Dermot Kennedy

Dermot Kennedy

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

Interview

Dermot Kennedy On How Producer Mike Dean Changed His Outlook

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New outlooks on life open up, playing on main stages and vibing in hip-hop studios
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Sep 11, 2018 - 4:07 pm

Singer/songwriter Dermot Kennedy recently tapped master of rap production Mike Dean to bring a fresh sound to the lush but raw romance of his serenades. Kennedy sat with us backstage after playing Lollapalooza, sharing about the Dean collaboration and how playing Lolla's main stage introduced him to a new experience. "There was a good crowd there," said Kennedy. "Just to get that insight into what it's like to play those really massive main stages is really cool."

Dermot Kennedy Was Digging It At Lollapalooza

The hip-hop studio environment completely changed Kennedy's outlook on some of his own music. He said seeing how Dean's crew were "vibing off it changed my mind and then helped me see it without my ego attached to it — I listened to it as if it was just a piece of music. That was really refreshing."

After Lolla, "I'm going to get home after this and have some time before going on tour properly, for the last quarter of the year," Kennedy said. "I'm going to be in the studio basically working on the next thing. I'm not even sure what it is." But he's got a lot to work with and stacks of songs.

Kennedy is now on tour, ending in Los Angeles on Nov. 19. It seems like the more insight and practice he gets with good crowds, big stages and cool studio vibes, will all feed his creativity.

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Wes Period

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

Interview

Wes Period On His Experience Touring With Kesha And Macklemore

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"I feel like there's so much for me to soak up," said the California rapper after life on the road with the heavy hitters
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Sep 17, 2018 - 1:38 pm

Up-and-coming California rapper, Wes Period's full-length debut Pretty Words may have only been out since February, but he's been an underground sensation far longer. Traveling on tour with Kesha and Macklemore through the summer was a "learning experience, being able to watch people at that level move every day," he told the Recording Academy, emphasizing how well the stars treat everyone on the road. "I'm really grateful that I got to start off the road with veterans like that because I feel like there's so much for me to soak up."

Wes Period On Touring With Kesha And Macklemore

 Period's following has continued to rise thanks to a Facebook Watch reality web series that features his song, "Big Bag," as the theme song. 

"There's two songs that have been going up ... 'Big Bag' and 'Trap Star,'" Wes Period told us while in Chicago. "'Ball In The Family' is a TV show on Facebook based on the Ball brothers, so that's been helping a lot. 'Trap Star' is to me probably the best song that I've written to this day."

Currently on his own tour, upcoming dates are on Period's website with west coast venues including Los Angeles' Echoplex on Sept. 21 — an opportunity to see this emerging artist display some of those new chops he's acquired.

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What So Not

What So Not

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

News

What So Not's Round-The-World Journey To His Debut Album

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Hear how the electronic producer's latest persona really took off when he had his first break from touring in six years in our exclusive interview backstage at Lollapalooza
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Sep 6, 2018 - 5:07 pm

Good things take time. For Australian electronic producer/artist What So Not (a.k.a. Chris Emerson), the creative legwork behind for the March release of his debut album Not All The Beautiful Things, took years – and it was worth the wait. In an industry often focused on singles and hits, what's perhaps most surprising is how cohesive Not All The Beautiful Things lands in the listener's ears. As Emerson tells us, this was no mistake.

What So Not On 'Not All The Beautiful Things'

"I didn't want it to be a numbers game," he said, describing why he stripped off tracks that sounded like big singles to him from the album. "I just wanted to create an album that was a cohesive piece of work."

What So Not finish enlisted the help of a few "amazing friends" to finish his ideas including the likes of GRAMMY winners Skrillex and Toto as well as lesser-known up-and-comers Dyro, James Earl, San Holo, and Slumberjack. As a result, Not All The Beautiful Things is something more than you might expect from a debut.

"It was a combination of beats and ideas and little things that I created all around the world, across my six years of travel," said What So Not. "Then I sort of had this three or four month period off, which was the first time I had off in six years."

In our exclusive interview with him backstage at Lollapalooza 2018, we learned that focusing his intense drive into making the album was how he spent his break. We also learn that he has a fresh batch of unfinished ideas that have been piling up ever since … waiting for his next vacation.

Recap: Lollapalooza 2018 With The Recording Academy

The Weeknd

The Weeknd

Photo: Rebecca Sapp/WireImage.com

News

Music Festivals 2018: Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Jack White Set For Lollapalooza

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Four fantastic days of music in August are in store for Chicago festivalgoers with the latest festival announcement
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 21, 2018 - 2:18 pm

On March 21, headliners for Lollapalooza 2018 were announced, and festivalgoers can look forward to a star-packed lineup during the event, which will be held in Chicago's Grant Park on Aug. 2–5. Live concerts at music festivals are a primary art form of their own, as SXSW 2018 demonstrated last week, and festival season is just beginning.

Without further ado, headliners for this year's Lollapalooza include GRAMMY winners Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Jack White, Daya, LL Cool J, the National, St. Vincent, Vampire Weekend, and Zedd. Rounding out the lineup are GRAMMY nominees Arctic Monkeys, James Bay, Galantis, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Logic, Odesza, Portugal, The Man, Travis Scott, Tyler, The Creator, and Kali Uchis, among others.

Get ready to party with your favorite artists this summer and get your tickets now via Lollapalooza's website. Enjoy the summer!

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Spotify

Photo: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket

News

Spotify Adds Direct Uploads For Indie Artists

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The ability to upload directly onto the world's largest streaming service is unprecedented, and the latest step in streaming music's evolution
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Sep 21, 2018 - 6:01 pm

On Sept. 20, Spotify announced that it has begun beta trials of a feature allowing independent artists to upload their new tracks directly to the service for users to stream. The company emphasized that this is just one new way to release music on Spotify, and that this has been the most requested Spotify for Artists feature.

Spotify for Artists has tried to sweeten its destination for talent with various tools such as analytics and ways to communicate with fans. In a blog post announcing this beta feature, it described how they've been working with an initial handful of indie musicians including Michael Brun, Hot Shade, Noname, and VIAA to develop its interactivity and ease-of-use. "Their feedback was instrumental in shaping the feature, and now we're ready to see how a wider range of artists will put it to use," Spotify said in the blog post. "Right now, upload in Spotify for Artists is only available by invitation to a few hundred US-based independent artists, but we're excited to bring upload to even more artists, labels, and teams in the future."

Speculation abounds about the significance and financial terms of this new feature. It's free, in contrast to CD Baby, DistroKid and Tunecore. It pays, unlike SoundCloud. "There's not that much information needed other than the music and the metadata associated with it, and then we'll take care of the rest," said Spotify product lead Kene Anoliefo. Indie artists will get to set their release date, preview how their offering will appear to users, keep their royalties and rights, and receive 50 percent of whatever revenue Spotify takes in from their track.

It seems like an organic addition to what Spotify for Artists already offers, although observers speculate this means Spotify is trying to replace the role of record labels. Certainly for artists such as Chance The Rapper or countless DJ/producers who choose to initially go it alone in the music world, this is an opportunity to begin earning money for their music from a major platform at an earlier stage in their career, without signing away rights or making a major commitment to a label. Behind the scenes, as artists' fingers control their role in the music business more effectively, this is likely to empower new creative marketing strategies especially because it's been designed — with input from artists — to fit transparently within Spotify's extensive analytics and other tools for talent.

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