by Jane Lambert

VIDEO VOYAGEUR: 3 Q’S WITH AMANA MELOME’

With her single “Con C.ALMA” and accompanying video, Amana Melome’ continues to create a space that is both deeply personal and quietly powerful.

“Con C.ALMA” is more than just a song. It’s a reflection of her philosophy on creativity, presence and moving through life at your own rhythm.

Filmed in the flower lined streets of Southern Spain and in her own creative studio, the video captures the calm, colour and intention that define this new chapter of her artistic journey. Rooted in themes of self-trust, patience and inner alignment, “Con C.ALMA” feels like a gentle invitation to slow down and reconnect both with ourselves and with the world around us.

We spoke with Melome’ about the symbolism behind the visuals, the spontaneous process of bringing the video to life and why flowers became the central metaphor for this beautifully unhurried release.

Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

Con C.Alma is a song about doing things on your own way at your own pace, without letting the world rush you.

I felt flowers were very symbolic for the sentiment behind the song. You can’t rush a flower to bloom, and you can’t expect one flower to be exactly like another either! Just like people!

The intention was to create a video that felt elegant yet simple, colourful and calming like sunshine.

What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

I intentionally inserted flowers in all of the visuals for this song! I made a wire flower for the cover of the single, I am wearing big flower earrings in the video and I am walking and dancing around the beautiful flower lined streets of Andalusia in Southern Spain.

There is a softness dancing with the boldness of the images, a calm and colourful sultry meets don’t mess with me vibe hahaha! I thought after waltzing around these beautiful streets, orange trees and fountains, ending up in my studio was the perfect ending to the story line.

Lighting my candles and painting, with flowers in my hair. This is my actual studio where I paint and record music, so it encapsulates my essence in a perfect way!

What was the process of making the video?

I had the vision of the vibe I wanted to create, and called in my good friend and amazing makeup artist Kirsten (shoutout to @kirstenpromakeup) who is always game to get creative together!

I pulled the clothes and accessories from my closet. Once I explained my vision, she found a walking map of the flower-lined streets in the area, and off we went!

2 iPhones in hand and a tripod! We walked through all of the areas, I sang the song through once (sometimes twice) at each, and we kept it moving. Once I left her, I drove to my studio…and it hit me: that could be a perfect closing scene! Super unplanned I filmed all of the studio images by myself! Opening the door, to lighting the candles, to painting and dancing in the mirror. I was just imagining fun edits…and I happened to have two big white flowers in my studio (the last of a bouquet gifted to me on my birthday a few days before). I chose my favorite clips and the rest is history!

I am very happy with how the video turned out!

Keep up with everything Amana Melome’ on her Website

04.11.11

by libbyh9190

Empires in Rolling Stone Magazine Cover Competition

Chicago, IL rock band Empires is still in the race to be on the cover of Rolling Stone! There are currently 8 bands still fighting it out over the clutch prize of being the first unsigned band to land the cover of the prestigious music magazine. The fourpiece made it through the first round by traveling to NYC to record two new songs and perform in front of Rolling Stone editors and Atlantic Records A&R executives. You can listen to two singles right here: http://www.rollingstone.com/choosethecover/artists/empires

And if you like what you hear, please vote them through the second round by clicking here and rating them! www.rollingstone.com/choosethecover/artists/empires

03.22.11

by Jane Lambert

The Strokes on the Cover of Spin Magazine

In case you’ve missed seeing their glowing faces on your newstand, The Strokes issue of Spin recently came out last week. In a special feature called “Behind the Comeback,” the magazine talks to the guys, seperately, getting a glimpse into all of their personalities and the problems the band have been having as a whole. It’s a good insight for the diehard fans or those just wanting to know more about the guys. Spin covers everything from Albert’s drug addiction to the great and not so great side projects of the past five years. You can also take a peak at the issue online, HERE at Spin Magazine.

10.11.10

by Sedera Ranaivoarinosy

Steve Albini Thinks Sonic Youth Cheapened Music

Steve Albini, former frontman of Big black, current frontman of Shellac and engineer on Nirvana’s In Utero and The Pixies’ Surfer Rosa, has never been supportive of the mainstream music industry. His main source of income remains his day job at his Electrical Audio recording studio in chicago and his band’s live performance are particularly rare. When GQ sat down with him at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in upstate New York, he made some valid observations about the existence of a “perversion of normal ethical standards” in the music industry regarding a sort of arrogance and entitlement that emerges as the industry becomes more removed from regular life. But he also made some harsh comments about artists who moved on to major labels, even those he considers his friends, like Sonic Youth.

When asked about his opinion on Sonic Youth’s conscious decision to move to Geffen in 1991, he very bluntly replied that he thought they “should be embarrassed about it.” He blames them for giving “credibility to some of the nonsense notions that hover around the star-making machinery” and sees their decision as “a sellout and a corruption of a perfectly valid, well-oiled music scene.” And the bashing doesn’t end there: he goes to call that decision “crass,” he says that as a consequence of their transfer to Geffen, music culture was “kind of empty and ugly and was generally a kind of bad influence.” No word on their return to the indie labels after their 2008 departure from Geffen to Matador.

The Q&A session also included his perspective on the state of the music industry now, which he finds exciting because of the endless possibilities available to bands to reach out to the world independently. He enjoys that our new habit of sharing the music through sites like YouTube and torrents is motivated by pure enjoyment, not the desire to make profit off of it, “which is the only reason the mainstream industry would do something” according to him.

Still, the article ends on a high note, after an especially GQ oriented question about fashion. Albini answers by saying, “I would like the fashion industry to collapse. I think it plays to the most superficial, most insecure parts of human nature. I hope GQ as a magazine fails. I hope that all of these people who make a living by looking pretty are eventually made destitute or forced to do something of substance. At least pornography has a function.”

It seems Albini is never out of brutal comments, but after all this slamming of mainstream culture, it’s important to notice that he had his own part in it, as some of his most noted work, Nirvana’s In Utero and PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me, were both released on major labels. Food for thought? You can read the entire interview HERE to get the full picture.