WESLEE

WESLEE

Photo: Sergio Necoechea

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WESLEE Talk Exes Of "London Love," Billie Eilish, Support From Annie Mac & New Album

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The electro-R&B duo sat down with the Recording Academy after their L.A. debut to talk about new music, how the first song they ever wrote together, "Gassed," started them off strong and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 26, 2019 - 11:35 am

Meet WESLEE: a vibey, electro-R&B duo featuring London-born Emma DD's smooth vocals and Kansas-raised Josh Grant's grooving production. The pair first met in New York City in a writing session and they've been on a roll since. 

Though they initially didn't reveal their identities, WESLEE's 2017 single "Gassed" (the first song they ever wrote together) got the new act noticed in the U.K. right away, with DD and Grant being picked up by an influential handful of early supporters, including Annie Mac and Pete Tong on their esteemed BBC Radio 1 shows. In 2018, Emma and Josh continued to make groovy waves, dropping their debut EP, 9F.

Now, WESLEE is ready to keep the momentum going and make their mark Stateside. They're working on their second EP and have released two more big-vibe singles, "London Love" and "Something Bout You." On the eve of their Los Angeles debut, the Recording Academy sat down with the pair to talk about new music, dream collabs, what they've learned from working together, getting support from a major British personality like Mac and more.

You guys just made your L.A. show debut. How are you feeling? How do you feel like it went for you?

Josh: Still hungry.

Emma: Yeah, it was fun. It was good.

Josh: Made us hungry for more. [Laughs.] No, it felt good. It was a fun venue. We're just going to watch the sunset go down while we—

Emma: Yeah, it's a cool venue.

Josh: —see the trains go by and see the rest of L.A. Yes. A good way to start for a good first L.A. trip.

Yeah! How do you guys usually feel when you're on stage?

Emma: I think maybe I'm normally more drunk thank I am right now. But he's always like that, laughing. We're all really nervous. I had a bit of a weirder experience, though. I was just indifferent, I didn't think about it.

Josh: Emma was good. I'm always nervous.

I always wonder what it's like getting on stage with those lights...

Josh: In your head, you're like, "This is fine" and then you're like "I don't know what the f**k I'm doing."

Emma: Yeah, 10 minutes before, you're like, "I don't know anything I've done, what do I do?" And my stomach's doing somersaults, but I'm like," pass me the whiskey" and they didn't have whiskey here. And I just find out if this [holds up bottle] is basically just kombucha…

Josh: So, it's not alcohol at all.

Maybe there's a placebo effect at least?

Emma: I do this every day, so it's good that it's not alcoholic because I would be an alcoholic.

Josh: Do you prefer drunk shows versus now knowing that there's no alcohol in there?

Emma: It's different. Today's just weird. But yeah, it felt good after. It feels good now.

Can you talk about when you first linked up and how WESLEE was born?

Josh: So, we both write and produce for other people and so we met just doing sessions that way in New York. And then it sort of happened out of that, basically. We came from a session, I think we were burnt out on doing that sort of stuff. We hit a point of "We're over this" at that moment. We needed a day to make music on our own and we wrote "Gassed" then. That's how it started.

That was literally the first thing song you made together?

Josh: Yeah, we wrote it that night. It never changed from then until today.

You started working together and something clicked. How do you feel that you balance or challenge each other creatively? How does that push the project along?

Josh: I think, for me, I change up as like, I'm nervous on stage. I'd be likely to overthink everything in my world and Emma helps me not do that. I just go based on an energy and a feeling and I can keep that and we can put it back to where we just create music now that we're together based on whatever feeling we're having that day. It's not like, "Oh, let's make it this or this." And we don't have an end goal of an EP or an album is going to be about this thing. At least, so far. It's just you go with energy and feeling of the day and then see where that takes you. And I think she's making me get better at that rather than my brain overthinking 10,000 things.

Emma: Yeah, what he said. He's better at this stuff than I am.

Josh: She has nothing nice to say about me. [Pauses.] That's not true. [Smiles.]

When you're working on your own music and in that space of more so going with the dynamic and the flow of the day, do you feel like you're able to be more creative then when you were writing for other people?

Josh: I think it's more creative for me freedom-wise. You can just go and not stress about what it is.

Emma: It's what makes it more stressful.

Josh: Yeah. Because of that.

Your name's on it.

Emma: That's exactly what it is.

Josh: It's freeing, but you're also putting [more] pressure on yourself.

Emma: And then you're starting a lot of stuff between the making music. Like...

Josh: What do you mean?

Emma: …like interviews.

Josh: Oh, right.

You want to talk about it?

Emma: Yeah, I'm not good at talking about a lot of things. Especially, "What kind of music do you make?" I don't f**king know. Sh*t, you can hear it.

Josh: You're good at talking about things in music form, but talking about that is a different thing.

Emma: I don't like to talk about myself.

Josh: But it's also kind of nice cause it makes you reflect and be like, "Oh, that's what that was about." Maybe you haven't thought about it. It's like therapy in a way. You're like, "Oh wait!" It's kind of nice.

You guys are working on your second EP. Did you have a vision going into it, and have things changed or shifted since you started working on it?

Josh: I think for this second EP we realized that all this stuff has been made in L.A. and it sounds like that, I think. Whereas all of the last EP was made in London and it sort of feels that way. I don't know how to describe what that sound is. But when you hear these songs, you can tell we were in L.A. If we're going to write a song in London, it's going to feel like that vibe of London in that day and here it's a different thing. They feel completely different.

Sunnier.

Josh: Yes. Sunny, hot. Yeah, it feels that way and sweet, in a way.

Emma: Yeah.

One of the lead singles is "London Love," which is a really fun song. And the video matches it really well, where it's really pretty. And can you talk to that song a little bit specifically? Maybe the emotions that went into that and the vision of the video.

Emma: The song is literally about my exes. One of my friends, when she first heard it, was, "Oh, my God, this is about that guy! This is that guy..." "Correct." Not all of them are real because I haven't dated that many guys. I feel like the song lended itself to the video. Even when we were writing it, I had that vision in my mind.

Was it filmed in London?

Emma: Yeah.

Josh: It was in London on a f**king cold-ass day, which is very London.

Do you feel like writing that song helped you process? I mean, no one likes talking about their exes, but we all do it.

Emma: Every other song I ever write is about one of my exes. I think I talk about them enough. New boyfriend, new ex.

You guys also recently dropped the Ben Pearce remix of "London Love," which is great. Do you guys have your eyes on any specific artists to collaborate with?

Josh: I mean, it always changes. What we listen to changes all the time. We're like, "Oh, it'd be cool to work with that person or this person", but no one specifically. I think it changes every week.

Emma: I'm gonna say Bass and Dave. Is that what they're called?

Josh: Oh yeah! Wait, is that their names?

Josh: But this is another song that's coming out is, not to give anything away, is like a duet, but there's no feature on it.

Emma: Don't give it away. He wasn't really supposed to tell you.

Josh: We're sort of open to collaborating with anybody. A lot of stuff that we do on our own or with other people, you play them stuff and then it's "Oh, we should do something together," and just see what happens after that.

So, then, how did the Ben Pearce remix come out?

Josh: That one was actually through management. They reached out and he was a fan of the song and, I think he hadn't done anything remix-wise in a while. He was just like, "I want to remix this" and he did it.

We have another one coming out with [British-Jamaican Dancehall artist] Stylo G on it, which is actually really cool. It's sort of reggae-ish. And then an Afrobeat style one going to come out as well, with [producer/songwriter] P2J, who did a bunch of work the GoldLink album.

Josh: So, just stuff like that where people hear it and go; "Yeah, that'd be cool. I'll do it" and we barter. I'll do one for you, you do one for me and we'll see what happens.

Emma: Pete and Bas! That's who I want to [collaborate with].

Josh: Everyone look out for Pete and Bas.

Emma: If you don't know who they are, f**king YouTube it.

"Gassed" was the first song you ever actually wrote together, which is pretty crazy. It was the first single you put out and, right off the bat, got a lot of love from BBC1. How do you feel that getting the positive response right away shaped your artistic path? 

Josh: For me, it's super exciting because you're like, "Oh sh*t, this thing we've done, people actually like it," which is sort of weird. However, that then puts weird pressure like, "Well, what happens if they don't play it again and our next song? How does that work?" It makes me just get a little bit too heavy about sh*t. Puts pressure on yourself that doesn't need to be there. Emma's getting good at being like, "Don't f**king worry about that sh*t, let's make music." So as amazing as it is, then it's like, "Well, she didn't like our next song." But then it's, "Oh well, she'll like the next one after that."

And then Annie Mac brought you to her AMP fest, right?

Josh: Yeah, it was super fun.

She's so influential. What was that experience like at AMP, and did you guys learn anything specific from connecting with Annie and watching her work?

Josh: I think just that she is a good curator of music that we all like. She's good at putting together and finding—

Emma: Finding new sh*t.

Josh: —new stuff, it's really good. Then joining that together to see how she picks and chooses what's gonna do what and her team around her. She's a massive influencer, especially in the U.K., still, so to be a part of that, you're like, "That's f**king cool." I just wish that we had played with Billie Eilish.

Was she were there too?

Josh: She was there the week before us, she did a show. If we had only known. [Mac] is on this stuff super early. That's amazing because we saw her a year and a half ago. And then we saw Billie Eilish play a massive stage at Coachella this year.

Emma: Yeah, it's just crazy.

Who are you guys' biggest influences?

Josh: It changes. I'm always listening to Frank Ocean. He's what I always go back to. Other than that, it is constantly changing.

Emma: I don't know if she's one of my influences, but I'm gonna say her because I just saw her and she f**king killed it: Kylie Minogue. She deserves a shout out. She may be the most opposite person to me, but yeah.



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What is your biggest goal and mission, right now as an artist putting out music?

Emma: Well, right now, to get food. Dumplings.

Josh: Trying to get Burgerlords. They do vegan tahini milkshakes that are better than actual milkshakes.

And just keep putting out music and seeing where it goes and playing more shows. And hopefully more people like it, or even if they don't. Just keep making, being creative, pushing each other and putting out music, that's satisfying. Whatever else happens, you don't really have power over. But we can control what the two of us do. And writing songs, that's a happy place.

Emma: Keep making, keep creating.

Yeah, you can't overthink it.

Josh: Yeah, we try not to.

Emma: Overthinking is the death of creativity. We're learning it fast.

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Yotto plays Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, 2019

Yotto

Photo: Demian Beccerra

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Yotto On "Is This Trance?," Launching Odd One Out & Building A BBC Essential Mix

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We sat down with the Finnish DJ/producer before his final show of 2019 to hear about the vision behind his brand-new label, the electronic music he listened to as a kid and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 17, 2019 - 12:42 pm

For a globe-trotting DJ/producer who isn't convinced he's made any great dance tracks "yet," Yotto has a pretty impressive musical resume that has many others at odds with him on the matter. Hailing from Finland, Otto Yliperttula, a.k.a Yotto, has been signed to Above & Beyond's beloved deep house sublabel, Anjunadeep, since 2015 and has been packing dancefloors around the world with his emotive, pulsing beats rooted in deep and progressive house.

His tracks have been celebrated by longtime icons of the global house scene, including Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Sasha and Laurent Garnier. In addition to landing at least five of Tong's "Essential New Tune" selections over the years, the British DJ also invited him to do a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in 2018, a major DJ rite of passage moment. 2018 also saw the release of Yotto's gorgeous debut LP, Hyperfall, on Anjunadeep. This past summer, the "Radiate" producer launched his own label, Odd One Out, and toured historic venues and theatres across North America to celebrate, bringing his energetic music and down-to-earth presence to new spaces.

The Recording Academy sat down with the Finnish artist before his final show of 2019 to talk about the vision behind the label, the electronic music he sought out as a teen (including Sasha) and what he thinks makes a great dance track—which he'll make "hopefully one day."

You launched your Odd One Out label this summer. What made you want to start your own label?

I always wanted to have my own label because when I grew up, I was listening to all these DJs that were playing great music and then I found out they have labels. And I was able to dig through the labels' catalog and be like, oh, yeah, this is really, really good. And that always gave me a glimpse inside the head of the DJ who I really admired and the music they wanted to play. I like the idea of the label being an extension of the DJ.

The person who runs the label, shares the music he likes or thinks people will like, or the music that works well in his live DJ sets through it. That was the core idea of it and I don't know where it's going to go, I don't really have a big plan for it. It's going to be a lot of my own music, but also I'm going to sign a bunch of artists.

I just get so much really good music sent to me, from kids that don't really know what to do with it, so I'm just going to take some of it and put it all together. I'm working on a small compilation for next year, a curated album kind of thing. That's going to be the first thing I'm going to hop into when I'm back [home in Finland] from the tour.

Who are some of these people you were listening to when you were younger?

It was like Desyn Masiello, Sasha, [John] Digweed, the old progressive house DJs pretty much. Hernán Cattáneo was a big one. Also, there was this label called Underwater, Darren Emerson was on it. Those were probably my favorites.

How old were you when you first started getting into electronic music?

Around then, I was maybe 15. It was really hard to get that, because the internet was just slow. It was there, but just not the way it is now, of course.

Were there any good record stores where you grew up?

Yeah, there was one that I would always go to, and that's where I kind of found most of the records and the DJs because they would also sell music magazines. Ministry of Sound had a magazine back then—"Muzic" with a "z"—that was really good, really tasteful, kind of sarcastic, really good reviews on dance music. And Mixmag was around already, so then reading those and their reviews, and then going to the record store, trying to buy the records. Because I was underage I couldn't go to the clubs, so I would just have to listen to the records and think about how they worked.

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You got into it early, that's cool. It seems like in Europe, electronic music has been a lot more embedded into youth culture, and also just music in general, than in the U.S.

I think yeah, especially in the U.K. and Germany.

When I was a kid, I only knew about, like, Daft Punk. But so did everyone. Of course there were kids here that were really into electronic music, but it was a lot more sub-culture here in the '90s and '00s.

Oh yeah, sure. It was the same in Finland, it was very, very underground. There was a big scene around trance music, but the rest of it was small. It's a small country, so in relation to that, it was a healthy scene. So the best things, at least for me, I found out as a kid, were just reading about it and listening to the music.

Okay, back to 2019. To launch Odd One Out, you released "Shifter," then "Nova" and, most recently, "Is This Trance?"—the best track name ever. Can you talk a little bit about that one? And when you're working on a track—and on "Is This Trance?" specifically—where do you start?  

It depends on so much, each track is a bit different. That one was, I was in Italy for a couple of weeks on holiday. I was listening to old '90s trance that day for who knows what reason, and I was inspired by it after not having listened to it for a while. I just put my little spin on it, it's a lot slower than what the music was back then.

The name was a joke, but I just thought, you know, it works. Trance can be anything. It can be like ambient, slow music, it doesn't have to be club music. I think trance was always more about the emotional content of the music than a very particular style.

And you're about to wrap up the North American leg of the Odd One Out Tour here in L.A. tonight and you've done a lot of shows this year. What's been your favorite part about this tour?

This tour has been a bit different because I moved away from clubs a bit, doing venues like The Fonda and Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. I played a bunch of theaters and ballrooms and warehouses to just to do something a bit different and special. So it's been a challenging tour, but also one of the most rewarding ones. I'm excited to see what we're going to do next, I don't know yet.

I can only imagine that with touring, part of it is exciting, but it can also be kind of draining to not have a home base. What do you do to stay upbeat and grounded when you're all over the place?

I fly back to Finland quite often. I recently stayed here [in L.A.] for a couple of months just to make the touring easier, which was nice. But in general, I don't party that much, I try to work out a lot, eat healthy, just sleep as much as I can. Today is a party night, so I can have a few drinks because it's the end of the tour, so I'm happy about it.

You don't meditate to trance music or anything?

I've tried meditation, I haven't really got into it yet. I'm not a very anxious person. When I'm alone at an airport, I think that's already a form of meditation. I'm just sitting there and my head just empties.

That's a good skill.

It's kind of helpful, but also not ideal sometimes. I might drift away during a conversation and be totally somewhere else.

Well, when you're DJing, do you feel kind of immersed in it? What's the experience like for you when you're sharing music with people?

Yeah, there's part of me that's constantly thinking about or analyzing it, in a way where I kind of think about what record I want to play next. There's a few tracks that I know the people that actually bought tickets want to hear, so I have to figure out a way to make those tracks come through in the set, but also I just want to keep it fully free-flowing. I don't really plan the sets that much. I just play whatever feels right in the moment.

Last year, you released your debut album Hyperfall. You've put out a lot of music and mixes before then, but did it feel different working on a cohesive album versus a one-off track?

Yeah, it started just by having a few tracks that didn't make sense to me as singles at the moment, so then I started building something larger around them. It was something I always wanted to do. It's not a necessary thing for a club act today. Personally, I just wanted to have an album that has music that's not just what I play in the shows, it's just something different.

Also in 2018, you made your BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix debut, which is a big deal. Were you happy with how it turned out?

I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I used to listen to all of the Essential Mixes when they came out. I would the download sh*tty quality ones the next day, when they were available online after being broadcasted on BBC since 2003 or '04.

So yeah, when they invited me to do one, obviously my first reaction is, "Yay, that's amazing," but after that you get a bit nervous. You're like, "What if it's going to suck?" But then I just thought, I'm just going to record a mix of me playing music that I like, so then I just did that and then edited it a bit more, added a few extra in there, like an intro and outro. That was it.

I think it kind of functions as a really good, thought-out mix for me, and also a time capsule of where I was musically in that time of my career. If I were to make a new one right now, it would sound a lot different, but also similar. You never know.

Sounds like you didn't overthink it and it flowed pretty well.

I started overthinking it, but then it was like, yeah, this is not going to sound natural. So then I approached it as just another DJ set with just a few extra things.

What do you think makes a great dance track? 

I don't know if I've made any great tracks yet, hopefully one day.

You really don't think you've made a great dance track?!

I think I've made some decent ones, time will tell if they're great or not. But I think it's the combination of capturing a moment that people will remember from their lives and then, whether it's melody or just something that grabs their attention. And then with that, combined with the club functionality of a dance record. When those two things meet, then it's like a recipe.

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SiR 2019

SiR

Photo: Christian San Jose

News

SiR Is 'Chasing Summer' And, With A Little Help From Kendrick Lamar & Others, Making His Dreams Reality

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"It feels different, it feels evolved and it feels like a great direction. And I'm really proud of the work to say the least," the Inglewood singer/producer says of his vibey new album 
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 24, 2019 - 3:08 pm

You may have already jammed out to SiR's big 2019 summer mood single, "Hair Down," featuring the one and only Kendrick Lamar. If so, you already have a good starting place for understanding who the smooth R&B singer/producer, born Sir Darryl Farris, from Inglewood is. The vibey track is driven by SiR's warm, rich vocals over a slow-bubbling trap beat, elevated even further into the golden summer sunset by Lamar's verse. It's confident but laid-back—two words which also describe the artist himself well—a true slow-burn of a fire track.

"Hair Down" is the first track and the lead single to SiR's third album, Chasing Summer, which he dropped during Labor Day Weekend, on Aug. 30. It is his second LP released since he was signed to heavy-hitting Los Angeles label Top Dawg Entertainment. As he explains, it sets the tone for the rest of the album and also marks a major point of growth in his musical career and self-confidence.

"This time I was more direct about what I wanted, and I think that's huge. Your intentions when you go into things have to be put in the forefront if it's important. So this time around when I went into sessions, I was very vocal about exactly what I wanted, and the sessions went a lot better when I did that," he recently told the Recording Academy over the phone.

You recently dropped Chasing Summer, which is just such a perfect mood as summer comes to an end. What has the experience of this release felt like for you?

Man, it's one of a kind. Being the type musician I am, I'm very involved with each release, and this one feels different than the last two. Everybody around me was locked in, not just me. All the musicians and all of my team, my management had the common goals set almost a year ago, and just were building on this idea. So, it feels different, it feels evolved and it feels like a great direction. And I'm really proud of the work to say the least.

That's amazing, and I'm sure that's a really just great feeling to sort of be marinating in right now.

Yeah. It's awesome. It's definitely new territory for me. I'm just trying to keep up with myself now, which is fun.

 "It's a very honest album, and I think that's a big reason why people gravitate towards it because I didn't really hold back this time around. I kind of made sure I was as honest as I could be and I think that's shining through for sure."

I love that. Can you speak to what your main vision for this album was?

The vision for the album is, it was all based off of my life on the road and all my experiences that I had accumulated over the last three or four years. With seeing my peers and just dealing with personal relationships, business relationships and trying to balance home and the road, and just my evolution as a human. I kind of put a lot of it into wax. It's a very honest album, and I think that's a big reason why people gravitate towards it because I didn't really hold back this time around. I kind of made sure I was as honest as I could be and I think that's shining through for sure.

I feel like it really does. I wanted to talk about the producers on the album. You worked with a handful of different people including Kal Banx and Sounwave from TDE as well as Boi-1da and a few others. How do you feel that working with these different creative minds helped challenge you and shape the trajectory of the album?

I'm going to answer this question, but I have a very specific thing about me that I really like. I work with people that want to work with me, so I don't chase beats; there's no rhyme or scheme. I didn't select certain people. I just put my head down and kept writing songs until we felt like we had a body of work. And then, what I do with most of my production is I'll get players to come in and add actual instrumentation to a good beat so that it has more life to it. I'm hands-on with all my mixes and masters. With all of the production, I was blessed to have really talented musicians around to help just elevate the sound, and I think that helps so much, man.

Working with cats like Boi-1da was an honor, of course, but I wouldn't hold him in higher regard than I would a Kal Banx, who damn near had six records on the album that he helped me produce and work on. So, I feel like everybody added their own sauce to it and it ended up being way bigger than I expected. But as far as like who produced what, I think that's not as important as the overall body of work, and we all knew that. With Kal, he wasn't worried when I told him I got a new base plate on the recipe. He didn't ask any questions, he just knew it was going to be saucy. You know what I mean?

I think, like I said, we all had a common goal. Once I laid out the plan and the vision for everybody, they were on board. So, we went into the every session with a specific goal in mind and we executed properly and I think it's going to pay off for all of us in the long run. I'm so excited for Kal. I'm excited to share this moment with him and see the response to his hard work, and it's all a blessing, really and truly.

It really seems like it was everything you would hope for in the studio, that everything is moving forward and flowing together, even with all the different people.

Yeah. I learned a lot from November and just how I kind of let a lot of people in the process in certain points where I didn't really necessarily mean to. This time I was more direct about what I wanted, and I think that's huge. Your intentions when you go into things have to be put in the forefront if it's important.

So this time around when I went into sessions, I was very vocal about exactly what I wanted, and the sessions went a lot better when I did that, and I think that helped give people an idea of what they should be doing when they come around. If you're a producer, I might not need you to make a whole beat, but I might need you to make these drums, or I might need you to play keys. Just be prepared to translate what I need, I'm not coming to you to get what you need. I produce myself, so I think this time around I was able to really fine-tune things the way I like, and it shows, man. This is my baby for sure. I feel like this is a very special project.

The album opens with "Hair Down," featuring Kendrick Lamar, which you also released as the lead single. Can you give a little bit of the backstory on that song and video and what it was like working with him?

That was probably the first song I wrote for the album that we were probably going use as a single. We usually don't try to shoot for singles, you know what I mean? When we're building a project, we'll make sure that the songs can all stand on their own two legs. As soon as I did that one, it just felt like what I wanted the album to look like, and to me it was the perfect starting point. It was the perfect launch point for what we were trying to accomplish, and I didn't get the [Lamar] verse until two months ago or something like that. I wrote that song probably a year ago while we were on the road at [TDE's 2018] Championship Tour.

That's not something you ask for. It was something that we talked about, but that's not something that you ask for. It's like the Jill Scott thing, I didn't really ask for that. You got to let them make that decision. I think with working with artists like Kendrick, Jill Scott and Lil Wayne, it's a blessing and I think I do everything I can to just make myself someone that people want to work with. I think I do a good job of standing on my own two feet, and that's something that I had to embrace over the last two years.

Just working with your idols is always awkward. It's weird. I met [Childish] Gambino at the BET awards. I wish I could take that back because it was so awkward, you know what I mean? And I still go through the everyday life stuff of I'm human and if I see somebody that I'm not used to seeing, it's going to be weird. This year, I had to really step outside of that and become SiR, and really accept that. I think it shined through when I sat and talked to people about the project, they were more open to it because I was more confident in myself, and that really helped a lot, just giving me that confidence. [Lamar's] conversations are more important to me than that verse ever will be. I'm appreciative of the verse for sure, but I can really say that's my mentor. This dude really takes care of his team and really cares about us, man. So, it's definitely a blessing to have him on deck.

And what would you say the biggest thing you learned from the collaborators on this project?

Spread love. Because I feel like most of them, they didn't have to do what they did. Miss Jill, she's getting so much love on her acting career, as she should be. She really doesn't need to feature on anything. All of these artists, they got their own things. People are looking for them and checking for them.

When I get on, if I'm ever in a position to bless somebody, and I feel like they are working hard and they've got their thing together, I definitely would want to be what they are to me. I'd want to be a blessing and give back to the community. They see that I'm a part of the same community, I have the same common goal with music. It's not me trying to get on or be a flashy type. It's not that. I really care about the music. So, I think they saw that and they wanted to reciprocate the same kind of love I'm trying to get off it.

That's all it's really about, is spreading love and giving back to what you want to see thrive and flourish. And I think they really see something in what we got going, and I was just lucky. I really feel like it's the right place at the right time, but I don't want to make it that simple. But I feel like they really are just spreading love, man, and they blessed me. I'm still in shock. I can't really process it. It's all new territory for me. It's lovely though. I don't take it for granted.

More Interviews: GoldLink Talks Vision Behind 'Diaspora,' Tour With Tyler, The Creator, Musical Roots & More

How would you describe the L.A. music community now? From that explanation, it sounds very supportive and nurturing, but I'm interested in your perspective, whether it's just like that with TDE or just in your experience with who you've worked with.

L.A. is a weird place. It's very divided, with the people that are actually from L.A. to the people that come out here and claim L.A. The music industry's a weird place in general. I'm from L.A., so I definitely abide by the L.A. rules before I abide by the music industry rules. But when it comes to the music scene, there's a small community. What I'm learning is the further along I go in my career, the community gets smaller and smaller, and that's a great thing. You find people that are like-minded, and you got to let some friends go sometimes.

But for the most part, the goal is to find common ground that you can really build on. And I feel like I've found my community of people, from Mind Design to Kiefer to D.K. the Punisher to Kal Banx to all of my musician friends, The Catalyst, my band. My brothers, and just all of the musicians that I've been working with for the last 10 years, I still work with the same cats. L.A. is small, it's big, but at the time it's small, and I really want to keep it that way. I'd appreciate it if it stayed that way.

What does that summer mood look and sound like to you?

Well, summer mood has that sunset tint to it. It's like, to me, this album is best listened to riding down Malibu about six o'clock sunset. That's the vibe. I'm a Cali kid through and through, and I hope it translates through with the music. I think we hit it on the ball. If you want a glimpse at what summer's supposed to be, just take a listen to the album, close your eyes, and it should do the trick.

Stepping back, who are your biggest influences?

Oh man, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway. These are people that my mother listened to when I was growing up. I grew up in the church, so I love Fred Hammond and Noel Jones. I don't know if you know who Noel Jones is, he's a preacher from L.A., his voice is so crazy. My mom sang background for Chaka Khan back in the day, and Michael Jackson. So, I grew up with an ear to R&B for sure, from the '60s, '70s, '80s. Of course I have hip-hop influences, but my spectrum is wide. We could have a 30 minute conversation about all the music I listen to, I promise you.

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of The Beatles. "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" has been on repeat for a couple of weeks, then Innervisions [Wonder's 1973 album]. I go back and forth between [Wonder's] Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. Then, my real guilty pleasure is John Mayer, I'm a huge fan.

I love it.

I think with music, and this is my advice to young people, it's like careers almost, you won't know what you want until you taste a few things. I think Gary Gee says that. You got to taste things to know what you want to be. I feel like music is like that too. You can't just listen to country music because you're from the South. You've got to listen to something else just to try it. You don't know, you might like classical music. If you never listen, you will never know.

I did a lot of that when I was younger and I found my vibes for sure. But I listened to some stuff that people probably wouldn't expect. But I think that helps to shape me as a musician in general. I definitely don't shy away from exploring and trying to find different vibes that I really like. One of the most fun parts about music to me, is exploring and finding new things that you never would expect you to enjoy, you know? So, yeah, my spectrum is wide, it's a rainbow for sure.

Growing up in a musical family, how do you feel like that impacted your journey to becoming an artist?

I can't really explain it because it's weird for me to be the artist in my family. I still wake up and kind of laugh because I never expected this. When I was younger, I didn't want to do music. When I was 14, my mom would make us sing in church every Sunday, and I got sick of it. That's when I kind of decided I didn't want to do music. I went on about my life, at about 19, 20 started working dumba** jobs and that turned into me wanting to find something that I was passionate about, and turns out it music was it all along. I had to step away to kind of find it for myself.

But I started really getting serious about music when I was 22, and then I ended up going to school, graduated in 2011 from film school, and just never looked back from there. I think that was what I needed was to really find it for myself, because my brothers' all sing or write songs, and my mother is still active in the industry, and they always said it was what we needed to be doing. I just had to see it for myself and I think that made me a better musician. My life experiences helped shape how I write songs. I appreciate my time away from music, but also I'm glad I found my way back because I don't know what I'd be if I wasn't a musician. I'd probably be—let's not even talk about that.

I'm blessed. My family is amazing. My brother is an amazing singer/songwriter. My older brother Daniel, he's an amazing rapper and he's the writer, and we're all supportive of each other. I know that I probably wouldn't be where I am today without the support of my family and them pushing me to be a better writer and a better musician.



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You come back to where you're supposed to be at some point. You touched on it a little when you talked about your influences, but what advice do you have for younger people that have a passion for music but aren't really sure where to start to pursue music professionally?

Don't be afraid to be wack. Don't be afraid to fall on your a**. You got to start somewhere. But it's just like anything else in life, and I could preach this to the ends of the earth. It doesn't matter what you decide to do or when you decide to do it, but it's about staying dedicated to it and really working at what you want. If you want something then put it in the universe. Write it on a piece of paper, say it every day when you wake up and just don't worry about when it's going to happen. Just keep working.

I think that's the best thing I ever did for myself. I put my head down, I shut the f*** up and I worked for five years on music, and didn't try to release anything, didn't try to do anything. I got to the point where I was so ready to go that I had three projects worth of music ready to go, and we started with Seven Sundays and from there worked our way into being with TDE and all that.

I really developed my craft first and made sure I was confident in what I wanted to hear. So, I think for anybody that wants it, just don't be afraid to fail, and keep working at it. It's not easy, none of this is. But I feel like if you want something, you can just really work at it and it'll come. You just got to be willing to f***ing eat dirt and mud for a little bit. Eventually, hard work pays off, no matter what you do. If you want to sell ice cream, sell ice cream every day. Get up, get your cones right, make sure your freezer's at the right temperature, make sure your music's playing and hit the block and get on that ice cream.

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Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves

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13 New Songs To Add To Your Holiday Playlist From Kacey Musgraves, Jacquees, The Flaming Lips & More

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Based on the sheer amount of new holiday music released this year, apparently we all really need a big dose of festive cheer—Los Lobos, Macklemore, blink-182 and more are also here to help
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 24, 2019 - 8:30 am

Before we enter into the next decade, we have to get through the holidays. Whether you're one of the many people responsible for streaming Mariah Carey's 1994 classic "All I Want For Christmas Is You" to the top of the charts this month or you've trying your best to avoid the sound of jingle bells at all costs, the holiday season can create a whirlwind of emotions.

But one thing's clear: we can all use a big dose of festive cheer. Thanks to a rich, diverse selection of new holiday songs and albums from Kacey Musgraves, Taylor Swift, Jacquees, The Flaming Lips, Los Lobos, Macklemore and many others, it's the perfect time to get cozy and pump up the sounds of peace and joy.

2018 Holiday Jams: Don't Sleep On These Brand-New Holiday Songs From RuPaul, Lil Jon & More

"Glittery," Kacey Musgraves ft. Troye Sivan

If Mariah Carey is the reigning queen of Christmas music, Kacey Musgraves is definitely the princess. Back in 2016, the GRAMMY-winning alt-country star released A Very Kacey Christmas, featuring both original and classic tracks and toured with it. This year, she added brand-new shimmer to the album with an Amazon Prime special, "The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show."

The show was filled with special guests, including Aussie pop star Troye Sivan, who joined her to sing "Glittery," a new, original holiday song about a lover that makes you feel like a beautiful snow globe. The special also spawned a live album, meaning you can tune into this track and the rest of the fun moments anytime. Musgraves is truly a better-dressed, modern Santa.

"Christmas Tree Farm," Taylor Swift

The Swifties had a great year, as GRAMMY winner Taylor Swift released her currently GRAMMY-nominated seventh studio album, Lover. As if the LP and the singles and videos that led up to it weren't enough, the pop star gave her fans another gift just in time for the holidays, a new song called "Christmas Tree Farm."

Her lyrics are filled with nostalgia for the farm she grew up on and the simpler times of childhood, as they dance over the classic, bright holiday song melodies. The music video even features cute footage from the Swift family's home videos.

"It's Christmas Time," Macklemore Ft. Dan Caplen 

Like Swift, GRAMMY-winning rapper Macklemore is also feeling a similar childhood nostalgia on his new track, "It's Christmas Time," featuring rising U.K. soul singer Dan Caplen. The cheerful song is paired with a cute, festive music video, in which the kids drink eggnog out of one of the Seattle artist's golden gramophones (which he won three of with Ryan Lewis back at the 56th GRAMMY Awards).

"Every year around Christmas time I think to myself 'Just do it Ben. Make the song. You can be the new Mariah Carey.' Well, this year I finally am," Macklemore joked on Twitter.

Watch: Mariah Carey Releases A New Video For "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

"7 O'Clock News / Silent Night," Phoebe Bridgers Ft. Fiona Apple and Matt Berninger

Tuning into the news in 2019 can be surreal and overwhelming. Apparently this was not so different in 1966, when GRAMMY-winning folk heroes Simon And Garfunkel released "7 O'Clock News / Silent Night," featuring a recording of the current news over their singing of the Christmas classic.

While technically not an original song like the rest on this list, Phoebe Bridgers, Fiona Apple and The National's Matt Beringer update the heart-wrenching song for our current reality, offering 100 percent of its proceeds to Planned Parenthood. Berninger plays the newscaster in this version, reading headlines about gun violence and anti-abortion legislation. The important, haunting song is part on the compilation album co-created by Berninger, 7-Inches for Planned Parenthood, which, of course, benefits the nonprofit organization.

"Miss You This Christmas," Letters to Cleo

"The days get short, the nights are really cold. / This year Christmas ain't the same / I'm not used to stringing lights alone, I miss you this Christmas," Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo sings on "Miss You This Christmas," from their new EP, OK Christmas. It is one of the two original songs on the Boston alt-rockers guitar-slicked holiday album, which also features two fun covers.

"Hanukkah in '96," Alex Frankel

In addition to all the new Christmas-themed music that dropped this season, Hanukkah+, a fun, star-studded compilation album, brought—finally!—a whole new batch of Hanukkah-themed bops. Frankel, a "Hebrew school dropout" and half of New York electro duo Holy Ghost!, contributes the synth-y, nostalgic "Hanukkah in '96." He says the fun new song is "the greatest Jewish song ever written (in a major key)."

Read: Holy Ghost! On What "Do This" Is Really About & Why They Feel So Good About 'Work'

"Sing It Now, Sing It Somehow," The Flaming Lips

Also a new track featured on Hanukkah+, The Flaming Lips' "Sing It Now, Sing It Somehow," is gorgeous, haunting and ecstatic, all at once. The producer of the album, GRAMMY-winning music supervisor Randall Poster said, "Seeing the Flaming Lips is like going to temple—if they had unicorns and body glitter as sacraments. So, I thought their spiritual connection would be relevant to celebration, contemplation and the spirit of the holiday." Amen.

"Christmas and You," Los Lobos

Read: Los Lobos' Louie Perez & David Hidalgo Working On A Ritchie Valens Musical

GRAMMY-winning Los Angeles rock greats Los Lobos recently released their first holiday album, Llegó Navidad, four decades into their illustrious musical career. Along with reimaginings of under-sung holiday classics "Feliz Navidad," "Dónde Está Santa Claus," "It's Christmas Time In Texas" and more, the album also offers a heartfelt original song, "Christmas and You."

As NPR's Michael Martin explained, "It is a classic Los Lobos operation—a lovingly curated collection of songs from across North, Central and South America with, of course, an original song that makes you want to cry."  

"Alabaster," Andrew Bird

Like Los Lobos, current GRAMMY nominee Andrew Bird has dropped his first holiday album several decades into his career (his first album came out in 1996). The indie folk-rock violinist's new EP, Hark!, follows his aptly-titled, GRAMMY nominated LP, My Finest Work Yet. The six-track surprise project is very much an Andrew Bird Christmas album, filled with his trademark whistling, melancholic lyrics and a mellow, lo-fi "White Christmas" cover. One of the original tracks, "Alabaster," feels both like a church hymn and a local pub's winter closing song, in the best way possible.

Of the project, the "Olympians" singer said, "A lot of folks have a hard time with the holidays but they serve a purpose to us as a people—to create comfort, warmth and atmosphere within the darkness and the cold that can crush one's spirit. There are a couple originals in here that address this idea of light and warmth in the darkness as well as some classics that have some nostalgic resonance with me. Hark! What sounds come flowing alabaster?"

Watch: Andrew Bird Covers Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" For ReImagined

"Christmas Party," Jacquees

The self-appointed "King Of R&B" Jacquees serves up a sexy dose of holiday spirit with his latest project and sophomore studio album, Christmas In Decatur. The nine-track LP of original holiday music, labeled as "HOTTTTT" by Hot New Hip Hop, arrived just one month after King Of R&B. The new album, whose title is a nod to his Georgia hometown, opens with the bubbling "Christmas Party," and also includes the amazingly NSFW "Like Santa Claus," ending on a celebratory high note with "Happy Holidays."

"Tell your people Happy Holidays (Happy Holidays). / We're so blessed to see these better days. / Oh, what a year it's been / All the up's and down's … / It's a New Year, baby, so glad that we made it out / all drinks on me, uh (all drinks on me)," Jacquees soulfully sings on the last track.

"Jolly Liver," Beach Slang

"I want beer!" James Alex of Philly rock outfit Beach Slang repeatedly growls over the chorus of their new rock 'n roll bah-humbug track, "Jolly Liver." Alex, who penned the song, closes it out with the amazing lines: "A-well-a-well-a, ho, ho, ho / and a-all that junk. / There ain't no halo hangin' 'round this dump. / I meant to be a saint. I ended up a drunk."

The new, rocking holiday-inspired song, released earlier this month, came along with the news that the band's next album, The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City, is due out Jan. 10.

"Not Another Christmas Song," blink-182

Apparently not one to follow their own advice, pop-punk group blink-182 follows 2001's "Won't Be Home For Christmas" with 2019's "Not Another Christmas Song." The new Christmas song has Mark Hoppus singing, "I'm burned out like lights on a tree. / Old songs, can't listen to these. / Fake a smile but all I can see is empty boxes and trees. / Another year not a coffin / Growing up or whatever you call it."

"Christmas Techno Dance," Klaus Blatter

This year, Santa was generous, as there are actually more new holiday songs than we can include on this list. We'll go out with the bizarre, hilarious holiday club track, "Christmas Techno Dance" by German comedic dance outfit act Klaus Blatter. It's paired with an equally wacky music video, for which the YouTube description explains, "The Christmas Techno Dance video is basically a summarized updating of the Bible with all the boring elements of the story removed… If you wish to enter the kingdom of god all you are for needing is this video and single of Klaus Blatter. The story is told!"

From the Recording Academy family to you and yours, please have a safe, joyful, music-filled holiday!

Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" Hits No. 1 25 Years After Its Initial Releas

Calvin Arsenia

Calvin Arsenia

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Calvin Arsenia On His Dancehall-Inspired 'Honeydew' EP & Covering Britney Spears | Up Close & Personal

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The "Headlights" singer/harpist stopped by the Recording Academy to talk about his debut album 'Cantaloupe,' its clubbier reimagining with 'Honeydew,' his love of Frank Ocean and Bjork and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 18, 2019 - 3:58 pm

Kansas City native Calvin Arsenia's ethereal, emotional music dances across genres without being tied down in any one place. With his 2018 debut album Cantaloupe and its dancefloor-ready reimaging with the Honeydew EP, the multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter is a shimmering force to be reckoned with.

The Recording Academy caught up with the "Headlights" singer to learn more about the inspiration behind the two albums and what it was like bringing new life to Britney Spears' GRAMMY-winning classic "Toxic." We also find out who his biggest creative influences are, from late designer Alexander McQueen to GRAMMY winner Frank Ocean.

Calvin Arsenia On 'Honeydew' & Covering Britney

You can watch part of the conversation above and read the full interview below. You can also visit on our YouTube page to watch a longer version of the video, as well as for other recent episodes of our Up Close & Personal series.

This summer, you released your Honeydew EP, which is really fun and more of an experimental, electronic-led sound. How did making this project feel for you?

Honeydew was a follow-up to Cantaloupe, and we took some of the songs from Cantaloupe and decided to do them in a dancehall kind of remix. We were inspired because we—myself and my two producers—got booked to do a show for New Year's Eve, and the music from Cantaloupe tends to be kind of introverted and really introspective, and I want it to be able to reimagine those same songs in a dancehall kind of scenario. So we added a lot of percussion and kind of dismantled things and put them back together, but everything that's on there is a new recording. It's not just a remix, but it's brand new imaginings of those songs.

I love that dance music gets to get people moving. And the rooms that I play in are so varied. I play in bars and I play in concert halls and I play in really big performing arts centers or I play in dance clubs, and the music needs to shift based on what the room is. I didn't have a good solid set of music for dancing to, for festivals or for celebrations like New Year's yet, and Honeydew was birthed out of that need.

That's so cool. So the New Year's party is coming, or it happened?

It happened. We wrote and recorded and did all this stuff for New Year's last year, and then we had another festival in mid-summer. So we retooled and then recorded everything.

Read/Watch: BROODS Talk Trippy "Peach" Video, Resurrecting Bob Marley & Finding Strength On "Too Proud" | Up Close & Personal

Can you give us a little bit of the backstory on Cantaloupe's title track?

So "Cantaloupe," I wrote really intentionally, the whole album and in particular that song. I like using humor as a mechanism to understand the world and as a way to not be afraid of things that are sometimes scary. And in particular, I grew up in a very conservative place in the Bible belt of America, in Kansas City, and I was always really afraid of my homosexual tendencies and really afraid to be ostracized by my community. I always thought that I would never be able to have an open or free love or relationship.

So "Cantaloupe" is not that we can't elope because it's wrong or because it's illegal. In fact, it's very legal and it's very not wrong, but we can't elope because we want to invite everyone to come and see this party that we're having. We want to be able to invite them into our lives, and if we have a reason to have a party, then we should just have the party. So that's what that song is about. It was written out of a desire for that, rather than something that I was actually dealing with.

The wordplay in it is so fun.

And the fruit itself is so light and airy, bright and refreshing, I wanted the music and the imagery to be full of those bright colors, that's warm and soft. I know that I like to wear black but, but I wanted the imagery and the feeling of it, the context, the world around this record to be very effervescent and sparkly. [Laughs.]

What did it feel like when you released the album?

It's really interesting to watch an album grow outside of you or to see it go off to school for the first day or to see it experience its own life outside of you. The process of recording Cantaloupe was really fun. There was myself and two of my friends, J. Ashley Miller and Simon Huntley, and we spent a lot of time in the studio and we spent a lot of time experimenting and playing with things. Some of the inspirations that we had for the record were how do we make an album that is completely non-repeating and it's something that we've heard. One of the inspirations was Frank Ocean's Channel Orange, where every time the chorus comes around it's a little bit different, so even if it is something that is a repeated part, it's presented in a new way.

So I really wanted that to be one of the main themes of the album. I wanted it to span EDM and folk music and everything in between. I wanted it to have a very theatrical piece in the midst of it, which is "Palaces." I wanted it to sound like my shows feel when I'm performing live, which is lots of dancers and musicians and people coming in from all over the room and, and lights and I wanted to make sure that the album represented that kind of immersive feeling. Because of that, we also introduced the ideas of ASMR into the recording process as well. So we tried to have in each track something that was just textural and really close and soft. So depending on how you listen to it or how loud the volume is or if it's on vinyl or in MP3 format, you're going to experience different layers in the recording as well.

Related: It's Time To "Work B**ch:" New Britney Spears Pop-Up Experience Coming To L.A.

Also on the album, you cover Britney Spears' "Toxic," which takes on a spooky vibe with the harp. Why did you choose to cover "Toxic?" 

I decided to start playing "Toxic" because I wanted to do a song on the harp that was very sexy. And the harp is normally associated with angels and death, or birth or babies and very sweet and gentle, docile lullabies. I wanted to find something to perform that would just take it out of there. Britney Spears' "Toxic" is a great song. I mean the original, it can never be replaced or redone, but it was also really fun to introduce it to this instrument and kind of have it find a new, visceral life there.

I think by slowing it down and putting it in six-eight time, it really allowed it to breathe a little more and for the words to kind of illuminate some more, and then also to really climax into this very, almost terrified place. You feel like you're going to die when you're so overcome with adoration or lust or whatever for that other party.

In the context of writing the record and placing the song in the midst of it, I just wanted that just kind of manic feeling to exist somewhere in the record. I've associated that feeling of being overwhelmed or overcome with love or with needing to obey, with how I interact with the muses and just the creative process. Sometimes I can talk myself out of being irrational, but when it comes to creativity and to the songwriting process and to the music making process, I am such a slave to that.

What songs have been your favorite to play live?

I think one of my favorite songs to play live is "Tip Toe." Although it's always terrifying to play it, because it's such petty admission to feel like I'm not welcomed in certain spaces because of a past relationship, when in reality nobody else is really thinking that, or I'm projecting a lot of insecurity on other people. At the same time, it's an honest feeling, and I feel that when we are honest and vulnerable is when we create the best bridges between people and communities.

One thing I try to think about a lot is how do we build bridges of empathy between people that look like they're very different, but actually we experience a lot of the same emotional things? And if we can understand how we experience that emotionally, then all the culture, what your money looks like, what your language is, all of those things kind of disappear.

How we move through life emotionally is really universal. I'm always terrified to talk about "Tip Toe" and, but I've played it in nine different countries, and the reception is always the same because people have felt like their past follows them and that it affects how they interact with the world around them. And they feel insecure and they feel like they don't belong or that they're not welcome. But if we can talk about it, we can manage it. So I've seen a lot of people break out of that with me.

As you mentioned, you grew up in Kansas City, and live there now. How do you feel that it influences and inspires your art?

Kansas City's a really magical place. There are lots of artists and a very prolific arts scene there, and a lot of funding that's put into it. Imagine the lowest place in the valley, and all of the weirdos trickle down into Kansas City from the Midwest, so we have a little safe haven there. Also, it doesn't hurt that we can afford to live and work there and you know, we're not working three or four jobs to keep our little studio apartment and not be making art. For that, I love it there and I want to continue to keep my bed there and keep traveling out of there.

But also collaboration and having the ability to work with multiple people and to not feel like you can only be exclusive to one band or project. The ability to explore is really exciting. There are a lot of people that are a part of lots of different projects, and every time I perform in Kansas City, I always use a different conglomerate of musicians because for me it's fun to see what the different energy is going to feel like or how different artists are going to bring a new flavor to these songs, and as the songs meld genre.

I just like the chameleon nature of music and that every time it's a brand new experience and that if people have seen me once or twice or 300 times, everything's always different. For them, I feel like I owe them a new experience because it's the new day and it's a new room or a new space or a new me, even. So Kansas City has allowed for me to be able to explore in that way where I feel that other cities wouldn't have let me do that.

What's your biggest hope that someone gets from either going to your show or listening to your music?

I really hope that people who listen to my music or come to the shows, I hope they feel permission to explore every emotion that happens in their heart and mind. That it is not shameful to feel jealousy. It's not shameful to feel angry. It's not shameful to feel insecure. That all of these are natural parts of the human experience, and that if we don't talk about them, then we can't manage them. But having them out in the open and celebrating the prism that is existence allows us to be, I think, ultimately more healthy individuals. So that's what I want people to take from my music.



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Who are your biggest style and musical influences?

It feels cliché, but I really love [Alexander] McQueen's work. He's been a huge inspiration. I have not worn anything closely, remotely or at all stuff that he produced, but I saw the McQueen exhibit when it was at the Met in New York and I just wept the whole way through. I'd never had fashion cause me to cry before, but there was just so much emotion in that work.

As far as music, I have had my same top four musicians for the past 10 years. I love Björk. I love Sufjan Stevens. I love Joanna Newsom, and the Dirty Projectors, a great band from Brooklyn. I'm also really into Lana Del Rey's new record [Norman F***ing Rockwell!] because it sounds awesome. Frank Ocean, another big, big love. Moses Sumney, Serpentwithfeet. Amos Lee was a huge influence growing up when I was doing a lot more acoustic guitar things. I'm not afraid of folk and country, that's kinda where I started. There's a lot of influences. Mariah Carey. Love her.

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