A new album release from Reject Madrigal brings out an absolutely lush and full-bodied soundscape that has an amazing way of blending genres together to create something new while putting them into an album that feels very much like a concept record in such a way that almost everything about it is slightly outside the box and very addictive.
The Technicolor (Side A) album features a gorgeous array of songwriting and approaches that each have stories to tell and some with emotional drives that you can feel in the music and vocals.
What's really most impressive about this record is the spectrum of genres and styles that are done so well throughout the course of its playthrough.
You have everything from singer-songwriter to R&B to hip hop to dream pop and so much more that's involved.
This is definitely one of those albums that you should listen to the whole way through in one shot.
I know, you have to find the time to do things like that but when it's worth it, it's worth it trust me.
There are definitely songs that stand on their own two feet as singles that's for sure, however listening to the full album is really the proper way to soak it in because these songs have a way of interconnecting and there's a very theatrical undertone that is confluent throughout the whole thing.
So, you have this very unique approach to the creation of an album, but you also have a unique approach to the concept and how to tell those stories as well not just the genre-blending.
This is a record that you escape into, and I absolutely love music that lets you do that because you don't get it very often.
When you can step into someone else's entire world and stories for a. of time and it's done right, when it's over you have to sort of reacclimate yourself back to your own reality again.
This is exactly what happens here because when the album's over, you really have to shake this off and look around the room again just to make sure you're back to your normal state of being.
So, this is a record that feels like watching a play or a film. Even reading a good book can be compared to a record like this.
Because of all this, it's incredibly refreshing and very infectious.
By the time you get to three the third song you really have a hard time stopping anything. You want to keep on listening and it's just been a while since an album has had that effect on me.
Everything from the songwriting to the instrumentation and even the arrangements are so satiating and so cinematic that you really can't look away.
With the release of such a well-woven album, we wanted to have a sit-down with Reject Madrigal to find out where this actually came from and what might be coming up next for the artist.
Here's what happened.
Buzz Slayers: Okay, let's start with the Technicolor (Side A) album! This record was very in depth and honest with a lot of character all over it! How did this album come about?
Originally in 2020 I wanted to make a short EP of mostly rap songs.
It was gonna be very lofi and feature a lot of old samples from the 1930s and 40s, which is where inspiration for the title 'technicolor' originally came from.
I had scrapped the idea for about a year after realizing that I didn’t really like where any of the songs meant for that project were headed.
As I moved farther along in creating music for a new full-length album, I realized I wanted to feature more singing, more acoustic guitar, more beats that imitated pop songs I loved. The project evolved with every song I finished.
I wanted to make a full story with a tangible beginning and end where each page fed off the other. The definition of ‘Madrigal’ is a part song with several voices: Those voices build a bigger melody, and I wanted to do the same by having some songs connect and transition into each other.
The main message I wanted to send with this album was that life can pass you by if you waste too much time dwelling on weaknesses and fears. Don't let what you're afraid of or have been hurt by affect what you think you can have, and don't box yourself in with ultimatums. Learn to be brave and see the gray areas in life. The philosophy of moving past seeing things in a very 'black & white' way is what inspired the title 'Technicolor'.
Buzz Slayers: How did this all start for you as an artist? When did you fall in love with music?
I was raised in a musical household, but I really fell in love with creating music when I was 17. I started making songs with a couple friends for fun, and as we went along I got a grander vision for what I could create with a little bit of work. I started performing paid shows in college and decided to truly take it seriously around my senior year. During that last year in college I was making the album.
Buzz Slayers: What kind of things really inspire songs for you?
Any novelty I find in life definitely inspires me. Sometimes the things I write flop or just don't bloom into a song. But I keep writing songs regardless of what I’m feeling and I take the inspiration as it comes. Lately I’ve been discovering that you need to run towards failure in order to find out where success will be, and that means doing scary things. That’s the only way you can really bring something truly new to the table.
Sometimes that means listening to new music. Other times it means having a brand new conversation: breaking off a bad friendship, telling your crush you like them, moving out, etc. But all those things put you in uncomfortable, new environments where you get molded and influenced. That's what I love to use to write music.
Buzz Slayers: This album has some great styles on it! Can you give us some of your biggest influences musically?
My influences continue to shift over time, but the ones that really inspired this project are:
Lizzy McAlpine, Frank Ocean, XXXTENTACION, Wifisfuneral, Scott James, Dominic Fike, and Janis Ian. And there are definitely others as well.
I don’t even listen to all of these artists that much anymore, but just because something is a phase doesn’t mean it’s not impactful. Each of them helped me in different parts of my life.
Buzz Slayers: What are you doing when you're NOT working on music?
Nowadays at any given time I’m usually:
At the gym. I do it for my mental health, but also just to stay physically healthy and capable,
Out for a walk. Novelty in nature can provide the best inspiration for music
Journaling
Hanging out with friends
Buzz Slayers: Who's in your headphones right now?
Doechii
Still Woozy
Taylor Swift
Orion Sun
Hozier
Buzz Slayers: Are you doing any live performances right now?
I’m doing Shows with Sofar Sounds continually, and I post dates on my instagram!
I also have a show set for the 21st of July @ The Public Option in DC.
Buzz Slayers: Did you record yourself or hit a big studio for this?
I recorded with a friend who had a home studio. He helped produce and record a lot of the instrumentals and beats that were used in the album. All the mixing and mastering was done by me. I used garageband and would work on the mix anyplace and everyplace. At the time I was working a day job at a law firm and did a lot of the mastering for the project at work when I had the down time.
Buzz Slayers: What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
Expect an EP in the future. And another album after that. I’m still finding my sound (and my audience) and I’m gonna try new flows and new genres all the time. But I’m gonna continue to make good music, that much is for certain.
Buzz Slayers: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I make music based on what I know from my own life and if you connected to what I made, then that means that at some level we have a shared experience and an understanding. That can’t be taken for granted.
The whole reason I started making music in the first place is because I felt like I could never truly express the whole of what I felt in normal conversation. At every turn I’d be misunderstood. So, if you’re a fan I consider you a friend, and the community we build is what I care about most when it comes to my music.