Life is more than just a runway show or performance stage with The Assist’s latest track ‘Television Kid’. An indie track that will have you chained to its rhythm, the band wrote this song about all those people constantly chasing attention and fame. As an effect, they lose their sense of reality and end up spiraling, losing things that they hold close to their heart in the process. The band have been going strong independently since their inception in 2014, performing alongside acts like Blossoms and Black Honey. Not feeling the need to conform to a certain sound, the act experiment with hip-hop, disco textures, and any topic their heart desires – badass.
Vocalist Mikey shares:“Ambition is an admirable trait and I’m a strong advocate for having dreams that we live and die by. However, it is important to ensure that whilst chasing our dreams we are aware of the bigger picture that is life. In order to grow and maintain a realistic outlook on life it is important to acknowledge that defeat is very much possible and as individuals we aren’t invincible.”
Keys N Krates are here to lead us down a dark road of juvenile rebellion and temptation ranging from underage drinking and driving to “scientific” experimentation. Yet, with bright, irresistible colours and an even better beat, the video for ‘Original Classics’ lends humour at all the right points and, despite everything, we find ourselves rooting for all the wrong people. But then again, Bird Peterson seems to have that effect with his work.
WATCH:
The single, ‘Original Classics’ is the title track of Keys N Krates recently released album via Last Gang Records which has gained repute around the world. In support of the album, KeysNKrates are currently out on their 20-date headlining US Original Classic Tour, with their next stop in Minneapolis at the Skyway Theatre.
“We knew that we wanted to bring out the fun aspect of this song and accentuate how everyone involved is a character in their own right. We linked up with Bird Peterson, who’s an incredible animator. On the first call with Bird we thought the process was going to be really collaborative and that we were going to have all these great ideas to feed him to do his thing with. Instead, he basically said, “this is the treatment” and proceeded to describe this whole 60’s style cereal commercial world he had created in his head that involved Juicy J leading children (us) into mischief. After dying of laughter, we all just said “ya go do that,” and this is what came out. We’re very happy to have found Bird and his insane talents.”
‘Original Classic’ features on the Spotify playlist AFRO_GROUND
Lutfia has shared her latest EP So Much For Summer, a combination of alternative pop and funk. With an undeniable love for singing and songwriting, the singer has been sharing lyrics as young as 14 years of age. Inspired by a diverse range of iconic talents like Christina Aguilera, Pink Floyd and Michael Jackson, Lutfia creates a colourful world through her music with lyrically rich lyrics and upbeat hooks. Each track stands out on its own, as Lutfia pours out her heart on messages about self-love and mental health.
‘City Of Angels’ is our personal favourite track on this EP. It’s inviting and gives the listener a delicate warmth with rock-esque hooks. One can almost call this anthemic, as it talks about a love for mankind and embracing life. Definitely a song for everyone on this release, Lutfia is going places.
Now, if you’ve been following RCRD LBL for the past year, chances are you would have heard about the Chinese-British songstress Fifi Rong and her fantastical build towards releasing her latest crowd-funded album, There Is A Funeral In My Heart, For Every Man I Loved. The singer first arrived on our radar in February 2021 with the release of ‘Another Me’ and the artistic music video that accompanied it. In the nearly full year to follow, we saw Fifi Rong investigate the world of live performance, become a forerunner in the NFT community and launch the impressively successful crowd-funding campaign that helped her give back to her followers and collaborators alike.
It seemed only fitting to round off the year with Fifi Rong as we explore her mind, creative process and plans for the future. Find it all in the exclusive interview below.
Tell us about your first memory of music and how it inspired you
I was 4 watching this TV show about pianists and I developed this aching desire toward it and begged my parents to get me a piano.
In your biog, you mentioned how you’ve struggled to reconcile the two different sides of society (Western and Eastern). Do you feel you were able to bring the two together in your latest album?
Yes absolutely. It’s effortless now, and I can dial to any side as I wish.
There Is A Funeral In My Heart, For Every Man I Loved was crowd-funded, reaching the goal before the campaign ended. Tell us how you feel about this success and what you envision the next step to be
I’m very proud and loved. We reached the goal 2 weeks before the end of the campaign and ended at 164% crossed Indiegogo and my website’s crowdfunding period. This is proof of the ‘1000 true fan’ theory of how modern artists can have true creative freedom and full support from a relatively small number of true supporters instead of millions of distant listeners/fans. Going forward, I will be taking my connection with my real supporters to web3, which is an environment where this culture I have developed in my community can really thrive.
What is your favourite aspect of your video for ‘Out Of Clock’? What makes it stand out from the rest?
I speak in Chinese and English in the monologue at the intro, and tell the story of Why There Is A Funeral In My Heart in Chinese on one of the stereo fields, whereas I kept repeating the Album title in the other stereo field. It sums up the album really, and the production style is my favourite type in all my productions too: ‘passive aggressive’. Also, the chorus really spells out the general emotional signature of the entire album. ‘My heart is running out of love, for anyone, to stay’… after every funeral I gave to every single love affair. It’s a memoir of love after all.
The world of NFTs is quickly evolving, with you as one of the forerunners in the community. Tell us why you believe this new digital world is so important?
Cryptocurrency and NFT is a new technology, a disruptive one. Technology is a one way street, and NFT as a technology will take over the whole world before everyone realises it. It creates a better, fairer world and financial system, a win-win situation for creators, fans, and collectors, and adds much more utility and ownership to the relations between them.
Metaverse is the immediate future that will integrate with most of our lives and NFT is the builder block of this meta universe we are moving into.
Where is a good starting point for an artist looking to enter the NFT game? What tips would you give to a newcomer?
Web3 is powered by people and communities and the key is self governance, so education and connection with others in the community is the first and foremost aspect of longevity in NFT. So I’d recommend finding us on twitter, we have community space to educate and connect all the time around the week/cock. My twitter is @fifirong so follow me and connect on my daily onboarding show and I’ll set them up.
Tell us about your latest album. Which track shouldn’t fans sleep on and why?
‘I’m Enough’ has been talked about a lot from the feedback so far. I didn’t expect that, as I didn’t get special ‘love’ earlier during the making of the album from my peers, so I was sleeping on it. But now the album is out, people are loving it, and felt that it should have been a single as well. But then, the traditional industry may think there’s no single in my album, whereas my true supporters think every song is a single. Guess whose view I care more about?:)
