GET TO KNOW: AUSTIN
Los Angeles based artist Often creates work dubbed as “R&B grooved melancholia” (AMERICAN PANCAKE) with a voice like “sunlight through clouds.” (NED RAGGETT) With previous premieres in Flood Magazine, Wussy, and Audiofemme, Often made a name for themselves through “thoughtful lyrics and innovative production” (BANDCAMP DAILY) on their album “Dirty Saint” from which their single “Palm Trees" appeared on Netflix's Outer Banks and its official soundtrack. Check out their new track “Cross Me” released August 24th!
What is your artist name?
Often
What artists did you listen to growing up?
My mom was a dedicated listener of the “oldies” station, so a lot of classics and a lot of gospel. Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Barry White, Stevie Wonder, Cece Winans. I heard it all from that era, thankfully. My Dad listened to more modern R&B. So, on that side I got Jill Scott and Erykah Badu and a lot, a lot, a lot of Sade. My father also has a wide range of tastes so he exposed me to a good bit of classic rock as well. Once I was sent to private school, I got very into Bright Eyes, Metric, Garbage, Something Corporate, and The Decemberists. Fiona Apple probably got the most play, I was obsessed with everything she released.
Who do you draw the majority of your artistic inspiration from?
Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple, and Donna Summer are some of my immediate inspirations. There’s a little Conor Oberst in there too!
If you could make up a name for your genre of music, what would it be?
Currently I refer to it as Bummer Bedroom Pop. I think that hits all the key elements.
What is your favorite song you’ve written? How does it speak to you?
“For Rain” is one of my favorites because I think it’s the first song I wrote that felt really lyrically visual without being explicitly direct. I love slow songs and that one feels so emotional to me, like it fully hit where I was and what I was feeling at the time.
Describe the creative process for your song “BRIGHTSTAR.”
I’ve been working through my experience growing up in and out of religion. There’s been so much of myself I’ve had to excavate out of the grip of that particular understanding of the world. I was feeling really frustrated with how emotionally and practically stunted those beliefs had left me and used “BRIGHTSTAR” as an outlet for that.
Who do you dream of collaborating with?
So many people! Fiona Apple, Hermanos Gutiérrez, Zsela, Bon Iver, Siena Liggins, Frank Ocean, Calvin Harris, Lykke Li, Kleerup, SZA, Maggie Rogers. It’s an infinite list.
If you could alter an aspect of the music industry, how and why would you change it?
I would love for music to feel more intimate. It seems a little harder at this stage of capitalism to meaningfully enjoy slow moments and the little things because smaller artists are pushed to produce not only music but content at a rate. It’s an extremely difficult expectation to maintain while also having to pay our bills. I’m aiming to have a small salon music series where artists can share their work from the perspective of it being purely their passion and less of a rush to get to the next level. It can be easy to lose your “why” when you’re on a cycle of relevancy.
If you weren’t pursuing music, what path would you take?
I would love to be a therapist or interior designer. Although, I would also love to run a boutique hotel or artist residency space somewhere beautiful. That’s actually very much a goal of mine.
What is one piece of advice you would give to your fans?
You’re never behind. This is very millennial of me but on Tumblr when you’d try a new layout the text post example included the Confucius quote, “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop”. To be honest, I think about that quote so often. I’ve felt behind a lot but when I take a breath, I’m thankful I’ve been given the opportunity to grow as a person before everything fully takes off. I love my life and am excited to see where I end up next. Following your bliss in your own time in your own way, as long as you’re really truly following it- it’s all that matters.
