Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves

Photo: Kelly Christine Sutton

Interview

Kacey Musgraves On 'Golden Hour,' "Space Cowboy," Katy Perry & More

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The GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter opens up about her latest project and how a "good song is a good song"
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 25, 2018 - 12:13 pm

Kacey Musgraves has undoubtedly entered her Golden Hour. Not only is that the title of her most recent studio album, released March 30, but it reflects the period of music-making the GRAMMY-winning country singer/songwriter has entered.

Jul 25, 2018 – 12:13 pm

Kacey Musgraves' 'Golden Hour

Packed full of irresistible, reflective and even joyful tracks such as "Space Cowboy," "High Horse," "Rainbow," and "Slow Burn," Golden Hour shows depth, range and a more personal side of Musgraves. She may have her new husband, Ruston Kelly, to thank for some of the upbeat inspiration on the album, but the credit for its authenticity belongs all to her.

Golden Hour peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and it has already landed on a variety of best-of lists for 2018. We caught up with Musgraves to bask in the glow of the album's success, talk about the disco-themed "High Horse" and ballad "Space Cowboy," and learn about her wide-ranging touring experiences.

Congratulations on Golden Hour. Now that it's been out for a few months, has your perception or connection to the album changed and, is there a track that's really speaking to you right now?

I'm super proud of this album. I guess I say that about anything that I make but this album feels very special and different to me because it feels like my most personal. And I've been very excited to share that with people. I don't feel like I've really let people in on this scale previously. I've made more observations about the world around me. But I feel like on this album I'm really going in deep and expressing my feelings and showing a little bit more of myself, which has been really exciting. And to see people really embrace musical change for me, and a step in maybe a different direction, or an evolution of sound, and embrace that warmly and openly has been really exciting, because it can be scary to change up what you're doing and put something else out there that you aren't sure if the people that have been there since the beginning are gonna like or not.

My favorite track on the record is "Slow Burn." It's definitely my most autobiographical song to date. And I couldn't help but put a little bit of a humor in there, 'cause I love lyrics like that. And though I wanna [go] in a different direction, it was important for me to keep a little bit of that around.

The music video for "High Horse" came out recently. Tell us a little bit about how that came together. How did you determine the video's direction and visuals?

The video for "High Horse" I thought could go in a million different directions, so I wasn't really sure what to do. But I knew that it had to include some very important aesthetics to me, which are karaoke, obviously a western aesthetic, which I've always loved. At it's core, it's a disco song, so some disco flavor. I love Harajuku style, and recently went to Japan, and I'm about to go again. And I'm very inspired by the style there, the sentiment, so a little bit of that made its way into the video too. And also, I'm a big fan of Dolly Parton, and I love the movie, 9 To 5. And that was a tiny bit of inspiration for me as well. But maybe a little bit of Mary Tyler Moore, but it was a very fun video to shoot. I get to ride a horse in it. It's just all my favorite things combined. And it just is portraying that scenario that we all find ourselves in when it comes to negative people wanting to burst our bubble a little bit.

Talking a little bit about "Space Cowboy," the chorus's lyrical turn in particular, did you know that you had something special when you wrote that song?

I wasn't sure about "Space Cowboy" at first, to be honest, but I really love the song now. And it's funny, I was in the horse arena one day, and there's a line in the song that came from something that my riding teacher said. She was talking about this horse that was bucking and going crazy in the arena. It was a little scary. And she basically said, "Girl, you better close the gate. When they wanna run, they're gonna run. It's not gonna matter if the gate's closed or not, they're just gonna go," basically is what she said.

And I thought, "Oh, OK, I can apply that to many areas in my life." So I wrote that down. And a few days later, I was stepping on the treadmill and the words, "Space Cowboy," popped in my head. And I was like, "That would be a really cool title I think." But I wasn't really sure what to do with it. Then the proverbial comma popped in my mind, and I was like, "Oh, wait, it could be you could have your space, cowboy."

I wrote the song a couple days later with Shane McAnally and Luke Laird. And I'm really glad that I had close friends and family fighting for the song to be on the record, because I think that it was a really nice addition to the rest of the love songs that make the larger part of the album up.

Loretta Lynn, Little Big Town, Katy Perry, Harry Styles, you've been on a variety of tours. So what has that been like? Is there a particular moment that sticks out?

Yeah, I've been really fortunate to be able to tour with a very wide array of people, all different backgrounds of music. I remember one summer we toured with Willie Nelson and then literally turned around and toured with Katy Perry. And it made me really happy, because I love many sides of music. And you won't find somebody who loves traditional country music more than me. I love it so much, but I love so many other things too. So to be able to keep a foot in that world and a foot in the other things in the worlds that inspire me is really gratifying. From day one, I always wanted to be the kind of artist that could play a country festival and then turn around and play Bonnaroo or Newport Folk or whatever it is. Music is music.

So there's been a lot of great memories over the years, and definitely being on tour with Katy Perry was one of the most fun and wild experiences ever, and seeing that type of show every night, that production, her flying around with a bouquet of balloons. And it was just unreal, and it was so fun. It was like a Vegas show every night. But it was cool, because before that, I would just get up and do what I do, and sing my songs, and somehow it works. And we just finished a tour with Harry Styles and I feel the same way. I mean, at first, on paper, a lot of people are like, "This tour doesn't really make that much sense." But in the end, it ended up being just an amazing pairing and really fun. And it just goes to show you that a good song is a good song. It doesn't really matter what category it falls into.

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Hiss Golden Messenger

Hiss Golden Messenger

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

Interview

Hiss Golden Messenger On 'Hallelujah Anyhow,' Relationships & More

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MC Taylor tells us how his latest album gelled and how being a dad changed everything in his music career
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 29, 2018 - 7:47 pm

Folk band Hiss Golden Messenger — helmed by MC Taylor — has been cranking out music that taps into not only folk but also country, jazz, R&B, soul, gospel, blues, and rock since 2008 with their debut album, Country Hai East Cotton. Nearly 10 years on, in 2017 Taylor and crew released their latest project, Hallelujah Anyhow.

Jul 29, 2018 – 7:21 pm

Hiss Golden Messenger On 'Hallelujah Anyhow'

We sat down with Taylor at Newport Folk Festival to find out how his 2017 album, Hallelujah Anyhow, came together in only four or five days as a collection that captured the importance of relationships.

"That collection of songs is a snapshot of myself and my friends and family," Taylor tells us. "It's an important chapter in my life but I didn't want it to feel precious. I wanted it to feel loose. That's a quality a lot of my favorite records share regardless of genre, is there's a sort of loose camaraderie that I really like that values the relationships between the people on the record over technique."

And though the music certainly still speaks to him, it's being a dad that truly transformed Taylor's life in new and unexpected ways, which makes his celebration of relationships on Hallelujah Anyhow make complete sense.

"My whole world was changed in a really profound way when I had kids," says Taylor, whose children are 5 and 9 years old. "When I'm home I like to be with my family. I'm definitely not going out."

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Lucius

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

Interview

Lucius On Stripping Back For 'Nudes' & Making "Something About You"

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The New York-based indie pop band take it back to basics on their latest acoustic album
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 29, 2018 - 7:16 pm

In the fast-paced world of music, often artists go from one project to the next — the frenetic pace of keeping your name in the public conscious just doesn't allow much time for reflection. However, pop group Lucius, led by joint lead singers Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, have taken the time to slow down and strip right back to their very essence on their 2018 album, Nudes.

Jul 29, 2018 – 6:28 pm

Exclusive: Lucius On Making 'Nudes'

We caught up with Wolfe and Laessig at Newport Folk Festival 2018 to find out just went into the making of their acoustic masterpiece Nudes, which includes covers, reimagined stripped back versions of previous material and new songs recorded at New York's famed Electric Lady Studios.

They break it down even further for us, and we get a little insight into how standout tracks such as "Something About You," which original appeared on the band's 2016 album Good Grief, got a new coat of paint for Nudes.

"'Something About You,' the recording on Nudes is a lot different than the recording on Good Grief," Lucius reveal. "It's a lot more similar to our original demo of the song. So we were going for this doo-wop, throw back thing and so we felt like that would have fit really naturally in a broken down, bare bones setting. So we took the original arrangement of the song and also complimented it with the aesthetic of the record."

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Ocean Park Standoff

Ocean Park Standoff

Photo: Kerry Henderson

Interview

Ocean Park Standoff Talk "Good News," Childish Gambino & More

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We caught up with the pop trio to learn about their new single, their thoughts on melding genres and what we can expect next
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 13, 2018 - 3:24 pm

If you're ever in need of some "Good News," you can always call on the pop trio Ocean Park Standoff. Comprising guitarist Samantha Ronson, drummer Pete Nappi and lead singer Ethan Thompson, the band made headlines with their 2016 hit "Good News."

Jul 13, 2018 – 3:23 pm

Ocean Park Standoff On Making "If You Were Mine"

Since their 2017 debut self-titled EP, Ocean Park Standoff released a collaboration with Seeb titled "Lost Boys" in February, followed by a new single in April, "If You Were Mine," featuring Lil Yachty. But what's in store next for the trio of multitalented musicians?

We caught up with the band to learn about making "If You Were Mine," their thoughts on blending genres, some of their musical inspirations, what we can expect to hear from them next, and more.

The first thing I wanted to ask you about is your latest single, which is really cool. "If You Were Mine." How did the song come together and how did Lil Yachty get brought into the fold?

Ronson: Unicorns and rainbows. The song is actually a song that I had started years ago that I unearthed in a bored afternoon just going through old music and I played it for Pete, and Pete liked it. At least, he said he did. And then we kind of messed around with it. We redid it. And then we played it for Ethan and he was like, "Awesome, let's do it." And then it was only the first half of the song and so then we finished it altogether. And then, I think as a placeholder for a bridge we had put …

Nappi: Migos

Ronson: Quavo. And we put the "Congratulations" verse on it, and it fit so well. It was beautiful. And our guy was like, "Oh, why can't we just use this?" We're like, "Well, because it's Quavo. It's a huge record right now."

Thompson: It's a song that's Top 10 right now.

Ronson: It was kind of perfect because it got it in the collective conscious that there was going to be, hopefully, a collaborator, a rapper, on it. So, we kind of sent it out and we gave our wish list, and we were like pretty shocked that Yachty said yes. And then, not only did he say yes, but he did it. Because there's a long road between yes and actually getting the verse. So we're pretty stoked.

Going back in history a little bit. "Good News" was a huge hit when it came out. How did that change your dynamic as a band? How did it change the way you approach music, if at all?

Thompson: Well, that song actually kind of started our whole band.  You know back in … 2016, maybe even late 2015, is when we wrote that song. It didn't really change how we approach what we do. The only thing it changed is that we actually felt like we were a band because we started off just writing songs together and hanging out 24/7. And then once that song got accepted into reality as a song that everyone was going to get behind and push for us, that was when we stepped into the shoes of, "Alright, we're going to go out, and we're going to tour and we're going to play live." And I think that's when we really fell in love with being on the road together and being in a band together.

I've read that you believe that the future of music is a lot of crossover between genres. Tell me a little bit more about that. How does that play out into your own creative process, and are there any artists that you look to for inspiration?

Nappi: I mean everyone pretty much likes everything at this point. If you go on the Top 40, it's a mix of everything, it's not just pop. So, I guess that pretty much shows you where the music is going. Like the No. 1 song is pretty much at this point Drake. So, that goes to show you just gotta make a good pop song and it doesn't matter really what the production is as long as it's catchy or whatever.

Ronson: I think streaming services gave way for an open format listening experience. I feel like, as a DJ forever, I always played everything from the Beatles to Biggie to Madonna to whatever it was. It used to be terrestrial radio was so formatted that this was pop, and pop was this, and urban was over here, and country was over here, and rock and alternative and dance and indie. Indie meant indie rock, I guess. [Now] indie can be hip-hop, it can be anything. We love so many different kinds of music that we're thankful that we get to infuse as much as we can from all our different influences into our music now and not really have to worry about, "Oh, well this is leaning too much in this direction or that direction." It's pretty cool when you look at the top records and you've got Jason Mraz to Drake to Sam Hunt to that song just keeps playing in the car. (laughter) I'm obsessed with it. We're just lucky that we get to make music in a time where people are pretty accepting of different styles from different types of people.

Thompson: Hip-hop is one of the main genres that started that whole idea of take this and take this and slam it together and see what you get. I mean obviously they've been doing it for years. That's how new genres have been invented, [how] blues turned into rock. And country fell off obviously old-time stuff. But we're definitely inspired by Chance [The Rapper]'s new record that he put out. All that stuff where it was gospel mixed with hip-hop mixed with his kind of light singing. Obviously Kendrick [Lamar] is doing a great job of slamming different things together, even in one song. And also the latest stuff that J. Cole put out, definitely has cool stuff. And "This Is America" I'm obsessed with because it's got two genres just straight-up slammed together and no one even bats an eye because it's done so well.

Ronson: I think there's a lot of room for people, for what people are saying is just as important as how they're saying it. So you have records like J. Cole who is crushing it more on content than bells and whistles. Childish Gambino, that song is massive because of what he's saying, and the visual that goes with it. And we're pretty lucky to get to be making music in this time.

So what's next? What can fans expect to hear from you soon or upcoming?

Thompson: We have tours coming up. We're going to be on the road. We're actually leaving in four or five days to do a two-week tour that's around just the Midwest. We're doing more on the road after that, and we got new music coming out. We already have our next single picked out. We're actually going to the studio right after this to fix a piano part in it, which we're really excited about. Just keep your ears and eyes peeled for new music and us on the road.

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LIVVIA

LIVVIA

Photo: Tiziano Lugli

Interview

LIVVIA On Quavo, Harry Potter, Meghan Trainor & Secret Agents

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Also find out what the singer/songwriter has coming up next musically, why an economics degree is vital for her as a musician and her love for Nifflers
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jun 22, 2018 - 9:29 am

She may just be one of the smartest artists out there. Meet LIVVIA, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist and a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in economics.

Jun 22, 2018 – 9:29 am

LIVVIA On Making "Catch A Body"

With a drive to pursue a degree in economics to learn the ins and outs of the music business while gaining hands-on knowledge about the industry as a working artist, LIVVIA has been busy making music since 2010 when she released her debut EP, Olivia Somerlyn.

Since then she's released a string of singles, including 2014's "Parachute," 2015's "Only" 2018's "Catch A Body," featuring Migos rapper Quavo, and her most recent song, "Gratitude." She's also opened on tour for artists such as the Jonas Brothers, Meghan Trainor, Jessie J, and Lindsey Stirling.

Now that's she's finished her undergraduate degree, we caught up with the Los Angeles-based artist to ask about recording and filming the music video for her secret agent-themed "Catch A Body," found out what new music we can expect soon, got info on her favorite tour moments over the years, and talked just a little about Harry Potter.

"Catch A Body," great single. So tell us a little more about the song. What was the inspiration behind it? How did Quavo come into the mix? Tell us all about it.

At first it started with me and the producers that I've been working with a lot lately, Rock Mafia. So we're in the studio and we're writing in my what's my favorite way to write, at the moment at least, which is where we'll start with some sort of instrumental, even if it's rough. We'll all take turns going into the booth and actually just recording whatever comes to mind first and doing improv takes and then splicing those together to create a song. In one of those improv takes, somebody said, "Hold a body," and somebody else misheard and thought that she said, "Catch a body." And then I love puns, like I really love play on words, so I thought, "Oh, you know, you look so good it's killing me," and we turned the song into a concept based on that play on words, which has been so much fun. And then the music video as well plays on the themes of the song, and we did a whole secret agent concept, which was so cool to do.

Speaking of the video, I know from what I've read it's gotten a lot of positive reception for its themes of female empowerment. What was it like filming the video, and did you consider that element of girl power going into it?

Absolutely. That was definitely one of the main reasons why I wanted to do that concept, because of the girl power aspect. And for me a lot of the time I feel music to be a very visual experience as well. Whenever I listen to even other people's music I love to imagine what a music video would be for the song, and so for my songs too of course I do that as well. And so for "Catch A Body," every time I would hear the song I would picture a scene from a James Bond movie or something like that, like John Wick or Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It would obviously be a  really ambitious concept so I almost didn't want to even share the idea because I thought, "This is crazy, how could we ever pull this off?"

But in passing one day I was like, "You know, in my dreams I would do a secret agent video." And so they were like, "Well maybe we can make that work." We found the perfect location, this club, which used to be an old bank vault, so it has the circular bank vault door and really cool details. It was the perfect location. And then also doing all my own stunts was really, really, really cool. And I think also since it was about girl power I was like, "No I don't want to chicken out, I want to do this," and it was super fun. Except I got so bruised. Because we're rolling in rehearsal, we have mats and everything, but then in the actual filming of the video, it's like, "No, this is a concrete floor of a club and we're rolling." He actually kicks me when he kicks me in the fight scene too, so it was crazy. But it was definitely worth it and super, super fun.

What can fans expect coming from you next musically?

I'm always working on new music. I also was in school, I just graduated from Berkeley, so I'm way more focused too now on recording new music, which has been so great to get back to the studio. I have a new song called "Gratitude," which I really, really love and it means so much to me as well. I always want to make sure that I have — as we were talking about, empowerment — an empowering and positive message in music I release, and "Gratitude" really embodies that as well. So there's that song and there's also a lot more in the works and also some collaborations that I'm really excited about. Obviously the collaboration with Quavo was a dream. He's amazing. And I'm super excited about what's to come as well.

Congratulations on graduating! I know that your degree was in economics. How did you get into that and how are you hoping it will support your music career?

A lot of people, when they hear that I'm an econ major, they're like, "Why would you do that, why didn't you study music?" But I feel like I was getting so much practical experience in the music industry being an artist myself and then being really hands-on in all aspects of my career. Econ I just think is a great base for really any career, any business, and the music industry is a business, it's not just creative. So it's already been helpful, I think, just to have that knowledge. And I think any kind of educational pursuit is helpful in writing as well, just opening your mind to different ideas and history, economic history. I just think it all relates and it's just a good exercise for your brain in general. But you know, I wrote a paper one time on the economics behind Spotify and stuff like that, so I've been trying to mix the two a little bit. But I guess I chose econ initially because I know I do want to get my MBA one day, and econ is a really great base to have for that as well. So that'll be the next academic goal.

We've also read that you've toured with Jessie J, Meghan Trainor, the Jonas Brothers. Is there a favorite tour moment that you want to share or is it too hard to pick?

It's so hard to pick because they were just obviously all amazing, and I just had the absolute time of my life on all of those tours. Meghan actually brought me out onstage. It was my birthday and it was our last show and we were actually in Milan, and it was amazing. So she brought me onstage and sang happy birthday to me, which was just obviously the most memorable birthday moment of all time. But everything, also the Jonas Brothers. I was a huge Jonas Brothers fan, so opening for them at the Gibson Amphitheater [in Los Angeles] back when it wasn't torn down for Hogwarts. As a Harry Potter fan, if it's going to be torn down and you're going to build Hogwarts over it, that's probably the only thing I would approve of. But I had seen them perform there with all my friends only a few years before that and then my friends came and saw me opening for them on the same stage and that's a surreal moment. Jessie J as well, she's just so incredible. Just watching her perform every night, she improvs so much. Being able to see her live every night was incredible. They're all great. There's just too many moments to count.

O X O + @meghan_trainor + @ryan.trainor =  ... #OliviaSomerlynOXO 8.27.15!

A post shared by LIVVIA (@livvia) on

Harry Potter. We're going there. What's your favorite magical creature from the series and why?

Oh my gosh, it's so hard. I love them all. Off the top of my head I'm going to say Nifflers, which actually are the little furry creatures that love shiny things. If they were here they would probably be attacking me because of my rings, which are, speaking of which, Gryffindor rings, the lions. But I really would pick Nifflers because they came to fame a little bit more because of the Fantastic Beast movies and they got their moment in the sun. But I love them. I always love them because I always call my dog a Niffler 'cause he's a Yorkie. He's a little furry creature.

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