With a new year comes many new things, and today I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to something that is completely new to The Lucky Velvet. ~new year, new me~ This is new in the way that I have never once featured a rap artist before. However, I think Allday brings a little something new to the table with the way he blends rap with an indie vibe. This style is something I think is only going to continue to get more popular, and this Australian rapper is paving the way. It’s clearly working for him, because this guy has had a huge year being featured in several major publications, debuting his first LP “Startup Cult” in the States, and doing a US tour with Modsun, just to name a few things. 2016 is set to be an even bigger year, so I thought I would catch up with him before the ball really gets rolling. I got to ask him a few questions, and he compiled a playlist of artists for his dream festival lineup exclusively for The Lucky Velvet. Now that I have rambled just enough, here is what he had to say.
Q&A With Allday
The Lucky Velvet: I feel like your music doesn’t fit the conventional sound of rap music- it’s been said that you have a much more “indie aesthetic” to your sound which is one of my favorite things about your music. Is there anyone you draw inspiration from that people might be surprised by?
Allday: Thank you! I guess I grew up listening to Mobb Deep AND David Bowie. That’s what makes my music and me a bit weird. Sometimes it’s straight Hip Hop and other times it’s like, other stuff.
TLV: You were on Troye Sivan’s track “for him.”- how did that come about?
A: I think we have mutual friends. We followed each other on twitter. He sent the song, the song was rad, I rapped on it and yeah. He’s a cool dude and I love the fact he’s basically the first openly gay pop star. Wait there was that dude from American Idol too. But one of the first. I think because of how successful he’s becoming and how good his music is, it’s an important thing.
TLV: Are there any collaborations you are dying to do?
A: I want to rap on a Kanye beat. I want to do a song with Lil Wayne. There are a lot of high up collaborations I’ll hopefully tick off one day.
TLV: I saw an entire BuzzFeed article dedicated to your Instagram, and think it was a pretty important article because you have some great material going on there. I also see that you reply to a lot of comments on your posts- is it important to you to stay connected with your fans?
A: It’s important to me, I have a special relationship with the people who listen to me, I hate saying “fans”, they’re just my friends. That sounds stupid but they already know me from my songs and when people come to show after show, I know them and I do get to become friends with lots of people. I put in a lot of hours trying to talk to people, listen to people’s raps or whatever else. I love when people say “Wow I didn’t think you’d reply”, that makes me happy.
TLV: I saw your 2014 goals list on Instagram- what does the 2016 list look like? Still trying to stay steezy?
A: I want to make inroads into the USA in 2016, but most importantly I want to hit my stride with my sound and make a lot of good music.
TLV: What should the fans be looking forward to for the next year? Touring? New music?
A: Album then HEAPS of other music. I’ll tour. Probably lots of annoying snapchat stories. Who knows what will happen! Maybe I’ll fall in love with a girl and make a double album of love songs on acoustic guitar. Hopefully just lots of rad stuff that people can be a part of.
TLV: I recently saw your interview for Rolling Stone’s “RS Live”, and I found it really interesting when you said, “I often write about love and doing drugs, stuff that’s relevant to my life… Sometimes I’m like, ‘Fuck, I wanna say something that matters.’ But saying stuff that matters doesn’t sound cool. That’s my battle.” You’ve been very successful with the music you’ve put out so far, but is this something you’re looking to focus on as your music progresses?
A: Just to clarify, I meant “cool” to me, not cool as in popular. I love Travis Scott & PartyNextDoor and that type of escapist party music. So for me, it’s very natural to make songs about love and drugs. It’s what i do without thinking. Music is entertainment. I don’t necessarily feel a responsibility to talk about anything “important” any more than Quentin Tarantino should feel a responsibility to quit making his gory films to make documentaries about social issues. That being said, sometimes I have opinions and if I want to make a political or social commentary I will.
TLV: We are The “Lucky” Velvet, so do you have an lucky charms or pre-show rituals?
A: We used to kiss our tour manager’s bald head but then he quit because he got a better job. I usually stretch and have a couple of drinks because I hate performing sober.
Allday Playlist: Dream Festival Lineup
This is a short playlist of artists that are on the list for Allday’s dream festival lineup, along with a short explanation of why these artists were chosen.
1. OZ – Act Like Rihanna
Everybody wants a girl who acts like Rihanna
2. Roy Wood$ – Drama Ft. Drake
Another really cool dude with the signature OVO sound
3. Japanese Wallpaper – Breathe In Ft. WAFIA
A genius producer.
4. Anna of the North – The Dreamer
It’s like pop but with some weird modern R&B aesthetic. I like it.
5. Shura – Touch
I don’t know much about Shura but this song is cool.
6. D. TIFFANY – aqua boo
This is the type of song you listen to when on drugs that makes you feel higher.
7. Odwalla88 – Cool Beat
I’m not sure if I like this but it is different, and not enough things are different
8. air pop – for the boys (phone demo)
Sounds pretty good for a phone demo
9. Faze Miyake – Ice Cold Ft. Inga Copeland
Kind of freaky but kind of sweet.
10. BLADEE1000 + Black Kray – Friday Nite
Swedish people are good at music, actually they’re good at most things.
Be on the lookout for new tunes this year, because they are coming your way. You can check out Allday on any social media platform you so desire below.
Let me know your thoughts with a comment below!
I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!
You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.
If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right? http://www.redbubble.com/people/elanamaling/works/14163744-the-lucky-velvet-music-blog-logo?grid_pos=2&p=sticke
The Lucky Velvet Music Blog 