Interview: Young & Sick

Hailing from LA, and with quite an attitude and swag under his belt, Nick Van Hofwegen has taken the creative industries by storm. Not only has he been illustrating for some of the most successful artists of the past five years, but his illustrations have become intimate aspects of image and branding for bands like Foster The People & Maroon 5. Beyond that Nick has also dabbled in fashion with Urban Outfitters and Rag & Bone, but it’s his project Young & Sick that raises Nick to public awareness and qualitative highs. A collaborative effort from his two creative brains, Young & Sick is the “music and art project” that dons a stylish sound with a distinctive and enigmatic front man.

It’s a story as old as time- actors becoming singers, models becoming pop stars, we’ve seen it before- but a transition from visual artist to R&B crooner? It’s a little more rare, and it was Nick’s unmistakable album artwork that crafted a bridge. “Since I was young, I’ve drawn all over things. I always really liked doing it. When I was in design school in Holland, a teacher encouraged us to make some art for one of our favorite bands. I sent a single idea to ‘The Velvet Teen’ from California. One day they wrote back asking if they could actually use it for some merchandise. Through their manager, I was connected to Mark Foster (of Foster the People), and Andy Dick. More requests for art came in, and it kind of just happened from there.” On the other side of the project it was the Dutch Punk scene, with little fourteen year old Nick playing guitar in several bands, that led him down a musical rabbit hole. From Punk bands to a guitar mentor to the discovery of Jazz and Soul, Young & Sick is the beautiful result of a very specific course through life.

Interview with Yellerkin

Slipping and sliding across several inch thick sheets of ice that refuse to disperse from the sidewalk, I make my way inside a café and scan the room for the subjects of today’s conversation. Settling into a corner table I notice a guy in a blue sweater and tan beanie making eye contact with me. I hesitate, going between thinking he’s one half of the duo Yellerkin and thinking that he’s cruising me in a very 1970s way- head nods, eye contact. I blush and look away. Surely he’s hitting on me and not thinking I’m here to interview him. 

My phone buzzes and I look down to embarrassingly read a description of that very person, stating he’s at the café waiting. Finally, I’m certain this man isn’t a glory hole user but instead Luca Bucelatti, who with Adrian Galvin constitutes the newly fledged folk-pop duo Yellerkin. Luca is also Tei Shi’s beaux, and the producer of her acclaimed debut EP Saudade.

Interview – Tei Shi

I believe it’s everyone’s aspiration now to emerge with the perfect formula for attention and success. It’s something that can rarely be orchestrated and instead must happen naturally, or luckily. To release a track that incites mystery and intrigue while maintaining aloofness about your own artistry is step one. Step two is proper circulation and blog love. Step three is releasing more music, and hopefully proving that what you have deserves to be heard (are we numbering more one hit wonders today than in their heyday of the 50s?). Every so often the timing is perfect each step of the way, and naturally this isn’t the only factor. Talent and original, attention-grabbing music is the foundation – these steps the ladder to plays. Tei Shi is someone who fell into the attention her EP Saudade has received rather inadvertently. While the artistry was well thought-out, the EP masterfully crafted, the songwriting original- the release seems almost serendipitous. Thankfully this is one that didn’t get swept under the rug, and upon each listen just keeps on getting better.

Interview: GEMS

Heading to my interview with GEMS I could feel my notebook burning a hole in my bag. It was full of questions, everything you’d expect, and its predictability was haunting me. When I arrived in Chelsea and walked up to Pastis it was drizzling and grey. Medusa gently swayed from my headphones into my brain, filling my thoughts with the dichotomy of lightness and weightiness. Milan Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being sticks out as a literary companion to the Medusa EP, which for me is an exploration of the weight of experiences which gives romance to daily life, and meaning to the human experience. I crumpled up my interview guide and begged the question – can we just have a conversation?

Interview: Diane Coffee

Shaun Fleming, a featured voice on Kim Possible (he played her two little brothers), and the drummer for Foxygen, has landed at the party and he’s no back-up instrumentalist/Disney child star. He’s Diane Coffee, a full-fledged artist, with a sophisticated album that is both paying homage to many of the greats of the 60s and 70s, and ushering towards a new approach to bedroom sessions and DIY recording. Stylistically the album soars through 60s psychadelia & avant garde, 70s glam, even 90s garage rock and modernized Gospel Pop. My Friend Fish immediately strikes as a labor of love; the songwriting birthed out of need, the vocals overwrought with rock god emotion, and the production, in its limitations, one of the most exciting, retro, and relevant of the year. It’s a solid debut and a thought-provoking album. If I dared mention the topic of authenticity, I’d say Diane Coffee has captured that elusive quality. It seems likely given the songwriting and recording process.

Halls – Interview

Bowlegs: What have been your artistic experiences before Halls?

Sam: Originally wanted to pursue writing, but my love for music took over and it became more important to me. I have been in bands and worked on music on my own for a few years but focused my efforts a couple of years ago, which led to Halls.

Naytronix – Interview

Bowlegs: You demonstrate great breadth in your music, especially for an experimental pop album. What are your musical influences?

Nate: In different times in my life I’ve gone through phases where I’d really get into a specific genre or band. When I was a child my dad introduced me to some great music like Ray Charles, James Brown, Sly Stone, and also a lot of the early New Orleans funk, The Meters, Lee Dorsey etc. He also turned me onto jazz which I pretty much immersed myself in through high school and college. Some of my favorite artists during that time were Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, Charlie Haden, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis.