Lineup

Funk isn’t merely a genre. It’s a state of mind. Such is the opinion of GRiZ, the North Detroit-raised musician who spends sunny days and neon-tinted nights in pursuit of good vibrations. Born Grant Kwiecinski, the multi-talented electronic artist and self-proclaimed “rainbow boy” has cultivated a party-poppin’ corner of bass music all his own defined by sax-blastin’ productions and soulful live shows. A musical chameleon with a relentlessly positive attitude, GRiZ aims to create safe spaces for diverse fans to lift each other up, one drop at a time.

Even before the release of his 2016 breakout album Good Will Prevail, which debuted at #1 on the iTunes Electronic chart and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200, GRiZ had established himself as a prolific and definitive voice in electronic music. He spent the years after experimenting with sweet and hazy sounds in his Chasing the Golden Hour LP series with which he’s filled many a coveted sunset time slot.

His sixth-studio album Ride Waves which landed him in the studio with legendary names like Bootsy Collins and Snoop Dogg, garnered more than 52.7 million plays on streaming platforms, was celebrated by industry leading publications such as DJ Mag, Billboard and i-D, and showcased his unshakeable admiration for hip-hop, funk and groove-laced pop. 

He’s since reconnected with his foundational love for dubstep in projects like his Bangers.Zip EPs and now his seventh studio album, Rainbow Brain, in which he invites listeners to “let go into the technicolor world of psychedelia.” It’s spacey soundscapes, expansive basslines and saxophone-laced melodies should do just the trick.

A festival favorite thanks to his high-energy performances, GRiZ has graced stages across the world at events like Electric Forest, Ultra Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, Detroit Movement, Envision Festival in Costa Rica and Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival where he has played esteemed host of the highly-anticipated Saturday night Superjam session. Another point of provide for the enthusiastic performer is his annual 12 Days of GRiZMAS charity program, which has brought in more than $200,000 for increasing access to music education for Detroit’s youth via charity partner and beneficiary, Seven Mile, an organization offering afterschool and summer camp programming engaging local youth in musical and creative arts.

An artist with slick finesse and heart of solid gold, GRiZ is the epitome of his #ShowloveSpreadlove message. So join him in turning up the volume, and let the good times roll.

When it comes to making music, Alison Wonderland has always worn her heart on her sleeve. Her songwriting is visceral and raw, creating lines that feel like entries from her own diary and twisting the familiar burns of heartache and hurt into empowering mantras. Her production is as explosive as it is delicate, channeling intricate, uncompromising beat work and blending in the unexpected, like cello breakdowns, amongst swinging trap, bass beats, and dynamic, futuristic soundscapes.

Everything has changed since Alison Wonderland released her last record in 2018. The world turned upside down when a global pandemic wiped out "normal life" as everyone knew it. Like many, Alison Wonderland found herself suddenly very still, and very alone.

"My life was going a certain way before something pulled everything out from under me," she describes. "It left me entirely alone, and it all happened around the same time as COVID. I felt like I had hit my rock bottom." Having always turned to making music to process, she began to ruminate on the beginnings of her third album, Loner. Like rereading the pages of old diaries, she revisited her own albums for the first time in a long time. "I realized that I have always seen myself as the victim of my story. This time, something shifted in me, and I decided that I didn't want to be the victim anymore. Instead, whatever I wrote from here would empower me, and help me find strength in this loneliness."

Loner captures Alison Wonderland at her best; an exhilarating juxtaposition of lyrics and sound, the album is as bright as it is brash. Her songwriting, sharper than ever, is disarmingly genuine and wickedly clever. Longtime fans will know that Alison Wonderland has always faced her own experiences of loss, hurt, and unbridled passion head on through her music, but with Loner, there exists an undeniable new draw in her explorations of hope and perseverance. "For me, Loner felt like a rebirth" With her latest, Alison Wonderland transforms darkness into light, disorder into order. "I owe it to whoever else is out there who was like me, wishing that they had an album like this to empower them to feel less alone and know that it's all going to be okay one day," she says. In 2022, as we emerge from past years of cloudy, turbulent change, Loner has arrived just in time to remind us to look ahead to a better tomorrow.

Critically acclaimed and multi-platinum band Young the Giant returns with their brand new single “Wake Up". The
song marks the first glimpse into the group’s imminent fifth studio release, American Bollywood. The new material will
be released throughout 2022 as a series of four acts titled: Origins, Exile, Battle and Denouement. “Wake Up” is the
band's return from the 2018 album Mirror Master which included their single "Superposition" which reached #1 on US
Alternative Charts.
Young The Giant was established in 2004 and is comprised of Sameer Gadhia (vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric
Cannata (guitar), Francois Comtois (drums) and Payam Doostzadeh (bass). The band first broke through with their
2010 self-titled debut album, which featured the RIAA-Multi platinum certified hits, "My Body" and "Cough Syrup."
This was followed by the release of 2014’s Mind Over Matter, which was both a commercial and critical success.
Young the Giant continued to brave new themes and sonic landscapes with their wildly adventurous third album,
Home of the Strange. The New York Times proclaimed Lead Singer Sameer Gadhia, "one of the great contemporary
rock voices." The band has sold out performances at historic venues such as Radio City Music Hall, The Greek
Theatre in Los Angeles, The Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, and more. They
have become a festival mainstay at high profile outings such as Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza, Outside
Lands, and Governor's Ball among others.

Cycling through states of mind and fits of feeling, CANNONS ebb and flow between otherworldly electro-soundscapes and evocative vocal transmissions, layering breezy pop atop cinematic sonic architecture. The L.A. group -- Michelle Joy [vocals], Ryan Clapham [lead guitar], and Paul Davis [drums, keys] -- physically incite body movement and mentally provoke thought. The trio have consistently enabled escape via their songs. Following a tireless grind, they quietly shook-up popular culture with their 2019 independent sophomore outing, Shadows. The single "Fire For You" initially toppled The Hollywood Reporter's Top TV Songs Chart at #1 in the wake of a placement on NETFLIX's Never Have I Ever. The success translated to multiple radio formats as they clinched #1 on both Alternative and Triple A, earning them a 2022 iHeart Radio Award nomination for 'Best New Alternative Artist.' With the song notably eclipsing 77 million Spotify streams, SiriusXM touted the band on the "Class of 2020," while YouTube named CANNONS among its "Artists on the Rise." Beyond inciting critical applause, they wowed audiences at Lollapalooza, Firefly, Outside Lands, and more. After amassing hundreds of millions of streams and earning acclaim from Consequence, OnesToWatch, LA Weekly, and more, the trio captivate like never before on their third full-length offering, Fever Dream [March 25 via Columbia Records], led by the singles "Bad Dream" and "Hurricane."

NGHTMRE's ascent to the upper echelons of dance music stardom has been nothing short of
dream-like. His meticulous production and pulsating performances have cemented him as both a
festival mainstay and dance music tastemaker. His collaborations with Zeds Dead, Dillon Francis,
Flux Pavilion and SLANDER have catapulted him across the world, from Tomorrowland in Belgium
to World DJ Fest in Seoul.
NGHTMRE burst onto the scene in 2015, when Skrillex dropped his unreleased single "Street" on
the main stage at Ultra Music Festival – electronic music's premiere event. That record would go
on to be one of the biggest trap songs of the summer and lead Tyler Marenyi to become the darling
of Diplo's Mad Decent imprint, an international festival superstar, and a resident DJ at Las Vegas's
famed Hakkasan.
Tyler then embarked on a near sell-out, thirty-four city "Gud Vibrations" US bus tour with best
friends Derek and Scott of SLANDER. Their GV brand has seen exponential growth with a
worldwide audience; it began with back to back sellout nights headlining the Hollywood Palladium,
quickly followed by packing the NOS Events Center with 10,000 fans. The boys then took Gud
Vibrations global with an Australia & New Zealand and Asia tours, a takeover of Red Rocks
amphitheater, and a Miami Boat Party during Miami Music Week. You can also hear their weekly
Gud Vibrations radio show on Sirius XM's Diplo's Revolution, with both NGHTMRE and SLANDER
hosting the show. Most notably, NGHTMRE and SLANDER took the plunge and launched Gud
Vibrations as an official record label in late 2018, choosing up-and-comer WAVEDASH as their
premiere artist with the release of the label's first track, “Deathwish.”
NGHTMRE's resume hosts a slew of successful music and star-studded collaborations, including
his explorative "Magic Hour" EP with Pell, the trippy "Another Dimension" with Dillon Francis, "Save
Yourself" with the Chainsmokers, "Like That" with Big Gigantic and "TTM" with Whiz Khalifa and
PnB Rock. His remixes of Ekali and ZHU's "Blame" and Flosstradamus ft. Smokepurpp's "MVP”
are equally as compelling, as if everything NGHTMRE touches conducts electricity. His well-
deserved reputation as a top-notch live performer has led to a packed tour schedule that included
the main stage at EDC Las Vegas, Billboard Hot 100 Fest, Hakkasan Las Vegas residency,
Lollapalooza (Chicago, Paris, Berlin), Electric Zoo, Mysteryland, Creamfields, Amnesia Ibiza,
Space Ibiza, Cream Ibiza, Shambhala, Middlelands, Coachella, Zouk, Ultra Music Festival, Holy
Ship!, and Tomorrowland. Tyler rounded out 2018 with his "NGHTMRE Before Xmas" tour, which
sold out its shows in both San Francisco and Los Angeles for 8,500 and 6,300 people, respectively.
Look out for what's next from this ace of bass as he surges full speed ahead into 2019.

Globally renowned and adored for her cinematic soundscapes and ethereal performances, South African-born, Swiss-based Queen of deep house, Nora En Pure, has spent the last few years working relentlessly to reach the pinnacle of the dance music scene. Proving her eminence with every performance, playing stand out shows at the likes of Coachella, Burning Man, Tomorrowland and Panorama NYC, Daniela Di Lillo is a true force with an indomitable work ethic and an eye for immaculate detail.

2009 saw the beginnings of her musical career, releasing her debut productions via the Enormous Tunes and Tokenish imprints, as a core member of Zürich’s Helvetic Nerds group. In 2013, her breakthrough track, ‘Come With Me’, catapulted her into the spotlight, garnering extensive support from industry greats. Gracing the airwaves with countless fan favourites, including ‘Morning Dew’, ‘Lake Arrowhead’, ‘Tears In Your Eyes’, ‘We Found Love’ and ‘Birthright’, Nora En Pure’s impressive production output led her to create official remixes for industry icons Faithless, Above & Beyond, Eelke Kleijn and Sofi Tukker. Her 2016 BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix helped solidify her reputation and showcase her distinctive sound. Securing residencies in iconic locations, including Wynn Las Vegas and Privilege Ibiza, her fan base spans the globe, reaching over 2.6 million listeners on Spotify per month.

Seamlessly connecting disparate sounds and styles, Nora En Pure’s name has become synonymous with organic instruments, emotive piano leads and enchanting melodies. Nurturing her Purified brand with expert precision, Purified Radio blossomed into a weekly show, premiering every Saturday evening on SiriusXM Chill with an hour-long dose of the finest deep, melodic and tech house music. Curating lineups and hosting sold-out Purified events in Miami, New York, San Francisco, Palm Springs, Zürich, Prague, Montréal, London and Washington, DC, Purified has welcomed the likes of Pete Tong, Gorgon City, Kidnap, Moonwalk, Eelke Kleijn, Sonny Fodera and Cassian behind the decks. Launching Purified Records in November 2019, the imprint works hand in hand with the events label, releasing music from revered producers such as Eli Brown and Moonwalk, as well as hotly-tipped talent that also work their magic in Purified events around the world.

Celebrating her 200th episode of Purified Radio in June 2020, Nora En Pure treated fans to a spectacular extended set, filmed in the Swiss mountains of Gstaad. Perfectly pairing the soundtrack to the majestic landscape, the set has amassed almost 6 million streams on YouTube alone. Winning the award for Best Female Artist (House) in the IDMA Awards in 2019 and 2020, and receiving a nomination for Best Podcast/Radio Show for Purified 2019, she entered the DJ Mag Top 100 in 2020 at #73, and #10 in the DJ Mag Alternative Charts powered by Beatport. Keeping momentum high in 2021, she climbed to #59 in the DJ Mag Main Chart and maintained her position at #10 in the Alternative Charts.

With the return to live events in 2021, Nora En Pure reconnected with fans near and far, and hosted sold-out Purified shows at New York’s Brooklyn Mirage and Echostage in Washington, DC. Putting her passion for wildlife into action, Daniela announced her long-term partnership with leading Ocean Conservation Non-profit Organisation through the release of her nature-infused track ‘Aquatic’. With a steady stream of original gems including ‘Thermal’, ‘Oblivion’, ‘Won’t Leave Your Side’, ‘Life On Hold’, ‘Tantrum’, ‘Luscious Rain’, she also delivered an official remix of Swedish pop sensation Tove Lo’s smash hit ‘Cool Girl’. Entering 2022 in emphatic fashion, she delivered two official remixes of Claptone & Dizzy’s ‘Queen Of Ice’, as well as her club-ready original ‘Reminiscing’. Working tirelessly on her label, radio show and own releases, this critically acclaimed artist continues to soar further into a league of her own.

SOFI TUKKER, the genre-defying duo of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, is celebrated for their inclusive and global perspective on electronic music as well as their work's themes of liberation, unity, and self-empowerment. They began daily livestreams at the start of the pandemic, eventually doing hundreds of streams for millions of viewers, becoming the second most live-streamed artist of 2020. The daily livestreams also birthed the Freak Fam, their vibrant fan community that assembles 24/7 online and in-person at Freak Fam meetups spanning the globe. In 2021 SOFI TUKKER dove back into the live world with field-packing, high energy festival sets at Firefly and Outside Lands. Now the group is back with their first headline live tour since their sold-out 2019 run, in support of their new album WET TENNIS, the highly anticipated follow-up to their GRAMMY-nominated debut album Treehouse, out April 29th.

WET TENNIS is an acronym: When Everyone Tries to Evolve, Nothing Negative Is Safe. WET TENNIS is about forward movement, optimism and positive growth, no matter what the challenge. WET TENNIS is a lifestyle. It says: everything's better when wet. Wetness is excitement, mother nature, movement, flow, sweat, and juice. It’s athletic and elegant. It’s loud and bright. WET TENNIS is play, and an approach to life as a game. It’s to be taken seriously–and not seriously at all. WET TENNIS is a dedication to constantly evolving and celebrating aliveness.

With almost 170 million combined streams on Spotify and over 1 billion combined streams on YouTube, Joshua Mellody, better known as Zomboy, has positioned himself as a leader in bass music through his timeless productions and versatility in an age where electronic music continues to evolve. The international heavyweight first made his mark with his debut album 'The Outbreak,' which hit    #1 on the iTunes Electronic Chart in 10 countries including USA, Canada, Italy and Germany and #9 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. He quickly built a devoted and enduring fan base through hits like his 2016 remix of The Chainsmokers ft. Daya - “Don't Let Me Down,” which has achieved over 23 million combined streams to date, and 2018’s bass anthem “Like A B*tch” off his ‘Neon Grave’ EP, which has accumulated over 28 million streams to date. 2017 and 2018 saw continued success with the launch of his Rott N’ Roll North America Tour, same titled EP, a sold out headline show at Colorado’s legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater, and the launch of Rott N’ Roll Radio on SiriusXM, all while headlining festivals around the world. 2019 is poised to be Zomboy’s most ambitious year to date with the second installment of his Rott N’ Roll Tour, targeting larger venues across 30 cities with even bolder production.

Emerging from the heyday of the Phoenix house show scene, Breakup Shoes’ intimate yet celebratory style derives from their DIY origins as down-and-out college roommates. Their earliest tracks gave a unique expression to the long Arizona summer through a crafty blend of west coast beach rock mellowed out by a bedroom pop charm, which quickly earned a cult following with debut EP Nicotine Dream. Their first full-length record, Unrequited Love (& other clichés), propelled the band to a national audience and earned them gigs with Soccer Mommy, Men I Trust, No Vacation and more. Follow up record So Money, Baby pairs Zawisa’s sweet melodies with a rich production style and brought the band their first full national tour with Summer Salt. Their most recent EP, 2021's Narratives, finds the band in a smoother, more mature sound that matches Zawisa’s reflective lyrics, yearning for simpler times in complex tones. Breakup Shoes consists of Phoenix locals Nick Zawisa (lyricist/vocalist), Matthew Witsoe (drums), John MacLeod (guitar/bass), and Jake Peña (bass/guitar).

Kenneth La'ron, known professionally as KennyHoopla, is an American recording artist and songwriter. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he grew up absorbing a diverse spread of music and art -- The Drums, Funeral Suits, Common and Teen Suicide are credited as some of his greatest influences. His catalog is intimate, thoughtful, and self-labeled 'new wave nostalgia,' his songs soaked in both the warmths and the darknesses of life and love.

He's performed alongside Injury Reserve, Jack Harlow, Omar Apollo, Trapo, Yung Gravy and Alex Wiley, and toured with Yoshi Flower in February 2019. "Lost Cause" is Kenny's breakout single, which has been listed on Spotify's "Fresh Finds," "Alternative R&B"and "Anti-Pop" playlists, has now reached over 1 million streams on Spotify.

LAUREN SANDERSON is ready to make her own luck. In her introspective yet dynamic second LP, Death of a Fantasy (out July 29), she grapples with what it means to take responsibility for herself and her own happiness— even if it means cutting out the things that make her most “comfortable.”
 
It’s been a seemingly short two years since her 2020 debut album Midwest Kids Can Make It Big — a nod to her Indiana roots — but Sanderson hasn’t broken her stride. Having opened for FINNEAS and Chase Atlantic in 2019, her Death Of A Fantasy headline tour took her through the whole of the US in May of 2022, including performances at Irving Plaza and El Rey.
 
Now that it’s been road tested, Sanderson wants this new era to be about confronting the highs and lows of life. It’s only fitting that the majority of the album’s songs were borne out of the isolation of the COVID pandemic. “I've always used my music as journal entries,” Sanderson says. “I wasn't knowingly making an album, I was just documenting my feelings.”
 
Death of a Fantasy takes the listener through a journey of self-discovery, certainly, but it’s also a meditation on love, loss and loneliness, with a backdrop of any number of genres. Listeners will be familiar with some of the songs, such as the 2022 singles “Tongue Tied” and “THERAPY!” as well as 2021’s “Girl from the Internet,” “QUEEN BEE” and “Hi.” But the unreleased portions show off some of her boldest choices yet. The ballad “nothing lasts forever” has an anthemic chorus with a slight acoustic country twang. “Is It Normal?” has the edgy floor-stomp beat of a classic Sanderson track coupled with ethereal guitars and synths. “A thousand times, I’ve said to me / You choose your reality,” she sings on the biting leading track “SENSORYOVERLOAD*” which she describes as both a panic attack and a hug, all in one song.  
 
Sanderson attributes her sound to complete creative control; “I've spent so long fighting internally about what I wanted to say or how I wanted to look,” she says, “and now I'm not fighting anymore. I'm just doing it.” She has always been outspoken about her point of view — from doing a Ted Talk at age 19 to being a fierce representative of the LGBTQ+ community. “I've never had too much of an internal struggle with queerness, because it's always been so obvious to me,” she says. “Like, of course this is okay, of course this is normal.” Not afraid to flip the roles of what is traditionally “masculine” or “feminine,” Sanderson hopes her “fuck-it” attitude to people’s expectations will empower others around her to do the same. This attitude spills over into her fanbase, who wait hours in line for her shows with her lyrics tattooed on them proudly. “If I didn't have my die hard fans, I don't know what I would be doing,” she says. ”Having that fanbase… if I had to recreate it, I couldn't. It’s a profound, beautiful experience.”
 
Though she’s more than thankful for what her career has gifted her thus far, there’s no hesitation in her voice as she talks about what’s next. “It's not perfected, it's not overly thought-out… it just makes sense,” she says. “Letting anxieties rule my life — that's been my problem, and it’s my responsibility to work through that. I’m aligning my own stars again, exactly how I’m supposed to.”

When it comes to the next generation of house music artists and flag bearers of rave culture there are few out there who bring a sense of creativity and style to the fold like Lubelski. A Los Angeles native bred in the eclectic corners of SoCal - Jake Lubell has cultivated an unmistakable sound of his own, repeatedly earning the attention of some of the world’s most famed selectors and curators. Lubelski remains loyal to the wonkiness of the West Coast rave-scene that raised him, yet navigates the studio and booth alike with an elevated sense of songwriting far beyond his years.
Part electrical engineer, part multi-instrumentalist studio kid, Jake Lubell has synthesized a knack for percussive, eclectic beats into a guiding beacon for analog obsessed producers worldwide. Through a decade of dedication to self-taught musical exploration and a keen understanding of late nights on the dancefloor, this talent on the verge has emerged as one of North America’s most promising forces.
When 2020 struck Lubelski was poised for what was and will remain his breakout year. While some pushed back release schedules in the wake of folded tours and stripped visas, Jake kept the course, putting out his debut ‘Universal Groove’ album on his own Percomaniacs imprint. This milestone began a momentous string of chart topping EPs on key European imprints elrow, Mele’s Club Bad, Audiojack’s Gruuv, and Stefano Nofereni’s Deeperfect. He then returned to his home turf labels of Desert Hearts with ‘The Rave Scene’ EP and his leftfield return to VonStroke’s Dirtybird with ‘Lost My Senses’.
2021 charts new territory for Lubell, harnessing the drive of an unwasted year in lockdown with his late winter Crosstown Rebels debut with ‘Passion Fruits ft Xylar’ followed by EPs on Cut Snake’s Big Bam Boo and prime remix duties of Nicky Night Time, Breakbot, and Ali Love’s ‘Ubiquity’ on Music To Dance To Records. Continuing onward as a tastemaker, Lubelski tapped artists like Melé, Doc Martin, Cut Snake, MADVILLA, m.O.N.R.O.E and more to remix his Universal Groove LP, concluding his debut album cycle.
Then in the heat of lock-downs, banished from the booth, Claude VonStroke offered Lubelski a live modular-jam show on the label’s Twitch channel that would forever change the way he made music. For marathon stretches each week Lubelski would get lost in the bleeps and bloops of modular synth oddities, letting the randomness of the machines take control, and showing off a side of his personality that few had seen before. It was here that Claude offered Jake his debut DIRTYBIRD album and where the ‘Happy Accidents’ concept took form.
With the help of his own official Twitch partnership channel and a dedicated group of fans, Lubelski spent six weeks jamming and recording the leftfield modular samples that would become the bedrock of the project. Another month later he would have the most wide-reaching yet cohesive body of work he had ever created. An erratic, eclectic, and club ready moment in time captured in amber and ready to rave.
A global perspective on crate-digging has yielded a unique sample-ladden and rhythmic approach for Lubelski in the studio and booth alike, delivering a wild obsession for the groove often unattainable for young artists. The result has been deep nods from renowned global curators like Damian Lazarus, Doc Martin, Jamie Jones, Claude VonStroke, De La Swing, Dennis Ferrer and David Scuba - a support listing far beyond his years.

In each piece of music she shares with the world, RIAA certified Gold Los Angeles-based artist Royal & the Serpent reveals deep and wild complexity at the heart of her artistry. Royal & the Serpent broke onto the scene with her Atlantic Records debut track “Overwhelmed.” The Gold certified single spent 22 weeks on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart and currently boasts almost 250 million streams. Most recently, Royal & the Serpent has released her latest personal, alternative rock single “Happier in Hell.” The track premiered on ALT NATION / SiriusXM and was co-written and produced w/ Beauty School Dropout. “Happier in Hell” follows Royal’s highly anticipated EP IF I DIED WOULD ANYONE CARE. The project featured standout singles “PHUCKBOI REJECTS,” “I’M NOT SORRY” and “BETTER.” The project arrived earlier this year and received praise from LA Weekly, PAPER, NYLON, Ones to Watch, CelebMix and more.

Recently named one of SiriusXM’s class of 2021, Royal & the Serpent is an acclaimed live performer, lighting up major stages at Firefly festival and EMO NITE Vegas. In addition, Royal & the Serpent has supported PVRIS and grandson on their North American tours. This year, you can catch Royal & the Serpent live at the When We Were Young festival, Bottlerock festival and Sacramento’s Aftershock festival.

Leah Wellbaum has never been afraid of her own humility or honesty. But she’s never quite examined it the way she has now with Parallel Timeline.
On Slothrust’s latest album, bandleader Leah Wellbaum pushed herself to try and understand her own spirituality on a deeper level, putting a lens on the core wound of the human experience, the idea that we’re alone. With Parallel Timeline, Wellbaum explores the feeling of being trapped inside her own consciousness while simultaneously searching for a meaningful connection to the universe, and all the mysteries it contains.
During the writing process, Wellbaum sought to connect with her inner child - a voice that allows ideas to flow freely and without censorship. Ultimately, it allowed her to find poetic catharsis. The album’s artwork and visuals reflect that ethos as well. For her, inverted colored rainbows and orbs became a gateway to exploring the illusory things we see and experience in everyday life. The iconography of this record explores the space where science and the whimsical intersect, and where the unfamiliar becomes hardly recognizable. She is a strong believer that nothing is quite as it seems, and that a greater reality exists beyond what the human eye can see.
In advance of recording their fifth studio album, Leah, along with drummer Will Gorin, sought to dramatically expand the band’s sonic palette. Slothrust put an emphasis on incorporating new production techniques and processes into the established Slothrust sound, resulting in an extraordinary amount of experimental demo recordings, many elements of which appear themselves on the final record. They leaned into risk-taking -- a freedom that comes with having been in a band together for more than 10 years, cultivating new sonic realms for each track. Leah sought to craft unique and calculated guitar parts instead of continuous bursts of wall-to-wall sound, and in turn delivers what will likely be considered a “how-to manual” for guitar playing in the next decade.
“On this record, I wanted to be even more precise with the guitar parts as opposed to creating a guitar palette, because a lot of artists, us included, have made songs that are so chock-full of guitar that distinct parts becomes a blur,” says Wellbaum. “I enjoy making that choice when it’s right but it’s the contrast of those things that I like to lean into. I strive to make the guitar sing like a human voice.”
Educated musicians all with backgrounds in classical, jazz and blues, the band’s newest work once again sees Slothrust leaning into improvisation -- something that in the past has lent itself to the infectious energy of their live shows. Parallel Timeline, mixed by industry legend Billy Bush and mastered by Heba Kadry is a masterclass in balancing tenderness with the fierce guitar work Leah has become known for. With a distinct yet unified sound that blends progressive rock, acoustic and pop, Slothrust has never been more confident.
The backbone of the 10-track record is Leah’s spiritual journey and presence as a guitar god. Opener “Cranium” features a blues-tinged guitar solo inspired by Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain” that is so expressive it sings. ““The song addresses absurd ways to love someone or something, and feels very on-theme with things not always being what they appear at first,” says Wellbaum of the track. “It also touches on tenderness being painful, which I think is very true of me as someone who has spent a lot of my life trying to be very tough.”
With catchy grunge-rock jaunt “Once More For The Ocean” and the slow-burning ballad “King Arthur’s Seat,” Leah didn’t have access to an instrument when she wrote them. Instead the lyrics, she felt, were channeled through her as she stared into nature, reflecting the idea of oneness that she was searching for. Inspired by both Scotland and Billy Joel, “King Arthur’s Seat” also “addresses this core human wound that will come up time and time again for all of us, which is the feeling of being alone and separate and not really knowing what to do with that,” Wellbaum says.
With soaring guitar-riffs and Leah’s twinkling harmonies, the ethereal “Waiting” further contemplates the idea of wanting to heal yourself but not knowing how. In the track, connecting with nature - in this case, birds -- is a balm. Penned with singer Donna Missal, “The Next Curse” was intended to be a “spell,” but it ended up being a curse. Flanked by thunderous guitars and Leah’s haunting vocals, the blistering rock anthem explores how even among the world’s destruction we still don’t take the time to take care of ourselves: “Earth's gonna set on fire/But still I wait.” Producer Billy Bush’s influence shines on this track with burly guitars, Leah’s haunting vocals, and a fantastic display of vocal harmony in a feature from Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale. “Billy has that perfect balance of someone who is just easy to be around, totally gets the joke and is available to laugh and chat, but also is incredibly focused,” says Wellbaum. “His ears are magical.”
Slothrust shines particularly within its softer moments on the record. “Strange Astrology” is a stripped-down love song dedicated to Leah’s girlfriend of six years that meditates on astrological compatibility. The hymnal “Courtesy” ties into the record’s overall theme of spirituality and desire to feel connected. “I won’t ask you again if you give it to me/I won’t say it again if you get it the first time,” Leah sings.
While the majority of songs were written pre-pandemic, “A Giant Swallow” was not. The lullaby-like acoustic track unites the record and serves as a roadmap for Slothrust’s previous work, referencing lyrics spanning as early as their first record. Recalling the sweet harmonies of “Courtesy” and “Waiting,” Leah reflects on her search for the unified space. “I’ll return to the ocean/Return to the womb again/Inside of the Mother/Won’t have any questions then,” she sings with a gentle lilt.