Author: gaby deimeke

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Interviews

Whitney Woerz is an Ambassador for Mental Health

The number of artists who are speaking up publicly about mental health awareness is growing by the day. Up-and-coming artist Whitney Woerz wants to be part of that discussion. She’s an ambassador for Bring Change to Mind, a nonprofit who’s mission is to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness, and she’s been using her song lyrics to cover a plethora of topics surrounding mental health and wellbeing. We sat down with Whitney this week to talk about music, inspiration and all things mental health.

Crowdsurfer: What inspired you to start writing music?

When I was 13, a friend one day reached out and said that she was planning to kill herself… As a 13 year old, I didn’t even know what that really meant. I didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t responding or anything.So I wrote a poem for her and then put a melody to it. I had never written a song before, or a poem for that matter, but I recorded a video and sent it to her, not even expecting a response. She did respond though! And she said that the song saved her life. And it inspired her to get therapy. Wow. Saying it out loud still shocks me. That literally was the biggest life changing moment, I think, ever, because I realized my lyrics did that.So we sent my song to Bring Change to Mind, which is an organization run by Glenn Close to help end the stigma around mental illness. I’ve been a teen ambassador for them ever since I was 13, and I’m still working alongside them. We start the conversation basically. That’s like, honestly, the most important thing you can do is just start the conversation.

CS: What inspired your latest song Retrograde?

I wrote Retrograde right as Corona kicked off. It was a really weird time obviously and on top of that, a Mercury retrograde was going on. I, and everyone i knew was feeling like their life was upside down. I wrote it with a writer Ayelle and producer Stavros and we were kind of all feeling life was just not good at the moment. So we’re just like, “It’s the retrograde.”But, it also has a positive message too. There’s always the light at the end of a dark tunnel that you can never see at the time. Whenever you’re in a dark space, not even just in retrograde, you feel like you can’t get out of it and like it’s the end of the world. Think back to a time you thought everything was miserable. And then suddenly there’s the light.

CS: How do you find positivity amidst all this chaos happening right now?

WW: Personally, I find happiness within myself when everything externally isn’t amazing. I realized one day that I have control over my thoughts, which was quite a profound realization. And then I was like, wait a second. Anybody can do this, like I feel like we’re all magicians, but we don’t know it. And you can literally just switch. If you want to be positive, just be like, I’m quitting the negative. It’s going to be positive. And then once you start thinking positively, just watch how your life will do a 180 flip, because that’s exactly what happened to me. I started thinking positively, almost to trick myself at first, actually, and then it wasn’t a trick anymore. I was just thinking positively and then manifested basically almost by accident, good things. So it’s very interesting when you, I don’t know, learn that you have control of your thoughts. I like to say that I create my own life now because of that. But I just always try to see the light at the end of the tunnel. To me, I think Corona happened for a reason. And we’re going to make it out because we always make it on dark places.

CS: What challenges have you gone through personally with dealing with mental health issues?

In high school, everybody around me was just really, really sad. It’s so interesting, though, because I feel like we all put on such a happy face, but really underneath, we’re just sad. And yeah, it was a lot of external factors. My family wasn’t doing that great. And my first boyfriend broke my heart. I feel like so many people can relate to that, especially with a first love. And I, as a junior in high school, was distraught. I didn’t want to live anymore. And so I channeled that into lyrics. Writing lyrics was basically therapy for me. Everybody who I played like the breakup songs for who had been through a hard time was also just like, wow, it’s relatable and it’s hard. It’s really hard sometimes.But looking back at the person that I was, I saw how harshly I treated myself, also how harsh and negative I was. And how sad little Whitney was. But all those were ALL learning lessons. Everything is a learning lesson and everything happens for a reason, too. So now I’m looking back at that stuff and I’m like, wait- that literally shaped me. I am so thankful for all the pain that I’ve experienced because of that. And if anyone’s going through pain right now, one day you’re going to look back and be like, it made me who I am.

CS: What’s your self care routine like, or what are some things that help you to feel better sometimes?

WW: I suggest writing down the thoughts in your head that stand out to you, then they become art in a way. And also like actually pay attention to your thoughts. We’re just on autopilot with our thoughts so much of the time and they just let go speeding. So what I’ve been doing is just trying to, like, really be conscious of my thoughts. And that has changed how I think and how I live.

I also meditate almost every day, even just for ten minutes. Let’s you clear your head and let positive energy come in. I have a bunch of spiritual candles charged with different energies I like to light too to clear my mind. But the biggest thing for me is to try to focus on my thoughts and decide if they are beneficial to me or not. It’s a little bit scary when you first do it, actually trying to be conscious of your thoughts, but very very cool once you achieve the good that comes from it.

CS: What does it mean to you to be an advocate for mental health awareness?

I think my main goal in life and music is to be happy and to make other people happy. That’s Bring Change to Mind’s exact same goal too! Like everyone deserves to be happy and we have such a short time on this planet.I’m just so thankful that I’m able to have a platform where I can share. I am so thankful that I can share my music with a message every day.

CS: What’s next for you?

WW: A lot. I’m actually at a studio right now. We’re working on a very cool song. And so next for me is new music. I’d love to do an album. I would love to just get a Whitney album out there. So hopefully that’s what’s next. But definitely just new music. I’d love to continue singles, if that’s what it’s going to be.

CS: Anything else you’d like to add?

WW: Well, actually, yeah, there’s a mercury retrograde happing right now and it’s last day is the election, so listen to my new single Retrograde to have something to relate to while the energies are off! Oh and one more thing. One thing that has really helped me whenever I’m feeling like a bad thought or anything, I just think about how I am one hundred percent not the only person who’s thinking that thought. So no one is alone in anything that they’re going through. And if you’re thinking something, someone else probably has too. So you’re not alone in anything. 

Learn more about Whitney at her website right here.

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Music News Reviews

Album Review: The Vamps “Cherry Blossom”

As a longtime listener of The Vamps, I was very eager to get an advance of their 5th studio album Cherry Blossom. I’ve been listening nonstop for a few weeks now, and I can confirm that it’s an all-out bop, with catchy hooks, solid vocals, and an all-around feel good album. Here’s some of our favorite songs on The Vamps new album Cherry Blossom.

The opening song on Cherry Blossom is Glory Days, and the first time I heard it, I was definitely in my feels. It has a super catchy hook: “I just wanna lie back in your room / While I’m getting high off of your fumes / And I’m thinking these are our glory days.” It’s a perfect song to start the album, because it’s a mix of a classic The Vamps sound, but with a more mature tone. They’ve gotten even better since Night & Day.

Next is Better, which has a throwback vibe to it, and you can’t really listen to it without moving along to the beat. It’s about getting complacent in a relationship and realizing that you can do better. “We should be lovers if there’s a spark / We should recover all that we lost”

Married in Vegas is one of the singles from the album, and for good reason. The piano dances around the song and adds a playful melody to the storyline of surrendering to your whims and getting married in Vegas.

Chemicals is sexy from the moment it starts. It’s about that dreamy feeling when you’re so into someone else. This song is catchy to the max, and there’s a rock sound mixed with growling vocals. “Sweet like caramel / The way that you get me high / Is something like chemicals”

Would You focuses on a lover second guessing their partner. “If I walked out the door would you even notice I’m gone / Would you even miss me at all?”

Bitter is one of those songs that has a super fun beat and tells the tale of a love that you just can’t get away from. The line, “You turn cold, and I turn bitter” will be stuck in your head all week.

The album rounds out with Part of Me, Protocol, and Nothing But You, which balance the album with some more serious themes about love lost and broken hearts.

Nothing But You is one of my personal favorites and picks up the tempo. I love the line, “Over and over doing over emotions / I know it’s hopeless so can we skip to the moment / Nothing I would lose if I know I’d / Wake up wearing nothing but you”

The last track on the album, Treading Water, starts with an acoustic guitar and solemn vocals. “This lonely heart of mine / Grows colder every night.” It ends, “I just wanna feel understood / Patiently I waited patiently to share all of my insecurities / First I really gotta work on me”

You can feel the growth in this album for The Vamps, who have continued to build their songwriting and musicianship in maturity and style. Cherry Blossom is a quality album that’s catchy in sound and relatable in lyrics. We can guarantee that you’ll be streaming this album for the rest of the year.

You can check out Cherry Blossom right here and follow The Vamps on Instagram here. Comment below with what your favorite song off the album is!

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Interviews Music News

Georgia Webster releases first single “Tell Your Mom”

“Now I don’t know what to do / I got a call yesterday afternoon from someone I used to know / Summer nights and the way we kissed / Thought I was done, didn’t know I missed it / But when I heard her voice I couldn’t breathe / Tell your mom to stop calling me”

These are the very clever lyrics from 17-year-old Massachusetts native Georgia Webster. Nearly two million people watched her serenade us singing and playing guitar from her bathroom in a TikTok video that went viral last month. I hopped on a Zoom call with Georgia to learn more about her writing process and her new single that drops today.

Georgia started writing songs in fourth grade. “When I was ten or eleven, I started writing songs for school projects. My first song was about Ulysses S. Grant. People in my class kept singing it after because it was catchy. So from there, I wrote songs for other school projects. One was about horses and another was about the Aztecs. Then around sixth grade, I started writing songs about my friends and relationships and it grew from there.”

I asked her what it was like when she found out the video had gone viral. She said, “I was pleasantly surprised. I woke up and it had 100,000 likes and I was like, “What is going on?!” From there, Georgia wanted to get the song recorded and out into the world as quickly as possible. Her dad was a big help with helping her find a recording studio to make the song.

“He has always been really involved in my music. He didn’t have a background in engineering, but he’s figured out all of the sound stuff and helps me set it up for shows. He’s just always helping me.”

After the video went viral, Georgia decided to have the song recorded. “I realized I needed to get the song produced and into a real song.

I asked her what she thought of the song after hearing it recorded, and she said, “This song is definitely–I can hear it being on the radio. I have so many songs and this is the first one that I’ve actually heard it come together as an actual song, which was really cool for me.”

When it comes to writing, Georgia prefers the writing process to performing. “I love writing the songs way more than performing them. I like being in my room and writing songs. Once it comes together, that’s the height of it for me. And my rule is if it takes more than 20-30 minutes, then it’s not a great song.”

“Usually for me, songs start with something that actually happened to me, and then it grows into more of an exaggeration. I’ll write about pretty much anything, but a lot of it is dating and that kind of stuff. If I’m writing about a relationship, it’s not forced.”

Some of the people commenting on her TikToks mentioned that Georgia reminded them of a young Taylor Swift. “That’s the biggest compliment to me. She’s one of my favorite artists and I can see myself being that singer-songwriter vibe but also pop-country. Lennon Stella is also one of my favorites, and I love Chelsea Cutler. They’re such good songwriters.”

Georgia also covers songs on her YouTube, including songs by Mazzy Star, Cage the Elephant, Lennon Stella, and Billie Eilish. You can check out her YouTube page here.

Her plan is to keep building herself as an artist and writing more songs before signing with anyone, but she does have an acoustic version of Tell Your Mom in the works for people that loved the stripped down version. “I want to release an EP soon, and then I also want to do some SoundCloud acoustic covers and stuff that people can listen to.”

She’s a senior in high school now, but she’s thinking of going to Berkley, Belmont, or a music school in California next year. A lover of all types of writing, Georgia has also begun writing a book, but of course today she’s focused on the release of her first single, Tell Your Mom.

“I want people to hear the whole song. Just hearing the little bit of it, you don’t get the whole story line, so I’m excited for it to be out in the world. And I have so many songs that I think people would love.”

Her new single, Tell Your Mom, is out today, and we’re so excited for you to listen to it! Check it out below, and follow Georgia’s SoundCloud here.

Categories
Interviews

Artist Interview: Wolfi

We had a chance to chat with Wolfi about his new music, artists that inspire him and going viral on TikTok. Check out the interview below!

Crowdsurfer: Tell us how you got started writing and recording music.

Wolfi: I really got started after my parents made me quit my high school band. I was at a loss because I couldn’t find anyone serious enough about music to really put in work. Then I discovered Skrillex and learned he made everything on a laptop. I wasn’t confident in my singing at the time so I taught myself how to produce and mix. After a few years of that I started writing songs over my beats and released them so I could build a portfolio for songwriting. Some of the songs ended up doing well online, so I decided to give an honest effort to being my own artist.

C: Who are some artists or songs you’re loving right now?

W: My biggest long-term influences are probably Michael Jackson, Green Day, The Beatles, and Skrillex. Nowadays I’m listening to a lot of ITSOKTOCRY, Denzel Curry, Oliver Francis, and John Mayer. I’m also loving the local music that’s coming out of Indianapolis right now. We have some real stars here (i.e. Sirius Blvck, Joshua Powell, Baby Ebony, Jeremiah Stokes).

C: You went hugely viral with your TikTok “hot girl bummer” video. How did that come about?

W: My buddy sent me the stems to the song totally randomly. It was so odd because I’m a huuuuge blackbear fan and this project just lands in my lap. I knew immediately that I wanted to make a remix with my own verse on it, but I didn’t think it would be very cool to release it. When they first announced that TikTok was getting banned I started scrambling because I wanted to take advantage of all the exposure that was happening there. So I made the video one day at work and posted it thinking it wouldn’t really do anything, but I was wrong. I was really worried that I’d get in trouble. It’s crazy how those 30 minutes of my day did so much. It was like the universe gave me a cheat code.

C: How have you been spending quarantine – writing or recording any new songs?

W: I’m always writing stuff. I started writing an EP during quarantine, but it looks like it’ll turn into a full album. It’s gonna be my darkest, most high energy release yet. I view my music kind of like a diary to my life, and we’re going through some really dark times right now. I’m nervous to show the world because most of my previous work has been pretty light-hearted and these songs are such a sharp contrast to that. 

C: What was the concept with writing “ugly” and the music video?

W: I was just being honest on the song. I like “Ugly” because it was one of those songs where I didn’t have to overthink a single lyric, it all just came out. Those are the best kinds of songs. I was just reflecting on my life and despite everything I’d done, I still felt ugly at the end of the day. My good friend Herb Maximo shot the video with me in Florida. I just told him I wanted something simple that was outside, so he brought me to this grassy place. It was such a great day and the video turned out very pretty.

C: What are your plans for the rest of the year and on?

W: I’m just gonna keep dropping singles until the album is done. I have some cool collaborations coming out too. I’m really focused on getting as many videos out as possible. I’m making some big changes to my sound and I want people to digest that on both an auditory and visual level. 

C: Where can people find you on social media?

W: @akawolfi on everything!

C: Anything else you want to add?

W: Next song is coming out October 30th. It’s called “Cameras” and it’s gonna be my most banging song so far. We’re about to shoot a video for it and I’m very excited. I’m also working on a very cute song with Sara Kays. She’s truly the GOAT.

Photos by @jakewiththeshot and @outherevisuals 

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Concert Photography Music News

Deanna Wheeler Kicks Off Hometown Heroes Show in Austin

Deanna Wheeler had a special birthday yesterday. She kicked off the Hometown Heroes music festival in Austin, Texas, and hosted the show, held at Brushy Creek Amphitheater. This event is the first large scale social distancing live music festival to be held since Covid-19 began closing music festivals in March.

Dressed in all black and showcasing her signature classic country sound, Deanna and her band got the crowd warmed up for the weekend’s festivities in style.

You can check out the backstage pictures and all the photos from the concert below. Head over to Deanna’s website to learn more about her and her music, and follow her on Instagram here.

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Concert Photography

Sam Houston at The Far Out Lounge

Sam Houston performed this Friday night at the Far Out Lounge in Austin, TX. The event was socially distanced and masks were required. You can check out the photos below:

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Interviews

Artist Interview: Skandra

Anna Azarov Photography

Alexandra Duparc, known by her stage name Skandra, is a multitalented creator and musician. Her new single Rivers is amassing streams by the thousands, thanks to her husband’s viral TikTok video. We talked with Skandra about her life, career, new music, and upcoming projects. Check out the interview below.

Crowdsurfer: Tell us how you got started playing and writing music.

Skandra: I wrote my first song when I was twelve. It was after discovering Cat Power’s album You Are Free. It felt like the perfect avenue to express myself as I didn’t feel like facing my journal that day. I lost a loved one and wanted to say goodbye in song. I started my first band that year. I’ve been writing and playing music ever since.

CS: We found you from your husband’s viral TikTok video. How has his support helped you gain traction with your latest release?

S: It’s been quite an adventure. His video changed my life. Skandra has received over 2 million streams across streaming platforms, the music video views keep going up and almost every major label on earth contacted me within 48 hours. I don’t know what any of this means quite yet but I’m beyond joyous and floored to have a real fanbase to release my upcoming music to. It’s been absolutely beautiful. I love Ylane. Not only as my husband but truly the definition of a best friend.

@ylaneduparc

This could change her life… Help me help her 🥺🔥

♬ original sound – Ylane Duparc

CS: What was your inspiration behind Rivers?

S: Rivers is about the admission that though something may feel like true love, it’s obviously destined to end. It sorts through thought processes I had throughout that prior relationship. It’s about finding strength in this admission and being okay with it. The chorus lines “Where these rivers go, I fear we’re better off dead and since we don’t know, let’s learn with the current” really hit home to me in this time and place. 

CS: What inspires you musically? Who are some artists or songs you’re loving right now?

S: I get inspired by people, mostly. I’m such a writer that I tend to start with the written before melodic. As for music that I’m listening to right now – I’ve been delving into some older albums for inspiration such as Son Lux, Alice Boman’s first EP and Dawn Golden.

CS: What’s your dream collaboration?

S: I’ve said this before and I think if I say it enough times, it’ll make sense but I’d love to collaborate with Miranda July. She’s such a soul and whether it was sonic or visual, it’d be a dream collaboration.

Processed with VSCO with g4 preset

CS: What are your favorite songs or lyrics you’ve written?

S: I really love this line in “Ashes” that goes “I’m a girl with all these dreams. So, if you give me a match, you should expect a flame. So, here’s the fire that ends us again” and then I yell, “and I hope the whole world becomes covered in the ashes!” It’s the perfect metaphor for letting go of a toxic past and asserting my desire to become all I’ve ever expected of myself.

CS: How have you been spending quarantine – writing or recording any new songs?

S: I founded and run an organization in Los Angeles called Treehouse. It’s an art community that has popped-up monthly for over 5 years. We expose underexposed artists. When the pandemic hit, we canceled all our live events planned for the year. I launched the Quarantine Concert on Instagram. We had over 50 thousand musicians partake including Walk The Moon, The Griswolds and Meg Meyers. It was beautiful seeing all this intimate creation. Later, we began interviewing artists on their work through a series called Dialogue. We focused on spotlighting Black voices. I fundraised for families in Guatemala, the LA Food Bank and the NPAP. Now, Skandra has been launched into the world and has gone viral on TikTok and garnering over 2 million streams across streaming services. I just spent an extremely sanitized 10 days in the studio and have some really great new tracks in the works. We’ve got a wonderful road ahead.

CS: What are your plans for the rest of the year and onward?

S: We decided to give back to those who help launch Skandra to over 2 million streams. So, we’re giving out 100 mystery boxes. They consist of inside jokes from the TikTok video, games, gifts, limited merchandise, Nintendo DS, iPhone, polaroid cameras and more. We figure that we can take what Spotify is going to pay out and give back to those who supported it.

Anna Azarov Photography

I’m going to focus on finishing the next release. There’s this rebellious side of me that wants to continue independently and try to accomplish some things that few musicians have. I like paving new roads. A damn the man, save the empire kind of thing.

CS: What do you hope people get from listening to your music?

S: I love it when people tell me that they put on headphones and listen to it with their eyes closed. That says it all. My favorite music makes me do that. To be that for anyone else is a dream.

CS: Where can people find you on social media?

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skand.ra/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCseJgo-gesPvY-qRQifPJjw

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skand.ra

Website: https://skandra.net/

Categories
Interviews

Artist Interview: Emily Deahl

You will not find a more creative artist or adventurer than Emily Deahl. Confident and resilient, she’s been working at getting her name in the industry for quite a few years now. Deahl initially thought she wanted to be a dancer, and after she moved to LA at 17, she realized dance wasn’t her passion: music was. After getting a deal to perform pop music in China off and on for a few years, Deahl spent some time in Charleston before deciding to move to Nashville to focus on songwriting and her sound.

She worked on learning new instruments, recorded two albums of music, and kept practicing. “It just became all about doing things I was afraid of, pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and getting better. I was like, I want to be sure I’m not giving anyone a reason to tell me no anymore.” In Charleston, her sound became very singer-songwriter, but it didn’t quite fit, in the same way the LA pop sound wasn’t the right sound for her either. “I realized, I’m somewhere in the middle of both of these.”

She’s been in Nashville for the past year, working toward releasing the new music she recorded with a producer in Charleston. After just joining TikTok in February, she found her videos going viral one after another. That’s when she realized “I can actually promote my music on this app.” She brainstormed and came up with the idea to “do outrageous sh*t to get my song into the Top 100 on iTunes.”

“Everyone told me that was an impossible goal, so I thought, if I want to get it, I’m going to have to do something outlandish and crazy, and what better place to do that than TikTok?”

On Day 1, she highjacked a grocery store’s overhead speakers to tell shoppers to stream her new single My Baby Hates Me. Day 2, she stopped traffic in Nashville, Day 3 she hid pink boxes at radio stations around town, on Day 5 she called an ex-fling that she wrote the song about, and this weekend she (with the help of her fans) tried to convince Diplo to remix her song. Talk about hustle.

@emilydeahl

Reply to @njm3443 Follow to keep up with this sh*t show. Stream My Baby Hates Me now! #NotTheOne #BiggestFan #manifestation #music #singer #dating

♬ original sound – Emily Deahl

But that’s not the only focus of her creativity. “I have a lot of conceptual ideas behind what I do. I’ve written two children’s books about the music I’ve created under the alias I sometimes call myself ‘The Ice Cream Girl’. In my most recent children’s book “The Ice Cream Girl Presents Ghost Stories” I walk you through my first EP where each chapter of the story has a coinciding song.” 

“There’s so many things that have inspired me over the course of figuring out who “me” is. I have so much creative energy and lately I’ve been saying that it feels like finally I’m proud of what I’m doing and everything is just exploding out of me. I can’t even keep up with all the ideas that are in my head right now.”

Many eclectic musicians have inspired Emily along thee way, such as Jack white, Lady Gaga, Freddie Mercury and Elvis.

“I’ve always been inspired by theater and musicals. Mostly I think I get inspiration from things that are just authentically themselves. I also think it’s every artist’s duty. We listen to music because we want to be set free. And the only way you can do that is if you’re listening, watching or reading something that’s real, that’s coming from a vulnerable place. And that, in turn, as a fan, I am inspired by those people who who are unapologetic about it.”

Photo by Shania Houchens @shaniahouchens 

After about a week of doing outrageous sh*t on TikTok, Deahl had an awesome moment: 107.5 The River radio station played My Baby Hates Me.

“When the radio station here played it, I said ‘this is the best moment of my life’ and I was not kidding. I couldn’t sleep that night. It was so validating for so many reasons. For all of these years I’ve been like, ‘I want to do this my way.’

“I hate the rules that the music industry has. Everyone told me it would take 10 years for that radio station to play my song. I was like, ‘No, I don’t have that amount of time. I’m going to figure out how to do it in one.’ And it’s all coming full circle now. I’m so glad that I stuck to my gut and did it my way and made the music from my honest place.”

We can’t stop playing My Baby Hates Me. If you haven’t heard it yet, head over to her Spotify to check out her music. Big thanks to Emily for sitting down with us to chat! You can follow Emily on TikTok here and Instagram here.

Categories
Interviews

Artist Interview: Sloane

If you’re in the mood for some vibey electro-pop beats that have been dubbed “music to cry to while you smile,” then you’re going to need to stop everything and listen to jazz-musician-turned-solo-artist Sloane.

The moniker Sloane was created by LA-bred Nick Rosen. He discovered jazz as a teen and spent all his time practicing bass. Rosen then joined the TV and film side of music, helping record and produce scores for Super 8, Star Trek, LOST and more.

He then served as music director at LA nightclubs and hotspots Bardot and The Sayers Club, where he ended up performing with the likes of Prince, Will.i.am, Jamie Foxx, Bruno Mars, and more.

As if all that wasn’t enough, he’s become an accomplished producer and engineer along the way, including working with Phantogram, Tinashe, and others. We had a chance to spend some time talking to Sloane about his new music, songwriting, and what’s coming up for him in the next few months. Check out the interview below.

Crowdsurfer: Where’d you come up with the name Sloane?

Sloane: Originally I wanted to call myself Sloane Peterson based off the girl I had a crush on in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. That didn’t work so I decided to call myself Sloane.

CS: Talk a little bit about the idea for wearing the mask and how that originated.

Sloane: I was thinking about ‘How can I give someone an experience? How can they experience the music as an entity not me as a person?’ I thought it would be interesting and I’ve never seen someone wear their own pixelated face as a mask.

All of my songs are like breakup emo love songs and I like the idea that when you breakup with someone your whole world is almost pixelated because you’re seeing it fragmented and you’re seeing yourself less clearly. With that being said, whatever people think it is, that’s it too. As soon as you make something, it’s out into the world and it doesn’t belong to you anymore.

CS: What made you want to break out and create some songs as a solo artist?

Sloane: The last decade I’ve been working with other artists and I really like supporting other songs. I went through a classic really bad breakup in 2018 and I started writing some new songs. I wrote Old Hands New Face which was the first song I released as Sloane. My buddy Thomas was working at this label called SideOneDummy with Bill (Armstrong). He said, “We know that you’re working with a bunch of bands, can you send us who you dig in LA?” So I sent him around 30 songs, and I put Old Hands New Face in there, and they were like, “Well that’s great, would love to sign that!”

And I was like, “Shit.” I didn’t have any more songs yet. So that’s why the EP I released last year have mostly other people singing. A lot of them were songs that I took from sessions and I produced them and made them work, but it wasn’t fully me yet. So it was almost having to make up a project by accident.

CS: How has it been transitioning from writing and producing with other people to writing for yourself?

Sloane: The song that I just released a few weeks ago called Down From Here was just me and it was super personal just writing for me and that’s why it feels spiritually better. But I also feel like I still have a lot more to go. I’m writing and finding a sound and I’m in a crazy inspired period right now where I’m just writing constantly. I’ve already turned in like eight new songs to my label and I just want to keep going.

CS: What are some of the things that inspire you?

Sloane: Non-musically, I practice Buddhism which is a huge part of my life. I love the idea of simultaneous cause and effect and the lotus blooms and seeds at the same time. So I love the idea that as soon as I’m making a cause, it creates an effect. With music, as soon as I do something it’s created something else. And I like the idea of a moment. To me, music is a perpetual quest to create clearer and hopefully be open enough to capture moments. So that’s exciting to me on a life level of what inspires me to create.

I have a tattoo of this guy named Albert Ayler who I’d be surprised if anyone listening to this knew who he was. He was a really Avant Garde sax player. While my music doesn’t sound anything like that, I think I took the freedom of expression in that. So that inspires me a lot, just being free to be whatever. Those are two big aspects for me.

As far as music, I’m super inspired by anything these days. Anything that I think is real I love. I love The 1975 right now, I’ve been loving the new Taylor Swift album. Bon Iver and The National are like my two all-time favorite bands, so I love that Aaron Dessner did that album. I try to study Max Martin because he’s a genius and I want to know how you make all these hits.

CS: Talk a little bit about the dichotomy between the upbeat nature of your songs and the lyrical content which has a heavier theme.

Sloane: I like the idea that you can be having a fucked up day but yet you push yourself to dance. So the pre-chorus for Down From Here goes, “Everybody else seems happy waking up with someone else / Good for them I wish them well, maybe I just hate myself / The south of France could be Mojave, looks the same in Abu Dhabi / Feeling that’s inside my body wouldn’t wish on anybody.”

So it’s a pretty dark statement, but in a fun way and to me I just like the idea that it is really dark but hopefully people can hear a hopefulness in the fact that they can connect with it, but then maybe relate and move forward.

CS: We’re excited to hear some new music soon from you. What’s next for you in the upcoming year?

Sloane: I’m trying to really focus on what I want my next year to be. So the artists I want to work with next year, focusing on sessions. My label and I want to do another EP. I want to do another album too called “Will You Be My Friend?” and just do Sloane plus friends on every song. And I want to do half of it as children’s songs.

I also work with Phantogram a lot so we have a few things that are about to come out that are Sloane and Phantogram. I’ll probably do some touring with them next year and maybe try to book some of my own shows as well.

Big thanks to Sloane for chatting with us. You can follow Sloane on Instagram here and check out his latest music here.

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Interviews Music News

Abigail Barlow on “Heartbreak Hotel” and her new EP

If you haven’t heard the lyrics, “I don’t need a boyfriend, that shit’s full time employment,” then you probably have been living under a rock. That’s the first line of the uber-catchy song Heartbreak Hotel written by Abigail Barlow. She posted a video of the song with the caption, “I can’t sleep so I wrote something new.” It has over a million likes on TikTok.

Crowdsurfer: So let’s start with Heartbreak Hotel. It totally blew up on Tiktok with almost 4 million views! What inspired you to write the song?
Abigail Barlow: I wrote Heartbreak Hotel after meeting and casually talking to a dude that was buying me gifts, and I got a lil scared. Heartbreak Hotel was just inspired by my trust issues and how I’m simply not ready for a potential heartbreak any time soon LOL. 
CS: What was your reaction to it taking over Tiktok?
AB: Seeing comments that said “This is a hit release it now” was pretty overwhelming but SO insanely cool. It felt like the internet just sort of rallied and said “okay this is what we’re doing right? Let’s blow this song up!” And I couldn’t be more grateful for that. 


CS: Who are your musical influences? Who would you love to collab with one day?
AB: I don’t really like comparing myself to other artists, but because I produce a lot of my own stuff, I love talking about my musical and sound influences. I love the Max Martin era 2010 pop that dominated the radio waves a few years ago. I miss the era of Teenage Dream and 1989 SO much that I decided to sprinkle my music production with all the good old bubblegum pop vibes I could. If I could collab with one person it would definitely be Max Martin.
CS: Tell us about your EP coming out on August 14th. What songs will we get to hear and what’s the vibe of it?


AB: The vibe is pop. Purposeful, playful pop. I don’t take my music or myself too seriously, and I think that’s what makes it so fun to listen to. The bad b*tch inside your head gets a moment to speak up on my EP! And I give you a little taste of everything with the tracks, including an absolute BANGER I had the pleasure of writing with Meghan Trainor!
CS: Anything else you want to share with us?

AB: I’m just so beyond thrilled to finally be releasing music the way I want, and I just want to encourage any aspiring indie artists to do the same. It is TOTALLY possible for all of your dreams to come true. So do not ever give up on yourself or your art.  

You can follow Abigail on TikTok here and Instagram here, and keep an eye out because her EP comes out on August 14th!