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Black is the New AP Style


Singer-songwriter Lyra Star sprinkles a little bit of magic into every song she creates.

An independent yoga-loving dreamer, Star spread her wings past her hometown of Nashville to eventually find herself exploring and falling in love with the West Coast. Finally settling in the bay area of California, she became one half of the duo Wisps and Willows before realizing she couldn’t be contained and indeed needed to fly solo.

Her latest single, “Lights”, can be described as a combination of Sigur Ros and Lana Del Ray, and was written about experiences Star had in a relationship with someone who came in and out of her life multiple times. Sometimes, she said, you recognize that you have to let go of a person and as hard as that may be, you will always hold onto a small amount of hope that people will change.

"’Light’ is a song about falling for someone that's not right for you at the time and learning that it's best to close the doors for now, but not all the way,” she said. “It's about moving on, but also holding onto hope and the belief that certain people come into our lives for a reason and a connection can happen when we least expect it."

Be one of the first to listen to “Light” right here on Black is the New AP Style!

Lyra Star · Light
December 03, 2020 No comments
Photo courtesy of Chelsea Donoho

“Hey GALEXI I don’t want to blow up your egos, but I’m a massive Pink Floyd fan, and I might actually like your version of this song better than the original.” - GALEXI follower

Electro-space duo GALEXI are exactly the rising stars that their name leads you to believe. Jo Alexis, ‘The Priestess’ and Alexander Johnson, ‘The Scientist’ are connecting electronica, smooth synths and lush vocals into a glittering map of sonic constellations. Based in Portland, Oregon (though their home planet is called Issia), the group has made a home at GALEXI Studios, where they’re able to discover and nurture morphing soundscapes. As ‘The Scientist’ explains, “we are experimenting with the never-ending Pandora's box that is electronic music.”

 In their own words, GALEXI provide a “whole-body musical experience”. Engaging an intergalactic narrative and experimentation suggest GALEXI are artists in a league of their own. Alexis and Johnson contextualize their work as “trip hop in an evocative soundscape that transports listeners to an interplanetary headspace”.​ ​Magnetic Magazine describes their unique cosmic style as “​Björk​ meets​ Sia​ meets​ Giorgio Moroder​”. Having maintained Björk’s unconventional influences on their sound, GALEXI also credit David Bowie, Massive Attack and Dead Can Dance for significant inspiration.

 The next release from GALEXI is a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Us and Them”, set to be released on June 19, 2020. The track is poised as a tribute to Pink Floyd, with both Alexis and Johnson admitting their lasting admiration for the revolutionary band. “We are big Pink Floyd fans so we spent a long time on this song,” Alexis reveals, “we struggled with the bridge and kept scrapping it and trying new takes - like 16 versions.”

Black is the New AP Style is excited to premiere the music video for “Us and Them” the day before the release, which you can view below! The video is an entertaining blend of their style and humor with a sci-fi edge that gives off classic space movie vibes.

"The video for ‘Us and Them’ by GALEXI is a nostalgic, galactic romp featuring vintage outer sci-fi movie clips,” they said. “Although the message of the song can feel intense, we wanted to counter that with lightness, using 50s space travel as a humorous flip side.  Ultimately, the underlying vibe is a sexy, get-up-and-dance groove, which may be just the release we need in these challenging times."

“Us and Them” will be available on streaming services and their website on June 19.

June 18, 2020 No comments

Starting in the winter of 2018, Mohawk Bends was founded by four like-minded Austin musicians: Alex La Fuente, Colin Clay, Chris Michael and Jonathan More. Following a private performance for close friends and family during SXSW with the touring California-based act, Hate Drugs, Mohawk Bends immediately began writing their first record.

In the following months, the band made their public debut in high-profile Austin venues, including Stubbs and the Mohawk, and immediately charmed audiences with their polished, energetic performances.

Their latest single, “See What You Do To Me”, is an electrifying yet relatable exploration of creative freedom and the liberation that comes with getting out of one's own way. Instead of being driven by their personal expectations and concerns and writing the songs they thought they should be writing, with "See What You Do To Me", Mohawk Bends remains true to their vision while letting go, having fun and taking their fans along for the ride in the process.

“When we approached ‘See What You Do To Me’, we wanted to create something that would allow our audience a certain amount of escape,” the band said. “We didn’t want to get political, we didn’t want to get too ‘real’ - we just wanted to write a fun, relatable rock tune that people could get lost in. This song is the result of us letting go of our expectations, concerns and our self consciousness about what we thought we should be writing. We wanted to write something we’d enjoy, that our fans would enjoy, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Be one of the first to listen to “See What You Do To Me” right here on Black is the New AP Style!

January 10, 2020 No comments
Photo courtesy of Brenda Staples
Erin Coburn is a force to be reckoned with. Since a young age, she's captivated her audiences with her prowess on guitar, powerful vocals and a unique blend of rock and blues, bringing it all into the 21st century.

Her latest single, "Fast Paced & Freakish", explores the theme of growth that is apparent throughout her upcoming album, Out From Under.

"I was MAD.. I was CONFUSED… I was ANXIOUS!" she said. "I began to question myself – Had I grown up too fast? I was at a point in my life where it felt like all of these adult obligations were rushing in and I was watching my childhood slip away. It felt like my life was on fast forward and I had only listened to what everyone else wanted me to be, which made me feel like I could have been someone else. All these conflicting emotions made me write this fast paced and aggressive anthem."

Stream "Fast Paced & Freakish" exclusively on Black is the New AP Style!


October 24, 2019 No comments

Like their namesake, The Retinas' music unabashedly reveals something so often overlooked. In your face and heartfelt (in the best of ways), The Retinas are pure rock ‘n’ roll. They’re the real deal. Without an ounce of pretentious bullshit, these best buds always know how to have a good time.

Their latest single, "Fix That Up", can be heard here first!

"This song is an homage to the valuable people in our lives," the band said. "A lot of times [we] feel like life is a strange thing you're navigating by yourself, and the lonerism of life is promoted in every day culture. It's important and [we] respect that. But those small conversations, moments, interactions you have with people that put puzzle pieces together and give you a feeling of relief or validation can be more valuable then anything. This song addresses that self reliance vs. loneliness, and the value people have when they are good and you let them in."


September 19, 2019 No comments
Photo courtesy of Trippy Spaghetti
Sarah Lasley and Skye Handler have known each other for over ten years, and have come together in collaboration with this single-shot concept film that gives a nod to artistic integrity, allegiances, and feeling like an ant. The environment and score comment on desiring equilibriums of physical space and time to mirror mentally, and how that may be more of an ideal than a reality.



Lasley is a filmmaker from Louisville, Kentucky, who is currently internationally touring her most recent film "Imagemaker". She is at present a lecturer of interactive multimedia at Indiana University and earned her MFA from Yale in painting and video in 2008. Lasley is also a graduate of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Handler, a RISD dropout and Berklee grad, is currently working with his rock n roll project, Ladygod, on their second full-length LP. He is also occupied with collaborative video projects with other members of his band, as well as his own painting and collage work. He has worked in conjunction with artists such as Tavaras Strachen, and was featured at the Venice Biennale in 2012.
September 21, 2018 No comments
Photo courtesy of Ariel Kassulke
Say hello to your new favorite alternative/pop band, Milwaukee's own newvices. Their four-song EP, The Truth of Self, is set to release on April 27 and was recorded with Timothy Wolf of Four Giants. Their debut single, "Betterman", speaks of heartbreak that is felt in any occasion or with any person.

"'Betterman' was the first song Rod and I wrote/finished together," vocalist Marco Jaimez said. "I think going into this project, I had the notion that pop music had to be a certain way so my writing was a bit inhibited in the beginning stages of writing this EP. The main theme of the song is being continually let down in a relationship whether it's romantic, or maybe it's a close friend or it's a parent or whatever. I just thought it was something people could relate to."

The video for "Betterman" was created by Eddie Curran of Enterprise Films and shot in Waukesha and Milwaukee.

"The concept was about a mother partying and making bad life choices instead of taking care of her child on a night they had planned together," Curran said. "All the while, the father takes care of her and the mother ruins her relationship with her daughter."

"Instead of having a cliche breakup video I wanted to show a deteriorating relationship between a mother and daughter," Jaimez added.

Watch the exclusive premiere of the music video here!
April 13, 2018 No comments
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