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Ayanis Is A Southern Soul Whose Confidence Shines Like Diamonds Through Her Music

R&B singer Ayanis is a walking ball of energy. It’s a quality that jumps out in her music as well as her overall personality. We spoke to the Texas-born, Atlanta-bred singer just months removed from her sophomore project, Yani, and this enthusiasm and exuberance flowed with ease throughout our half-hour phone call.

Despite all the hectic aspects of 2020, Yani stood as a bright spot for Ayanis. The 11-track project saw her working with some of today’s most recognizable names: Wiz Khalifa, Mulatto, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Jack Harlow, and Queen Naija. Despite this, Ayanis doesn’t fade to the background because of her co-stars, instead, she shines just as bright beside them.

Coupled with the album’s most popular tracks “Ecstasy” and “Lil Boi (Big Talk),” there are many moments where Ayanis stands out on her own. “New ” is a sultry number that captures the renewed love with an old flame and “Good Music” a triumphant track that reaks of the New Orleans background her parents grew up in.

With a new year ahead of her plenty of opportunities to grow as well, we sat down with Ayanis to discuss Yani, her childhood, and what her ultimate goal in the industry is.

You ended 2020 on a high note with the release of your Yani project, what was your reaction to the way it was received and what are your goals musically for the new year?

Yani got a really great response and I took my time on it so I was proud to see that people are really supporting the record. People haven’t seen me with features before, so having features on the project — people being able to see me collaborate — sees me in a different light, and then my music has grown from my first project, Directions to Yani. So, you know it’s like me being grown, sexy, and very confident, but the response has been great, and as far as this year? I want to get my first plaque for sure — plaques with an s — I wanna go platinum. Billboard, that’s a goal for myself, top 40 — I really want to get the No. 1 on Billboard for real. Put out another project as well and just continue to grow.

What was the difference behind your intention in creating your 2018 project Directions compared to Yani?

So the intention of Direction was discovery. It was me figuring out, okay what do you like? What don’t you like? What do you sound really good on? It’s basically like an experiment in a way with Direction. It was me trying to figure out what works, okay let’s try this but I’m down to experiment with sounds and different types of production and when I got to Yani, I really found myself. I really put a stamp on it and said Yani is my alter ego. You know me as Ayanis, but Yani can be bold, she can be sensual, she can be confident, she can talk a lot of sh*t. Direction was like my younger self, it’s like an introduction basically. The intent was the introduction to let people know, she’s a singer, she’s a dancer, she’s an entertainer, and then when you get to Yani it’s like, “Oh! Alright!” You know what time it is. Just settling in myself as an artist and my confidence, I think the intent was there just because of me growing as a person and as an artist for Yani.

I know it might be too early to tell, but what do you think your intention will be with your next project?

I think I made it very clear that I call my genre “R&Bop.” I like to do uptempo, I like to do music that I can dance to and that people will feel good cause, that’s what I felt like, is missing a little bit R&B, like the music that people can dance to and be with their friends with and be with their family with and be hype on top of also having the vulnerability in the songs That’s why I call it “R&Bop” cause it just really pushed the rhythm and blues. So for my next project, I think it’s too early to say because it’s like I just start recording in the recording process and then I figure out where I want to take it, but it’s going to stay within the genre of “R&Bop.” It’s gonna have those records that you can dance and feel good to while also talking my sh*t for the ladies, I always have to do that. I have to speak for the ladies first and foremost.

Moving back to Yani, how would you describe this project to a listener who hasn’t discovered you yet? What experience do you think these 11 songs bring?

You’ll experience great energy, I want that first and foremost. The energy of being fun and exciting and feminine but also Southern. I have a certain twang when I talk, I have certain lingo because I was born in Texas and my family’s from New Orleans, and I lived in Atlanta, so everything is Southern. Yeah, it’s energy, we’ve got songs on there like “Ecstasy” that are sensual and “One Night” as well. Then you have me having fun like in “Gumbo” or “Good Music,” which is like something you can vibe out with your friends and your family. You also have a vulnerable side, a relatable side, which is me discussing being afraid of relationships or still dealing with the same person like with “New.” It’s just the energy of how you feel when you’re most confident and also when you’re sitting at home alone and you’re like, “Oh sh*t,” you know when you think about your life that night. It’s the energy first and foremost, I think it takes you through the experiences of every emotion really.

Let’s talk about some of the songs on the album, starting with “Drip,” what made that the perfect song to start the project with and how was the chemistry between you and Mulatto as you both worked on it?

I know that the project had to start with “Drip” because the production is so big and so triumphant, shoutout to the producer, [DJ] Hardwerk, he’s incredible, he also produced “Flex.” When I heard the production I was just like, “Woah.” If this was the first song on a project, you would keep listening to the next song and the next song and the next song. So I wanted to start it on such a high note, I think on my first project I started it with a slow tempo song and then I gradually went into more uptempo, but this project like I said, for me with the energy so I wanted to let people know I’m here, that was why it was first. Having Mulatto on the record, she’s also from Atlanta, we’re both from the southside of Atlanta, so it’s dope that she did the record with me. She’s so talented and she’s been working for such a long time, we actually met a long time ago when we were both younger and to see her now flourishing and doing her thing is amazing to me. I just want to have another triumphant boss-ass female on the song and she was perfect. We’re both from Atlanta, we’re both from the southside of Atlanta, it was dope having her on there.

One of my favorite songs on the project is “One Night,” the music video has 3.3 million views right now. How did the collab with Wiz Khalifa come about?

Shout out to the producer J. White, he’s incredible. He’s worked with Cardi B, did “Bodak Yellow,” he’s done a lot of amazing stuff. So, how the “One Night” with Wiz Khalifa came about was that I met him at the Christmas party that Atlantic [Records] has annually. He was in the section right next to me and I got his information and then he was like, “Hit me up if you ever hear a song idea,” and I was thinking to myself, oh yeah, I’m definitely gonna have something that I can hear you on. I want to say I already had the song, I’m pretty sure I already had cut at the time and I thought about it and I was like Wiz would actually be perfect for this because he’s so versatile and I’ve really been a fan of him since high school [too]. I sent him the record and literally, he sent it back. I wasn’t expecting to send it back so soon cause I’m a new artist and he’s probably really busy, so the fact that he sent it right back I just really appreciated that. But yeah, it was because of the Christmas party to make a long story short.

A track like “Lil Boi (Big Talk)” overflows with confidence, but so does the whole EP. What’s the source of this confidence for you?

I’ve always been a very confident person, I would say because I’ve always known what I wanted to do. I think knowing my purpose is what helps me be confident because I always feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I feel like I’m living my dreams out because it’s my purpose. So, I think that’s probably why I’m confident, on top of whenever I stay in certain situations, I always think in my head like, “I’m gonna bounce back from this, it’s all good.” If a guy tried to play me? Ha, he played himself cause now I’m on ten like now let’s go make a song about it. I just have that mentality to keep going and keep pushing the envelope and keep bettering yourself, that’s for sure what pushes my confidence just because I’m a super passionate person.

Was it hard creating a project in the midst of a pandemic? If so, how did you overcome some of these creative obstacles?

Well, some studios were closed at the beginning of the pandemic, but it didn’t stop anything because I’m always finding ways to be creative, no matter the situation. We already had some records, because I’m literally always recording. When we got back in it was like, I think I was just so excited and eager. I had ideas, I had things I wanted to talk about, I had time. To me, it was kind of a blessing, because you have time to think about what you want to do next. Usually, it’s go, go, go, go go, if you have a second to think like, alright, what’s your objective? What do you wanna leave the impression with for this next project? How do you want people to feel or? What do you want to experience? I think it was a blessing, in a way. In another way, I want to perform. In that aspect, I miss being able to perform and meeting people because I want to actually see people in real life. Do the interviews in real life, from that spectrum it’s like, damn. On the other hand, being able to record, that’s been great. I just missed real-life interactions as an artist, being able to meet people, see people and talk to them in person.

What’s a dream collaboration that you hope to make a reality in your career?

I have a few, but I’ll just give you like three. Drake, Missy Elliot, man I have so many, Beyonce and Rihanna [too].

Being that you were born in Texas and raised in Atlanta, what are some artists that had a huge impact on your artistry.

Oh man, being from the South, there’s so much influence, especially between Texas and Atlanta. As far as Texas goes, I was listening to Beyonce growing up — I love Beyonce. I lived in Texas until I was six and then I moved to Georgia, my dad’s in the military. It’s that and New Orleans influences too cause my family’s from there. Atlanta, so many [influences] too, there’s TLC, there was Monica, there’s Outkast. When I was in middle school, Travis Porter, they have such a fun, vibrant sound to their music. Then R&B, you have Ciara — there’s a lot of really amazing, talented people between Texas and Atlanta that influenced me. I got to work with Jermaine Dupri and he’s from Atlanta.

How was that?

Amazing! He really is hands-on and he can stay up. I know I could stay up, but he can stay up. He’ll be working on a beat and then we’ll be writing songs. He’s incredibly talented, very hands-on. He brings in the right people, he brought in Johnta Austin and Dallas Austin, it was incredible.

What was Ayanis like as a young girl?

Oh my gosh. She was not afraid to try anything, she’s really the same [now]. I think she still lives in me for sure that’s how I’m here. My mom used to always have this camera, this VHS, and she always used to put it in all of our faces and be like, say hi. I would sing or dance or [be] like, “Look at me!” I knew exactly what I wanted to do, even back then. My mom would tell me all the time, “She’s confident, the girl don’t sit down. She never sits down.” That’s what she always used to tell me. “Girl you always moving around, when are you gonna sit down?” I’m like, “Never!” I’ve been that way, fun, not afraid, and confident, a dreamer [too]. That’s how I got here. When I was younger, I used to always say, “I’m gonna be a singer when I grow up.”

What do you hope to be or become as you grow older in this industry?

I think just because of the way I was raised, I always want to be a good person and treat people the way that I want to be treated, as a person. No matter how big I become, I’m gonna always try to remain humble because I think that’s important. Things are given to you, that doesn’t mean that you get to be a d*ckhead. I know what happens. I definitely believe what I see for myself, I believe I’m gonna have a huge career. I’ve been working towards it and I’m gonna continue working towards it for years, so I’m definitely in it for longevity. I want to be a platinum-selling recording artist, I want to be able to travel the world when it opens back up, the world tours, give back, just [be] a big superstar. Touching people with my music, with my talents, and being able to give back to people and making them feel something and inspire other people to believe in their dreams.

Yani is out now via Atlantic. Get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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Waiting Rooms (And Other Public Spaces) Should Ban Cable News And Put Food Network Or HGTV On Their TVs Instead

Are you the receptionist in a doctor’s office? Or a doctor? Or really anyone in your particular place of business who has the authority to make decisions about the television in your waiting room without getting reprimanded and/or fired? If you are, I need you to do me a favor. I’ll lay it out in three simple steps:

  • Find the remote control
  • Point it at the television
  • Switch the channel from cable news to Food Network or HGTV

Do it now. Do it right now. Stop reading this paragraph. Keep this page open while you do it so other people in the office can see it. Send it to the office-wide email list and start the Reply-All anarchy. We need as many eyes on this as possible. It’s very important.

Do you need reasons? Do you need to justify this to a higher-up somewhere? Fine. I have reasons. Let’s start with the most obvious: cable news is bad. It’s really just terrible. There is not enough news to fill 24 hours of dead air every day — at least not the news they want to blabber about — so it ends up being like two hours of actual news with 22 hours of people speculating and/or yelling about that news while they show archival footage of politicians walking into and out of elevators. I will never understand why anyone would choose to watch it on purpose. The only exception is in the upsettingly rare situations where there is live footage of law enforcement officers chasing one or more recently escaped zoo animals, and even then you should watch it on mute.

Waiting rooms are stressful enough. No one likes waiting for anything, especially not the things you have to wait for in a waiting room. Adding the element of cable news does not help this, at all, even in its most benign form, before you factor in the thing where cable news channels have become important symbols in political fights among people who have made the opinions of various blowhard haircuts a significant part of their personalities. I do not want to get into an argument about cancel culture while I am waiting to have my teeth cleaned. I do not want to even overhear one. I don’t even want to think about it, to be honest, ever, let alone before a person I barely know sticks a sharp object into my face. I do not think this is unreasonable.

I do understand the motivation behind it, though. These offices want something they can flip on in the morning and leave running all day. They don’t want to be getting up every 30 minutes to look for something to put on a television that people will watch for a few minutes at a time. They want, for the most part, white noise to occupy people who are terrified of silence. The key is to find something that is inoffensive and not stressful.

Hey, do you know what is inoffensive and not stressful? Guy’s Grocery Games.

This applies to any of the other shows that Food Network marathons during the daytime, too. Same with HGTV and their slate of shows about people renovating their kitchens. I know this because one of my doctors made this switch recently and it has been delightful. I mentioned it to the woman at the check-in desk a couple of visits ago and she said they’ve received more positive feedback about it than almost any other decision they’ve made since she started working there. I started an actual conversation — with a stranger, on purpose! — one time because Guy Fieri was eating an intriguing sandwich. It was lovely. I was actually kind of sad when a nurse came out and called his name. I had more sandwich opinions to share with my new friend. Tell the doctor to wait.

Also acceptable: Game Show Network. Who the hell wouldn’t want to watch 10-20 minutes of a crazy daytime game show while they’re waiting? Game shows are great and you probably never think to watch them. They’re good when they’re good and they’re even better when they’re bad. I cannot think of many things that would be more enjoyable to watch before, oh, let’s say “getting the results of some bloodwork” than a contestant flubbing an answer on Family Feud. Was this last sentence just an excuse to post the “really loud hamburger” clip? Perhaps. I stand by it.

People are fried, man. The last year has been hard. The last five years have been hard, if we’re being really honest about it, in large part due to the increasingly divisive nature of the discourse, a situation cable news networks exacerbate by dumping gasoline on it between commercials about pillows and gold. Some people consume too much of it and spend all day itching for a fight over something that is supremely trivial in the grand scheme of things. Some people work hard to avoid it and do not want it shoved into their eyes and ears while they are basically trapped in a room for an indefinite period of time. Blasting cable news into a room filled with strangers is almost guaranteed to ruin at least one person’s day.

But food and home renovation? These things unite people. People love to talk about food and home renovation. Go up to a stranger and ask them about their favorite breakfast order. You could very well make a friend for life. At the very least, food shows and home renovation shows are easier to ignore while scrolling through stuff on a phone, which is all most people really want to do anyway. Making this switch is the easiest decision you will make all day and it will improve the lives — even just briefly — of most of the people who are affected by it, even if they don’t realize it in the moment. Do it. Do it now if you didn’t do it earlier. Never look back.

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‘WandaVision’ Has Finally Gotten The Unholy Ted Cruz-Imitator Version That It So Richly Does Not Deserve

On last week’s edition of WandaVision, viewers learned that Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes has really been “Agatha All Along.” This was news that managed to stun even though it wasn’t a huge surprise, which is also kind-of the case for Ted Cruz’s behavior last week. Was anyone really surprised that he was unwise (and selfish) enough to jet off for an ill-advised Cancun vacation while millions of Texans froze during a catastrophic, mega-power outage? Nope. Even news that he left his dog Snowflake, at home in a freezing house wasn’t a total shocker, even if he didn’t kill Sparky like Agatha did. Well, comedian John Walsh is here to join the two forces of evil in one terrible-good combo.

Walsh appears As-Ted-As-Agatha in this parody video called, “Ted Cruz All Along.” You may never be able to unsee this.

One has to admire the effort that went into this. Purple fog, the splicing of footage showing Cruz at the airport and heading home toward angry constituents while wearing a Texas-flag mask; and the bottled-water photo op. Overall, Ted has had a disastrous past several days, and he doesn’t really seem to care? He’s been busy lashing out over a neighbor leaking his wife’s texts about the vacation and playing with his phone during testimony about the U.S. Capitol riot that he helped to incite. Ted Cruz is definitely a villain, though he’s not nearly as super as Agatha. I look forward to the sequel!

(Via John Walsh on Twitter)

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The GOP Twitter Account Is Getting Pummeled For Not Knowing How Math Works While Criticizing Biden’s First 100 Days

Thanks to a poorly thought-out tweet attacking Joe Biden‘s administration, the official GOP account got dragged so badly on Twitter that the word “math” was trending on Thursday. “On the campaign trial, Biden promised to reopen schools within his first 100 days in office,” the official GOP tweeted. “But that is just another promise that President Biden hasn’t kept.” As anyone who understands basic math and how a calendar works can tell you, Biden has only been in office for 36 days. So it’s kind of odd, if not outright disingenuous for the GOP to accuse him of breaking a campaign promise when he still has 64 days left to hit his self-imposed deadline.

Naturally, Twitter had a field day blasting the GOP account for failing to grasp simple arithmetic or the passage of time:

As for Biden’s efforts to safely reopen schools, his administration has been transparent about the hurdles it faces. Specifically, the fact that Trump’s COVID vaccine distribution plan was practically non-existent, which has required Biden and his team to essentially “build everything from scratch.” However, Dr. Fauci recently revealed that, despite the lack of planning from the prior administration, most Americans are on track to start receiving COVID vaccines in April. That process will, of course, take several months to reach everyone, but it’s a significant improvement after Trump failed to deliver a comprehensive federal plan and left states to fend for themselves.

Despite all of that, Biden’s efforts are apparently not enough for conservative commentator Meghan McCain who recently demanded that Fauci be fired because she, a co-host on The View, does not know when she will get vaccinated, and that, for some reason, simply will not stand.

(Via GOP on Twitter)

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Lady Gaga’s dog-walker is recovering after assailants shot him and stole her two French bulldogs

Ryan Fischer, 30, was shot last night in West Hollywood, California while walking three of Oscar- and Grammy-winner Lady Gaga’s dogs. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and according to The New York Post is, “thankfully recovering well.”

After the shooting, the suspects stole two of Gaga’s French Bulldogs Gustavo and Koji. A third bulldog belonging to the singer, Miss Asia, ran away from the scene and was later recovered by law enforcement.

Steve, a friend of the victim, told FOX 11 that Fisher was passionate about the dogs.


“I haven’t heard from him yet. I heard that he was shot four times in the chest last night and I just tried to go to the hospital but they weren’t accepting visitors,” Steve said. “He would die a take a bullet for those dogs. He loves those dogs unconditionally. He’s always with them 24/7.”

Authorities have yet to disclose the number of times Fischer was shot.

When the news reached Lady Gaga she was in Rome getting ready to shoot an upcoming movie. She’s so distraught over the shooting she has offered a $500,000 “No questions asked” reward for their return.

According to the LAPD, the suspects got out of a white Nissan Altima with tinted windows, and one of them opened fire on Fischer. The two suspects then grabbed the dogs, jumped back into the car, and fled the scene. It’s unknown whether the suspects knew the dogs belong to the superstar.

Lady Gaga and her dogs are sure to make the headlines, but we mustn’t lose sight of the victim. Fischer was originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and according to social media feeds, spent a lot of time in New York City. He was gunned down near his current home in West Hollywood.

Photos and videos on his Instagram page show him to be a true dog lover. He talks to them as if they were his own children and he’s clearly an experienced trainer.

A recent post by Fischer shows that he’s not only interested in his favorite pups’ development as pets but as spiritual beings as well. Here he is talking to the dogs about the importance of Ash Wednesday.

“No matter who you are – from human to hound – the tradition of setting aside time to contemplate your life and role in it is essential in the development of self,” he writes in the caption.

Here’s a super sweet video Fischer recently made for Lady Gaga’s birthday featuring her dogs.

While the motive for the dognappers is unknown, it may have been financial. The LAPD told The Daily Mail that French Bulldogs can go for “as much as $10,000 if they have pedigree lineage.”

Lady Gaga adopted Miss Asia in 2014. Koji was born in 2015 and Gustavo a year after that.

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AZChike’s Trailblazing ‘Amiri’ Performance On ‘UPROXX Sessions’ Dismisses The Trend

After Drakeo The Ruler and Almighty Suspect came through to tear it up in consecutive weeks, UPROXX Sessions keeps the West Coast party vibe alive with yet another alum of the City of Angels’ well-established underground scene, AzChike. The South Central native dropped by to perform his Cypress Moreno-produced, post-G-funk bop, “Amiri.”

Although the track’s namesake is best known as a brand of expensive, highly-detailed menswear, Chike makes his intentions clear from the get. “Amiri on my feet, I said, ‘F*ck the jeans,’” he crows in his signature swing-flow deadpan. “Need at least ten to f*ck with me.” The LA-based designer, best known for customizing denim for rock stars like Axl Rose and Steven Tyler, has also become popular with hip-hop artists, receiving shout-outs from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Future, and more, but in typical Lotusland fashion, the LA-bred AzChike has no use for the existing trend, preferring instead to set his own.

Watch AzChike’s trailblazing performance of “Amiri” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

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Ava Max Previews The Return Of Nightlife With Her Lively ‘My Head & My Heart’ Video

Before she ever even released a full-length album, Ava Max‘s song “Salt” had already been certified Platinum in several countries. Continuing to build on the momentum last September, Max shared her club-ready debut album Heaven & Hell. The singer now returns to offer a visual alongside her thumping fan-favorite track “My Head & My Heart.”

Directed by Cham La’Donna and Emil Nava, the vibrant visual offers a steamy preview of what nightlife will be like when clubs open back up. Speaking about the visual in a statement alongside its release, the singer said, “This is hands down my favorite music video I’ve ever done. For the first time, I think my fans will see the true me on the screen and we are just getting started! Come DANCE with me!”

Ahead of the video’s release, the singer described the positive message she’s trying to spread through her music in an interview with Forbes. “I really believe that everyone is unique and I want to spread the message that you can do something really weird and that people love and hate, and that is polarizing because you will help more than you’ll get pain. I really believe that. And, I believe that we’re all one of a kind and I want to spread the message of just being yourself. And I’m proof that anything is possible. I’ve been trying to make it the industry for the past 10 to 15 years and I never quit. So it’s not cliche. You can make anything happen.”

Watch the “My Head & My Heart” video above.

Heaven & Hell is out now via Atlantic. Get it here.

Ava Max is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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Twitter Is Rolling Out A ‘Super Follows’ Feature, So You Can Make Money Off All Your Good Tweets

Twitter is a social media platform that has evolved considerably since its invention. We’re a long way away from simply texting things that are 140 characters long at this point in the platform’s existence. Now there are voice messages, and basically everything except an edit button because that would undo a significant fundamental of the microblogging platform in the first place.

Anyway, users will apparently get the chance to monetize their Good Tweets by putting them behind a paywall with a new feature called Super Follows.

Essentially, the program would allow users to make certain tweets only available to those that pay to see it. It could be a good joke, or some added context to something the rest of Twitter gets to see. It’s really up to whomever decides they deserve to be super followed.

The news came out of Twitter’s Virtual Analyst Day, which showed off what’s next for the platform. The inevitable comparisons to OnlyFans and Patreon were made pretty much right away. And monetization directly through Twitter could be a huge opportunity for revenue, both for the people tweeting and the company itself. but to say that people reacted to the news with skepticism would be a very big understatement.

Twitter also announced on Thursday that it’s starting Communities, which is sort of like Facebook groups. Sort of.

That announcement seems aimed at keeping people on Twitter to talk to their friends rather than chat in a Slack channel while bringing all the bad Tweets in there to laugh at. We’ll have to wait and see if tweets sent to Super Follows will be viewed in there or not.

[via The Verge]

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Nick Cave And Longtime Collaborator Warren Ellis Drop A Surprise New Album, ‘Carnage’

Back in January, Nick Cave revealed that he had a new album called Carnage on the way, writing on his website that he made it with Warren Ellis, a longtime collaborator and member of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds. Between then and now, Cave didn’t offer much more info about the project, but out of nowhere today, he has released Carnage, which is co-credited to Ellis.

Cave previously described the album as “a brutal but very beautiful record embedded in a communal catastrophe” and says now the inspiration behind the album came from “reading, compulsively writing and just sitting on my balcony thinking about things. He added, “The record just fell out of the sky. It was a gift.”

Meanwhile, Ellis says the record is the result of “two people sitting in a room taking risks and letting whatever happens, happen,” adding, “Making Carnage was an accelerated process of intense creativity. The eight songs were there in one form or another within the first two and a half days and then it was, ‘Let’s just make a record!’ There was nothing too premeditated about it.”

Check out the Carnage art and tracklist below.

AWAL Recordings

1. “Hand Of God”
2. “Old Time”
3. “Carnage”
4. “White Elephant”
5. “Albuquerque”
6. “Lavender Fields”
7. “Shattered Ground”
8. “Balcony Man”

Carnage is out now via AWAL Recordings.

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Nick Jonas Is Expanding His Solo Career With The Upcoming Album ‘Spaceman’

Nick Jonas may have started his career as one third of the Jonas Brothers, but the singer also has two LP’s under his belt as a solo artist. After releasing the successful Happiness Begins comeback record with his brothers in 2019, Jonas is once again pivoting to his solo work with his upcoming album.

Jonas announced the impending arrival of his third solo LP Spaceman alongside the record’s captivating title track. Speaking about the new project in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Jonas explained the concept that started it all:

“The key for me was trying to find a way to give this idea a persona, give it a name. So ‘Spaceman’ kind of came into my mind as I was thinking, ‘What’s the one thing that all of us have felt during this time? Completely disconnected from the world.’ We’ve gotten so accustomed to looking at a screen instead of human interaction and I think the thing that keeps us all encouraged and hopeful is the idea of knowing that there will be a tomorrow when this is our reality.”

The singer continued to say the entire album follows the same theme. “The body of work as a whole kind of tracks that, but it felt like the right thing to start with ‘Spaceman’ because it is such a stark visual and a creative idea to then start the conversation of songs like ‘This Is Heaven,’ which I’m really excited about,” he said. “It sort of touches on some of the things I did with ‘Jealous’ and tracks like that, but in a new way. I’m trying to continue to get better and evolve every day and push myself.”

Listen to “Spaceman” above and find the Spaceman cover art and tracklist below.

Photo by Anthony Mandler

1.”Don’t Give Up On Us”
2. “Heights”
3. “Spaceman”
4. “2Drunk”
5. “Delicious”
6. “This Is Heaven”
7. “Sexual”
8. “Deeper Love”
9. “If I Fall”
10. “Death Do Us Part”
11. “Nervous”

Spaceman is out 3/12 via Island Records. Pre-order it here.