Puerto Rican Musical Guru, Lil Eddie, is as dynamic as it comes as his creative prowess ranges from hit-making Producer, 11x Grammy-Nominated Musician/Songwriter and more. The wide variety of genre-bending bangers that have Lil Eddie’s touch on them will astound you, and it is our pleasure to catch up with the man to discuss his roots growing up in NYC, the entire world being in the palm of our hands, overcoming poverty, adversity and more.
Let’s talk about the new video teaser that you posted about on your Instagram with that yellow drip on. What do we have to look forward to?
Ahhhhh maybe a dope video in Greece with the Acropolis in the backdrop! #GITANA
Let’s talk about your current life in New York. How do you balance the constant hustle of the city with ensuring to take some downtime to focus on your creative work?
I live in London and LA now but grew up in NYC, that city life is real! London is very similar to the city and commuting around the city. I say the creativity is inspired by my daily commute. The music is in the streets on the trains, busses, Uber rides everywhere we turn.
Showcasing the human in you, what is a challenging thought that you recently had and were able to overcome over time?
I will say the feeling of loneliness. I’m a single man so sometimes the work takes all of me and I rarely get to do anything so love can’t come being trapped away which leads me to then tell myself that the music will get me to where I need to be, so I focus on that.
What is your perception of the digital world that we live in and social media culture?
We are in a very interesting time! Social media can have its cons but I see so many pros! The entire world is in the palm of our hands. We can reach further than ever at any given time. That alone is unbelievable.
No career path or amount of followers negates the fact that you are a human being that has feelings. Tell us about some parts of you beyond being a musician that you take pride in.
I take pride in being a Latino American! Overcoming poverty, adversity, a dysfunctional home and so many odds against me from being homeless and all! I believe my spiritual connection with the man; upstairs and respect for the powers of the universe that got me where I am.
As you are exposed to tons of stimulus, how do you proactively take care of your mental and emotional health when you’re out on the road?
I find it important to speak to people! Writing helps me, daily affirmations, searching for positivity is important for me! Keeping incredible people around not a lot of people but quality people! Lifers, lovers, preserving my energy and being conscious about who I share my energy with.
As a veteran in the game, what are some words of wisdom that you can share with fellow musicians attempting to follow in your footsteps?
I would say to the inspiring class of musicians that on the way up to never stop! Consistency is a big part of this race! Master your craft! Find the 25th hour of the day, 8th day in the week to devote to your art! Get in touch with your spirituality! Stay connected with the creator! For the universe hands out the rewards in life!
Last but certainly not least, any closing messages for your fans?!
Thank you all for supporting me on this journey! I hope I’m inspiring people in my art! Stay blessed and keep it locked with ya boy so much more music to come!
LA-Based Alternative Band, Charming Liars, capture the heart of their former home town of London with their signature high-energy style that is fused with Electronic spontaneity. I caught up with Guitarist, Karnig Manoukian, to discuss the theme behind their latest single, “Something Dark”, being able to lean on your bandmates for mental and emotional support while on the road, putting in the work toward progression as both a human being and musician and more.
Congrats on the positive reception of “Something Dark”. Tell us about the personal experience that you encountered that led you toward creating that track.
The key to this song was the energy from the bass synth in the verse. It created a dark mood and our Vocalist, Kilian, straight away turned to me and said, “Something dark lives in this song”, and then we were off! In terms of lyrical content, we had just watched a docu-series on Netflix called The Keepers and it goes into the dark details of the clergy in Baltimore and how they abused children for decades without punishment. That story stuck with us and essentially created a foundation for the song.
What did you learn throughout the creative process of “Something Dark” that will stick with you in the future?
We didn’t really learn anything new but we just pushed the boundaries of where we had already been. Instead of overcompensating the song with guitars we wanted to strip it back and have less. The less we had, the better it would become.
Showcasing the human in you, what is a challenging thought that you recently had and were able to overcome over time?
There is the single challenging thought that haunts us on a daily basis and I don’t think we’ll ever overcome it – Will we be accepted and invited onto the next tour? Will we get back out on the road and play every single night? We won’t ever overcome this no matter where we are in our careers. We always strive to play more shows and never want to stop!
What is your perception on the digital world that we live in and social media culture?
In one way, it’s opened up so many doors for people to be able to make a living and promote themselves. In another way, it means that people with no talent or character or personality can find their way to success and financial reward. If used in the right way, social media can really help people but it’s easy to see how a lot of people are negatively affected by it.
No career path or amount of followers negates the fact that you are a human being that has feelings. Tell us about some parts of you beyond being a musician that you take pride in.
Personally, putting your head down and working. There’s so much competition out there and so few places. Those people that want to work less and have an easy ride have NO CHANCE at succeeding. So I take pride in knowing that at the end of every day, I did as much as I could to make progress in life.
As you are exposed to tons of stimulus, how do you proactively take care of your mental and emotional health when you’re out on the road?
It’s a mission. At the beginning of a tour we’ll all pledge to eat healthy and keep fit. A couple of weeks in and we are eating fast food almost every day. Mentally and emotionally the same thing happens and we get worn out. The best thing is to lean on and get help from your brothers or bandmates. That’s how we do it. There are times where we need to lift each other up and we’re there for each other to do that.
Tell us some words of wisdom that you collected along the way throughout your time as a musician that have stuck with you along your journey.
Not too many memorable words of wisdom yet. A couple of key obvious ones stick out though. Firstly, play every show like it’s your last and secondly, record every song like it’s your last.
Last but certainly not least, any closing messages for your fans?!
Thank you for sticking by us and believing in us. Our new album comes out in late February!
London Indie Band, Chasing Deer, are on the brink of an exciting time as the upcoming release of their debut album, ‘Hands On’, is right around the corner. Through commitment to expanding awareness through implementing BSL into every one of their monthly single releases, the gents continue to reach into the hearts of listeners worldwide through being in tune with and growing their compassion bone. I caught up with the guys to discuss the upcoming release of their debut album, ‘Hands On’, raising awareness for BSL, the importance of downtime with the family and more.
Congrats on the upcoming release of your debut album, ‘Hands On’. Tell us about the creative and recording process and what you learned along the way.
Thanks! We’re really excited about it, it’s been a long time coming. As we perform every day as a trio, as well as live together, we have had endless opportunities to think of ideas and write songs about our experiences. This album has been significantly more collaborative than previous Chasing Deer releases so its represents us at this point in time very well. We split our recordings between a variety of studios, recording with modern producers as well as some very well established names.
Did you discover any new avenues of expression through experimentation in the studio? If so, fill us in.
We wouldn’t describe this album as experimental as such, however we do love to visit studios with a good collection of vintage instruments and microphones to breathe new life into them. The Amsterdam Recording Company specifically has been one of our favourite places to record, with a whole host of keyboards and guitars available to us.
It is incredible how you are being proactive in raising awareness for BSL. Tell us about any backtale that has led you toward your connection with BSL.
Initially we loved the image of a hand against a black background as a striking and iconic look. This led to us researching signs, what they meant to people and then British Sign Language. Adam’s (drummer) mum used to learn British Sign Language whilst working with children in schools and it was all around him for many years, so we thought this would be a fantastic cause for us to get behind through our own artwork. We incorporated sign language into every one of of our monthly single releases and will have a BSL interpreted performance for our album launch show on 22nd November!
If any of our viewers have never been to London, what are some must visit restaurants that you recommend to check out?
We love our Greek and North African cuisine at the moment, with a restaurant called Souk Medina being one of our favourites for quite some time. When you’re sitting inside you will have no idea you’re still in London!
No career path or amount of followers negates the fact that you are a human being that has feelings. Tell us about some parts of you beyond being a musician that you take pride in.
We take pride in the inspiration and happiness we bring to people, whether outside a shop on cold winters morning to a queueing pensioner or as an important part in somebody’s wedding day. Learning from new cultures through our travelling also brings us new ways and inspirations to be positive and inspired.
As you are exposed to tons of stimulus, how do you proactively take care of your mental and emotional health when you’re out on the road?
It can be difficult not only touring and performing in such close quarters, but in living together we literally spend every hour together. Humour really helps us along, as well as actually playing the music itself. If we’ve had a falling out, everything is forgotten as soon as that first note is played together. We find time for as much exercise as we can as well as trying to eat healthy. It’s always great to have so many connections with our home towns, and we regularly return to visit our families for some down time.
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old that you were?
I suppose age is just a number, as they say. We are energetic, like to laugh and don’t take ourselves too seriously so people may well ask if we are actually a group of kids after a little too much sugar.
What is your personal opinion on how immersed society has become into the social media world?
We actually wrote a song about this on our previous EP ‘Moving On’ called “The Simple Life”, which is about turning off mobile phones and enjoying the world around you.
As a band we are very active on social media as it’s a necessity in the modern age, but we are big supporters in the movement to go out with friends and family (to see live music!), to support a local event or even to the pub once in a while. The world has had much taken away from it by social media, which is then being nicely repackaged and sold back to us (Watching a live stream of a musician playing down the road for example).
Last but certainly not least, any closing messages for your fans?!
If you like what you read, come and join us at a show near you or drop us a message! You can be part of our journey on all major social sites and listen to our music everywhere too.
