villin
villin was a short-lived music blog published at Villin.net (2014, 2017-18), focusing on Nashville-based artists. Click here to read more about Villin.
- Please Yourself ()
December 2017… There was a little voice inside me saying, “Don’t do that because, really, who the fuck are you, anyways?” but in August I sent Ron Gallo an email asking for an interview. “Aside from your music,” I wrote him, “I’m really interested in talking about some philosophical ideas… for instance, I’d read (or […]
- Beyond Trinity Lane ()
“I heard Bruce Springsteen say something along the lines of ‘the beauty of a song is that the meaning changes from person to person.’ So why take that away from people by spelling out how I wrote this exactly about that? I’ve done that, but I’m starting to lay back on it a little. A song can mean […]
- FJØRA Interview ()
Born in Canada and now stationed in New York City, FJØRA isn’t a traditional “Nashville artist,” despite the roots of her debut release being firmly planted in the city’s musical landscape. Having moved to Nashville to attend Belmont, she expanded her presence in the city’s scene following her graduation last year, establishing herself within an […]
- Jon Santana ()
“I used to get kind of stressed about my age,” says Jon Santana, sitting outside Steadfast Coffee in Germantown, reflecting in between sips of a coffee soda. “Especially when I was twenty-one [or] twenty-two. I was like, ‘Zedd’s twenty-three – I got two more years! I gotta make it!’” But that sense of artistic dread […]
- Magnetic Forces ()
“Lots of people think they’re thriving, and all they’re doing is surviving,” reflected Aaron McNutt (aka MC Nutts), speaking of his rhymes on Magnetic Forces’s “VITAL VINYL.” “And I’ve been there, so I recognize that.” The meaning behind McNutt’s personal favorite from the duo’s new album, The Vision on Multiple Occasions ÷x+-, eclipses his prescribed […]
- Kevin Kendall ()
“I always half-assed doing something in those first seven years,” says Kevin Kendall, reflecting on his time in Nashville prior to relocating to South Western Mexico in 2014. “The Mexico thing was me deciding to do something different, and I wasn’t sure if I was coming back here or not.” Having moved to Nashville from […]
- Taking it Slow ()
“It was a big blessing in disguise.” Early in 2012, six songs that had been recorded for Penicillin Baby’s debut LP were mistakenly deleted. Someone got ahead of themselves at the studio and in an attempt to clear up some hard drive space, wiped the session without double-checking to make sure it’d been backed up. […]
- Just Let Go ()
In “Just Let Go,” the most raw and emotionally satisfying track from Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds In Country Music, the singer looks within before turning his gaze outward and graduating to a feeling of wholeness. “Woke up today and decided to kill my ego / It ain’t ever done me no good no how / […]
- Identity Control ()
“The old me and the new me are in a fist fight!” As howled in PUJOL’s “Manufactured Crisis Control,” the lyrics help paint an obvious scene of conflict, revealing an individual struggling for an objective view while commentating on an overbearing I against I scenario. While the new album, KLUDGE, “idiosyncratically captures life as it […]
- The Metamodern Gospel of Sturgill Simpson ()
Does Sturgill Simpson ever consider giving up? “Every fucking day,” he said over the phone, speaking to the internal doubt that haunts his professional direction, emphasizing how the well being of his soon-to-be expanding family rests on his success as a musician. It’s a conflict that breathes through Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, and one […]
- Sturgill Simpson at Grimey’s (Nashville, TN) ()
Photos of Sturgill Simpson taken May 13, 2014 at Grimey’s New and Pre-Loved Music in Nashville, TN. [These photos were first published on Villin.net]
- A Whole New You ()
William Tyler‘s Lost Colony isn’t quite a rebirth, but for being only three tracks deep there’s a surprisingly bold message that breathes through the release. “Tailor made for epic, exploratory road trips,” the EP is led by a pair of the guitarist’s catalog songs — now revisited with the support of a band — and […]
- Penicillin Baby at The Basement (Nashville, TN) ()
Photos of Penicillin Baby taken May 10, 2014 at The Basement in Nashville, TN. [These photos were first published on Villin.net]
- Into the Wild ()
“I’ve been back and forth between Cleveland and Nashville a lot in the past five years,” writes Christopher Wild, emailing en route to Nashville from L.A., returning from a trip to the Mojave Desert. “Both cities feel a bit like home,” he continues, “but also a bit less than a place that I feel like […]
- Sturgill Simpson at The Station Inn (Nashville, TN) ()
Photos and video of Sturgill Simpson taken May 8, 2014 at The Station Inn in Nashville, TN. [These photos and video were first published on Villin.net]
- D’ark Was the Night ()
The roots of D’ark wind through Nashville, back to Portland, and all the way to Maui, where six years ago the band Copperfox was conceived between partners Lisa Garcia and Rory Mohon. Their 2011 debut, From The Den, ended up running four tracks deep, revolving around a sound that Garcia calls “moody alt-country.” While those […]
- Rashad Tha Poet ()
“Her parents gave her the best of things, but they never gave her the best of them.” Taken from his 2013 TEDx presentation, this potent line speaks to Rashad Rayford’s flare for provocative commentary, a quality which has earned him his place as one of the key voices among Nashville’s spoken word community (in addition […]
- Wrinkles and All ()
“I’m troubled by the industry convention that would require me to summarize my creative process in a dozen ‘fully baked’ songs,” explains Lizzy Ross, speaking to the “guts” of her still-expanding Naked in My Living Room release. “As if an album were a thesis to defend or a product with a warranty to uphold.” At […]
- JOTA ESE “Super Dank III” ()
“My last three tapes I put out were made for smoking […] filled with bong sounds and things. The tracks are all 10-15 minutes long and made to be extra blunted.” While looking out for herbal connoisseurs with his last few productions, JOTA ESE’s Super Dank III isn’t strictly for the smokers. “Despite the name,” […]
- Shake and Bake ()
“I know this is somewhat cliché, but I still enjoy smoking to a lot of original dub reggae and original ska records. Those records have always had an impact on me musically.” KDSML’s five-track Nug Life EP is hardly a throwback to the days of King Tubby and Super Ape, but it does reflect the […]
- Turbo Fruits at Fond Object Records (East Nashville, TN) ()
Photos of Turbo Fruits performing as Misfruits taken April 19, 2014 at Fond Object Records in Nashville, TN. [These photos were first published on Villin.net]
- Turtles All the Way Down ()
Much has been made of the unorthodox lyrical themes that run throughout Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds of Country Music. “It’s a very psychedelic country record about the human experience and love,” explained the singer to WFPK recently. While “love” hardly seems like absurd subject matter, we are talking about country music here, where women being […]
- Super Duper ()
“There was just a lot of noise to sort through,” says Josh Hawkins, speaking to the time he spent living in New York City. “I think the best thing about Nashville is the country music overload. I’m not a country music fan, but in New York it was hard to meet people who were really […]
- Tour de Fun (East Nashville, TN) ()
Photos of Mantra Mantra Mantra at Fond Object Records and Megajoos and Penicillin Baby at The East Room taken April 12, 2014 in East Nashville, TN. [These photos were first published on Villin.net]
- The Sentimental Ghosts of a Hundred Sketches ()
As Jensen Sportag, Austin Wilkinson and Elvis Craig have been called an “enigmatic art-pop duo” who, depending on the source, represent “a hipster take on 80s winebar muzak” or “a taste from the romance-filled elevators of the future.” As Wilkinson recently relayed to The Fader though, “The sound of Jensen Sportag is ever-evolving and devolving.” […]
- Day Old Bred ()
“Everyone’s in it to make music, not to make money.” There’s nothing new about musicians giving their work away for free, forfeiting track or album sales to encourage future gains. Free downloads hypothetically attract more fans to listen, encouraging increased attention and exposure, and potentially leading to performance income or merch sales. The formula isn’t […]