Scrimshaw Sessions ➳ Artists to Watch: 2017

With a new year, comes many resolutions. A healthier diet; a better workout regiment; reading more; whatever your heart desires. These are all things we at Scrimshaw try to emulate all year round, not solely at the turn of a new year. By no means are we claiming we're the best at resolutions - cause we ain't - but why not try to better yourself day in and day out, all year long. One thing that we're always on the hunt for, 24/7/365, is the best of new music. With the likes of Spotify's algorithms such as New Music Fridays, Discover Weekly, Release Radars, and a number of other services, new music is more accessible than ever. After some serious musical dissection, we've forecasted our top artists who are going to have outstanding 2017s. Some of these acts have been at it longer than others, but overall we have good feelings that this year is their year to shine. A number of these acts will be touring this year, so please get out and see them. We love them all, we hope you do to - ENJOY LISTENING!

 

1) Khalid

Hailing from El Paso, Texas, this 18-year-old artist is ready to take on the world. He's currently letting his soulful voice be heard across the country on his Location Tour. Khalid brings his modern twist to an old soul vibe, creating some serious beats. Catch an incredible performance in New York City next Thursday the 19th at SOBs (Sounds of Brazil), before he heads South then West. Already, with over 1.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Khalid is bound to have a monumental year.

2) The Suffers

Self-coined as Gulf Coast Soul, the ten-person musical group has been on the scene since 2011 and they've been heating up ever since. With over 150 shows across the nation, The Suffers are coming in hot - and aren't going anywhere. Performing at a plethora of music festivals, throwing down their own NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and finishing up touring with Lake Street Dive, this phenomenal squad culturally mixes a blend of genres to create something truly beautiful. They're touring across the Southeast soon, then off to Europe. Give them all the listens either in person, or with their self-titled album "The Suffers"!

3) Whitney

With roots from Chicago, and getting their start in 2015, Whitney is taking the music scene by storm. Their single "No Woman" has been a massive success, and their full album "Light Upon The Lake" blends folky guitar with a unique sound of vocals. There are times when you feel slightly transported back in time listening to Whitney, while their indie rock sound keeps you coming back for more. You'll have their album on repeat - guaranteed. Internationally touring across Asia, Australia, they'll be back in North America through May, then across to Europe for June. Catch them wherever tastefully curated venues are operating. 

4) JONES

Trust us, that when you hear JONES' music you're going to melt with her. The London based songstress enchants us with her soulfully infused tunes, and sultry vocals. Her debut album "New Skin" is out now and her alternative R&B/pop music will wow you, just as it has us. JONES worked with a impressive crew of producers for this album (including HONNE, Justin Parker and Tourist to name a few) to put out something she should really be proud of. JONES, please make your way to the States ASAP - we can't wait to hear you live!

5) Roosevelt

This song will absolutely spark some essence of summer, as the German producer Roosevelt belts out a synthetic electro-pop hit, "Fever". The track featured on his self-titled album "Roosevelt" out last August, is just one of twelve that will get your feet dancing and your hips swaying. His music has a very upbeat sound, that almost makes you feel like you're grooving in slow motion. In October, he dropped a cover of the Womack & Womack hit, "Teardrops" that's really gushing the 80s inspired feel, which you'll definietly hear throughout his music. Dance it out with Roosevelt.

6) Elujay

The inspirationally talented Elujay is bringing feel good jams to the world while singing about real issues. The Oakland based artist has been in the music scene for ages, with a number of singles such as "Soul Food" and "Pushing Lines" culminating with the release of this first full album, "Jentrify". Elujay invited a number of artists to this project, including Rexx Life Raj and Ymtk to name a few. With roots in California, we believe that the nation will soon know Elujay's name and powerfully curated music.

7) MUNA

The LA based trio, describes themselves on their website as a: "brooding sensuality of R&B, rhythms of funk and pop rock, and audacity of synthpop with raw, unbridled lyricism." We couldn't have said it better ourselves (thus the direct quote). Katie, Naomi, and Josette's first single "Winterbreak" took the world by storm. So much so, that the EDM-king himself, Tiësto, remixed it into one of 2016's best summer dance hits. MUNA is off on tour with the Lo Moon, and will of course be tearing it up at Gov Ball in early June. Listen to these bad ass ladies and you'll be glad you did. #MUNAFTW

8) liv

Translated in English to "life", liv, is a Swedish collaboration for the ages. This powerhouse of a gang consists of Lykke Li, Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John, plus Andrew Wyatt & Pontus Winnberg of Miike Snow, and Jeff Bashker. Their first song together, "Wings of Love" embraces a lightness that makes you want to hold hands with someone - or run naked through the woods like Li's directed in the above video (we're going to go out on a limb and say this video probably counts as NSFW, but use your judgement - we trust you to be smart). Most of these musicians have been working together for some time in a variety of capacities, so it's inevitable that liv's got much more up their sleeves as they embark into an amazing year ahead. 

9) KINGDM

What appears to have started by the masterminds of Luca Masini & Reuben James, resulted in the electronic-pop band KINGDM. Self-described on their Facebook page as "Music for the people," KINGDM's beats almost immediately put you poolside, with a frozen cocktail in your hand, set for a colossal sunset. KINDGM has four massive singles out now on Spotify and joined forces with Kevin Garrett & SG Lewis for their track "Baby". With support from Apple Music, Majestic Casual, Noon Pacific, and Spotify, KINGDM had a rockin' 2016, but we foresee their success getting even stronger in 2017. Stay tuned and get amped.

10) Mt. Joy

With only one song on Spotify that's been played over 2.3 million times, Mt. Joy's "Astorvan" captured not only our hearts, but a monthly listener pool of more than 250K. Mt. Joy belts it out in this folksy tune about how Jesus actually drives an Astrovan. With some awesome album artwork, a tune that's got some serious buzz, we can't wait to hear what else Mt. Joy puts out in 2017.

The Powers of Lostboycrow

Lostboycrow is expanding the defined lines of genres with his pop minded vocals and his dark love affair with the world of modern R&B.  Scrimshaw recently had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Lostboycrow right before his EP Sigh for Me was released into the music stratosphere.  The album is pure genius with Lostboycrow drawing inspiration from all aspects of his life to create silky beats and lyrics that evoke emotional electricity.  Listen to the album below and check out the interview to get to know the man behind the music. 

Scrimshaw Collective (SC): Hey Lostboycrow, thank you so much for getting back in touch with us! We’re super stoked to be chatting with you!

Lostboycrow (LBC): Thank you guys, I appreciate you reaching out. It really means a lot what you guys have to say about my music; I appreciate your enthusiasm about the music!

We’re big music geeks, and are truly excited about the year ahead in music, especially yours! We first heard your single “Love Won’t Sleep” featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist, and initially, thought… who the hell is this guy? The beat is sick! The fact you were on that is epic.

Thank you so much - Yeah, Spotify has been awesome!

We can only imagine Spotify has been a good outlet for you, or are you more of a SoundCloud guy?

Its hard to say if its me, or if its just the way things are shifting in how people discover music. It seems like most people are very SoundCloud heavy, especially for a lot of music blogs, and it’s been huge for me this year.  Whereas with my new EP coming out, Spotify has really come into the picture the past couple of months, and has become a huge resource for people finding my music.

Ah absolutely, both platforms are huge for discovering music nowadays. And it seems like you’ve got a big week with the release of your EP “Sigh For Me.”

That’s right - everything is finally coming out on Wednesday January 13th, apart from the three singles that you may have heard already, including “Powers,” “Talk Back to Me,” and “Love Won’t Sleep” plus two new ones, which I was able to feature some artists on!

Picture by: Lostboycrow

We were actually just looking up your featured artists, Jon Waltz & Skizzy Mars, are these close friends of yours in the industry, or are these new collaborations?

It was amazing working with the incredibly talented artist and writer Jon Waltz, who I didn’t really get to know until we were collaborating on the song, but got to know him a bit more while recording eventually stemming a strong friendship from there. Art is all about connecting, and so when you’re working with people, you obviously want to be connected and into what they’re doing, so I’ve been able to form a friendship with Jon through that. And Skizzy Mars is another feature, of whom I’m a huge fan. He was super into the song, and it was cool to kind of start a relationship out of this song as well. Plus the song itself is kind of about becoming an artist, finding the inspiration within yourself, the dynamic of “ok, now I’m an artist” not just a person that people have told me I am my whole life. It was cool to bring Skizzy in on that one, who’s such an interesting artist & human being.

It’s really cool that you’re collaborating with artists that you not only respect, but you ones that can push your boundaries as an artist. You’re creating something new, and its essential to have new ideas. There’s a lot of places where you have to break the mold in this day and age, and a lot of your music seems to be doing that. In one of your descriptions online, you’re “creating a dark love affair with modern R&B,” so do feel that you connect to a specific genre overall, or are you experimenting to see what comes next?

I mean its kind of experimenting, as its a culmination of everything that I’ve been into. With music, you have it be sincere, and obviously there are different levels of talent but at the end of the day, people just want to hear something sincere; something that strikes a chord within themselves, that they can’t quite put a finger on, but it makes you feel a certain type of way.  And I’ve felt that way with a lot of different genres. I’ve been in punk and metal bands, but have gotten really heavy into R&B over the years. So its just kind of like a culmination of always chasing that feeling of what exactly it is that makes you feel alive. And I think music is immortal in that way. I think we each experience immortality when we listen to a really special song and I’m just so chasing that feeling with each song I put out.

When I first started, I wanted to get into electronic music (not necessarily in the EDM sense), but create that driving beat that really grooves, that people can not only think and appreciate the intellect behind, but also have a good time to, and dance! It’s a combination of all of those things. I want people to resonate with the work, relate my songs to their own stories, and I want it to feel good when they listen to it whether you’re in the club or you’re blasting it in your homies’ car going 80 down the freeway - it doesn’t matter. I will say that R&B has meant a lot to me over the past few years, and there is that R&B/hip-hop element especially in my features. I don’t think these artists I worked with are bound by any genre, but they definitely have more of a hip-hop/R&B leaning, and it’s something that I appreciate, and will always try to bring in on my collabs.

Picture by: Lostboycrow

I think that your music, 100% makes people feel good.  And as we’re not always driving down the freeway at 80 MPH, your music always triggers a foot tap on the early morning subway commute.

Haha, that’s awesome. So are you guys in New York?

We’re actually between New York City & San Diego. A bicoastal collective exploring both coasts and everything in between. Looking to get up to the Pacific Northwest sometime soon.

Yeah definitely, I’m from Portland, so I got you there. Oregon is one of the best places to explore! It’s probably good now for Scrimshaw that you’re in separate locations, so you can cover more ground.

Totally! We’re able to reach similar audiences in very different locations, which has been really awesome. So you said you were from Portland, but are now in California?

Yeah I was born in Portland, and moved down to LA about a year and a half ago. LA is what I call home. It’s been so welcoming and rejuvenating as an artist.  

So can we assume that LA has influenced your work, from the weather to the people, to the vibe down there?

Definitely, I would say that without question the people and the vibe in and of itself have been such a positive experience thus far. Working with other incredible musicians and producers! I’ve lived all over the city, and have been able to experience truly every part of LA. A huge influence in the music I make is from the people I’ve met and the way they've inspired me. Portland is a very culturally rich place, but it’s just not quite the same, especially in what I’ve wanted to do.  LA has been the perfect setting for me to do what I want.

Photo by: Lostboycrow

In talking about different cities, are you keeping your shows in the California area this year, or are you going to be heading around the country a little bit?

Honestly, everything’s pretty open right now, but I’m planning on traveling quite a bit as I think we’re at that point now. I’ve been playing LA for a decent time now, and we’ve this big EP release show Wednesday January 13, which is going to huge! Then after that, it looks like we’ve got a couple gigs out of town, and hopefully a proper tour this spring or summer.

That’s great news, and good to hear you’ll be traveling – make your way to NYC! For us when we listen to your music it’s almost like a story, so to follow you along a potential tour, we’re curious to see what kind of music would come out of that trip.

Me too, and thank you for that! That really resonates with me and means a lot. I was just reminded yesterday with the misfortune of David Bowie’s passing, of what an amazing storyteller he was and what a lost art that’s become. I say it all the time when I talk to people about my music, I really can’t stress storytelling enough, because that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. I think as artists, whether you’re a painter or whomever, you have a really special opportunity to tell stories in ways that history books really could never do justice, or quite capture the truth however factual they may be.  So that means a lot to hear.

Well said, and very true! As we’ve all been thinking about Mr. Bowie’s unfortunate passing, was he a strong influence for you, and if so, are there any other artists that’ve been influential in your work?

Oh man, of course Bowie was a huge influence! I think artists are confined by mediums sometimes you know, you’re an singer, you’re an actor, whatever, but I think David Bowie was a true artist across the board, which is something that I’m trying to draw from as well. But yeah, I think the biggest influences of the lyrics and sounds that you hear now are with my love for the Arctic Monkeys and Alex Turner specifically, who’s an incredible - INCREDIBLE - lyricist and writer. And then Frank Ocean; Frank’s music has done things to me I can’t even begin to describe. I think when I heard Channel Orange, and then went backwards into his catalogue from there, that was a huge turning point for me as a singer and a way to sing stories. Although these artists are a little bit more modern, they’ve had a timeless effect on the music that I’m creating now, and will probably always be creating. But also Brian Wilson, and the Beach Boys - which I grew up listening to with my parents, so I think those are the big ones!

Photo by: Lostboycrow

The quote on your SoundCloud bio reads “an idea that pays homage to new beginnings and a poignant heritage,” and Frank Ocean is a perfect example of that, who’s such a cool new twist on a classic sound that a lot of people can get behind. 

Yeah, totally agree, and he’s been such a huge inspiration for that reason. He’s been a great 21st century version of the great R&B signers of past times. He’s so traditional yet forward thinking at the same time, which is the most inspiring thing about him. He draws from those familiarities, and those classic/timeless sounds and feels, in the way that singers just used to really fucking sing! And today, I think unfortunately that can get lost in a lot of the production. That’s what great about Frank is that you can understand what he’s singing about, even if you didn’t understand any of the words.  He’s just so powerful in that way.

Speaking of production, we noticed the label “Sexy Electric” on your Instagram. Is that the label your EP is going to be on?

No actually, but they are very dear friends of mine, that I met in the beginning of last summer through another fantastic artist Alma. We started working together as more of a collective, but this new EP is actually independent. However, I couldn’t have made this without the help of my friends there at Sexy Electric; it’s been really nice to have that collective friendship sonically.

So they helped more on the production side then?

Yep! Brian Child and Marø who produced the EP, we did everything together! They are co-founders of Sexy Electric, along with help from DJ Kill Paris.

Didn’t we see Kill Paris do a remix of one of your songs Spotify?

Yeah, he did, he remixed my first song “Powers,” which was awesome because he’s incredibly talented. We’ve since become really good friends!

Ok, so speaking of remixes, do you like being in the studio or being on stage more?

Oooh, that’s a great question!  I don’t even know if I could ever answer that! I guess off the top of my head, I enjoy being on stage more because it’s more enjoyable, whereas the studio has this beautiful labor-of-love. The studio is a very magical place, but I think I have to say stage because that’s where it all comes together! Reliving the triumphs and pains, your highs and lows; the stage is pretty hard to beat!

For us, going to concerts is the best, but then again listening to that one song in your head phones can be just what the doctor ordered. As we’re not performers, it’s fascinating to hear your take on it. As we’ve noticed on your Instagram page, there are a lot of wings in your photos + blue stripes over your eyes, and we were wondering if these allude to your name and if you could talk a little bit about that.

Yeah, to put it simply, the name has a lot to do with storytelling and dreaming actually. The roots are actually from the Native American culture first nation, from a tribe called the Crow in Montana. I grew up loving their culture so much and wanted the name to pay homage to that. The Crow are an amazing culture that revolves around dreaming and seeing a visions for your tribe and those around you. There’s not a more beautiful image to be an artist, and help dream for those around you, which gives a quick synopsis of the name. The wings though in the pictures, obviously represent the wings of crow, but I’ve added these wings to remind everyone that there’s a bigger better version of yourself - and that we all have that. Then the blue streak over my eyes, represents that we all see our worlds through different lenses, sharing and experiencing perspectives as we do. LostBoyCrow is as real as it gets for me. Some people call me LostBoy, some LBC!

Wow, that’s an awesome reason! Now, we’ve got a question for you, which three words would you choose to describe how you’re feeling for the release of this new EP and 2016 as a year in general? We’re just so excited for 2016 in music, especially to see how you develop as an artist!

I’ve got to say 1) Thankful, because of all the people who helped me create what I did; obviously 2) Excited, because in my mind the possibilities for this year are endless; and I think all at the same time, 3) Ready, as I think I’m really just ready. Everything from this past year has taught me to be ready, and get this on the road!

Yeah, ready to spread those wings!

Yeah, haha, ready to spread those wings!

Well thank you so much for everything and we really appreciate your time and excitement to chat.  We’re looking forward for the EP and everything else that’s to come!

Definitely, thank you guys so much for reaching out.  I’ve enjoyed talking with you and you’ve asked some amazing questions; I’m excited to have a feature with you!

Photo by: Lostboycrow