Velvet Noise welcomes Ignoring Olivia for our first In The Making segment. In The Making seeks to highlight the work of underground alternative artists by giving them a space to introduce their listeners to their music-making process. Ignoring Olivia is a band that started in Long Beach over quarantine. In this segment, members Isa and Maya talk about how they got their start and what they’ve been working on while dissecting their song “Just As Much”.
Listen to “Just As Much” here:
Kohinoorgasm’s latest single “Closer” joins her body of experimental lo-fi pop music. The track repeats the phrase “Everytime I get closer, you hold me too tight.” In the face of such a scarcity of words, she diversifies her execution of every vowel and consonant. Angelically elongating her vowels, she puts the listener into a trance. The song compresses a singular feeling: an amalgamation of yearning, relinquishment, femininity and exhausted beauty. This is an atmosphere which imbues their discography.
Kohinoorgasm produces all of her own music. In “Closer” she hypnotizes us using lo-fi waves of synth as a pocket watch, with our ears in place of our eyes. Her pendulum of voice and sound swings us back and forth, left to right, round and round. It feels as if you are repeatedly getting closer and further – extending the lyric to the melody, and the melody to personal sentiment. What sentiments this may relate to in Kohinoorgasm’s world is, and most likely will remain a mystery to us. Nevertheless, the beauty of their work is in the accessibility of the theme. It demonstrates a universal relatability, offering a chance to plunge deep into one’s own individual experience.
Towards the end of the single, she repeats the words “closer” and “every time,” emulating the repeating rhythm of drawing near and retreating far. This cyclical experience feels beautiful and meaningful. Is this why we surrender to the gyre’s whirl? To feel significant? Ultimately, it is an inescapable cycle of the same affair. She leaves the listener with the light ticking of the hi-hat. As the music lightly taps away you may contemplate, where do I keep getting closer? What holds me too tight?
Listen here:
Written by Pardis Eslamieh (@pigeonally)
“Psychic Youth” begins with a mellow bass that quickens as it is carried into a distorted guitar and leveled to the beat of banging drums that speeds as the song progresses. Fusion Babies’ latest EP Conception is full of head-thrashers finished out by standout track “Psychic Youth”. The middle of “Psychic Youth” features a guitar solo that leans more psychedelic than Fusion Babies usual pure punk madness. It is embraced by the singer who yells over the solo and turns it back into a punk anthem, reclaiming the world as theirs once again.
Fusion Babies, originally from Long Beach, California have been bringing that femme punk fusion to life at shows in Southern California. The shows are red, purple, and black featuring moshing fans who relish in the atmosphere of punk freedom and bliss. You can catch Fusion Babies at the Redwood Bar, Thursday April 28th and get to experience their energy live.
But for now, listen below
“Insanity, maybe she saved me” is not a song but an experience. ARIESFALLENANGEL opens up new divine realms in every single one of their mixes, taking sound as we know it — as ordinarily as we know it, and giving it new breath.
This track makes you feel like you’re swimming in galaxies, dancing in slow swirling clouds of stars. Ariesfallenangel is based in Berlin and for those who can’t see their sets in person, their Soundcloud hosts many of their longer-length tracks. Through mixes like “the light within shines even in your darkest moment (s)” and “grieving on the dancefloor, my holy ground…” you can experience their world through the speakers.
Listen to “Insanity, maybe she saved me” here:
Wsteaway’s newest song “Lonely” begins with an ambiance of beautiful distortion. A strummed guitar and keys make the sounds of electric chimes in a forest – ethereal. They sing “let me feel something. Make me feel alright. when you get lonely, what crosses your mind?”
This song is perfect for all those moments you find yourself alone, heartbroken over something you can’t even name. Walking alone, driving alone, in your room alone. The strumming in the track replicates the feeling of a lonely heart, beating achingly.
“Lonely” fades out with the sound of a strummed guitar and the artist’s humming, carrying it back into an abyss.
Wsteaway debuts on Spotify with “Lonely”, and this track shows the dreamlike worlds that the artist is capable of taking their listeners to.
We can’t wait to hear more.
Listen below:
Rhea Raj is a dark pop superstar. Her latest release “Devil In A Dress” has a classic Y2K Christina Aguilera vibe paired with the star quality of classic 2010’s radio hits – the perfect concoction for the moment. “It’s the way that God made me. I’m a devil in a dress on the dancefloor”.
Her voice is intoxicating. The 21 year-old singer comes back full-force with this new track after her highly celebrated release “Venom” in the fall of 2021. Her musical style reflects her love for music and her love for dance.
“I can get a little crazy, so be careful what you wish for baby”.
Listen below:
Chanel Loren masters infectious pop in “Playlist”. The song’s chorus is unbelievably catchy – “I’m not on your playlist baby, you have changed your playlist lately. That girl’s on your playlist ain’t she?”
The song is about someone who tells you things that they don’t mean. “I made you this playlist but you’d probably never hear it. You never wanna talk about your feelings.” Chanel Loren captures these confusing feelings in a song about modern love in the modern world. We’ve all made a playlist for someone or received one. And we know that we sometimes use them to communicate our feelings. So we know they mean a lot.
Chanel Loren describes this situation and the disappointment it can provoke: “You want my lovin’ but you never wanna get it right.”
“Playlist” deserves its spot on your latest favorite songs playlist. Check it out below:
The intro of this track feels galactic. The first lyrics push you into an angsty indie rhythm – “her name is Molly, she sells molly by the seashore!” It’s a song about a love that keeps you twisted and entranced. The energy of this track is familiar to those who are fans of 90’s femme punk. It’s full of that “fuck you” attitude and gut-spilling honesty. “You better watch her back, that girl will leave you on the floor”.
Following Soccer Mom’s 2021 EP Juno Goes to the Big House, “Molly Sells Molly By The Seashore” proves that punk isn’t dead – it’s just getting better.
The track winds with a distorted guitar solo and closes out with the singer yelling desperately “my molly!”
Listen here:
The road from busy L.A. to Santa Ana was lined with freeway lights blue-white and blurring out of focus. This iridescent air is special to those nights when you’re driving out to see a show with friends and in Southern California, ALTANGELES are the keepers of this feeling. Los Angeles is coming alive again and Death Lens at the Constellation Room was the beginning of several ALTANGELES shows scheduled for this year. These events are a unique reminder of the talent of the region — talent that is cruising along the coast, revving loudly like a sports car engine, and bursting electric through crowds like traffic lights on a freeway.
The air on February 19th was warm. In the parking lot kids danced and laughed in the kind of infinity you age and try to never lose. This infinity comes alive with live music – always at live music. Always with the sound bouncing and kicking in your ears, and hitting your body against strangers who are savoring every second of that sound you share. It was there that night as every band came and went.
Punk band Hold Fast came on first — exploding with energy, exalted. A trio of young adults stood tall on the stage leaning back and forth into the crowd, and the drummer manned the stage like a fortress. In the mosh pit, someone dropped a cellphone and out of thin air – on time with the song’s build up, a hand came triumphantly out of the pit holding the phone, delivering it perfectly into the owner’s hand. A familiar camaraderie. Hold Fast ended their set smashing their guitars into pieces and throwing them into the crowd as souvenirs. A relic of those nights that you spend your weekdays wishing for.
Picking up their instruments and walking across the stage in an utmost cool, Rain on Fridays took command of the room. The singer yelled “can we just check levels?” They broke out into a quick 30 second jam and the crowd adored them. From “Hey Man”, to “Slumber Party” (and a Turnstile cover), Rain on Fridays’ set was intimate and kickass. At the end of their set, the band, having driven up from San Diego, left the venue quickly, packing up their merch table complete with stickers, pins, and t-shirts, leaving the audience glistening.
The night ended with a set from Joynoise, where people danced holding hands and raged in youthful angst. The singer ignited the crowd and the minutes flew by like time was made of nothing. In the moment everyone was waiting for, DeathLens came on and performed their newest single “Abrupt” live. “Repeat and repeat again, over and over again” went the track and up-and-down went the bodies. The audience got to enjoy the band’s elation of telling a long-held secret. Outside, people dispersed and said goodbye, many having known eachother from before and some saying “hey! I saw you at the last show”. Back into the night we all went, still feeling the frequencies present on our skin.
ALTANGELES is an online alternative music publication that has recently shifted focus into putting together live events. They know how to put on a killer show. They have a string of live events coming up in the next few weeks including March 11th at the Programme Skate + Sound, March 25th at the Smell, and April 2nd at the Offbeat Bar. If you’re in Southern California, you have to come be a part of what ALTANGELES is creating.
“For the love of music”.
Written by [@skeletosphere]
This week we reached out to up-and-coming Los Angeles band MyVeronica for a digital interview. They’re building up a following in the Los Angeles underground scene with their energetic performances and grunge alternative sound. We’re pleased to make their introduction.
Who is MyVeronica?
My name is Mia and I write and produce the music in MyVeronica. I sing and play guitar in the band with Charlie Havenick on drums, Nina Tartibi on bass and Nick Junk on guitar.
How did you start making music?
I played guitar and bass on and off from when I was a kid but I really started making music in my junior year of high school. I was listening to a lot of Frankie Cosmos and started writing songs and recording them in my bedroom. Since then, my taste has changed a lot but I still record all the music completely DIY.
How would you describe your sound? Who are your influences?
Our sound is very influenced by the 90s, taking bits and pieces from grunge, alternative, shoegaze, emo. I pull inspiration from a lot of places but I’ve had Yo La Tengo’s “I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One” and Ivy’s “Realistic” on repeat lately. My friends and I have been seeing this band Cryogeyser a bunch in the past couple months and that has been super inspiring. Outside of music, I get inspiration from watching old cartoons like MTV’s Downtown, driving aimlessly & finding old websites on the Internet Archive.
Tell us about your latest work Need2/Cut It Out. How did it come about?
Need2/Cut It Out is a double single that we released this year. It was my first time ever putting out music. I thought it would be cool to transpose the tape format of A-side/B-side onto the digital landscape of Spotify and streaming services. Need2 and Cut It Out are an interesting pairing because they explore similar themes but one is about avoidance and the other is about acceptance. I think they’re a good jumping off point for us as a band and I’m excited to put out more music this year.
As a part of the blossoming Los Angeles live music scene, what’s your favorite part about it?
My favorite part about playing around LA has really been having the chance to present my vision to a bunch of people and see how they react. It feels like such a privilege to play this music I care about so much and see the ways people are affected by it. Every show is different and I learn a lot every time we play. I also love watching people mosh to our music.
What’s been a live show highlight for you?
At the last house show we played, a group of girls at the front of the pit knew the words and sang along to Need2. That was crazy. We’ve been playing a lot of house shows in our neighborhood near UCLA and it’s the best feeling to look out into the crowd and see our friends and people from our community looking back at us. They always go so hard I love it!
Before we go, what’s coming up for MyVeronica?
We are playing a lot more in LA this month and next! Our next shows are at Junior High LA on 3/13 & a house show we’re throwing in Westwood with Dead Relatives Magazine on 3/18. Other than that I’ve been recording & we will be putting out more music soon!
Stream MyVeronica’s latest:
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