Category: Discovery

  • The COMPASS: Louisville, KY

    The COMPASS: Louisville, KY

    By Rachel Grimes The quality of the sound in an environment is always so captivating to me, and seems to be something that either makes me comfortable or uncomfortable immediately. Here are some of my favorites around Louisville, Kentucky. This morning I walked outside early and heard the sound of a long, low barge horn…

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  • The Songwriter’s Guide to Nashville

    The Songwriter’s Guide to Nashville

    So you’ve made the decision: You’re going to visit Nashville. You’re a songwriter or an artist or a band, and you’ve heard some amazing stories coming out of Music City. You’re thinking it’s high time to check out this rhinestone studded, boot scootin’ music mecca that everyone is talking about. Congratulations on making the latest big decision…

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  • 9 Artists Tell the Story Behind the Song

    9 Artists Tell the Story Behind the Song

    Last week, tons of bands got into the spirit of #SongwritingWeek by posting stories of how one of their songs was written or recorded. And in honor of their hard work, we’ve decided to give out a few awards. So drumroll please… the winners are… The Great Nostalgia Award: Exiles (Brooklyn, NY) Kill the Lights by Exiles Exiles…

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  • Four Musicians Who Are Reinventing the Piano

    Four Musicians Who Are Reinventing the Piano

    We at Soundfly love the piano. In many ways, it’s the Mother of Modern Instruments, a musical Khaleesi that’s ruled the stage for hundreds of years. Since its birth in the 1700s, the piano has appeared in almost every style of music you can think of — jazz, rock, classical, blues, cat music — and been played…

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  • Madam West on How to Hustle as a Musician

    Madam West on How to Hustle as a Musician

    A couple weeks ago I got an email out of the blue from Sophie Chernin of Brooklyn band Madam West. Little did I know at the time that I was just part of her daily ritual—send one press email, one booking email, and one studio or engineer email every day. In fact, the more I…

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  • How Wu-Tang, Björk and Jay Z Turn Albums into Fine Art

    How Wu-Tang, Björk and Jay Z Turn Albums into Fine Art

    There is only one single copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s newest album, The Wu – Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, that has seen the light of day. The Wu-Tang Clan will auction this handcrafted album off after an international museum listening tour, and bids are already coming in exceeding $5 million. This single copy is encased in a…

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  • Sara Auster on the Healing Power of Sound

    Sara Auster on the Healing Power of Sound

    I first met Sara Auster ten years ago when my friends in NYC rock band Peculiar Gentlemen decided to expand their sound and bring on three female back-up singers. Sara brought such a playful and positive energy to the stage in addition to providing ethereal vocals. These days, Sara channels her passion for music in her role as a certified Sound Therapy…

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  • Dissecting Rob Cantor’s Masterpiece “Shia Labeouf”

    If you’re anything like us, you’ve watched Rob Cantor’s absurdly operatic tale of Shia Labeouf’s cannibalism and ultimate defeat 100 times by now. Clearly, there’s so much that makes this video just next level — from the aerial ribbon dancers to the actor himself appearing at the end like a half crazed serial killer pondering…

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  • How to Make Music with Pigeon Whistles

    How to Make Music with Pigeon Whistles

    Last Summer throughout the UK, it was quite possible that if you wandered into an outdoor arts festival, you had a good chance of seeing a flock of pigeons flying overheard, producing a beautiful soundscape of tones. Introducing Nathaniel Mann, a London-based composer, sonic artist, instrument designer, ethnomusicological thinker and the man who strapped whistles…

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  • Gillian Jackson on Slayerkitty and Animal-Themed Wedding Songs

    Gillian Jackson on Slayerkitty and Animal-Themed Wedding Songs

    Whenever I check in with my friend Gillian Jackson, she’s into something new. Currently, it’s teaching rock to children, scoring films, and playing scream metal (I don’t know if that’s how she’d classify it, but it definitely has screaming in it). Before that, it was neo-classical music, museum tours, and working with snakes and other woodland…

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RJD2: From Samples to Songs