Getting to Know Will Abramson of Yours Truly

Will Abramson of Yours Truly on FluenceAs Yours Truly’s website will tell you: For four years, brands and bands eager to make passionate connections with fans have turned to Yours Truly for our singular brand of French kiss-intimate storytelling held to the “ink standard” of hand-crafted quality worthy of our signature.

Their client & partners roster list includes Ray-Ban, Red Bull, and adidas Originals to name a few. So, it was only natural for us to want to pick the brain of Yours Truly founder and Fluence curator Will Abramson.

 

beat:repeat NYC: Mtume – Juicy Fruit from Red Bull Music Academy and Yours Truly

 

So, Will, how did Yours Truly come about?
While I working as the music marketing manager for a company called Imeem in San Francisco I built some great relationships with music publicists and labels. At the time there wasn’t much for bands to do press or promo wise while in San Francisco so we were able to steal bands for a few hours to shoot a short interview or performance. We started out producing “take away shows” for LA Blogoteque but quickly decided we needed to do our own thing. When I got laid off at Imeem I poured myself into Yours Truly because I never wanted to get laid off again. I spent the next year working full-time on Yours Truly and living on my unemployment. Then we just went from there.

 

Nao – ‘In the Morning’ from Yours Truly

 

Yours Truly and Fluence are strong proponents of the Attention Web and how it leads to better quality art and media being produced and promoted. What’s the best way for new brands, artists, and producers to get your attention?

In a media landscape of relentless updates, when slight variations of the same news, reviews, lists and “bands to watch” parade through our feeds on a 24-hr cycle, and the shelf-life of content is measured in seconds, the value of curation and quality is at a premium.

Today, brands, creators, and publishers alike understand that engaged users are more valuable than passive eyeballs & that real value comes from creators ability to engage and retain a passionate niche with content and experiences that are worthy of people’s most precious (and valuable) commodity: time.

My time is valuable; everyone’s is. The best way to get my attention is to create a really compelling product. And it’s not just a song, its the artwork, the video, what you say about it, who else is championing it. All gatekeepers are looking at other gatekeepers to tip their hats and I’m no different. I love to be ‘first’ to things but I’m not as thrilled by it as I once was. The cream has a way of rising to the top, so make cream.

 Nosaj Thing x Chance the Rapper “Songs From Scratch” from Yours Truly

 

Yours Truly deals with many art forms. What is your favorite art form? And why?
My favorite art form is food. I love food. Eating is my favorite activity. I think the process of constructing a meal, how the flavors meld together is really high art. To me, discovering a new band and discovering a new restaurant are equally exciting and special moments.

 

Who would you consider to be your dream client (you’ve yet to work with)?

I always say that if we were able to work with Prince or D’Angelo, I’d retire right then.

 

Who’s your new favorite artist? And why?
Tobias Jesso Jr. He’s made a classic album and I can’t wait to see him blow up. People are comparing him to Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman, and while those are apt comparisons I think Tobias just made an album that sounds timeless. He’s an incredible songwriter and a really nice guy!

 

Reach Will Abramson on Fluence here.

Will Abamson of Yours Truly on Fluence

Browse People on Fluence

Record Labels | Film & Video Experts | Music Videos

Music Industry Experts | Music Bloggers & Writers

Electronic Artist Spotlight: Hollywood Principle

 

We bring you a special artist trio soon to be in the minds of synth, indie electronic, and pop lovers everywhere. Beautifully crafted melodies, talented production chops, and breathtaking vocals make Hollywood Principle a musical force impossible to ignore.    

 

 

New on the scene, we had the chance to be one of the first to interview and find more about them:    

 

You’ve recently started receiving numerous accolades from bloggers and music curators with a wide range of opinions for identifying your Hollywood Principle Interview on Fluenceunique sound. The comparisons to The Naked and the Famous, Florence and the Machine, and London Grammar are all well-founded, yet you seem to posses something beyond each categorization. What do you think contributes to this?  

Mostly I think our desire to pull on our strengths individually is how we came up with our specific sound. Elliott is extremely focused on the complexity of the melodies, Mike is always focused on trying to have a higher production value, and Kayla is always centered around the songs having actual meaning.  

 

 

Is there a story behind the name?

Elliott and Mike are nerds. It’s a computer programming principle… Kayla has no clue what it means.

 

How did Hollywood Principle come into being?

All of us share a mutual friend, Rob Bondurant.  Who is also a musician.  Essentially we used him to find each other and start our own band.

 

How did you discover the Fluence platform? What do you think of the concept?

Elliott stumbled upon it on google when he was looking for innovative promotion platforms online. The concept is amazing, and we have been very fortunate to have made some key, beneficial connections through the platform.

 

 

We’ve been anticipating your debut EP ‘Starting Over’ being released sometime this spring. Are there any more specific release details we can look forward to? Are there any plans for a larger release down the road in 2015?

We will be releasing a new track every month until May. We spend a lot of time crafting the tracks into a cohesive work, so we are really excited to weave each of these tracks into a new experience for those who have enjoyed each individual work too. We should have a bunch of remixes and acoustic versions as well for when that comes out. The best place to stay up to date would be on our Soundcloud.

 

Your favorite tracks in 2014?

Mike Ault: Broods – Bridges

 

Elliott Sencan: Human – Aquilo (Marian Hill Remix)

 

Kayla Hope: Point Point – Life in Grey

 

Follow Hollywood Principle on Facebook and Twitter for updates, and add your email here to get notified when ‘Starting Over’ is released.

 

– Music Curators and Writers on Fluence –

Indie Electronic | Pop | Electronic | Synthpop

Meet Andrea Young of Aspenbeat Record Label!

Andrea Young of AspenbeatAndrea Young was born to work in music; it runs in your blood. After graduating college with a degree in music and psychology, she began work at MCA – a distributor who then handled Tom Petty, Chaka Khan and more. But like most of our Fluence curators she didn’t stop there, over time Andrea co-owned a chain of record stores, co-founded a company that computerized the music business (hello SoundScan) and eventually made her way to radio. We got a few minutes to catch up with Andrea and here’s what she had to say:.

 

Tell us about your present day career. What do you do? And what does it entail? 
It’s always been about the music for me, whether as a hobby or a profession. I currently run my record label and produce my radio shows, so I am doing what I have always wanted to do! I spend my time listening to music to find tunes to play over the airwaves and share [digitally]. What that entails takes many forms, from coaching artists through Fluence and other online review sites to promoting individual artists I believe in through my record label, Aspenbeat. And from playing tunes on my weekly eclectic public radio show on Aspen Public Radio (“Aspenbeat”) or my jazz radio show (“Jazz From Aspen”), to creating playlists on Spotify for my private clients, or sharing in my newsletter and blogs and playlist sites to my listeners and fans – in other words, I share them anywhere and everywhere I can.

 

 

Is Fluence helping make your role a little easier? How?
Definitely. I think Fluence is part of the future of music promotion and distribution. The good and the bad news is that the field of getting attention for your music has opened up to anyone and everyone with a tune and some persistence. But how do you spend your resources wisely, what makes the most sense? That type of strategy is what I love to do and Fluence brings artists to me to do that in both a shorthand version (online review) and then in more focused ways as I work with some of the artists who have come to me through the site. Fluence matches up curators and creators in an affordable and viable way unlike anything that’s come before it. In the past you’d have to struggle to find an industry expert to listen to your music – now with a little bit of research and work you can reach curators like myself and gain some traction for your music. I’m always listening for something that resonates with me and therefore my audience. Fluence helps bring those tunes to me.

On the other side, I get too many submissions to listen to every day: Fluence helps moderate that process for me, bringing in artists who might be a bit more serious (i.e. willing to pay an industry expert for a listen and feedback). I’ve got an ear for hits and what makes a great tune. I’m building my label and always looking for artists to work with. While I’ve been in the music business a long time, I’m working through the transition happening in the industry right now just like everyone else. It’s a new paradigm and a new road for me and everyone. Fluence helps with that too. I’m a big fan.

 

Have you made any epic discoveries while using Fluence?
On the music side, I have discovered artists, that I love, that I have played repeatedly on my radio shows and that have become part of my ‘Aspenbeat Top 300’, ‘Aspenbeat Top Songs of 2014”, and ‘Aspenbeat Constant Repeats’ playlists, including CMBSTN, Birds Over Arkansas, Ted Pearce, David Rosen and memoryfield (now on the Aspenbeat label).

 

 

Fan girl moment, what artists can you not get enough of right now?
I tend to play certain songs over and over again when I find something that catches my ear. Usually just one song off an album, it’s rare for me to find two or three that I really love. You can find my Constant Repeat playlist on Spotify, SoundCloud, Youtube and my website. I tend toward pop and singer-songwriter with some good high energy rock and roll thrown in.

Right now my list includes songs from Dr. John (‘Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child’), Sam Smith (‘Money On My Mind’), The New Basement Tapes (‘When I Get My Hands On You’), Stevie Nicks (‘Lady’), Willie Nelson (‘The Wall’) and Kids On Bridges (‘When The Needle Drops’). On the Aspenbeat label there’s memoryfield (with their cover of David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’), Natasha Marin (yes Cheech’s wife and a prolific classical pianist, try her ‘Chopin Collection’), MYA Project (electronic pop with ‘Believe Me’) and The Rifters (Americana with ‘One Hundred Miles’) just to start.

 

 

Oh! I just saw Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden and that reignited an incessant playing of Billy Joel music on my playlists, he’s one of the most prolific entertainers of all time, I consider him our world’s Beethoven or Mozart. I’m also a huge fan of what I call ‘big pop’ from the top of the charts, the Taylor Swifts and One Directions of the world, I love their complex production and energy.

Sweet! Thanks for your time, Andrea.

Want to send your music to Andrea Young? Visit her Fluence profile here.

 

Browse Fluence Profiles

Record Labels | Radio Broadcasters | Artist Managers

Music Industry Experts | Music Bloggers & Writers

Music Blog and Record Label: Killing Moon Interview

Killing Moon Records on Fluence

 

Killing Moon began as a new music blog in 2011 and was founded by Achal Dhillon, formerly of Mercury Records, Columbia Records and Quest Management. Known for being one of the first to break amazing artists such as Alt-J, Foxes, and Royal Blood, Killing Moon has since evolved into a record label, artist management company and concert promotion hub.

We had a chance to interview founder Achal Dhillon and learn more about what it takes to run a respected music blog and record label.

 

You founded Killing Moon in 2011 – how did it all start?Killing Moon Founder Achal Dhillon

Killing Moon started as a blog which I launched having just left a job at Almost Gold Recordings/Quest Management. In one respect it isn’t much different from a lot of blogs already out there – I’d spend a lot of time looking at new artists via the various mediums of social networks, working out which one’s I liked with the slightly surreptitious purpose of bigging up those which I thought were objectively good.

In another it is very different from other blogs – each track has to have a degree of emotional significance for me as I am constructing the ostensible soundtrack to my life. The blog now reaches to most if not all of the UK A&R community at large, as well as in Europe and North America and is cited as the blog that helped launched careers for artists such as Royal Blood, The Family Rain, Alt-J, Clean Bandit, and a bunch of others. At some point in the same year I had the idiot idea of putting on live nights, putting out some records and managing some artists despite the fact I could barely afford rent each month (and this is me living with my parents…). It’s now become my livelihood and that of several others, and we’re still doing the same sort of stuff, just on a much larger scale.

 

Advice for musicians and artists in the digital age?

Make the music you like, as opposed to the music you think people want to hear. Unless of course you don’t write music and simply want to perform, in which case be everything everyone else wants you to be. Digital distribution has never been easier to gain, and we now have this wonderful thing called the internet which means you have a platform to market your stuff to a lot of people for not much money at all. Generally just concentrate on being a musician or an artist; if you’re good, people will find you. When you do have a “team” around you – management, label, publisher, agent, lawyer, whatever – do ask questions, do criticize and critique and learn as much as you can; but if you feel that you know better than your team, you should probably do everything or that specific function yourself.

Also, don’t measure your success or where you are generally as an artist by comparing yourself to others. They’re not you, and ultimately it’ll just leave you wishing for something more all the time rather than just existing as an artist. If stats are that important to you, work in the industry instead.

 

Favorite artists right now?

Unashamedly the artists that we manage under Killing Moon are my favorites – otherwise I wouldn’t be managing them! We’re looking after the careers of Draper, Rogue, Remi Miles, Washington Irving and Draper’s new live project called CHIMES.

 

We’ve put our records for artists such as Fickle Friends, Sons & Lovers, John J Presley, Looks, Honours, Racing Glaciers, Duologue, Malpas (who have an album coming up very soon), Dems, Carnival Kids, Verses and a whole bunch more. Our New Moons compilation series (which we curate with our chum and former BBC Radio 1 DJ Ally McCrae) has meant we’ve put out early releases for artists like Laurel, Slaves, Youth Man, Hector Bizerk, One Bit, St. South, Model Aeroplanes, Jack + Eliza, Daniel Wilson, GRRL PAL, Ambassadeurs….far too many to mention really, but I guess I have already.

 

 

I’m a huge fan of several artists we have ended up working with in a label capacity (as in we have put out records for them via imprints created under Killing Moon), such as Jack Garratt, Laurel and Racing Glaciers. Fickle Friends are a pleasure to work with and make the kind of pop music I adore. Other than that I am a huge rock/indie fan, which ranges across the spectrum.

On the heavy side I’m into bands like Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, Poison The Well; then getting more into UK indie I love bands like We Were Promised Jetpacks, Idlewild, Tall Ships. Alkaline Trio are and always have been my favorite band. On the dance music front, people like Draper, Rogue, Pegboard Nerds and Haywyre are all doing great things. I’m also an avid hip-hop – Jay Z, DMX, Childish Gambino, Action Bronson, Mos Def, that kind of thing. I’m really getting into a new guy from Chicago called Matty Rico who straddles a line between feel-good party hip hop, and a more emotive poetic side.

 

What’s new and upcoming for yourself and Killing Moon?

We’re expanding our label by quite some way in 2015 – although I’ll be told off by the powers that be if I spill the proverbial beans right now. We’ve got our second Killing Moon tour coming up which will also touch down at a bunch of UK festivals, and a lot of exciting news coming up for our management roster as well. Wonderful stuff.

Keep updated with Killing Moon here on Fluence and Twitter.

 

Browse Fluence Profiles

Record Labels | Music Bloggers | Artist Managers

Music Industry Experts | Event Promoters