A R I Z O N A the band, not the state

It’s been two weeks since I last posted, but to be fair I had a show to work and I was sidelined with a sprained ankle (a “sprankle” if you will). I was also out of ideas for new topics. I want to be excited about everything I write here so I didn’t want to just pick something and give you a lackluster effort. The end of last week finally gave me a topic though. I saw that a band I’ve been following for the last year or so released their debut album on May 19th.

A R I Z O N A is an alternative electro-pop band from Glen Rock, New Jersey (no, not Arizona). The band is comprised of members Zach Hannah (vocals), Nathan Esquite (guitar), and David Labuguen (keyboard). The trio all attended college in Boston and initially went their separate ways before reuniting in their home state to form A R I Z O N A. The band’s name stems from a hat Dave was wearing during a random Facetime call with his bandmates.

A R I Z O N A started releasing music on streaming platforms in 2015. They’ve periodically released singles from then on. Their major breakthrough came when German electronic DJ Robin Schulz released a remix of their song “I Was Wrong” last summer. Originally the group thought of releasing an EP first, but then they realized they had enough songs to put out a full length album. Their debut album, Gallery, was released a few days ago. It contains all the music they’ve released so far plus a few new jams. The group is also playing the festival circuit this summer and embarking on their first headlining tour.

Back in November, on the night I saw Tegan and Sara, my friend and I bought tickets to the Hayley Kiyoko show that was happening in another room at the same venue. A R I Z O N A was the opener that night. I didn’t even realize they were the opener until I recognized the second song they played. It was a spontaneously awesome moment of the evening. I first started listening to them the previous winter when I heard the song “Where I Wanna Be” off a twitter recommendation and since that time I followed up with the group any time they released new music.

A R I Z O N A’s music style combines indie/alternative music with electronic music. When I first heard them I was slowly getting into electronic music. I liked an occasional song here and there (Let’s be honest, I still do). “Where I Wanna Be” was one of those songs. During the time I listened to that song frequently, I figured A R I Z O N A was probably the name of some DJ. I don’t think I even fully realized that the group was a band until I saw them perform live. It was good to know that a band like A R I Z O N A existed because most of the time electronic music to me was DJ’s. A R I Z O N A is a band. They have a lead singer (Zach). They have a guitarist (Nate), but they also have someone who plays the keyboard/synth elements of their songs (Dave) that gives their music its electronic feel.

I highly recommend checking these guys out if you’re into indie music, electronic music, or both. Even if you’re not, check this band out anyway because they have a pop element to their music as well. As I mentioned before, you can also catch them this summer. They’re playing a few big festivals (Gov Ball, Firefly, and Lollapalooza) and of course they’re touring all over too. Here’s a few songs that will make you fall for this band as much as I have:

1. Where I Wanna Be
2. I Was Wrong
3. Electric Touch
4. Cross My Mind
5. Oceans Away

 

Coachella Band Preview: Lorde

Another week down in the countdown to Coachella 2017 means another band preview. This time it’s not a band I’m previewing. It’s a singer who hails from New Zealand named Ella Yelich-O’Connor. You may know her better as Lorde.

Lorde came on to the music scene as a 16 year old in 2013. She had an interest in music growing up and performed while in Intermediate School with her musician friend Louis McDonald. It was because of McDonald’s father that Lorde signed a deal for development with Universal Music Group. He sent an audio and video recording of his son and Lorde covering two songs together to A&R at UMG. The duo performed under the name Ella & Louis. When Lorde went solo, she decided on the stage name “Lorde” because she was fascinated by aristocracy and royal folk. Because “Lord” seemed to masculine, she added an “e” at the end of “Lord” to give it a more feminine touch.

Lorde self-released her first EP, The Love Club EP, in November of 2012 via her SoundCloud and also made the record free to download. After reaching high download numbers, UMG released the EP for sales in March of 2013. Lorde released her debut album Pure Heroine in late September 2013. She embarked on an international tour in conjunction with the album release that began in North America in early 2014 and made several festival stops along the way including the Laneway Festival in Australia, Lollapalooza and three South American Lollapaloozas, and Coachella. Her debut album featured the chart-topping single “Royals” which was also a track on The Love Club EP. “Royals” earned Lorde two Grammy Awards for “Best Pop Solo Performance” and “Song of the Year” in 2014 in addition to four New Zealand Music Awards in 2013, two Billboard Music Awards, three World Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award, and the New Zealand APRA Silver Scroll Award in 2013.

Lorde’s music style is an edgier kind of pop music. Alternative pop is how I would define Lorde’s music style, but it’s truly a combo of indie pop, dream pop, and electropop. Since Lorde hasn’t released new music in over 3 years, it’ll be interesting to hear how her new music sounds, if it fits her current style, or evolves into something slightly different, which brings me to my next point.

Since 2014, Lorde has been relatively quiet. In September of that year, Lorde released a single for the Hunger Games series’ film Mockingjay – Part 1 called “Yellow Flicker Beat”. She was also featured on the Disclosure song “Magnets” in 2015. Otherwise Lorde has not released a new album since 2013’s Pure Heroine, which is expected to change this year. Although no official release date has been set yet, Lorde’s new album is expected to drop in Spring 2017. Perfect timing considering her Coachella performance. I’m sure the new album will also involve another tour and possibly more festival dates. Along with Coachella, she will also be performing at Governor’s Ball in NYC in early June followed by Bonnaroo a week later. Several festival lineups have yet to be released so like I said there might be a few more festivals for Lorde in 2017.

I’m pretty excited to hear what Lorde’s been working on. I’ve been a Lorde fan since August 2013 when I first heard the song “Royals”. It was around that time that I booked my flight for my first trip to California to visit my cousin who lived near Oceanside, and about a month later “Tennis Court” became a song I listened to in anticipation of the trip. There are lyrics in “Tennis Court” that go “pretty soon I’ll be getting on my first plane,” which I related to at the time. My flight to California was by no means my first plane trip. I flew to Florida three other times and Las Vegas as well, but before my trip to California my most recent flight was nine years prior. I obviously got older in those nine years. By getting older, I became more worried about things than I did when I was 15, so I was kind of nervous for my flight to Cali, which made it feel like my first time. During that month before hearing “Tennis Court” made me filled with anticipation, nerves, and excitement for my trip.

After Lorde played Coachella in 2014, she dropped off my radar for a bit, until last summer when I worked at the Firefly Music Festival. Lorde playing a secret DJ set in our lounge, a secret set at the festival, or just a random festival appearance became an inside joke amongst my fellow crew members. Someone even brought up that Lorde had just disappeared so it made the thought of a random appearance or set even funnier. The joke got even better when Lorde did show up in one of our lounges at another festival. I wasn’t working at that one, but I laughed pretty hard upon hearing the story. I guess that was just a precursor to the epic 2017 she’s expected to have.

That epic 2017 all begins with Coachella. The last time she played the festival she was a prime time act on Saturday night. This time she’ll be a prime time act on Sunday night. There’s no doubt she’ll take the main stage before Kendrick Lamar closes out each weekend. She’ll probably draw a huge crowd as well. If you plan to see her even remotely close, you’ll need to get there way before her set. Maybe even before the set before hers. Along with whatever singles she releases before the festival (or her new album if that comes out too), you’ll need to listen to these songs to prep for the starlet’s serenading:

1. Royals
2. Team
3. Tennis Court
4. Buzzcut Season
5. Yellow Flicker Beat
6. White Teeth Teens
7. Glory and Gore
8. The Love Club
9. 400 Lux
10. A World Alone