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Congratulations on the release of "FREAK," What was something new you learned from working on this song? Austin: I learned an incredibly valuable lesson, actually. Sometimes you need to entirely scrap a mix - Literally, delete it and start over to get a great result. Sometimes the direction you take a track isn't the direction the artist wants to take the track, and you have to start from scratch with a totally different mindset and approach. At the end of the day, a mixer is only here to serve the artist and their vision. You have to leave your ego at the door and be vulnerable and open to taking direction from the person with the vision for the track. One of the most fun parts of the job is being taken out of your comfort zone in how you "usually" do things and finding ways to accommodate and achieve someone's vision. You moved to Nashville to attend the Blackbird Academy after growing up in Dallas. What is one thing you learned during your time at school that you carry with you today? Austin: There are so many great lessons I learned while I attended The Blackbird Academy. If I had to narrow it down to just one thing that I learned that is still relevant in my daily business, it is this: You don't always have to be the "best" engineer to win the gig; you just have to be the one who is awesome to hang with/most easy to get along with, and who is excellent at what they do. The music-making process is already complicated enough and often incredibly difficult with how many people have to give the green light for a track to even get to the mixing stage. The last thing you want to be is difficult to work or hang with. I read that when you're not in Los Angeles, you're living abroad. Where is the best place you've traveled to for music, and what is the best thing you've learned in your travels? Austin: I have not lived abroad, but I have traveled significantly. In 2017, I was pretty jaded about the music industry. Some friends had planned to go on an extended overseas trip to Southeast Asia, and I decided that maybe that was exactly what I needed to jumpstart my passion for music again. Luckily, it did just that! There are so many great things I learned from that trip. One which seems so simple but yet it's easily overlooked. Creating authentic music is only possible if you are living life. If you do the same thing day in and day out, you are caught in the motions of life, and your music will reflect that. Even as someone who now only mixes, you can tell through my work that I am a storyteller at heart. I do my best to make my mixes feel like they are very cinematic and tell a story more profound than what just the music or lyrics are telling. You've worked with many different artists! Can you share a bit of behind-the-scenes info about any of those projects? Austin: I've worked with so many artists, and each one is much different than the last in terms of their work. There are some songs I work on for artists where I only speak with the producers on the project, like the Maggie Lindemann record, for instance. Cody Tarpley, Josh Murty, and I went back and forth on notes for those tracks. Then there are artists like TiLLie, who like to come into the studio and do notes in person because she knows exactly what she wants and she's a producer on her records. Photo Credits: Cass Huckabay What artists do you plan to work with in the future? Austin: I have so many upcoming releases that I am excited for, and also several I am not able to share just yet that I am excited for. I have a release with a JPop group named SG5 called "Firetruck," Produced by Hudson Mohawke and Bloodpop, mixed by me, and mastered by Joker. I also have releases with Layto, Loren Gray, Niki DeMar, and many more. What can you tell us about projects you have planned for the future? Austin: Great question! I'm currently gearing up to launch my own podcast. I have been steadily building out the podcast room next to my studio. It's been one hell of a process so far, between painting, sourcing furniture, and creating a victorian gothic meets speakeasy-style vibe, all while continuing to mix and master artist's records. I have to develop a new name for the podcast, so keep on the lookout on Instagram to stay updated on the new name and more information about what's to come! Interviewed By Tessa Brainard FOLLOW AUSTIN SELTZER:

One inescapable truth of young adulthood is that fun is never quite as meaningless as we’d like others to believe. Combine total freedom with a particularly tumultuous time of life and you have a recipe for self-medication. On the lead single for her debut EP, Lou Emery battles with this over an ear-worm disco groove holding more beneath the surface than at first glance. Emery’s voice soars over glittering synths, sweet bass chords, and luminescent strings. As the song provides the perfect soundtrack to any night out dancing, the singer-songwriter paints an authentic and complex picture of that experience. The song centers around a fling with an anonymous man at the club, but more accurately, it portrays the charade-like quality of self-medicating fun. From the start, Emery spins meaning to be more appealing: “I’ll regret you in the morning, this I know / So catch it while you can.” Regret becomes a playful challenge to her partner rather than a deterrent. While adamant that this is nothing more than fun, she finds herself sprinkling in allusions to something deeper. The unnamed man is briefly referred to as “just the remedy,” and while she keeps the symptom close to her chest, it ultimately is revealed at the bridge: “Oh, I could use you / ‘Cause my head’s been full of him again.” It’s a highlight moment of the track as Emery’s vocal chops are on full display. Considering this isn’t her first time being plagued by memories of a former love, it also becomes clear that neither is it her first time resorting to the dance floor as a coping mechanism. “Try to remember how to work you right / Feeling like a beggar in the bar light” is contextualized as Emery reveals the transactional relationship she has with these moments. While she may be insistent that this is merely instinctual—there is clearly a lot more going on in her head. Lou Emery is an LA-based, 23-year-old singer-songwriter. Previously her music was released under the name, Lauren Kunkel. Instinctual is the first single teasing towards her yet unnamed debut EP set to be released later this year. Her pop production is blended with arrangements optimized for live performance, making her music ideal for any listening experience. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW LOU:

Articulating the intensity of missing someone is a challenge many artists have tasked themselves with. There must be some way to authentically express such a universal experience to an audience, right? Alternative-dreampop group, Faye Jule, make a convincing case for stripping away the excess and striking directly at the raw emotion. Primarily supported by somber piano, "I Cried All Night" sees Faye Jule reminiscing on a relationship in disrepair as evocative instrumentation surfaces to convey what words cannot. Sometimes there's no metaphor effective enough to communicate your feelings. On their latest single, Faye Jule understand this well, instead finding catharsis in blunt honesty. The most thrilling aspect of this track is the inclusion of unique and well-mixed instrumentation. The first verse begins with singer Chris Bates setting the scene over strictly piano, but the arrangement starts to open up with a melancholy accordion as London Lawhon exposes her coping habits. The song's highlight comes two minutes in, as the gorgeous bowing of an Erhu swoons alongside Chris Bates as he delivers the song's most substantive confession. "Up all night thinking of what I could do to make you stay." Perhaps the most prominent source of his pain is, in fact, himself. Faye Jule is an international collective of four members: Singers Chris Bates, Lawhon London, songwriter Stefan Landauer, and producer Kara Greskovic. The group presents an alternative dreampop style featuring kaleidoscopic textures. "I Cried All Night is the group's first single of 2022, demonstrating the potency of their collaboration through emotional, pop balladry. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW Faye Jule:

As an art form, music can hold a myriad of purposes. Too often artists are limited by the misguided expectation that their art needs to be transcendent in some way. On her debut single, however, Killer Kennedy grabs a proverbial torch to this notion and burns down all conventions. Reminiscent of the 2000's grunge and punk movements, "Disney Bitch" sounds as nostalgic musically as the lyrics often mold themselves towards. Art should reflect life as we experience it, and what's more real than venting your frustration with how that life is going? It's hard to blame someone for being a little bitter about the hand life dealt them. "God I wish sometimes I was just born famous," is a disarmingly blunt confession—but we've all thought it before. It'd be easy to refer to her emotional state throughout the song as 'bitter,' but she often veers into more of a resentment. Disney is referenced as a colloquial allusion to a "squeaky-clean" disposition, but it's also clear that the entertainment giant has had a significant impact on her current state. She peppers in references to Olivia Rodrigo and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, while juxtaposing them with her reality. Before the bass kicks in during the second verse, Killer Kennedy offers up the song's most stirring declaration: "If only the movies showed the parts where it didn't work out." Killer Kennedy is an LA-based musician active on the tiktok platform. Disney Bitch is the first single she's released. No information is yet known when and what is next for her. Alongside the song, Killer Kennedy released a music video which features the singer riding around LA on a tricycle. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW Killer Kennedy:

As the hi-hats tease the opening of LOVETA's new single, "More Than Fun," I imagine myself strapping on a pair of roller skates. The pink, neon lights and shimmering disco ball of this imaginary roller rink come into view as the tentative plucking of a bass hints at the imminent excitement. I rush onto the rink as an airy synth transports the song into a full-blown banger: drum kits, strings, sugary bass licks, and LOVETA's impressive voice. "Just let it go." Her latest disco groove is a vivid and stirring track devoted to finding what lies at the top of a good feeling. I'd be negligent if I failed to stress just how danceable this track is. In fact, it's more than danceable—it begs you to get up. Even in it's more spacious moments, such as the intro and bridge, there is the unshakeable feeling that the next burst of energy is right around the corner. "I won't stop till we reach the top" she croons before launching into the explosive chorus. This is the moment LOVETA's ambitions become most clear. How deep can you excavate fun before it transcends such categorization? As a rich battalion of instrumentation is waged at the final chorus—a last-ditch effort to wring ever drop of feeling—no imagined scenario can accurately reflect its influence. It's a raw feeling. LOVETA is a pop musician from New Zealand. "More Than Fun" is her debut single, released alongside a stunning music video. Simon Gooding, who has worked with artists such as Dua Lipa, collaborated on the project as a mixing engineer. She is set to release more singles leading up to her debut EP in 2022. Her impressive vocals, production, and songwriting prove LOVETA to be an artist to keep an eye out for. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW LOVETA:

There's a particular thrill to feeling the calloused places of your heart soften. Where joy was once a mere fantasy in your mind, now it is tangibly felt. This is the exhilarating pulse animating Ettie's latest single "Until I Met U." The sound is reminiscent of 90's-00's grunge-pop—such as Liz Phair—wrapping tight hooks in gravelly bass and drums. Though there's a warmth in the vocals and lyrics that feel like opening the blinds and casting everything in a warm glow. The London-based artist uncovers her rougher edges to express the euphoria felt by letting some light in. "I've never had a heartbeat so intense," Ettie remarks before the song bursts into the cadence of a racing heart. It's on this direct, visceral level that "Until I Met U" works so well. On a deeper level, the song argues that there are some experiences that can only be felt. For Ettie, love had been nothing more than "lines in a book that I once read." Perhaps accurate and authentic, but impossible to engage with someone bereft of the experience. It isn't until she falls in love herself that she fully grasps the significance of love and the parts that needed to heal in order to accept it. With this in mind, "Until I Met U" best functions as an experience: butterflies, a racing heart, or sensation returning to a numb limb. You have to listen to feel it. Ettie is a London-based pop-punk musician. Last year, she released her debut single, "Manic Pixie Dream Girl," featuring five spectacular tracks. Until I Met U is her first release of 2022. Ettie's focus as a songwriter is expressing authentic LGBTQ stories through music in bold and honest fashion. The immediacy of her songwriting amplifies the power of each song's lyrics. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW Ettie:

The facade of aloofness is often used as a means of protection: a camouflage to conceal the part of oneself craving intimacy. On her latest single, "Too Close," Sydney Gordon presents her sharpest barbs towards anyone seeking a deeper connection, before interrogating these habits for their vulnerable core. Over trap-pop production, her powerful voice contains both a confident surface and a wounded center. The result is a danceable message to her potential partners that serves as both a warning and an SOS. The song's sharpest edges are put up in the first verse, presenting her distant facade. "I only like to play / so stop before you think it's something more," she warns through a jaded veneer. But as the chorus rolls in, her internal dialogue flips these biting commands into protective measures. "I gotta say / there's a part of my body that wants you to share this space." If previously, her partner was wondering if she even cared, now they're wondering what is holding her back. But we aren't close enough to be granted this knowledge. As the song fades out, Sydney Gordon is left as more of a mystery than when it began—but that's what makes the track so uniquely honest. When we protect ourselves from getting hurt, we hide our truth. Sydney Gordon is a native, New York singer/songwriter. She began singing at the age of 7, starting professional coaching at 12 years old—resulting in her impressive vocals. "Too Close" comes as the third single teasing towards her debut album set to release later this summer. Gordon plans on releasing two more singles before then. In addition, she has founded her own record label, Static Impulse Records, Inc., to release her music independently. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW Sydney:

To believe in something in spite of being alone in that faith is a courageous act of resistance on its own. It can feel much easier to bow your head and accept the cynicism of the world around you. On the lead single, "Don't Say No," for her upcoming album, singer-songwriter Maddisun explores the moments when believing in yourself can be a form of protest. The soft and polished pop production shines like an optimistic and triumphant statement against defeat. Her message is clear and deeply felt: the universe might say no to you, but it only matters if you agree with it. The bounciness of the guitars and percussion provide an elastic ground for Maddisun's gorgeous voice to spring from. As she hollers in the chorus, it feels as though she's soaring through the air. "Let me be all I can be" she warbles, pitch descending only for a moment before a cheer of the song's title lifts her higher than before. The glittering synth overtop plays like a sun at golden hour, casting her in a warm glow. "Inside my mind / I'm bigger than life." Life may be a gauntlet of opposition, but self-acceptance eclipses it entirely. Maddisun is a singer-songwriter from British Columbia, Canada. She released her debut album Self Reflections in 2020, followed by two singles in 2021. "Don't Say No" is the first single teasing towards the upcoming release of Home is Where the Music is . Her music is notably chameleonic in style, ranging from glossier to folksier production. In addition, she is currently on tour in Canada through mid-July. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW ARTIST:

The latest single from British indie-pop band, DAME, "All Night" contains itself within a party, though there is an unmistakable restlessness in its emotion that begs to break free from its constraints. The sparkling and polished pop provides the smooth backdrop to contemplative lyrics that feel like an intimate letter we aren't meant to read. As the song blossoms with lush instrumentation, DAME find themselves drilling deeper into weighty confessions until the restrained disquietude evaporates. The song charts the course of a party, though the event itself is hardly of concern for the narrator. "Tonight is the time / for you and I to fly together," she sings over grounding keyboard chords, setting her expectations on someone she meets. "You take me outside / told me about the time you got caught with a cigarette." The specificity of these details paints the song in vivid hues: tangible and animate. As the song escalates into its shimmering climax, any previous discontentment fades away into pure bliss. DAME is an indie band based in the UK striving to write "glittery poptimism." Back in March they released their first single of 2022 with "Be There." The band has been releasing since 2016, with their self-titled EP. Their upbeat, indie-pop music is consistently danceable and nostalgic. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW DAME:

The breakup catalyzing "Myself" is intentionally left vague. In the debut single from Georgi Clarke, the Cheshire-based singer/songwriter is more focused on asserting her self-assurance than wallowing in the past. Pulling from the styles club and disco, "Myself" is an infectious and extremely danceable pop track serving as a mantra. The attention and space she gives to her own self-love in lieu of the loss of a connection proves to be a productive and mature process of healing. The result is more than just a "glass-half-full" perspective: it's an artist taking control of her narrative. The prechorus is a lyrical slight-of-hand. "I found someone to love who never let me down," implies a fresh relationship, getting over an ex with someone new. Before the chorus breaks through, however, she reveals the truth. "I choose myself / I love myself." It is on this level of sincere appreciation for herself that Clarke's lyricism can feel personally revelatory. Informed by a culture obsessed with finding esteem and security in a significant other, she constructs a refreshing alternative that critiques this custom merely by holding a mirror up to it. Georgi Clarke is a 20 year old singer/songwriter from Cheshire. Her talent as a multi-instrumentalist and musical arranger led her to release "Myself" as her debut single. No future releases have been confirmed yet. Her goal is to release infectious pop music that expresses her bubbly optimism. The danceable pop music soundtracks her positive lyrics meant to uplift listeners. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW Georgi:

Relationship dynamics can be onerous to navigate and shape. Two people with different experiences, desires, needs, and ambitions can find themselves lost in trying to blend their lives in a healthy and satisfying way. The latest single from pop-duo, 7000apart, titled "Player 2" expresses the heartache of this experience. Dreamy synths and strings give the song a soft quality, allowing the resonant and hammering percussion and piano to crash through like waves. As they navigate an evolving perspective on life, the duo reckons with the tunnel-vision this can create in a relationship. They argue that relationships shouldn't be seen as the limitation to experiencing life. The verses of this song chart Eiding's personal trajectory in life. These center around her relationship with ambitions and goals. "Dreams aren't reachable / when you aim way too far," she remarks in the second verse: an implication of failure. But as the resounding chorus crashes through, these ideologies are contextualized by a relationship. They never directly connect these two ideas, but their proximity speaks for itself. Two people with unique experience and dreams can often view relationships as a limiting factor to managing life. "The world should be big enough for the both of us." The song reverberates as a plea to find strength in togetherness—not challenge. 7000apart is the pop project of husband and wife duo, Amelie Eiding and Jon Kresin. They met when Amelie Eiding attended high school in the US, creating the project upon separation when she returned home to Sweden (7000 kilometers away). Their previous releases, such as their debut album We Are More in 2019, achieved them acclaim and brought them to higher stages to share their art. Feel Your Feelings is the title of their upcoming sophomore record; the group is collaborating with GRAMMY-winning songwriter and producer FEMKE. The couple's music focuses on mental health and sharing their experience and journey with its highs and lows. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW 7000apart:

Love has often been related to a fever: sudden, overwhelming, and short-lived. On his latest single, "Flawless," Jordan Jones subverts this with a more patient, smoother delivery. Simmering in these intense feelings, allowing typically-expeditious desires to loosen, he brings out a more sustainable type of romance. The instrumental is airier than conventional earworm-pop, allowing the negative space of the mix to soften its blows. The result is a pleasant and impeccable listen more akin to a cool breeze than a smoldering heatwave. There are enough smooth one-liners in "Flawless" to keep its momentum going. "Baby blow my mind, I gotta clear my head," is a particular highlight. But if these flirtations read as urgent, Jones' buttery vocals give them a contentment and tranquility. The effect is closer to documenting small moments of affection on a peaceful day rather than an impassioned deluge. It's a soft, sustainable smile. The airy synths swirl around each line, pushing forward and retreating in the mix like a temperate tide. Before breaking out into one final chorus, Jones delivers the song's most immediate plea: "I want you over and over and over again." But the slightest hint of a smirk in his tone implies that he has all the time in the world. His love is steady and unfading. Jordan Jones is a Canadian-based musician in Alberta. The goal of his music is making a connection with his audience through his songs. He is currently booking for a 2023 tour. Previous releases include 2020's "Break My Heart" and this year's "Stumble." His catchy pop music is especially pleasant thanks to his impressive vocals. Written By Andy Mockbee FOLLOW Jordan Jones: