Music – Page 5 – Kollaboration Blog Archives

Meet the Kollaboration Star 2015 Finalists: Dallas’ Yut & the Hot Four

Yut Chia is this year’s winner of Kollaboration Dallas and is one of the six finalists at next month’s Kollaboration Star. A passionate violinist hailing from New York with the desire to entertain, he’s been building up his reputation as a musician, ever since his humble days of performing at subway stations in order to fund money for college.

I recently called up Chia to learn more about him and out of all the details from his fascinating life thus far, I found the following six to be particularly interesting:

1. Chia has been playing violin since age 12

Yes you read that right. Despite wanting to play the violin as a child, Chia was unable to afford violin lessons. He started late to the instrument taking his first lesson in the seventh grade, not that it’s made a difference in his ability as he is now a full-time violinist.

2. His musical inspiration is Nuttin’ But Strings

Chia was inspired by the former duo’s style of blending genres like R&B and pop together on an instrument that’s normally reserved for classical concertos. He even performed with former member Damien Escobar when he showed up at one of Chia’s impromptu subway performances, and the two collaborated on the spot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fC7qFa8z-g

3. Chia has performed for the likes of Cyndi Lauper, Robert De Niro, and Kevin Spacey

It was the president of the New York Times who walked by him while he was performing at a subway station that eventually led to him being invited out to perform for a number of events where such public figures were in attendance. Despite a number of amazing gigs under his belt so far, that hasn’t stopped Chia from wanting to perform on all the big stages.

4. Chia is the founder of Yut & The Hot Four (a modern instrumentalist group)

With the help of Craigslist, in 2013, Chia formed a modern instrumentalist group call Yut & The Hot Four. Along with Chia, it’s made up of violinist Chia Yin-Ma, celloist Lenaé A. Harris, bassist Lorenzo Kim Sandi, and drummer Rajeev Maddela. Asked what a modern instrumentalist group is, Chia defined it as an atypical string quartet, with the goal of their performances being to pumped up the energy and “keeping it on edge 24.7.” Often, they’ll also have backup dancers accompany them for their performances.

While the members of Yut & The Hot Four have gone their separate ways, Chia and Harris still perform together, and they, along with three backup dancers, will be traveling together to Los Angeles for Kollaboration Star 2015.

5. Chia is a Kollaboration veteran

While this will be Chia’s first time performing at Kollaboration Star, his history with the Kollaboration movement extends beyond him winning this year’s Kollaboration Dallas showcase. His first appearance in a Kollaboration showcase was in 2013 when he performed backup for eventual Kollaboration NY winner Izzy. A year later, he returned with The Hot Four, but lost to Sung Lee. Chia explained how he researched all the chapters in advance for this year, and settled for auditioning for the Dallas chapter this time around due to its intimate environment.

It’s because of Chia’s history with Kollaboration that has led him meeting many people through the movement, and has commended the people involved in being really chill to be around and very supportive.

6. Chia desires to inspire

In regards to his upcoming performance at Kollaboration Star, Chia hopes to not only wow the audience with his performance, but also that they see the hard work and passion he puts into his music. In the long run, he hopes his performance inspires people.

Watch Yut perform for the chance to win $10,000 at Kollaboration Star, taking place 11/14/15! Tickets are on sale now at star.kollaboration.org

Meet the Kollaboration Star 2015 Finalists: Boston’s JDep

Singing an original song, singer-songwriter John Dep, better known as JDep, wowed the Kollaboration Boston judges this past April and won the title of the night. He will join 5 other Kollaboration Champions at the upcoming Kollaboration Star showcase, taking place Saturday, November 14, 2015. to compete for the national title! Kollab Blogger Lily Rugo caught up with JDep after the show.

“Man, let me tell you, I went (to Kollaboration Boston) with no expectations.” JDep said about his win. “I just wanted to go there and sing my heart out, meet new people, see new faces, and experience that whole Kollaboration Boston thing. Little did I know I would actually win first place. It was a shock to me.”

He described the other five finalists that night as “dope. Dope dope dope.” Everyone was cool and friendly so they all got along well, and they all had so much talent. All he had to say was that is was crazy.

“There was this one yo-yo dude,” he remembered, talking about Kollaboration Boston V winner Derek Hsu. “I told him I’d trade my voice for your yo-yo skills. He was freaking amazing.”

He’d heard about Kollaboration Boston through a friend who told him that Kollaboration helps showcase Asian American artists, and he thought it would be “a good look for me and our people to showcase that talent.”

A native of Lynn, Massachusetts, JDep said he’s always been singing but didn’t start loving it until eighth grade where he sang with a few of his friends who would “rap and make beats and stuff.” Then he had his first solo performance in a Christmas assembly with his class when he was randomly picked.

“I was a bit nervous at the time because I never performed in front of anyone before,” he remembered, “So I thought ‘why not? I’ll just give it a try.’ and it went pretty well. The response from the people that I got that day inspired me to keep on making music. That’s when I started falling in love with music.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN-BbxfK6xA

JDep has a YouTube channel, though it’s not recently updated and most of the videos are covers which he doesn’t usually perform. Instead, he draws inspiration from the artists like Michael Jackson, Al Green, Sam Cooke, and Jhené Aiko, and writes all of his own songs.

“I get to speak what I feel and get to write my emotions down. If I’m feeling some type of way, I’ll write about that.” he said. “It’s like a healing process for me. My type of therapy is music, that’s why I do it.”

JDep’s parents also play a part in encouraging and inspiring his music, and “anything that I’ve down growing up, they’ve always had my back.” A few years ago, his brother also encouraged his career by telling him to audition for the X-Factor and Jdep went all the way to meet the judges. He met a lot of very talented people, spoke to the judges, and got some advice on the music industry from another competitor.

“I learned a lot from that whole experience and the fact that I didn’t make it didn’t matter to me,” JDep said. “I just wanted to see what it was like to be out there in front of a huge audience and see the response that I got that day— it was a dope experience.”

After winning Kollaboration Boston, JDep has another— slightly different— opportunity to compete against other artists, win over voters, and impress some celebrity judges. As the cities around the country end the 2015 showcase season, each of the winners rely on online polls to be one of six finalists and get the chance to fly to Los Angeles and compete this November at Kollaboration Star.

“It’s just like another foot through the door,” JDep said if he got to go to Star. “It’s another foot closer to fulfilling my dream. I’m a musician, an aspiring musician, and not everybody gets the chance to go to Los Angeles and perform like that everyday. If I did get the chance to do that, I would be so grateful.”

Until then JDep has a full-time job and spends most of his free time in his friend’s studio, by now nearly a second home. They’ll listen to music, work on new material, and discuss how to network their new mixtape. He’ll also perform around Boston as opportunities come up, and is currently working on a project.

Watch JDep perform for the chance to win $10,000 at Kollaboration Star, taking place 11/14/15! Tickets are on sale now at star.kollaboration.org

Meet the Kollaboration Star 2015 Finalists: LA’s Peter Chung

Peter Chung is Los Angeles’ representative for the upcoming Kollaboration Star showcase, taking place Saturday, November 14, 2015. Kollaboration Blogger Frankie Victoria caught up with him a few weeks ago to chat about the upcoming Kollaboration show!

When I called Peter Chung for this interview, the first thing he commented on was the area code of my phone number.

“Santa Barbara, right?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, knowing from previous research that he went to UCSB.

“Yeah, I went to UCSB,” he said. “Did you go to college there too?”

I said that Santa Barbara was home for me and that I attended college at to USD. He then proceeded to ask me about my whole life, including where I lived now, what I was doing, and how I joined Kollaboration.

“You thought you were calling to interview me, huh?” he said jokingly.

I laughed. If this conversation taught me anything about Peter Chung, it’s that he seems to appreciate irony.

I point this out because there is something very ironic about Peter’s life story: he hated music as a kid.

Both of Peter’s parents were in the Church choir in his hometown of San Jose. He describes being forced to take piano and trumpet lessons, but enjoyed being part of the church choir with his parents. While he learned how to play the drums and guitar during this time, he didn’t do it for the music.

“I was surrounded by people who were cool,” said Peter. “When you have a crappy job, but you’re surrounded by cool people, it’s more fun.”

The “crappy job” of playing music started to turn into something else entirely when he started to learn covers of John Mayer songs on the guitar. He had learned guitar without any official lessons and mostly thrived on tips from friends before YouTube guitar lessons were a thing.

“I got into [John Mayer’s] music by asking what songs I should learn on the guitar,” said Peter. “They would say it’s really easy to and ‘oh, these chords on this song are easy.’”

Peter describes learning the popular song “No Such Thing” as a good learning experience because it taught him to incorporate lead guitar and rhythm guitar. When Peter started learning covers, he started to enjoy the music for one thing: the attention.

“I’m an attention whore,” said Peter. I can assume he’s joking, but he said it so seriously, it’s hard to tell.

Whether or not all eyes are on him now, Peter is in the music business for the long haul. Before he went professional, he had uncertainties about dedicating his whole life to being a musician.

“I was scared to put myself out there,” he said. “But I had friends who told me that I had to put [my music] out.”

By the time he was discovered by Kollaboration reps, he had already started pursuing music full-time.

“All I did was go to open mics,” said Peter. “I saw the open mic Kollaboration SF and decided to do it. They liked me, so they told me about [the showcase].”

He went on to participate in Kollaboration SF 3 and the opportunity opened up doors for him.

“I think Kollaboration is fantastic for opportunities for exposure. They’re really helping musicians and artists and they connected me with so many gigs I never expected.”

Now that Peter is pursuing the coveted national title of Kollaboration Star, he didn’t seem nervous at all. When I talked with him, he was doing some maintenance on his guitar for a string of gigs he was performing in San Francisco.

“I literally have done nothing to prepare,” he said.

That was a few weeks ago. Even if he did anything to prepare, I wouldn’t be too worried about the Kollaboration vet. Peter dreams of performing his original music around the world. Specifically, he hopes that his lyrics stick with audiences.

“For any show, I hope that there’s a connection. A fear I have is people won’t understand what I’m saying.”

“What can really touch you or have an impact is the message behind it,” Peter said. “And that’s why the lyrics can have a greater impact.”

Watch Peter perform for the chance to win $10,000 at Kollaboration Star, taking place 11/14/15! Tickets are on sale now at star.kollaboration.org

Meet the Kollaboration Star 2015 Finalists: Houston’s Casey Luong

Casey Luong, will be Houston’s representative in the Kollaboration Star showcase this November, and you can find a small sample of his work at his bandcamp! This article is a follow-up article to this bangin’ article written by Bryan here, so be sure to read the prequel first!

For guitar-slinging singer-songwriter Casey Luong, what started as an attempt to prove those who doubted and discouraged him from self-expression morphed into a wild and endless personal journey. This journey eventually led him, starry-eyed, to a competition at the Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo.

After placing first at a benefit competition event, Casey realized that he was not only serious, but truly passionate about music. He vowed thereafter to always perform when given the chance. That determination eventually lead his to claim the title at Kollaboration Houston’s showcase on 2015. When asked about the highlight of his career so far, he responds that it would have to be this leg of the adventure, being able to perform at the Kollaboration STAR showcase. When asked who he looks forward to competing with the most at STAR, he says that while he’s looking foward to hearing from all the acts and seeing what they bring to the stage, he’s most interested in meeting Peter Chung, Kollaboration LA’s winner. He explains that he feels the fellow singer-songwriter could very well be an “older version” of himself, but with more depth and experience.

Luong’s main influences are John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, Jason Mraz, and Adam Levine (who, like Casey, also sports a tiger tattoo on his right arm), but like most artists, he also draws influences from a large variety of artists. He’s an unashamed fan of Bieber’s most recent works which according to Casey have “the most honest lyrics to date.” He also adores the unique tones and styles of The Weeknd and The 1975, and hopes to learn from them in how to fit his music into something niche yet popular.

Often referring to his music as his own personal diary, the songs that Casey writes act as a “recollection” of what he’s been through and endured through in not only his ongoing college career as well as experiences growing up in of Sugar Land, Texas. He’s intent on producing his own original works, and with no sign of stopping. As with all great music, he says, his music is a reading–if not a dialogue between artists and listener–of his tales. For Casey, music was never about the fame. “It’s not about being the popular guy on the block,” he states, with an unshakable conviction in his voice. “It’s about the artistry.” Artists, he says, “should never compromise the integrity of the music.”

Casey aims to continue growing as an artist, writing more, and developing his sound. When asked about why he no longer posts covers on YouTube, he reasons that, from his humble opinion, covers are hardly candid. “It isn’t an honest expression of an artist,” he defends. One of the genres he hopes to incorporate into his sound is the blues. “Blues is far more complex,” he explains, explaining how he appreciated the technical skill showcased by artists in the genre, something casual listeners might miss. His ultimate dream in music creation is to find that perfect balance between musical complexity and appeal. In the near future Casey plans to add a MIDI-pad to his setup, which already includes a loop-pedal, to hopefully allow him reach a whole new level of expression.

To Casey, music is the centerpiece of his life. He’s grateful and awed at the support he’s received not only from friends and family, but from strangers as well. He credits their support and love at every opportunity. However, from his point of view, his greatest motivations are not external, but internal, finding the artist within. Not that he wouldn’t mind becoming famous, but he’s always been realistic, and is thankful that “what [he] loves to do isn’t what [he] needs to do,” hence why he’s also currently seeking a career in nursing. If the opportunity presented himself however, he readily admits that a rockstar lifestyle, not unlike those of his musical idols, would be hard to turn down.

Asked what it would take for him to fully pursue such a lifestyle: “getting signed,” he smiles, “would be a good start.”

Watch Casey perform for the chance to win $10,000 at Kollaboration Star, taking place 11/14/15! Tickets are on sale now at star.kollaboration.org

In the Key of A Minor(ity): Connie’s Adventures in Music Part 1 – Getting Lucky

I absolutely love meeting well established musicians who say things like “I got really lucky to be able to work with so-and-so,” or “I lucked out when so-and-so heard my music and reached out to produce my next record,” or “Our band is super lucky because after Spotify added our music to a playlist, we garnered over a million streams in one week.”

The reason why my heart stretches a big smile whenever I hear them attribute their successes to luck is because I understand that there is a hidden truth to this whole “luck” thing (apparently Abraham Lincoln knew this too…) :

Luck = opportunity + preparation

I’ve been a working musician for years now, and I’ve encountered lady luck quite a few times. Some of these times I was completely ready for the opportunity at hand. Other times, though, I wasn’t ready for her (even though I may have thought I was!). For example, I met some A&R representatives from major labels when I had no idea what my sound or voice was yet. I was even placed on the first season of The Voice when I was still figuring out my strengths and weaknesses as a singer. Needless to say, the meetings with A&R didn’t lead to record deals, and my time on The Voice didn’t lead to the 100K prize (that would have been nice, eh?). I wasn’t ready, and lady luck and I could not fully… consummate.

You may think, wow, what a bummer! She got landed some great opportunities, which didn’t lead to anything! If I chose to look at it like that I might as well just hang up the towel. However, I must say that those “missed” opportunities actually did help me tremendously: they made me look straight on towards my weak spots, and motivated me to keep improving myself. The meetings with A&R execs got my mind thinking about my identity as an artist, and my intentions. My time on The Voice helped me understand the commodification of artistry, and to learn how to play the game without compromising my identity.

Key was to not judge myself, and to keep pushing forward, because the right opportunity would come when I became ripe for it. So I prepared my skills as much as I could in order to have all pistols firing if… no- when- the opportunity hit. And indeed, lady luck has hit a few times.

Photo of me singing at the local music festival

After graduating Berkeley I moved to Los Angeles and started gigging at least twice a week, to hone my performance craft. Through playing live shows on a weekly basis, I got connected with a band that eventually introduced me to a beach street fair. The street fair would pay me a bit of money to set up my instruments, and play two and half hours straight for tips on the street. I would have to sing covers, they said, and just make sure to entertain the crowd.

The gig would challenge me to play two and half hours of music straight (which I didn’t yet have down), and to learn new cover songs to entertain strangers. At that period of time I prefered playing just originals- partially because I didn’t know too many covers, and partially because I was young, and adamant that my songwriting would be the only way declare my identity. However, the wiser side of me knew that if something scared me, it most likely would have something to teach me. So I agreed to play on the side of the street. My bandmates (bless those boys) and I lugged our gear, and proceeded to play for hours. Yes, it definitely wasn’t playing to a sold out crowd at Coachella, but I ended up having a blast regardless. I had an email list that we passed around so I could send people a free song. I sold some CDs, and left with a full tip jar. It was hard work, and I learned a ton of new music for the gig. We packed up, and went home. All in all, a success.

Fast forward one year later, I get an email from a prominent songwriter, who heard about me through his realtor, who had walked by as I was singing on the streetside in Hermosa. He invites me to his studio to write. Turns out he’s written a few gold records. No big deal, right? We wrote a couple songs, and I even got my first opportunity to write a song for network television. We developed a good rapport, and have kept in touch ever since!

10465497_10152132468095766_2203870859560652995_o — photo of me recording with Pam Sheyne, cowriter of “Genie in a Bottle”

Fast forward two years after that, the same songwriter asks me to come into the studio to sing a song he cowrote with one of Christina Aguilera’s songwriters. I was floored that my side street gig had led to me an opportunity to work with Pam Sheyne, world renowned songwriter who I had looked up to since my early years. In fact, that the very first demo I had ever recorded in the 9th grade (may that recording never resurface lol) was one of her songs, “Genie in a Bottle.” Who knew that it would land me some songwriting opportunities with my heroes?! By this time I had 3 years of recording and touring experience under my belt. Thank goodness I walked into Pam’s studio feeling… yes… prepared.

Point is, there is no way of being able to tell if one opportunity is going to lead to meeting world renowned songwriters. I wasn’t doing the street gig to land some dream deal. I was doing this because I wanted to work. To learn. The focus was not success, but growth. The street side gig was going to push me to be better than I was before. I was going to learn more material, and push myself to perform for 2 hours straight. Lady luck came without me aiming for it.

By the way if I ever meet any of you in person in the future, I hope you tell me you got lucky (musically, of course!), cause then I’ll smile, knowing I’ve met yet another humble, hard-working hustler.

Feature Photo: Connie Lim

Clara C did a Reddit AMA! Here are 10 Things we Learned

On October 10, Kollaboration 10 winner Clara C will performing live in Houston, TC as one of the headliners for SASEFest, the Asian American music festival that Kollaboration is helping produce in conjunction with the 2015 SASE (Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers) National Conference. Kollaboration and SASE hosted a Reddit AMA for Clara late last week. Here are some of the highlights:

1. She can play a bunch of instruments and dreams in song

“I think it’s somewhere in the low double digits… But, I’m obviously better at some than others. The songwriting process is different every time! Sometimes, I’ll hear a beat right as my brain’s falling asleep and have to record it on a voice memo and work on it in the morning. Other times, a full length song from start to finish will download into my brain all at once. I have 6 guitars =) Musical background is…trained in classical piano with some theory and self-taught in everything else (voice, guitar, recording, mixing [etc])”

2. She’s a self professed nerd and has pro-level Mario skills!

“I’ll kick aaaaaanyone’s ass at anything Mario or puzzle-ey. I own every video game console but haven’t had time for video games these days. But truth be told, I always have been and will continue to be a nerd in all things I’m interested in. Nerds run the world. #nerdpride”

3. There was supposedly a time in the past when she was bad at singing

“My singing is self-taught! There was a time I royally SUCKED at singing and I have video to prove it. But, I also have video of me with really good pitch singing karaoke when I was 5 so I think it was in me somewhere. I haven’t ever taken lessons although I’d like to. I just listened to voices I liked and took away bits and pieces and applied it to mine. It was, “I like her vibrato” coupled with “I like that tone” mixed with “I dig that falsetto” and soon I had what was my own voice. Since then, my voice has evolved into something of its own but the aforementioned was a good starting point.”

4. She was working on a responsible backup plan when her musical dreams came true

“I was in college when my career took off but I was studying Psychology and was a Behavior Technician for children with autism. Before I could even start full-time, my music career had taken off and now I’ve been doing it for 5 years! Music was my dream all my life. It remained a dream for a while because 1. I wasn’t quite musically developed enough until college and 2. I thought it impossible for someone like me to have a music career. We live in a beautiful age where anything’s possible. I hope you get to pursue and obtain your dreams too.”

5. Her regular In-N-Out order is legit

“I get a cheeseburger with grilled AND whole grilled onions…protein style and my fries well done. If I’m feeling bad, neapolitan milkshake. Otherwise, pink lemonade!”

6. Rowdy audiences are her favorite crowd to play for

“This questions gonna get me in TRUBBLEEEEE. How I feel about everywhere I go in the world is heavily influenced by the people. I LOVE a rowdy, obnoxious, free-spirited audience. Based on just audiences I’ve played for, Sydney, Australia and Houston, Toronto and Kuala Lumpur are my favorites”

7. She is fascinated with marine biology and dreams of diving with sharks

“As you may or may not know, I am a marine FANATIC. I love scuba and literally love every sea creature ever made from sharks to little nudibrancs to deep sea creatures that dwell in the dark. However, there’s something about watching a sea otter on its back trying to crack open a clam with its shortass little arms that just kills me. Also, I might add that it definitely is on my bucket list to dive with whale sharks in the wild.”

8. She loves to hear about how her music has touched her fans

“There’s something intangibly powerful about music. Even if you don’t understand the language of a song, it still has the capacity to move and change the color of any moment you’re in. Sometimes, when I’m going through something and a song comes on that’s describing my exact situation, there’s catharsis and release. I think being involved with making something that holds this much power is an amazing privilege. So, when someone tells me about how something I wrote helped them through a hard time or when a couple uses one of my songs as their wedding song, it’s rewarding beyond words that I was able to touch a human soul.”

9. There’s a third Clara C album coming out… in a few months

“I’m working hard on my third album. I want it to be perfect so I keep pushing deadlines and things. (Not the best thing but I’ve become quite the perfectionist so sue me!) It should be out in a couple months and a tour will follow afterwards.”

10. She’s a proud member of the Kollab Fam

“There were 5,000 people in the audience that night I won Kollaboration (talent contest) who went home and searched me on Youtube. I think I had 11 subscribers then. I was so happy to have those 11! Then the whole thing blew up. I feel extremely fortunate to have the Kollab family on my team.”

If you’re in the Houston area on 10/10, don’t miss SASEFest, tickets on sale now!

What’s new on the TRAKTIVIST Playlist – 5/8/2015

Our friends at TRAKTIVIST.com shared with us a list of their favorite new releases from the last few weeks. Take a listen and check out some sweet new tunes from APA artists!

1. ‪Steve Aoki ft. Linkin Park‬ – ‪Darker Than Blood ‬

2. Sam Tsui & Casey Breves – Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)

3. AWOLNATION – Sail (cover by Kawehi)

4. Liane V – Don’t Be That Guy feat. Honey Cocaine

5. Best Coast – Feeling Ok

6. Towkio – Reflection (Prod. Kaytranada)

https://youtu.be/4MXasLmGjcE

7. Jonwayne – Green Light (ft. Anderson Paak)

https://soundcloud.com/jonwayne/green-light-ft-anderson-paak

“TRAKTIVIST.COM is the premiere platform to discover, promote, and historically archive music made by Asian Americans. From new releases to undiscovered gems, music will be posted every week for your enjoyment. Check us out at www.traktivist.com ”

Hear more from the TRAKTIVIST on this week’s KollabCast!

9 Things We Learned from Gowe’s Reddit AMA

Seattle hip hop artist Gordon Tsai, better known as Gowe, recently held a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) for his fans on April 13.

Most of the fan questions revolved around his music, but a few focused on Gowe’s unique upbringing as a Korean adoptee raised by a Chinese-American family. It wasn’t until Gowe was 18 years-old that he found out he was adopted, and it was through his music that he was able to express his experiences and feelings.

In the AMA, Gowe explained many aspects and inspirations to his music, life and his latest album Music Beautiful. Here are the top 9 things readers learned from Gowe’s AMA.

1) His stage name Gifted on West East represents his love of east and west coast hip-hop as well as his gratitude for his gift of talent

2) He still identifies with Chinese culture but enjoys discovering his Korean roots and is fascinated by the Asian American experience

3) Discovering he was adopted after 18 years was a real shock

4) He is currently searching for his birth mother, status pending

5) His goal is to use his music to encourage his listeners to think deeper and be agents of positive change

6) He follows some awesome people from the APA music community (and you should too)

7) Gowe is inspired by life

8) Music Beautiful songs helped Gowe work through some dark times

9) He’s a proud UW Husky and Kollaboration alum

Thanks for sharing Gowe, and for the Kollaboration shoutout. Look forward to bright things in your future.

You can find Gowe’s music, including his new album Music Beautiful, at https://gowe.bandcamp.com/ as well as Amazon and iTunes.

A New Chapter and a New Sound for Dia Frampton: Archis

Whether you started following Dia Frampton during her Warped Tour days as the lead singer of alternative rock band Meg & Dia, or from her deep run on the inaugural season of NBC’s The Voice, chances are you’ve been eager to hear more from the talented singer-songwriter. Luckily, your wait is almost over as her new band Archis (pronounced like “arches”) will release their debut EP on Monday, February 23.

A collaboration between Dia and composer/producer Joseph Trapanese (who famously worked with Daft Punk on the score for Disney’s Tron: Legacy and M83 on Oblivion), The Archis EP was recorded in early 2014 and was originally set to be released independently during the 2014 Lindsey Stirling Tour that Dia was a part of. This was when Nettwerk Records, who had just signed Dia, took notice and convinced her that if she wanted to release this record the right way, she should do it with more financial backing.

Kollaboration caught up with Dia to talk about Archis, the value of performing live, and her other side projects.

What is Archis? How did it come to be and what is unique about it?

The roots of Archis started quite a few years ago when I first worked with my friend Joe [Trapanese]. He’s such a creative person, I just felt like I connected with him right away. We worked together on a few songs just for fun that I would listen to for my own creative intake. It was difficult because the things we worked on wasn’t really resonating with the label I was with at the time.

We didn’t really plan to make a new band, it started as an excuse to get together and have fun. Working with Joe was always effortless and it never felt like I was going into the studio to produce a perfect three and a half minute pop song—it was just a fun and creative release. Organically, the music started sounding so different from my past stuff and Joe was such a big part of it as well, so it made sense to call it something new.

I think for me it’s also a transitional project. The first single, Blood, is mostly about feeling chewed up and spit out by record labels and trying to find my ground again. When you get caught up in Hollywood and you’re on a TV show and this major record wants this and that from you, I feel like I got pulled around a little bit and lost focus on why I enjoyed doing music. I think I’m still recovering from a period where I lost a lot of self-confidence. Thinking back to why I loved music in the first place, I remember going to shows of my favorite band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and how they inspired and changed me. I hope that in the same way, Archis can inspire our listeners in some way to overcome their fears and start their own adventure.

Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?

It’s definitely a different world for media and I think that technology has helped a lot in making it easier to get your stuff out there. I have a lot of friends who are aspiring actors who just write their own short films and just upload them to show the world what they got and it’s so amazing that you can share your work that way.

I think the one downside about performing through technology like YouTube is that it doesn’t really prepare you for the pressures of a live show. It’s really easy for people to get behind their screens, play a song on guitar, and upload it to their many subscribers, but when they have to go out and play a live show, it’s definitely not the same thing and I think that can catch people off guard. It’s such a difference environment to play for real human bodies sitting right in front of you.

I think it’s really important to perform often and to remember that no show is too small. People think that I’m playing these huge shows, but I can book a show right now in Kansas and there’ll only be like 5 or so people there. I’m still growing myself and my advice to anyone who wants to be a performer is to just play as much as possible

Besides music, what other things are you into right now?

Right now I’m really into cooking and baking. I’ve also been getting into Pilates classes because I’m getting older and it’s like, oh my gosh, everything’s going away! But one thing that I’ve been really getting into lately that most people don’t know about is acting. I’ve been taking acting classes for about 2 years now and have been going to a lot of auditions.

My first acting audition was for the Les Misérables movie with Hugh Jackman, even though I didn’t get the part I really enjoyed preparing for it (Les Mis is one of my favorite books in the world, if I was to get a tattoo it would be 24601, which is Jen Valjean’s serial number). It’s been a fun new pursuit for me, but it’s also been really hard to get so many rejections. I feel like I’ve auditioned for probably 100 parts now and I’ve gotten just as many no’s. Nothing is ever easy in this industry, but things that are hard to get are usually worth it in the end and in the end, performing and taking acting classes has been a lot of fun for me.

You can pre-order Archis now on iTunes and don’t forget to listen to a few of the singles Blood, Bittersweet, and Let Me Love!

Photo courtesy of Myriam Santos

“Be Controversial, Not Racist,” says Rapper Awkwafina

Rapper Awkwafina, who will be headlining Kollaboration New York’s 9th Showcase, sat down with KNY’s Joyce Chen to give an exclusive interview about her origins as the “token Asian” growing up in Forest Hills, NY, and how she’s holding her own as a serious rapper – squirt gun, oversized glasses and all.

Continue reading ““Be Controversial, Not Racist,” says Rapper Awkwafina”