 How did the band come to be?
The four of us used to go to the same youth group – Tim and Sam were already childhood friends, as were Chris and Ali. Ali was the eldest, and cooler than the rest of us, so we named the band after him in order to entice him into joining. It’s a good job he did join, otherwise the band name would’ve made even less sense! Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? Watch this space! We’ve had a great 2020 (coronavirus aside), having released our debut EP and 2 music videos, and we’ve still got the “People Change” music video to come (date TBC). Hopefully we will have something lined up for 2021 soon – we'd love to get back in the recording studio as soon as we can do it safely. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? A sense of never having heard something quite like that before. I hope that’s not too much to expect of ourselves! We incorporate such a diverse range of genres into our music, as well as tempo changes, many different sections, and differing playing styles – we want listeners to take away something different from each song. AITJ are most predictable in being unpredictable! With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? Runnymede (https://www.runnymedetrust.org/), which is a Trust/think tank that aims to make positive change to the lives of BAME people through research-based interventions. They conduct research and analysis which is used to inform policy-making and public debate. Runnymede recognises that one of the most effective ways to move towards racial equality is to ensure change on a bigger scale, by influencing policies and practices throughout Britain. They say, “in order to effectively overcome racial inequality in our society, we believe that our democratic dialogue, policy, and practice, should all be based on reliable evidence from rigorous research and thorough analysis.” The music industry is just one of many industries which suffers from endemic racial inequalities -- we need systemic change to address that. What is your writing process like? Hectic! A song can start off from anywhere; usually one band member brings a riff or chord sequence that we then jam over or combine with existing parts we’ve written independently. But our music is so varied that inspiration can come from anywhere: a film or video game soundtrack, a random whistled melody, a dream, or the fridge. Once we’ve got the first section down, we’ll try to start adding other instruments in – drums tend to come last because they’re rhythmic rather than melodic, but other than that, we can write the instrumental parts in any order. We’re four very different people so everyone’s got a natural musical voice; you can’t control that, only hone it in and push it in certain directions. If we hit a snag, our usual troubleshooting technique is “do the opposite”: think about what you’d expect to come next, then turn that on its head. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? Because we’re such different individuals, there’s a whole raft of genres which feed into Ali In The Jungle’s music. Overall, we grew up with a radio dominated by upbeat and interesting rock music, and we’re trying to bring back a new innovative form of that! We write the music we wish we could hear everywhere on the radio: a mix of our post-punk revival influences, plus more retro influences such as classic jazz, glam rock, funk and disco, hip-hop, noughties piano-pop, and much, much more. We each bring our separate musical tastes together and try to fuse them into something cohesive and engaging. Any tours coming up soon? Hope so! All of our summer gigs – including many in London, and two festivals – have been cancelled or postponed, so keep an eye on our socials for updates on those. We had a mini tour of UK venues via video link for the #saveourvenues campaign; you can find those videos on our Facebook page, plus many other live videos on our YouTube. Again – watch this space! Anything you would like to tell our readers? You, reader, are a wonderful person. Honestly. Well done you.
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 We’re living in a weird time with the current events of the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement. Everyone’s lives have been turned upside down. How are you currently holding up with everything that is going on in our world right now?
The first large chunk of quarantine time was spent finishing up the EP, so we would have mostly been in “studio lockdown” anyway even without a nasty virus out in the world. And lately it’s been getting everything prepped for the release, finishing up editing the “Parasite” video, etc. It’s been lots of work but we’re lucky to be able to do it almost exclusively from home. The Black Lives Matter movement has been a long time coming & we hope real change happens in this country so we can all evolve & help bury systemic racism six feet deep. Since things have been so upside down with all of our lives due to the virus, we are hoping the silver lining in regards to the Black Lives Matter movement is that more people are paying attention than ever before since there are less distractions right now. In the meantime, voting the right people into office, donating where we can, using our platform to educate & talking to others around us that might not understand the significance of this movement is what we have been doing in that regard. Besides that, we’ve been finding time to read/listen to podcasts/watch some movies+tv & talking long walks & drives. It’s definitely been trying since we do so much from home anyway and this is an even more intense version of that - we wish we could tour soon because it’s been rough not having that option as musicians. How did you get your start in the music industry? We both come from musical backgrounds - Tony has had a long career in the music industry with his band Eve 6 and producing and songwriting with other artists. Danyell took piano lessons & played flute from 3rd to 7th grade & came out of the closet as a singer in 2013 & started writing songs and performed around the LA area in a small local band. Both of us have had music coursing through our veins for quite some time! How did Dead Posey come to be? We knew each other socially for a few years before truly making music together for Dead Posey in earnest. Both of us were doing our own music and supportive of each others’ work, but hadn’t dived fully into working together until 2016. It just felt like the right time - Danyell had a vision for a new project with this dark, alluring aesthetic, and it felt right to do some songs with that in mind. Things started to click really quickly from then on, and we were off to the races. On top of that we also became a couple, and now a married one at that. For new listeners of Dead Posey who may have just stumbled upon your music, how would you describe your band, and what sets you apart? Can you talk a bit about the sound transition from “Freak Show” to “Malfunction”, and what inspired it? We’re a duo from the City of Angels (LA). Danyell is the lead singer/producer & Tony is the Guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/producer. We make rock n roll music and enjoy anything subversive and twisted. We’re pretty in-house, doing everything from writing, recording and mixing to photo shoots and video edits mostly ourselves. For the ‘Malfunction’ EP, we pushed ourselves to not rely too much on sounds from our earlier work, while still retaining the core elements of what makes us sound and feel like us. To go with darker lyrical themes of the EP, it’s a hybrid of the gritty/bluesy influences of our past mixed with a new digital edge. What is your writing process like? We’ll both bring in our compiled ideas: guitar riffs and beats that Tony has stashed away, and lyric and sonic ideas that Danyell has concocted. From then on, we’re both in the trenches; for each song it’s like a tug-of-war of both our minds, constantly challenging each other to dig deeper to get to the real essence of what we want to say. While we’re both very interested in all the nuts and bolts of the production and sounds and all that, we try to get the core elements of the song (lyrics, melody, chords, feel) all dialed-in pretty early in the process so we have a strong foundation to build on. With this EP in particular, the actual songwriting happened very quickly – it was the production and getting things sounding just right that took some time. Who/what are some of your influences and inspiration for your sound? Sonically and lyrically, our inspirations are Depeche Mode, The Kills, NIN, Marilyn Manson, Garbage, Joy Division, The Doors, QOTSA, and many more. We took a few steps with this EP into a darker sonic place, bringing in touches of industrial sounds and synths to layer the songs further. Lyrically, we lean toward artists and bands that are truly provocative and have sensuality and depth to them. Our general artistic godfathers of inspiration are Salvador Dali, Edgar Allan Poe, and David Lynch. There was a last minute change to the “Malfunction” EP cover art. What was the original concept and why do you feel that this alteration was necessary? Originally, we had an actual brain scan of Danyell’s brain with a couple artistic flourishes as the cover. We came up with it in the middle of the recording process before the songs had become fully fleshed out. By the time we were in the final stages, the music was more vibrant than the cover, so Danyell came up with the concept in a moment of inspiration in the last couple days of work on the EP. We shot and edited the photos ourselves, and there it was! Who are some of your favorite artists? If you could have a dream collab with anyone (dead or alive), who would it be and why? Fave artists listed in the previous question - but some more are Shakey Graves, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Cigarettes After Sex, Mazzy Star, and The Black Keys. Pretty much any or all of the artists mentioned would be incredible to work with! In June, you released your new EP “Malfunction” with a coinciding music video for single “Parasite.” And you recently dropped a live UK performance video for “Holy Roller.” How has the process of creating music videos changed for both of you? The visual element of Dead Posey is very important to us and always on our minds. David Lynch films, Edgar Allan Poe poems and imagery & surrealism photography & art such as Salvador Dali are all major visual inspirations. Often, when first working on a new song we are already discussing visual elements that go with it. Sight and sound go hand in hand for us, so we’re always excited to do music videos for the songs. Of course, due to the state of the world we were pretty limited in what we could do so far, but were able to make things work pretty well. For “Parasite”, we had some footage shot from some months back, and were able to fashion it into a music video for the song - editing all ourselves on Final Cut. We have a great animator working on a video for “Head Of The Snake” right now which we’re excited about. What else can we expect from Dead Posey coming up this year? Short term, it’s about getting “Malfunction” into as many brains as we can, using whatever tools we can to do so (livestreams, interviews, etc). Long term, we are starting to compile material for our first full length album that we are gonna be diving into soon. And then of course as soon as the world isn’t upside down we are looking forward to getting back on the road & touring as much as humanly possible. Do you have a release timeline for a debut full-length album anytime in the near future? Our hope is in the first half of 2021, with a handful of singles leading up to it (hopefully starting as early as Sep/Oct of this year). What is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? Environmental causes, helping the homeless (particularly here in LA), the Women’s movement, and BLM/racial equality are big ones. The world is in a state of real flux right now - there’s a lot of bad happening, but real change is occurring, and it’s important for activists of all stripes to be diligent for us to all evolve. Some of your cited muses include David Lynch, Edgar Allan Poe, Salvador Dali, and Jim Morrison. What are your favorite David Lynch films and/or films in general? Favorite books? All-time favorite albums? Favorite films are probably his “LA” works (Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway) - it’s hard to look at our hometown the same way after seeing those. David Lynch also has some music that’s worth a listen & a book called “Catching the Big Fish” that’s a good read. Poe’s poem “The Black Cat” is a fav & Salvador Dalí used to create these surreal photos that we love - one example is the naked women arranged to look like a large human skull as he sits in the frame with a black top hat on. What is the main thing that you would really like for people to take away from your music? To feel connected to something & make it their own. Due to our current circumstances, live shows are placed on hold indefinitely and touring is at a standstill right now. However, many artists are finding new creative ways to interact with their fans amidst all of the chaos; utilizing their social media platforms to share content, check in with their audiences, participate in livestreams, perform songs and put on “virtual concerts”, and provide insight into their new routines in quarantine. Do you have any plans that are similar in nature, to help pass the time until shows are back up and running again? We popped our cherry for livestreams when we did one on Twitch for SPIN Magazine around the release of the EP, and it opened the door for us to that world. It was fun to do and, though it will never replace actual live shows in front of audiences, it is a legit way to give fans some semblance of a performance. We plan on performing a couple cover songs stripped down over the coming weeks, and possibly another livestream or two. Do you have anything that you would like to tell our readers? Be kind to one another & we will get through this crazy ass time. Us humans are resilient, so cheers to the future. Thank you so much for your time, Danyell and Tony! I really love the direction you’ve taken in “Malfunction” and I look forward to hearing more new material from you two soon! Stay safe and take care! Many thanks and same to you, cheers! Interview By: Bri Rodriguez Photo By: Neto Velasco  How did the band come to be?
We started as a three man group, when Samuel(drums), Jose(guitar), and Santeri(bass) started to play a lot of cover songs around 6th grade. Later on our second guitarist also named Santeri joined the band, and that’s when we started really writing our debut album ”Cerulean”. Some of the songs on the album have pretty old roots from the early days, which is kind of cool to think back! Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? Nothing specific planned at the moment, but you never know, since we have a lot of songs in the making! It’s really up to us, that’s the beauty of working independent. We don’t want to rush out a release before it’s good enough :) What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? Whether it’s the brutality,lyrics,melody or whatever, it’s always fun to think that there’s something that people can relate to. That would be the best case scenario. Music is afterall a way of channeling different feelings and embracing them. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? I am a passionate advocate of free speech. Nowadays people tend to get offended by pretty much everything which makes expressing yourself really hard. Like, people get harassed for 10 year old jokes and stuff. I just can’t understand that. What is your writing process like? The writing process for us often starts in front of the computer where one of us (usually our guitarist Jose) inputs riff-ideas and structures. We then share it with other members of the band and slowly refine it to a full song. Finally we try playing it at a rehearsal where we do the final adjustments. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? I think the biggest influences for us are bands like The Faceless, Trivium, As I Lay Dying and Between the Buried and Me. I personally mostly listen to technical death metal and progressive metal, while some of the other members tend to like metalcore and stuff. One of the biggest influences for our lyrics (and sound overall) has to be movies. We tend to watch movies that get your brain going, I mean like philosophical stuff. Some of our favorites include Blade Runners, Fight Club and The Lobster. Any tours coming up soon? Not yet, but we’re looking forward to getting our first tours started as soon as possible after all this COVID-19 of course. Anything you would like to tell our readers? If you haven’t heard our debut album ”Cerulean” yet we highly suggest you give it a go! You can find it across all the digital stores and streaming platforms!  What or who inspired you to write this album?
Catrin: cause there's 4 of us we have quite a range of musical influences but the one artist that we say binds us together is one we listened to as the band was forming, the Talk Talk albums. That's our main artist and I'm massively inspired by Tracey Chapman. Jack: a few of us like bands like Coldplay and Oasis and all the classic stuff, we cover a lot of ground in our music which is reflective of what we listen to. It's hard to summarise. How long has this been in the works for? Jack: we've been a band for 6 years, maybe a little bit longer now, and some of the songs on this album we wrote in the first couple of months of being in the band. So it's been 6 years of work, blood sweat and tears. That's not a cliche, it's true. It's been a journey but we are so happy we are finally here releasing it. Any troubles faced whilst composing it? Catrin: yeah. Haha yeah loads. What's really difficult about being a small band like we were when we started, people come in with their own ideas and you really have to hold on to your own ideas because people can throw you off with one comment. There's a lot of that in the industry I think but thankfully now we have an amazing team that's so supportive and they get what we're trying to do but along the way you just experience so much doubt it's hard to sum up in one sentence. Jack: yeah like in London. Everyone in our area moved in to start a band, in Goldsmith. So it was really trying to be seen in the most overpopulated cesspit of music. So just fighting for what we believe in for the last 6 years has been a lot of work. But it's been worth it. Do you have a favourite track? Catrin: I'd say "All Ends" personally. Jack: my favourite track is "Only Rain" which is the last track on the album. Just feels like when we put that at the end I felt like the album was done. We were super critical and for me to feel like we had finished it kind of made that song extra special cause it was like wow, finally, it's over. So yeah, that's quite deep but I love that song. What message do you want to give to your audience? Catrin: I think I'm coming to terms with the fact that it's less about wanting to send out a message and it's more about wanting to invite people in and decide their own meaning from it. I would like for that to happen, our first album was very much this songs about toxic masculinity, this songs about police brutality but I think at the end of the day, people take what they need from songs and you can never dictate that. I want people to take what they need from it. Anything you'd like to say to our readers? Jack: if you like what you hear when you check out our album just come to a gig, meet us, meet everyone else at the gig and just get involved. People feel like they can't get involved but it's like Catrin said we've got ourselves out there and if anyone gets it then just get involved and see us. It's pretty obvious but we've never had the chance to say it before so it's nice to get the chance.  How did the band come to be?
Hey Black Serpent, being as it is my solo project I suppose it is sorta easy. I started playing guitar in Australia many years ago. My parents had house parties, the old school type of house party where people were actually at your house ;) Dad had his band of people who would come in and play in our lounge and everyone would go nuts and dance and scream and get super drunk and have a blast. That is where my love for music started :) Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? I just released another solo album “Things To Be’ last year and will be doing videos for the next singles from that. As far as new releases go I have another band Under The Tongue and we have just released our new single ‘Waterfall’ on June the 5th and will be releasing a new song and video every 6-7 weeks for the next 12 months. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? I want to people to know that life is not a dress rehearsal. Go for it, live it, love i,t feel everything there is to be felt. You are awesome, go for it. That is what I want people to take away. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? I have always been passionate about the environment, I would love people to be responsible with their choices and be aware what they buy and what they eat. That is where it starts for me, with your purchase.Saying that we need Governments to be responsible of course and stop seeing money as the end goal. I could go on but will keep that short ;) What is your writing process like? It is different every time. I used to write everything on acoustic guitar and just play around til I got a cool melody. Nowadays it can be anything from a beat or a quote that I like or just a groove that feels good and I put that down and sing over it. Lately I have been writing heaps of lyrics which hasn’t happened for ages so that is another way that it begins. Let’s see what that brings. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? Sound for me is everything. Beats, guitar sounds, trippy vocal sounds is what I like.I like juxtaposition in my songs, the use of a sweet melody over a dirty guitar or drum sound inspires me…..definitely. I live in Berlin so whether I like it or not I suppose I am inspired by what is going on around me. Any tours coming up soon? All the gigs have pretty much been cancelled for this year because of the virus but we are looking at touring Mexico, Sth America and Europe next year. Anything you would like to tell our readers? Get inspired, do what you love even if it is for a few hours every week, live like a crazy person and stay awesome.  We’re living in a weird time with the current events of the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement. Everyone’s lives have been turned upside down. How are you currently holding up with everything that is going on in our world right now?
I’m doing about as well as one can be, that’s for sure. I saw a post going around recently (I believe by @candacereels on Instagram) that said “Racism didn’t go anywhere after your one week of performative allyship and coronavirus hasn’t disappeared now that it’s summer.” That’s so true, and it’s definitely what I’m feeling. It’s summer, and it’s nice, and I’m releasing music, but the world is still moving. How did you get your start in the music industry? I got my start really so recently. These past few releases (“All I Want For Christmas Is Emotional Stability,” “Doomsday,” and “Waves”) have been my first “official” releases, and they’re all leading up to my debut EP. I started out on this project because after meeting songwriter Donna Lewis, she decided to take me under her wing, and she introduced me to the lovely producer David Baron. They both really helped me get this project to where it is, but all that’s happened in the last year. You’ve been songwriting for years and a lot of your material was first composed during your high school days. Your lyrics are very personal and poetic. What is your writing process like, and how do you draw inspiration for writing lyrics? My writing process isn’t really one thing, I take a variety of approaches. A fair amount of the time though I like to start in silence and isolation, and just see what happens when I put pen to paper. Other times I like to be more musical about it, improvising tunes and lyrics to see what happens. Sometimes things will pop into my head in other settings though, hanging out with people or on public transport. Those times I’ll whisper-sing my ideas into voice memos to record them. I wrote “Doomsday” on a bus. I probably disconcerted some passengers whispering those lyrics into my phone. I also let things sit a long time. I have a huge collection of lyric snippets spanning years. When I want to write but nothing’s coming, or when I’m at a dead end with a song, I will look through those for inspiration. I don’t know whether this “letting things sit” is a good thing or shows a lack of discipline, but a lot of my songs have been these half songs that I write over the course of years in bits and pieces– a chorus this month, and intro that month. A line this year, a single word change that year. And then sometimes I’ll come back to what I think are finished songs and completely revamp them. That’s what happened with “Waves”, I thought it was done when I was a junior in high school, but I came back to it years later and discovered it was not! Anyway, that’s my writing process. Inspiration I can’t answer– it comes when it comes. Who/what are some of your influences and inspiration for your sound? I have a lot of wide-ranging influences and inspirations for various sounds I use, but one of the biggest overall is MARINA. She’s been one of my favorite artists since I was 14, and I connect with her songwriting style, especially on her earliest album “Family Jewels”, so much. I really aspire to be as emotional and eloquent a writer as she is. She finds a way to communicate some pretty niche stuff, and I love it. You write your own material and direct your music videos. What is your process of creating videos like, and how has it changed? I like to collaborate on music videos. All of my music videos have started with me going to artists I admire and respect, and asking them what they would think of co-creating with me, and what a song brings to mind for them. Hearing what other artists pull out of my music, or how they interpret it, is so fascinating for me. I love to merge my ideas and feelings towards a song with somebody else’s as we start to conceptualize the video. From then on, it’s like a normal film production– a million excel spreadsheets, bizarre hours, and snacks. The biggest way working with my own material changes my approach to film is that I go into these projects with stronger preconceived notions than I would on somebody else’s piece. Also, I have to constantly remind myself that I should be on camera. I get so involved in being behind the camera and in telling a story that I forget I should probably show me on screen. Who are some of your favorite artists? If you could have a dream collab with anyone, who would it be and why? I have so many different ones. Guns N’ Roses “Appetite for Destruction” is my favorite album of all time. Brown Bird is my favorite band. I would love to collaborate with MARINA, though. Like I said above, I admire her songwriting so much. I think it would be a really incredible experience to see her process up close. Or Tash Sultana. Our styles aren’t so similar, but their attitude is rad and I admire their playing a lot. I feel like we could make something happen. You recently released your new single “Waves.” What else can we expect coming up this year? I’ll be coming out with my debut EP in September! I also have a music video for “Waves” due to be out in a couple weeks. Do you have a release timeline for your debut EP anytime in the near future? The ideal is mid-September, provided the world doesn’t fall apart even further before then. I’ll be posting updates to my instagram @abigailory to keep people in the loop. What is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? I’m passionate about most causes. I really want to try to make the world a better place. I think climate justice is a big part of that and ties into so many human rights efforts. In that vein, Black Lives Matter has been talked about a lot recently and I definitely support that. I saw that New York Times article titled “Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.” I thought that was very exciting. Hopefully with so many people fighting for change, the change will actually happen. Who/what inspires your fashion style and where do you like to shop to pick up your staple pieces of clothing and makeup (thrift, department stores)? My fashion inspirations change from day to day. Sometimes it’s an era, or a cartoon character, or an idea. I like things to be comfortable, but I’m not afraid to get crazy. I used to straight up just wear costumes on the day-to-day when I was in high school. My parents had an intervention this quarantine when I was wearing only sweatpants around. They said if I want to be a rock star I need to dress like a rock star, and I really try to take that to heart. My favorite place to shop is my parents’ closet (seriously). My mom was a choreographer and has some of her dance costumes still, and plus she bought crazy vintage stuff when she was younger. What was crazy and vintage in the 80s is even crazier and more vintage now. We have a “costume closet” in our basement with all these absurd pieces we’ve collected. To give my dad some credit though, I do steal a lot of his t-shirts. “Waves” was inspired by the book “The Invention of Morel.” What are some of your favorite books? Favorite films/TV shows? What are your hobbies? A bit ago, I finished reading Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson and I have to say I have not laughed that hard in forever. I love comedy TV shows– Grace and Frankie, Brooklyn 99, Letterkenny, Broad City. I got really into the Cartoon Network miniseries Over The Garden Wall, which taps into another one of my interests, fairy tales/fantasy. I loved Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro) which I saw for the first time in January. The movie I’ve been watching over and over again has been The Little Hours (Jeff Baena). I’ve made all my friends watch it, it cracks me up so much. I like painting to relax. I also love going for walks and enjoying the outside. I cook with friends and enjoy that, though I’m no master chef. I went through a long embroidery phase in high school and still sew for fun. I’ve been so tied up in having “goals” recently that hobbies have been hard to spend time at, but I’m trying to get back into visual art as a way to unwind. What is the main thing that you would really like for people to take away from your music? I would love for people to take away from my music that there are so many different angles to approach life from. Sometimes trying to find positivity in the negative, such as tooth pain, can yield something funny and absurd. Reveling in the day-to-day bizarre is endlessly entertaining to me, and I hope other people feel that too. Due to our current circumstances, live shows are placed on hold indefinitely and touring is at a standstill right now. However, many artists are finding new creative ways to interact with their fans amidst all of the chaos; utilizing their social media platforms to share content, check in with their audiences, participate in live streams, perform songs and put on “virtual concerts”, and provide insight into their new routines in quarantine. Do you have any plans that are similar in nature, to help pass the time until shows are back up and running again? Absolutely! I’ll be doing a live session through SCENES Media shortly. I also taped myself playing live and hope to put that online soon too. I’ve been working on doing interviews and getting people to listen to “Waves” right now, but there’ll be more art and music sharing to come. Do you have anything that you would like to tell our readers? Give new artists a chance! Producer David Baron told me that most people stop finding new music by the time they’re 25 and I’d believe it. Whenever I come across a song advertised on social media or if an artist follows me, I always try to check out their work. It takes 30 seconds to decide if I do or don’t like the piece, but it’s worth it to give it a shot and see what’s out there. You learn more, you may find something new you love, and you give smaller artists a chance. Very worth it in my opinion. Also follow me on social media (@abigailory), Spotify (https://sptfy.com/abigailory), and YouTube (https://lnk.to/abigailory). I would appreciate it a lot and you’d be giving ME a chance. Which would be, you know, pretty cool. Again, very worth it in my opinion. Thank you so much for your time, Abigail! I look forward to the release of your debut EP and hearing more new material! Stay safe and take care! Interview By: Bri Rodriguez  How did the band come to be?
“It’s a long story of love ahah, but to cut it short, we started to make music together at school, years ago. It began with concerts in our hometown for Vince (drummer of the band) and I (Lead-singer / Guitarist of the band). But we always wanted to tour everywhere. And this is where our 1st european tours arrived in our story… Before the US tour we were supposed to give in 2020” Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? “Yes, we are planning the release of our next album “For Tomorrow”, we hope we will be able to release it in 2020, or latest early 2021.” What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? “The emotions and special vibes we try to put in all our compositions. And also, the positive messages we try to share in the lyrics.” With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? “Probably the causes about the climate change. ‘Cause it has an impact on each and all of us.” What is your writing process like? “I don’t have a precise creative process to create music. Most of the time, it comes to my mind out of nowhere. Days, and nights. I have a melody in my head or the instrumental parts, sometimes both. So I take my piano or my guitar and I start playing it. Inspiration is everywhere for me. In my feelings, in my observation of the world or society, in the past, in my memories. Or just when I see something that inspires me at one moment.” To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? “Our sound is inspired from a large panel of influence: from the Woodstock years, The Beatles etc… to more recent bands like Kings of Leon, Muse etc…We also have Rhythm’n’blues, classical and jazz influences… I guess we’ve been influenced by their sounds and the way they build a composition! The Beatles, for example, always have very catchy melodies and I guess because of them I always paid a special attention to the melodies in my compositions. Any tours coming up soon? “We are re-scheduling our european tour and our 1st US tour on the East Coast for 2021.” Anything you would like to tell our readers? “Yes, we hope you’re all safe out there. And we can’t wait to meet you again on stage after this crazy period. Take care!”  How did the band come to be?
Franz : SCHULTZ is a solo project born in 2002 in the South of France. It became a duo with the female performer VDREY during several years and a real band since 2018 with the arrival of Guitarfox (Guitar and vocals) and Sandy Dynamite (Live dance performance and vocals). Guitarfox : Franz asked us to join him as a backing band for one gig at the Industrial Music Fest in Cannes (French Riviera) in 2017. It was meant to be a one shot, but it went well… So Sandy and I are still in the project today. Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? Franz : We released the 01 May our new album “Black Magic Party” just one year after our first album “Shot of Pain” and our new video “Rats In The Sewers “ a few days before. To resume this new album: 10 kick ass tracks... 32 minutes of intensive pleasure ! Guitarfox : This is a good album. Check it out, it's worth it ! What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? Guitarfox : A lot of pleasure, of course ! Franz : A big slap in the face and say « oh my god, it’s f***ing good ! What is it ? » And look to discover more, by listening to more tracks and coming to our concerts. If the listener feels it at the first listen, we did our job ! With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? Franz : I m surprised every day to see how humans can be so stupid with all the signs we receive from Nature… Our planet feels bad and tells us to change for her to survive and for humans to survive. We have another example with the covid-19 crisis, people said they will change and have learnt lessons, but I don’t really believe it. So the main cause I think, is the respect of our planet and the respect of all forms of life. Guitarfox : I wrote the lyrics of the first song from our new album, Rats In The Sewers, during the great conflagration of the Rainforest in august 2019. At this time I really thought humanity was over, and from then, we would be all just like super-rats. This was the real kickstarting for the writing of this album. Later, the health crisis we all know arrived, and we made the video of this song in the context of quarantine. Fortunately, art is always here to make our life bearable ! What is your writing process like? Franz : We haven't got a real process, when a member has an idea, we talk together about it and if everybody agrees, we work on it. Guitarfox : Franz does the beat and synth parts, I put the guitars on it, and the most inspired of the three of us (me for most of the time) writes the lyrics. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? Franz : Everything... Guitarfox : Life and Death… And Sexuality of course ! You will find some satanic themes in this new album, not because we believe in Satan – We don’t ! – but as symbols of effective anarchy, not as utopia. You have to live regretless and repentless if you want to survive in this sick sad world. You have to get rid of that sick thing Nietzsche called the Moraline : all these things society builds around you to keep looking at you and your acts to judge you and make you live in permanent guilt… For me this is what music is for, and this is why I make music. Any tours coming up soon? Franz : We hope to get rid of this f***ing coronavirus very soon, so we could play live again ! Guitarfox : We’ll see later, but we keep on faithing ! Anything you would like to tell our readers? Franz : Thanks for this opportunity to present you our music. Support the underground bands, support SCHULTZ ! Times are hard for everybody, so we need you more than ever ! Shot Of Pain and our new album Black Magic Party are now available everywhere on all digital stores. But the best way to follow us, is to visit our page schultzmusic.fr and our facebook page ! Guitarfox : Indeed, you could find the use instructions for this new album in the song Lucifer Is My DJ : Put it loud on your music player, and dance on it naked like a crazy ape around a bonfire !  We’re living in a weird time with the current events of the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement. Everyone’s lives have been turned upside down. How are you currently holding up with everything that is going on in our world right now?
I’m doing alright, all things considered. It’s definitely a strange time. I use hand sanitizer about 20 times a day. And yes, #blacklivesmatter! How did you get your start in the music industry? I’ve always been very involved in music, and took voice lessons for a long time as a child. In college, I formed a band and we started performing at local bars and things like that. I ended up getting to know lots of people in the New England music scene. Eventually the band I was in started opening festivals and doing tours. It was a great experience, and it just sort of grew. I grew a lot as a musician too. Through performing live, you meet a lot of people and it can sometimes shape the type of songwriter or artist you become. How did your rock solo project come to be? I’ve actually been writing this solo music for many years. I felt like I didn’t have the resources to release it all by myself for a long time. But finally I said, screw it. I love these songs and I definitely want them out in the world. I realized I was holding myself back for a while due to my own insecurities. I also started directing my own music videos, which was a big step, and I definitely learned a lot. Most of the songs that will be released this year have actually been written for quite a while. I worked with a few amazing people to help bring them to life in terms of production, mixing and mastering. But it feels good to finally release music that has been a part of my life for a while. How does your solo project differentiate from your other musical endeavors (previous solo material, your works with prog rock act Mimesis & gothic metal band Novarium)? After writing a lot of songs over the years, I realized I had a large body of material that really wouldn’t fit in with any other project or band. Not always, but sometimes, the subject matter is also very personal and it just feels like there should be a separate outlet for it. Mimesis is a challenging, high energy progressive rock act that I absolutely love. But it is very different. My rock material has elements of rock and electronic influences. For Novarium, the influences are more gothic metal and rock. When you write with a band, it’s wonderful because you learn a lot from each other, but it can feel a bit confining sometimes, because the songs need to fit in with the project. With my solo project I’ll be in control of what direction it goes in, so if someday I want to do something crazy, I can. If I want to have a sitar solo or a string quartet or something random, I can. I like that freedom. What is your writing process like? It depends, sometimes I just write if I’m sad, kind of like writing in a journal. Sometimes I have no desire or inclination to actually record what I write. But then later I might go back to it, and want to release it publicly. Other times I form lyrics around a central concept and try to write based on that concept. Then I use a piano and put music to it. Other times an instrumental melody will just sort of pop into my head if I’m in the shower or something (usually a very inconvenient place). Then I rush to write it down and flesh it out a bit more. I’ll eventually put it all into my DAW (digital audio workstation) and record vocals at home. Then I have someone who helps me with the right production, drum sounds, guitar sounds, etc. I’ll record final vocals. and after that is finished, I send it off to be mixed and mastered. Who/what are some of your influences and inspiration for your sound? I listen to a lot of different music. Currently some of my biggest influences are Chelsea Wolfe, Poppy, Muse, and Ioanna Gika. I love when rock and heaviness is blended with something lighter and “pretty” too. A lot of my future music will incorporate more piano and lighter melodic elements over some heavy sounds. Who are some of your favorite artists? If you could have a dream collab with anyone, who would it be and why? I think my dream collab would be with Poppy or Chelsea Wolfe. I love Chelsea’s songwriting ability and her voice. I love how she is able to make a dark song sound very pretty and beautiful at the same time. For Poppy, I think she’s created an incredibly interesting image and sound for herself. I’ve always been drawn to people who blend different genres really well and she definitely does that. “Possession” will be released across all music platforms on July 8th, and “I Don’t Belong” will have its worldwide debut on July 31st. What else can we expect coming up this year? I have four other singles on the way. One was written during the shelter in place, just about a month ago and deals with themes of loneliness, and other things I’ve felt during this time. Two of the songs were written a long time ago. The fourth one is arguably the heaviest one, and deals with what it is like to be a woman currently in 2020. I think this one will sound very different from the others when it’s finished, and I think it will surprise a lot of people. I also recently learned how to scream correctly, and I think this might end up being my first song within the solo project itself, that features that style of vocals a bit. What is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? I’m extremely passionate about education. There are so many people within the United States (and also around the world) without access to adequate education, even in public schools. Of course, many people also don’t have access to higher education such as going to a college or university. I don’t think this will ever happen, but if I was able to make a lot of money I’d want to start a scholarship fund for students who would be the first person in their family to ever attend college. My college experience was extremely important to my growth as an adult. I grew up in a very small town, and I think I’d be a very different person if I never went to college. I’m really grateful that I was able to broaden my mind and meet lots of different students from different walks of life, simply by attending college. Now, more than ever, I think it’s important for students to understand how to think for themselves, how to form their own opinions on issues based on factual research, and how to find credible information. It’s also very important to vote, and to understand exactly what you are voting for. Education can sometimes help bridge this gap. I’m also passionate about education internationally. I spent a month in Cambodia a few years ago teaching English and mathematics to children. It had a big impact on my life. I ended up being invited into their homes and neighborhood, and saw how a lot of children in other places live. The organization is the EYC school (Empowering Youth Cambodia) and I highly recommend looking into it, or donating to it. They provide education to hundreds of students that otherwise would never be able to go to school. I ended up going back last year to visit, and there was also a big fire that destroyed a lot of the children’s homes. Many of the families became homeless, so the school was trying to raise funds for that. Overall, we don’t recognize in the US how lucky we are to have the public education system that we do have. Although, I think it’s always good to think about how we can keep improving it! There is always work to be done. A good education can be the difference between a child (and their own children) living in poverty their entire life, or not. It’s a cycle that can be broken with education and I think this is incredibly important. I love your sense of fashion. Who/what inspires your gothic style and where do you like to shop to pick up your staple pieces of clothing and makeup (thrift, department stores)? Lots of things inspire me. I’ve always been drawn to darker, jewel toned colors, like dark green, maroon and deep reds, deep purples etc. I love pairing black with another color, for a nice monochromatic color scheme. I don’t really have a specific place I always shop. Some of my pieces are from Forever 21, Dolls Kill, etc. I also brought back some clothes from Harajuku, Japan last year and I was pretty excited because it’s known for being a huge fashion district. Sometimes I shop at thrift stores, too. You never know what you’ll find. I don’t think I have any influences really. I just know what I like when I see it. I really enjoy Dita Von Teese’s fashion sense. I really like pairing something feminine and pretty, with something very dark. I think she does that well. For makeup, I’m obsessed with Nyx’s lipsticks and lip creams. Their soft matte lip cream and lip lingerie stays on for a very long time and is super pigmented. They also carry tons of fun colors. What is the main thing that you would really like for people to take away from your music? For me, I just want people to enjoy it. During these uncertain and unique times, I hope I can offer an escape. I think a lot of people right now just want to be entertained and taken out of their own lives even for a few minutes. A lot of people are consuming more entertainment based media. It also depends on the song - some songs that I’ll be releasing later this year, deal with important issues. I hope that in the future, my audience will be interested in what I have to say, and be interested in the lyrics. I hope that my lyrics might provoke interest in other subjects. For example, in one of my previous bands, each song on one of our albums represented a different lobe of the brain. I had some awesome conversations with people at shows, talking about psychology. It’s really fun when I meet someone who took the time to look into the lyrics and try to understand where I was coming from. Due to our current circumstances, live shows are placed on hold indefinitely and touring is at a standstill right now. However, many artists are finding new creative ways to interact with their fans amidst all of the chaos; utilizing their social media platforms to share content, check in with their audiences, participate in live streams, perform songs and put on “virtual concerts”, and provide insight into their new routines in quarantine. Do you have any plans that are similar in nature, to help pass the time until shows are back up and running again? Definitely. I would really like to grow my Youtube a lot more. I started doing videography last year and I really enjoy it. One of my goals for this year is to create music videos for every song that I release. I will actually be doing a livestream instagram takeover with Starry Mag on July 19th also: @starrymag. Do you have anything that you would like to tell our readers? I love staying in contact with people via social media, and I love hearing what everyone has to say when a new song is released. Feel free to leave a comment on a post if you’d like to say hello! You can also sign up for my email list on my website jenjanet.com if you’d like to be notified when a new song is out. @jenjanetmusic facebook.com/jenjanetmusic Youtube.com/c/jenjanet Jenjanet.com Thank you so much for your time, Jen! I look forward to the release of your upcoming singles and hearing more new material from your solo project! Stay safe and take care! Interview By: Bri Rodriguez Photo By: Jeremy Saffer  How did the band come to be?
Prime (UK Band) started as a studio project in 2014 and then we began playing live properly early 2015 once we had a lineup that was good enough and ready for gigging. Nothing as exciting as advertising in the local Selectadisc record shop really, but it set us out on an interesting path. Do you have any releases coming up? This month our 'best of' compilation 'Art/Facts 2014-2018' is released on Digipak CD so we're quite pleased about that. It contains our singles, first EP and some of my favourite songs from our first CD, and a few rarities. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? Just to enjoy the music and maybe get something from the lyrics. Do whatever you want! With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? One thing that's good coming from this Lockdown is that people are outdoors more, at one with nature, there's been less traffic and pollution around the world, so I would say an organisation like Greenpeace is doing a great job and always has. Also at this time the homeless seem to have been taken care of a little better... but that's certainly no thanks to our sh*t Conservative Government. I buy the Big Issue weekly, it's a really good read. What is your writing process like? It varies. Sometimes we jam and I concoct vocal lines and lyrics based on what Prime come up with, and other times it's me on vocals working on things on acoustic with the guitarist. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? Passionate, intense rock music with big choruses, big ideas, and lots of energy. I mix that with interesting music that I hear, both young and old. Any tours coming up soon? No, March 6th was the last gig in front of 700 people at the Winding Wheel in Chesterfield: It was a memorable night (for various reasons!), and that's what made me decide no more shows for Prime once various Spring shows in the UK had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. We will be releasing 2 more singles/videos in the near future... but will never gig again. Anything you would like to tell our readers? Don't eat yellow snow! And check out our new CD and online playlist called Prime (UK Band) 'Art/Facts' ... Enjoy! Prime (UK Band) 'Art / Facts' Playlist out June 5th: open.spotify.com/album/2GocqlOhEgW5hoL4exwxrJ Prime (UK Band) CD Digipak 'Art/Facts' out June 5th: prime4.bandcamp.com/album/art-facts-2014-2018-cd-digipak-pre-order-uk-postal-price Official Prime (UK Band) 'In Summer' Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaZO5ZiFWA4 www.facebook.com/ukprime www.primeband.co.uk |