Twenty One Pilots really need no introduction - having sold out their past two visits to New Zealand, the latest of which being at Vector Arena - it goes without saying that most New Zealanders are familiar with the duo, made up of Tyler Joseph and Joshua Dun.
In our brief catch-up with the two, we managed discuss the depth of their album, ‘Blurryface’, while simultaneously gifting them with candy leis - they lamented, "It’s hard to talk about 'Goner', while thinking about pineapple lumps…”.
Campbell’s new single ‘Don’t Move’ - her second official single, FYI - instantly captures your attention, with its instant, pulsating bass. Then her vocals begin - layered harmonies in the chorus, commanding you to, “Stop, stand still.”
About the new single, she told us: “I found it was a situation where you can’t control anyone’s honesty, you don’t really know when people are lying to you all the time, and it was just sort of a message of, it doesn’t work that way, and it’s not going to end well if you continue to go down that path.”
Any artist’s debut album is a bold statement about who they are as an artist, and New Zealander Thomston’s debut LP, ‘Topograph’, exemplifies this in full. His sonic progression has turned into more of a pop sensibility, with latest single ‘Rocketfuel’ a total highlight from the album. The album tells the chronological story of Thomas’ life up until this point in time, with love, loss, and friendship being key themes throughout.
We spoke to Thomas about his debut album, the importance of it to his fans, and pop music…
In early April, a piano bar in one of Westminster’s swankiest hotels played host to a preview of one of the most highly awaited pop albums of the year. Amidst a selective crowd of media, Nick Jonas took to the bar’s small stage to somewhat shyly introduce five songs from his sophomore release, ‘Last Year Was Complicated’. The grandiose setting seemed almost incongruous with the meticulously produced and highly accessible selection of tracks premiered.
It’s been over a year since Years & Years released their debut album ‘Communion’ into the world, but the album still has a very special place in many people’s hearts. It’s an album of honest lyrics from Olly Alexander - but also incredibly catchy synths and dance-beats, and you’ve got the group’s other members Emre Turkmen and Mikey Goldsworthy to thank for that.
They also told us about new Years & Years music, working with Tove Lo, and more…
Earlier this year in Paris while supporting The 1975 on their European tour, The Japanese House’s Amber Bain kindly agreed to take some behind-the-scenes Instax photos for this Coup De Main photo-diary...
There’s not many people on this earth as pleasant as Tom Odell. We encountered him on a very early morning, a morning that had already started at 3am for him - when a fire alarm went off in his hotel room, leading to an emergency evacuation of the room.
Despite this, plus the added jet-lag, Odell was enthusiastic, and put careful consideration into every answer he gave us - as we chatted about humanity, and how the ‘Wrong Crowd’ is a universal ideal relating to fitting in and growing up.
Even via e-mail, one-half of Tegan and Sara are as amiable as ever - with Tegan Quin telling us openly about the duo’s latest album, ‘Love You To Death’, sharing her thoughts on love - “The better the love, the more capable of stretching and growing you are.”
The album is a slice of 2016’s best pop music - a natural progression from ‘Heartthrob’, with songs like ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘Dying To Know’ both being danceable yet meaningful at the same time.
It’s no secret that we at Coup De Main have been 100% obsessed with the designs of Samantha Pleet for a little while now - every collection she puts out is whimsical and magical, with the clothes lovingly designed to make you feel just that.
Pleet has been running her own designer label for over 10 years now, working with her partner Patrick to cultivate an entirely unique brand - of clothes that have been worn by the likes of Jenny Lewis, Lorde, and many more faves.
Having entered their third decade as a band, you could forgive Jimmy Eat World if they were a little bit tired of making music together, but guitarist Tom Linton has let us know that it’s actually quite the opposite. The four-piece from Arizona took the longest break of their careers (a grand total of six months off) before coming back to create ‘Integrity Blues’, their ninth album, and in doing so discovered it’s a lot harder not being together.