In this interview spotlight, we chat with with members of Crashing Atlas about the newest project, influences, navigating the digital music world and more.
Full Q&A along with links and streams below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We formed in Baltimore Maryland in December of 2016. We like to classify the music we make as electronic hard pop. We incorporate the sweet pop sensibilities of Shelby’s voice with our hard driving sound. Together you get a swirling muse of sounds you hardly hear in today’s music scene.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
For one reason or another all four of us got to this point in our music careers. Dougie and Chris have played in bands for the past decade. Felix got into music by playing in church house bands for the past five years. Shelby decided that she wanted to pursue a career in music by joining a band and that is how she found us and we found her.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
We released our very first single “What I Missed” as a band on January of 2017. When we wrote it we didn’t know what to expect out of each other. The writing process was so new that it was pieced together out of a panic from all of us. When it was complete we knew we were on to something so we decided to write a debut EP. The ASCEND EP dives into themes of triumph hope, loss, and the world around us as it sits right now. We set out to write an EP that gave people the courage to leave a bad situation in their lives and go to place that they felt that they could finally be themselves.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
The digital age has brought its fair share of hurdles, but this is the age we live in and we don’t shy away from it. Things like Spotify have the ability to get you out to a worldly audience. That is something having a record sit on a shelf could never accomplish. On the flip side my opinion is that Spotify and the artist are so far apart on the royalty structure. Artists like Taylor Swift and Just Beiber don’t see it because you are talking about a billion plays. For the mid range artist like us having your song played 500,000 times should bear more of a respectable paycheck.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
- www.crashingatlas.com
- facebook.com/CrashingAtlasBand
- instagram.com/crashingatlas
- twitter.com/crashingatlas
Anything else before we sign off?
We will be on tour this coming October with Austin Winkler (Former singer of Hinder) come check us out when we come to a city near you! Much Love!
