Interview and Photo by Jordan Edwards

It's become cliché to call an artist genre-less, but there's no other way to describe Scene Queen. A sugary sweet hook can quickly shift to heavy metal guitars or a thick hip-hop beat
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In 2010, Matthew Handley and Andrew Stanley came together over their love for multi-cultural music and sounds, combined it with their disc jockey prowess, and delivered us perhaps one of the most iconic debut tracks of all time: "We No Speak Americano." It was an instantaneous smash hit, selling over 5 million copies and topping the charts worldwide.

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Music Features

Interview: Georgia Ku Steps into the Limelight

The pop singer has penned countless hits for others, and now she's finally ready to embark on a solo career

Georgia Ku

Georgia Ku is finally ready to enter the spotlight.

The multi-platinum ghostwriter and vocalist had no problem at the start of her expansive career loitering behind the scenes. The UK-born singer, whose debut EP REAL was finally released today, has built a massive discography of anthemic pop songs over the years. Featured alongside NOTD & Felix Jaehn on their international smash hit "So Close," Ku more notably penned hits for some of pop's biggest acts, from Rita Ora and Fifth Harmony to Skrillex and Martin Garrix.

REAL


She was determined in 2020 to break out as a solo artist but admits the process was anything but streamlined. The pressure to curate another smash hit loomed over her. "I had to take the pressure off myself," she said. "I just talked about my experiences. It made the lyrics authentic. I never walked into a session and said, 'Let's write a song for me.'" Now with her EP finally out, Ku feels completely liberated. "I let go of the thought process of 'what would Georgia Ku do?' and stopped overthinking.

Tell me a little bit about your background for those who still don't know your story.

My parents weren't musicians, but Dad had such an eclectic record mix. From The Fugees, to Stevie Wonder, and Oasis, to Nora Jones. So there was always music playing, and from a young age I was just always able to sing for some reason. It was a gift that was given to me. So at around 16 I left school to study music, and I moved to London then LA to get my feet wet in songwriting. I was really happy being behind the scenes.

You're so used to creating for other people. What was it like to finally create for yourself? What were some challenges you encountered while recording REAL? Was it liberating?

A bit of both. I think when I first dived in to write for myself it was a little overwhelming. I was so used to writing for other people and for so many genres. I put a lot of pressure on myself to write a song that was "Georgia Ku." I wanted so badly to have my own kind of sound. But it's when I took pressure off myself and stopped overthinking everything that I really began to find my sound. It only came when I let go of the thought process of 'what would Georgia Ku sing?'

Is that why this EP is called REAL? It seems like a very vulnerable record.

The title of the EP definitely plays into that. For me it was a no brainer. I'm proud to speak about things that some people shy away from such as mental health. I just wanna be open and honest, but most importantly I wanna be authentic.

Tell me about the experience behind "Lighthouse" and how that factored into the song's anthemic empowering sound. The experience behind it sounded quite hopeless, but the song is empowering.

It's already hard enough to speak about mental health as it is. No one talks about it openly, and it's a subject that needs to be touched on and spoken about, but we can talk about it all day, but at some point it's like, 'Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? What is the silver lining?' Even if you can't fix [what that person] is going through, shift it to 'how can I be a support system for them, even if I'm not the answer? How can I do what I can to support them along that way?'

A lot of people get scared and shy away from that [responsibility.]

What's next for you?

I mean, I would love to be booking shows [laughs]–but I'm just gonna let the EP ride. I'm hoping that people are listening to more music right now. There is just something more different and personal about the songs that I own. It took a lot of hard work, and I'm happy it's out. For now, I'm just going to continue creating.

Stream REAL below:

Follow Georgia Ku on Instagram and Twitter.

MUSIC

Elon Musk Made an EDM Song for Some Reason

The Tesla CEO uploaded "Don't Doubt Ur Vibe" to Soundcloud this morning.

Elon Musk

Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa_NurPhoto (Shutterstock)

Elon Musk: CEO of Tesla, consort of Grimes, and composer of chill beats.

This morning, the entrepreneur uploaded a new EDM track to his Soundcloud page called "Don't Doubt Ur Vibe." The song is a very monotonous four minutes of a beat that never quite drops. But it could be worse. Musk is proud of his musical endeavors, and that's all that matters!

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MUSIC

Ava Cherry, David Bowie’s Former Muse, Covers “Let’s Dance”

The two were lovers, friends, and creative partners.

Bowie

Photo by Katy Hardman - Unsplash

Nu-soul/nu-pop artist Ava Cherry releases her innovative cover of David Bowie's "Let's Dance," via Wake Up! Music.

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MUSIC

Exclusive Interview: Loud Luxury Return to Brooklyn for Epic Show

The duo sat down with Popdust before the show to talk about their inspirations and life since "Body."

Loud Luxury

When Popdust last caught up with Los Angeles based duo Loud Luxury, they had just landed in New York to celebrate their breakout single "Body," garnering a gold certification.

Loud Luxury feat. brando - Body (Official Lyric Video)www.youtube.com

Coming up on a year since the single's release, Loud Luxury has evolved into a household name in the EDM pop landscape. But when asked to elaborate on the quick trajectory of their fame, the duo themselves couldn't believe it. "'Body' was never meant to be a hit song," said Andrew Fedyk. "It took so long for us to find our sound," added Joe Depace. "And that's what we're gonna keep doing. That sound is what took us 3 years in Los Angeles eating dirt to discover."

While their upward trajectory hasn't ceased since the single's release, they owe the fame to those who believed in them. "Tiesto has been a massive mentor to us," said Depace. "He brought us up basically." Fedyk added that they "wouldn't be where [they] are without their relationships and mentorships." Popdust spoke with the duo about their new single, "I'm Not Alright" featuring Bryce Vine, before their knockout performance in Brooklyn. The guys also discussed their first show, their inspirations, and where they plan to go from here.

When we caught up with Heldens and Tiesto at Electric Zoo they were absolutely raving about you.

A: "We love them, they gave us our first real start at this."

J: "Heldens supported one of our first tracks, and Tiesto has been a massive mentor to us. He brought us up, basically."

A: "Heldens is the first person we ever did dates with in the U.S. We were set to come over once from Canada and -"

J: "It was the most stressful show of my life."

Why is that?

A: "He didn't know if he was gonna get into the United States."

J: "We were about to make it legitimate. Pack our bags and move to America, and [Andrew] got his Visa way before I did. I was in my living room with my bags packed the night before a show, waiting on a phone call to see if I'd get [let into the country]."

Wow. Did you make it?

J: "At 9pm I got the call that I got my visa, went to Toronto as fast as I could with all of my studio equipment. Flew to LA, and played our first show."

Loud Luxury and Bryce Vine - I'm Not Alright [Official Music Video]www.youtube.com

Where would you say you draw your inspiration from?

J: "I started learning how to produce because I always wanted to recreate Avicii tracks. I thought, how the hell does this guy do it? So I would just try to make every thing he did."

A: "Avicii and Calvin [Harris] were really special because they were the first artists to make dance music super accessible. I just always loved the idea of being able to make a song that your friends know and can party to, but that your family can also know [and appreciate]."

It's that melodic sound that you guys are also incredible at.

A: "That's what we're chasing."

What track have you grown to be most proud of?

A: "Body is awesome because it changed things, but "I'm Not Alright" was special. We took a risk there, and knew that some people might not like this because of how different it is from what we've done before. But the reception has been amazing so far, and it's helped remind us that you have no reason to not take risks in what you're doing. What's the worst that can happen?

So then where do you see dance music going, and what risks are you going to take next?

J: "I hope there's more collaboration. That's why Andrew and I started working together cause we love collaborating with each other, and that's what we [like to do] with other people. I love how you can take a genre and mix it and craft something completely new."

A: "You can't have a brand and no music. The brand is the 'why.' Why should you listen to this song? But putting the two together is what makes sense [for us.]"

J: "At the end of the day what we're doing is [pushing] our sound. It took a long time to find it, and as long as it is something that's Loud Luxury. That's major. That's what took us 3 years to figure out."