade” with friends Joey Howard and Steph Marciano, Williams seems to encourage listeners not to give up, as she sings “Baby, tell yourself it ain’t over yet.” Embracing optimism, she sings “It’s the right time to come alive / Baby, if you wanna try to get out of your head / Yes, break a sweat.” Williams stated that the song went from an “industrial/punk chorus to Janet real quick,” but I don’t think any of us are complaining! ROSES / LOTUS / VIOLET / IRIS: Reminding listeners, and herself, that beauty is not all about looks, Williams begins this song with her haunting vocals preaching “I have seen your body / And I have seen your beauty / They are separate things.” Overall, this song is about rejecting the notion of pitting women against each other. Three powerful feminine artists, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, and Phoebe Bridgers provide Williams with background vocals within this song. Williams seems to believe that all women are beautiful no matter
kindacoolmagazine.com • 31
what and that they should stop comparing themself to each other. Williams gets this point across by comparing women to flowers. The chorus seems to personify flowers as women, stating that “Roses show no concern for the colors of a violet.” Williams wants women to realize that all flowers are beautiful, but they do not compare themselves to others, so women should try to do the same. She continues the chorus by saying “Lotus hopes it won’t spark envy in your irises,” an interesting take on the word iris, as it can be a flower or a part of your eye. This lyric is trying to say that women should not try to spark envy within other women, because we are all fighting the same battle of trying to achieve acceptance. Challenging judgement between women, she states “I am in a garden tending to my own, so what do I care? And what do you care if I grow?” The line “Ripping all their petals off just because he loves me now, he loves me not” seems to show how women tend to care way too much about the opinion of other people, to the point where they ruin themselves over it by ripping off their petals. Once she gets to the bridge, Williams has the strength to admit “I myself was a wilted woman / Drowsy in a dark room / Forgot my roots / Now watch me bloom.” She proceeds to make a promise to herself to take back her full power and potential, stating “I will not compare other beauty to mine / And I will not become a thorn in my own side.” This line is so extremely powerful, as Williams takes a vow to no longer be as hard on herself as she has been in the past. She advises other women to do the same, as they are just as beautiful as the flowers she mentions in the chorus. Williams first shared handwritten lyrics to the song on International Women’s Day, stating “in honor of my personal journey through femininity, with its endless facets, and in honor of the feminine wonder that connects literally everyone and everything, I want to share lyrics for an unreleased song.” WHY WE EVER: Williams shares the pain of grief and regret through heart-breaking lyrics such as “I’ve spent a while on the stranger side of your door / How do you sound? / What do you look like now?” Williams perfectly explains the pain of wondering how someone is doing, but knowing that they should no longer be in your life. It is always a hard thing to completely cut someone off after you used to know about every part of their life. Once they are no longer in your life, all you can do is wonder how they
32 • kinda cool.
are doing now. Once enough time goes by, you tend to only remember the good parts of the relationship, which leads into the chorus where Williams states “Now I can’t seem to remember why we ever felt we had to say goodbye.” The chorus is very painful, as it gives you a perfect example of what it feels like to leave a toxic relationship, but constantly feel the need to go back, although you know it is not the right thing to do. The beat slows, and you can hear the pain in Williams’ voice as she states “I spent the weekend at home again / Drawing circles on the floor / Tried to keep myself from hurting / I don’t know why anymore.” “I just wanna talk about it,” she pleads, aching to go back to him. Putting the blame on herself, she softly sings “I know I freaked you out / Sorry for freaking out.” PURE LOVE: After being so used to living in fear within a relationship and constantly walking on eggshells, Williams opens the song with the line “The opposite of love is fear / I’m still trying to get used to how the former feels / ‘Cause it feels so new.” She realizes that she has to be herself if she wants true love. The chorus states “If I want pure love / Must stop acting so tough / If I want your love / Got to open up,” where she realizes that she has to be vulnerable and let this person in if she wants a true relationship. Realizing that this relationship might be safe, she states “Guess I gotta clean up these bloody fists if it’s alright,” reminding herself that she doesn’t have to constantly fight anymore; things are better now. Williams’ powerful vocals in the chorus make you want to dance around in a new dress to show that you have reinvented yourself. She realizes that true love is deeper than just sleeping with someone, as she states “To let you in is true compromise / Not just the friction of our skin.” Someone actually knowing you and loving you for you is a much stronger love than simply sleeping with someone. Overall, “Pure Love” just feels like such a confident song; it feels as though Williams has reinvented herself and is proud to have done so. TAKEN: Williams seems to no longer be afraid of love. She states “I’m flying but I’m not afraid to fall.” She shows that she is truly being herself as she wears her “Pretty dress with big ass sneakers.” The upbeat harmonies add a very soothing and comforting feel to the song, which I believe shows she is comfortable in this new relationship. She has found someone who makes her want to jump back into love headfirst, as seen in the lyric “Though I’m still
picking up my pieces / He makes me want to give it another shot.” She seems to be in for a much lighter relationship. The bridge of this track seems to show a sort of appreciation for her past and path to get to him. She states “Would I do it all again? / Oh yeah, in a second / Might have taken thirty years / But I was always on my way to him.” Williams seems to be extremely happy and appreciative to be in a happy relationship again. SUGAR ON THE RIM: You cannot help but dance to this track. This is different from anything that Williams has ever made. With this groovy, 80’s style track, she seems to be feeling extremely grateful for her new relationship. She sings that she has “Never felt this sensation / A kiss to every scar.” She wonders, “Could you be the silver lining / Like sugar on the rim?” This new relationship is helping to heal her, and she is not afraid to let you know that. WATCH ME WHILE I BLOOM: I feel as though this is one of the most important songs on the album. This track shows so much growth, confidence, and strength, and after listening to her pain and fear throughout the rest of the album, this song truly brings it all full circle. She is healing, and she wants everyone to know it. This track opens with the powerful lyric and vocals that speak “How lucky I feel to be in my body again.” Williams has returned to herself, is working on improving herself, and is ready to dance about it. She sings about overpowering her mind through the lyric “I’m alive in spite of me, and I’m on the move.” Williams has been very open about struggling with depression and anxiety, and this seems to be her way of saying that she has survived and is still alive, no matter what her mental health has tried to do to her. She shows that she is reinventing herself in being able to be her true authentic self with the confident line “You only got one side of me / Here’s something new.” In the second verse, Williams introduces one of the most powerful lines of the album, stating “If you feel like you’re never gonna reach the sky ‘til you pull up your roots / Leave your dirt
behind, baby you’ve got a lot of shit to learn.” This seems to be Williams wanting her listeners to know that they can reach the sky no matter what, even if they cannot let go of their past. This song shows such growth throughout the album, as Williams now wants you to watch her bloom and flourish. CRYSTAL CLEAR: This track resembles a march back into the unknown. She has been scared to fall in love again, but she sings that no matter how deep she dives into this person, it seems as though “The water is crystal clear.” She begins to appreciate every step of getting into a new relationship, stating “I don’t wanna rush around or slow down, this time I wanna stay right here.” She soothingly repeats “I won’t give in to the fear,” as almost to remind herself that she does not have to fear anymore. She reminisces on her previous relationship, stating “I remember standing on the edge, closing my eyes, counting to three / I jumped in with the rush in my head only to find the water was concrete.” She seems to compare her last relationship to jumping head first into concrete, but this new relationship is “Pumping air to [her] lungs,” as she claims “This don’t feel anything like sinking.” The bridge shows her full vulnerability of beginning a new relationship, where she states “Here we go / Gonna risk it again / Let’s hope it’s the last time / We don’t know how this could end / Let’s hope it don’t have to.” The outro of the song is very important to Williams, as it features part of her Grandad’s song, “Friends or Lovers.” To me, this song seems to be a parallel to Paramore’s 2009 hit, “The Only Exception.” Within this song, Williams states painfully that “None of it was ever worth the risk,” but in her 2020 track “Crystal Clear,” her mindset seems to have changed for the better. You can follow Hayley Williams on Instagram and Twitter @yelyahwilliams, and check out the Petals For Armor tour planned for next summer!
kindacoolmagazine.com • 33
Carlie Hanson • June 2019 by Devyn Vaughan
by Emilia Rangel
Olivia O’Brien • February 2020
keeping black lives at the forefront of your thoughts: a conversation with
RUTH B.
Interview by Emily Richardson Photos courtesy of Scott Lazer
On August 14th, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with Canadian singer/songwriter Ruth B. Ruth began to grow her following in early 2013 by posting six second clips of herself singing popular songs on the video hosting service Vine. In 2014, a six second video surfaced of Ruth singing a lyric that she had based off of the hit TV show “Once Upon A Time.” This video quickly gained thousands of likes, as fans encouraged her to make it into a full song. The song that emerged from this was her hit “Lost Boy,” which instantly went viral on Vine. The streaming service helped her to get on the radar of record labels, ultimately leading her to sign with Columbia Records in 2015. She released her first EP, The Intro, in late 2015, featuring the hit single “Lost Boy.” She followed The Intro with her first full length album, Safe Haven, which was released in 2017. Later in 2017, Ruth added to her list of accomplishments by winning the Juno award for breakthrough artist of the year. Previous winners of this award consist of Alanis Morrisette, Alessia Cara, and Avril Lavigne. Most recently, Ruth has been releasing singles, with her latest being “Dirty Nikes.” In response to the current fight for black lives, Ruth released one of her most vulnerable and raw songs in June 2020, entitled “If I Have A Son.” This led to Ruth and I speaking about everything from the Black Lives Matter movement to her musical inspirations.
With this magazine issue, we wanted to lift up the perspective of a black musician and bring awareness to the injustice and revelations that the world is facing currently. So if you’re comfortable with it, we would like to talk about the Black Lives Matter movement and get your perspective on everything. Yeah, absolutely! Your new song, “If I Have A Son” is, first of all, extremely powerful and amazing. You donated all the proceeds to the Black Lives Matter movement; what is the main thing that you wanted people to take away from this song? Yeah, I donated to various organizations that are dear to me with the song, but I think the main thing for me is just having people hear a perspective if they haven’t heard it from that perspective before. Whether you are black or not, I just wanted people to really know that this is the reality in a lot of people’s lives — it’s not just something you can easily turn off. It is an
everyday reality for a lot of people. So, with that being said, do you want to elaborate on any certain experiences you have had with inequality throughout your life? Yeah, I think like everyone, I’ve definitely dealt with my fair share of injustice and racism and prejudice and all of that. Whether that be at school or at work or wherever, it is very much there and prevalent in the world. Do you feel as though people with a platform should be doing more? How do you encourage people with a platform to use it in a positive manner for the movement? Yeah, I think for me, I didn’t realize how important it was [to use my platform] until this all started kicking off with the murder of George Floyd. I think now it’s just become a more important part of my life as well, just to use my platform in whatever way I can. I think anyone can do that; you don’t have to [have a large following] to be able to talk about issues that kindacoolmagazine.com • 37
matter and go out there and try to make some sort of change. Yeah! For example, there was the whole Instagram black square thing that was going around, and I feel like we can both probably agree that that was not the most helpful to the movement. What advice would you give to people or how would you explain to people that it was not beneficial? A large amount of people didn’t understand how it was ineffective, and I feel like your perspective could be a good one to share.
everything that happened in the video and it was so inhumane that you almost just didn’t have a choice but to talk about it and think about it. It’s one of those things that you can’t really unsee, which I think a lot of people kinda do. You’ll see something and it’ll be too much to handle, so you’ll kinda just scroll past it, but I think the video of George Floyd was just something you couldn’t ignore. What do you want any non-Black readers or fans to know about what the best ways to help the movement is and be an ally?
Yeah, I think it was a way to show people have interest and show a sense of community within it. But I feel like there are ways you can actually garner proper awareness and bring up issues to people, and it doesn’t always have to be so in your face. It can be in your everyday life, just correcting people when they say something wrong or whatever that might be. I think there are ways in your everyday life that you can make the world a better place for everyone and make it an equal place for everyone.
Yeah, I think the word “ally” takes on such a big meaning, [and] it’s hard [to explain]. Being there and doing your part is a big portion, just being able to speak up when your privilege is there and evident, whether it is towards an ignorant family member or friend or another form. I know for me, I’ve been in a lot of situations where someone will say something and I’ll expect my friends to speak up, but they don’t. So I feel like it just goes a long way, being there and using your voice when others can’t.
What changes have you seen since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement? What changes do you wish to see in the future?
How have you seen the stigma of injustice and racism evolve throughout your life?
Yeah, I think the George Floyd thing did a really good job at really getting people’s attention, mainly because [the video] was so appalling and crazy to see, but it’s sad that his story is one of many. This has been going on for a long time, so it’s nice to see that people are talking about it and that it has kinda become the forefront at a lot of people’s minds, which is what I was really thankful for that came out of it. I just hope that the momentum of it doesn’t go away and that people are still fighting for justice. Culturally, we can see that in politics and whatnot with the upcoming election. I just hope that people are still keeping that at the forefront [of their thoughts]. To go off of you saying that, why do you think it took the murder of George Floyd to start this movement? Why do you think that is what pushed it off aside from all the other stories that there are? I think this one was just so... like you really saw 38 • kinda cool.
I think I first was exposed to racism pretty early once I was in grade school. Up until then, I didn’t really know what it was. It’s unfortunate that it exists in kids and in adults and everything and everyone. I think, as I got older, I was able to stand my ground more and whatnot. It is also just sad that there’s a difference where you can feel racism at school and you can feel racism where you feel like your life is in danger, and that exists as well. I think the older I got, the more the latter became evident in my life too. How do you want to educate others on this issue through your perspective and what do you hope for listeners to learn and understand? I think, like I said, one of the biggest things would be, even with “If I Have A Son,” my favorite reaction was just reading comments and see people be like “I’ll never have to go through this, and I’m lucky for that, but I don’t want anyone to have to go through this and I want to do my part to make sure not everyone
kindacoolmagazine.com • 39
does.” Sometimes it’s just something as simple as [the fact that] I’m nervous to have kids because I don’t want them to go through what I’ve been through. People think of racism as this huge extreme thing, which it is, but I feel like with this song, I just wanted to make it as close and personal as possible. [I want] people just to understand that it really is that personal
to people. I just hope that people can hear that kind of stuff and use that to motivate change in their own lives and the people they love. We’ve been in quarantine for a while now, have you picked up any new hobbies? In the beginning, I was dabbling with guitar, but I didn’t keep up much of it. I’ve made a bunch of puzzles, but for the most part, I’ve just been writing and making music and all that. Even if it’s just in my bedroom, it’s been kinda nice to tap back into the way I started making music, which was just by myself in my room. What is your songwriting process? Do you usually come up with melodies or lyrics first? I think my songwriting process has become very abstract over the years. In the beginning, it was very much lyrics first, then melody, but now it’s kinda just whatever happens. As of lately, I’ve just had a lot of melodies in my head, and I’ve been trying to match them with the emotions I’ve been going through and whatnot. It definitely varies from day to day. What is your favorite lyric that you’ve ever written? Probably the bridge in a song called “Safe Haven” — ‘And when I’m with you, I stop looking for heaven, ‘cause I found a piece of it wrapped up in your presence.’ Who are your biggest musical inspirations, and what made you decide that music was what you wanted to do as a career? Music inspirations: Lauryn Hill. She’s like my ultimate favorite ever, just like as a singer, a writer, a producer; she just kinda does it all, which is something I’ve always wanted to emulate in my own career. As far as starting music, what inspired me was just genuinely my love for it. I just love to sing, I love to
write, I love to play piano, that’s where I’m the most myself. What is the main thing on your bucket list as a musician? Probably to write, record, produce, and engineer my whole album. I want to do the whole thing solo; that’s always been something I’ve wanted to do. If any artist could ask you to open for them in 2021, who would it be? If live music is back up by then, of course! I think right now, I’ve been really into James Blake. He’s a singer/songwriter from the UK. I don’t know if I would want to open or whatever, but I would love to tour with him and just watch him do his thing. I’ve been obsessed with his music recently, so I just would love to see his show every day. What’s your favorite memory from touring so far, if you had to pick one? I would probably say my first headlining tour that I did. The very first show was like the worst and best show of my life. I was so anxious and nervous that whole day leading up to it that I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and I literally told my manager like “I don’t think I can do it, dude, like I’m not getting up there.” But after the show, I was totally obsessed. I just remember getting out there on stage, and at one point, I just couldn’t believe that I was wanting to not do it because it ended up being one of the best things ever. That was like the beginning of when I really started enjoying to perform to people So “Lost Boy” went viral on Vine. With that being said, how do you feel social media has affected your life, as well as your career? I know that being on social media, even when you’re not famous, is hard enough, so I can only imagine how hard it is mentally when you’re famous and have millions of followers. Yeah, I think, like everyone, I have a love/ hate relationship with social media. I’m very thankful for it, because like for where I’m from, I don’t know that I could have gotten my music out there any other way. I’m from Edmonton, Alberta, and there’s not a lot going on out here.
[Social media] gave me an easy way to let people hear my music. But I think it is definitely hard to navigate, just like anyone. That’s the nice thing about it - well, not nice, but anyone can feel that way. You don’t have to have a lot of followers. I think for me, it’s just like doing things in doses. If I need a break, I don’t have a problem deleting my apps for a week or two and just chilling and doing my own thing. Then I come back refreshed. I think it’s just about being able to mediate and maintain [when you need breaks]. So you have a new single out on August 28th called “Dirty Nikes,” which is amazing, by the way. Would you like to elaborate on the story behind the song, if there is one? Yeah, that was one of the first songs I wrote when I moved to New York last year. I wrote it with my friends/producers Patrick [Wimberly] and Khaya [Cohen] out there, and it was just like a very honest, confessional kind of song. I think that I was literally just saying how I was feeling. Usually I’ll write like that, but I’ll tweak the lines and I’ll fix them. But for this, we kinda kept a lot of it, just how I was saying everything. It’s just a very honest, kinda like a conversational song. With the video, was there a certain meaning behind the video or a story that you wanted to tell through it? Yeah, the video was fun and interesting to film because we did it a month or two ago so it was during this pandemic. It was the first we had ever shot in Edmonton, so it was really fun to shoot something here. Even if it was with a super small crew, it might have been my favorite shoot because it was just so light and kinda fun. The story is kinda a breakup story like two people trying to figure out how to let go of each other, and more from my perspective, how to let go of someone without hating them, and I tried to depict that in the video. On that note, what advice would you give to fans or readers who are going through a breakup or trying to get over somebody? First, I would say that you are not alone. I remember when I was going through my little ordeal; I was just like “Has anyone ever felt this way? Like this is miserable, oh my gosh, I’m kindacoolmagazine.com • 41
never getting out of it.” I think it’s just [helpful] knowing that everyone has been there and everyone makes it out. Unfortunately, it’s gonna sting for a little while, but you just always have to keep holding onto the light. The days will go by little by little and you’ll wake up happier and you’ll forget more. It’s like a cycle. Everyone has to go through it, but you will make it out. In the video, there’s a scene towards the end where the Nikes are burning and also the part where the music fades out and you’re listening to yourself sing through the phone. These both seem to be very symbolic. Do they have a specific meaning or was it just kinda like “Hey, we’re gonna do this?” I think it was more like a “Hey, we’re gonna do this.” I think the Nikes being on fire was a little more symbolic, and that, for me, was depicting that this really is the end and there’s no more. Throughout the video, you kinda see me going back and forth and the boy is still in the video, but after the Nikes are on fire, that is when you kinda make that final decision to be like, “I’m letting go and moving on.” One of your older songs, “Superficial Love,” seems to be about knowing your worth. I know that for the majority of people, especially young girls, this is usually a long
42 • kinda cool.
and hard journey. What advice would you give to people who are still trying to find the confidence to understand their self worth? I think, like you said, for everyone, it’s a long hard journey, and it’s one that everyone goes through. I always say that I feel like it is so important to know yourself and get to know yourself. I know, even for me, we invest so much time in getting to know other people, whether it’s friends, love, whatever it is, we almost neglect figuring out who we are. That’s a journey that I’ve taken up in recent years, as weird as it sounds, spending time with myself and figuring out what makes me happy and what makes me feel fulfilled and my purpose and all of that. So yeah, just give yourself time. It’s okay to hurt, and it’s okay to feel all of that. I think eventually you’ll kinda start to see who and what it is you are. “Lost Boy” is the song that skyrocketed you into fame. How do you feel you have changed and evolved as a musician and a person since then? I put “Lost Boy” out maybe 5-ish years ago now so I was 20 then, and I am 25 now. I think a lot happened in that time. Especially as a writer, I would say I’ve evolved the most. That was the first song I had written, so I didn’t really know anything about writing or music or whatever.
Throughout the years, I’ve gotten to work with a lot of incredible people and I’ve gotten to learn how I like to write and my writing style. It’s definitely been a fun journey and I’m super thankful for that song and the ability that I can just go back and hear how I first wrote music. Any final words for readers or fans? If you’ve supported me and my music, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. It never goes unnoticed. I’m really excited for my new music and super excited for people to hear it! I hope everyone is doing great! With the murder of George Floyd helping her to realize how important it was to use her platform, Ruth B. has become a strong advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement. As she reflected upon the first time she was exposed to racism, Ruth expressed “it’s unfortunate that it exists in kids and in adults and everything and everyone.” She went on to explain that there is a difference where “you can feel racism at school and you can feel racism where you feel like your life is in danger. The older I got, the more the latter became evident in my life”. Throughout our conversation, I realized that she simply wants to help others realize how personal this is to people. She wants readers to realize that this is the reality for a lot of people, and racism is
not something that you can just easily turn off. Racism is “very much there and prevalent in the world.” Through her perspective as a black woman who was first introduced to racism in early grade school, Ruth wants to introduce people to a perspective they may not have heard before. Ruth and I spoke briefly about what it means to be an ally, and it was shown that speaking up and using your voice when others can’t seem to be the main factors she believes to represent being a good ally. Whether it be through using your platform to advocate for change or speaking up, Ruth stated that she believes “there are ways in your everyday life that you can make the world a better and equal place for everyone.” With Ruth’s recent release of “If I Have A Son,” she hopes that her vulnerability will be used within others to “motivate change in their own lives and the people they love.” Ruth stated that she is thankful this issue has come to the forefront of a lot of people’s minds, because this has been going on for a long time. George Floyd’s story is one of many. “I just hope that the momentum of it doesn’t go away and that people are still fighting for justice.” Be sure to check out Ruth B.’s recent releases, “Dirty Nikes” and “If I Have A Son,” available now on all streaming platforms! Follow Ruth B. on social media: @itsruthb on Instagram and Twitter!
kindacoolmagazine.com • 43
GOALKEEPER
new EP
life in slow motion out now
@goalkeeperband
taylor swift explores new
folklore Words by Lexie Dopwell Hailed as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Taylor Swift has been a force to be reckoned with ever since she appeared in the music scene as a fresh-faced teen with big dreams and a pen that could write a hook like no one’s business. Now, over a decade and seven studio albums under her belt later, she’s become quite the household name, having gone from country cutie to pop princess seamlessly, and being able to dominate both genres in the process. So, all things considered, it wasn’t too far off to speculate that she would ultimately decide to follow a new path on her eighth album – it’s just that most of the world had no idea that her eighth album even existed until Swift announced that she was releasing it mere hours before it came out. Oh, and the kicker? It then came to light that the album was labeled as ‘indie’ and ‘alternative,’ both being genres that Swift had only briefly experimented with in the past. Born entirely within the wreckage of what 2020 has been, folklore is a seventeen track display of what Swift has always done best – tell stories. However, this time, it’s not just her own stories she’s telling; after taking inspiration from everyone to the previous owner of her Rhode Island home, to her late grandfather, to a 17-year-old who isn’t quite sure how to apologize, and more – Swift effortlessly ties all of those people – and their stories – together into the neatest of packages, resulting in what I consider to be her best work yet. And though she may
have infamously declared her old self dead on 2017’s reputation, she’s far from it – with melodic background vocals rising up to match hers, nods to loves long gone, and even the familiar sound of a harmonica, it’s clear to see that the old Taylor isn’t completely dead, she just peeks out every now and then. “I’m doing good / I’m on some new shit,” Swift boldly declares only seconds into the opening track of the album, “the 1.” Right then and there, it becomes obvious that this record is completely unlike any others she’s put out yet — this is Taylor Swift, age 30, poised and ready to prove to everyone that she’s definitely not feeling 22 anymore. And though it remains unclear exactly who the subject of the song is supposed to be, whether it’s Swift or someone else, her uncanny ability to be relatable is visible as ever. Purposely timed so that its music video would be released at the same time as the album, “cardigan” opens with the sound of high heels on cobblestones and instantly pulls listeners into the new world that Swift had created. The first official single from folklore, and the second song on the album, the track pales heavily in comparison to the brighter, poppier ones she’s continuously released to kick off new album eras since the start of her career. “But I knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss / I knew you’d haunt all of my what if’s,” Swift croons on the track, its entire bridge, especially, nothing short of addicting. Overall, that’s exactly what the album is – addicting and somehow perfect for these trying times we’re in right now. “cardigan” also happens to be the first installment of the ‘teenage love triangle’ (Swift’s words, not mine), the ending of the track setting the stage for the rest of the album, as well as their story. Track three tells the tale of the late Rebekah Harkness, a mad woman who had a marvelous time ruining everything. The previous owner of Swift’s Rhode Island home, Harkness was well-known for the chaos she caused during her stay at Holiday House legend even has it that she once took her neighbors’ dog and dyed it green. Ironically enough, when Swift
kindacoolmagazine.com • 45
bought her home in Rhode Island, her fame all but turned the tiny town upside down — and she, too, had a marvelous time ruining everything. Next comes “exile,” a collaboration between Swift and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, its lyrics written by the pair and a mysterious William Bowery. A somber duet that feels reminiscent of Swift’s 2012 collaboration with Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, Swift and Vernon are a duo that you never knew you needed until you heard it, their voices telling two sides of a sad story that’s as old as time; one of moving
46 • kinda cool.
on, being confused, and explaining that the signs were there all along. Track five, “my tears ricochet,” keeps up with Swift’s habit of choosing absolute tearjerkers as the fifth song on each of her albums. You thought “All Too Well” was sad? Well… look at how my tears ricochet (Hopefully there won’t be a ghostly scene after I say this). In what seems to be a nod towards her own life after losing the masters to her first six albums last summer, Swift makes the declaration that she can go anywhere she wants — just not home. “mirrorball,” the sixth song on the record, and one of Swift’s latest with longtime producer slash friend slash keeper of secrets Jack Antonoff at the helm, sounds just as glittery as you’d think it would. However, the devil’s in the details, and under its mesmerizing production is an honest track about changing yourself to fit in. It’s not every day that a songs’ title truly fits its content, but Swift and Antonoff tend to make everything they touch together into gold — or in this case, silver. Track seven, aptly named “seven”, asks the question that we all can’t help but wonder at least once in our lives — are there still beautiful things? Reminiscing on a childhood friendship and a hood of innocence worn by the character whose point of view Swift sings in, this track is a real standout. “august.” the next part of the teenage love triangle, tells a story of young love. Fleeting. Innocent. Knowing that forever wasn’t realistic, but they were yours to lose nonetheless. Another production by Swift and Antonoff, the track screams youth and summer and love that slips away like a moment in time.
“this is me trying” shows Swift at what might be her most raw — admitting that regardless of anything, she’s still trying her best. It’s a far cry from the teenager who sang about happy endings once upon a time, but it’s also just another chapter in her story; having her life publicized for the past decade has surely changed her, but at 30, she’s older now. Wiser. Thirty, flirty, and thriving - and trying. On the tenth track on the album, “illicit affairs,” Swift has a simple demand — don’t call her kid, and don’t call her baby. A carefully crafted story about cheating in a relationship, the lyrics will make you feel as if you’re living the characters’ lives. “invisible string” is a sweet departure from the sadder songs on the album, with Swift taking inspiration from an old Chinese legend to sing about how all along there’s been an invisible string tying her and her longtime boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, together. “And isn’t it just so pretty to think / That all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?” She asks on the track, and I swear that you can hear her smile while singing. It’s one of the only songs on the record that absolutely pertains to her own life instead of drawing inspiration from others. However, just as quickly as you can blink, comes “mad woman,” its venomous lyrics a drastic contrast to the tender ones from the track before. Swift is no stranger to venom, either — and judging by how quietly angry she sounds on the song, you do not want to look at what you made her do this time around. “epiphany,” track thirteen, serves as both a nod to Swift’s grandfather and the world today as we tackle COVID-19. The stories intertwine as she describes trying to find peace within the madness, something that’s not too far off from any of our lives today. It doesn’t feel forced or overwhelmingly tragic, either — it’s honest in a quiet sort of way, though it’s no surprise that Swift has the tact to handle serious material such as a pandemic effortlessly in her music.
“betty,” the last chapter in the teenage love triangle, feels like it could’ve easily been from her eponymous first album. With an instrumental that feels like home to those familiar with her earlier music, Swift tells the story of Betty, James and the girl from “august,” a harmonica setting the tone for teenage love at its messiest. Just as smoothly as the harmonica in “betty” fades out, the smooth lull of an electric guitar begins in “peace,” where Swift admits that she could never give anyone peace — but you’ve got a friend in her anyway. “But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm,” she promises, and the earnesty in her voice makes you believe her. “hoax,” the official closing track on the standard album, contains some of Swift’s best lyrics to date. “Don’t want no other shade of blue but you / No other sadness in the world would do” she proclaims, keeping up with her usage of the color in her music. Last but not least, the deluxe album closer, “the lakes,” feels as if it were taken straight from a fairytale. Introduced by its lush and dreamy opening, the final track on the album is nothing short of stunning, with Swift’s declaration of wanting nothing more than to run away with her lover to the lakes guaranteed to make you swoon. It’s beautiful and one of her most romantic songs yet, which is saying something considering that her previous album was called Lover. All in all, it’s clear that folklore isn’t just a series of random stories put together — instead of an anthology, it’s a multi-chaptered book, and Swift is proving once again that she’s still got it.
kindacoolmagazine.com • 47
by Ravyn Cavanaugh
K.Flay • September 2019
Chase Atlantic • July 2019 by Rebekah Witt
a spotlight on some photographers With the COVID-19 pandemic putting our photographers out of work, we’ve been trying our best to come up with an initiative to keep them busy. With this, we chose to create a special spotlight for them to be featured in this issue. Show their work some love and follow them on social media - hopefully they’ll be doing what they love again soon, but until then, let’s all support these amazing creatives the best we can. name: Emily Young
artist they most want to photograph: YUNGBLUD
favorite show they’ve photographed: Boston Manor
music getting them through quarantine: All Time Low, Waterparks, Stand Atlantic & Broadside emily’s fav quarantine photo
@emilyjadephotos
name: Devyn Vaughan
devyn’s fav concert photo
favorite show they’ve photographed: Bleachers music getting them through quarantine: All Time Low & Machine Gun Kelly
name: Emily Wilson
favorite show they’ve photographed: The Struts
favorite show they’ve photographed: Moon Taxi
music getting them through quarantine: Folklore by Taylor Swift
music getting them through quarantine: Mac Miller
@devyn_vaughan
music getting them through quarantine: ROLE MODEL & Christian French @malloryexplores
ravyn’s fav quarantine photo
@ravvyn
artist they most want to photograph: Still Woozy
favorite show they’ve photographed: The Band Camino/Valley
50 • kinda cool.
artist they most want to photograph: Machine Gun Kelly
artist they most want to photograph: Harry Styles
name: Mallory Thompson artist they most want to photograph: Billie Eillish, Lennon Stella, & Bad Suns
mallory’s fav concert photo
name: Ravyn Cavanaugh
emilykatewilson.com
emily’s fav concert photo
name: Mary Perez artist they most want to photograph: Harry Styles or Halsey favorite show they’ve photographed: Warped Tour 2018 music getting them mary’s fav concert photo through quarantine: Broadside, Taylor Swift, Halsey, Harry Styles & Rich People mperezphotos.myportfolio.com
name: Ibbi Schwartz
artist they most want to photograph: UPSAHL
favorite show they’ve photographed: Hippo Campus
music getting them through quarantine: Taylor Swift, Scarlet Cimillo & Conan Gray ibbi’s fav concert photo
linktr.ee/ibbischwartz
name: Emilia Rangel artist they most want to photograph: COIN favorite show they’ve photographed: Twenty One Pilots music getting them through quarantine: Fine Line by Harry Styles emilia’s fav concert photo
@emyrangel.photography
name: Chelsea Tiso artist they most want to photograph: The Driver Era & Arlo Parks favorite show they’ve photographed: Marsicans chelsea’s fav concert photo
music getting them through quarantine: Harry Styles & Phoebe Bridgers @chels.naps
name: Emily Richardson
artist they most want to photograph: Halsey, Taylor Swift & PVRIS
favorite show they’ve photographed: Post Malone or Judah & the Lion
music getting them through quarantine: Folklore by Taylor Swift & 21st Century Liability by YUNGBLUD
emily’s fav quarantine photo
@emilygrace.photo
name: Tanya Wright
artist they most want to photograph: Pale Waves favorite show they’ve photographed: Conan Gray
music getting them through quarantine: No Good Left to Give by Movements @t.liliana
tanya’s fav concert photo
name: Ashley Gallegos
artist they most want to photograph: Maggie Rogers
favorite show they’ve photographed: Donna Missal
music getting them ashley’s fav quarantine photo through quarantine: Oasis, Joni Mitchell, Fiona Apple, Bleachers, Donna Missal, Maggie Rogers, Jeff Buckley & The Beach Boys @agallegosphoto
name: Sophie Harris
artist they most want to photograph: Childish Gambino
favorite show they’ve photographed: The 1975 or Maggie Rogers
music getting them through quarantine: Cautious Clay, H.E.R., Tame Impala, Mac Miller & Harry Styles sophieharrisphoto.com
sophie’s fav quarantine photo
name: JenaRose Dahlstrom artist they most want to photograph: Mayday Parade favorite show they’ve photographed: Warped Tour 2016 music getting them jenarose’s fav concert photo through quarantine: Home Remedy by Sundressed & Folklore by Taylor Swift @jenarose_photos
kindacoolmagazine.com • 51
52 • kinda cool.
entering a new era of
SCOTT HELMAN Since I was first introduced to Scott Helman, I’ve always been drawn to his music and shows. Maybe it’s how humble he is, maybe it’s his truth-telling ability that doesn’t shy from the ugly side of life, or maybe it’s just his unbeatable energy paired with heartfelt lyrics and genuine chords, but his work has always resonated with me and created the existence of a safe space. That’s how he ended up being the very first musician I ever interviewed back when I began venturing into the waters of the music industry back in 2017. At that point, I had no idea that I’d one day be running my own magazine, but Scott Helman has always been supportive of my creations, and I’ve obviously done the same for his music. Nonsuch Park is no different from any of the principles he’s carried out through his previous releases. Though the 2020 record sounds much more matured and has a different production style than that of his 2014 album or even 2017’s Hôtel de Ville, they all share one common trait: authenticity. It’s been quite the trip for Helman, but this release once again proves that he holds back nothing when presenting himself to the world. Three years after our initial conversation, where I spoke with him for five short minutes about his career at that moment, we delved into details about Nonsuch Park, a record that touches on his deepest hopes, dreams, fears, insecurities, and all-in-all, is dedicated to his late grandfather. Interview by Meg Clemmensen Photos courtesy of Katherine Kwan Your new album is coming out soon! Congrats on that; I heard it and it sounds really good. One thing I’d like to know though - what exactly does the title Nonsuch Park mean? Thank you! This will be the first half of the album; it will come out in two halves. The first half, Side A, is coming out September 4th if I’m not wrong. The weird thing is that my records have all been titled after places that I find significant, and I think that all sort of goes back to [how] I like to find people, places, and things to imperson the art that I make. I really like symbols and physical representation. I’ve always sort of chosen a place that I’ve found pivotal in making whatever record it was that I was making. I was making this record, and I was kind of like, “I don’t know!” Like, there wasn’t really a place; I couldn’t really think of anything. I was like “I guess I’m just gonna break that cycle and call it something else.” I had lots of working titles when I was making the record, and then my Papa passed away and I wrote that song for him [“Papa”], and then we had the funeral, and we were in the UK at that time. I went over there to support my family. There’s this good park near where
he lived, and it’s called Nonsuch Park, and it’s just this big, massive, beautiful park. So that’s kind of where we would go whenever we visited him growing up; we’d spend lots of time there, and it was just this wonderful place where the hustle and bustle of normal, modern life [could be] paused. It was just this amazing place. Then, when he passed away, I went back. It’s very hard to go back to a place where you were able to kind of let your heart relax, when you sort of realize that the reason why it was so special was because of him and the times that we shared there. So it just felt right to call it that, and I felt like I want to dedicate this whole body of work to him. I mean, he was a big fan of mine and he was such a big supporter of my career and of my life. He was like my best friend, you know? I felt like I was like, “Yeah, I wanna call it that,” and it felt right to me. Like I said, I really love physical representation, and I fill up with these kind of trinkets for each song, and I think that sort of just all ties into all of the little truths that you learn while you’re writing a record. It felt like because I had learned all these things and given all these lessons, my grandpa was one of those people that helped me find those things for myself and gave me the space to learn. So many amazing lessons came from him. Even indirectly, like the simple idea of “Don’t let people fuck with you.” I feel like that’s represented in a song like “True kindacoolmagazine.com • 53
Crime,” where it’s like, “You hurt me, and I don’t wanna fuck around with that.” Even in a song like “Afraid of America,” just the sense of being a Jewish kid in England. Just not necessarily feeling like you fit into the culture around you taught me so much about what it means to be disenfranchised and what it means to be afraid of your environment, and I think that probably played a big role in that song too. That was actually one of the tracks I wanted to talk about! I thought that one was really interesting. I know you just mentioned a lot of the inspiration, but it’s also very modern and relevant to a lot of current events. Did you base “Afraid of America” off some of that? So the actual story behind that song is that my girlfriend and I were planning to move down to LA in March; we actually signed a lease. I was in LA - this was just before Covid - and I wrote it, and it was really just inspired by us wanting to move there. I would say the verses are kind of like her talking, because she was like “I don’t know, I’m not down, I don’t wanna move to this crazy fucking country.” The chorus
54 • kinda cool.
is kind of me saying to her, “We can have everything we’ve ever wanted, what the fuck.” I would say that song is sort of actually written from her perspective, even though it’s kind of flipped around and it sounds like she’s trying to convince me. It was really just about that conversation we had about the disparities and wealth, and yeah, all our dreams could come true, but also people have fucking AR-15’s. There’s a school shooting every other day. It’s just such a crazy place, and even just in writing that song, I wrote it with Americans, and I was like, “I really wanna go to the States, I feel great, but there’s that underlying analytics fear there.” I just sort of asked them, “Do you share that feeling or am I just like a coddled Canadian?” and they’re like, “No man, we feel that every day too.” I think it’s very real; that song is just that conversation in real time, but I think in writing it, I wanted people to feel really disoriented when those verses were happening, almost like you do when you feel unsafe. Think about gun violence and the hypocrisy in the NFL; it’s all very cryptic, but when that chorus comes in, it’s like “But all your dreams!” That’s kind of where it came from. It was really just what I was seeing and examples around me.
And that’s Alessia Cara on the track too, correct? Yeah! You’ve been in the Canadian music scene for quite a while now among other noteworthy pop artists, big and small. The scene here is noticeably quite different in how it presents itself than that of America - has that influenced you? I mean, I don’t know what it’s like to be American, but I think the thing that’s cool about Canada is that Canadians are always the underdogs. When we get successful or are able to mobilize globally as artists, it’s never expected. It’s pretty rad in that way. I think underdogs always have each other’s backs because we’re all fighting for the same thing and the odds are against us. Even a star as massive as Alessia Cara, I think she understands that. Even more than someone who’s not from Canada and doesn’t have the same sort of odds against them. That being said, I think also that most hip-hop artists that I talk to and people of color that I talk to feel that way about their careers too. I think it definitely gives you the ability to sympathize and feel compassionate towards people that might not have the same opportunities as some of these mega pop stars do. I feel like we’re a team, and the sick thing about it is that Alessia and I were literally just sending each other shit we were working on because we’re just fans and friends of each other. I sent her that song [“Afraid of America”] and she was like “What the fuck,” and I was like “Cool, well I actually have a bridge that I really wanted a female pop artist to sing, so if you would be down to just record this…” So she just like hooked up her USB and sent it to me, and I was like, “This is so fucking sick. Can I put this on my record?” and she was like “Yeah, for sure.” I think that’s a testament to the fact that Canadians are always gonna just stick together and help each other out. You mentioned sticking up for the underdog - this record is very political in comparison to anything you’ve done before. It touches on a lot more personal, vulnerable topics. Why is being outspoken so important to you?
Oh my god, I don’t know why! I guess I could probably tie it to the fact that I’m Jewish. I think that plays a big role in my perspective on politics and my perspective on equality, equity, and all those things. I went to Hebrew school every Tuesday and Thursday for most of my childhood and was reminded every week that my people were killed on mass genocide. Now we have the privilege to live these pretty decent lives in wonderful cities all over the world. That being said, we have privilege, and I’ve been told by the better Jews that I’ve met in my life that whenever you see a person that is suffering from oppression or that is experiencing even a micro-version of what we did, it is our duty to help them and to speak truth to what’s going on in the world. I really connect with that, and I think it’s the role of the artist to speak truth to what’s going on in their lives, but I also think it’s their role to imagine a better world. If I could just shine a small light on my world and how I think about it, that might influence how other people see theirs. I think that’s pretty cool to me. I just feel like I have the luxury of being able to do that, so why not? That’s a really good perspective to have. It’s good to be able to touch on those types of things without getting uncomfortable or scared, and to maybe touch on some more sensitive topics. If it’s important to you, go for it. Yeah, and I think also right now, there’s definitely this climate where people feel almost afraid to do that. I think that sucks because I think it’s better to be wrong than to have never said anything. We’re all learning and we’re all figuring out what we believe and what’s right and if we just open up. That’s the beautiful thing about the Black Lives Matter movement: there were so many people who were wrong before and are becoming right now. When all this is said and done, we’re all gonna be better people because of that, and I just think that’s really rad. I would implore any artist to just go out and learn. Just speak the truth, and if people disagree with you, it’s definitely an incredible opportunity to learn and to grow. Being stuck in fear and never having said anything… I have a lot of opinions! I’m passionate about my politics, and man, I’m sure that in some juncture of my life, I’m going to
kindacoolmagazine.com • 55
56 • kinda cool.
be wrong about something, so fuck that! I just wanna be better, and if that’s the case, I’ll learn and grow. That’s sort of also a liberating thing that I came to while I was making this record. Like “I’m just gonna say what I think is right and what I think is true, and that’s just gonna be my thing. If people don’t like it or people disagree, then I’ll learn.” I think that’s a great thing for any artist to get to, so I’m very happy that I kind of arrived there.
slow down and smell the flowers, as they say, will be pretty slim. If you have the privilege to take a sec and appreciate your shit, I think that’s pretty amazing. “Good Problems” is one of those things, you know? To be able to just lie in bed with my girlfriend for an afternoon; it’s incredible to be able to actually create a relationship on a really strong foundation. That song is really a reaction to divorce, but I mean… now I’m just ranting at you!
How much of this record was created post-COVID? Obviously I know it was already in the works before the world shut down; did you get inspiration or references for any of the themes from the quarantine world going on around you?
That’s okay! So obviously I can tell you’ve got a pretty positive outlook on this situation, which is great. Have you stayed pretty creatively inspired as well? Have you been working on Side B of the record?
No, and that’s the thing that’s weird about it! It’s kind of like this relic of a world that blew by. All records are, really. It’s like a painting with a gallery viewing the next day; it’s temporal and it’s never gonna be the same again. It’s nice to know I feel the songs still relate. I feel like “Afraid of America” is actually more relevant. I feel like “True Crime” [could be], you know, because of the COVID relationship world. A lot of things are reaching their heads right now, and whether that be relationships or politics or just illness in general, I feel like things are just reaching these really critical points. I think it brings more weight to art, and a song that I’m really going back to right now is “Good Problems.” I said this to my friend the other day, and I’ll reiterate it because it was honest: I think the universe right now is calling for us to take a second and appreciate what you have. If you have the privilege to be able to do that, to take your life moment by moment and appreciate where you’re at, [then] fucking do that. I’m sure that in most of our lives, the chance that we’re going to have this opportunity again to
Now that the record is mastered, I’m just gonna start working on Side B and hopefully that’ll be out pretty soon. I definitely have some songs that I love and think are very special that are done. I have a couple that are actually ready to go. I’d say I have most of that record finished, I just have to get in the studio, and that takes time with COVID. It’s just around the corner for me, I think; I’ll probably write a couple more songs and see what comes out, but I’m really excited. I think Side B is actually better than Side A, so I’m kicking my butt cause I’m like “Shit, I should’ve just waited and put it all out at once!” I think we’re at this day in age where how it’s consumed [is different], and I want to mend myself to the formats that are out there. I think people just want music and they want to stream it constantly, and I think that’s cool! I love records and I love albums and I love big bodies of work, but the thing I love most is the people who connect with my music, and if that’s how they’re using their platforms, I’m into it! I’m just gonna put out as much as I can over a period of time rather than just throwing everything at people all at once.
kindacoolmagazine.com • 57
It just feels more fun this way! For sure! Is there any particular reason you chose certain tracks for Side A vs. B, or was it just kind of that as you wrote things, it came to be? There were some internal label reasons for some things. Like I started working with Warner Records in the States, so there’s a little bit more climbing involved because there’s other territories involved and that complicates things a little bit. I mean, I think it was a combination of those two things. Because I’m on the radio, there’s also a radio strategy as to which songs we want to go with, but I think at the end of the day, I just picked the songs that were the most me, you know? On Side B, it’s gonna be the same thing. I also really love tracklisting stuff because when stuff fits together, it feels really good to me. I felt like those songs mixed really well together and complemented each other pretty nicely. It’s a really good combination of really insightful, really fun, really interesting new sounds, so I just felt like it was a solid combination. Do you have any big plans for the album rollout? It’s clearly going to look different now from how it normally would, seeing as you can’t really play a release show or host a party or anything. Is there anything else planned instead? It’s definitely been a learning curve. I would usually go play a show or go on tour, but I definitely want to do another Zoom party. As per COVID methods of engaging with my fans, that was the raddest thing for me, because usually if those types of things are in person, they’re mediated by some person you don’t even know. From a press perspective, it’s usually just kind of not really yours. It felt cool to just send people a link and just connect with them, chat, and play with some songs, so I’m definitely going to do that. There’s some live online stuff I’m definitely going to do, which is really exciting. It gives me an opportunity to actually put these songs into motion in terms of playing them live. It just gives them a new life and it’s a new way to kind of enjoy what you’ve made. I don’t know, I’m
58 • kinda cool.
just gonna keep on putting stuff out! I have that acoustic version [of “Wait No More”] dropping in like… seven minutes! I just have more tunes. I’m probably just gonna keep putting out music, like that’s my reaction to COVID. It’s “Hey, well I can’t tour, so I’m sitting on this massive body of music.” It’s so many fucking songs, and I’m just gonna keep on putting them out! That’s the coolest thing for me to be able to do right now. It is, and it’s good to keep connecting with people and working through tough times! I will let you go in just a minute for the acoustic track premier, but I just have one last question! When you are able to start touring again and able to see people again, how do you think that’ll look for yourself? Are you gonna jump right back into the touring world, maybe do a big hometown show to celebrate the record, or any thoughts about any of that yet? We had a tour planned, so whenever this is fucking done, I’m gonna go on tour for sure! Half of my brain thinks that once all the governments in the world give us the A-okay, we’re all just gonna fucking explode and just go out and have crazy parties! I think it’ll probably be a matter of easing into it too, so I don’t know. I’ll have to go with the flow; the world is just gonna do what it’s gonna do, and I think we all just have to adapt. I’m just gonna see what happens, but if I were able to choose, then yeah, I would just go on tour and keep playing new songs. I was so
excited to put out the first half of the album, go on tour, and then be like, “Second half coming up!” We could go on tour across the country touring the first half of the album, put out the second half, and then do another tour. That would’ve been so cool. We’ll see. At the end of the day, I’m so excited to have another album out into the world whenever that is finally done, and hopefully by that time, I can just be out on stage playing the songs for people. Nonsuch Park (Side A) is now available on all streaming services. The record contains 11 tracks, 3 of which present themselves in an interlude style. It’s hard to believe that the Scott Helman we know today, putting out lovesick, pop-driven power tracks such as “Lois” and “True Crime” is the same Scott Helman who made himself known years ago as a Torontonian teenager playing acoustic ballads with his guitar. His journey to self-discovery
and modernism has been quite noteworthy, and this record is the greatest reflection of these lessons. Helman navigates through COVID-19 with optimism and creativity. He strives to be inspired rather than held back by the changing world around him - though he itches for the world to return to some state of normalcy. In 2020, Helman refuses to be silent. Through participating in Black Lives Matter protests, pouring his emotions into songs, and participating in charity-organized initiatives like the recent “Lean on Me” cover created entirely by Canadian musicians, he ensures that his voice is heard and his opinion on every dire subject is known. He’s come to terms with who he is as an artist and a person - and he’s not ready to let that go, ever. Expect great things from Scott Helman as he prepares the second half of his album for release and continues navigating his way through his career ahead of him. kindacoolmagazine.com • 59
by Meg Clemmensen
Marianas Trench • September 2019
New Politics •June 2019 by Ravyn Cavanaugh
your ad here
got something you want to advertise? email us at kindacoolmag@gmail.com for details on getting space in the next issue of kinda cool magazine!
check out our latest website features!
kindacoolmagazine.com
kindacoolmagazine.com