The Friday Dispatch
Laurie Anderson, Sarah Kinsley, Midwife, Beastie Boys, and Joey Valence & Brae
Laurie Anderson is flying into the sun
Working with the story of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart, Laurie Anderson turns a fellow trailblazer of the 20th century into her muse for new record Amelia.
The life and career of the landmark experimental musician spans six decades and has always been defined by exceptional circumstances. She helped design the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and served as the first – and, so far, only – official artist in residence for NASA. She pioneered “audio drag” with electronic pitch-shifting, invented experimental instruments, published ten books, contributed music to films by the likes of Wim Wenders and composed a 98-minute techno opera based on Moby Dick. She was the fascination of Warhol’s New York, a collaborator and close friend of William S. Burroughs, and the one to walk her husband, Lou Reed, to the end of the world.
The motif present on Amelia – released this Friday – which unifies Anderson’s sprawling ventures across her work is the breakdown of technology. “I often use the inability of technology to save us as a theme, because that is my belief,” Anderson insists. “A lot of people think, ‘Oh, don’t worry, we’re going to solve the climate crisis because technology will step in and fix things’, and I’m like, ‘You’re dreaming.’”
What does Anderson see laid out in front of her? How has terrain of the world has changed and how does it feel to find herself here, right now. “There are more rules about how you’re supposed to behave,” she says. “There was a time where we were insulting people non-stop, and now it’s kind of taboo. You shouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings and everyone has to win. Sometimes, it’s good to lose. You’re gonna learn a lot when you lose. That’s what Bob Dylan taught everybody, the romance of losing.”
Read the full story by Sophie L. Walker now over on Best Fit.
Sarah Kinsley is on the rise
Born in California, but raised between Connecticut and Singapore before returning to New York to study at Columbia University, music has always remained a constant for the multitalented Sarah Kinsley. She began playing piano aged four and affectionately dubbs herself an “orchestra kid” - referring to her extensive training as a violinist in a classical ensemble. By the time she got to college, she’d started producing and engineering her own material, and after viral internet fame found her, four EPs followed in quick succession: The Fall (2020), The King (2021), Cypress (2022) and Ascensions (2023). Now, though, Kinsley is on the precipice of something entirely new: the release of her first full-length album, Escaper.
Kinsley’s career first picked up three years ago when shared a video titled “women don’t produce music.” At the time, her relationship to making music in general was fraught. “That feels like so long ago. That video kind of catapulted me into who I became as a musician in terms of being on social media,” she reflects. “I was still trying to figure out what the point of social media was with music at the time. I was someone who didn’t have much of a digital presence.”
In the clip, Kinsley wanders around her apartment, tapping on everyday objects and recording them, before editing them together and producing an introduction for a song. “I was just literally like ‘fuck this’ - I’m just going to post it, whatever, I don’t care,” she laughs when thinking about it. But after the footage went viral, it started to follow her. “I remember someone showing me a bio about myself that was like ‘Sarah began to produce after learning that only 2% of producers are women’ and that I wanted to change that statistic. That fact is so unbelievably false,” Kinsley comments. Whilst being linked to this important and progressive narrative is not a bad thing, it does diminish Kinsley’s existing accomplishments as a college student of audio engineering and production.
“I wasn’t invested in the wonderful art and craft of producing because I wanted to move the statistic forward to 2.1%,” she adds. “I did it because I wanted to be involved in producing my own music and I wanted to have control and make decisions over these processes.”
With Escaper, she finally has that control. “I am so excited and so nervous about it,” Kinsley shares about the release. “I really hope [people] listen to it in full. I want to know what people think of the story that I’m trying to tell about forgiving the need to escape and go beyond ourselves sometimes, in order to come back to who we are. I hope the album can be a really nice source of escape and a place to go to.”
Midwife folds grief and desperation into her haunting sonics
For over ten years, Colorado-based musician Madeline Johnston been crafting a distinctive brand of ambient shoegaze, often described as “heaven metal.” On her fourth LP, No Depression In Heaven — released next week — Johnston returns with acute reflections on the eccentricities of a transient existence. In unpacking the trials of a fleeting time on earth, she stumbles upon grief as a powerful thematic conduit.
“I think these themes are constant because they are subjects I deeply wish to understand,” Johnston explains. “I make sense of the world around me through my art. It is our job as artists to ask questions and explore the human condition. I see the world through the framework of grief, because grief has shaped me into the person I am today.” This empathy is perhaps the most potent force that attracts listeners to Johnston’s music.
Whilst seeking to understand her own relationship with grief, Johnston often inadvertently shines a light on the experiences of others, but on “Killdozer” - the first single from her new record - she was directly inspired by the true story of Marvin Heemeyer, a muffler repair shop owner who lived in Granby, a small town in Colorado. Heemeyer was at odds with various people in power who he felt were interfering with his business, property, and liberty. In 2004, he went on a demolition spree through Granby in a modified bulldozer before killing himself. Heemeyer was the only casualty, and he left behind hours of cassette tapes detailing his motives, which he perceived to be a mission from God. The contrast of physical movement and the emotional lingering on these past events is what gives “Killdozer” and many of the tracks on No Depression In Heaven their resonant quality.
“Although controversial, Marvin Heemeyer ultimately put everything on the line for what he felt was right [by] acting out his fantasy in the most extreme way,” Johnston reflects, “[His] story at its core is about rebelling against ‘the man’”. Twenty years later, the musician is still struck by the familial feeling of discontent in the aftermath of gentrification in Colorado. It’s important to Johnston to use her art to share stories like Heemeyer’s that fascinate her. "'Killdozer' affirms my spiritual bond with Colorado, placemaking, and my role in the history of where I live,” she continues. “Having lived in Colorado for nearly 17 years, I have seen the place I love disappear, I have seen my community struggle with attempting to have a voice in these decisions. I can understand what would drive a person to take action.”
Kate Crudgington
Three things to get excited about this week
The album: Today, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are back with Wild God. The album sees Bad Seeds return from the experimental stages of Ghosteen to their more traditional stylings, but with a twist. Wild God is, perhaps, Cave’s most uplifting work to date, leaning into the power of faith and joy as he processes the loss of two sons.
The book: New York has always been known for its nightlife. The clubs of the city have produced some of the most iconic bands and generation-defining artists the world has seen. In a new book, New York After Dark, Dustin Pittman bring this world to life. The famed pop culture photographer is digging back into his archives and releasing never-before-seen work of giants like Iggy Pop, Liza Minelli, Blondie, and more. The book is out 3 September, and if you’re in the city, Pittman will be celebrating the release with a signing at Bookmarc.
The song: If you’ve ever felt like you’re behind, like you’re not getting ahead fast enough, like you’re running out of time, this is for you. Earlier this month, Carol Ades, the queen of theraputic pop released “Late Start,” a track celebrating being present and being okay with it. Ades has been dishing out this kind of infectous, good-for-you indie for a while now, but “Late Start” might be her strongest showing yet.
Something Old, Something New
Every week, we share recommendations from the Best Fit community on two iconic records - one from the past, one from the present. This week, New Music Editor Sam Franzini on Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique (1989) and Joey Valence & Brae’s NO HANDS (2024).
A lyrically wild, sonically varied and experimental album, Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique introduced the three New Yorkers to a wider commercial audience and proved that they were more than just a one-hit-wonder. With their now-trademark trade-offs on verses, it makes for an energetic listen where you know they’re having fun behind the scenes, apart from the recording. Their haphazard sound, pulled from elements of funk, rock, and jazz, lays down the erratic and (usually clever) lyrics — they speak for all Jewish New Yorkers with the line, “The gift of gab is the gift that I have.” The samples are staggering, the beats are fun, and the boys are having one hell of a time — their personalities sorely missed in the modern hip hop landscape.
You can immediately tell where Joey Valence & Brae are coming from based off the first five seconds of their breakout hit “PUNK TACTICS” — the switches and flows are Beastie Boys to a T. Their debut of the same name emulated the rap group’s flow, but they took it to a different echelon with NO HANDS, their album released this June. Pulling from East Coast Hip Hop (“PACKAPUNCH,” “OMNITRIX,” “LIKE A PUNK”) but also mingling with contemporary hardcore hip hop, hip house, breakbeat, Jersey Club, and Miami bass, their scope is completely dizzying. But the spirit of the Beastie Boys is replicated here near-spotlessly — each time Joey or Brae hit the mic is like their last, and their puns, quick delivery, and humor is not to be missed. “I got 7-Up in my cup! / I got bubbles up in my tub!” Brae yells on “THE BADDEST,” a Miami crunk satire that becomes legendary with an Ayesha Erotica assist on the remix. “WHAT U NEED” is a hip-house anthem in the swanky spirit of Azealia Banks, and it’s certainly the closest two straight men have come to making a song that could land on RuPaul’s Drag Race; “OK” halts its flow for a Jersey Club breakdown, the title track is a jazzy, chill jam, and “PACKAPUNCH”’s Danny Brown verse, well, packs a punch. It’s the most fun I’ve had with an album front-to-back since Beyoncé’s RENAISSANCE, sure to get you out of your seats and into your heads. Delightfully retro with a modern twist, these guys are doing it perfectly.
Listen to the week in new music by following our Discovery playlist
Dropping at midnight every Thursday, follow our playlist for a taste of the best new music from the most exciting breaking artists – 20 new tracks, top-loaded from the last five days in music and on repeat in the Best Fit office right now.
Leading the selection this week are new tracks from Julie Dawson, Sex Week, Casper Grey, Wunderhorse, and coverstar Teo Planell.