This track would be played at the climax of a really good movie, right when the main characters do something that makes the audience wish they were in the movie. Listening to the song in its entirety was something of an astonishing trip, with the sextet singing in French and Cuco’s Spanish, it all blends together in a beautiful way. An intoxicating disco sound that has an addictive effect, made to be on repeat. It’s perfect to dance to at summer parties or clubs where everyone can find something they love about the song. Whether it be the breakdown during the bridge, its psychedelic lyrics, or the quick beat, there’s something anybody could appreciate.
Alive by Bakar
The new single “Alive” released by Bakar along with a date (September 1st) for his upcoming album ‘Halo’, shows us his genius as the alternative/pop artist of the UK. Starting off with a clean guitar riff and a steady bass, Bakar’s lyrics are simple but all too relatable. He depicts the feeling of wanting to appreciate what you already have in your life, “I know the sunshine isn’t promised/ so I put it in my pocket”, but also not fixating on it all. His talents not only lie in lyricism, but also in his skilled production work, and musicality being inspired from home, London. This track seems to be “feel-good” but holds depth within its words, and is still one you’d add to your summer playlist!
Uncertainty by Lauren Corrigan
Singer/songwriter Lauren Corrigan’s single “Uncertainty” is painfully raw and honest with a daunting bridge that creatively incorporates different instrumentals. The song encapsulates the trepidation of growing up and not knowing what comes next. She writes of the pain and truth of the past and how they are still alive in all of us, making us who we are. The track from start to finish feels intimate, with strong killer drums, and a lullful end.
Sex by Starbenders
Atlanta-based rockstars, Starbenders, have their new album ‘Take Back The Night’ coming out September 22nd and their single “Sex” gives a taste of what to expect from the upcoming punk rock group. The track is bold and provocative, one you’d join the moshpit for.
The lyrics seem pretty straightforward but with alluring lines like “The pendulum forever swings with the hands of time” it creates a deeper complexity. Then, the guitar solo traps you in the song, further showing the creativity within the band musically and lyrically.
Nothing To Lose by Wild Blue Yonder
A soulful, jazzy, and dreamy song that includes a beautiful mix of instruments and adoring lyrics. The entire song is an experience, one to dance and sing along to. Mid-song there is an interlude of an electric guitar, light drums, and mesmerizing keys in the background carrying you to a different realm. The track has lyrics of devotion to one person and what love can do to someone. A saxophone included makes this song feel more sophisticated, with rich vocals showcasing true talent and excellence.
Cold-Hearted Man by Sammy Rae & The Friends
Sammy Rae & The Friends took a song and made it a period piece, absolutely transporting you to a 1920s jazz club. The lyrics convey a story of men being good at first and then turning into someone “cold-hearted”. Rae has explained that the song was written back in 2016, but due to the overturn of Roe V. Wade last summer, the song became an ironic depiction of the progress we have made, but also how these old and tired themes between gender equality are still very prevalent in today’s society. Her old-timey voice truly brings a feeling of the past, just like these new laws and expectations of a woman’s bodily autonomy. The instrumentals tie the entire track together, again, a complete jazz song that is unique from the rest of their discography.
Coal Hearts by Kiki Kramer
With a memorable chorus and fun beat, “Coal Hearts” is the perfect pop/dance song of the summer. The intro starts off strong and bold with sassy lyrics and catchy “La la la’s” throughout the song. Kiki, originally from Cali, is now based in NYC releasing pop music with straightforward lyrics that anyone can party to. Whether you are pregaming to go out and you turn this on or you have aux, this should be going on every hot girl’s playlist.
Moxie is a small band from Vermont that cannot be classified as just an indie pop band when there are hints of rock and r&b. “Half-Past Twelve” has a perfect entrance into the song, with a little bit of the electric guitar getting picked up and carried to blend naturally with other instruments. This song is one that you’d nod your head with on the drive to the beach with your friends. Getting lost in the rhythm of the song but also observing the self-aware lyrics, it’s a beautiful juxtaposition between how the music makes you feel compared to the words of the song.
Anybody by Maeta
Maeta uses her vocals to beautifully express the wants of one specific person. Her alternative R&B album “When I Hear Your Name” takes a fun change with the song “Anybody” with a deeper bass and drum. The collaboration with SZA for the writing, you can hear background vocals and adlibs that truly complete the song. This is just a feel-good song with lyrics that show the yearning for someone. It can potentially make you feel down bad, but you can’t help to dance along. While there is not much depth within the lyrics, it’s enough for just about anybody to relate to, either on a good or bad day!
Get Lost by Windser
Another upbeat song with somber lyrics that hit hard. Windser (Jordan Topf) is an indie/alternative writer and “Get Lost” was just released on June 12th with dreamy guitar riffs and strong drums. The track begins bubbly and fun and continues throughout. However, if you are listening to the words, he expresses how there is a sense of desperation in trying to figure out the feelings of anxiety and depression and how to abandon them. By the end of the song Topf conveys that, sometimes leaving everything behind and going into the unknown can be the “answer” to getting through difficult emotions.
That Is My Life, That Is Yours by King Krule
King Krule released his album “Space Heavy” with metaphorical and mesmerizing lyrics that quite literally can send you off into space. “That Is My Life, That Is Yours” is more of a jazzy song with the addition of a beautiful saxophone solo which further elaborates on the feeling of getting lost and looking for love. By 1:40 in the song, the melancholy beat transitions into an instrumental with drums and an electric guitar, which feels as though it represents some sort of continual cycle of searching for love. Written by Archy Marshall, his deep voice is soothing and simultaneously enigmatic, creating an alluring listening experience. It can be a delicate wind-down song or an introspective approach to the lyrics and their meaning.
Hypochondriac by Savoia
Savoia, an NYC indie rock band released their single “Hypochondriac” with strong drums and a sick guitar riff preparing the chorus. I felt like I was listening to an early 2000’s rock song with lead singer, Lucas Allan’s, rich voice carrying through the song. The added “oohs” and “ahs” prep for this to be an interactive song heard live. The verses have a slow catchy beat to head nod to while transitioning into the fun instrumentals behind the chorus. The bridge has angsty lyrics to sing along with and ends with an insane electric guitar, bass, and drum to finish off.
Attention by Doja Cat
Her comeback to music has been greatly anticipated by pretty much everyone. The beginning of the track feels like a dream with a plethora of instrumentals next to her light vocals. Once she begins to rap, the lyrics are clever and witty showing her true place in the music industry. Doja did not come to play with this song, and I’m sure is only growing the excitement fans have for more music. Her flow on the beat moves quickly but smoothly and her lyric “Look at me, look at me/ You lookin’?” truly highlights her confidence in what she is doing and wants everyone to know it. “Attention” is that song that the lyrics truly show Doja Cat got to where she is with her hard work and talent, no funny business.
Where You Go by Kiana Ledé & Khalid
The beautiful vocals harmonizing by Ledé and Khalid make this song what it is. The R&B song has a strong background beat with lyrics that showcases the dedication of being close to one person. It embodies how much of an effect a significant other can have on one’s emotions, reactions, and livelihood. The minor but obvious manipulation of the vocals at the start makes this song intriguing but also ironically honest within the lyrics. This track is a quick one but worth it to be played on repeat with its catchy recurrent lyrics at the end.
Long Limbs by The Brook and The Bluff
The Brook & The Bluff set the tone for their upcoming album “Bluebeard” (out September 15th) with the release of the new single “Long Limbs”—a funky alternative song with an airy musical background and strong drums. The song encapsulates the desire of wanting to go back to the good parts of a relationship with someone. Trying to stay in touch with being in love rather than allowing the relationship to run its course. With the song beginning and ending with the same lyrics, “Pick up where we left off/ I don’t think we could”, it indicates that although there is hope in mending what has happened and moving on, it is not realistic
But Not Kiss by Faye Webster
Webster’s return to releasing music with the new single “But Not Kiss” is tenacious yet afraid, gracious yet aloof, aspiring yet feckless. A beautiful contradictory song filled with confusion but understanding. The track starts soft and slow and then transitions into an abrupt array of instrumentals and this continues throughout the song. The line begins slow and steady with lyrics of yearning, “I want to see you in my dreams…” and then the addition of sudden instrumentals of the piano and drums on the line, “but then forget”. The way the music ties together with the emotion of the lyrics shows Webster’s consistency in creating heart-hitting songs about being in love or being anti-love, whichever resonates.
On My Mama by Victoria Monét
Sampling Chalie Boy’s early 00’s “I Look Good”, Victoria Monét adds an R&B positive twist to the song. Her soulful dreamy voice combined with positive affirmations through the track, “On My Mama” is one of those self-empowering songs. While it’s a slower and more chill vibe, it is definitely one played to hype yourself up while getting ready to go out. A feel-good song that uplifts while simultaneously vibing, a great pair! One lyric being, “Done being the humble type”, Monét’s confidence is evident and mixed well with superb horns and a groovy bass in the back.
Perceptions by Meshell Ndegeocello ft Jason Morgan
For those who appreciate beautiful instrumentals rather than the story behind the lyrics, Meshell Ndegeocello’s “Perceptions” ft Jason Morgan is worth the listen. A short track with repeating sentences can emotionally send you in ways never thought of before. “Don’t let your outside world / Distract you from your inner world” is sung as almost a mantra, a reminder for yourself, while a soothing piano plays in the back. The piano solo after the chant is done is trance-like, making it difficult to not reflect on how the melody, along with the words makes you feel. A slower song on her album, “The Omnichord Real Book”; however, the ethereal aura while playing it makes it feel as if time is moving slowly.
SKINSUIT by Sam The Woo
"SKINSUIT” is a groovy, eclectic, and striking single released on June 23rd by artist Sam The Woo. Her unique voice and use of instrumentals create a mixture of eccentric jazz/r&b sounds. The strong bass hit towards the end of the song, with Sam’s tranquil voice humming alongside it preparing for the last verse. All I can say is it is obvious the creative thought and care put into the making of this song. The witty and imaginative lyrics express the feelings of feeling trapped within yourself, showing up as a different person towards others.
From a young age, schools present their students with limited career paths.
If the students express an interest in an industry (such as in the arts) for which the school could not make a step-by-step guide, it would be deemed a risk or unrealistic. The corporate world would be portrayed as a field that would make one financially stable—told that the only path to success is climbing the corporate ladder. Young creatives looking to pursue a career in the entertainment industry are often not provided with any direction from their high school and college advisors.
In a series of interviews, I will discuss with NYC-based creatives their journey in the industry and the different paths they took to get where they are today.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Brooklyn-based writer, photographer, and social media strategist Vincent Perella. At the young age of 25, he carved out a social media manager position for himself at Indiewire. He has covered some of the biggest events in the film world such as: Sundance, The Golden Globes, The Oscars, and many premieres. He also works as a freelance digital editor for an independent magazine, ODDA, interviewing celebrities such as Angus Cloud, Michael Cimino, Taylor Schilling, and many more. In two short years of living in NYC, Vincent has solidified his standing in this hard-to-navigate industry.
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Ashley Murphy: What are some of the responsibilities of the Social Media Manager at Indiewire?
Vincent Perella: So, going into the job, it was a baseline social media manager job. My day-to-day consists of planning the content across all our social channels (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube), writing the copy for that, coming up with graphics, and coming up with an innovative way to repurpose editorial content when certain things are trending, or I think a certain story will perform well. The role evolved. My higher-ups liked what I was doing; they asked what I wanted to make out of this job and would try to evolve to get there.
We evolved the role into a red-carpet correspondent; paired with that was also after-party photos and stuff for corresponding events such as premieres, film festivals, and award seasons.
I just hit my one-year anniversary with the company, so we are now…having a discussion over my title and where we want to mold me towards a little bit more than social media manager. So updates to come :)
A: Could you also give us a breakdown of your position as Digital Editor at ODDA?
V: The Odda team is really small. It's a global magazine, and the people running it are ten or fewer, including me. ODDA is really fascinating. We do two print editions a year, and each edition has 300-400 pages yearly (it's like a thicc boy). Apart from print, we run digital stories year-round. We cover everything from fashion to entertainment, highlighting up-and-coming talent in the art world. It's really cool having my toe dipped into culture in every possible sense.
As a digital editor, apart from the print world, I am usually the point person running all the online stories. Often I help with pitches; I have a cool hand in sourcing talent. I do most of the digital interviews, I help with the planning of the editorial shoots that go into it, and I coordinate with their team and PR; planning the launch and rollout is cool. It’s really fun.
To sum up both roles, Indiewire is like the hub of all my interests in the movie and tv world, which is what I have always been passionate about. ODDA is really cool too, because I can get a taste of the fashion and art world.
A: How do you prepare for these interviews after filtering pitches for interviews and selecting the celebrity/influencer?
V: I immediately jolt out questions I can think of off the top of my head. Most of the time, if I agree to interview someone, I know who they are.
First, I write down questions that I find interesting. Then I google their name and click on the news tab to see what projects are on the horizon to keep it as current and relevant as possible. The best/worst part of these interviews is that I am limited to 10-12 questions, so you have to narrow it down, which could be tricky. I approach it as finding the best story; I’ve never had an issue when asking a question and asked to scratch it, which is good.
A: When you do red carpet events for Indiewire, how do you keep tabs on all the people you’ll potentially meet?
V: That's a great question. With ODDA, you talk to one person and know you’re only talking to one person going into it. With Indiewire, when I’m going to a movie premiere, they’ll give me a list of expected attendees for the carpet, but they don’t all stop for the press. Typically, I approach it by picking the big names and preparing a couple of questions hoping to get them. And for the people I don’t prep questions for; it’s easy to come up with something off the top of the head.
One thing I found advantageous with larger groups, such as at the Emmys, was asking specific questions to relevant talent, but I was asking a lot of people the same question. One question I asked was, “If you could put your character in any other show nominated tonight, what would it be and why?” That was cool because we could make one article of their answers and conceptualize the storyline—the same thing with social videos.
A: How long have you lived in NYC? What was the process like getting your foot in the door?
V: I’ve been living in NYC for just over two years. Getting my foot in the door was a lot of work in college, in internships. Throughout college, I bartended to fund my move here; that was always the lifelong dream. I had four internships in college; one was at a small PR agency, two were at Boston Magazine, and the fourth was at Vice in Williamsburg. They all were pretty similar, social editorial focused. My first job out of college was at an agency doing socials for the New York Times. It wasn’t a sexy job, but most media people will say, “you need the agency experience to get started.” I was like, alright, let me get this under my belt. It was kind of a sucky job, and six months into it, I had to get out. I started to apply for jobs, and Odda came across my lap first. I was obsessed with the magazine, and I was bugging the editor-in-chief for a couple of monthsto give me the opportunity to show him what I could do. For a month or so, I helped him do socials and did a couple of interviews for digital. They didn’t have a digital editor, and after a month of doing this, he asked if I wanted it. It was never a full-time opportunity. I continued to work at the agency and used Odda to keep me excited about my day-to-day work life. It was an excellent resource for connections and building my portfolio with writing samples, and I grew from there.
In January 2022, I saw a job listing at Indiewire for this role, and went into it like, “I’m going to fight to the death to get this; I don’t care what it takes.” I applied for the job, found out who the hiring manager was on Linkedin, and messaged her. “Hey, girlie, I would love to hop on a call with you and learn about this opportunity.” That went really well. It was seven interviews and two tests, it came down to another person and me, and I got it.
To answer the question on how I got both those opportunities, it was having a strong resume and being knowledgeable about both those spaces. ODDA, which I was always passionate about because it covered so many spheres of culture I was interested in. What worked so well with Indiewire, I am so addicted to movies and TV, and I think they picked up on that.
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When Vincent isn’t conducting interviews on the red carpet, he continues to put his creative ambition to work through his photography. Looking through his portfolio, you’ll start to recognize a number of faces, such as Jennifer Coolidge, Anne Hathaway, Dylan O’Brien, Jenna Ortega, and many more. Captured right off the red carpet or at exclusive events, Vincent has a collection of unique portraits that feel spontaneous and raw, unlike most photos captured at these highly covered events. These celebrities are captured in a radiant and natural moment. With the vintage look amplified through the slight grittiness and overexposure in his photos, these candids resemble a ‘90s college vibe rather than a staged photo op.
Pictures by Vincent Perella (From Left to Right; Bella Thorne, Dylan O'Brien, Desus Nice, HoYeon Jung)
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A: Taking a look at your Instagram, there are a lot of familiar faces. How did you get started with your photography, and how do you approach celebrities at these events?
V: Before these jobs, I always had my camera on me. If it was taking pictures of friends or at a restaurant/bar, I was always strapped for aesthetic purposes. It started with ODDA, a lot of these events celebrities were sprinkled around. I said, “I like taking pictures of my friends, but let me try to get some celebs in the mix and see if I can pull it off.” I would straight up walk up to people and ask if I could take their picture. No one has ever given me a problem with it except [name censored, not spilling that tea]. A lot of these portraits come from after parties and big events. If you go to a movie after a party, they are expecting people to take pictures, which makes it pretty relaxing. I am pretty outgoing, so if I see someone I want to take a picture with, I will just go up and ask.
A: What is your favorite film you have seen while working the red carpet?
V: If I had to pick one, I would say Tar. It was my #1 of the past year.
A: In your recent red carpet coverage for Knock at the Cabin, you chatted with Dave Bautista about potential DC characters, and he brought up an interest in doing a rom-com.
How would you pitch the actor to be in a rom-com?
V: It’s hard; Dave is a beast. I can’t picture him being soft, cute, and funny in a rom-com. If I could pitch him in a rom-com, I think it would be cool if he could be a character of himself. I think it could be interesting if he were some sort of wrestler in the film, but behind closed doors, he is a miserable, sad man who needs someone to pick him up.
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Check out his most recent coverage with Indiewire at the Independent Spirit Awards. He chatted with Paul Mescal, discussing his commitment to the independent film industry. As well as getting Jamie Lee Curtis’ input on the current nepo baby conversation.
To see more of his work, check out his Instagram @vincentperella or his website below.
You can also find his work on Indiewire’s website.
Interviewed and Written by Ashley Murphy
Photography by Mark Bluemle
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