With a mere two weeks being left in the month of August, the realization that the Summer is essentially on its way out has become apparent for many. To help compliment the softened sensation that often comes paired with this time of year is Connis, who recently recruited Lord Felix, Notebook P, Ricky Sour, and Rilla Force for the delivery of two new tracks titled “Ditch the Function” and “Planets”.
“Ditch the Function” serves as an ode to introverts from all walks of life. Both Connis and Lord Felix have proven to be two of the most advantageous artists out of the Bay State in 2019, and the pair continue down this route as they bounce off of one another with true grace on this release. Connis makes use of his verse to relay some messages surrounding both being alone and working on oneself. He’s not afraid to speak on what it took for him to reach this current point in his life — something that has ultimately attracted a large flock of fans toward Connis’ direction. Brockton’s Lord Felix helps build atop Connis’ verse by reinforcing both the development of a secure temperament and the abandonment of remorsefulness. Nobody is perfect, but it’s the combination of holding one’s head up high and learning from mistakes that Connis and Lord Felix want listeners to know and understand. Ricky Sour, who was in charge of the production on “Ditch the Function”, has had a long history working alongside Connis — with the sonic chemistry exchanged between the duo being one of my favorite aspects of this track.
“Planets” is the second single that Connis released, which features Randolph’s Notebook P on the hook and Rilla Force on production. I was beyond enthusiastic upon seeing that these three talents had finally joined forces, yet still surprised as to how wonderful the output ended up being. Much like many of the verses included on Connis’ debut album, Conn(is), that dropped earlier this year, the Cambridge native continues to rap with a relentless energy. Each line holds a vast amount of weight as the listener is quite literally kept on the edge of their seat throughout the entirety of the listen. In a truly intergalactic fashion, Rilla Force’s usage of synth-rooted 808s help make this instrumental sound like something that’s out of this world, which assists Connis in delivering his thoughts in an unparalleled fashion.
If you still haven’t found yourself within the depths of Connis’ discography up through this point in time, then there’s no better moment than now to begin that journey. Take some time out of your day today and dedicate it towards some of our area’s most refined talents.
Listen to both “Ditch the Function” and “Planets” below:
Hailing from Cambridge, Massachusetts — Rothstein is an exhilarating force within the Bay State’s music scene. Over the past few years, he’s been busy filling-up his discography with passionate, heart-wrenching music that encapsulates the essence of some of the most prominent moments of his life.
Graduation Music recently spoke with the exceptional artist in order to gain some insight into what makes him the individual that he is. Check out the interview below:
ORIGINS
To begin, when did you start making music?
I started in high school with my best friend Raf. He used to chop samples & mix vocals in ACID; he’d been toying with it since we were in middle school. Raf is actually still my engineer.
Who were some of your early inspirations, both musically and non-musically speaking?
50 Cent, Craig David, Phonte, Andre, Joni Mitchell, Jadakiss, Donald Fagen, Steve Winwood, Usher, Alison Krauss, Max B, Paul Simon, Sade, Stephen Sondheim, Paul Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Backstreet Boys… Most of my heroes were and are musicians.
What kind of music did you grow up on?
My dad is a drummer & he plays mostly jazz so it was mostly that from him. My mom always played me this gorgeously wimpy singer / songwriter folk-pop stuff from the 70s. My cousin always put me on with the heady indie shit the cool, artsy older kids were listening to. All of my friends listened to hip hop — that’s my first love, the lens through which I view all of my music — even the stuff that sounds nothing like it.
CAMBRIDGE
How has Cambridge molded you as a person?
Growing up in Cambridge didn’t make me weird, but it helped. Diversity is a fact of life there — of race, of sexual orientation, of class, of taste, of cuisine, of culture. It also engendered in me a special hatred for a certain kind of New England prep school frat boy WASPism, a love for a certain shitty brand of iced coffee and an unshakeable coldness of demeanor.
Why is being from Cambridge important to you?
It is and it isn’t — I’m very proud to be from a city as progressive, as strange and as undeniably good at ball as Cambridge. On the other hand, I’ve always lived in my own little world. That’s where most of my music takes place. I love Cambridge mostly for the people. Many of them have since dispersed, but I made lifelong friendships there with some of the weirdest and brightest people you could hope to meet.
Can you speak on your decision to move away from Cambridge to further your career?
I didn’t leave Cambridge to further my career — I left Cambridge to start it. I was 20 when I moved to New York; I had dropped out of college after a year of absolute fuckery and was living in my mom’s apartment in Cambridge, writing songs and moping. My friend Taylor had just opened a tiny little menswear boutique in Williamsburg and he offered me a bed upstairs if I’d run the shop with him, leave MA and attempt to make a career of my music instead of remaining a sad sack of shit. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Cambridge is a wonderful place but it’s where I grew up, and growing up is hell. When I came back after dropping out, all it represented to me was failure.
Describe Cambridge in one word.
Collage.
MUSIC
What do you want listeners to take-away from your music?
I want them to be moved. I want them to hear, articulated in simple terms, the things they could never quite put into words. I want them to be awash in imagery. I want them to feel something.
In your opinion, why is self-expression important?
Expression is important to me because we’ve turned this innately selfish thing into a means to relate to one another — to alleviate the sorrow and loneliness and apathy and guilt and pain that come with being human. It’s given me purpose and joy, and the fact that I get to live off it is still fucking surreal to me.
How was your journey towards becoming comfortable enough to put your real life experiences into your music? Was this something that felt natural to you or did it take time to develop?
Writing was always therapy so I’ve always been more open in song than I am in real life. I’ve always been a storyteller, and I’ve always felt like an outsider, so I think I’m particularly conscious of what experiences of mine people relate to. I’m lucky to be dating a woman who can listen to scathing songs about her or wistful songs about exes without batting an eye. I’m lucky to be the child of a mother who can listen to my war stories without judgement and tell me what she likes about the songwriting. Even if it made everyone uncomfortable though, I’d still write this shit. It’s for me.
What was the process of obtaining your stylistic elements like?
I think it went for me the way it goes for most — imitate your idols until you learn all their tricks, then put said tricks (and whatever tricks you got of your own) to use to make something truly your own. I used to try and rap like Ka over dusty lo-fi beats. I heard House of Balloons and did my best Abel impression for like a year. I always had a very distinctive way of writing lyrics, but it all came together just over 2 years ago when I wrote a song that changed my life and helped me define my voice for good. I’ve been on autopilot ever since.
When making a song, what’s the setting typically like? Are there any specific people that help facilitate a better music-making experience?
When I work on music, it’s in one of 5 places:
The desk in my windowless little room in Queens
Fallen Atom’s living room
Candid, the studio in Brooklyn where 3 of my closest producers- Gabe Monro, DOC and Elijah Fox- reside
Raf’s home studio all the way uptown
Ricky Sour’s bedroom
These guys make the experience what it is. Raf and I have been doing this forever and his patience knows no limits. He’s a phenomenal engineer and without him there’s no Rothstein. Fallen is the best guitar player in the world — this dude has played for J Balvin, Liam Payne, Rita Ora, just tons of fucking people. He’s my secret weapon. Gabe is the only guy down to stay up and work till the morning with me. He executive produced my upcoming album PARADISE, and I think he’s one of the best producers working right now. DOC is a hit machine, probably the purest producer I’ve ever met. Elijah is someone whose affable genius inspires awe in everyone he meets. He’s the one who wanders into the room, lays keys or backing vocals and completely transforms a song, then he’s gone in 15 minutes. Ricky is going to be the greatest producer out of Cambridge ever. With these guys all within 15 minutes of home, I can’t lose.
How would you describe your music?
My music is like if Raymond Carver wrote R&B songs. It’s like if James Blake and Future raised a depressive child who painted his nails black and started using early in life. I have so much fun making these comparisons but it’s hard to know exactly what to say because my music sounds exactly like me, and it really doesn’t sound enough like anyone else to warrant comparison. I’m making my favorite shit in the world right now.
In your opinion, what’s the ideal setting for listening to your music?
If you are listening to Rothstein you should be wiping frozen tears from your face with a designer handkerchief while you speed down the Mass Pike, heartbroken and desperate, driven only by the desire to dispatch your remaining enemies.
Who are your favorite artists from Massachusetts?
Gabe Gill is my favorite artist in MA. Gabe is a boy genius future pop star from Northampton; his music sounds like Matchbox 20 on acid and his writing is some of the best there is. He’s got so much to say, such beautiful ways of saying it, such vision and passion and empathy, such effervescent swag. I can’t say enough about that kid.
I’ve been listening to a number of acts from home — Maka is a unicorn in a scene overpopulated with clones, a well of originality and joyful escapism. I listen to his music all the time. Connis is the best rapper in the state and it’s not even really all that close. His upcoming album is very special. TeaMarrr is making really cool, personal R&B and she owns any stage she touches. Dutchy DoBad, Jiggz and 7891 Kal are making high quality street music. Honeyfitz is like a badass Conor Oberst. Stizz inspired me (and everyone else) a great deal and made an album that I think of as our First Classic Record (I got Maka down for the second one with Waterworld). Gogo is a problem. Los Elk have been going crazy… I know I’m missing plenty of names here but MA has a lot going on man, I’m excited to see what the future holds.
2018
Which 2018 release of yours was your favorite?
It’s either “A Million” or “Endless Winter Freestyle”. They’re very different songs but they’re both kind of State of the Union moments for me — whereas most of my music is story driven and imagery driven and very much wrapped up in relationships with other people, those 2 are moments where I break the fourth wall and just talk my shit for a minute.
Can you describe the feelings you experienced surrounding the release of your debut album, HIGH WATER?
I made most of HIGH WATER in 2016 so it was a massive relief to finally get it off. I make a whole lot of music so I’d already moved all the way on by the time it was released but watching fans hear it for the first time renewed my excitement for it and hearing “High Tide” play in an episode of network TV was totally surreal. The release show was a moment for me too; it was my first New York headliner at a venue I actually really wanted to play at. That shit was beautiful man. My band is superb and these guys helped me give the kind of show you can’t get just from listening to the record and that’s what I’ve always wanted to do.
Last year was an incredibly successful one for you, racking in over a million plays and 126K+ monthly listeners on Spotify. Do you feel like this has changed your perspective at all, or do you still feel the same as you always have?
I’m very grateful but nowhere near satisfied.
For the younger artists out there, do you have any tips pertaining to how they too can grow their listenership?
First, you have to be yourself. Then you have be good, but that matters a lot less. Don’t get into this to make money; get a job, reinvest your earnings, pay the people you work with fairly, surround yourself with good art, be persistent. Understand that nobody owes you anything and everyone wants something from you- be useful, be quiet, work hard, make something beautiful.
What was your biggest lesson from last year?
I used to internally justify my pain / isolation / bad habits / depression / drug use / antisocial behavior with the “it’s all part of Being An Artist, man” thing and I gave that up this past year. I don’t need to suffer to be great. I don’t need to be lonely to be great.
2019 & ON
What’s next for Rothstein?
If this year were an episode of Friends it would be The One Where Roth Drops All The Music. I’ve been writing a lot of music for other artists, and it’ll be exciting to see that all finally exist outside of my head. With any luck you might hear some of those on the radio this year; these guys are heavy hitters and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to help them fulfill their visions. I’ve got a lot of my own on the way this year too- next up is LET ME DOWN EASY, a short EP with Fallen on production. Then it’s DEADMALL + ROTHSTEIN, with Gabe Gill & Honeyfitz. After that, I got 2 singles Ricky Sour & I produced (one of which features Radamiz, who, aside from being one of my only true Artist Friends in this shit, is very possibly the best rapper alive). Then it’s finally time for PARADISE, my album, my best work yet. When I drop these, they’ll tell you more than I could ever hope to say here. I hope you dance.
It’s always a pleasant sight to see that Rothstein is back with new music, and today, in a consistent fashion, the MA native fulfills this with two new tracks entitled “Carnations” alongside Teddybear and “Menthol”. Pairing up with Ricky Sour on the boards for each of the two, these delicately smooth offerings bring us directly into the world of such a promising talent, showing listeners the way around using crisp cadences and vivid lyricism. As always, Rothstein’s music is as addictive as it gets, and with the one-two punch of “Carnations” and “Menthol”, this couldn’t be truer.
By releasing these songs together, we get an inside look into the way that the budding artist glides over melodic production, and further so, how he uses the sparkling atmosphere of sound in a way complementary to his strengths. Rothstein is putting on a clinic in terms of both vocals and delivery, so in this case, I’m just going to let the quality of the music speak for itself. Talent is talent, and Rothstein knows just how to use it.
Listen to “Menthol” and “Carnations” at the link below:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the music coming out of Cambridge, MA right now is nothing short of stellar. This statement rings true again with soap.wav’s latest release of “This Side” featuring Connis. Ricky Sour came through with a dreamy production job, which assists soap.wav in achieving yet another melodic hit along the way.
I was first exposed to soap.wav and Ricky Sour through their track “Relate”, which, similar to “This Side”, quickly became a record that I had in constant rotation. Soap.wav’s ability to achieve sonic heights, while at the same time remaining lyrically sound, is something that has really attracted me to his discography. He continues this effort on “This Side”, making an extremely catchy song with descriptive lyrics that hip you to what his team is all about.
Soap.wav takes some time to show love towards those in his life who haven’t switched-up on him despite all that he’s endured. He’s aware of his potential and what his future holds, however, he doesn’t forget who was always there for him. Acting as an ode to what we all strive for in life with respect to those who have always held us down, Soap.wav really delivered with this one.
Featured on “This Side” is Cambridge-native Connis (Connor Donovan), who happens to be another one of my favorite rising artists from the Boston area. He’s an extremely talented rapper who incorporates both fun and realism into his lyrics, coming through to help reinforce the fact that both soap.wav and himself are loyal to their side. Props to soap.wav, Ricky Sour, and Connis for coming together once again to produce an amazing output.
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