Arlo Parks is a poet and singer from London. In her own words, she spent most of school feeling like that Black kid who couldn’t dance for shit, listening to too much emo music and crushing on some girl in her Spanish class. Her songs are confessional and tender, mainly inspired by Portishead and Earl Sweatshirt. She was predicted as the breakthrough act of 2020 from BBC as well as recognized by, NME, DIY, and Amazon Music. She won the Ones To Watch Award at the Independent Music Awards, and was recently featured on Michelle Obama’s Playlist. It was an absolute honor to chat with her about the inspiration behind her vulnerable songwriting and the response to her deeply personal art. Visit poprocksbk.com for this interview and more! Artwork by Kim Kyne @kimkyne

PopRocks Interviews

Arlo Parks on Being Vulnerable And Helping Others Through Her Music

joan is a duo from Little Rock, Arkansas consisting of members Alan Thomas and Steven Rutherford. After releasing their successful EP Portra in 2018, the guys went on tour for two years straight, with sold out crowds, and last year they released three songs. On August 6, joan released their latest EP 'cloudy'. We caught up with Alan and Steven to talk about how they met, what inspires their sound, and a little about their latest EP. Check out poprocksbk.com for the full article and more!

joan is back with new EP 'cloudy'

Claire Fraizer is an 18-year old singer/songwriter from Mobile, AL. She creates emotion-driven and booming songs that blends pop, hip-hop, and EDM and is heavily influenced by artists like Billie Eilish, Flume, and Chelsea Cutler. Her debut single I Want You Bad was just released on April 17, and I had the opportunity to chat with Claire Frazier over zoom to talk about her new single and what we can expect from her in future! For more, check out poprocksbk.com and follow @poprocksbk

Claire Frazier

NYIKO is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, label owner, visual artist, and actor based out of Los Angeles, California. They have released synth-pop, new wave, post-punk, and hip-hop projects with Disney, Amazon, Sony/ATV, Heard Well, Trailing Twelve, and more. Back in August, NYIKO dropped their collaborative EP with The White Electric. The 6-track Crush boasted early singles like the online-dating anthem “9x16” and the late-night slow jam “Go To Bed”. Today, NYIKO is back with their new single, “Like The Movies.”  We caught up with NYIKO over zoom to talk about Like The Movies and the inspiration behind this coming of age film. Check out our website poprocksbk.com for more interviews and follow us at @poprocksbk on Twitter and Instagram.

NYIKO

Eighty Ninety is the project of brothers Abner & Harper James. Their 2016 debut single "Three Thirty" hit #2 on Spotify’s Global Viral Charts. Since then, their music has garnered over 22 million streams, and was even hand-picked by Taylor Swift for her official Spotify playlist, Songs Taylor Loves. In early April, they released their latest single, “Know Me.” I was able to catch up with Abner over Zoom to talk about their new single and what’s next for Eighty Ninety. Check out our website poprocksbk.com for more interviews and follow us at @poprocksbk on Twitter and Instagram.

Eighty Ninety

Stereo Jane presents an edgy blend of genres that leaves you wanting more. There are few things more powerful than siblings Sydney and Mia finding the same creative spark within themselves and working together to build something impactful. With Sydney at the helm belting out her powerfully soulful vocals and guitar and Mia driving the heartbeat of every song on the drums, the group exemplifies what it is to be a young, real band with a resonating sound.   Back in February, Sydney and Mia stopped by the Radio Free Brooklyn studio to talk about their latest single, Strangers.

Stereo Jane

Holander is LA’s glitter grunge princess. She’s garnered a reputation for interweaving evocative stories with raw emotions against the backdrop of edgy, earworm pop melodies. Her music explores the corners of alternative pop by masterfully knitting together brat, brooding, and electro-pop hooks and introspective lyrics.  In 2019 she released her EP Glitter Grunge, which includes her hit Boy Tears. This year, she has released two singles, Car Crash, and Quarantine Love Song.  I was able to chat with Holander over zoom to talk to her about her music and what we can expect to hear on her next EP.

Holander

Jenny Kern is a New York-based, Toronto-born indie singer-songwriter. Her debut EP was released in 2019 and since then, her songs have been a huge hit in the indie music scene. She stopped by in September to talk about her first EP, and her Europe and North American tour. Since then, she has released two new songs from her upcoming project. The atmospheric and emotional Satellite, as well as the heartbreaking and emotional Now We Know. She stopped by the Radio Free Brooklyn studio again in February to talk about her new songs. Check out poprocksbk.com and our playlist on Spotify for the music that inspired her new music.

Jenny Kern

Hillary Capps is an alternative-pop singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn, NY. Her full-length album, The Way Back Home, will be released in full this year. Capps is rolling out the album with a unique release concept: releasing in four parts in tandem with four lunar cycles. Capps stopped by to talk about her writing process for this album and the meaning behind her release concept. Read an excerpt from our conversation on poprocksbk.com. This episode was recorded in the Radio Free Brooklyn studio in Brooklyn, NY on January 28, 2020. *It should also be noted that the release date for the album and singles mentioned in the interview have since been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.*

Hillary Capps

Sleep House is a New Jersey-based alternative rock band consisting of members Nicholas Gardyasz, Adam Mink, Evan Marcinko, and Nick Marcinko. The guys began the group back in 2016 during their freshman year of high school at the age of 14, and have never looked back since. Since that time, they have wrote, recorded, and produced two EPs, toured the East Coast, and have amassed over 100k streams on their song Her. "Don't You Cry" and "Pano-319"  are their latest singles, and the beginning of a new era for the band. Check out poprocksbk.com for an excerpt of the interview and some behind the scenes photos! This episode was recorded live in the Radio Free Brooklyn studio in Brooklyn, NY on January 7, 2020.

Sleep House

Anna Shoemaker is a NY-based alt-pop artist who became a SoundCloud sensation three years who when her mashup of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” and Chance the Rapper’s “Cocoa Butter Kisses,” when viral. Since then, she released her debut EP, East Side with GRAMMY-nominated producer JT Daley in 2018. She just released her brand new single, “If You’re Going (I’ll Go),” from her new EP which is set to be released on February 28. We had a blast chatting with Shoemaker about our high school love for Ashlee Simpson and Usher, getting margaritas and tacos at SXSW, her artist of the decade, dream collaborations, and more. Read an excerpt from our interview below and some behind the scenes photos at poprocksbk.com!

Anna Shoemaker

Emmrose is a 16 year-old singer-songwriter who blends moody, dark pop with alternative vibes. The themes of her music include love and heartbreak. Emmrose stopped by to talk about her brand new song, Hopeless Romantic. Check out poprocksbk.com for an excerpt of the interview! This episode was recorded live in the Radio Free Brooklyn studio in Brooklyn, NY on November 19, 2019.

Emmrose

Natalie Claro is a 20-year old alternative rock singer and producer. The Deli describes her music as garage singer-songwriter, with additional nods to electronic R&B and classical piano composition. She released her latest album Selfish Topics on August 10, 2019 and stopped by the Radio Free Brooklyn studio in October to talk all about her music, the meaning behind her songs, touring, and more. Check out poprocksbk.com for some behind the scenes photos and an excerpt from the interview! This episode was recorded live in the Radio Free Brooklyn studio in Brooklyn, NY on October 1, 2019.

Natalie Claro

Jenny Kern is a New York-based, Toronto-born indie singer-songwriter. Her debut EP came was released in April and since then, her song Slow Burn has been a huge hit in the indie music scene. She went on tour to promote her EP in Europe and North America, and is now starting to record music for her next project. Listen to our full interview to hear live performances of her songs Slow Burn and Carousel. Full episode on poprocksbk.com

I was finally lucky enough to meet Disco Shrine while she was in the East Coast on tour! She’s a self-proclaimed Persian-American Valley Girl and her electro/pop music is fun and guaranteed to make you dance. We caught up to talk about what’s next for her, including new music videos and a new EP due near the end of the year. Check out our full interview to hear more and listen to a sneak preview of her brand new song, Power!

Disco Shrine

Discover new music from bands touring in the NYC area! Host Evan Bieber interviews musicians to discuss their albums, musical influences, stories from tour, and more.

hubhopper

PopRocks Interviews

hubhopper