Angélica Rahe: Exploring The Universal Language of Love

This summer, as you all remember, was a flourishing artistic escapade in the U.S. where I met an overwhelming amount of musical talent in various states. My adventures took me to Austin, where I had the opportunity to meet the utterly captivating Angélica Rahe. Charming from the get-go, she has a warm smile that encompasses you fully, and a silky smooth voice that I later find out she uses to lure you into her romantically hypnotic world. 

Angélica comes from a well-traveled background; born of a Spanish musician father and French-American theatre actress mother. She spent her childhood living between Japan, Spain, and the U.S., absorbing different cultures in every sense of the word. It's with that diverse background that she has crafted her own universal sound.

With her delicate yet powerful voice, Angélica is also a skilled guitarist, using her two talents to form a unique blend of Latin music and R&B. After wrapping up a world tour with Kali Uchis as her musical director and a North American run opening for Lana Del Rey, Angélica now has her feet planted firmly in the ground, bursting with creative energy and ready to make a name for herself in the spotlight. 

Angélica's first EP, Love, Covered, came out mid-September, and is a collection of four renditions of her favorite love songs. Her second EP, Love, Translated, is out today and is her soulful Spanish-language debut. We caught up with this talented chanteuse to get to know her better; from her nomadic roots to her daily rituals, finding out exactly what drives this dazzling beauty. 

PP: Let's start off easy. Describe your morning ritual to us. Do you have one? Is it important for you to have one?

AR: Oh, yes. Mornings are very sacred to me, as is ritual. Most of my best songwriting happens this time of day, so I try to extend that semi-dreamlike state for as long as possible (before emails and to-dos start to clog up my mind). I usually pour myself a cup of coffee, light some palo santo, sage, or incense, sit in silence somewhere near a window or outside, and do around 3 pages worth of stream-of-consciousness writing in my journal. This frees up some of the clutter hiding in my subconscious mind, and allows for me to really focus and flow more effortlessly during my creative time. From there I’ll either pick up my guitar and let my fingers lead me towards a new progression, hum a melody, or dive into some lyrics, and sort of allow things to take me where they may. Sometimes I’ll realize hours later that I haven’t moved an inch because I’m so absorbed in whatever I’m working on!

Because I live a very nomadic lifestyle, ritual is something that I’ve come to value more and more with time. It keeps me feeling grounded and connected, whether I’m on the road or at home.

PP: Fusing Latin music with R&B, PLUS playing classical guitar truly makes you a triple-threat. What made you pick up the guitar? What is the reason you fell in love with it?

AR: I grew up listening to (and surrounded by) flamenco and classic Spanish singer-songwriters like Joan Manuel Serrat, so I’ve always had a deep love for classical nylon- stringed guitar. It feels like home to me. Plus, my father played guitar my whole life, so they were always lying around the house. When I started writing songs I would stumble around on the fretboard and try to come up with different chords to accompany the melodies and lyrics I was writing. Soon I was hooked, and started teaching myself to play using old blues music by artists like Lightnin’ Hopkins and my favorite classic bossa nova songs, learning new chords and experimenting with different rhythms. And as they say, the rest is history.

More recently, I’ve started to experiment with the electric guitar as well, and let me tell you, I’ve entered a whole new world of geekdom! There’s just no limit to the sounds and textures you can create with an electric, and it has opened up a whole new world in my songwriting and production as well. I love it.

PP: You've talked about your father's guitar in the past. He bought it in Tokyo when you were very young and later on passed it on to you. What's your fondest memory with that guitar?

AR: My father’s Takamine was always my favorite guitar to play. So, when I left for college in Tucson, Arizona, he let me take it with me. While in school, I was writing tons of music, and put together a (very eclectic) band to record and perform my original songs with me – 4 saxophonists, a cajón player/drummer, and me on vocals and guitar. We ended up getting a gig at the Tucson Fox Theater, a beautiful 1,000-seat theater in the heart of downtown. It was my first time playing a show that size, so it was a really big deal for me. My family flew into town and everything. My father had never seen me perform professionally before. For one of the songs we played, which was very flamenco-inspired and called for a big-bodied classical like my dad’s, I pulled it out and started strumming a rumba. At one point, I saw him in the crowd; we made eye contact and he smiled and nodded his head at me. He told me after the show that he was trying not to let anyone see him, because he said it made him cry watching me play that guitar. It was a really beautiful moment.

PP: You've been a globetrotter since such a young age! Now that you've settled in Austin, do you feel far from your roots? Where do you feel is most at home to you? 

AR: Having been a nomad basically my whole life, and after years of living in LA, Austin has been the perfect change of pace for me. It’s allowed me to really put my head down and focus on finishing my project. I’m not sure how long I’ll stay, but it definitely feels good right now.

PP: Having traveled all over the world, where has been the most inspirational for you sonically?

AR: Even though every country has offered me something new and exciting sonically, I have to say Spain still tops my list. Since I was a little girl, I have been enamored with flamenco. When I was 5 years old, my family lived in Rota, which is in the south, near Cádiz. There was this alleyway near our house where gypsies used to hang out, and one day, on my way home from school, they were gathered in a circle, playing music and dancing in the dirt. I stopped so I could peek around the wall and watch. One of them saw me, ushered me over, and made space so I could sit in the circle with them. He taught me how to do palmas, those beautiful clapping rhythms, and I joined in. It was one of the most profound musical experiences I have ever had. The passion, as they stomped and yelled and belted out the most insanely heartbreaking verses, completely took my breath away. I still remember one of them singing this line: “Oye, pero mira, yo soy flamenco, por mi vena yo lo siento” which translates to “Hey, listen, I am flamenco, I feel it running through my veins.” Music, to them, is who they are; it’s their living, breathing story, which they pass down through their songs. I have still never experienced anything quite like it. To this day, when I am in Spain, I see and feel and hear so much poetry and story in every piece of life; every cobblestone, every little old man sitting on a park bench, every sunflower field, every glimmer of light that bounces off the surface of the Mediterranean, every salty mouthful of tortilla de patata… Maybe that’s what it feels like to have roots somewhere, because Spain, for me, is pure magic.

PP: Your first EP, Love, Covered, was absolutely phenomenal! In particular, your cover of Prototype by Andre 3000 is hypnotic. Tell us, what is a song that you've always wanted to cover that your fans would never expect from you?

I am a big fan of Meshell Ndegeocello and love how she flips songs in ways you would

never expect. I’d love to do something like that with a song. I’m just not sure which one

yet!

PP: Pa'lante is SUCH a summer banger and Infectiously catchy! What's your ultimate dance song, bound to get you moving?

Thank you so much – that song honestly feels like a lifetime ago! I absolutely love salsa dancing, so I would have to say Valió la Pena by Marc Anthony is a song that never, ever, ever fails (“inserts a handful of flamenco dancer emojis here")

PP: You've been quoted as describing your music as "pure soul in the most universal sense." Do you believe in universal energies and manifestations? Describe what that means to you.

Yes. Ever since I was very young, music was the way I connected to that soul self, that higher self, the self that connects us all as spiritual beings journeying through this human experience. For me, whether I’m listening to a gypsy sing flamenco, or a gospel choir wail out a hymn, there is a powerful soulfulness that hits me straight at the core of my being, and connects on such a deeper level. Living and traveling around the world gave me an even stronger sense of this, because whether I could speak a word of the language or had any familiarity of the culture, music was a way I was able to communicate and foster beautiful friendships with people of all walks of life.

On my EP, Love, Translated, my hope is that, whether or not you speak Spanish, through the intimate vocal delivery and sway of my melodies, you can still resonate with the emotion and soul behind the songs.

PP: Touring with Kali Uchis and then Lana Del Rey is an impressive feat. What did you take away and learn the most from these artists professionally, that you think has now made you stronger as a musician?

When I got the phone call that Kali needed a new musical director, I had only 24 hours to put a band together and learn some of her songs. We auditioned for her that next day and I got the job. Going on tour and opening for Lana was an incredible learning experience for me. The ability to witness the ins and outs of such a massive tour and see the amount of people involved in putting a production together of that size was incredible. As Kali’s musical director, it was my job to find and hire the musicians, so I really learned a lot about managing the dynamics of a band and putting together a live show, collaborating with managers (tour managers, personal managers, stage managers), and everything in between.

I have to say, one thing I really admired about Lana is how she took the time to personally recognize and acknowledge all the members of the cast and crew. The first time I met her she approached me to thank me for being part of her tour (her thanking me?), and to ask me what kind of guitar I was playing; from there she would always make a point to smile at me and say hello or ask how I was doing. I was really impressed by her graciousness and felt very inspired by it.

In thinking about touring on my own, it’s made me even more aware of how important it is to surround yourself with the right kind of people, because although most only see us while we are up there on stage having fun, at times the stresses of tour life – like all the crazy amount of work involved behind the scenes and fatigue from exhausting travel schedules – is really hard, and at the end of the day, it’s important to have kindred spirits around you. It truly is what makes the experience beautiful.

PP: What can we expect from your debut Spanish-language EP?

Love, Translated, is the first chapter in my exploration of femininity, sensuality, intimacy and vulnerability through song. It’s a reflection of my personal journey, softening and settling into all my woman-ness, stripping down the outer layers, and singing my story from that tender spot in my soul. And, speaking before about the importance of surrounding yourself with amazing people – I had the honor of working the most wonderful collaborators on this project: Cosme, a stunningly talented singer-songwriter from Puerto Rico, who wrote and performed a song called Sólo Tu with me; Randy Garcia, the dopest trombonist/producer in all the land, who produced Pa’ Mí, an amazing track I think people will really vibe with; and also with Adrian Quesada, a Grammy-winning musician/producer, who helped me bring the production to life on two songs – Mundo Aparte and Una Razón – here in Austin (to name a few). I’m really grateful to all of them for bringing so much magic to this body of work.

PP: If you could re-do the soundtrack to a film and put your own spin on it, which film would it be and why?

I think it would be a blast to do a movie like Vicky Cristina Barcelona – Spain, art, love, Javier Bardem… need I say more?

I would also love to do a Spanish take on a movie like A Star is Born one day, which I just saw recently, and wow. That would be a dream. I don’t think there is anything more powerful than when music and film are combined to tell a story, especially when each component is already breathtaking on its own.

PP: A piece of advice for our readers, anything at all?

Music is not for the faint of heart. I’ve sacrificed and given a lot of myself during my journey, from writing and recording songs for other singers or touring in support of other artists, many times underpaid or undervalued in the process. At around this same time last year, I was sort of in a period of reconstruction. And I remember 3 different people whom I respect and admire, in the very same week, told me this: “You are the product of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” I remember it hitting me hard, and I took it very much to heart. That’s when the shift began that has led me to where I am now – let me tell you, the power of subtraction is no joke. 

In working on my own project, I started from scratch. I promised myself I would not be jaded, and that I would approach everything differently. One of the key changes was deciding I would not give control to others anymore, but instead, that I would choose whom I work with, and curate an environment surrounded by people I love and respect, and make sure they feel equally loved and respected in the process. I’m more vulnerable than I’ve ever been, sharing my passion and sensuality in a very up-front-and-personal way, so this new environment has provided me with a safe, supportive space, allowing me to really go there, to express this very intimate side of myself with the utmost honesty.

So, I guess I say all this to say – never underestimate the power of your surroundings. If someone or something in your life makes you feel small, unworthy, drained, alone, or in any way doesn’t serve you or help you move toward a better version of yourself, let it go. Go to places and find people that make you feel absolutely magnificent in your skin, for exactly who and what you are; those that make you feel valued, respected, inspired, alive, and most importantly, loved. You deserve nothing less.

Find Angélica's debut EP, Love, Translated, on Apple Music and Spotify below:

Apple Music/iTunes

Spotify 

Mid90s: Nostalgically Peeking Into The Lives of 90s Youth Skate Culture

"You're off to watch a film directed by Jonah Hill?" Upon going to watch Mid90s, I was met with raised eyebrows and skeptical faces. The truth is, I was bursting with excitement. Seeing Hill in recent years tackle roles such as a Jesus-haired guru in Gus Van Sant's Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot, or more recently, the title character in the new Netflix drama, Maniac, he's proven he's come far and he's much more than just simply a funny guy from Superbad. 

After four years of writing Mid90s from the ground up, Hill hits us with his directorial debut, a homage to a period he grew up in. As he tells Business Insider, his goal was to always be a filmmaker. After years of paying attention to everything that happens on set, the lesson he learned was simple: don't do it until you have something to say.

The movie follows Stevie (Sunny Suljic), who is a 13-year-old living in Los Angeles in the mid-90s and has no friends. His family life is chaotic, with his mother (Katherine Waterston) working constantly and in her spare time has men coming in and out of her room. His older brother, Ian (Lucas Hedges in an almost unrecognizable role), beats him on the regular, yet Stevie still somewhat looks up to him, entering his room while he's away and looking at all his things. One day, Stevie wanders around his neighborhood and comes across a group of teens at a skate shop. Listening to them interact and skate, Stevie is suddenly hooked. He comes back daily, desperately yearning to be a part of the group. The film essentially follows this pack of kids during a summer, a quick glimpse into their lives when not much had meaning, except for their strong bond and, ultimately, the breath of life that skateboarding gives them. 

Since the movie is inspired by Hill's own youth and a time that is so dear to him, he pegs the era perfectly. His period-specific details are so spot on yet so subtle, it truly seems like you're watching a relic from the 90s. From Stevie's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comforter to some Super Soakers, everything is immaculate. 

However, although the details are addictive and the audience watching is hungry for more easter eggs, Hill had a rule that he wouldn't do any "nostalgia porn." Although he included elements from the 90s, he didn't dwell on it much. When Stevie plays Super Nintendo, for example, we never get a glimpse of exactly what games are played. These touches would have made the movie cross into cheesy territory, and Hill isn't interested in that.

Another touch Hill gives the movie is having it shot with a Super 16-millimeter camera in 4:3 - the same aspect ratio found on old box TVs. This will bother some people, I personally loved it. What ends up feeling like digging up an old home film adds to the element of this movie being an artifact, a look at a simpler time.

The pièce de résistance, however, is the soundtrack, which Hill recognizes is the absolute DNA of the film. Weaving from A Tribe Called Quest, to a little known diddy by Hungarian band, Omega, to Morrissey, you don't expect the songs to blend so well together - but they do. As all coming-of-age movies, the soundtrack is utterly unforgettable. Scanning the audience, I noticed everyone was my age and grew up in the 90s. It suddenly hit me: this soundtrack would bring waves upon waves of nostalgia - and that's the point of Mid90s.

The first few moments of Mid90s immediately reminded me of Larry Clark's disturbing coming-of-age, Kids, which came out in '95. It was raw and disturbing, and the skating hooligans were brazen to the point where nothing mattered in their sad lives except drug use and lacking any sort of emotion at all. The nihilism in the teens was something never seen in a movie before, and while Hill admits he found some inspiration from the mid-90s gem, he wanted to make an anti-Kids, and give his characters some hope to keep going, as bleak as their worlds may be. That's just it, his kids aren't nihilistic. They have hope. 

While Clark's Kids was a look at a fraction of the urban youth in the 90s, Hill's film looks at the reality of most, making us beg the question: were children of the 90s even that bad? Unlike Kids, Jonah Hill remembers the 90s fondly, making us realize that it was a time even more innocent than that of which kids grow up in today - with the world at their digital fingertips.

While some people may finish the movie wondering what the point truly was, I found the lack of a concrete plot absolutely perfect. The point of the movie is the way it's made, the details and the nostalgic relics of adolescent youth, and most importantly, the soundtrack - which if it was a mixtape that these teens owned, they'd clutch to their hearts dearly. Hill achieves his purpose of capturing one lazy summer in these kids' lives,  where nothing else matters except their close bond and their boards. As one character so perfectly puts it, "That's why we ride a piece of wood. What that does to somebody's spirit." With that, Hill succeeds in putting together what he has to say and showing everyone he's a force to be reckoned with in filmmaking.

'Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.' A Candid Look At The Scrappy Scandal-Magnet, Repeatedly Silenced By The Age of Celebrity

The most intriguing part of M.I.A's new documentary “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A." is that Maya, (birthname Matangi Arulpragasam), originally wanted to be a documentary filmmaker, having felt she had so much to share with the world. Before becoming the notoriously provocative English-Sri Lankan musician that we've all come to know, Maya was busy creating personal footage of her family and friends, both in London and Sri Lanka. Now, Steve Loveridge, one of her very dear friends from film school has made the Sundance-winning documentary about her, utilizing hundreds upon hundreds of hours of personal footage that Maya has accumulated from her youth to present day. This makes for a very personal profile that doesn't feel like propaganda made out to make you like her necessarily or to boost album sales (she hasn't released one since 2016).

Maya immigrated with her mother and siblings to London from Sri Lanka as a refugee from the civil war in the mid-1980s. Her father was the founder of the Tamil revolutionaries and stayed behind to fight, only coming later on the UK. She touches upon her love for Western hip-hop growing up and her trip back to Sri Lanka to film a documentary about her heritage and answer some questions about her own identity.

The concept of not belonging to either your native country nor the one you were brought up in rings true for me on a very personal level and will be sure to touch other immigrant youths as well. Feeling like she stood out in London, Maya goes back to Sri Lanka to make her film school documentary she was developing at the time. Upon coming back, she chats to family members, who remind her that she didn't go through the unrest and turmoil that surrounded their lives. She's yet again an outsider, confused about where she truly belongs. The idea of being a child of immigrant parents and dealing with the confusion of your own self-identity and heritage was a portion of the film that stood out, and I almost wish was touched upon even more, as it's a topic that's swept under the rug on a regular basis in the society we live in today. 

Coming back from Sri Lanka to London, Maya decides to incorporate elements of her heritage and roots into making a hip-hop mixtape and taking it to UK producers. The rest is history. With the hours of personal footage, early demos, and behind-the-scenes views of some of her ballsiest, most controversial moments in her career, you're left feeling a deep respect for this intelligent, well-spoken, and independent artist, and at times shocked at the way the media portrays her. Loveridge offers fantastic examples of this such as the visit from former New York Times writer Lynn Hirschberg, where she fawns over Maya's work then proceeds to write a scathing review on her, to all the times she's been labeled a terrorist sympathizer, or uneducated on the politics of Sri Lanka.

While some may not like that the film focuses on her formative years, it offers a look into the mind of an artist that people have been quick to discredit, making it only fair she gets to share her side of the story. A voice for the marginalized that understands the necessity of having a large platform and using it to talk about issues that will, if anything, educate the masses, M.I.A is finally given a platform to speak. "The worst thing they can do is make you irrelevant," she says at one point and thanks to Loveridge, that simply won't be a reality. 

Once again, a huge thank you to Taro PR, Elevation Pictures, and The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) for the tickets and opportunity to view this fabulous documentary.

Eighth Grade

Stand-up comedian Bo Burnham broke out as a YouTube star in 2006, two years after Facebook was founded. He's considered a viral pioneer, with people mimicking his style of skits and songs later on to oblivion. Nobody considered he'd turn to filmmaking, but here he is, remarkably getting into the mind of a 13-year-old girl in his feature film, Eighth Grade. Ironically enough, the star of his film, Elsie Fisher, who plays Kayla, was born in 2003, and I would assume had no prior knowledge of who Bo was. 

Eighth Grade is probably the most relatable film to tackle teenage adolescence in years. Burnham wanted to keep it personal to himself but put the focus on a younger character - a teenage girl. Kayla is overly shy and anxious, maneuvering her way through her final year in middle school, struggling to fit in and be noticed. She comes home after school and makes inspirational YouTube videos to a virtually empty audience, making them seem more self-therapeutic than anything else. Her dad, played by Josh Hamilton, is the most endearing father figure you'll ever watch, and if you're past the age of 24, you find your heart going out to him and the trials and tribulations he goes through with his daughter on regular basis. 

You may wonder how a male director, one who's never written a movie before, could relate so well to a 13-year-old girl. Burnham did research online, finding teens on YouTube who weren't getting the same level of viral success he was years prior. He told Rolling Stone,  “I remember just watching these [clips] and thinking: If this was a performance, this would be incredible,” he says. “What got me was that image of a kid looking into a camera, addressing an audience who she knows is probably not there. Yet we’re there, watching the movie.” 

Mean Girls garnered a cult status for the comedic value Tina Fey brought to the screenplay and the superb acting of rising stars that were later catapulted into success. Larry Clark's Kids, on the other hand, was bold and gritty, with Harmony Korine contributing to a brazen script that shocked an entire generation in the '90s. A wake-up call to the world, Kids was uncomfortable to the point of worry - was this really what teenagers were doing? Eighth Grade, on the other hand, is simply real. It's not over-the-top like Mean Girls, nor does it take place in a brash urban setting like Kids. It's about everyday, suburban youth and growing up - with the everyday pummelling of social media taking center stage and commandeering the narrative. 

I haven't personally related to a movie like this in years. The sentences uttered are almost identical to what I put my own parents through growing up. All too familiar, I found myself squirming and cringing, remembering exactly what it was like during these turbulent years. Being in my mid-20s and growing up with Facebook, the subject matter of social media being all-too-consuming was familiar, but not to the level it affects teenagers today. With Instagram and Snapchat at an all-time high, the pressure to maintain a perfectly curated life is more dangerous to mental health than ever. 

 If you want to re-live all your middle school and high school traumas - and trust me, it's fun - be sure to check out Eighth Grade, hitting Vancouver and Toronto theatres on July 20th and the rest of Canada August 3rd.

Huge thank you to Taro PR and Elevation Pictures for the fantastic opportunity to view this screening. 

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot

There's nothing I love more than watching a film with a group that doesn't feel the same way about it. It forces me to think, to really rationalize why I enjoyed it. If I come up with points as to why I thought it was worthwhile, I understand that my feelings weren't superficial and that I do in fact have some substance to back myself up.

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot, is a heart-wrenching tale of grim, yet uncomfortably humorous cartoonist and quadriplegic, John Callahan. Played by always-spectacular Joaquin Phoenix, Don't Worry is a story of his battling alcohol addiction and rise as an artist. The title itself comes from one of his cartoons, spoken by a cowboy leading a troupe who come upon an overturned wheelchair in the desert. 

The story unfolds with a retelling of an incident that altered John's life in 1972 - allowing a fellow alcoholic, Dexter, to take the wheel of his car after a night out and subsequently crash it, leaving John a quadriplegic at 21 while Dexter walked away unscathed. 

Getting up and leaving the theatre, I heard whispers of, "I don't think it was relatable", and, "it dragged on too long." I understood these statements but decided to formulate why I disagreed. I thought the story of a quadriplegic alcoholic WAS relatable. Sure, Callahan ended up in a wheelchair, but the cards life dealt him and the way he began drinking were both exceptionally relatable. His mother abandoned him when he was very young, leaving him to grow up in a home he felt he didn't necessarily fit in with. A man's struggle with alcoholism for very human reasons envokes feelings of sympathy and raw emotion - at the end of the day, he's just a human that craves a sense of home and belonging, just like the rest of us.

The rest of the story follows John through his path towards sobriety via his 120-step AA meetings,  led by Donnie (played by superb Jonah Hill), his AA sponsor who also happens to be a perfectly zen and wealthy gay man, clad in robes and '70s athletic shorts. The whole cast is phenomenal, joined by Jack Black as Dexter, and Rooney Mara as Callahan's Swedish love interest. Phoenix and Hill, however, stand out the most in two absolutely captivating roles. 

Director Gus Van Sant does a fabulous job at humanizing Callahan, portraying him as a problematic antihero, and one you certainly shouldn't be feeling for. Your heart reaches out to him, with scenes such as him struggling to open a bottle of alcohol and get to another one high up on a shelf after his accident, utterly poignant. John grows as a character, and eventually goes around and visits old friends and family, gaining closure for all his wrongs over the years. The scene where he finally meets up with Dexter is superb, with a focus on two very broken characters and the different stages of their lives, their reunion tragic and shattering.

It is to be noted that the film can seem long at times and there may be some scenes that could be cut. What saves this film from falling into such territory is its superb acting that carries the story so perfectly. The film teeters dangerously on the line of cheesy but never crosses it. It does tease you and draws out your emotions, however, and I found myself a blubbering mess about 3 times, with my heart yearning for Callahan to succeed. 

The end credits acknowledge Robin Williams, who originally brought Callahan's story to Van Sant 20 years ago. Williams was supposed to produce and play the lead, while Van Sant worked very unsuccessfully on various drafts with writers. The project came to a halt, and only resumed after the deaths of both Callahan and Williams. Van Sant then decided to comandeer the script and finish it on his own, and it's perhaps his own raw emotion that really comes forward and leads this film to a polished finish. 

The film hits theatres June 20th and Callahan's story is really worth viewing. It's his wit and macabre sense of humour that carries the tale, one that's genuinely outstanding to experience. This movie is sure to divide audiences, but those who appreciate a gentle story of a troubled artist will seek to find out more, as soon as the credits stop rolling.

Huge thank you to Taro PR and Elevation Pictures for the fantastic opportunity to view this screening. 

An Interview With Portland's Most Captivating and Inviting Flower, Blossom

We're sitting in the middle Kelly's Olympian, one of the oldest bars in Portland, where back in the day, travellers would come in for a quick drink and mingle with the locals before continuing on their journies. With vintage motorcycles hanging from the ceiling, and neon signs littered throughout, it's pretty fitting Blossom would pick this spot to chat with us. 

We meet Blossom and immediately realize why so many people are drawn to her. She oozes a positive energy that catches you off guard, and then she starts talking and you can't help but hold on to every word. Her friend Snugs is with her, and they're both buzzing off a local TV performance they had before they met us. The night prior and early in the morning before we met, Snugs produced a melody for her that she later turned into a song, all in 24 hours. 

As we sat down to do the interview, I started to wonder what the theme and end goal of it would be. It happens to be pretty obvious - Blossom is about community and the energies she has surrounding her in her life. She's fun and lighthearted and has a natural attraction that people are drawn to. Her friend stops to say hi halfway through the interview, a table behind us interrupts us at one point and she chats with them for a bit, and another time a girl walks by and Blossom yells at her that she's gorgeous. She's about love, manifesting positive situations throughout her life.

Blossom is fluid in her movements, a creature that's the embodiment of going with the flow. Things work in her favour and those waves don't clash - at least she doesn't let it show.

With her roots in Trinidad & Tobago, Blossom is now causing a stir in the Pacific Northwest, and for good reason too. her music is utterly mesmerising. 

PP: So, what's on the agenda for today?

B: We're gonna go to my studio session upstairs after we're done this interview! 

Do you have set plans for what you do with your days off?

I do. Mainly because I get so few days off. Whenever I have a day off I tend to jam pack it with stuff and today is no different. I literally got up at 7 and go, go, go. Every other day I'm at work and my work needs my attention and focus. I try to multitask with music and emails at work but it's really hard to do so. 

We saw your video recently you did with Marmoset, where you talk about finding inspiration wherever you go and writing it down immediately. What was the most bizarre place you found inspiration and later drew from it?

Stuck in traffic coming back from the eclipse I had an instrumental CD in my car that Neil, who you'll meet in my studio, gave me, and I wrote the first song that's going to be on my next album from being stuck in traffic. We were stuck in traffic for like, 4 hours, and we went through the CD once, and then again, and then I just kept playing one song, and I was in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, making music, and there's literally nothing out here to inspire me but just like, the roundabout way of being here, and what we're doing, and you know that anxiety you get when you're stuck in traffic? I wish I could be anywhere else but here! That motivated me because I was thinking of all other places I could be but here.

Moving from Trinidad & Tobago, do you feel far from your roots?

No, I have a lot of family. I'm definitely far away from the every day of my roots and my culture and what we typically do every day - which is the same as anyone. You know you grow up anywhere and you go to a football game with everyone in your town, and let's say you move...you're not going to go to a football game where you don't know anyone.  That's my disconnection, but family life and food and things like that...my family has done a pretty good job at keeping that up. My aunt cooks for me or my dad every time she comes here. Trinidad food, I've learned to cook myself, and I kind of have an awesome fun family where we do those things together.

You love teaching and doing fundraisers. You essentially get a genuine joy from people's faces when you perform. Was music always so selfless for you? Did you ever dream of fame and fortune?

I dreamed of what the fame and fortune could give me, not neccessarily having it. I have really, really intense anxiety over being obsessed over. It freaks me out if a certain person or someone is spending too much time or focus on me. I have a very rational but irrational fear of being kindnapped. Watching Selena horrified me. I'm still looking for a manager because I'm scared of somebody not having the right - Is that Martell? 

(At this moment, someone pulls up in their car, blasting music, distracting Blossom. She jumps up promptly and runs to give him a hug)

I'm so sorry about that! Okay so, long story short, I've been stalked before. It scared the shit out of me! I have a very big fear of what that whole life brings. I just want financial stability and I think that's just what every musician wants in the long run, but I also want a platform to have a voice to speak up about things that aren't cool, because I have no fear of sharing my emotions and being up there in the front line, and there's people who...that's not made out for them, but they want to talk, so I'd like to be the voice for them.

So, what is it that you want to articulate?

Everything!! I'm nuts girl. There are so many things I'm so extremely passionate about. You can be passionate about a million things! I'm passionate about childcare, the foster system, I want kids to get adopted, I want kids to have better foster homes, I want there to be more help for caretakers and for social service, because they're tired and the reason why they're doing this shitty job is because there's not enough of them, and it's too much and they're overwhelmed and anybody doing any job, when you get tired and you get frustrated you won't do a good job. I want to tell more people that are financially in the position to take care of other people and other children to do so. It's hard emotionally, yes, but you have all this space, let's be a little bit less selfish and share the space with the world? I'm really passionate about the food at schools in lower income areas. I hate that there's such split districts and divisions. Like why is Beaverton thriving and Portland isn't, and we're in the same state? It's not okay. There's not a creative outlet in all schools and I'd like to educate and be a part of making that better. I've gone to a lot of schools and talked to a lot of music programs, and it's really unfortunate that schools have to segregate their instruments because they can't afford to have a section for everything. One school is strings, another school is horns, another is clarinet, flute etc, and what if I don't want to play the violin? I wanna play the drums. But my school district doesn't provide it for me. That sucks.

We love giving our artists gifts. We saw this and for some reason were so drawn to it and thought you would appreciate it. An inkblot book. What do you think?

AHH! (keeps screaming). I love it!!! You don't even get it! (gasps, starts looking through it). Oh my God. Ah! My heart is so excited for this! 

So we thought it would be fun to play a game. We have 5 inkblot cards here, and we want you to pick your favourite and tell us why, and then once you tell us, you can flip it over and tell us the actual meaning on the card.

This one, because it's my aura. It's how I feel and look inside and out. (flips the card over), Oh my God. Wow! So I first saw the x-ray, the heart, then the stingray on it. The stingray means, "you tend to put yourself second, and are familiar but not neccessarily comfortable with the sensation of being put aside by more powerful characters. A consequence is that you can sometimes be apologetic to a fault." And that's so true! All the time. I was walking down the street and this lady was in front of me and she wasn't gonna move, and I said sorry, and she kept walking. I even told my dad to stop doing that, like stop saying you're sorry when you didn't even do anything. I have to tell myself that too but it's really nice to have a reminder. I love this gift! I can't wait to do this with my godson! You guys! Can I hug you?

It's crazy you got me this because I wanted to be a psychologist. I went to school for it for a bit to try and become a psychologist then I decided there's no fucking way I'm going to school for that long. Anyway, that was a really thoughtful gift! 

We love what a feminist you are. You have your backup vocalists, you have your girl crew front row at your shows, and you celebrate females in your music videos. It's beautiful. With feminism taking such a center stage recently and with people becoming more aware of it, what do you think is a common misconception about being a feminist?

That it means we hate men. That's just such a stupid way to bring the conversation back to men instead of addressing the fact that we're just women who have something to say. If you're a man and that hurts then, cool, we're talking to you. But we're not talking to everybody. I hate the phrase, "not all __". You don't have to say any part of that. Like, you shouldn't have to. When someone responds to you with, "I don't do that." Cool well, was I talking to you? I said a statement, that applied to this demographic, a fact, and if that fact hurts your feelings then do better, so when you see facts, you don't get upset about it. For example, if someone says, "oh you're a Gemini then you have to be blah, blah, blah", and I feel sometimes the answer should be, "no, maybe some other Gemini", not, "NOT ALL GEMINIS!!" Like, who are you standing up for? Why are you being defensive for no reason? And that's passive aggressive behaviour and I don't like that. And that statement is out there, and I've decided, I don't think I like it. And I'm going to try very hard to not say it, and I'm going to try and educate the reasons for why I don't want it to be said. Freedom of speech is for everyone, and I can only speak on me. I'm just saying this is what I think, and you should probably not say it anymore. Just think about what it means when you say it. 

We want to talk to you about your fantastic single, "U Got Me." You've talked about it being about self-love and independence, so we want to know, what does being independent mean to you? 

That's such a good question. Hmm. I think it means, independent in thought and being okay to disagree. That comes with maturity. Being able to communicate is really important. I don't think going against the grain means you're independent, because you can agree with a lot of people and still be independent. But like, loving the things that you do as an individual and using those things to live your life. Like saving your money and deciding, "I'm going to do this because I want to get further" is being independent. Not letting anyone else tell me this is something I gotta do. I make my choices for my future on my own. And you can have people influence your decisions but if you're not making them for yourself then you're not being independent. 

We read that you categorize your life into eras. 2017 were your sassy years. You have zero tolerance for stupidity, be it from men or women or politics. Are you still in your sassy years? 

I'm in my lover years right now! I'm so, ahhhh (swings around). I wanna love and be loved and I wanna have the people around me trust me, and just...love! I want everyone to be really happy. I focus on being ready to be loved. What does that mean? Where do I wanna be when I'm in love? And then I'm like, okay, I'm gonna grow towards being that "in love" person, because I'm such a romantic in every aspect of life! I have these things that I want, so I'm in that state of mind.

We've noticed you talk a lot about positive intentions and universal energy. Did you grow up with this mindset, or was it something you learned on your path? 

I had to learn what those feelings were for me as a kid. There never was a lot of communication about that as a kid. I had a lot of people who acted that way so when I was older and able to put a word to the actions. I had a lot of people who decided they were going to do this, do that, and there were all these things they were gonna do to get it. The mindset was, " I cant wait when this happens" not, "I wish." Everything all of a sudden started happening, snowballing. 

Have you ever experienced manifestations energies yourself?

I don't know! I always feel like I have a feeling like, "oh is this manifesting?!" I guess cool things just happen....oh wait! Here's one! When I first started doing music,  I heard about this festival, here in August, it's outdoors and it's all ages and it's awesome because you can smoke weed and you can drink and it's families! But it's amazing, and there are all these different stages and you can camp there. It's family oriented and you can wake up and there's outdoor showers and yoga, and bungalows. It's huge. I looked at it and I was like, I wanna play there! And it's here. So, then they emailed me after I wanted it and it just happened! 

Redo the soundtrack to a film, which film would it be and why?

Burlesque with Christina Aguilera beause it's bomb, and it's amazing and I love the show and I love everything and I feel like I could find a vocal home with that sort of production....oh and! West Side Story!

A piece of advice for your fans and our listeners?

Go out dancing, as often as you can. Go with your friends. Dance with strangers. And take your shoes off if your feet hurt. Don't be that bitch. You're never too boujee to take your shoes off and have fun. 

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George Clanton Isn't Into Films, He Isn't Into Other Music . He's Too Consumed In Creating His Own Legacy

Paradise Playground, as many of you know, is a blog that celebrates musicians and their craft, and isn't out to make monsters out of artists. That's why, upon meeting George Clanton, I was curious to get to know him better. The enigma and one of the heavy hitters behind his genre of vaporwave, George got intellectualized really early on and quite frankly, misunderstood, thanks to online forums and gossip. What he really wants is to connect with his audience and make memorable experiences for them. He's the type of guy who believes that people at his shows hang out with him and sing with him. That they're all in this together. He's the type that jumps into crowds and you watch as the faces of his fans transform. Their auras and their energies amplify as he hugs and pats them on their backs and ultimately these are experiences that these people will take home forever. 

George shattered a specific print persona that we went into this interview with. To be honest, we were intimidated at the start. From the get-go, he thanks us multiple times for coming to Portland and for the interview itself. He then thanks the security guard for letting us go backstage with him to conduct the interview. He jumps cheerfully and eagerly to get started on the questions. He's earnest, hoping he doesn't sound too boring in the interview, and he means well. We came to get to know George during his US tour in Portland, where he was playing a show at Doug Fir Lounge with his girlfriend and record label co-owner, Lindsey French AKA Negative Gemini.

What we came to find out is that George is about providing experiences for all his fans. He's not an 80s revival artist, he's not a new wave artist, but he is, in fact, his own genre. His music is something so different, that once you hear it live you realize that George Clanton, in himself, is the experience.

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PP: We're huge fans of your music - of course. We were sitting and listening to you one day and trying to see where you appear to draw inspiration from. We threw ideas around, heard bits of New Order, some Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, some cinematic 80s synth stuff. The cool thing is it's all modernized into this really rad synth-pop package. We're wondering how that translated to growing up in Virginia. What's the music scene like there? What got you into late 70s or 80s new wave?

GC: Well, first of all, thank you! But I mean, I don't know. There's not a lot of people where I came from. I can't speak for Virginia as a whole, but when I was growing up, there wasn't a lot of people to bounce ideas off of. Me and my friends we all liked Oasis in high school. That was the coolest band we liked. But then, from downloading a misnamed file on Limewire that said it was Oasis, we ended up downloading something cooler, and that led into the internet and discovering some music. We really didn't know anybody outside of our friend group that was listening to anything we were listening to at that time so, Virginia, I don't know if that's relevant. I just think that you know, we got lucky. 

What was the defining moment when you grasped for these inspirations behind your genre? You were stuck for a bit within the vaporwave genre, but now people (I guess us included), see these large influences in 80s new wave. Do you even want to be put in that genre even?

(Sighs). No. I mean, 80s new wave is my least favourite, I'd rather be pigeonholed into vaporwave than be pigeonholed into 80s new wave. Just because vaporwave is happening now and 80s new wave is dead and gone. And, I've been called an 80s revivalist my whole career and I'm kind of sick of it a little bit. Of course, I am influenced by those things, but I feel like the only thing that makes it so obvious is that I'm singing so much and my contemporaries don't sing. Or at least they don't sing like me (coyly smiles). That's not my fault, I'm not trying to do an 80s thing per say, I'm just singing every era up until this point, but synthesizers are back in fashion so, I guess, the only time that singing and synthesizers went together in fashion were the 80s. But I don't know if it sounds like the 80s because I listen to it a lot of the 80s stuff, particularly the new wave channel on Sirius XM, and I think it's shitty. I think that they got really lost pretty quickly and started making formulaic music. (laughs)

In an interview, you say that you don't want to be pigeonholed in a genre. You mention that you wear all black because if you wore 80s neon windbreakers, people would definitely see you as an 80s throwback artist. The thing is what if you just wanted to wear an 80s windbreaker some day? Our question is, do you feel like you have to push away from this 80s aesthetic in every way of your life in fear that it may give people the wrong idea?

(Lindsey laughs in the background). Well, no. And if I do want to, I do. That being said I'm not sure exactly the quote but sometimes I say things, and um, as you'll see, sometimes I just say things and like, "how do you translate this into print" because I'm..I'm kind of lying, you know? 

I was probably just making fun of something I was doing. I make fun of myself a lot and in New York everybody wears black, and as you can see I'm not wearing black at all today. I'm kind of trying to make fun of myself in another way by dressing up in 80s baggy jeans and Sketchers and I've got this fucking wallet chain. I don't necessarily think any of that is cool, but I think it's cool because it's fun. But you know, if all the vaporwave kids start wearing wallet chains and baggy jeans and No Fear shirts then I'll be like, "pfff fuck this, I'm gonna figure out something else."

We wanted to talk about you and Lindsey for a second. You guys are obviously doing a phenomenal job with your record label together and you tour together. You support each other so much and that's brilliant to see. You both have said though, you're not into doing collaborations because you want to keep the work 100% your own. Why is that? The obvious next step seems like doing a song together.

Well maybe because it's the obvious step that we've avoided it for so long. At the same time, we've started having a little bit more fun making the music. I mean I don't want to speak for her but the way I see it is I've been creating music and trying to prove myself, thinking everything I do is a legacy, and I'm worried that if I do something that's a little bit different than this path that I've been on, that I'll muddy it up and it'll be more confusing.

When I talk to people, nobody really understands, nobody really sees my music the way I see it. I think that we've been opening up a little more and we're not afraid of, "what if this doesn't sound like what someone would expect." So, Lindsey already did it and made an album that kind of shattered expectation of what you think that her music is going to sound like and then my new album that's coming out soon is kind of the same thing. At the same time, we were talking up until very recently and we were pretty much saying that we were going to do a collaborative thing. But Lindsey has got some irons in the fire where that doesn't make sense to be the best use of her time because she really should be working on a solo album with some bigger label, and that takes precedent. So either way, it would be a good thing. I'm not against it anymore. Basically, I just changed my mind a lot. You can't expect to read something I said in an interview and think that it is real or that it is set in stone. I say things really matter-of-factly and then I don't even know if I mean them wholeheartedly because I just take it one step at a time. 

Has the music industry ever driven a wedge between you guys or has it brought you closer?

Yeah. Like in really stupid ways. I'm a control freak so then if somebody wants to help Lindsey out and I disagree with it then I'll be really upset, then she'll be really upset that I'm being upset and it's really none of my business. But then ultimately...I wasn't right. To rewind on your question, not really. It's funny like, little tiny things, not really a wedge between us but we're both in the industry and then something annoying happens and it affects us both and then we bicker. She wants to do something and I want to do that...so not a lovers quarrel but like...business partners quarrels.

We know you love reissuing obscure vinyls on your label and you're a fan of collecting them yourself so - we brought a present for you. Japanese synth. From the 70s. What do you think?

(excited) Is this something that you really like? 

Yeah! You'd love it.

I don't know what it is. This is awesome, I'm very excited. Damn, but it's reissued, they got the jump on me. (laughs). Well, maybe I'll listen to it and then we could do it. I've had a hard time getting rights to Japanese music. 

We know.

Yes. But you know, some people seem to pull it off. (gets distracted) Thank you very much! I think it depends on who owns the rights to it. When I reach out to the artist directly but the labels are hesitant, because they have their own business plans and they have a greater understanding of how it works than I do, so maybe I would mess up their royalties. 

You tweeted back in 2017, "Every interview makes me sound bad, that's because I am bad." You've actually brought up in interviews a couple of times that people think you're a dick, or that you're trying to make sure people don't see you as one. You don't seem like one though! Why do you think people would think you're a jerk?

You know...I'm just really sensitive. 100 people may say, "you're so nice" and, "I love you" but then somebody will say something, and again on the internet, you can't tell if you're joking or not, but it really hurts my feelings.  I google myself all the time and somebody said on 4chan, "yeah I met George Clanton, he was a total dick though because not a whole lot of people came to his show and he was pissed off about it." So then I'm like searching my memory, and I can't think of what show that could have been, or when I could have been a dick to someone. 

And then another time some other people have said that I was a homophobe because I took their photo and reposted it to my instagram and I didnt know where the photo came from since I posted it two months later. So I didn't credit the person and they saw it and then called me a homophobe and said I was so mean to them at the show. Then I remembered it because I looked at their pictures and knew who they were and it was because I was charging 25 dollars for my record and they only had 20 dollars and I said, "you gotta go get 5 dollars, man," and they said, "come on bro, just let me have this for 20 dollars" and then asked if I would sign it after all that. So I gave it to them for 20 dollars, it was actually supposed to be 30 dollars and I was already charging 25, and then I signed it, and then I thought I was being cute so I wrote, "you owe me 5 bucks - George Clanton" and then they acted like I was being a dick about that. 

Some people can think that's being a dick about that and some people can think that's really charming. You never know who you're running into and people are so strange. I'm learning more as I get older that I'm the strange one too in a lot of instances. So, some people...see now again it seems like I'm a guy who thinks everyone wants to talk to, but I'm just saying that, a lot of people do want to talk to me, and that's fine, I do want to talk to a lot of people, especially those who come to my show, but some people you can never please them. And they'll always be upset. And then when they say something i get upset really easily and I take it to heart. 

Do you ever get anxious? What makes you nervous?

I only get anxious under the context of like...like last night when I get to the show late because of the flight or something and I don't know what I'm getting into or like when the flight gets canceled. I don't get nervous in front of large crowds or small crowds. I'm comfortable with anything so none of that makes me nervous. Sometimes selling the merch makes me nervous if I get one of those people who wants to punish me the whole time and just never gives someone else a turn or ever gives me a break. But I don't get nervous about the music.

You get pretty up close and personal with your fans at your live shows, it's so rad to see the excitement in the room. We're curious what show you yourself have been to that's stood out to you as having that same level of excitement.

(pause) I couldn't tell you. I don't go to a lot of shows and when I do I'm really...hmm. Here's one thing. I don't want anybody touching me when I'm at a concert. Just because I'm not that passionate about a lot of music. If it was someone that I really wanted to see maybe it would blow my mind if they interacted with me and so I think about that. If you want that from me then you're in the front and I'll hang out with you and we'll sing together. But I don't want to bother the people in the back either because as I'm getting older I understand that like, people want to be in a safe space and don't want to be bothered. But you gotta please everybody so I try to balance. To be honest, that doesn't really happen in New York and I've never been to a Mac DeMarco show so like I see him doing stuff like that and I dunno, the shows I end up going to are more like dance parties and the DJs are really like, they could just not be there essentially. Interacting with the crowd is something I learned years ago in Virginia, something in my college town at punk shows and hardcore shows. I didn't even necessarily enjoy the shows as much as I did the environment.

Is there any sort of film you'd want to re-do the soundtrack to? Which one?

(long pause). 

We ask this all the time, we love the responses we get. 

Oh my gosh, I was about to ask for a pass on that. I don't know...because the films that I think of  I like the music to. I just don't think I'm cut out for that type of scoring. I've tried it, and I'm just more of a wham bam thank you ma'am kind of guy, you know what I mean? But I don't know. I'm not really...forgive me...I'm not really into film either. So I'm not into music, I'm not into film. I love making music. And I love some music. but I really can't just listen to anything and like it. I can't make it through an hour and a half of a movie. I'd rather watch 30 minutes of HGTV and point out all of the sloppy decisions they're making with their furniture choices because I've just got really bad ADD. So I just keep talking and I digress a lot. 

Any piece of advice for our readers?

Gosh you know, in hindsight, I think that I really screwed the pooch on this. I answered all the questions truthfully but, if I was reading this, that is one boring dude. And so, I think that, my advice would be, don't be like me, try to live your life to the fullest, don't worry about how much money you're making or anything, just spin the money that you have and try to have fun instead of  trying to do everything just right. 

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