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RÜFÜS DU SOL at L.A. film premiere

RÜFÜS DU SOL at L.A. film premiere

Photo: Michael Drummond

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RÜFÜS DU SOL Debut Epic Joshua Tree Concert must-watch-r%C3%BCf%C3%BCs-du-sols-epic-joshua-tree-concert-no-one

Must Watch: RÜFÜS DU SOL's Epic Joshua Tree Concert For No One

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Both the 44-minute film and new album, which share the name of "RÜFÜS DU SOL: Live from Joshua Tree," will be released globally on March 6
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Feb 21, 2020 - 1:42 pm

The camera pans across a deep red earth covered with towering rock formations and a seemingly endless vastness. Fittingly trippy instrumental electronic music fills this otherworldly, lonely space. Soon, the light begins to fade and the earth-tone colors shift as Tyrone Lindqvist's haunting voice—singing emotive SOLACE cut "Eyes"—orients us.

We are here on earth, in the hazy, dreamy desert landscape of Joshua Tree, Calif., where RÜFÜS DU SOL recorded their latest project, their debut feature film and accompanying live album. The trippy opening cut is a brand-new, unreleased song aptly entitled "Valley of the Yuccas." Both the 44-minute film and live album, which share the name of "RÜFÜS DU SOL: Live from Joshua Tree," will be released globally on March 6. [Update: You can now enjoy the full film via YouTube, shared below.]

At the film's world premiere at the intimate Vista Theatre in Los Angeles, 400 friends and fans of the band got the first look. Lindqvist and bandmates Jon George and James Hunt were also there themselves to help kick things off and offer some extra cheering in the back of the movie theater. More fun screenings, in select major cities globally, will be announced soon. The album is also available for pre-order here.

Read: RÜFÜS DU SOL Are Ready To Go "Underwater" At Coachella

The project includes music from 2016's Bloom, 2014's Atlas and of course, 2018's GRAMMY-nominated SOLACE. The second song, "Eyes," was written by the Aussie trio in Joshua Tree and somehow feels brand new sung out to the open desert sunset landscape where it was born. In another too-perfect moment, after "New Sky" set to the fading pink and orange sky, the guys bring us Atlas' "Desert Night" as the darkness settles in. The eight-song show ends, in gradual darkness, with "No Place."

The visuals of the live set are stunning; in addition to the gorgeous natural landscape and RÜFÜS' rich sounds, the stage design and lighting are epic in their own right. Dozens of flashing light poles surround the trio as they each play on individual little stages nestled together amongst the rocks, with their respective music equipment resting on sleek, clear stands. The entrancing lights pulsate and flash to the music and somehow expand the space even more.

"There were about 80 light poles and the light installation idea came from our creative director, Katzki, drawing lines on a photograph of the site," the band told us. "The design was translated from our live show with Matt Smith from Colourblind designing and Dave Fairless operating day of. Danny, our manager and Derek, from our management team, physically installed and straightened them one by one in the searing heat risking death by rattlesnakes."

The stunning film is presented by Mixmag and Rose Avenue Records, the band's label. Alexander George, a.k.a. Katzki, Jon's brother and RÜFÜS creative director/longtime visual collaborator, directed and produced it. He also directed the videos for "No Place" and "Like An Animal," to name a few.

"We went on a writing trip in Joshua Tree back when we were finishing SOLACE. While we were out there we stayed up one night until the sun rose and this creeping light came over the valley into our room. There were these wild rock formations about 100 feet above where we were writing so we climbed up to take in the sunrise. We brought a speaker with us and 'Time' by the Pachanga Boys came on," the group added.

"Watching dawn break with this epic 15-minute journey playing out, we started joking about putting together a sunrise set in the desert where we would play to no one. Everything kind of took off after that. For almost two years we workshopped ideas and locations and finally, we put time aside to shoot in September last year."

Watch: RÜFÜS DU SOL 2020 GRAMMYs Red Carpet

You can catch the boys live as they embark on another world tour, including shows at CRSSD in San Diego, Corona Capital in Guadalajara and two nights at Red Rocks in Colorado. You can still participate in their fundraiser to support Australian brushfire relief, which could win you tickets to the sold-out CRSSD fest.

2020 Pitchfork Festival: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Run The Jewels, The National To Headline

What So Not

What So Not

Photo: Matt Jelonek/Wire Image/Getty Images

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What So Not, PNAU & More Play Australia Benefit what-so-not-yolanda-be-cool-pnau-nina-las-vegas-more-australian-djs-play-wildfire

What So Not, Yolanda Be Cool, PNAU, Nina Las Vegas & More Australian DJs To Play Wildfire Relief Benefit In Los Angeles

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Make It Rain will take place at Academy LA on Jan. 29, with 100 percent of the profits going towards Australian wildfire relief
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jan 21, 2020 - 4:51 pm

Continued wildfires across Australia have caused a growing handful of artists, other celebrities and orgs to step up and offer support to those on the frontlines of the environmental and humanitarian crisis. Together with over a dozen Australian DJ/producers from the global dance music circuit, local hotspot nightclub Academy LA has announced the Make It Rain wildfire relief benefit event.

On Wed., Jan. 29, Aussies What So Not, Yolanda Be Cool, PNAU, Nina Las Vegas, TyDI and more will get Hollywood dancing at Academy LA. 100 percent of the profits of the event, which will also include a silent auction, will be donated to Red Cross Australia, GivIt and NSW Wildlife Council.

https://twitter.com/WhatSoNot/status/1217872979649916928

Los Angeles, some of my friends and I are throwing a party Jan 29 at @academy__la. All proceeds will go to Australian bushfire relief charities. Come party for a good cause. https://t.co/lAxHzjOLUE pic.twitter.com/c13jzozR4K

— WHAT SO NOT (@WhatSoNot) January 16, 2020

Related: Nick Cave, Lizzo & Elton John Join Artists Supporting Australian Wildfire Relief

"The feeling of complete helplessness got too much for us here in L.A., and we knew we needed to channel our energy into something bigger than ourselves. We're stoked to see how the dance music community has been so supportive of this cause and we look forward to seeing our friends and family at Academy on January 29th," Make It Rain organizers Andie Leon of Academy LA, Lorne Padman of Dim Mak and Tyson Illingworth a.k.a. tyDi shared in a press release. 

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

"We No Speak Americano" producers Yolanda Be Cool will be hosting the house music room in collaboration with Aussie crew Sweat It Out/Club Sweat, which, of course, is slated to feature "very sweaty guests." The main room is also set to feature some star-studded guest sets from some more big name Aussies and their American counterparts.

Tickets are on sale now; more details can be found on the event website.

Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: "Suge" Producer Jetsonmade On Working With DaBaby & Hyping Up The Carolinas

RÜFÜS DU SOL

RÜFÜS DU SOL

Photo: Le Fawnhawk/Courtesy of artist

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RÜFÜS DU SOL Will Go "Underwater" At Coachella r%C3%BCf%C3%BCs-du-sol-are-ready-go-underwater-coachella

RÜFÜS DU SOL Are Ready To Go "Underwater" At Coachella

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The Aussie dance trio talk returning to the California fest, where they plan to premiere a James Frost-directed short film for album track "Underwater"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Apr 10, 2019 - 4:12 pm

Australian alt-dance group RÜFÜS DU SOL, comprising Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George and James Hunt, have been making dreamy live house music since 2011 with their debut, RÜFÜS EP. 2016 was a big year for the group; they released their sophomore studio album, Bloom, in January and made their Coachella debut that March. They see the festival as a pivotal turning point in success as a group, especially in the U.S. market, and are excited to return to the fest three years later.

This time they are listed at the top of the lineup for their Friday evening set both weekends, and will be premiering their latest project, a 360-degree short film to accompany one of the fan-favorite tracks from 2018's Solace, "Underwater." It was directed by GRAMMY-nominated music video director James Frost—he earned the nod for Radiohead's "House Of Cards"—for an immersive experience in the HP Antarctic Dome at Coachella.

Read on to hear from band members Jon and James about who and what they want to check out at the fest ("We can lose hours in the Yuma Tent," says James) and working with Frost for the video. They also discuss the creative process for recording their last album (they got fancy synths and set up shop in Los Angeles!) and translating it live on stage.

What are you most looking forward to about Coachella?

James Hunt: For us it's pretty special because we played Coachella for the first time in 2016. That felt like a really important turning point for us in our career, especially in the U.S. It felt like after that set we found a lot more momentum. I think the visibility that it gave us, and the ability to play in front of that many people really helped us out. It feels really special to be returning to the site of it.

And one thing we love about Coachella, especially from that time when we were there roaming around and exploring, was how it isn't just about the artists and the bands that are playing, but it's a really well curated array of experiences and interactive art pieces; it allows the ability for everyone to curate their own little journey. So we're excited to gallivant around and go on our own little journey.

What other acts do you want to check out during the festival?

Jon George: Childish Gambino, [Anderson] .Paak...

James: Tame Impala, fellow Australian. Stephan Bodzin. The electronic contingent is always really strong at Coachella too, we found. We can lose hours in the Yuma Tent under the disco ball shark thing.

Jon: Over at the DoLab [Stage] as well they always put on some good stuff. 

Can you talk about working with James Frost for the "Underwater" short film that you are releasing soon?

James: It's been a really pleasurable experience working with him. And especially considering his resume, you know a talented director of music videos for Radiohead, for Coldplay. We love his work and so then we found out we were able to work with this guy and he was gonna have a visual response to our song "Underwater," we were pretty blown away.

Beyond that he's just a really humble and really nice, personable person. He's allowed a lot of creative back and forth, which we really enjoyed that kind of process. And also he's just someone who has a very specific visual concept. He knows exactly specific visual things that he wants to explore. We've seen the work in progress as what the "Underwater" experience will be like in the dome. It's gonna be very, very special.

What are you most excited about in regards to premiering at Coachella?

James: I guess we're mainly excited to see it. We've seen different snippets and different things along the way. And we've made a kind of cinematic soundscape that goes for about a minute before the actual song starts. So it will be really cool to see what the visuals are like that they've created to go with them.

Jon: Yeah, and also the surround sound experience as well. It's gonna be a pretty mind blowing experience for us on that first day of watch as well. Excited for everyone to see it.

So it will be a full premiere for you as well?

James: Exactly.

"It was our therapy in the studio in a way, being able to put all that onto paper, or onto track. I think that's where the emotionality, personality and intimacy on the record really started to shine through."

The whole Solace album it feels really deep and passionate. What's the back story on the album?

James: Coming into our third record we'd been touring for two years pretty non-stop leading into it. And we started again for the third time with this record to pack up and sort of isolate ourselves and move somewhere different, with the whole purpose of sort of pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone. And that just sort of rifled right through the whole process with us sort of getting rid of our normal workflow and deleting a bunch of stuff on our computers and starting fresh with a whole new live room.

We bought all the synthesizers and toys that we've been dreaming of over the last few years and finally we're able to do that. And we set up this sort of adult playground for ourselves in the studio in Venice [Calif.]. We would just get up each day and unveil the curtain inside and loose many hours in there writing music.

And I think with that isolation with the new relocation into a new place and that sort of workflow that we had going on, we started to just lose ourselves a fair bit in the music. It was towards the second half of the process that we started realizing how unhealthy it can be for your personal life with pushing everything aside and that started to drive home with us and that's where that naturally came out. It was our therapy in the studio in a way, being able to put all that onto paper, or onto track. I think that's where the emotionality, personality and intimacy on the record really started to shine through.

Was that the first album you recorded in the States?

James: Yeah, that was the first record that we've recorded in America. The record before that we wrote about half of it in Berlin, and the other record we wrote on the South Coast of New South Wales in Australia. So we knew that we liked sort of picking up everything and starting fresh somewhere new and that definitely inspired the start of this process and we really enjoyed living in Venice at the time.

https://twitter.com/RufusDuSol/status/1107157567631851520

Had to share the video from this moment a few weeks back. Still floors us thinking about it 🙏🏻 For those of you who have been asking, we’re announcing some things for UK + Europe this week 🇪🇸🇫🇷🇳🇱🇩🇪🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/oKgfFvlVGM

— RÜFÜS DU SOL (@RufusDuSol) March 17, 2019

What is your favorite part of translating the album and that emotion live on stage?

Jon: One thing that we always find when we finish an album or finish music and then we're preparing to play it live, if the song hasn't been released there's a little bit of a nerves scenario as to how are people going to be responding to it. Are they going to like it? If there's a slight change in direction will they be open to that? There's all those thoughts that go through your head.

One of my favorite parts this time was as soon as we put the record out in Oct. last year we started a tour pretty much a week later, where we were able to for the first time see peoples' reactions in real time to a lot of this new music.

So much of those reactions were really powerful; emotional reactions where'd you see people bawling their eyes out, people having cathartic experiences on the front rail. Those really impressionable things that leave a mark on you then, having put that music out. That's one of my favorite things; our ability to write something but then when you play it live and there's such a communication between you and the audience as well, like a dial almost. Seeing their reactions is like one of the most powerful things I feel.

That's so cool. You guys have a busy tour schedule this year; what else is up next for the group and what are you all most excited about for 2019?

James: This Coachella run has been something that we've been working towards for so long. We've been really making this the first real pillar of the process after writing the record. And from here we've got some amazing pillars after that. With Red Rocks the two shows there sold out in one day which just blew our minds. I didn't even know that we had a second one ready to go. So things like that, we've got shows at the Greek Theater in Berkeley [Calif.] and we're about to announce some more big stuff.

Those are gonna be some really, really epic moments for the band. We're really trying to keep honing in the show and reinventing it and that's where we have the most fun. We've been trying to change the set list up each night on tour; write new covers and just chuck them in and keep it really fresh for ourselves. So we're gonna keep doing that throughout the rest of the year and keep reinventing the whole lighting spectacle and that's what's really exciting us at the moment.

Kanye West Will Bring His "Sunday Service" To Coachella 2019

Cassian

 Cassian

Photo: Sean Robinson

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Cassian On 'Laps' & Staying Calm In Quarantine cassian-talks-debut-lp-laps-attending-his-first-grammys-staying-calm-quarantine

Cassian Talks Debut LP 'Laps,' Attending His First GRAMMYs & Staying Calm In Quarantine

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After countless DJ sets, remixes, singles and behind-the-scenes roles mixing and producing, Cassian is ready to claim the spotlight
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Apr 29, 2020 - 4:00 pm

Sydney-born, L.A.-based mixer/producer/DJ Cassian has an impressive musical resume, dating all the way back to learning piano and guitar as a kid and playing in several bands in high school. Well before he was old enough to hit the clubs, Cassian was DJing and making electronic music. He was inspired by the rich alt-electro scene that exploded in his hometown in the '00s—particularly Modular Recordings, which launched powerhouse Aussie acts like Cut Copy, Tame Impala, Bag Raiders and Van She.

Since then, the triple threat has been sharpening his production skills and refining his upbeat brand of electro/house/techno with DJ sets, major remixes, sprinklings of singles and behind-the-scenes roles mixing and producing for his fellow Aussie electronic acts. With his work mixing RÜFÜS DU SOL's fan-favorite Solace cut "Underwater," Cassian earned his first GRAMMY nomination at the 2020 GRAMMY Awards.

Now, with his debut album Laps (due out June 26 on RÜFÜS' Rose Ave Records), Cassian is finally ready to step into the spotlight. Ahead of the gorgeous LP's release, and right before the title track dropped on April 24, the Recording Academy caught up with the "Magical" artist to dive deep into the project and his musical path. He also talks about how it was attending his very first GRAMMYs, his friendship with RÜFÜS, the first rave he attended and how he's been keeping calm in quarantine.

cassian · Cassian-Same Things ft. Gabrielle Current (Club Edit)

When did you move out to L.A.?

It's been a strange move because it's been this drawn-out process. When I first moved here, I didn't truly move. One of my buddies had an Airbnb house he was renting and I took it over and didn't leave for a few years. But it wasn't my place, it didn't have my name on the bills or my furniture there or anything like that. That was, I think, the end of 2015 when I first came out here. I was going back and forth to Australia a lot. Now, with this lockdown I'm going to be in the States for who knows how long. But I just moved into my own place and set it all up, and I've got a little home studio here. So it took me like four years to get set up, but now I'm being forced to really settle in.

I bet it's nice that you have space to make music. I can imagine that that's an essential thing for you right now?

Oh, it's so lucky. It's just a small apartment, but it has an extra little room that I've got a home studio set up in. And I was working at another studio Downtown for the last three years and I just moved out of there. I didn't even know where I was going to have my next studio, but this little home studio is providing a good little interim setup until I can get into the next proper spot.

Wow, that's wild. Do you feel like you live in L.A. now?

It was weird because I was still spending so much time in Australia the last few years. Last year, I was in Australia for more than six months. I had so many shows out there. And every time I go back to Oz it's like I never left, and then every time I'm here it's like I live here. So it was this weird type of double life I felt like I was living. Now, I think this is the longest I've been in L.A. without going anywhere is the last month. I probably haven't been in one place without going anywhere for a month in at least four or five years. So it feels good, it feels nice to have so much more energy. My energy for workouts and everything is so much better, and I just generally feel pretty good.

A project that's a long time coming, your debut album Laps, is due out in about two months. What does it mean to you to share this body of work with the world, and what did it feel like when you finished it?

Well, I'm still working on it. We had some last-minute issues with one of the songs and we had to cut a new vocal from another artist. But we found someone really quickly, and we're still in the process of smoothing that out right now, but it's really exciting. It's so funny, I've worked on so many albums and projects for other people, and there's never that moment like, I don't know, you see in a movie, where you finish the album and press send on the email or hit the export button, and your like, "We're done, all right!" And you have this moment of relief.

It's always, you finish mixing, then you start the mastering, and then there's a couple mastering changes, and then you have to go back and change the mix. It just drags on for a long time so you never really get that moment. It's just lots of little moments—figuring out what the artwork's going to be, figuring out what songs are going to be on the album.

And yeah, it has been such a long time coming. I've been playing most of the songs that are on the album in my live show for about a year and a half now. I've been living with these songs. I've had the book of what my project is all about, and I've been reading it over and over, and I know what it is all about, but no one else does yet.

So I think that's what's most exciting about it, is just giving people the full picture of what the project is about, and also the full picture of what the songs I've been releasing mean in the context of it. The songs were never, "Oh, I have a single and let's just release that," it was all these songs that have been existing for years before we decided to do an album. Then it was forming and bending them, changing them to fit the story that I wanted to tell on the album.

How would you describe what is the album is about?

The album is about the cycles and loops that everyone experiences in relationships—that's why it's called Laps. It's the concept of doing laps, and the album is meant to explore that full spectrum of what a relationship is from the start, even before a relationship has started with someone. It's from that moment of being open to going through it all the way to that moment when it's over and it's completely gone, and you're just starting again.

You've released a handful of tracks ahead of it over the last year and a half, and the title track, which closes the album, is the latest. How do you feel "Laps" speaks to the project as a whole? And where does that song fall in the creative timeline of the album?

I never thought that it would be released on its own as single. I started working on it after I had the concept for the album, and from the start it always fit the story, it was the end of the album. The idea behind that track is that it's a linear journey. It's the [final] phase of forgetting and moving on. By the end of the song, the feeling I was trying to go for is that it's a clean slate and you're back to the start, you're back to a neutral place. The track doesn't really have a chorus or a main moment to it, it just starts and goes on like a journey. It has some moments, but it's not like anything else I've released or done before. I guess that's also why it's so long, I wanted to cram a lot into it to where it starts and ends in different places, and going through a range of moments in the song.

That's super cool. Is it one of the last songs you wrote for the album?

Yeah. The original demo started maybe three years ago, I think it was 2017 when I started. And it's been a constant change. The version that is coming out was only finished a couple months ago, and there were some big things that were changed over the last month before it was done. There's a bunch of songs on the album that are like that. Because I just want to keep working on things, and I'm never like, "Yep, this is done." If you give me more time I'll just keep messing with it.

So yeah, the concept for "Laps" has stayed the same, it just changes with how I've been feeling over the last few years. It's had so many different forms, and the version that is being released is just the most recent way that I felt to express the story of the song.

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It would be super-interesting to see the evolution of it.

Yeah. There's some funny demos of all of these songs. There's one on the album called "Open Up," which the original version of that song had my friend singing this really soulful vocal and was very soothing. Then somewhere along the way it just completely changed to be this more aggressive track. It's been a cool journey with all these songs. There's probably a couple on there that the demos are close to how the final version sounds, but for a lot of them they've really been through so many totally different versions.

So when you've been performing them live, were there earlier versions that you played? Did you have any Frank Ocean moments like that?

Totally. "Together" has changed a bunch as I've been performing it. The version on the album I played at CRSSD, but in the last two years since I've been doing the live show there's been three main versions, where the main instruments or sections are all different. That's one of the oldest songs on the album actually. I wrote that song with one of my friends about four years ago; everything was completely different to how it is now. That old demo, there's nothing in common with the most recent one, not a single sound, not a single melody. Apart from the vocal, everything changed.

Would you say that you're a bit of a perfectionist?

Oh, for sure. I'm always very self-critical of my work, on my own music and work I do for others. I'm always trying to get closer and closer to this sound I have in my head for whatever project it is. I think that's part of the reason why this album has come together now. I finally decided I was at a place where I could actually execute the sound I wanted to a level that I was happy with.

It feels like some external perfection is definitely my own thing. And, at least for the last few years, I've been confident in what I could do, but now, with the album especially, I really found the sound and everything else I wanted to do, something that I would be proud to push people to listen to.

cassian · Magical ft. Zolly

I want to talk about one of the other songs you've released, "Magical" featuring ZOLLY of Crooked Colours. You've worked with them before—you mixed Vera, correct?

Yeah, I mixed that album and co-produced "Perfect Run," the last track on that album. Yeah, as soon as we started working on that it was a vibe, and I just basically said to Phil [Slabber, a.k.a. ZOLLY], "Dude, please sing on a track for me. Let's write a song together."

So, the journey of "Magical"—I initially had this repetitive, almost techno but really slow, instrumental track that I wrote. I was mixing it with one of my friends, his name's Jack Glass, he's from Bag Raiders, another Australian guy. We were messing around in his studio and I didn't think, "Oh, this should have a vocal", it was just instrumental.

Anyways, Phil and I were both in Sydney and he had a little time. We could finally work on the song we'd been talking about doing for a few years. So we went in the studio and he was like, "What have you been working on?" I played him some stuff, including that slow techno thing, and he was like, "Oh this is sick, we should write to this."

At first, I was like, "No"—there wasn't even any chord changes, it was just very repetitive on its own. But we just started writing chord changes to it and working on the vocal, and it came together really quickly, mainly in just that first session. We kind of brought it together. Also, by that time I already had the concept of the album, so we wrote it with that in mind.

It's funny, because that original beat doesn't sound anything like what the final thing is now, but when he heard it, it inspired him. He was like, "Oh, here's what we should work on." There's something about the energy of that initial idea is still there, but everything changed.

Does it feel different bringing some of the people you've mixed and produced for onto your own project? 

Well, it feels really good. Because even with the music that I work on, most of the time is with friends and artists that I like. I don't want to sound like I'm saying no to people all the time, but I am careful to pick and choose to work on stuff that I really like. Especially because I have to balance my time between that behind-the-scenes work and my artist work. In the past, I definitely got caught working on projects I wasn't passionate about, and so for the last few years it's been only things that I'm passionate about it.

Most of those are also things I would love to work on with my artist project, and most of the people I work with behind the scenes, eventually there's going to be a collab together as well. And this is just the first one. When you work on an album together, you get to know each other pretty well, and you get in touch with their singing, you get to know their voice. I like being that familiar. I've always leaned into familiarity, like friendships, and even just with places. I'm not going into any cafes at the moment, but there's one café that I always go to with my friends. I try to collaborate with all my friends really quite a bit.

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That's awesome. And based on everyone you've worked with before, if that was your pool of people to collaborate in the future, that's pretty dope.

Yeah. I'm very, very lucky with Running Touch and Hayden James, with RÜFÜS DU SOL. There are so many great artists that I get to work with. All those relationships started with a friendship. If I can help them on their project, I love doing it, and it's also nice to get to work on and hear music before anyone else does. And then not only hear it but get to influence how it sounds, and have your input into music that you really enjoy.

Speaking of friendships, you got your first GRAMMY nomination this year with RÜFÜS for "Underwater." Do you have any good stories from the show? What was the experience like for you?

Well, I was actually kind of sick. I was feeling a little sketchy a few days before, and then that night I started really feeling sick. But no, it was awesome. It was the people that worked on that song, and on that album [2018's SOLACE], we were all there. It was just a nice day to spend it together and just take a moment to appreciate that album and song.

That day was really crazy because Kobe passed away. We went into the Microsoft Theater [for the GRAMMY Premiere Ceremony], we sat down, they came up to our category and we didn't win, so we were a little bit bummed down. But obviously we were also still really happy, congratulating each other and stuff. We decided to get some lunch, and we walk outside and there's thousands of people. My phone starts going off, and my friends are texting me telling me what happened. It was so surreal. In general, it was a very surreal day. And even just to be at Staples. I'm a huge NBA fan. I go to games all the time there, and to be there on the day Kobe passed away, in a familiar place, but it was set up so differently.

Everyone who performed, like seeing Lizzo, it just didn't feel real. I was also in this haze of feeling like I was coming down with the flu. It was a very strange but memorable day. It was one of those experience that, especially with the red carpet, it's one of those things you just feel super lucky to have the chance to do. Going down any red carpet is a lot, but the GRAMMY red carpet is so much.

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The RÜFÜS guys and I spoke about that lot, especially in regards to being on stage, it's just slowing it down and taking things in, taking that extra second to let things hit you and sink in, and feel what's happening in the moment. So that was really cool. It's one of those things like, "Who knows if I'm ever going to get the chance to do this again?" So you really try to enjoy it for what it is, and take it all in, but it's also incredibly inspiring, you're like, "Oh, I want to work my ass off to try and be back here."

Must Watch: RÜFÜS DU SOL's Epic Joshua Tree Concert For No One

Hell yeah! I always say, you got to put that energy out there into the world.

I joke around with my friends about getting gold records and stuff like that, but I've never made the joke of, "We should get a GRAMMY for this." It's crazy.

cassian · Lafayette

Your track, "Lafayette," another album cut, was the first release from RÜFÜS' Rose Ave Records back in 2018. What did that inaugural label release mean to you, and what does it feel like to be a part of their label family?

With that song especially, for me, it was like, "That had to be their first song on there that they release ever" because I've been working so copiously with them since like 2012, '13. I've done so many shows with them, and been mixing their records, and remixing them. They're also all my closest friends. And that track in particular, I made the initial idea on tour with them in a Sprinter van years ago.

I think we were on the way to Chicago or somewhere in the Midwest. I was just sitting in the front seat of the van. It's crazy, because now when they tour they're on a bus. But yeah, we would just all make music in the van and then play it to each other when we got to our next stop. It only feels right to me that they started a label and it comes out on their label. Again, it's one of those things you would never speak. Like, "Hey, why don't you guys start a label and we put out this record?" It's just a thing that's happened, and it feels right.

RÜFÜS DU SOL · Treat You Better (Cassian Remix)

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I would love to learn a bit more about your musical journey, as you've been putting out tracks and remixes for the better part of the decade. When did you first start learning to make music, and then when did you get into DJing and producing?

So from when I was really young I was learning music. I always had a piano in my house—I started when I was about five. The piano that I was learning on was my great-grandma's piano, and that whole side of the family was super musical, there's a ton of musicians and an orchestra conductor. My parents aren't musical, but my mom definitely kept that family tradition alive. I learned piano from when I was really young and I started learning guitar when I was 11 or 12. I was always in a band in high school.

When I was 15 or 16, I was in a band with some family friends who were a bit older, and we were doing gigs in the city, at bars and clubs and stuff. My mom and dad would have to come to supervise me because I was underage. The lead singer's older brother ran a nightclub, and so we would do shows at his club and DJs would come in afterwards. I'm like 17, 18, seeing electronic music. And Sydney back then, there were so many good bands as well. With Modular Recordings, all those acts were just killing it in Sydney.

I remember one time we supported the band Van She. I never heard stuff like that before and I was so stoked. I went and bought their single the next day. I was just immersed in that world from when I was pretty young, and I just wanted to do it. I had no idea what I was doing, there wasn't YouTube [tutorials] and stuff back then. I started making friends with people who were making that kind of music, and slowing figuring it out. I think my first record I put out, when I was 18 or 19, was on Bang Gang Records, which was a Modular subsidiary label.

I look at things so different now. Back then I didn't have a plan, I wasn't trying to say anything, I was just making music and messing around, releasing it with no thought. Slowly, over 10 years, like I was saying before, I've been figuring out what I can do better, and how to move forward closer to whatever the sound I hear in my head.

I've stayed on that journey for that last 10 years, and it's funny because I say all that but also I feel like I'm really just starting my career as an artist right now. It took me that time to learn what an artist was, and what I wanted to say and do as an artist. And to have infrastructure around me as a label that supports me, and management that is helping me execute what I want to as an artist. So I've been doing things a long time, but I really feel like I'm just starting with this album, the first thing for me as an artist.

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Did you DJ college parties or make music when you were in school?

No. Well, it's so different in Australia, most people just go to school in their hometown. I grew up in Sydney, one of the biggest cities in Australia, and there's a bunch of schools there. So I went to a school that was 20 minutes from my house where I grew up and I never really got into it. I was never involved on campus. I would just go to my lectures, go to my tutorials and go home. That was it. Eventually I just stopped going; I started touring and was like, "Cool, I'm done with this."

What was the first concert you attended when you were younger? What about the first electronic music show or rave you went to?

That line is so blurred because when I was 16 I would go and play those shows and stay after and see bands. One of the first I can remember is, around 18, I was going to see Bloc Party at the Horton Pavilion in Sydney, which is this big almost-warehouse venue. One of the first raves I guess I went to was the Daft Punk Alive tour [in 2007]. It was really good.

We did so many things like that. They played in Sydney and me and a bunch of friends went. I think I might already have been making music a little bit when this happened, because the Bang Gang guys were DJing before Daft Punk, and I knew them, and I remember they were playing songs and I was texting them going, "What's this song? You got send me this." But yeah, that was definitely one of the first big ones I went to.

There were a few really good ones. There was Park Life Festival, in 2007 or 2008, seeing Digitalism and Justice—they were crazy. It was lucky, it was all pretty good stuff that I got to see when I was first getting started. And it's crazy with what electronic music festivals and shows look like now, when that Daft Punk show came along, there was nothing like that, not even close. Now, nothing is still really on that level, but everything is in that vein of crazy lighting and video. That show was like the template.

When you're 18, and it's Daft Punk, it's all their songs and their remixes, and the pyramid just started out with lights and colors, and then by the end of the show the pyramid was a full video screen with lights all over that lit up at the end. Every song there was a new surprise that would blow your mind. It was a crazy show.

Related: How Will Coronavirus Shift Electronic Music? Maceo Plex, Paul Van Dyk, Luttrell, Mikey Lion & DJ Manager Max Leader Weigh In

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At CRSSD, you had your first main stage live show. What did that set feel like for you, and what are you most looking forward to about eventually getting back on stage?

I think it was the first time I had done my full live show at a U.S. festival, definitely the first time on a main stage doing the live show. That show was really special because the album was more or less finished, so I played "Laps" for the first time there. That's the first live show where everything I played was the final album versions, so that felt really cool. It was also the first show that we had visuals. My whole team was there. There's three people on my management team, and they were all down there, and my girlfriend was there.

Also, I played CRSSD years ago, and I'm close with the whole FNGRS CRSSD team, and they've become fans over the years. It felt the start of the next chapter, and to start it with them felt really cool. And you know what I was saying before about familiar places, CRSSD is so familiar to me. I was there when RÜFÜS DU SOL played two years ago [they returned this year], Hayden James has played there as well. I played there three of four years ago. I just feel so comfortable there.

I was a little worried about playing so early in the day, but a bunch of people came down. I was super inspired after that show, and looking forward to—because we had the whole year planned out—a bunch of the summer festivals and headline shows later in the year. I guess when things get started again, I'm trying not to have any expectations.

When you're releasing an album, everyone, like my managers and agents, has been working so hard to put together this year of touring, release schedules and everything that compliments the album and what you're trying to do as an artist. Then, within a week, it's all gone. There's nothing you can do about it. I'm not bummed out about it, but everything is gone so quickly. I'm going to try to take it in stride and, I don't know, just roll.

A bunch of my friends always tease me about this, but generally I never get excited about things until they're done, really. Even when I was driving into CRSSD, or going out to Coachella with my girlfriend or with one my managers, they're like, "So are you pumped?" I'm like, "Not really. We'll see what happens when it's together." So that's my attitude with this. Who knows when things are going to get started again and what things will be like, but I'm not going anywhere.

Read More: Lady Gaga, The Naked And Famous, Bruno Major & More Artists Talk Staying Grounded During Quarantine

What has helped you stay grounded during quarantine?

Honestly, I'm still figuring it out. Everywhere I go really, I'm such a creature of routine; whether I'm in L.A. or when I'm in touring in Australia, I still get to have my routine more or less because my family's out there. So it's been hard to figure out what that new quarantine routine is like. I'm trying to stay focused on figuring it out, which is what's helping me stay grounded.

I used to go to the same café every day, and eat out lot and get takeout from a bunch of my favorite spots. Now all of that's changed, so it's like, okay, my routine is going to the shops once every two or three weeks. Nothing exciting, just trying to ration out my pasta and figuring out how much Himalayan rock salt I can use every day.

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Are there any things you think are going to stick in the quarantine routine? You mentioned working out, or anything else that has felt good?

For my workouts, I used to get up super early and go to the gym every day at the same time, same gym. Now, I've been exploring the neighborhood I live in, and walking around more. I'm definitely going to be doing more of that, definitely going to be cooking for myself more. My old routine I would just get up, workout, go to the studio. I would just be in the studio all day, have dinner at the studio, then come home and just sleep.

Now I'm realizing I didn't need to do that, and I've set up a little studio at home, so now I can just work from home when I don't feel like going to the studio. Also, I traveled so much and I didn't question it, and took it for granted. And [now] it's been a conversation I've been having with my team.

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LiB 2019

LiB 2019

Photo: Michael Drummond

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LiB Team Talk Promoting Inclusivity & Creativity lightning-bottle-creators-talk-inclusivity-creativity-self-expression-inside-outside

Lightning In A Bottle Creators Talk Inclusivity, Creativity & Self-Expression Inside & Outside Music Festivals

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"I think all festival culture becomes mirrors and reflections of the greater culture," LiB Assistant Music Director Megan Perez-Carpenter said
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 18, 2020 - 4:52 pm

Last week, several of the creators behind Do LaB's flagship event, the beloved Lightning In A Bottle music and arts festival, sat down to talk about the wisdom and care that brings their event to life. At the Soho Warehouse in Downtown Los Angeles, Isis Indriya (Compass Director), Megan Perez-Carpenter (Assistant Music Director), Shacole Hamlett (ArtClave Director) and Karla Hernandez (Interactive Programming) from the LiB team spoke to panel moderator Katie Bain (Director of Billboard Dance) for a deep-diving conversation about how the work behind the festival.

A few days after the panel, like most other spring and summer 2020 events, DoLaB announced that LiB would no longer be taking place on Memorial Day weekend because of the coronavirus pandemic. While further details are not yet available, one thing is for sure: the festival's sense of community will be more vital than ever once it can safely resume.

Read: How The Global Coronavirus Pandemic Is Directly Impacting Songwriters, Musicians And Artists

In addition to its epic electronic-leaning musical offering (this year's lineup was set to include James Blake, KAYTRANADA, GRiZ, Empress Of, Doja Cat and many more), the five-day event typically features live and experiential art, yoga and dance classes, talks on sustainability and a massive marketplace filled with fierce local designer-crafted fashion.

Here's what we learned about what makes a meaningful and transformational festival:

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Having A Diverse Lineup Is An Active Choice

"[Having a diverse lineup] is definitely something you have to choose to do," Perez-Carpenter stated, adding that the artist booking process has evolved for her team over the years to proactively highlight more diverse voices. She shared that many of the artists they receive inquiries about booking every year are primarily white men, so it has been important to shift things around and instead build the lineup around the new voices instead of trying to fit them into the spaces between the festival headline regulars.

She added that if you claim to be a conscious and inclusive event, you need to have diverse programming your attendees can relate to. In other words, if you want everyone at your event to feel welcome and valued, people that look like them, align with their values and actively promote diversity in their music, art or messaging is vital.

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The process Indriya's team implements to plan the Compass' stacked lineup of speakers and over 80 workshops and performances is pretty amazing and unique, as it's grounded in several modes of traditional wisdom. She explained that her team first meets with the indigenous people of the land, the Tejon tribe, following by meeting with the elder council on their team, as well as a Vedic astrologist. It is important to their team to include a diverse group of leaders to set the intentions for their socially-minded programming and ensure all the speakers they book are aligned with their overarching values and specific vision for that year.

Indriya noted the message of every presenter is really important to what they offer to the LiB community. She shared that, according to astrology, diversity is predicted in the stars right now. Additionally, the team is thrilled the Tejon people feel called to contribute their wisdom directly with festival-goers; this year their dance troupe will be offering a Pow Wow demonstration.

As the Compass team's process highlights, involving diverse voices in a meaningful way throughout the planning process is vital to authentic representation. Thus, it is important to have diversity reflected internally. As Perez-Carpenter underscored, the DoLaB brothers (co-founders Josh, Jesse and Dede Flemming) have put women in positions of power at the company.

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What Happens At Festivals Can Shift Culture Forward

As Hamlett underscored, festivals push culture forward, so it's important to be aware of that and to expose people to new experiences. As she explains it, ArtClave was set up as an experiential art space because we often feel inspired at festivals but don't have an immediate outlet for it beyond dancing. With the art offerings at LiB, not only can attendees watch artists live painting throughout the week, they can participate in making their own art, with a variety of artist-led workshops and classes offered.

Perez-Carpenter echoed Hamlett's thoughts: "I think all festival culture becomes mirrors and reflections of the greater culture." Just imagining what kind of lasting inspiration and ideas could be sparked when we are able to harness our creative impulses in fun and accessible outlets is pretty rad.

Read: Meow Wolf & Taos Vortex Fest Are Shifting Art & Live Music Towards More Interactive, Playful Spaces

"Festival culture is a nice little network and we're all supporting each other," Indriya added, underscoring the close-knit relationships of the transformational music festival community, including those behind the scenes and the dancefloor regulars. When asked how LiB still feels underground after its impressive growth and impact in the larger music event world, she posed that it is "because we care about the details. That's why it's a spotlight on the culture itself."

The Compass has played a vital part in fostering a growing network of community organizers and activists and their collaboration with content partners (including WaterNow, Kiss The Ground and Amazon Watch) allow Do LaB and festivalgoers to support meaningful organizations. Relatedly, as Hamlett noted, they saw the importance of building an artists' camp for all the creatives providing art for the fest to further foster networking opportunities.

"It's up to us to represent our values," Perez-Carpenter added, to frequently check in and make sure our actions remain aligned with them. In 2014, when "tribal print" fashion was popular at Urban Outfitters and mock native headdresses were an unfortunate festival staple, LiB took a stand on cultural appropriation, sharing a message on their website explaining why headdresses would not be allowed outside of their cultural context at their event. As Idris noted, it was initially risky to take a strong stance on this while other festivals were not, but it paid off and helped moved the conversation around cultural appropriation and festival fashion-forward.

This message of cultural respect has become part of the LiB Ethos, summarized by six "guiding principles" including "Celebrate Life," "Create Community," "Actively Participate" and "Honor The Land." This positive messaging is not only succinctly explained on their website but also felt across all elements of the festival.

"That divine spark of inspiration is in our name and is so powerful. We want to live this beauty we create." – Isis Indriya

Fostering Attendee Participation & Creativity Is Essential

"That divine spark of inspiration is in our name and is so powerful," Indriya shared. "We want to live this beauty we create." Beyond the increasingly popular moniker of transformational festivals, she sees LiB as part of what she calls "initiatory festival culture," underscoring the value in actively creating new experiences for attendees to explore and experience for themselves.

Shifting the festival dynamic from a spectator sport to that of an interactive build-your-own-adventure playground is the name of the game at LiB, as evident by their programming beyond the music lineup. As Perez-Carpenter highlighted, they have a "dedication to creating curiosity" because most of us don't have much time and space to just wander in our daily lives, so they're all about creating spaces conducive to that.

And as Hernandez underscored, the people you connect with at the event are sometimes ones who remain in your life for a long time, and that sense of community felt by everyone whose been to the event is really something special.

Their focus on encouraging playfulness, curiosity and creativity is paired with a strong eye towards inspiring activism, as echoed in the work of The Compass. "How are giving the general attendee the tools for change? How can we move them towards activism?" These, Perez-Carpenter noted, are the questions we should always be asking themselves as organizers.

They've even become creative with the way music can be experienced at the fest, including two new additions in 2019. The Mixtape, which Perez-Carpenter describes as a '70s-style lounge stacked with tapes and boomboxes you can pop in to get the party going, became a new fan-favorite. Hernandez noted the Playa Rélampago as her personal safe space, a new home to salsa dancing lessons during the day and reggaetón parties at night. She loves that it offers a home for music typically not represented on the main stages, again, exposing attendees to something different.

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Yoga is another important cornerstone of the festival. Right before the panel, on Soho's outdoor patio, Gianna De La Torre, co-curator of the yoga and movement programming, offered a lovely, grounding example of yoga at the fest, accompanied by soothing deep house beats from DJ Beau Robb. For LiBers ready to check out lots of music and party with their squad, a yoga or sound meditation class may be the only real moment of calm they find during the long weekend. Those experiences can be essential to reimagining how they engage with festivals or get them excited about bringing regular mindfulness practice into their daily lives.

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