I can’t fault Lauren Auder for being a few minutes late to our scheduled video call. Short of breath as she logs on, she informs me she just came back from a walk. It seems we all have been finding our individual way of keeping some sort of normalcy during our current climate. Lauren quickly brushes her vibrant, curly red hair from her face and politely smiles as I ask her how she is, almost unsure as to how to answer my question. Understandable.
With the excitement of her third EP, 5 Songs for the Dysphoric, being released the day after our conversation, one could imagine how a 22-year-old would feel. Surely there is a mixture of curiosity and apprehensiveness, gifting to the world a piece of art during a global pandemic. Lauren already has two previous projects under her belt, along with collaborations with Caroline Polachek, going on tour with Christine and the Queens, and having modeled for Gucci and Celine under Heidi Slimane. As she’s done far more than her peers at this point, it’s no surprise she seems a bit unfazed by her own prowess. Read more
New York has long been the home of some of hip hop’s 84 finest. We head to the Bronx to get to know Maliibu Miitch, one of the most exciting female rappers to emerge in recent years.
Pale Waves exist in the ethereal space between dark wave and pop rock. Heather Baron-Gracie’s vocals float in the sonic sharpness while the flashing guitar strokes, grooving bass and calculated drums blend into a polished production.
Although you can attribute their music, along with their British goth aesthetic, to a distillation of Garbage and The Cure, their sound stretches beyond any genre-borders. It’s purely modern and extremely catchy.
Meeting Jonathon Ng, the multifaceted artist behind EDEN, is a quiet experience. The Dublin based singer-songwriter was in town to promote the upcoming release of his debut album vertigo and seemed pretty calm for a fresh faced twenty-two year-old who would soon be embarking on an almost sold-out world tour this coming spring. It’s not necessarily a surprise that the composer behind songs such as drugs and sex, singles off of his 2016 EP i think you think too much of me, would present himself as stoic and self-controlled. He would go on to explain that growing up, he always welcomed surprises. His willingness to “roll with the tide,” as he puts it, should explain how his career in music came to be. Talking to Jonathon you get a sense that besides lyrically composing deep and thoughtful messages, he is in a sense an old soul. We sat down on a chilly winter afternoon to talk about his creative process and new album, vertigo.
The ghosts of Alan Vega and Prince wail through the synthesizers on a Palm Springsteen song. The electricity of Mick Jagger shakes in frontman Nick Hinman’s tapered pants. And although you can credit their dynamism to the sounds of Joy Division, Talking Heads, or any other New Wave sweaty dance groove, Palm Springsteen are in the wake of their potential to become modern icons on their own.
Juliana Ronderos and Nicolas Losada—Hooli and Nico—cast a hypnotizing production as the indie electronic duo Salt Cathedral. Since 2013, they’ve been fusing Colombian dance rhythms with American pop lyricism and New York electronic culture to create a completely unique sound.
AfroPunk — the seminal music event celebrating those that have been othered in a place for us, by us, took over Commodore Barry Park for two soul-binding and reaffirming days. For the past 13 years, the Brooklyn based festival has brought hundreds and now thousands of Black people together to openly celebrate their Blackness in an environment that appreciates the gifts and nuances of Black culture. Embracing Black punks, a community further othered because of their skin, is the cornerstone of Afropunk, but this year Afropunk continued their expansion into soul, embracing the young R&B leaders at the forefront of politically influenced music.
When someone asks a question about The Skins, a single-word answer will never do. Because when it comes to the band’s genre, style, and influences, you’re met with a web of complexities that makes this act truly unique.
