andPOP » EP

Meet Sky Ferreira

Christian Allaire — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:09:54 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

At first, Sky Ferreira seems like your typical pop star on the rise. The big, curly, blonde hair. The rock n’ roll sense of style. The I-don’t-care attitude. But her music and background are definitely no ordinary story.

“My dad is Brazilian and Portuguese and my mom is Native American. It’s funny because I came out looking like, pretty white,” says Ferreira over a phone interview. “I’m Caucasian-looking and none of my family is; everyone in my family is at least two shades darker than me.”

Ferreira, who recently released her EP “As If!” on iTunes on March 22, is definitely a star on the rise. Her and her song “Sex Rules” have appeared in national CK One ads, she has modeled for Nylon, Vogue Italia, Vs. Magazine, and on top of it all, is releasing a full-length album sometime next year.

It’s no surprise her modeling career has taken off, though – the LA native is a real head-turner. Her big brown eyes command attention, her style makes you want to rethink your entire closet, and her hair is just downright cool. But at the end of the day, what comes first – singing or modeling?

“I mean, singing will always be my first passion. But they’re all very important. Modeling is important to me and it’s definitely helped me get out there, so I don’t think it’s a disadvantage,” says Ferreira.

The singer got her start on MySpace, the online music social-networking scene that has launched the careers of Lily Allen and Sean Kingston alike. She attributes her big break to constant hard work and pestering record labels. “I wasn’t going out and doing really bad things, obviously,” says Ferreira. “I was going out and kind of getting myself out there.”

This pestering eventually lead to capturing the attention of Bloodshy & Avant, two of the hottest music producers today responsible for many Britney Spears hits such as Toxic, My Prerogative, and Me Against the Music. The Swedish duo worked on two songs off Sky’s EP – “Haters Anonymous” and “108″ – as well as her single “One.” The result? A unique sound that battles mainstream pop with French and Dutch quality.

This electro dance-beat style, combined with her spirited lyrics and distinct voice, is even enough to distance her from those pesky Britney Spears comparisons. Think of her as just as much fun, but with more raw talent. She can sing live, after all.

“Britney Spears has a very specific style, obviously, and I think I do too, but lyrically I think it’s so different. I think I’m a little more, quote on quote, ‘quirkier’ I guess,” says Ferreira. “It’s being straightforward to you but in a very different way.”

Ferreira, like Spears, is also no stranger to controversy. Her song “Sex Rules” got a lot of negative attention because of its openly sexual nature, which many thought was inappropriate for the 18-year-old. In this modern day and age, though, really?

“I kind of just ignore it. The funny thing is there are so many songs that are like that,” says Ferreira. “So many people act like they’ve never heard that, but the truth is, it’s annoying because there are so many songs about the same thing.”

Although people-pleasing isn’t quite in her nature, her individual style and music is definitely garnering an impressive fan base. On April 1, Ferreira will be headlining her first ever concert at SUPERFRAICHE in Brooklyn. I guess not listening to what people have to say is great for your career.

When she’s not performing, Ferreira says she’s writing a lot in her free time and promises her album will be as good, if not better, than her EP. One thing she doesn’t plan on doing, though, is allowing criticism to dictate her work.

“Everyone thinks they know what’s best for you, but the truth is, what’s best for you is what’s best for you,” says Ferreira. “Some people forget that. “

Amen.

Dave Matthews Band Releases Haiti Relief EP

Sara Harowitz — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:55:35 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

They may have been beat out by Taylor Swift for the Album of the Year Grammy Award, but the Dave Matthews Band are still aware of what’s really important.

In an effort to help the ongoing devastation in Haiti, The Dave Matthews Band has put together a special EP that they called The Haiti Relief Project, reports perezhilton.com.

The CD contains five previously unreleased songs and costs only $5 (U.S.). All proceeds from sales will go towards the fund that the band has set up, called the Bama Works Haiti Relief Fund. As shown on their website, the band is also selling a $20 (U.S.) Haiti Relief Project t-shirt featuring the album cover art for The Haiti Relief ProjectEP. All proceeds from t-shirt sales will also go to the Bama Works Haiti Relief Fund.

Both items can be purchased on the band’s website, www.davematthewsband.com.

Smashing Pumpkins Announce New, Free Music Come October

Emma Renda — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:15:53 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Free music is sweet. Forty-four free brand new Smashing Pumpkins songs is even better. Frontman Billy Corgan revealed news on his website last week that the band will be releasing their new, enormous album via free downloads in a series of releases starting this October.

Though the songs are part of an album called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, they will not be released in a bundle. Instead, the song will begin popping up on the website around Halloween and 11 four-song “mini-boxset” EPs will be released to the public. Once all 44 songs are up, a full box-set will be assembled. These boxsets will be available for sale, in some cases with exclusive demos attached.

Corgan has always been something of a maverick in the way of online music, beating Radiohead to the punch when he released Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music for free back in 2000, Pitchfork reports.

The issue of freedom is just one of Corgan’s many new-age beliefs, along with a spiritual website he released a few weeks ago called Everything from Here to There.

“Free will mean free, which means you won’t have to sign up for anything, give an email address, or jump through a hoop. You will be able to go and take the song or songs as you wish, as many times as you wish.”

As for the music, Corgan says the plan is to return to “the original psychedelic roots of The Smashing Pumpkins: atmospheric, melodic, heavy, and pretty.”

Recording started earlier this month, with their new 19-year-old drummer Mike Byrne joining them in the studio for the first time.

After the Pumpkins’ last effort, the much-anticipated flop Zeitgeist, this album could be the make or break for the band, who have strung on their fans in a series of bizarre career moves.

If Kaleidyscope doesn’t pan out, Smashing Pumpkins diehards can always turn to the latest side project from ex-Pumpkin James Iha. It’s called Tinted Windows and it features Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Hanson brother Taylor, and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger. They even have a self-titled album in stores and did a brief summer tour.

Now I’ll leave you to mull over all this unbelievable information and fact check for yourself, because I swear I’m not lying about any of it.

Amos The Transparent Work For More Than Lemons

Emma Renda — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:56:18 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Note: See the bottom of this article for a free download from Amos The Transparent, plus their new video!

Most bands don’t go from recording their debut in a bona fide studio to tracking the next release in their drummer’s mother’s basement. Or at least not of their own will. But that’s exactly the unlikely order of things Amos the Transparent have chosen, and it’s turning out to lead them along a favourable path.

After hefty studio bills the first time around and struggling under time restraints, the band decided to go easy on themselves for the next record. They split time between lead singer and mastermind Jonathan Chandler’s home and the basement of Chris Wilson’s mother while she was away in Florida, and rather than setting a deadline, they got together sporadically over what ended up being a nine-month period.

And so was born their sophomore EP, My, What Big Teeth You Have.

Chandler credits the laissez-faire approach to a better product, an album worthy to come on the heels of their acclaimed debut, Everything I’ve Forgotten to Forget. And one that has qualified the band for a Verge Artist of the Year nomination against nearly every heavyweight Canadian act out there. (Think: Feist, Tegan and Sara, The Tragically Hip, etc.)

“Honestly, I don’t expect to rank that well. All of our peers are in that list too,” Chandler said. “It’s an honour to be nominated and considered in the same category but we’re not really going to hope for too much. That’s kind of the people we are. It’s a cool nomination but we’re not gonna spend the money before we have it.”

When Chandler says “the people we are”, he means a laid-back group of musicians with full-time jobs and families and lives on the side. Though he insists they treat Amos with as much responsibility as their other jobs, its clear the band is sort of a side project to life.

Based in Ottawa, Amos was born of Chandler’s solo writings outside of his former band, The Architects, and their fan base is a smattering of followers of each member’s prior projects. Chandler credits Wilson for urging him to pursue the solo endeavour, but the music Chandler had in mind necessitated a full band. Hence he recruited Mark Hyne (guitar, synth) and James Nicol (bass), as well as Dan Hay (guitar) and Kate Cooke (percussion, vocals) for this album.

For 2007′s Everything I’ve Forgotten to Forget, Chandler and Wilson helmed the captain’s seat alongside studio engineer Jason Fee (“pretty much the unseen seventh member of the band”, according to Chandler). The album is a lush blend of post-punk angst and folk undertones, and immediately earned praise as a hidden Canadian gem. Having Amy Millan of Stars sing a duet, “After All That, It’s Come to This” probably didn’t hurt either.

“I think it was at Bluesfest two years ago . . . whenever we go to shows, we always try to get backstage I guess,” explains Mark Hyne of their run-in with Millan. “Somehow we were all hammered and Chris wanders off back stage, and then he’s able to get the rest of the band backstage. We drank a bunch of Malajube’s beer, one thing led to another and we got John singing directly to Amy Millan asking her if she wanted to record on the record and it worked out.”

Chandler took a different, more sober approach to piecing together Teeth. Aside from the fluctuating attendance and intermittent recording sessions coming after work, before dinner and on weekends, Chandler said the entire band was more involved in the songwriting aspect.

“The writing process now is becoming a lot more of a six-person collaborative,” said Chandler. “It’s less of me arranging entire songs, like “”I hear this, I want you to play this.”" I have an idea of what I want to hear, but I won’t demo or voice it. I’ll wait and see what the rest of the band wants to offer.”

Having a broader input from all the members led to the selection of “Lemons (aka BigPondLittleFish)” for the first single. It’s a soft, twangy number that allows Chandler’s husky voice to float atop the music carrying his simple poetry to the forefront.

Chandler let another brain in on the action for “Lemons”, production company Digital Henchman who approached the band to put together the music video for the single which premiered on andPOP this week.

“The video was pretty awesome . . . we hadn’t even seen it until the night before the [release] show,” said Hyne. “We were all pretty awestruck. It’s all cartoony, it’s neat to see the animators’ renditions of the band in cartoon form. Dan looks like a character from He-Man. I look pretty much exactly the same . . .”

Teeth won’t be released in full online until Oct. 13, but the band have already been selling hard copies of the album at shows for months. They even put their guitar tabs on their website so fans can learn to play Amos like Amos, and it was also a thrifty way of getting their music out there without giving away downloads.

“It’s really cool to get fans’ perspectives, whether they are good or not, it’s really cool someone would take time to sit there and learn our songs,” said Chandler. “It’s probably one of the biggest compliments you could ever get. I remember growing up learning guitar . . . I would never be like, “Hey, Joe Perry from Aerosmith, I learned how to play your solo.” We want to make it really accesible. Don’t try to learn it, don’t waste your time.”

Hyne laughed that sometimes even the band has to refer to the tabs to get through rehearsal. Because when it comes to balancing a family and a full-time job alongside the formative years of a music career, even the most dextrous musicians need a hand sometimes.

“When I have to take off for a week and a half from work [to go on tour], I get scared. Am I going to have a job when I get back? Am I going to be able to pay my mortgage?” said Hyne. “Pretty much as soon as you get in the van driving down the 401, you forget about everything else.”

CLICK THE DOWNLOAD BUTTON FOR A FREE TRACK FROM AMOS THE TRANSPARENT