Swedish Electronic-Indie Songwriter sir Was Tackles Mortality on New LP "Let The Morning Come" (Memphis Industries)

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sir Was by Malin Ingrid Johansson

Being confronted with one’s own mortality is, suffice to say, fodder for personal reflection. Let The Morning Come, the third feature album release by Swedish songwriter and instrumentalist Joel Wästberg, or sir Was, deals very closely with themes of mortality and time, but not with a sense of panic or urgency, rather it’s calm and collected. 

Following 2019’s Holding On To a Dream, Wästberg was set to open for Swedish electronica mainstay Little Dragon during the summer of 2020. However, following the pandemic and the cancellation of tours worldwide, he was told tests revealed he inherited a hereditary condition causing multiple strokes.

“At first I got very sad and scared,” Wästberg says of the diagnosis. “But at the same time, it was like all the other worries I carried suddenly didn't matter. I just got this very intense feeling of being alive.”

The entirely self-produced album released October 15th on Memphis Industries. The ten-track project showcases Wästberg’s knack for subtle electronica compositions and charming songwriting. Singles like “Waiting For The Weekend” and “I Need a Minute” touch on themes of time and place, supported by rich instrumentals that refrain from overcrowding the mix, but that bloom and develop in their own ways.

“I Need a Minute is about the strong wish to stick around for a bit longer. A cry for more time. At the same time, it’s a wish for a pause,” said Wästberg.

Let the Morning Come is out now on Memphis Industries - listen below.

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Let The Morning Come album cover by Damien Priest

sir Was

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Gabriel Lunn is a writer, multimedia journalist, and pop music enthusiast based out of Victoria BC. When he isn’t trying to decipher the human condition he can usually be found going for long runs or collecting vinyl records he really doesn’t need.

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NYC's Lily Konigsberg Crafts Relatable Pop Reflections on Debut "Lily We Need to Talk Now" (Wharf Cat Records)

Lily Konigsberg by Chloe Carrasco

NYC’s Lily Konigsberg has announced the arrival of her long-anticipated full-length, Lily We Need to Talk Now, out this Friday, October 29th, on Wharf Cat Records. Since 2016, Lily has been chipping away at her plainspoken pop debut, all while learning to find lightness in life’s most trying moments. Leading up to her release, we had the chance to connect with Lily and chat about her evolution as an artist, writing from her heart, and making a name for herself in New York’s underground music scene.

Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter for Also Cool: To start, I'd love to know what growing into your first proper full-length LP has been like since its beginnings in 2016? 

Lily Konigsberg: It's funny because I've made so much music throughout my life, but I’ve never released a full-length. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist I guess… This album had around five song orders and many rejected songs. It's actually something I'd like to work on because I admire artists that have frequent releases. This being said, I'm really excited to share this album with people, I am proud of it. 

Also Cool: Branching off of that, how have your past musical endeavours informed this release, Lily We Need to Talk Now? Say, in comparison to writing music with your band, Palberta, or other projects?  

Lily Konigsberg: Palberta taught me how to collaborate and how to perform confidently. I am forever grateful for the friendships I formed with Ani and Nina and the confidence we built together. Working with Matt in Lily and Horn Horse allowed me to hone in and work on my melody writing. My past solo work prepared me for writing a set of bangers with the intent of having them all be as good as each other. This of course didn't happen because there are always favourites. Being in these projects educated me as a writer, performer, and friend. I wouldn't be where I am without them. 

AC: You’ve spoken about how your album commemorates heavy moments in your life, but with an intentional effort to not take yourself too seriously. How do you find humour or lightness in vulnerability and translate it into your music? 

LK: Humour is a big part of sadness and pain for me. I feel a lot all of the time so it's a way I've learned to cope. Some might say it's a tactic of distraction, but I think it's the most human and relatable reaction to pain. Humour and vulnerability come through mostly in my lyrics. In one song, I'll go through moments of relatable sadness, absurd concepts, sass, and back to pain. It's just how my brain processes emotion. I live for dark humour. For instance, in a song with my new band, My Idea with Nate Amos, I wrote, Why so sad bitch, depression's a conspiracy theory? It's an insane line, but I feel it really hard. It's me throwing my hands up in one of those moments of realizing that nothing matters at all. 

AC: Given that the album is such a personal work, has it been strange to see it being dissected by bigger publications like Pitchfork and the FADER? 
LK: I mean, yeah! It's okay because I put it out for people to dissect and interpret. Loss is a completely universal feeling. This album is mainly about a breakup for me, but the songs can apply to many different instances of loss. I am most excited about hearing what my listeners think. 

Lily Konigsberg by Chloe Carrasco

AC: On a different note, I'm curious to know about your coming-of-age —in both real time and as a musician— in NYC. How have you forged your path in the New York scene to be where you are now? What advice would you give to others trying to stay afloat in such a coveted artistic hub? 

LK: Well first of all, I was born in Brooklyn in an upper-middle class neighbourhood. I was encouraged to pursue music when I expressed interest in it, and I had the opportunity to begin performing at the age of 14. Many people do not have most of these privileges growing up. Mix privilege with unique talent and you are going to get a certain amount of attention.

Through music, I met friends I still have today and developed a presence in the music scene. Music was great for me as I was a pretty shy kid, and it enabled me to have a reputation instead of having to prove my worth through my personality. After that, it was all meeting other musicians and relating to them, meeting Palberta, meeting Wharf Cat and on and on. Things organically grew from there. Only now do I have a manager for one of my projects; it was pretty DIY until now. It's hard to give advice considering this but I would say to try not to be discouraged by the music industry. It's inherently racist and sexist like every industry and doesn't recognize talent a lot of the time. Keep making music and meeting like-minded people. 

AC: To end off, how do you plan on celebrating this release and what are your plans for the future? 

Hmm… I'll probably drink a Gingerale and stare at a wall with a smile on my face. Maybe I'll have some Twizzlers. Then I'll play my release show on November 14th at Union Pool. More info for that will appear on social media soon enough. Maybe I'm trying to get sponsored by Gingerale and Twizzlers? I guess that would kind of contradict my previous rant! Next up for me is my debut album with my new band My Idea on Hardly Art. I'm so excited! 

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LILY WE NEED TO TALK NOW

Out October 29, 2021 via Wharf Cat

1. Beauty
2. I Can Make You Sweat Forever
3. That's The Way I Like It
4. Alone
5. Don't Be Lazy With Me
6. Proud Home
7. Hark
8. Bad Boy
9. Roses, Again
10. Goodbye
11. True

All songs written by Lily Konigsberg

“Bad Boy” written by Lily Konigsberg and Nate Amos
Engineered, mixed, produced and mastered by Nate Amos

Tracks 3, 6, 9, and 11 engineered by Sasha Stroud and Nate Amos

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Lily Konigsberg

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Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (she/her) is the co-founder and managing editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, and a radio host & DJ.

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Halifax Escape Artists Century Egg Talk Embracing Change on New EP "Little Piece of Hair"

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Halifax four-piece Century Egg are putting Atlantic Canada on the map with their beaming fusion of garage rock and mandopop. The band recently announced signing to hometown label Forward Music Group in anticipation of their EP Little Piece of Hair , out this coming Friday, May 7th, 2021. Just like their namesake, Little Piece of Hair is long-awaited, with the promise to delight and leave a lasting impression. Opening with blitzing pop-punk shaker “Do You Want To Dance?”, Little Piece of Hair reminisces shoulder-to-shoulder bopping at your favourite venue on a Saturday night.

Coming hot on the heels of their recent collaboration with Debaser's Mood Ring ("The world’s tiniest and most introspective music recommendation engine") and the We Can Play EP, Little Piece of Hair is the band’s loudest, clearest mission statement to date, marking another exciting addition to Forward Music's recent run of releases alongside Wolf Castle and Paper Beat Scissors. Boasting a new rhythm section of bassist, Matty Grace (she/they) and Meg Yoshida (she/her) on drums, Century Egg is a band reborn whilst still incorporating the dance-punk bliss of previous Egg outings, only bolder, brighter, and harder-hitting.

We got the chance to connect with Century Egg on the importance of creative outlets, managing band dynamics while writing songs over email, and their plans following the release of Little Piece of Hair. Read our full interview below!

Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter for Also Cool: Hey Century Egg! Thank you so much for chatting with Also Cool. To start, you've been described as escape artists: How do you achieve this way of being through your creative outlook and how did this come into play when producing Little Piece of Hair? 

Century Egg: We’re four individuals with full-time obligations, and the band is just one of our creative outlets. Our band gives us a chance to temporarily take a break from reality, but also reflect on it and bring something back to it. We are all artists in our own right, and the band is a way to collaborate and express our appreciation for each others’ art. 

Also Cool: In that vein, escaping isn't always about running away, right? It can also describe setting oneself free, or embracing change. On Little Piece of Hair, you've commented that the songs are about "finding yourself." What inspired that concept for this album, and how did it come together? 

Century Egg: When the songs arrived, they just spilled out. They can be coping mechanisms, they can be power fantasies, or else just about processing what’s going on right now.

AC: On that note of embracing change, you’ve introduced a new rhythm section in your latest lineup — during a pandemic no less! How have these additions impacted the project?  

CE: Different people bring different experiences to the band, and it is a much more collaborative process now. Each person brings something to the table that may not have previously been introduced due to our varied influences. Specifically our song “无路可退” (“Cornered”) was created over email. Matty (she/they) wrote the bassline first, before Megumi (she/her) added her drum parts, before Robert (he/him) and Shane (she/her) finalized the arrangement. This was done totally over email during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and brought about a newer darker sound that may not have come forth if the circumstances were different.

Century Egg, photo courtesy of the band

AC: Something I’m always curious to ask about is how artists are influenced by their physical environment and surrounding community. Has Halifax and it's music scene had any particular impressions on this album specifically? 

CE: Maybe not necessarily Halifax, but the global landscape and the state of the world have definitely had an impact on Century Egg as a band, and it has come through in our writing. Ultimately the Halifax music scene has been predominantly white, cis and straight. We are not that. We embrace our diversities and look to encourage this growth within our scene.

AC: To end off, how are you planning to celebrate this release, and what can we expect from Century Egg in the coming months? 

CE: For starters, we have two upcoming music videos that will be released in the coming months for “Do You Want to Dance?” and “Little Piece of Hair.” Sadly, we had planned a bit of a record release show — as we were invited to play Flourish Festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick — but now will be attending remotely via a pre-recorded live set, as our corner of the world has collapsed on itself a little bit. We are looking forward to playing shows the moment we can, but for the time being, we have to embrace and navigate our restrictions and look to plan for the future. This includes trying to reach new audiences via the internet and working on a full length LP that will hopefully see the light of day in 2022. Change was going to come one way or another anyway.

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LITTLE PIECE OF HAIR

Out via Forward Music Group May 7, 2021

1. Do You Want To Dance?
2. I Will Make Up A Method
3. Ring A Bell
4. Little Piece of Hair
5. Riddle To Place
6. Cornered

Written by Century Egg:
Shane Keyu Song (she/her), Robert Drisdelle (he/him), Matty Grace (she/they) and Meg Yoshida (she/her)

Recorded by Franc Lopes at Ocean Floor
Mixed by Robert Drisdelle
Mastered by Dave Williams at Eight Floors Above

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Century Egg

Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

Preorder Little Piece of Hair here

Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (she/her) is the co-founder and managing editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, and a radio host & DJ.

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