Video Interview: Matt Pryor

Matt Pryor

In this interview with the incomparable Matt Pryor, the singer-writer talks honestly about his new solo album, “The Salton Sea,” out November 14th. He speaks frankly about how alcoholism was the catalyst and his song writing was the catharsis. Pryor is a prolific song writer, who is known for his work in The Get Up Kids, The New Amsterdams, Reggie and the Full Effect, The Terrible Twos, and The Legion of Doom–but it is his solo work that really shines with its earnestness.

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Kewl Haze – “Used To Have It All” (Song Premiere)

Kewl Haze

Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone an early listen to the new single from Philadelphia psych rock band, Kewl Haze, called “Used To Have It All.” The two-piece band is Dan Scott Forreal and Derek Sheehan, and this artist is somewhere in the same realm as other bands like Tame Impala and Beck. Sheehan shared about the direction of the music Kewl Haze took on their debut LP, Suburban Sherpa:

’Used to Have it All’ was one of the early songs we wrote for the album. We started demoing this song at my home studio in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia back in 2021 after Forreal and I moved him back across country from LA. The song came together pretty quickly. I started strumming the chords for the verse and chorus, we put a drum beat to it and added bass, synth and lead guitar for the verse/chorus. We pretty much finished the instrumental demo that night. Forreal later laid down a vocal take at his home studio and I loved the direction. The lyrics were about a recent break-up/post break-up bender. The narrative of the song is hilariously devastating and self-deprecating while also poking fun at modern dating culture. We went to Retro City Studios in Germantown and recorded drums and I wrote lyrics and tracked vocals for the bridge. With that, the song was wrapped. We then brought the song for final mixing to Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire Eater) and re-amped guitars and added some additional synth and percussion at his studio Silent Partner Studios in Germantown. Matt’s good friend and co-owner of Silent Partner, Quentin Stoltzfus (Light Heat, Mazarin) mastered the track. We are super excited to officially share our first single with the world. Enjoy!

If you’re enjoying the new single, please consider pre-ordering their new record here.

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Survey Says Users Want AI-Music Disclosure

AI

Reuters:

The study found that 73% of respondents supported disclosure when AI-generated tracks are recommended, 45% sought filtering options, and 40% said they would skip AI-generated songs entirely. Around 71% expressed surprise at their inability to distinguish between human-made and synthetic tracks. Deezer, which has 9.7 million subscribers, has seen daily AI music submissions rise to more than 50,000 — about a third of total uploads, up sharply from 18% in April. 

AI-Generated Country Artists Climbing Charts

AI

Digital Music News:

This week, Breaking Rust landed the top spot on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart for the second week in a row with the song “Walk My Walk.” But Breaking Rust is not a real person or a real band. It’s an AI project credited to songwriter Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor, but the mysterious “artist” has over 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Another AI-generated country singer, Cain Walker, also dominated the Country Digital Song Sales chart this week with tracks in the third, ninth, and eleventh spots. Billboard distinguishes both Walker and Breaking Rust’s music as “virtual acts,” which offers some degree of transparency that the artists and/or the art is AI generated.

We really don’t have to do this.