Pretty Boy Paco talks about his new projects and “staying punk”!

Latin funk wave pop artist Paco uses his identity as a first-generation Mexican American to inspire his music, as well as inspire other first generation kids to get into creative fields. After Paco began his career in 2020, he has continued to hone in on his sound, independently releasing sonically stunning songs like “2PM” and “Pretty Boy,” which got over 350,000 streams. Paco is currently paving the way with Latin funk wave pop inspired by Latin American artists like Omar Apollo and bounce music showcasing sounds reminiscent of Kaytranda and Pharrell Williams. 

I had the chance to connect and chat with Paco recently, and here’s what he had to say about his art, his musical process, his outlook on life, and most importantly… about staying punk. 

So just to start off, I'd love to know, how did you get into music? And how would you describe your sound?

I actually didn't know I was gonna do music for real until three years ago. One day I just started as a joke on some tight beats on YouTube. I just dabbled into that and I really enjoyed it. Then, it progressively got to, “Okay, I can do this, and it's actually fun.” 

I would describe my sound as silly, but also very… can I say sexy? Like sexy and chill?

I saw you describe your genre as Latin funk wave pop, so where did you get that idea from?

Correct. I am a first generation Mexican American. I like to tap into my Latin roots, really. Any way I can implement any sort of Latin touch or spice, as some would like to say, into the music is key for me. Then, the funk wave [is] I just love funkiness. So I would just say Latin funk wave pop is a big mix of stuff that I love and enjoy on my own musically and try to fuse it into one.

Yeah, I was going to say, as of 2021, you started singing some of your songs in Spanish. So, what inspired you to start incorporating Spanish into your music?

It took a while, honestly. I think I was always nervous because I didn't want to disappoint [my parents]. I always knew I wanted to write in Spanish, and it came easily, like writing in English. It was just hard to put it out there in the world. But I'm glad that I’m more comfortable releasing stuff in Spanish. 

One of my favorite songs from you is “CELLULAR.” So what's the story behind the song “CELLULAR?”

Crazy. Crazy. Yeah, it's in Spanish and French — shoutout Caramilk. I was talking to my lady friend and envisioning [us] in a perfect world. So, it’s just me and her underneath the stars type thing. Lowkey [it] is an underrated one, deep cut for some people. 

So you were mentioning before that it was about you and your lady friend, and I feel like a lot of your songs are about love. So would you characterize yourself as a hopeless romantic?

Oh, I don’t want to say hopeless, man. I got love for my one girl. I always wrote about love since I started making music, really. I never really experienced it until recently. Before having that experience, it was just the silly “I love you, you love me” type of lyrics. It’s gotten a little bit more lyrical in that sense. Love is beautiful and writing about it is so unique because everybody has different experiences. It [doesn’t] even have to be about a person, it can be about a thing, or about yourself. 

Is that what you want people to take away from your music?

Overall, for now, yeah. Love is universal and it's very versatile. If you can connect to my music and if you want to make your own story in some way, shape or form, I think that's cool. 

I love that. So I actually found you from your song “Pretty Boy” and I've been a really big fan of your music ever since. It's a great song, and it has over 350,000 streams on Spotify alone. So as an independent artist, how exciting was that success? And what was that experience like? 

That was the first single leading up to an EP that I was going to drop in 2021. I ended up not dropping it because I wasn't ready, but the single itself was nothing that I expected at all. I didn't expect it to do so well, I didn't even expect it to be my number one song at the moment because [I was new to all of it]. I had just moved to LA, and it seemed like any other upload, right? I remember I was showering and Jack Woods was knocking on my door like, “Bro, you got on this Fresh Finds [Spotify] playlist.” I had never had anything cool happen in my life musically like that. It was my second song that I had ever dropped. 

I think a part of what makes “Pretty Boy” so great is its production — it has a really fun bounce to it that I feel like a lot of people appreciate. It's fun, and it's fresh. My next question is who are your biggest inspirations as an artist?

I would have to say Varnish La Piscine is very, very up there. He's this French dude who's crazy — if you don't know about bro you need to tap in right now. Omar Apollo, for sure, because, like I said, the reason I'm really doing this is just for other first gen kids to be able to venture out and tap into their artistic side. I feel like there's not enough love in that sense, where you have the option to do an art form, right? So I definitely give big kudos to Omar for that. He’s been a big inspiration for me. Outside of Omar, Pharrell and Kaytranada — those two are crazy. That's where the funk wave comes from. 

What motivates you as an artist?

I'm doing this for myself, my family, and to inspire other first gen kids. Especially Mexican American kids because [it’s] very hard growing up, you have this certain pressure of what you're gonna do when you grow up. It's very black and white — you either work your whole life or you go to school. So it was very difficult for my parents to really grasp and understand when I started doing this. I'm very fortunate that they understand what I'm doing now. I feel like not enough first generation kids are really trying to venture out and do this dream that they may have. That's definitely what motivates me to keep going — I’m doing it for myself and trying to inspire others.

That's amazing. You're your own inspiration, you're others' inspiration. So, I follow you on Instagram and I always see you commenting and posting the phrase “stay punk.” What does that mean?

Well, I mean, if you didn't already know, Mia, everything is punk. Everything. Like, I'm an avid water drinker. I'm not even joking, I drink so much water and that's punk. Right? But there are people who just don't drink water. And that's punk, too. Everything is fine. There's no hate to anybody. 

I love that. It's your affirmation. 

It is. My Instagram stories are like little journal entries every day, and I just always got to top it off with “stay punk, stay silly”. That's what I live by really… just staying punk, staying silly.

I love your song “2PM.” I really want to know the process of making that song.

That was the fastest I've ever made a song and [released it] in my whole life. I remember Jack Woods was like, “Yo, are you trying to go to the studio right now and make some music?” He picks me up, and we go to the Target parking lot. I'm like, “This is not the studio, big dog. What are we doing?” and he's like, “We’re just cheffin’ here in the car.” He had the beat ready. He was like… running it from his car battery, but it was about to die. So I recorded it in 30 minutes. It was basically a crazy freestyle type thing, it was wild. 

Any insights on your next project?

Yes, I have a single coming out this month, the 24th of February called “Supersonic.” It’s the third single from my EP Cuatro, coming out March 9th. Put it in your calendar, set a reminder. Very punk if you listen to it, and very punk if you don't listen to it. 

That's amazing. All right. Well, thank you for being here today. Paco, do you have any last sentiments for us?

Just stop being so serious, just be silly. And enjoy life. Be peaceful. Everything is punk and patience is a virtue, because it really is. 

Beyoncé’s Renaissance Album review

EMMIE Magazine Fall 2022: The Fever Issue

Published on Dec 7, 2022

Lila Drew shares All The Places She Could Be with her new album

DECEMBER 6, 2022 - Mia Weisfeld

Recently, New Haven-based, LA-born singer-songwriter Lila Drew released her debut  album titled All The Places I Could Be. Sonically riveting, Lila explores pop music in a way that is unparalleled by other pop artists today. I had the chance to talk to Lila about her experimental musical tendencies, her album’s lyrical elements, her tour experience with the pop duo Oh Wonder and her 20-minute short film accompanying the album. 

Lila, do you want to introduce yourself?

Sure. I'm Lila and I'm 22. I just put out my first album, my debut album, last week. And it's very crazy. Thanks for having me.

Of course. So, Lila, how'd you start making music?

This is so funny because I feel like people are always like, how did you start writing? And I really just liked singing a lot. I just figured that singers write songs. I was eight years old, so that was my perspective on the world. Obviously, the veil was sort of uncovered years later, when I learned that a lot of singers don't write their own music, which is also totally fine. But, I was just really drawn to singing really at a young age, and I love music so much. I'm just such a massive music fan. I was always listening to music as a kid – that was my only activity, and still, my only activity in life is listening to other people's music. And yeah, I just started singing a lot, and I was playing piano, and I was playing guitar, and I loved writing poetry. This is elementary school sort of time. I just loved writing, so it felt really natural. It was also the dawn of GarageBand. You know, like 2008 was GarageBand [being] introduced to the world. We had Macs in my school for the first time, and I was able to use GarageBand and record songs on my music teacher's computer. I would burn my music on the CDs and give them to my parents. That was literally what I thought me making music would be for the rest of my life, genuinely. So this is all very crazy.

Did you write all of your own music for this album that you just released?

Yeah, I mean, I collaborate with other people in terms of production. There's a little bit of  co-writing, in the sense of co-writing melody and chords and stuff like that. But the lyrics are all mine, always. I'm always asking the people I'm working with in the room, “Do you like this? Or do you hate this?”, and that has a huge influence over what I end up writing as well. But yeah, the writing is always mine. I'm bad at writing with other people.

You're a full time student. How do you balance your schoolwork with your music career?

Not well. Haha, it's a challenge, you know? I think in the way that there are athletes who are at school with me [and] their schedules are 100x crazier than mine. So, I try to be cognizant of that. I don't have 5 am practice every day. But, I think that the challenge is more switching modes. Being in class all day, and then getting back to my room and being like, “Okay, I need to go make this TikTok”, or “I need to go work on the song”, or “I need to do this call or this interview”, or whatever. Switching modes from class to music is challenging for me. But, I think what's nice is I really have been working on this record for so long and a lot of the things that I do work on while I'm at school is not actually the music itself. It's sort of all the other elements around this release; all our videos and all of our edits and things are actually accessible for me to do on my own computer. As well as just me writing demos and stuff too. But, it's definitely challenging to not have access to a studio 24 hours a day. 

I love the song “Lila’s Theme”. What was the inspiration behind this song?

Not to be overly intellectual here because I don't want to do that, but I was reading… Also, not to be totally cliché, but this is about to be totally cliché to any female college student… I was reading a lot of Joan Didion at the time. This was a while ago, and I was living in LA with my parents. Everyone I knew had left the city. I had graduated from high school. I was taking time off before coming to college. I had no friends, like literally no friends. I was in this huge city [and] I knew no one. I was reading a lot of Joan Didion's work, mostly because I felt like it gave a really honest portrayal of LA, and I was sort of exploring the city for the first time, even though I'd lived there for a long time. I was so fascinated by the way she was able to sort of craft relationships with other people that she was meeting. She has this whole bit in her essay, “The White Album”, about [going into the studio with The Doors and] how they all wore these tight leather pants and everything was about sex. It’s just this brilliant passage. I remember being like, “Wow, it’s so crazy to me that she was able to form relationships like this”, because we never form relationships that are that real, or that are honest or whatever, because of technology. I was feeling really stuck and feeling like everyone I was meeting, whether that be like romantically or otherwise, I was meeting via Instagram, or via the internet. And I was just like, “This is so bizarre in so many ways, and I'm never getting an honest representation of the people that I'm meeting”. I always have a preconceived idea of who this person is before I meet them, and I just felt so drained and tired from that. So, I was in the studio, and I was reading Joan Didion, and I was thinking about all these things, and I wrote “Lila's Theme”, which ended up becoming this very sprawling, stream-of-consciousness thing. [It’s] sort of a meditation on all of those ideas, but mostly on the relationship between relationships and technology. There are a lot of Didion references in there. There are Joni Mitchell references in there. Yeah, it's a really weird track in the context of the album because none of the other songs are written from that place. 

I know you mentioned Didion and Mitchell, but who are your other inspirations? 

There's so many, oh my god. I say this all the time, but I think that inspirations for me are never static. I think there are inspirations that have lasted a long time, only because they're artists that I listen to all the time, and I think there are more subconscious influences than fully realized influences or actual referencing. So things are changing all the time. I feel like [with] every single song I write I'm thinking about different people, artists, references, and bands. Like everyone else, I'm deeply obsessed with The 1975. I love them so much. Matty Healy is my favorite writer, ever. I think they make the best-produced pop music I've ever heard, genuinely. And so I love them so much. [Their album] Notes On A Conditional Form had a massive impact on my record, but I think the rest of the stuff that we were listening to was really random; a lot of pop music from when I was younger. So, a lot of Natasha Bedingfield, Lily Allen, and Jamiroquai. We were listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins. It was a really random array. Whoever we were listening to at the time sort of snuck into whatever we were making in the studio. 

I was listening to your song “What Are You Doing?” and it almost sounds like there's some country influence to it. What can you tell us about that track?

That was a funny track. That was the last song I wrote for the album. I'd written the whole thing. I took a break from music just because of COVID. Also because I felt like my record would be made a lot better if I barred myself from listening to it for a little bit, and was able to look at it with a fresh perspective and with fresh eyes. Or fresh ears, I guess. I taught myself how to play guitar during COVID. I played it when I was a kid and I quit, so I was like, “I'm gonna really commit to doing guitar again”. I wrote, “What Are You Doing?”, it was the first song I ever wrote on guitar, which is so crazy. 

I grew up listening to a lot of Springsteen (my dad's from the East Coast), a lot of Lou Reed. I also became really obsessed with British Folk music. So Nick Drake, there's this guy, Bert Josh, who I became really obsessed with. I also love Elliott Smith. I feel like there are so many people that I listened to who have lowkey huge country influences, even though they're more rock/folk music. I also love Dijon. He's one of my favorite artists, and he has this amazing ability to combine sort of southern-sounding production with these really all honest, sort of quasi r&b songs. 

Anyway, so we ended up doing, “What Are You Doing?”. It's also the only song on the album that's 100% live. There's no computer-generated instruments on that song whatsoever. It's my favorite song to play by far because I can actually play it on guitar, so it's a whole new experience. I think with the country influence thing, there was a huge element of the record, which was I just wanted to be able to explore all the music that I love. I wanted it to be clear to people via the record that I was exploring that during the process, so all of the sporadic-ness of the record was really purposeful. Not only just for the purpose of wanting to find a bigger audience, and wanting everyone to like at least one song, but from the perspective of [loving music a lot]. Therefore, I wanted the album to sort of encapsulate all of it, especially because it was my first record, and it'd be dishonest of me to make some super-duper cohesive, super-perfect pop record when that's not where I was at. I don't think I hadn't realized myself in any sort of way at that point, nor have I now.

I know that you went on tour in Europe with Oh Wonder. How was that experience? Do you feel like you got a lot of inspiration from traveling?

It was so fun. It was so crazy. We got a call from my agent being like, “Do you want to go on tour with Oh Wonder? They leave in a week”. I was like, “What? I don't have a band, I don't have a set. I don't have equipment. I'm in London”. It was so bizarre. I remember just being told you really should do it and if it's bad, then it’s bad. It's just experience or practice. We ended up throwing together a set and finding a band in three days. I think number one, it was so awesome to play the songs live, mostly because the record was written to be played live (a lot of it). It just gave me a whole new lease. And also, I'm such an insecure person in front of other people, in that respect, but I don't really feel that way performing, which is weird. I hate being in front of a camera so much. I have such body issues, I don't like being in front of the camera. I don't like being filmed, it really freaks me out, but I love performing for people and I love singing. It's something that I forget about when I'm just stuck in a studio working on music. It's so easy to lose sight of that whole world, that whole space. 

But, traveling was so fun. I'd never been to Germany before, but it was so cool. I loved it so much. The guys I toured with are my best friends now. I think the whole thing was so inspiring. The travel being one element, but mostly just being able to play for huge crowds of people who had never heard my music before and people being like, “I really liked that”. Or I'm sure there are people who didn't like it and that's great as well, you know, that's part of the whole thing. I miss it so much.

That's great. I love that. So kind of backtracking, we had talked about how hard it is to be in front of a camera. And you did shoot a short film that went along with this album. 

It's surprising because this record has a huge visual element to it that I didn't expect it would have. I didn't expect I would be making five (music) videos for the album, not including the live film. It was so awesome, and I had an amazing time. It was directed by Vincent Haycock, who directed the videos for “2023”, “Used To”, “Bad Juice”, “Lila’s Theme”, and he creative directed for the whole record too. We just ended up becoming really close through that process. When he had proposed the idea of doing a live film, I really was drawn to it, partially because it really freaked me out. So I was like, “Okay, I'm gonna challenge myself”. And also partially because I felt with COVID and me being in college, I so rarely was able to show people or tell people that I actually can perform. [Performing is] actually something that I think is a strong suit of mine and something that I love doing. 

The live film is 20 minutes long. It's five tracks from the album, which is “2023”, “What Are You Doing?”, “Lila’s Theme”, “Bad Juice” and “Used To”. Totally not in that order. Sachi, who I worked on a lot of this record with, and a lot of the guys from his band Joy Again, also played in my band for the video. I just love those guys and we had so much fun doing it, and being together and, you know, having the sort of community element. I think the thing that I love the most about the video is that it's this weird piece about the fact that you can be at one show and everyone in the audience has a completely different story and a completely different thing going on in their lives. That was a huge element of the video, doing the sort of documentary style interviews as the songs were playing with people who were watching. I love that about it, and I think it adds a whole other layer to the lyrical and thematic elements of the songs. I loved it. We had such a great time.

What was the overarching message of your new album?

I wish that I could encapsulate it in one sentence. It's so not a concept album in the sense that there was never one big theme. I say this all the time, it's such a broken record. But, I really went into the process of making the record in hopes of just making one song that I really liked. One song that I loved, one song that I would listen to outside of it being my own music. And I think it ended up becoming this whole thing about exploration and aspiration, which is the best way to sort of encapsulate what the record is about. Exploring all of these elements of myself, both personally and musically. Also, aspiring to both be better musically, and as a person. I think that's where the title comes in.

All The Places I Could Be has nothing to do with traveling or wanting to be somewhere else. It's more about wanting to embody another experience that's not yours. I felt that, through the process of writing the record, I was really, really stuck, and really had a lack for what experiences of mine were worthy of sharing with other people. I think that's what so much of the record is about. About that sense of “my experiences are meaningless and nothing exciting has ever happened to me in my life”. Or on the other hand, “nothing traumatic has ever happened to me in my life”. Which is not necessarily true, there's trauma for different people in different ways, but I just felt like “Who am I to be pushing my own stories down other people's throats?” So it ended up being this whole mix of exploring myself and also a sort of longing, which is where the title really fits in. I guess that's a huge element of the record. On the other hand, it also has this whole side of trying to not take itself too seriously. You know, there are a lot of mistakes in the album. Tons of mistakes that we all picked through and chose super intentionally, so that people can hear the reality of us making the record. I think there's a huge element of funniness on the album, as well as sarcasm, and trying to mix in the deep sincerity and seriousness with a playfulness and childishness. 

So, what is your favorite track off of the album? I know it's hard to choose, but what do you think best encapsulates this exploration/aspiration idea?

Lila: I think the song that best encapsulates it, and I'm not saying this because it's the lead single, I think “Used To” probably encapsulates that idea best. “Used To”, in reality, is a super-duper sad track, you know. My album opens with, “I don't write like I used to/If I told you that I did, then I was lying.” That's how the whole world is opened up from there. I think that just so perfectly encapsulates the whole record. Also, then “Used To” goes into this bizarre soundtrack of pop music that I loved as a kid, that has a huge Natasha Bedingfield influence. Sachi’s mom yells on it – she had recreated a sample from The Princess Bride. There's weird record scratches and all these weird funny things. It was mostly just Sachi and I fucking around in the studio and trying to be funny, and making each other laugh. It's sort of throwing shit at the walls and seeing what stuck. That song also was the one that we had the most versions of. We probably did 50ish versions of the song just to get it to the final from the demo. We would just add and subtract all day. Whether that be lyrical changes or sonic changes or production changes. 

I think the song just encapsulates that exploration aspiration things so well, both in the, in the lyrics, which we think are super-duper aspirational, but also in the sort of sonic elements which have this weird “let us explore all of these different sounds that we're drawn to” [feeling]. I love that track. It's so fun and so funny to me to listen to. Sachi was only a few years older than me and I felt like we really grew up listening to the same types of songs on the radio. We wanted to explore what it meant to make a pop song that felt classic to our childhoods and I think we succeeded. I totally could have heard it on the radio when I was a kid, but I also don't think it's so early 2000s either. We just wanted to make a pop song that could really stand the test of time, that wasn't relying on trends. 

In your song “Lucky”, you say, “Lucky/You made it look easy / But I have a pretty hard time letting go.” What kind of space were you in when you were writing this song? Was there a particular event that inspired this existential questioning?

Lucky was one of the more emotional sessions. I think I was crying in the studio that day. It was really weird. Basically, we wrote “Lucky” the day before LA went on lockdown, like literally the day before. I think [we] were freaking out. There's this line in the bridge. It's, “I'd never know what happened if I contemplated some kind of natural disaster.” And that was like COVID, which is so crazy that things took a turn in the way they did. But, the long and short of it is that before I was born, when my mom was pregnant, she and my dad would refer to me, as an unborn child, as Lucky. That was their nickname, and that’s where my name came from. They wanted an L name. Anyway, I’m being sappy, but the whole idea of the song was to write this sort of letter to myself. It's just a really honest track. It was also a track that Sachi helped write a bit too. I'd known him for a while at that point, and I wanted to sort of let him into my lyrical process, too. He ended up writing a few of the lyrics in there. We were just sitting and talking a lot. I remember thinking, when I was writing this record, about predictability. This idea that the way in which I acted when I was four years old is the same way that I acted when I was 18 is the same way that I will act when I'm 45. I don't know if that's true, but that was just something I was thinking about a lot. I felt like I was so predictable to myself in a way that was really upsetting me. That I was acting out of fear so much of the time, but that I was so aware of it as well. That's sort of what the song ended up being about. Those fears and, I know, that sounds all very existential, and it was. But it was sort of those questions of, “Will I continue to act in these ways that I really don't like about myself, even if I gain more self awareness about the fact that I'm doing it?”

I feel like both the sappiness and the vulnerability came through in a way that was absolutely beautiful. For “Bad Juice,” what was making that song like?

I wrote that song in Bath, England with Matt Hales, who's also known as Aqualung. I had written “Moments” the day before, and I had written another song (that didn't end up being my record) that was also a very emotional song two days before that. I felt so beat and so tired of making songs that I was gonna go back to my hotel and cry about it. I was just like, “Damn, I don't have any more crazy stories to tell today,” and remember Matt being like, “I don't think it really matters. You're funny.” I don't know if that's true, but all Matt and I would ever do is laugh, we would just joke around all day. Then, we would work on these super serious songs for an hour, and then we'd laugh again. I really felt like I had no stories that were worth telling, and I especially didn't at that point because I've written a lot of those stories already. Matt was like, “I just don't understand why you need to have some grand idea. Why can't you just write a song that's funny. You can write a song that's about nothing and that's also valid.” 

And that's sort of where “Bad Juice” came in. He had told me the day before, “I have this amazing idea for a song. A song title, but I have never written the song to it. I've had it in my notebook for years.” He had written in his notebook in huge letters, “I'm super fun.” He was like, “It'd be so funny if that was the title of a really sad song.” So, I ended up writing this whole song, “Bad Juice”, which is partially about The Shining and partially about this idea of, “Hahaha, I'm super fun. Listen to my sad ass record.” We wanted that chorus to feel like a middle school band was playing it, having this really sloppy, very laid back guitar that was sort of driving that chorus. It's so funny that people like it, I always thought it was the most bizarre song, and it was the one that I was the most worried about people not liking because it's so odd to me. But yeah, people seem to really like it. I'm glad they do, because I think it's really hilarious. I listened back to the lyrics like, “Damn, those are really ridiculous. Those are so silly, and I don't know what I was thinking.” 

But I love that song. It gave me a new lease on writing. Period. I was able to just write for fun. I literally had never done that before. I felt like songwriting was this really daunting process. Then, I wrote “Bad Juice”, and it was just so fun. And now I've written a bunch of songs like that since. 

I love that, being silly is one of the best things you can do. What advice would you give to a new artist just starting out?

Hmm. I don't know, I feel like I'm a new artist just starting out, but not really. I guess, listen to yourself. I wish someone had told me that a few years ago. I wish someone had given me the permission to really like the music that I like. I feel as I've gotten older, I've become less and less of a snob, musically. And, I wish someone would have just told me to write the music that feels most honest to you. At least right now, I'm thinking a lot about what kind of music I would write if I'd never heard music before? There's actually this band called, (I want to say they're called) The Shags. They're a band of three sisters in the 60s and their parents were like, “You guys are gonna be pop stars”. None of them had ever played music or had ever written music. None of them knew how to play an instrument, and they went into the studio. They were all handed instruments.The music is awesome, it's so cool. I don't know, I wish someone had told me to think about that. And, “What is the thing that comes most naturally to you?”, rather than, “What is the thing you that you want to be?” Because I was really unhappy for a long time trying to make music that I thought other people would like, but that felt really unnatural to me. 

That's a great piece of advice. This might be kind of a daunting question since you just released an album, as well as a short film to go along with it, but do you have any insights on upcoming releases? Maybe some features, some tours, some shows, anything?

Yeah. I mean, I'm trying to bask in this release for a little bit. It just came out last week so, I'm trying to just take my time with that and be excited about that. The live film is out. I'm so excited about it. I hope people like it. I think it really gives a new lease on the songs. Definitely tour plans in the future, but you know, TBD at the moment. I'm sure there'll be new music soon as well. But also TBD, super TBD.

Well, it was so amazing to talk to you today. Lila Drew, do you have any last sentiments for us today?

Go listen to my album. It's called All The Places I Could Be. Yeah, hope you like it. I think it rocks. I hope you think it rocks, too.

OSTON shares her experiences as a “20 nothing”

OCTOBER 20, 2022 - Mia Weisfeld

If you haven’t heard of OSTON yet, you are absolutely missing out! OSTON is a Utah native living in LA, and she is making a name for herself in the world of pop music. She was kind enough to let me interview her last Monday. She reveals what it's like to navigate your 20-somethings, or better yet, your 20-nothings, and the new obstacles that come with this age. Through this call, I was able to find out about her life, her motivations, her inspirations, her songwriting process and the deeper meaning behind some of her hit tracks.

So just to start, I'd love if you could give us a little introduction. So who is OSTON? 

Absolutely. I am OSTON. I am living in LA via Chicago and Utah, making silly little songs in my house with my friends and just trying to make people smile and feel something. Yeah, that’s me. 

I love that. So can you tell us a little bit about the project you just released titled Melancholia?

Yes. I guess it came out a month ago now, which is exciting. It just had its first month anniversary. It's my third EP that I've put out, but somehow it feels like the most “me” project I've ever made. I guess because it's the most current with everything I've been going through. I wrote this project, it's a six-song EP, over the course of a year and a half, kind of just detailing what it's like to be 20-something. Moving from the college stage of life to living my own adult life in Los Angeles. Trying to figure out how to navigate falling in love and losing friends and figuring out how the heck to pay for insurance without a job and things like that. I love to recommend this project for people that are either about to go into their 20-somethings or are experiencing it, or people that are now out of that and want to reflect and be grateful that they're no longer in that weird period. 

How does Melancholia set itself apart from your previous projects?

Oh, I love that. I think, as with anyone's music, my stuff has matured with me over time. With my first project, I think I was really just trying to figure out how to make music, how I wanted to make music, and what I even had to like to say as an artist. So, that was me just like really figuring out how to put things out there in the first place. [For] my second project, I was really diving into how I wanted to sound sonically and the topics that I wanted to write about. I think now we're on this third chapter of my music. I was able to really understand the sonic direction I wanted to go in and how to communicate that with my executive producer, who did all of the songs with me. I wrote this project with a bunch of my close friends who know me, arguably, too well. So we were able to really get into exactly what was going on in my head. I just think it was the easiest that I've ever been able to communicate exactly what I wanted a project to sound like. I feel like this is the most me version of myself that I have out there so far, which is exciting. 

So I've been listening to the song “Whatshisface” and it's been stuck in my head all week. What can you tell us about that track?

I love “Whatshisface” because I was so angry. I had gone through a really rough relationship; really toxic, really not great. I was in a very not awesome place. It's actually about the same person that “Lie About You” on my last project was written about. So [“Lie About You”] is clearly a very sad, emotional, trying-to-come-to-terms-with-what-happened relationship song. When I got to the session for writing “Whatshisface,” I remember telling the two people I was writing with, “I'm not sad anymore. I'm not necessarily mad anymore. I'm just so over this person and so happy that they're not in my life anymore in any sense of the word. We just don't speak, they're dead to me.” And that was kind of how that song formulated as a kind of fun, “Okay, I'm free. Yeah, you were horrible. You did me wrong, and I'm still upset, but it doesn't affect me because you're out of my life.” That's “Whatshisface.” 

How did you get into music?

I have always been [kind of] very annoying about singing. I just haven't shut up, basically, since I was able to make noise with my face. I think when I was five years old or six years old, my parents put me in singing lessons and I started actually taking it seriously. I did that all through school and started writing my own songs and playing shows just like around my hometown [of] Park City. Then, when it came time to choose a school, I just knew I wanted to go to school and study pop music and do an immersive program. I ended up choosing Chicago, which is where I went to school. I did music school, I started working with a studio and some awesome writers and producers outside of school, I made my EP, and I started demoing songs for other people [and] learning how to write pitch records. Then, when I graduated, basically my entire friend group was moving to LA, so it just kind of made sense for me to figure that out. I moved out here and it's pretty weird. I'm doing music full-time somehow and paying my bills. Barely, but I am doing it off of music. 

You now live in LA and you are from Utah. What do you think are the musical influences that you got from those two places? Where do you get most of your inspiration from?

I don't know if the places necessarily affected my music taste. I was actually reflecting on this the other day. I don't think I even got Spotify on my phone until my sophomore year of college, which is kind of scary. I was literally using my iPod Nano, going through iTunes, for so many years. A lot of my music taste was influenced by what my parents were listening to at home. My dad is just a huge oldies guy. He is still a diehard Crosby, Stills & Nash guy, and grew up on the Beatles. But, I never really liked it. I was very much like, “No, I want to listen to [Now That's What I Call Music].” So, I kind of [shaped] my own music taste growing up in Utah. I don't think it was until I moved to [Los Angeles] that I was immersed in the jazz culture. Not that I'm a huge jazz fan, but I definitely appreciated that and the rap scene. I didn't even really listen to pop music until I started working with my studio. They showed me Carly Rae Jepsen and Julia Michaels, [who had just] put out her first EP. I started kind of taking all of that in and figuring out how I could write pop music that was also inspired by some of the stuff that my dad showed me growing up and some singer-songwriter like Adele, Ed Sheeran kind of vibes. That somehow got me to where I am now. I don't know if I would say that the music scene in Utah really inspired me that much. I think it was when I got to the city and met so many interesting people with different tastes, that's when I started honing in on what I like to listen to. 

I also have been loving the song “nothing about anything.” It's quite different from the high-energy pop tracks that you have on the EP. So, what does that song mean to you? And what compelled you to add it to the EP? 

Yeah, it's starkly different from all the other songs. I was actually really hesitant to put that song on the project the way that it is, but I think the way it came about was just so special that we couldn't fight how the demo felt. [The morning] I wrote that song, I was having a horrible day, horrible mental breakdown, panic attack moment. Just about “I don't know what's going on at all with anything in my life. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what anyone's doing. What's happening?” And I was just bawling my eyes out. For some reason, I decided to pick up my boyfriend's ukulele, even though I don't play the ukulele. I don't know how. I started playing these two chords back and forth and wrote the entire first verse over the ukulele chords. Then, I took it, later that day, to my boyfriend, who's my executive producer, and my friend James, and we just flushed out the whole song. Immediately after, we recorded a voice memo, which is just vocals and guitar of the whole song through, and that's actually the “virgin version” that ended up on the project. We tried to produce it out numerous times with different people [to] make it feel bigger, [to] make it feel like it made more sense on that project. Ultimately, there's something just so vulnerable and raw about that voice memo because I was literally crying that morning. I just couldn't part with it, so it's just a nice little break from all the other sonic elements on that project to kind of give you that vulnerable, “this is me at my purest, rawest state.”  Then, back to previously scheduled programming. 

What motivates you?

I am definitely motivated by the people that I'm surrounded by. I think that's the biggest factor. I'm lucky to live with my boyfriend and music partner and my awesome roommate who's a co-writer of mine and my best friend. I have so many amazing friends and collaborators in Los Angeles that I've gotten the chance to meet and work with them. I don't think I would physically be able to live here without [them]. It's kind of a hard place to be in, so having a really strong support system is really important, as well as family. I don't really think I'd be able to do any of this if I didn't have constant support and people to call because [in] this career, [it] is very hard to stay motivated. Over the past year, I've met so many amazing, awesome people that are fans of my music. And for some reason, they stick around and support and come out to shows and are a part of this Discord that I have. [They’re] always chiming in and talking and asking me questions and just want to talk. Any time I get down on myself about what I'm doing with my life and how hard it is, I remember that there are people that gain something from listening to my songs and care, and that always brings me back into the motivated mindset.

It's great that you get to collaborate with your boyfriend and all your friends. Is there anybody outside of your close network of people that you want to collaborate with? 

I think that changes all the time. I feel like people have asked me in the past, “who's your dream collaborator?” and I'll say some crazy, outlandish name that makes no sense for me whatsoever. So, it's changing all the time. I think right now, in particular, I have a huge obsession with this artist spill tab. I just think she's so dope, and her music is great. 

I'm also a huge fan of your song “Mouthwash.” Can you tell me about the meaning behind the song and who or what inspired it? 

“Mouthwash” was the last song that we did for this project. I actually had the whole project done and completely ready to go. I went in [to the studio] one day with my boyfriend and this writer, Emily, who's a great friend of mine. I was just in a really weird headspace, as I always am. Another one of those days where I was like, “What's going on? I don't know what's happening.” I was having an unusual amount of panic attacks. I kind of just decided I wanted to write a song that felt like how it feels when I have a panic attack. I remember being in the room, turning to Drew, and being like, “Drew can you make it sound like this?” And just waving my arms dramatically in the air. He was like, “Yeah, for sure.” And I looked over at Emily, and she was like, “I don't know what's going on, but I'm really excited.” We just got this song that ended up being like a wall of sound for the hook, and it literally just feels like how my brain feels when I'm going crazy having a panic attack. After I wrote it, I was just so excited about it. I really felt strongly that it needed to be a part of the project. I felt like it contributed a lot and made sense in the context of all the other songs, so I kicked a different song off the project that hopefully will see the light of day eventually in another form. 

What is your biggest goal for your career? What will be the point that you’ll say, “I've made it”?

I think as a younger version of myself, I had all these goals of things that I felt would be the point where I was “successful,” but I like the way the industry is changing all the time. There are new goals that come about, always. I think I've already accomplished so many things that I really wanted to accomplish when I was younger. And still, I'm in a place where I look back, and I'm like, “Why haven't I really done anything yet?” So it's a hard question to answer. I think, for the most part, I want to be sustaining myself financially off of music. If I was able to live a comfortable, happy life and provide for my family [off of music], I'd be so stoked. I would love to tour for people that show up to my shows. I would love to write a song for somebody that ends up somewhere on the Billboard chart. I don't really care what number, it would just be dope to be on there. But most of all, I think I just want to be respected in the industry. I want to write with dope people and have some clout. I think that would be dope, to just make a successful writing and music career. I don't know, just be able to live off of that. That's my goal. Then, I also would like to be happy and give myself some credit, you know? 

What's your favorite song that you've ever worked on, whether it's on this EP or previous projects?

I feel like it changes all the time. I think maybe my favorite writing experience ever was my song “20 Nothing.” That's on this Melancholia EP. I went to Joshua Tree for a writing camp with some of my best friends. It was my boyfriend, my roommate and Jordy, who's an artist I work with all the time. We were all taking turns writing stuff and there was one day, at the end of the day, where we had written a song for Jordy already [and] we were exhausted. We were like, “Let's probably just chill out and watch a movie.” We were all drunk and my boyfriend started playing this really cool synth piano sound. And I, in my tired, delusional state, just started spilling out this whole verse. It was just this really emotional moment where we were all like, “Oh my gosh, we're in our 20-somethings, and it's really hard, but thank god that we have each other,” kind of like that support system. [We were] really feeling the vibe in the room [that] we all love each other so much. We wrote that song so quickly. It's really sad and emotional, but it makes me really happy and fulfilled every time I listen to it because it was such an awesome experience. I feel like that might be my favorite. 

I have to ask, any insight on your next project?

Wouldn’t I like to know! I don’t really know what’s going on right now. I am in the studio with a lot of those people I mentioned earlier. I’m trying to figure out what the next chapter is for me. I’ve written a bunch of songs I’m really excited about, written a bunch of songs that I hate that will never come out, and I’m just trying to figure out the story that I want to tell and whatever is to come. In the meantime, though, I am doing some really cool features that are coming out soon. I also have a live version of the EP Melancholia coming out on Audiotree and will be on all streaming services. That comes out this week and, yeah, I’m just gonna spend some time working on myself and figuring out what’s going on in the old brain. 

From what I can tell, you’re still working on tour dates. Can we in Madison possibly get you to perform here?

Oh, I love Madison so much. I would absolutely love that. I’m going to hit my managers about that. Let’s play Madison! 

Artist Watch: Lakim

MARCH 26, 2022 - Mia Weisfeld

If you like Kaytranada or Channel Tres, Lakim needs to be next on your queue. Lakim is a Virginia native with an incredible new sound. His music sounds like the beautiful birth child of classic soul, hip-hop, and mesmerizing house beats. Sampling R&B classics like “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” by Aaliyah and the 80s Japanese hit “Dance If You Want It”. He’s done incredible samples of Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys, A$AP Rocky, and the New Kids on the Block. His biggest hit as of late is off of his 2019 album Classic II titled, “A Pimp Named Slickback'' which sampled “Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)” by Crystal Waters, “Long Red” by Mountain, and "I'm a Pimp Named Slickback" from The Boondocks. This particular song received a lot of attention, as it became a TikTok sensation. Every community on TikTok interacted with it; there were dances, trends, and even slowed and reverbed remixes made on top of his original mix.

I found Lakim from his song “Suavemente”, a single that came out in 2020, that happened to be suggested to me on Spotify. I love DJing as a hobby, so I was immediately drawn in as I heard him isolating the highs and lows of this Spanish track. The beat is intoxicating, it just makes you want to get up and groove. He masterfully remixed the song in a way that you could listen to it for hours on repeat and notice a new aspect of the beat each time. This beautiful fusion of samples and house beats makes him (what I would claim to be) one of the best producers on the market today. Then I realized something. I recognized his name. I went on a frantic search on my SoundCloud and I uncovered something big. Back in 2015, I became a big fan of Goldlink’s mixtape titled The God Complex. My favorite song from that mixtape was titled “Fuck Being Polite” and it was produced by Lakim! It felt like such a full-circle moment. Even 5 years later, Lakim kept his amazing and energetic engineering on the beat. I was so happy to find this and the song made its way right back into my rotation. 

As I discovered more and more of his music, I began to wonder who was behind the music. I had the absolute honor of getting to interview Lakim this year and this is what he had to say about himself, his creative projects, and his upcoming works: 

So, who is LAKIM?

I’m LAKIM. A Virginia native but now based out of Long Beach, CA. I represent the Soulection family and also operate my own record label, Tufcat Recordings. I’m probably most known for my DJ sets & remixes (Banks, Janet Jackson, etc.) but I’ve also produced for established artists including Yung Gravy, Logic, and Wale to name a few. 

How did you get into music?

I grew up in a musical family, so I believe that it was destined to be. My dad is a DJ/producer. My grandfather was a radio station DJ in my hometown for 25+ years. My grandma was in a singing group that traveled the circuit in the 60s. I feel like I was born into this and destined for it. I never really gave much thought to doing anything else.

How long have you been working in music? 

I’ve been making music for about 15 years or so, give or take. I’m really showing my age with this answer for sure, lol…

So, you’re from Virginia, did this have any effect on your musical influence? 

Absolutely. I think Virginia is special in that way. You get the best of both worlds, being in the middle eastern part of the East Coast. There’s an equal amount of both northern & southern influences coupled with all the music overseas (UKG, French House, etc.) that makes its way via the many navy bases we have. Not to mention our own local heroes like Timbaland, Missy, and the Neptunes among others. I think that’s why people always ask what’s in the water.

Who are your biggest inspirations?

I couldn’t possibly list them all but here’s some that stand out for me - James Brown, Dilla, Daft Punk, Todd Edwards, the Neptunes, among others. So many though. I could go on & on forever.

What’s your creative process?

I have a lot of different gear and tools at my disposal for creative outlet. A DJ setup with CDJs and turntables. Records. Multiple computers, drum machines, and synthesizers. My phone & iPad. All of it plays a vital part in my creativity. I’m not limited to just one thing and if I needed one or all of them in order to fully realize my vision then that’s what I’ll try to do.  I don’t really know where I get the drive to work on music. Some days, it’s firing on all cylinders, and others I can’t make something good to save my life, so it varies. In the end, it's all about not forcing anything and allowing it to come to me when it’s time to. Can’t ever force the funk.

Who is someone that you would want to collaborate with?

If I had to choose anyone to collaborate with, dead or alive, I think it’d be James Brown. I would have loved to pick his brain and see how he leads his band. Anytime I listen to one of his records, it seems like he’s just having the time of his life. That’s something that I try to achieve when I work on ideas. The carefreeness and openness of it. I want my music-making to be effortless and without restrictions, and I feel like he would bring that side out of me the best.

What is your favorite song that you’ve made or favorite piece that you’ve worked on?

My favorite song I’ve made isn’t out yet, but soon! If I had to pick one that’s been released, I’d pick “Nightfall” or “Street Mentality”. I feel like those are some of the best tracks I’ve done thus far, and also overlooked.

Are there any time periods in music that really speak to you?

I think the 70s and 90s are always going to be mainstays for me. The music that was created in those decades is still trying to be replicated and reimagined to this day. Those are by far the most sampled genres of music I think and that speaks volumes as to how incredible it is. When you think of the albums that were released in those time periods, Stevie Wonder’s run from “Music of My Mind” to “Songs in the Key of Life”, Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”, Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and the many great rap albums that came out in the 90s, it really puts things into perspective.

What is your biggest goal for your career, what will be the point that you say “I’ve made it”? 

I like to think I’ve accomplished most of the goals I set aside for myself. I’ve traveled the world, met some amazing people, done great things, all off of the power of music. It’s an amazing feeling. Something that I haven’t done yet is getting a certified plaque for a song I worked on, but hopefully, I can cross that off as well.

Tell me how you got into djing and production. 

My dad was a beat maker and DJ when I was growing up, and so were all of his close circle of friends. I was always surrounded by people doing it, so I knew that it would only be a matter of time, but I caught the bug to want to get into it at some point. I’m happy that I decided to stick with it because I’ve had a pretty impressive career so far. I hope to further it even more with what I have coming out in the near future.

What is your favorite set that you’ve played?

There are so many! If I had to choose one, I think it would be the set that I played at the Rocking the Daisies Festival in South Africa in 2018. My crew, Soulection, had their own stage at the festival. I think with the energy of being around all of my beloved family & friends that everyone just fed off each other, and it bleeds over into the sets. It was definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had thus far in a live setting.

What keeps you going?

I think the idea of leaving behind an audible legacy is what keeps me going. I make music solely for me, and people just happen to like it, which is the best feeling in the world. I’m happy with knowing that if one day I decided to make something out of my comfort zone and release it, my supporters will most likely enjoy. That means I’ve established a sound and brand that’s trusted, which is important.

Any insight on your next project?

I can’t say much, but it’s a sure-fire culmination of the many styles I’ve been developing throughout these years. I’ll say if you’ve been a supporter since the beginning, you will definitely love the album. It touches every part of my fanbase. Beat fanatics, club crawlers & house heads rejoice!

Believe Music (on behalf of Wolf Music Recordings); Muserk Rights Management, ASCAP, Concord CSPAC, and 4 Music Rights Societies

This new subgenre of house that includes a plethora of genres and decade fusions is on the rise, and Lakim is at the forefront. If there is anyone you should be looking out for, it’s most definitely Lakim. Lakim has had great success on Spotify this year, reigning in 360,000 monthly listeners, and he is only growing. If you hear a Lakim banger at an event, make sure to record a video and tag @lakimislive in your Instagram story!

LIVE REVIEW: Surfaces at The Sylvee

DECEMBER 10, 2021 - By Mia Weisfeld and Vicky Durachta

On November 18th, Surfaces performed at The Sylvee. Surfaces is an indie-pop band commonly described as “happy”  and our collective music taste centers around R&B and electronica, which made going to this concert less appealing. Even prior to the concert, we only knew “Sunday Best”,  a song that gained its popularity on TikTok in January 2020. As we walked into the venue, we prepared for a superficial performance. 

Though, after 20 minutes, our prediction failed us. 

To our surprise, we thoroughly enjoyed the set. We were greeted by an energetic crowd and an even more energetic band on stage. Their passion and enthusiasm were contagious. All of the band members genuinely seemed thrilled to be performing and really wanted to connect with the crowd. The crowd wasn’t small, either. College students, parents, and adults alike were all engaged—it was hard not to be. The band maintained the crowd's energy as the members danced around and ran across the stage. What made it even better was the call and response they did with the crowd, which excited the crowd even more. Their performance overall felt extremely warm and uplifting, leaving us with a newfound feeling of optimism.

There were a few standout songs that we especially enjoyed, one of which was “Learn to Fly”, a song that Surfaces co-wrote with Elton John. John is a long-standing pop legend, and anyone who works with him is thoroughly blessed. The seamless combination of John’s expertise in the world of pop with Surfaces’ raw talent and cheerfulness made room for a great hit. The song is all about picking yourself back up when you're down and persevering through “all the highs and the lows”. Elton really fostered the early talent shown by Surfaces in making this song, and the crowd's response to it was overwhelmingly positive. 

Surfaces also did a rendition of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, which really set them apart. This cover allowed them to show the extent of their musical capabilities in that they took a classic song from a different genre and made it their own… and it was excellent. Not only did it showcase their talent, but it also gave the audience members the ability to engage with the band, whether they were long-time listeners or strangers to their music. The singing swelled and everyone in The Sylvee vocalized in perfect harmony to this timeless hit. Everyone happily danced and sang along, and for those two minutes and thirty seconds, everyone got completely lost in the joyous moment. 

Though we did miss the thumping bass of house music, we got everything we wanted and needed out of this experience. Surfaces allowed us to practice some gratitude and fully enjoy the moment. Not to mention, the performance was appealing to the eye with wonderful set props and ideal lighting. It was definitely a cohesive experience, and Surfaces should be more well-known for their ability to put on a lighthearted, memorable concert.

“Last Chance” by Casper Caan

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 - Mia Weisfeld

Casper Caan’s self-produced single “Last Chance” is anything but your run-of-the-mill track. “Last Chance” is flowered with both clean guitar and techy beats. His harmonious but slightly gritty voice is magnificent. Casper’s style is the epitome of indie-pop: the perfect fusion of acoustic and electronic beats. Caan likes to keep it simple—even his social media is straight to the point. His posts consist of visuals using primary colors, geometric shapes, and pictures of studio equipment. This NYC-based artist does not overdo it with the typical Instagram flexes. Caan’s approach to music and media is very organic.

Caan’s lyrics speak about the trials and tribulations of living in New York, whether it be struggling to make it or suffering from one’s own demons. He often emphasizes the feeling of needing to escape such a place, hence his lyric, “Last chance we make it out there/ Last chance we get out there.”

If indie-pop isn't your genre, then the Hot Chip remix of Last Chance will get any EDM lover’s feet movin’. With an absolutely hypnotizing techno bassline, the Hot Chip remix would get even your grandparents shuffling and fist-pumping. Extremely catchy and incredibly well-produced, this remix definitely adds another dimension to Caan’s lyrics. It is almost contradictory how a song about the harm of New York City’s distractions and vices can be made into such a great party anthem. 

Copyright (C) 2021 Levicaan Music.

Caan’s music video for “Last Chance” follows his theme of simplicity in his earlier mentioned posts. The video revolves around the main character walking through a world of people enthralled in media and technology, which is reflective of the society we live in today. The character is the only one unaffected by this mind control and he breaks the spell through his music. The cartoon is creative and engaging, perfectly encapsulating the idea behind his song. 

Riding the upbeat wave of his new sound always uplifts my mood, and is an auditory escape like no other. “Last Chance” is a great breakout song for Caan and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for his next release.

Originally

“Dover Beach” BY Baby Queen

MAY 19, 2021 - Mia Weisfeld

IN HER 2020 POP HIT “INTERNET RELIGION,” BABY QUEEN DECLARED  “WE CAN'T FACETUNE PERSONALITY”. KEEPING HER “INTERNET RELIGION” REALNESS, THE 23-YEAR-OLD LONDON-BASED ARTIST RELEASED HER POP SINGLE “DOVER BEACH” ON APRIL 14TH. 

Almost out of a fairy tale, the song opens with a dainty tune, then drops into a bright and catchy beat. Baby Queen’s flawless vocals bring a breath of life into the song. She sings, “What's the point in looking at the view/ 'Cause every time I do, I just see you.” She wrote this while visiting the White Cliffs of Dover in England, and as beautiful as the setting was, all she could think about was the person she was infatuated with.

Baby Queen said in an interview with DIY Magazine, “I was kind of pissed that I went to look at the beach, all I could think about was this person, hence the lyric ‘you stole the view of Dover Beach.’ It's another internal struggle with my own insecurities and a sort of acceptance of the fact that I can't escape my daydreams of this person, even if I go to a different place.”

Her relatability about the ebbs and flows of falling in love make this song relatable for many people. The song is quite reminiscent of Taylor Swift, who is one of her biggest inspirations. Baby Queen claims in her Spotify bio that one of the reasons you should befriend her is because she “knows a lot of facts about Taylor Swift and is willing to share them with you.” Baby Queen also shared in her Spotify bio that she “broke into somebody’s house by smashing a red hammer through their bathroom window, which was quite awkward and not at all awesome.”

Personally, that last fact won me over. Her bubbly, honest personality translates beautifully into her tracks. “Dover Beach” is especially raw. Though the lyrics seem that she is helplessly and tortuously in love, her up-tempo rhythm keeps the song feeling light and catchy. 

Music video by Baby Queen performing Dover Beach. © 2021 Universal Music Operations Limited

Her music video for “Dover Beach” is absolutely captivating. She runs along the beach with her lover, walks along the shore in a stunning navy Gucci jumpsuit, lays in a bed covered with pink and white flowers, and even features an ode to the 1962 film Lolita, where she lies in the manor garden, swinging her feet while reading a book.

“Dover Beach” is the perfect summer song. If you’re from California, like me, you should be ready to add this to your summer playlist and blast it down the PCH. If there is any artist that should be on your watch list, it’s Baby Queen.