Local Artist Spotlight: Electric Chic

MUSIC Matters held a Battle of the Bands concert at the Blind Pig on February 10th, 2022. We sat down with Juliet Freedman, the lead singer of Electric Chic, who won the sold out competition. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

MUSIC Matters: Could you tell us a little bit about how the band formed?

Juliet: Tyler Thenstedt is the guitarist. Her and I have been friends for a while and we have always been like, ‘Let's form a band, let’s start a band, it's gonna be so much fun.’ We never did it for like a year. And then over the summer, this past August, we were just hanging out and jamming and I was like, ‘We have to do this for real. We have to start this band.’ I knew Christie the drummer because she’s my friend’s, friend’s, girlfriend. And so we asked Christie if she wanted to be in the band, and she was like, yeah, I know this great bassist, Inés, who we can ask. So then we asked them to join the band and they knew this awesome person who plays keys and then we just started.

MUSIC Matters: Everybody was so excited to see you at the Battle of the Bands. How did you grow your fan base?

Juliet: I have literally no idea. I didn't even know we had those fans until I showed up to the Battle of the Bands. I give all the credit to Tyler because she made (our) social media and I guess started following other local bands. I honestly feel like maybe it kickstarted at our very first gig; we played a house show over the summer and there were so many people there who were literally standing on the table and chairs. Progressively we continued performing at different places like different house shows, we did a show with Empty Mug Records, and there was also (a show at) a co-op. We got connected with all the people who live in the co-op and started working with other bands at other gigs, like the bands that we worked with at the Blind Pig, and word spread.

MUSIC Matters: Were you expecting to sell out Blind Pig?

Juliet: I think a lot of people were there because of Gravy Train. They've been around for a while. Everybody loves Gravy Train and before Gravy Train they used to be Kektus and before Kektus it was Bingo Club. Everyone loves Gravy Train, so I definitely thought it was going to be crowded. We each bring different crowds, but I was not expecting a line down the street. I showed up around like 8:30 after soundcheck had happened and I was like, ‘Is this for us?’ There's also a date party going on (next door) at Circ. So I was like, ‘Is this for the Blind Pig or is this for Circ?’ I was so confused. And then I was like, ‘Oh wow, this is incredible. This is awesome.’ And then the guy in front of us (said), ‘They’re not letting people in anymore.’ I was not expecting that for sure. But it makes sense because (MUSIC Matters) has their own base who they’re connected to, people in all of (the bands) have their own as well.

MUSIC Matters: What were your overall thoughts of the night?

Juliet: I had the best time! We had as a band been taking a little bit of a pause because everybody was crazy busy. So, this was our first time performing in months and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go or how it was going to feel, but it was so fun, and it was incredible to hear the other bands. Everybody was so talented, and it was very nerve wracking for sure just to be surrounded by all the bands, and there were so many people. It was a great night and everyone was so nice and positive. I feel like at these shows usually there's always something that goes awry or that goes wrong, and nothing went wrong. The whole night was so cohesive and just so exciting. And when you guys announced that we won, I peed my pants a little. I freaked so hard and jumped so hard and screamed. It was the most fun I've ever had at a show by far, and I probably will never have again.

MUSIC Matters: Can you describe the energy from the crowd, especially when you won?

Juliet: There was such a different vibe again for each band but the crowd was giving so much to each group. Like for Luna Pier, people were headbanging, and one of my friends tried to start a mosh pit. Really fun, really good energy. When we performed there was this girl in the front row, she took out her phone and went into her notes app and wrote “gay?” and that was right when we started performing too. Iit immediately set an incredible tone for the crowd. And it's so funny because everyone was chanting Electric Chic, but people think we're Electric Sheep. But that's fine because they were enthusiastic about it, and that’s all that matters. Everyone just seemed super into all of the performers all in different ways. Everyone was dancing and having fun. It was just awesome.

MUSIC Matters: If you had to pick a go-to karaoke song, what would it be?

Juliet: I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston. It’s my happy drunk song, so it's just also got to be my karaoke song.

Duckwrth Wants Everyone to Feel SuperGood

Claudia Stoops, Head of Local Talent

Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Duckwrth has been reimagining the world of alternative R&B and hip-hop since 2015 with his projects Nowhere (2015), I’M UUGLY (2016), an XTRA UUGLY Mixtape (2017), THE FALLING MAN (2019), and finally, his most recent album, SuperGood (2020). His progressive sound, highlighted on this latest album, incorporates a strong 70s influence with elements of funk, R&B, hip-hop, and even gospel. 

On September 21, 2020, I attended a Zoom press conference hosted by the internal creative agency at Universal Music Group, called 1824. We had the opportunity to talk with Duckwrth and discuss his vision for SuperGood, his artistic methods, and how his musical journey has brought him to this point.

SuperGood was released on August 21, 2020, and Duckwrth described dropping the album as a weight off his shoulders. 

D: “For an album called SuperGood, it’s already its own affirmation. Like when you press play, it’s supposed to make you feel super good, and I feel like it came right on time.” 

Given that he had finished writing the album in January, he said he was in a very different headspace about 2020 by the time the album was dropping. He further described the tone of the album saying,

D: “A lot of it has to do with me taking this girl out on a date…it’s more of a story as if you were watching a Netflix show or something like that. It’s like you may not be living in that story but it’s a story to take you away from your current situation. But further than that, it’s more so the tone and some of the messages of the album is to, once again, make you feel good. It’s like audio medicine pretty much.”

Supergood is a 16-track journey and heavily influenced by the sounds of the 70s. And like many of the notable songs of the 70s, it’s meant to make people stand up and move. 

D: “It’s a rhythm project, so I want people to dance, to groove, to bop, to move. It’s very much an album that you play when you’re in the car, or an album that you play when you’re taking a shower, an album that you play when you’re making love. I want it to be very much a lifestyle project.”

Another aspect of Duckwrth’s life that played a large role in forming his music taste was growing up in South Central Los Angeles. This city shaped him both as a person and as an artist. He explained,

D: “Growing up in LA, especially in the 90s and 2000s, it was beautiful. It was always sunny. The beaches are always cracking. You know what I'm saying like that. Poolside is a common thing out here. It’s kind of like its own little weird utopia but in the same flipside. It's a lot of trauma. There was a lot of gang activity that was happening in the 90s, so a lot of my youth was learning how to survive…I would say that rose grew from the concrete. The diamonds come from the roughest type of situations. I think by being raised specifically in South Central LA, it gave me a backbone…” 

A central characteristic of Duckwrth’s creative endeavors have been striking cover art. He explains that his albums should feel almost fantastical, and SuperGood is no exception.

D: “I feel like my covers have always been a bit of fantasy in certain ways. From an XTRA UUGLY Mixtape to THE FALLING MAN where I was playing the character of this king who falls to demise because he doesn’t know love. So the cover is a little bit darker. For this one, it’s mainly about love; what happens when the character does fall in love. It’s like the yin and the yang to THE FALLING MAN, and I feel like they all reflect each other. Really it’s just showing the growth in the artist. For this one, I just wanted to explore. I really feel like the 70s, especially for black people, was a time of celebration. Like we just came out of civil rights and black people were starting to gain certain freedoms and, you know, it was a celebration. And within that, when black people start going back into who they are, into their original essence, a bit of magic happens. Say it straightforward, a bit of magic happens. So I think the 70s, that’s why you see such eclectic styles and their sound. The music was so colorful, and the album covers were so beautiful. So I kinda wanted to tap into that because I feel like we are coming into that same energy in the 2000s, 2010-2020, you know. I really wanted to tap into that magic if you will.”

When talking about his creative process on the album, he admitted that out of the whole album, the song that was most difficult to finalize was “New Love Song,” a song which pays homage to the gospel music of his childhood.

D: “In the sample, the song is The Clark Sisters’ ‘Jesus Is A Love Song.’ I remember one time I was on IG Live and it was in the background and I was just freestyling to it and I was like ‘Damn, I should turn that into a song!’ And I wanted to kind of give a nod to gospel music because that is some of the earlier music that I remember from my childhood…I didn’t know how to finish it. I wanted to do ‘Jesus Is A Love Song’ but I didn’t want to say ‘Jesus’ because I didn’t want to be particular to religion, but I wanted to still do the whole love song so I needed to find a group of girls who can give respect to The Clark Sisters, but then find different phrasing. And so the theme of the album is this relationship I have with this girl and how I want to ask her on this first date so, you know how in the movie when its foreshadow of what’s to come at the end, I wanted ‘New Love Song’ to be the foreshadow that these characters are gonna fall in love by the end of the album.”

SuperGood seamlessly melds several different genres and influences. He says that because he listens to so much music, he is able to act as a “segway” for all those different genres. He proclaims, “I feel like I’m a smoothie in the best sense.” Additionally, he gains creativity in creating music and performing music from two different spaces.

D: “The music that inspires me the most is two sides. The music that inspires me most in the studio is soul, jazz, gospel. Certain chord progressions really resonate in my soul and you can find them in jazz and soul and gospel. And then the genre that inspires me when I perform is strictly punk. Thrasher. Hardcore. That’s my shit. That’s the shit that I wanna tap into you know. They just perform with such conviction and it riles people up. It gets the fire started. One of my favorite bands is Bad Brains, and the lead singer, his name is HR…the way he performs, he’s a beast. He channels into straight fire and savagery and that’s the place I choose to be at when I perform.”

When asked about the artists which have shaped him, he considers Outkast to be the musical group which has influenced him the most.

D: “My biggest influence musically would be Outkast, at least on the hip-hop side just because as a young person that was in South Central, they showed me that there’s a different type of being a black creator. They made it so that I could be comfortable in my skin because I was different growing up. There was a space held for different black kids. So for me, they’ve always inspired me not just musically but as a person who’s different, I would say. I wanna do that for this generation as much as I possibly can.”

SuperGood features stunning collaborations with Jean Deaux, KIAN, Julia Romana, G.L.A.M., EARTHGANG, Kyle Dion, Alex Mali, Radio Ahlee, and BAYLI. When discussing this with Duckwrth, it’s clear that he felt both lucky and excited to be working with these talented artists. Aside from these features, Duckwrth discussed some of his dream collaborations.

D: “Dream collaboration would be The Neptunes or Rosalía or Stevie Wonder. There’s a bunch of different people. But those people stick out to me. Definitely The Neptunes just because they’re the GOATS, they’re the full on GOATS, and I've always wanted to be in The Neptunes when I was younger. It’s more so the childhood. The inner Duckwrth in me would be so stoked to have a song with Neptunes and even see them do their recent song with SZA. They’re not dated…” 

He also said that if he could sample any song from the 70s, it would be Minnie Riperton’s “Les Fleur.”

While examining what he’s learned throughout the creation of the album, he said that the main thing he learned is that “I am only as strong as the people around me. This album was very much a village, it was a collective creation.” After learning so much about Duckwrth, I have overwhelming confidence that Duckwrth will continue to blow everyone away with his unique sound and overwhelming optimism. 

Lastly, we talked about his plans for the future.

D: “It’s really just expanding SuperGood because the intention of the album is the positive affirmation of feeling super good. So how do you take that outside an album? How do you make that tangible in the physical world? How do I make people feel super good in the real world? So we are looking into expanding it within community efforts. More visuals, definitely way more music videos, takeaways for people to take with them. I think I’m most excited about the community effort we’re gonna be doing, especially starting off with South Central. They can feel super good. Then, from there, using that model for like all of America, and then shit, maybe the world.”

Wes: A Wessside Story

Ines Izquierdo and Emma Warshofsky

You may know Wes as an up and coming rapper based in Ann Arbor who used to run track for the University of Michigan—we got to see him as much more than that. Earlier this week, we sat down with Wes to discuss his new album. We were interested in figuring out how his life led to this monumental release and we got to see a visionary; someone with drive who is prepared to take on the rap music scene by storm, and not just for personal gain. Wes’ ultimate goal is to positively impact people—all 7 billion on this planet. This Friday he embarks on this journey with the debut of his 12-track album, A Wessside Story.

The Decision to Pursue Music

Wes’ music career began relatively recently. Living homeless during high school in the Portland area, he did not have many options to pursue his passion in music. However, he saw an opportunity through track and field. “Sprinting wasn’t something I loved,” he divulged, “it was something that I was good at…and felt driven to do because of what it could help me accomplish in the future.” Wes’ legs carried him to the University of Michigan on a track and field scholarship, where he got the stability he needed to explore music. He would mess around with friends making beats and writing verses, and he soon realized that he wanted to pursue music in a more serious, dedicated manner. Not only did he want to create novel beats, but also to take rap lyrics in a new direction: one distant from the objectification of women and pitting people against each other. When he returned home the summer after freshman year, Wes explained to his father this fascination with rap music and the direction he wished he could pursue. His father asked, “it sounds like you’re really passionate about this, so what the fuck you going to do?” That was the catalyst. 

Invigorated by his father’s motivating words, Wes bought a beat off his friend Kaniel, who produced “Go Crazy” by Chris Brown and Young Thug, and got in touch with sound engineer B MAJA who helped him put together a song. In one take, Wes laid down “Dreams,” his single that came out in the Fall of 2018. He explained that upon experiencing the release of his first song, there was a “hunger that [he] had, to…get more music out and really share with people.” Music was starting to become a driving force in his life. 

The second event which pushed him to chase a career in music occurred when he went back home after that Fall semester. Wes was struck by the conversation he had with his younger sister Paloma (Palomita, as he affectionately called her), where she confessed that every time he went back to Michigan, she hated not knowing when she would see him again. Upon hearing this, Wes realized something: to justify being away from his family, he had to make the most of every day and channel everything he had into his aspirations. Those aspirations, the ones that made him feel “that fire in [his] chest,” were music and education. Wes explained his situation to his coach; that in order to dedicate himself to the most meaningful aspects of his life, he had to stop running track. Wes left the team, and with this change of course he fully launched his music career.

Influences

We asked Wes about artists that have influenced him, and the list was long. “Each artist that has influenced me throughout my life, and believe me it’s been a lot, has each done so in their own individual way,” Wes emphasized the wide array of musicians that he has learned from. Outside of rap, he mentioned both Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra as having inspired him through their performances and outstanding stage presences. Wes gushed about Michael Jackson’s moonwalk as well as Frank Sinatra’s ability to work the crowd with his gentlemanly demeanor.

When it comes to rap, Wes credits Drake as one of his biggest influences. Wes has learned from the popular Canadian rapper not only how to be authentic with his emotions, but how to bring these emotions to his music as a rapper and producer. “Learning to have that vulnerable side of yourself...that can really reach people when they’re in dark times, when they’re depressed, when they’re having regrets,” Wes explained, “and then the other times when he can just flip the switch and go crazy...that’s definitely something that has rubbed off on me too.” Drake’s success in having multiple sides and feelings come across in his music is something that Wes emulates with his upcoming album, and is something that sets Wes apart from the cliches he has noticed in the music industry, “There’s a Drake song for fucking everything. I want there to be a Wes song for everything.”

While discussing his dream collaborations, Wes told us he’s excited to keep moving forward as an artist so he can work with people that are “better” than him. “They’ve got more projects than me, they’ve been in the game longer than me, they know how shit works. Those are the people I’m trying to get in the studio with. Those are the people that I’m trying to learn from and become better than one day.” Wes’ long list of dream collaborations included Drake, J.Cole, Nav, Future, Young Thug, among others. He emphasized his desire to learn from those that came before him whether it’s about their music, stage presence, or work ethic.

Goals

Wes has observed a lot of artists in the music industry lacking a deeper purpose. He notices repetition—people rapping to similar beats and rapping about the same things. “I know I have so much more to offer people,” Wes says, expressing how much he truly cares for the people he makes music for. He paints the picture of a hypothetical teenage boy that is procrastinating doing his homework, depressed, and cannot seem to find an escape from his problems. “He’s listening to music and one of my songs comes on shuffle, and he gets motivated because he starts visualizing himself succeeding and doing better because that’s the effect my music has on him. Maybe that makes him a little less depressed,” Wes imagines, “That’s the biggest thing I want to accomplish. Something deeper. Something real. Something Once in a generation.”

Speaking further about his industry goals, Wes expressed his big dreams. “I’m a very ambitious person and I don’t sugarcoat things...I want to be at a point where I’m being considered as the artist of the decade...as somebody having timeless music...and having a legacy and having music that goes past just three minutes and thirty seconds on that song.” In other words, Wes wants to be famous, but not just for the feeling of being famous. 

“My biggest goal is having the money, resources, and platform to be able to positively impact others,” Wes says. He expressed his wishes to connect with his listeners and help them, building a legacy beyond music.

Reflecting on his growth as an artist since his first single, “Dreams,” Wes told us about how one dimensional that song seems now compared to Wessside Story. “It was good. I wouldn’t have put it out if it wasn’t good,” Wes said of his early song, “but it’s only one song. I can’t tell my story through one song.” Now, in his debut album, we get to hear all sides of Wes: “the lovey dovey sides, the savage sides, the sides that say fuck the police, the sides that miss an ex girlfriend, the sides that appreciate the woman that I love more than anything...all of it.”

Being an Artist in Ann Arbor

Naman Gupta, 2020-2021 Co-President

Hi, I’m Naman Gupta. I’m one of two co-presidents for the 2020-2021 school year. In the second semester of my freshman year, I joined the MUSIC Matters Talent & Concert Committee. I served as treasurer and co-chair of the Talent & Concert Committee (T&C) over the next two years. A huge part of my college experience has revolved around music in many different capacities, ranging from my membership in music-focused extracurriculars to my professional involvement in music business to my own artist project—Namix.

I learned to play several instruments throughout elementary, middle, and high school, and I got into DJing and original music production near the tail end of high school. I released my first EP during my senior year, and soon after I started DJing private gigs in my hometown. Naturally, when I moved to Ann Arbor to start college, I was really eager to get my name out there and play at local music venues. I cold-emailed bars and nightclubs hoping to get some gigs, and fortunately, I was able to land a couple before the end of my first semester in Ann Arbor.

In addition to making my own music, I was interested in learning more about the Ann Arbor music scene, and I was quickly introduced to MUSIC Matters. At the time, MM was partnering on a promotional event at a local restaurant/bar. Knowing my background as an artist, the Local Talent team in T&C went out of their way to refer me as a DJ for that event. Over the next few years, the people I met through MM were instrumental in connecting me with gigs all over campus, both within and outside of the scope of MM’s own events. These gigs also gave me some really cool opportunities to get my original music out in front of more people. I had the opportunity to open for A$AP Ferg during SpringFest 2019 and for Lost Kings during one of MM’s shows at Necto Nightclub last year.

Around the time that I joined MUSIC Matters, I also joined a variety of other music-related clubs. Each club had their own niche, all of which were of interest to me. I joined Maize Collective because of its community of passionate, creative-minded individuals who want to be creative together. I also joined Empty Mug Records to learn more about the promotion of music in a record label setting. Over the next few years, I became involved in other music organizations on and off campus, such as Michigan Music Business Club, The CoOp, APG Presents, MEMCO, Necto Nightclub, and others to learn about all aspects of the music world. My involvement in these organizations have yielded some unique professional opportunities, and many of my music collaborations have stemmed from these organizations too.

Being involved in music in different ways has helped me gain a better understanding of both the business and artist side, and I’ve been fortunate to learn a lot and to have many opportunities arise from my involvement. The Ann Arbor, and more specifically UM, music scene is full of super talented people who are constantly looking for ways to push their creativity forward, and for me, music organizations on campus were critical in introducing me to the amazing community.

Local Artist Spotlight: The Stellars

- Alex Lynch & Danny Ivanov, Local Talent

MUSIC Matters is pumped to present our second Local Artist Spotlight: The Stellars!

Raised in Ann Arbor, rock band The Stellars have solidified their place as a local favorite in the music scene throughout their time at the University of Michigan. Consistently proving themselves to students and townies alike through amazing shows in some of the area’s most noteworthy venues, as well as with a handful of outstanding releases, the group are basically rock legends. The Stellars currently feature Erez Levin on vocals, Dan Sagher on drums, Alex Fuchs on guitar, and Oren Levin on bass.

Photo courtesy of Josh Knoller

Today marks a self-proclaimed fresh start for The Stellars, as they transition from playing songs off of their 2016 album “Interthestellars” into a new era for the band. Along with the release of their brand new singles — collectively titled “The Stellars Release A Double Single 2: This Time It’s Two Songs Again” — the band will celebrate with an all-ages homecoming show tonight, January 25th, at The B-Side. Supported by close friends The Left Lanes and Nadim Azzam, the show is sure to be an exceptional, high-energy conversation between the band and the audience.

While their influences range all across the musical spectrum, the group says that this is their most punk-inspired music yet, expressed in a unique style The Stellars call “igneous rock.” The double single features a cover that is symbolic of the music it represents — a drawing of a futuristic city lies opaquely atop an image of the streets of Kerrytown late at night, intermingling the angst of the present and an excitement for the future. The double single includes tracks “The Distracted Age” (featuring the incredible Charlie Burg) and “Anakin, You’re Breaking My Heart!”.

Following this release, The Stellars say that we can expect small, consistent releases throughout the year. Due to their close connection to Ann Arbor’s music scene (most of the band grew up learning at the Ann Arbor Music Center and playing at the B-Side), the group is dedicated to connecting with the Ann Arbor community and University of Michigan students. Case in point, post a picture featuring their posters scattered around Ann Arbor and The Stellars promise to make you famous!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6XRUJEA2yhk54ThzEFoDkx?si=W4eo0dsQTHKgJFKxWPyHqA

Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-stellars-release-a-double-single-2-single/1450115180

For more info about tonight’s show: https://www.facebook.com/events/225860901680983/