Fox Tales - a music industry podcast by Stereofox
By Stereofox
Fox Tales - a music industry podcast by StereofoxJan 05, 2023
Danny Hajjar on Running Sa’alouni El Nas, the Past, Present and Future of Arab Music and the Data vs Human Curation Balance at Spotify
Danny Hajjar is a music journalist, curator, DJ, and creator of the newsletter Sa’alouni El Nas. The newsletter focuses on the music, culture, social, and political stories of the Middle East, North Africa, and the diaspora community. Danny has a wealth of experience, having worked at Spotify's Data Curation team and contributed to esteemed publications such as The Washington Post, Esquire, and The New Arab.
His unwavering dedication and commitment to popularizing the rich culture of the region is commendable and inspiring to us. His rich overview of the music industry and dedication to be present and keep doing what he loves are among the reasons why we are more than honoured to welcome him to the Fox Tales.
The episode is published in the midst of the horrific earthquake that happened in Turkey and Syria. Our heart goes out to everyone affected. Below we are sharing a list of resources for people to donate and help.
List of resources for people to help and donate:
» Molham
» Syrian American Medical Society
» AKUT
Links
» Stereofox IG (@wearestereofox)
» our newsletter at Stereofox.com
» host (@himynameisivo)
» Join our Discord Server
Mentioned:
Podcast notes
[2:50] on music in Danny’s life growing up
[06:10] on his goal when it comes to popularising music from the Middle East and North African region
[07:20] on the creation of the Saaluni newsletter and how to stay consistent when it comes to content creation
[11:05] on the balance between music and social / political stories and how they humanize the culture
[13:30] on the future of the newsletter and turning it into a media platform
[16:50] on music that resonates with you
[19:30] on Danny’s career path toward, writing
[24:00] on being part of the creator’s ecosystem and connecting with artists from the Middle East and North African region
[27:10] key curators in the Arab Music / Middle Eastern scene
[29:30] the next growth wave of Arabic music
[33:35] Spotify, the Arab team there and what’s happening for artists from the region
[35:30] on everyone’s responsibility to explore and be open to global music
[40:00 ] the balance between data and human curation aka the human vibe check at Spotify
[42:30] an advice for artists
US Beatmaker Xander. on New Album Bliss, The Importance of Collaboration & Working with Meek Mill
In our new episode we had the pleasure of talking to US producer xander. on the release day of his new album Bliss. We cover the creative process behind and and how it all came to be, his journey from picking up Fruity Loops to working with Meek Mill and building up his followership in recent years.
Shoutout to all the amazing people mentioned in the podcast!
Links
» xander. (@iamxandermusic)
» artworks (@jim_spendlove)
» Stereofox IG (@wearestereofox)
» subscribe to our newsletter at Stereofox.com
» listen to our label releases
» host (@himynameisivo)
» Join our Discord Server
Podcast notes
[1:26] Moving to Boston and the beat/culture scene there
[3:12] The Xander sound
[5:17] The new Bliss album creative process and release journey
[11:20] On playing instruments
[13:10] The importance of collaboration
[18:24] On meeting his collaborators
[24:32] Drumming and early days of producing music
[26:30] On getting triple gold certified and working with Meek Mill
[29:52] On the important of being consistent & building followership
[33:10] Pros and cons of social media
[35:50] What to look for in a record label
[37:45] Xander’s favourite place to listen to Bliss
Stephan Kunze on Curating Zen Sounds, Deep Listening Habits, the German Lofi Hip Hop Scene and his Journey as a Journalist and Editor at Spotify
Stephan Kunze is a German music journalist and author, radio host, editor and curator with over 20 years of experience.
He currently curates Zen Sounds - a newsletter dedicated on ambient, jazz and experimental music. Stephan’s colourful experience - from print to radio and now digital streaming makes him really interesting and multi-layered guest.
Previously Stephan was Global Editorial Lead at Spotify, had his own imprint (Heart Working Class), consultant for Red Bull, editor-in-chief for the German hip hop magazine Juice, and writer for Berlin-based Spex (to name a few).
Links
» Zen Sounds newsletter
» Zen Sounds IG (@zen__sounds)
» Stereofox IG (@wearestereofox)
» subscribe for our newsletter at Stereofox.com
» listen to our label releases
» host (@himynameisivo)
» Join our Discord Server
Podcast notes
[01:50] intro, earliest music memories and buying records in the 90s
[06:10] degree in law and first writing experiences for SPEX and Juice
[09:10] music journalism in the 2000s and interviewing Pharrell Williams and working at Juice
[14:50] curating a newsletter (Zen Sounds) vs running a magazine or curating editorial playlists at Spotify
[19:00] switching Zen Sounds to English
[22:15] staying consistent and motivated when it comes to creating content
[23:40] Living in Berlin, the Pandemic, and staying balanced
[29:10] the Deep Listening philosophy and impact on life
[33:10] building listening habits as a listener and Spotify playlist editor
[36:50] today’s consumption of music and art and the future of the attention economy in mainstream media
[38:45] how to build a career and audience as an artist and be successful on Spotify and the state of lofi music
[42:30] singles vs albums when it comes to lofi hip hop
[45:20] the story and growth of the German hip hop beat scene
[49:40] Stephan path’s in Spotify and the evolution / creation of editorial playlists
[52:10] the culture of lofi hip hop
[54:45] are music publications still relevant, social media and does audience size matters
[1:06:20] 2022 end-of-year lists, the Zen Sounds newsletter, and future plans
Artist Stories: Oscar Jerome on Sophomore Album The Spoon, Melancholy, and Performing Live
Our next Artist Stories episode is with someone we’ve been fans of for many years - ever since his 2016 “Give Back What You Stole From Me”.
Oscar Jerome is a UK singer, guitarist, and composer who’s been involved with music since a very young age. He’s got a pretty signature blend of jazz & soul that you have most probably already heard in his acclaimed songs “Do You Really” & “Gravitate”.
He just released his sophomore album called The Spoon which took a more cinematic & melancholic approach and he stopped by for a chat to give us some details about it and to also share stories about his creative process, touring with Kamasi Washington and the Blue Note: Reimagined project.
Links
» Oscar Jerome (@oscjerome)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@atanas.kutsev)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[03:29] On random non-music fact
[04:16] On singing & playing the guitar
[05:50] On the Pandemic
[08:18] On creating The Spoon and the new sonic direction
[11:22] On 1st single “Sweet Isolation”
[15:04] On the Metropole Orkest version
[17:05] On song length and staying true to yourself
[22:30] On 2nd single “Berlin 1” & shooting the music video
[28:38] On the two personas in the album - Jerry & Ice Guycicle
[34:44] On cancel culture
[36:48] On title track “The Spoon”
[39:30] On poetry
[41:40] On his IG feed
[42:41] On breaking down gender roles, toxic masculinity & ego
[46:16] On heavy metal music & its connection with jazz
[51:09] On playing live vs. working in the studio
[53:43] On touring with Kamasi Washington
[55:02] On dream collaborator & to play live with
[56:16] On Blue Note: Reimagined II
[59:20] On “Gravitate”
[01:01:24] On debut album Breathe Deep
[01:03:20] On advice for emerging artists
Artist Stories: Carmody on Debut Album Imperfect Constellations, Poetry, and Grief
Today’s Artist Story episode of Fox Tales is a really special one.
We found Carmody back in 2014 with her delightful first EP with Tom Misch called Out to Sea and completely fell in love with her voice and storytelling. You might also know her from her other wonderful releases like Skin, My Jupiter & Catching Blue, or from her collaborations with Connor Albert, edbl, or Alfa Mist.
She dropped by for a chat to talk about her debut album Imperfect Constellations that just got its Deluxe Version released, and to share about her experience with alternative therapy and about her love for poetry.
Links
» Carmody (@thisiscarmody)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@atanas.kutsev)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[02:58] On the most random places for song ideas
[03:52] On the name of Imperfect Constellations
[05:57] On finally having a debut album out in the open
[07:45] On the personal topics of the album
[10:04] On the album rollout
[11:54] On the track order of the album
[13:11] On the symbols in the artwork
[15:14] On alternative therapy
[17:20] On mental health in the music industry
[19:50] On “Morning”
[24:28] On “Hurricane” & the gap between generations
[27:31] On “Memory” with Alfa Mist & Laura Misch
[29:10] On releasing a Deluxe version of Imperfect Constellations
[31:35] On relationships & technology
[34:44] On poetry
[37:55] On her creative process
[40:14] On working with Tom Misch
[43:13] On Out To Sea EP
[46:02] On her collab dynamics with Tom
[48:53] On working with Marie Dahlstrom
[50:08] On dream collaborator
[52:02] On what to expect next
Label Stories: 10 Years of Inner Ocean Records, Transitioning to Streaming and the Value of Physical Products (Vinyls and Cassette Tapes) in 2022
In our new Fox Tales episode we welcome Inner Ocean's founder Cory Giordano. We go over label's 10 years history and the transition to digital straming, some remarkable moments and we deep-dive into the value of doing physical products (vinyls, cassette tapes and merch).
Links
» Inner Ocean (@inneroceanrecords)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@himynameisivo)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[2:20] The early days of Inner Ocean
[09:11] The value of physical products
[15:55] The environmental impact of physical products & Anjunadeep’s example
[18:35] Physical products and digital streaming
[19:50] Singles vs album releases
[22:02] Curation at Inner Ocean
[26:45] Submissions
[31:50] Team setup and behind-the-scenes
[34:05] Inner Ocean artist careers
[36:30] Working exclusively vs non-exclusively with artists
[42:50] On long-term success, growth and Questlove’s manager story
[49:45] On the tough side of a running a label
[58:40] Doing physical products during COVID
DJ Kitsune on Balancing As a Way of Surviving in the Music Industry, The German Hip Hop and Beat / Lofi Scene and Curation as an Editor for TIDAL
We’re beyond happy to welcome Philipp Senkpiel AKA DJ Kitsune on our podcast. The German DJ, music producer, label owner and editor at TIDAL shares his journey through various fields of the music industry and goes back to his early days as a DJ in Frankfurt. We also touch upon the difference between DJ-ing and curating playlists and how fluid genres have become nowadays.
In this hour-long conversation, we also discuss the foundations, growth and strength of the German Hip Hop and Instrumental Beat scene, the rise of new sounds from South America (Latino Music), Africa (afrobeats) and Asia (k-pop)his way of making it and surviving in the music industry all these years, and last, but not least - a few of his guidelines when comes to managing artists, running your own label and publishing company.
Links
» DJ Kitsune (@djkitsune)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@himynameisivo)
» Join our Discord Server
» Prince live performance w/ Chaka Khan
» Prince Purple Picks TIDAL playlist
Show Notes
[4:40] basketball, NBA season and working hard
[5:50] multi-tasking and how this helps keep going in the music industry
[7:45] the importance of balance and mental health
[10:10] the weight load on young music stars these days
[13:00] growing up, touring and performing in the 90s and 00s
[15:10] on early days and the start of his DJ career
[22:30] Doing for an artist vs club doing
[24:10] joining TIDAL as editor and approach to curating music
[27:50] advice on getting noticed by TIDAL editors
[32:10] the evolution genres nowadays
[36:30] how are the TIDAL Rising playlists curated
[39:30] direct-to-fan payment system
[42:20] the return of physical products
[45:10] the strength of German hip hop culture and instrumental / lofi hip hop scene
[52:10] genre influences on new producers
[53:45] the rise of k-pop and latin music and their spillover to other genres
[1:03:15] the most important business advice in running a music industry company
[1:12:45] learning guitar and Prince’s playlist on TIDAL
Artist Stories: Laxcity On Growing from Anxiety, Why He Started Making Music and His Childhood in the UK
As you saw in the title, we have Laxcity in as a guest this time around for our Artist Stories segment. The UK-based electronic producer has this introverted and somewhat reserved nature to him that tends to arise even during interviews.
On this episode of the Fox Tales Podcast however, we experience something different from the producer. Throughout the conversation, we get to hear a Laxcity that seems like he has loosened the shackles of anxiety that he’s struggled with, and his story as Josh rises to the conversation in a manner that’s deep, and at times fun and lighthearted.
The mixture of Future Bass, Vapor Twitch, and Future Beats that is found throughout his discography has not only led to him brushing shoulders with his idols and playing intercontinental shows, but also a deal with Alt Vision – undeniably one of the hottest labels around for Electronic music. This is probably the most personal Laxcity interview you’ll hear so far as we also discuss race, relationships, anxiety, and more. I truly hope you enjoy and walk away with a thing or two you can use in your life.
Links
» Laxcity (@laxcitymusic)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@skai_lounge)
Show Notes
[03:32] On Genres – Vapor Twitch and Kawaii Bass
[5:30] On cherished moments from being an upcoming producer
[7:20] On the Soundcloud Era
[10:00] Go back in time, which age/ youth
[14: 00] On being from Zambia and adjusting to UK
[18:50] On being an Electronic producer in Africa
[21:05] On music played from family environment
[25:27] On growing up Black and listening to non-black music
[29:40] On balancing Uni and music
[37:55] On pursuing a career in music
[44: 21] On visual inspirations
[48:58] On being an introvert and a different
[53:10] On what helped with anxiety
[58:50] On the creation of debut album and relationships
[1:02:45] On insights and lessons from first major fest in Montreal
[1:10:00] On signing with iconic label ALT:vision
[1:15:23] On the influence of Galimatias and Porter Robinson
[1:21:00] On what it means to steal like an artist
[1:24:35] On using Fl Studio
[1:29:57] On the new album
[1:32:00] On Artists you’d love to be your mentor, party with and have a DMC with
Artist Stories: Moods on Instrumental Hip Hop, Live Recording an Album & How Music “Ruined” His Life
Today, we’re doing another Artist Story and we don’t even know where to begin with introducing our guest.
Nick Lubbersen, or Moods, is a Rotterdam-based producer whom you most probably know either from his instrumental hip hop piece “Love Is Real” which skyrocketed to more than 30 million streams on Spotify, or from his numerous amazing remixes for the likes of Ta-ku, Poldoore & Two Another.
Earlier this year, he released his sophomore album with the peculiar name Music Ruined My Life via Boogie Angst and we got together to find out exactly how music ruined his life.
Links
» Moods (@moods.music)
» Music Ruined My Life - Mini Documentary
» Boogie Angst (@boogieangst)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@atanas.kutsev)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[02:48] On favourite thing to do besides music
[04:07] On how he got involved with music
[06:56] On “Organic” with SIAM
[10:08] On why he chose Moods for his moniker
[11:30] On why “Music Ruined My Life”
[14:02] On drawing
[17:03] On the live-recorded approach for the album
[19:44] On the genre direction of the album
[22:22] On Music Ruined My Life vs. Zoom Out
[23:38] On whether listeners accept more sophisticated music
[26:41] On the album mini-documentary
[28:18] On vinyls
[30:42] On instrumental hip hop vs. remixes
[33:44] On collaborations
[36:52] On when Logic sampled his music
[38:38] On the chillhop genre
[44:06] On advice for emerging artists
[45:22] On future plans
Artist Stories: Gnarly on Making a Living as an Artist And Her Recipe for Success
In this new episode of our Artist Stories segment, we have the pleasure to welcome the multi-talented beatmaker, finger drummer and instrumentalist Gnarly.
Besides making music, DJ-ing and giving workshops, the British-Sri Lankan artist has performed live at various festivals, and worked with brands such as Native Instruments, Akai Professional, Redbull Music, Pioneer DJ and many more.
Gnarly has been making music for over a decade and is currently a self-employed full-time artist, who has a lot to share on both her professional and personal journey. In this episode, she reflects on how she overcame the mental blocks that weren’t allowing her to pursue music as a full-time career and managed to change her mindset in order to start making things happen.
She talks about discipline, motivation, dedication, overcoming anxiety, exploring and finding what is it that you want to do and giving your best in order to make things work out. She also shares what’s her experience as a female producer. Needless to say, this episode is full of inspiring drops of wisdom and one not to miss out on - whether you’re an aspiring artist, a fan of Gnarly or both.
Links
» Gnarly (@gnarly.music)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@inspiration.noomra)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[02:19] on how does a Gnarly-day goes by
[03:36] on how she got into finger drumming
[06:56] on making music her full-time job and her mantra “don’t be afraid to succeed”
[13:24] on taking care of her mental health, counselling, doing the inner work and changing her mindset and how finger drumming helped her in the process
[17:40] on how she quit her day job in order to pursue her music career
[24:59] on her various revenue streams and why it’s important to future-proof what you’re doing
[27:06] on her social media presence and how it affects her career and opportunities for income (e.g. brand partnerships); the importance of high-quality content
[32:04] on how she started to give finger drumming workshops and use Patreon amidst the Pandemic
[33:56] her artist brand and the importance of ‘being yourself’ on social media
[35:50] on organisations that support female creatives, especially female producers
[37:08] on her being a female producer and double-proving herself
[44:14] on being independent as an artist vs collaborating
[47:22] on experimenting and getting involved in conceptual projects
[49:31] on what motivates her
[53:18] on anime characters that inspire and motivate her to push past her limits
[54:26] on what she would advise artists based on her own journey so far and what she considers to be the recipe for success
The World of Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio Explained by Product Manager & Producer Robin Brink
Drummer, producer, DJ, engineer, and product manager… Those are among the many roles Robin Brink occupies in the music industry. His rise to stardom occurred in 2014 when his band called Beatenberg hit mainstream consciousness and eventually became among the most iconic South African bands of this generation. Even though he had success as a drummer, he still forged his own path as a producer under the name Okayshades, and recently he joined Marx Audio as a product manager who specializes in Dolby Atmos.
Throughout this conversation, Robin Brink shares with us why Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos are the future industry standard, the success of Beatenberg, and we dive into the state of the South African Music scene.
Links:
» Robin Brink (@okayshades)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@skai_lounge)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[05:52] On helping artists realize their dreams
[10: 52] On intense creative energy
[12:48] On Beatenberg Changing his life
[15:00] On signing with Island Records
[17:00] On the South African Music Scene
[25:37] What does producing give you that drumming can’t
[28:33] On his start with Marx Audio
[34:09] General responsibilities at Marx Audio
[38:40] The difference between Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio
[42:13] Why Dolby Atmos is the future?
[45:30] What needs to happen for Dolby Atmos to be the norm?
[48: 45] Making a mix for Dolby Atmos
[53:05] Why some Spatial Audio remixes sound bad
[56: 20] The barriers of entry for Dolby Atmos
[1:00:41] On Apple’s marketing for Spatial Audio
[1:05:40] On what makes a good Atmos mix
[1:12:01] On rectifying bad remixes in Spatial Audio
[1:17:20] What would you say to skeptics of Spatial Audio and Dolby
Artist Stories: FloFilz on New Album Close Distance, His Musical Journey, and the Beat Scene
In the new episode of our Artist Stories segment we have the absolute honor & pleasure to welcome the legendary beatmaker Florian Meiers, or FloFilz.
He’s been making music since 2013 and we’ve been following his journey since the early Stereofox years. Flo has collaborated with outstanding artists like Alfa Mist, Blu, K, Le Maestro, Barney Artist, Blue Lab Beats, Ivan Ave, and just released his new album Close Distance via our friends at Melting Pot Music
He dropped by for a chat to share some details about it and also share some stories about his musical background & his view on the contemporary beat scene.
Links
» FloFilz (@flofilz)
» Melting Pot Music (@melting_pot_music)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@atanas.kutsev)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[02:11] On where the name FloFilz comes from
[04:14] On how his musical journey started
[07:27] On his debut album Duplex (2013) & on Cenario (2016)
[13:35] On the pandemic, the beginning of Close Distance & the title meaning
[16:08] On the diverse collaborations on the album
[17:56] On the song titles
[20:49] On working with Alfa Mist
[22:44] On the visual identity of the album
[25:36] On the collaboration with Jerome Thomas & the music video for “Sensitive”
[27:47] On working with vocalists
[29:49] On the collaboration with Summers Sons & C.Tappin
[31:53] On the vinyl of Close Distance
[34:58] On remixing Tom Misch & Laura Misch’s “Follow”
[37:47] On playing the violin
[39:05] On live shows for Close Distance
[41:16] On his view on the beat scene nowadays
[51:05] On his music/production equipment
[55:43] On his advice to up-and-coming producers
Artist Stories: Miso Extra on Debut EP Great Taste, Food & Art, and the Misoverse
If you’ve been following the music world closely, there’s certainly one name that stood out in the UK scene last year.
Emerging half-Japanese, half-English artist Miso Extra blends so many genres and both her native languages in her super captivating music.
Her debut EP called Great Taste is out via Beatnik Creative who work with the outstanding Arlo Parks and it’s quite the ride.
She was so nice to drop by for a chat to share more about herself and the Misoverse.
Links
» Miso Extra (@misoextra)
» Beatnik Creative (@beatnikcreative)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@atanas.kutsev)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[01:00] On the Misoverse
[01:50] On her moniker origin
[04:07] On the role of food in her life
[07:09] On childhood & involvement with music
[09:43] On Great Taste EP
[15:39] On songwriting
[18:34] On inspiration
[20:55] On the growing interest in Asian cultures
[23:21] On femininity & equality
[26:45] On musical influences
[29:58] On dancing
[32:02] On performing live
[35:49] On collaborations she’d like to do
[36:47] On Arlo Parks & Beatnik Creative
State of Streaming Platforms in 2022 - a chat with Mike Warner from Chartmetric
Learn the latest when it comes to major streaming platforms from Mike Warner - Director of Artist, Label and DSP Relations at Chartmetric and author of Work Hard Playlist Harder. Mike is one of the people we follow in order to stay up to date to all music industry news. Besides going over Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and TIDAL, we share news on new streaming platforms and some pro tips for artists when it come to platforms like TikTok and Linkedin.
The episode was recording while doing a Live on our Discord server.
Links
» Mike Warner (@askmikewarner)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@himynameisivo)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[02:00] Intro (2nd attempt) and Mike’s take on LinkedIn for artists
[4:30] Mike’s responsibilities at Chartmetrics
[6:45] The 2 sides of TikTok
[12:50] TikTok’s new distribution service SoundOn
[16:43] Amazon Music and the focus on voice control
[20:30] Amazon Music pitching process, changes and tips
[24:30] The importance of tagging and metadata
[27:45] The key of artist to fan direct connection
[33:05] User-centric payment systems
[36:45] Pros and cons of allowing users to create playlists on streaming platforms
[41:30] Pitching music to Apple Music
[48:05] Pitching music to Spotify
[49:30] Relevance of music blogs
[52:50] Staying up to date with the music industry news
[1:00:01] Spotify’s Discovery Mode
Music Blogging and How to Start in the Industry - Hayden McGuigan, Editor In Chief at Electric Hawk
In this podcast episode we meet Hayden Mcguigan - editor-in-chief at US publication Electric Hawk. We catch up on his journey prior that, talk about the good and bad sides of music blogging and how to start in the music industry if you don't have experience prior to that.
It's just a genuine chat about all-things-music really, hope you enjoy this!
Links
» Hayden McGuigan (@woahbruhhh_)
» Electric Hawk (@electric_hawk)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@himynameisivo)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[6:40] Journey into music blogging and intro
[12:15] How do you start with writing in the music industry
[20:00] On the state of readership and consumption in music industry
[24:24] Work and team at Electric Hawk
[27:50] The history of Electric Hawk
[31:32] The positive and negative sides of working in the music industry
[36:12] Is Friday a good really the best day to release music?
[38:19] Hayden’s approach to being editor in chief
[41:40] Payola in blogging
[43:20] Submission process at Electric Hawk
[47:01] Spotify pitches, PR importance and random chats
Moonchild on 10 Years Working Together, Releasing Starfruit, and Collaborating with Black Female Creators
It’s time for another episode from our Artist Stories segment and today we’re stoked to welcome the legendary LA soul & jazz trio Moonchild, whom we’ve been following for years.
Amber Navran, Andris Mattson & Max Bryk have been together for 10 years and this special anniversary is marked by their 5th studio album called Starfruit, released last month via our friends at Tru Thoughts.
They dropped by for a chat to share more about their journey so far and especially about the process behind creating Starfruit alongside amazing collaborators like Lalah Hathaway, Rapsody, Alex Isley, Tank and The Bangas & more.
Links
» Moonchild (@thisismoonchild)
» Starfruit 2022 Tour (tickets)
» Tru Thoughts (@tru_thoughts)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@atanas.kutsev)
» Join our Discord Server
Show Notes
[01:05] On the beginning of Moonchild
[03:48] On 10 years working and growing together
[04:40] On Be Free & Voyager from 2022’s perspective
[06:38] On their “sound”, the creative process & songwriting
[09:46] On how Starfruit came together
[13:35] On the new sonic approach in Starfruit
[17:03] On collaborating with Black Female creators
[19:52] On working with Lalah Hathaway, Rapsody, Tank and the Bangas & more
[25:03] On favorite song from Starfruit
[26:10] On the 2022 Tour
[27:20] On playing live vs working in the studio
[28:41] On writer’s block
[30:27] On improving musicianship
Artist Stories: Elijah Nang on Gaijin 3000, Building Audio-Visual Stories and Artist Growth
Today we have Elijah Nang over to talk about his journey as an artist, the Gaijin series and the work behind Gaijin 3000 - a label release we’re working together on.
We’re also covering the importance of story-telling for artists and the influence of Japanese culture in his art and music.
"there's no I in team" / Elijah Nang
Links
» Elijah Nang (@elijahnang)
» Gaijin 3000 album (link)
» Gaijin 3000 vinyl/merch (link)
» Wenyi Geng (@wenyigeng)
» Trina Hines (@hinestheartist)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@himynameisivo)
» Join our Discord Server
Show notes
[4:35] Storytelling in and outside of music
[6:22] Japanese culture and influence
[9:00] The Gaijin concept
[11:20] First steps in producing beats
[12:42] Advise to younger self
[14:37] Gaijin I and the journey into lofi beats
[16:05] Planning Gaijin 3000 - art, visuals, merch, vinyl and the digital release
[22:00] A new sound - exploring synthwave and retrowave music
[29:02] Working with a label as an independent artist
[34:42] Taking a break of social media
The Importance of Data-Driven Marketing in Music with un:hurd's founder Alex Brees
Every label manager, A&R, music marketer, etc. uses numbers, statistics, and graphs to justify the decisions they make, to choose the right place to invest, or to find new trends.
If you’re an artist, numbers are probably the last thing you’d like to look at. But in this constantly changing and very much data-driven music industry we're in, you either need to find someone to help you out or you’ve got to suck it up and start understanding what all those lines & charts mean.
To shed some light on this, we’ve got Alex Brees here, the CEO & founder of a London-based AI marketing company, called un:hurd. Alex is also a former senior analyst in Universal and has a rich background in marketing and operations.
Links
» un:hurd (@unhurd_)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@atanas.kutsev)
» Join our Discord Server
Show notes
[5:56] How Alex ended up in the music industry
[8:00] On Keakie
[11:50] On working in Universal
[14:07] On the difference between major labels & independent ones/self-releasing
[16:02] On importance of data in the music industry
[18:19] On how tech helps handling data
[19:44] On how AI is used in the music industry
[21:42] On AI music creation
[24:29] On data & context
[25:24] On the Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” viral video on TikTok
[27:44] On tightening the gap between major labels & independent ones/DIY artists
[31:54] Tips on how to use data, what stats to look at & marketing approach
[37:06] On playola & playlisting
[43:27] On the success stories of M24 and MckNasty
Release Strategies & the Importance of Storytelling with Martha Cleary from Tru Thoughts Recordings
We’ve covered the topic of the different benefits of self-releasing or doing it via a label but whether you’re going solo or you have a team, there are a number of things you need to have handy and take into consideration before, during, and after your release.
There are also various strategies you can use when releasing your music - multiple singles, EPs, or an album, and different ways to tell the story of your project.
We’re very excited to welcome Martha Cleary, a campaign manager at the renowned UK label Tru Thoughts for the 9th episode of Fox Tales
If you’ve been following the Stereofox blog, you’ll know we’ve featured a great deal of releases from Tru Thoughts and we’ve seen awesome album rollouts, mesmerizing stories and, needless to say - gorgeous music. They’re working with artists like Alice Russel, Moonchild, Hot 8 Brass Band, Quantic, Anushka, fika, Hemai, even with Bonobo 20 years ago for his Animal Magic album. And many many other names.
She was so nice to drop by for a chat to share some tips & tricks that will help every artist higher their chances of success when releasing music.
Show notes
[5:42] On what you need to prepare when you’ve got your music & artwork ready
[7:45] Going over an example campaign timeline
[11:14] On premieres
[13:59] On music videos
[17:56] On when to release singles, EPs, or an album
[21:45] On storytelling
[23:40] On waterfalling singles
[28:58] On remixing
[32:30] On success goals - creating a fanbase, radio, press, TikTok, sync, etc. and the mania for playlisting
[37:09] On blowing up overnight, early supporters & maintaining relationships with curators, editors, radio hosts, etc.
[41:07] On case studies like Self Esteem, Arlo Parks, Anderson .Paak, Jorja Smith, Nubya Garcia, Little Simz
[48:43] On quality vs. quantity when doing outreach & contacting the right people
[56:20] On the success stories of Bryony Jarman-Pinto, Sly5thAve & Hot 8 Brass Band
Links
» Tru Thoughts (@tru_thoughts)
» Martha Cleary (@marthajsc)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@atanas.kutsev)
» Join our Discord Server
Discussing the Gender Pay Gap In the Music Industry With Vick Bain
The gender wage gap, in general, refers to the difference in earnings between women and men, and for some reason, on average women in virtually every country are paid less than men. This is quite a complex issue linked to politics, economics, and even sociology… and there is a range of variables in play that make it tough to answer - why are women paid less than men?
Following our articles on Challenges Female Producers Face and How These 5 Factors Contribute to the Gender Pay Gap In The Music Industry, we’re excited to expand the research with an audio discussion and a guest who can help us better understand the issue.
For this episode we invited Vick Bain who is a campaigner for women in music through researching, training, presenting & consulting on all aspects of diversity in creative industries. She has extensive experience in the music industry as she was the CEO for the BASCA (British Academy for Songwriters, Composers, and Authors), she sat on the UK music board, the UK rights committee, and the UK Music Diversity Taskforce - and the ones I mentioned are only a few of the boards she’s been on. Now she works as a freelance music industry consultant, a curator of the F-List, a director of an organization called Pipa, and she’s a director of an exciting music-tech start up called Delic. I can’t neglect to mention that she was enrolled into BBC Radio 4’s Women's Hour Powerlist in 2018.
Show notes
[11:12] On her experience as CEO at BASCA (British Academy for Songwriters, Composers, and Authors)
[14:30] On her report “Counting the Music Industry” and the hardest part about the report
[26:44] Why companies don’t promote women in the upper echelons of the organization
[29:50] On how women leaders are treated compared to men
[40:35] On the motherhood penalty
Links
» Vick Bain (@vickbain1)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@skai_lounge)
» Join our Discord Server
Releasing Music in 2021 - Self-release or With a Label? A Chat with Chris Hill from Average Negative Records
When it comes to releasing music in 2021, the 1-million-dollar question is always: “Should I release it myself or via a label?”
Of course, self-releasing gives you complete freedom & control but also requires more time and know-how on distribution, marketing, PR, etc.
In our new episode, we had a chat about the pros & cons of both sides with Chris Hill from Average Negative Records - a Berlin-based cross-platform label, run by himself and Jian Liew, also known as Kyson.
He’s also a professional drummer and has his own recording & tracking studio called The Tracking Farm. He’s worked with artists like Alice Phoebe Lou, running his solo experimental project holymachines and many, many other things.
Links
» Average Negative (@averagenegative)
» holymachines (@holymachines)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@atanas.kutsev)
» Join our Discord Server
Artist Stories: Com Truise on 10 Years Galatic Melt, Working with Ghostly and Synthwave Evolution
Time for our first Artist Stories segment and we're starting with someone very loved and respected by our team - US electronic artist Com Truise. We dive into an array of topics like Galactic Melt's 10 years anniversary all the way through working with a label and manager and slightly touch upon the future of web 3, design and NFTs.
Show notes
[6:50] On finding inspiration when it comes to creating music
[8:40] On how he perceives Galactic Melt nowadays
[11:00] On working with Ghostly
[15:54] On the music industry and consumption nowadays
[17:30] Adding value to music and the future of the Synthetic Astronaut
[20:45] On Synthwave, Drive, Stranger Things, and Com Truse's genre
[25:15] On re-writing movie scores
[28:03] On why 80s aesthetics is so appreciated nowadays
[32:53] On making it in music nowadays and being noticed
[36:21] On the evolution of synthwave / retro wave
[43:30] On remixing
Links
» Com Truise (@comtruise)
» Ghostly (@ghostly)
» Stereofox (@wearestereofox)
» host (@himynameisivo)
» Join our Discord Server
A Chat with Deezer's Global Indie and Alternative Editor Adam Read on Platform's Unique Way of Editorial Playlist Curation
How can artists submit and end up on Deezer editorial and how do their team curate their playlists.
I must note - Deezer is the only platform that puts the face and the name of the curator on each playlist, which gives transparency and opens up possibilities for discussions with them.
Playlist curator as a job didn’t exist around the time Adam had studies Economics and Finance, but from the world of banking, he managed to get an internship position at a student radio as Head of Music. There he learned to curate for an audience, and after that after a quick stint at a local label, he started at MTV UK where he worked as an Editor. Eventually, Adam landed his dream position in Deezer as a UK & Ireland Music Editor, and later on as Global Indie & Alternative Editor. He is one of the people responsible for Deezer’s InVersion playlists and curates playlists like ANTI, Bedroom Pop, Silk, and Chill Alternative.
For more info read the article on Stereofox.
Stay in touch by following us on Instagram, or joining our Discord server.
Music Blogs and Their Importance for Artists - a Chat With Dylan Heneck from Indie Shuffle and SubmitHub
In his first Fox Tales podcast as a host, our Stereofox teammate Lu is exploring music blogs' importance in 2021 with Dylan Heneck from Indie Shuffle and SubmitHub.
The 2 discuss what happened to music blogs, hypemachine, the highs and lows of writing about music in the past decade, the role of social media, SoundCloud, and Spotify on their diminishment and why should artists still care about them in 2021. Not only because of the fact that music blogs can still help them find die-hard fans and share their story, but their role in landing an editorial playlist on major streaming platforms like Spotify (Fresh Finds)teammate, Apple Music, Amazon, Deezer, and TIDAL.
For more, read our article on Stereofox.
Stay in touch by following us on Instagram, or joining our Discord server.
How To Be Successful On Bandcamp As An Artist - Interview With Aly Gillani (Label Representative & Manager)
In a nutshell, Bandcamp is a digital community that facilitates the process of fans directly supporting artists in the first place, and also (nowadays) serves as a gathering spot of like-minded people who want to discover new music and build relationships with the artist.
In our new episode, we have the honor to speak with Aly Gillani (Label Representative & Manager at Bandcamp) about the different features like Live Streams, Bandcamp Fridays, Messaging, and Building an Audience. We also cover some best practices when it comes to getting the best out of the platform and achieving success as an artist or label on the platform.
Podcast notes / more info and links on our website.
A quote from Aly from the end of the interview which I really love and can relate to when it comes to what we do with Sterefoox.
Our aim was just to create an online record store. An online record store has personality, it has idiosyncrasies, and I think we all understand now that yes, there is AI and algorithms and they can predict your every move, but sometimes people do things that are unexpected and weird and sometimes who only ever bought hip hop suddenly buys a folk record and that’s great. We try to encourage that kind of discovery where you find things you wouldn’t otherwise find but you really love.
How to Write a Great Spotify Pitch and Get on a Spotify Editorial Playlist
Welcome to The Fox Tales - a brand new music industry podcast created by the team behind Stereofox.
Want to end up on a Spotify Editorial? Tough, but not impossible and we hope this talk helps you! In 40 minutes we talk about making sure you get noticed by editors and bringing your best game into the world of releasing music digitally.
In this episode, we share our knowledge gathered as a label for the past 2 years when it comes to writing a Spotify Pitch. We also discuss best practices and important steps an artist or label should do before pitching. Lastly, we also explain why pitching to Spotify is important and why you should be doing it for every release.
For more information and (sort-of) podcast notes check ouт our article on Stereofox.
Understanding Spotify's Editorial and Algorithmic Playlist Ecosystem
Welcome to The Fox Tales - a brand new music industry podcast created by the team behind Stereofox. In our first episode, we discuss the history and evolution of the Spotify playlist ecosystem - both editorial and algorithmic.
Discover what editorial playlists are and what they bring to the table. How they changed since their inception on the platform in 2013, and what's their role in the streaming economy of Spotify beyond keeping users engaged. We discuss the types of editorial and algorithmic and why it's important for artists to understand the field before pitching their music and hopefully landing on an Editorial playlist.
For more information and sort-of podcast notes - drop by the article we published on Stereofox.