In this second edition of the musicto artist newsletter, the focus is on identity.
We all know the pain of trying to come up with a name for our project that feels like it fits, only to find it’s been taken by a Metallica tribute act from Birmingham, or – as was the case with our video interview below – launching a project with the wrong name and deciding to pull your album from distribution in order to get it right.
You find a lot of different characters in the music business. There’s no shortage of try-hards and dreamers, trying to ‘make it big’ for reasons only their own ego understands. It’s always refreshing then to chance upon someone who is here for the right reasons—for the love of the craft, for the desire to create beautiful art.
Kristen Olsson is one such person. From writing songs on Martha’s Vineyard to singing jazz in New Orleans, it’s clear that for her, music isn’t a vain pursuit of followers or streams. For her, music is a way of life. It’s who she is.
It’s all about identity.
Hello and welcome to the first musicto artist newsletter – a regular event featuring everything from digital marketing strats and playlist insights, to case studies and stories from artists just like you.
In this first edition, we’ll be concerning ourselves with Spotify playlists and with the pitfalls of starting out in the music industry – two topics I imagine we’re all very familiar with. We’ll also be turning the spotlight on our featured playlist, Music to Explore Everything. And if you find this information helpful, be sure to let us know!..
As a music curator, I’m sent a lot of music. But every so often, I’m hit with something that completely stops me in my tracks. Dutch producer SWACQ’s remix of ‘Faded Away‘ by Sweater Beats & Icona Pop is well and truly Music to Save the World! to (you can read about why here,) and had rightly been our featured track for the month of October.
With a catalogue that spans a huge range of styles and includes collaborations with the likes of Tiësto, Nicky Romero and Justin Mylo – not to mention the frequent spins on the iconic Hardwell on Air collections – SWACQ is clearly a force to be reckoned with in the world of electronic music…
When ‘Blackout’ first landed in my inbox, I was absolutely taken aback by its sheer atmospheric depth, sonic unpredictability and masterful production quality. There was no doubt that I needed to meet the mind behind the music, Pynk64 – aka Frank Iengo. Frank has been active in the music industry for almost two decades, and in that time his musical dealings have spanned house, chillout, pop, hip hop, R&B, soundtracks and movie scores and, in his own words, ‘anything else that inspires me’. Frank has been involved in numerous projects during his artistic tenure, including Surfers, Aguadulce, Nevrotype, Dynamicode, Relaxingvibe, and of course, Pynk64…
Last week I had the pleasure of once again chatting with UK Producer Matt Jenko about his new release, Himalaya. This is the second track released through the new Music to label and we’re super stoked to have Matt on board.
Himalaya was purpose written for Matt’s own playlist – Music to Save The World and is a natural progression from his first track – Clarity.
The second Facebook Live interview with our brilliant Curators – this one is with the talented Matt Jenko, producer extraordinaire and curator of the uplifting Music to Save The World playlist. We talk a wide range of topics from – what makes a good song – the nature of song recommendation – how to beat perfectionism and why perfectionism exists – complete with wine and advice for his future self. Check it out…