[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":1106},["ShallowReactive",2],{"global-page-header":3,"global-page-donate":12,"blog-article-uncompromising-creativity-an-interview-with-student-1":13,"blog-related-uncompromising-creativity-an-interview-with-student-1":217},{"_createdAt":4,"_id":5,"_rev":6,"_type":7,"_updatedAt":8,"name":9,"nav_donate_link":10,"nav_fundraise_link":11},"2024-09-30T01:16:08Z","d54a3beb-5bc7-4a08-9614-a7fed5276091","a0rhxOMq2E1nfR5ge0KLAh","pages","2025-02-28T22:34:20Z","GLOBAL","https:\u002F\u002Fdonate.endoverdose.net\u002Fgive\u002F546264\u002F#!\u002Fdonation\u002Fcheckout","https:\u002F\u002Fdonate.endoverdose.net\u002Fcampaign\u002Ffundraise-for-end-overdose\u002Fc548625",{"_createdAt":4,"_id":5,"_rev":6,"_type":7,"_updatedAt":8,"name":9,"nav_donate_link":10,"nav_fundraise_link":11},{"_createdAt":14,"_id":15,"_rev":16,"_type":17,"_updatedAt":18,"article":19,"author_ref":201,"category":208,"date":209,"image":210,"slug":213,"title":216},"2026-05-09T20:31:20Z","b3bb5fec-d1ee-43f4-971c-5a980f5f3eef","ViqvKh264A9yoZXJPtpxx0","news","2026-05-11T16:30:04Z",[20,40,64,72,76,85,93,101,109,117,133,136,144,152,167,175,190,198],{"_key":21,"_type":22,"children":23,"markDefs":38,"style":39},"efc098d3c977","block",[24,29,34],{"_key":25,"_type":26,"marks":27,"text":28},"9ac19dbc4f3d","span",[],"Dance-driven psychedelia permeates through “kevinkevinkevin,” a euphoric slice of student 1’s forthcoming album ",{"_key":30,"_type":26,"marks":31,"text":33},"b14ebfd4be6c",[32],"em","truant ",{"_key":35,"_type":26,"marks":36,"text":37},"aa6dae11f256",[],"(out June 19). Leading the album rollout for the Minneapolis-based artist on a particularly high note, it’s a meticulously textured single that studies dissociation and disillusionment in tandem with collaborator Demon Marcus. The interplay between the artists provides a brilliant back-and-forth that pushes student 1’s sound forward and finds him at his most explorative as a vocalist, songwriter, and producer.",[],"normal",{"_key":41,"_type":22,"children":42,"markDefs":63,"style":39},"eb73a3f91a9b",[43,47,51,55,59],{"_key":44,"_type":26,"marks":45,"text":46},"caac3dc89285",[],"The triple-threat’s ",{"_key":48,"_type":26,"marks":49,"text":50},"f5d481a1da97",[32],"truant",{"_key":52,"_type":26,"marks":53,"text":54},"07a5cff3ee79",[]," promises to further delve into mental health, addiction, and grief, spotlighting student 1’s vulnerable lyricism and reflective emotional insights. Following up last year’s ",{"_key":56,"_type":26,"marks":57,"text":58},"8d5d21b1f8b9",[32],"HM07",{"_key":60,"_type":26,"marks":61,"text":62},"345f22b5cb19",[]," EP, its lead single is an aesthetic departure while still feeling true to the sonic world student 1 has built since debuting in 2018.",[],{"_key":65,"_type":22,"children":66,"markDefs":71,"style":39},"e55f75489646",[67],{"_key":68,"_type":26,"marks":69,"text":70},"8ccce8d7e40a",[],"Around the release of “kevinkevinkevin,” we sat down with student 1 to discuss the encouragement from Demon Marcus that made his single manifest, a cheeky nod to Tame Impala's Kevin Parker within its title, and not compromising his creative vision from project to project.",[],{"_key":73,"_type":74,"url":75},"1440066b6ef1","youtube","https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002F307K6ntT4b4?si=yERjsWnLcQuUWATS",{"_key":77,"_type":22,"children":78,"markDefs":84,"style":39},"8084dea9993f",[79],{"_key":80,"_type":26,"marks":81,"text":83},"34abb7086c33",[82],"strong","“kevinkevinkevin” is an extremely lush, layered single, with so much warmth in its production. Can you take me through its creative process, including the initial encouragement from Demon Marcus to experiment and record to the instrumental?",[],{"_key":86,"_type":22,"children":87,"markDefs":92,"style":39},"b5b1091e9d0d",[88],{"_key":89,"_type":26,"marks":90,"text":91},"c3055d990237",[],"Thank you, this song is one of my favorites so that means a lot. I made the beat in the middle of an exercise where I wanted to make at least one thing every day. Like, not even a song, just anything I can drive home to and be like ‘tight.’ The beat started to come together once I figured out what I needed the bassline to do. I didn’t write to it for weeks cause I was so excited about the beat, it kinda psyched me out of thinking I could come up with something for it. Austin (Demon Marcus) came over one day to run through potential beats to record over and he immediately lit up when he heard that one, so I figured “okay bet, I'll follow your lead.”",[],{"_key":94,"_type":22,"children":95,"markDefs":100,"style":39},"09ea59fafd09",[96],{"_key":97,"_type":26,"marks":98,"text":99},"f6ba0a5623c5",[82],"The single also features a killer verse from Demon Marcus. What does your collaborative process typically look like together? How did you envision his feature coalescing with the track as a whole?",[],{"_key":102,"_type":22,"children":103,"markDefs":108,"style":39},"a1c86e750d8f",[104],{"_key":105,"_type":26,"marks":106,"text":107},"dc789967da8c",[],"He's a certified institution. Also, probably the reason I'm singing more now haha. Our processes are so different, I take what feels like forever to make anything and he's like ready to go at any moment. You could ask him how he feels about a beat you're making and 5 minutes later, he's in front of the mic recording over it and immediately getting GREAT ideas off. Super inspiring, the kind of energy that provides the perfect kind of guidance for anyone that has a creative process that feels like math.",[],{"_key":110,"_type":22,"children":111,"markDefs":116,"style":39},"4824feeec763",[112],{"_key":113,"_type":26,"marks":114,"text":115},"81fcc57033fa",[82],"Can you talk about the Kevin Parker inspiration for the track’s title? I feel like he’s a true enigma when it comes to popular music.",[],{"_key":118,"_type":22,"children":119,"markDefs":132,"style":39},"df2f762a28e6",[120,124,128],{"_key":121,"_type":26,"marks":122,"text":123},"66aceba530db",[],"He's a what? I'm just kidding, I got into Tame Impala like 5 years ago and didn't know much about him before that. When I found out it's not a multiple member band and he makes all the music himself, I ran through his entire discography. That's so cool and funny to me. It's just one guy. Anyway, when I started doing falsetto stuff on the beat it reminded me of him so I rolled with it. When I played the first few things I recorded back my first thought was, \"",{"_key":125,"_type":26,"marks":126,"text":127},"0c4c1bd8de1a",[32],"I guess I like Tame Impala.\" “",{"_key":129,"_type":26,"marks":130,"text":131},"9a1ebdeaf213",[],"kevinkevinkevin” seemed like the most appropriate title.",[],{"_key":134,"_type":74,"url":135},"a99aa057a364","https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FZiMWgI6CRpA?si=0esplM3zOIMc2FxT",{"_key":137,"_type":22,"children":138,"markDefs":143,"style":39},"7c72e883aea6",[139],{"_key":140,"_type":26,"marks":141,"text":142},"7fead670ba90",[82],"“kevinkevinkevin” lyrically touches on feelings of dissociation and disillusionment that are inherently personal – how do you bring that level of authenticity to your writing?",[],{"_key":145,"_type":22,"children":146,"markDefs":151,"style":39},"7b7733cbb2ce",[147],{"_key":148,"_type":26,"marks":149,"text":150},"23692ae4759c",[],"I just think of the stuff that I'm feeling that I never talk about, then I imagine other people also having their own version of that. The easier it is for you to consider that other people could be feeling what you feel, the easier it is to write vulnerably, and the easier it is to do a lot of things.",[],{"_key":153,"_type":22,"children":154,"markDefs":166,"style":39},"417396c3c0df",[155,159,162],{"_key":156,"_type":26,"marks":157,"text":158},"f93f22f105b2",[82],"You’re announcing the release of your forthcoming full-length ",{"_key":160,"_type":26,"marks":161,"text":50},"c9a9eb37d31f",[82,32],{"_key":163,"_type":26,"marks":164,"text":165},"cabe0ee99ff4",[82]," – being entirely written, mixed, and mastered by yourself, why is it important to retain that level of agency as an artist?",[],{"_key":168,"_type":22,"children":169,"markDefs":174,"style":39},"c26f7ff9873b",[170],{"_key":171,"_type":26,"marks":172,"text":173},"1a654d1dea0c",[],"The short answer is because those are jobs and now you don't have to pay anyone else to do it haha. But furthermore, I think that there's so much room for crucial things to get lost in translation when important pillars of the music are constantly outsourced. Sometimes I can't articulate why the little trinkets in a mix (that are for sure burying the vocal) can be seen as an issue but are actually my favorite part. Sometimes I don't know what kind of beats I want to rap or sing over. Sometimes I'll finalize a song but it's too quiet and making it louder without creating problems is impossible. The best way to get around all that is to learn about those sectors of music. Then, nothing will compromise the vision.",[],{"_key":176,"_type":22,"children":177,"markDefs":189,"style":39},"a4149c2092e2",[178,182,185],{"_key":179,"_type":26,"marks":180,"text":181},"c81001fae3b4",[82],"How do you see “kevinkevinkevin” fitting into the broader context of ",{"_key":183,"_type":26,"marks":184,"text":50},"297bfcaedbc3",[82,32],{"_key":186,"_type":26,"marks":187,"text":188},"a0c6c8b816fe",[82],"? What can we expect from the project as a whole, both sonically and thematically?",[],{"_key":191,"_type":22,"children":192,"markDefs":197,"style":39},"3a2ba9a84880",[193],{"_key":194,"_type":26,"marks":195,"text":196},"e15fed58e587",[],"It's one of the later additions to the album. It was originally gonna just be a loosie [standalone single] but it felt like a good ‘midpoint of the album’ song so that's where I put it. You can expect this album to feel like every song is its own little world. Some of the worlds are neighboring each other, some aren't. If you like the songs I've self-produced in the past, you'll probably find something on this album. I talk shit, I open up, I piss myself. A lot going on.",[],{"_key":199,"_type":74,"url":200},"f29caaddf2b2","https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Fq13eAZfYjSM?si=no2AVOT3aZR0bFpw",{"image":202,"title":207},{"_type":203,"asset":204},"image",{"_ref":205,"_type":206},"image-c2b3c1f612edb1b92e172e61258cf4af0bf771cd-4000x3000-jpg","reference","Mike Giegerich","arts-entertainment","2026-05-11",{"_type":203,"asset":211},{"_ref":212,"_type":206},"image-25c8767308e2ef0c88a2b7bcf0972195071cc7cb-4608x3072-jpg",{"_type":214,"current":215},"slug","uncompromising-creativity-an-interview-with-student-1","Uncompromising Creativity: An Interview with student 1",[218,665,925],{"_createdAt":219,"_id":220,"_rev":221,"_type":17,"_updatedAt":222,"article":223,"author_ref":656,"category":208,"date":658,"image":659,"slug":662,"title":664},"2026-06-12T22:21:19Z","5889ca7e-5f4d-48d3-8869-6ecef1a5f493","TYBO0JVITBikS56VFTKQCJ","2026-06-12T23:34:58Z",[224,256,264,272,281,289,305,313,321,329,359,362,377,392,420,423,431,446,454,461,469,477,485,493,496,504,527,542,550,558,566,573,581,589,592,600,624,632,640,648],{"_key":225,"_type":22,"children":226,"markDefs":255,"style":39},"00f8ad8304e0",[227,231,235,239,243,247,251],{"_key":228,"_type":26,"marks":229,"text":230},"9854342bbfea",[],"New York singer-songwriter Rivkah Reyes has spent her entire life living and breathing the arts. After commencing guitar lessons at four-years-old and breaking onto the entertainment scene as Katie in ",{"_key":232,"_type":26,"marks":233,"text":234},"599ebff72792",[32],"School of Rock",{"_key":236,"_type":26,"marks":237,"text":238},"b65a1de47b5d",[]," while still a grade schooler, she’s steadily evolved into a multi-faceted creative with expansive credits as a musician, actor, and screenwriter. Whether it’s writing and starring in the Margaret Cho-led ",{"_key":240,"_type":26,"marks":241,"text":242},"87b8ca84516c",[32],"Gianna",{"_key":244,"_type":26,"marks":245,"text":246},"9496afcf659a",[],", appearing in Lawrence Lamont’s ",{"_key":248,"_type":26,"marks":249,"text":250},"5507faa24bc9",[32],"One of Them Days",{"_key":252,"_type":26,"marks":253,"text":254},"9b6f00eb865c",[],", or releasing brilliant music under her namesake, she’s curated a genuinely compelling body of work.  ",[],{"_key":257,"_type":22,"children":258,"markDefs":263,"style":39},"5f4861f26a8f",[259],{"_key":260,"_type":26,"marks":261,"text":262},"fd70e6a2891f",[],"As she continues to evolve in her career as a solo musician, Reyes recently unveiled her brilliant new single “Miss Congeniality,” an alt-pop single perfectly placed between the polarities of catchiness and grit. Pulling inspiration from the classic Sandra Bullock film, it comes alongside a fittingly cinematic video directed by Katie Colwell and Reyes – filmed at the Bushwick gym OutBox – that finds a bruised but resilient Reyes eventually claiming the title of Sapphic Menace. ",[],{"_key":265,"_type":22,"children":266,"markDefs":271,"style":39},"81b920e8c858",[267],{"_key":268,"_type":26,"marks":269,"text":270},"1c6db107339d",[],"In celebration of the release, we sat down with Reyes to chat about her sprawling career alongside the personal experiences like long-term sobriety that have shaped her as an artist and led to newfound freedom in the process. ",[],{"_key":273,"_type":22,"children":274,"markDefs":279,"style":280},"e7d5556e6828",[275],{"_key":276,"_type":26,"marks":277,"text":278},"82dee6e15f0c",[],"What were your formative music experiences? I know you picked up the guitar at four-years-old and I'm curious what inspired that very first moment as a musician.",[],"h3",{"_key":282,"_type":22,"children":283,"markDefs":288,"style":39},"57e0b0be16af",[284],{"_key":285,"_type":26,"marks":286,"text":287},"bd98f789b459",[],"When I was four, I started taking lessons, and they offered [so] many different instruments. They were like, \"What about violin? What about flute? What about piano or cello?\" Guitar was kind of the outlier. My mom had taken violin lessons when she was a kid, so she was like, \"Oh, let's do violin,\" because she already kind of knew her way around one. At my first violin lesson, the teacher clocked that I kept on wanting to hold it like a guitar, and she was like, \"I think she wants to play guitar.\" After my first guitar lesson, I was absolutely hooked. I had grown up listening to a lot of classic rock. My dad's influence was heavy on me – the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, very classic, basic dad music – but that's what I wanted to do. I was trained classically, and in my spare time, when I wasn't doing school or homework or my classical lessons, I would just listen to whatever record my dad had on and try to play along and ear trained myself to pluck out a melody of whatever was playing and shred over it on a child-sized, classical, nylon-string guitar.",[],{"_key":290,"_type":22,"children":291,"markDefs":304,"style":39},"9b0a0a29dc66",[292,296,300],{"_key":293,"_type":26,"marks":294,"text":295},"6fd3b3db25ed",[],"Even before that, I was singing in my stroller. I was a big Disney kid, I loved ",{"_key":297,"_type":26,"marks":298,"text":299},"82bddefb8893",[32],"Aladdin",{"_key":301,"_type":26,"marks":302,"text":303},"7ba6090adb14",[],", and I would always be singing \"A Whole New World.\" [We were a] big karaoke family because my mom's side is Filipino, so [at] every family gathering, I'd ask for the mic multiple times to sing. I definitely was born and bred to be a musician,",[],{"_key":306,"_type":22,"children":307,"markDefs":312,"style":280},"00d761cca03c",[308],{"_key":309,"_type":26,"marks":310,"text":311},"41f70ac7ce94",[],"I love that. And I feel like kids have more intuition than we give them credit for, like you knowing \"That's the instrument I'm supposed to be playing.\"",[],{"_key":314,"_type":22,"children":315,"markDefs":320,"style":39},"dec579de941d",[316],{"_key":317,"_type":26,"marks":318,"text":319},"1129559cdf28",[],"I love playing guitar, man ... it makes me feel so close to the universe.",[],{"_key":322,"_type":22,"children":323,"markDefs":328,"style":280},"baa2b9260240",[324],{"_key":325,"_type":26,"marks":326,"text":327},"aa3c7c66fcf3",[],"You mentioned that your dad was always playing classic rock. As your music taste started to develop, what were your earliest personal favorites? ",[],{"_key":330,"_type":22,"children":331,"markDefs":358,"style":39},"fde75c9120db",[332,336,340,344,347,351,354],{"_key":333,"_type":26,"marks":334,"text":335},"e2f15f23fe78",[],"My dad is very classic rock, you know, the British invasion of it all. He also loved reggae – he had a reggae compilation album that we would listen to in his car sometimes, or a Motown one. And then my mom [was] very much into the divas, like the Whitney [Houston], Mariah [Carey]. '90s and early 2000s r&b was big in our house, so I was always listening to a bunch of different stuff. I would say the first time I was really, really inspired by listening to a record was Queen. I loved the theatricality of it all [like] \"Bohemian Rhapsody.” When I first heard that song, I was like, \"This is 10 songs in one – that's crazy. And it sounds like it's coming from a musical or a movie.\" I just love how cinematic and how beautiful Freddie's voice was. ... the original cast recording of ",{"_key":337,"_type":26,"marks":338,"text":339},"a2ce96c8606b",[32],"Rent",{"_key":341,"_type":26,"marks":342,"text":343},"e881d1c3c7e0",[]," was entirely like my personality when I was a kid [too]. I think I listened to it maybe a little too young. My dad had seen the production, and was like, \"This musical is great\", and showed me and my siblings ",{"_key":345,"_type":26,"marks":346,"text":339},"ae0fb184a625",[32],{"_key":348,"_type":26,"marks":349,"text":350},"00c6cf2e0bce",[],", and the first time I heard \"Light My Candle,\" I knew there was something special there, and that I wanted to do musicals. Those were like two of my like very early references, and then of course the Beatles. The first non-classical song I ever learned how to play on guitar was \"Blackbird,\" and for my first audition for ",{"_key":352,"_type":26,"marks":353,"text":234},"7e537982433f",[32],{"_key":355,"_type":26,"marks":356,"text":357},"31520fab3990",[],", I played \"Here Comes the Sun.\" Looking back at that now, I'm like, \"Oh, I was nine years old, like that's not an easy song. Neither of those are easy songs for a kid to play.\" Not to toot my own horn, but that's pretty cool.",[],{"_key":360,"_type":74,"url":361},"d71ea048a935","https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Fd8MiOJuhN_Q?si=W1h73toWi5gyxpR5",{"_key":363,"_type":22,"children":364,"markDefs":376,"style":280},"c4740e79440c",[365,369,372],{"_key":366,"_type":26,"marks":367,"text":368},"c2d3f116c528",[],"What was the ",{"_key":370,"_type":26,"marks":371,"text":234},"ce16a9ca6550",[32],{"_key":373,"_type":26,"marks":374,"text":375},"10495dfd34e1",[]," experience like? I know lot of child actors talk about the burnout that comes with being thrust into the spotlight at a young age, but I imagine there’s also a lot of excitement.",[],{"_key":378,"_type":22,"children":379,"markDefs":391,"style":39},"6af32c2795d0",[380,384,387],{"_key":381,"_type":26,"marks":382,"text":383},"56244cf9f6b0",[],"It was my first audition and I didn't quite know what I was getting into, [but] the second I got on set and met the other kids, we played together. We were locked in a little studio together to like get to know each other, and rock out for a little bit, and we ended up like staying in there for like three hours ... we're just jamming, and then they're like, \"All right, kids, we gotta go to fitting\", and we're like, \"No, three more hours, please!\" But yeah, that experience was so formative. I didn't know how big of a deal it was that we were working with Jim O'Rourke from freaking Sonic Youth, because I wasn't like too privy to Sonic Youth when I was a kid, but [I'm now a] huge fan. As far as the quote unquote burdens of being a child star, I didn't really experience that until way later. I loved getting pulled out of school. It was like [being] discovered. I was bullied a lot in grade school, so I was excited to get the heck out of there. But it wasn't until I came back from ",{"_key":385,"_type":26,"marks":386,"text":234},"afd1d7a8fdde",[32],{"_key":388,"_type":26,"marks":389,"text":390},"71b520ce89c4",[],", and I had to go back to regular school for a little bit while the film was in post production, and kids were either really cool or really mean. There was no middle ground whatsoever. They were either like, \"Oh, like that's so cool, I want to be your best friend now\" – and I could see right through it – or they were like, \"What do you think you're better than us because you had to go do a little movie in New York?\" ",[],{"_key":393,"_type":22,"children":394,"markDefs":419,"style":39},"ed7dd3c68071",[395,398,401,405,408,412,415],{"_key":381,"_type":26,"marks":396,"text":397},[],"When the movie came out, I was constantly being pulled out of school. Luckily, you know, we had on-set tutors and everything, so I didn't fall behind on my schoolwork, but it was a lot, you know, going to press junkets and doing these TV appearances. We were traveling a lot too, flying everywhere was very exhausting, but we were little rock stars, so we were just so excited to be there. Getting our hair and makeup done, getting styled, getting to like meet the Osbournes and Dave Grohl and our heroes. When all of the buzz around ",{"_key":399,"_type":26,"marks":400,"text":234},"31a1ee510e76",[32],{"_key":402,"_type":26,"marks":403,"text":404},"1d014c0dfe8a",[]," died down, I auditioned a lot. I was back in Chicago, and back at regular school, and auditioning for a lot of movies and commercials, and TV shows. It was made very abundantly clear to me that it wasn't going to be as easy as ",{"_key":406,"_type":26,"marks":407,"text":234},"0a90b13d811d",[32],{"_key":409,"_type":26,"marks":410,"text":411},"2ba5202f7d2a",[]," was audition-wise. I got that job because I was the person to tell that story, and they saw something in me. They didn't even have my character in the script when I auditioned for ",{"_key":413,"_type":26,"marks":414,"text":234},"e2a0fb5a3108",[32],{"_key":416,"_type":26,"marks":417,"text":418},"7ed221820d01",[],", they wrote that because they saw me shred. That was like a literal miracle that that happened, and very quickly I realized, \"Oh, it's not always going to be that easy.\" I internalized it a lot. I was like, \"Is it because I'm ugly, is it because I'm too tall [or] too fat?\" I made it about my appearance and I took a involuntary hiatus from acting in the public eye.",[],{"_key":421,"_type":74,"url":422},"a1d9cd4533b4","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=rn3OKqLXeyo",{"_key":424,"_type":22,"children":425,"markDefs":430,"style":39},"323c54e8a06a",[426],{"_key":427,"_type":26,"marks":428,"text":429},"5c26aedc15e9",[],"I did a lot of theater, I did a lot of like musicals [and plays] at my school, and would make little short films with my sisters on a really bad camera that our parents got us for Christmas. Other than that, to the world [it was like I] fell off the face of the planet. What I was actually doing was like living a life and having a normal high school experience, which was kind of sick, because then I got to do drugs and drink a lot without like public scrutiny, like Miley Cyrus, and those other like Disney and Nickelodeon girls. Anytime they even smoked a cigarette, people would be like, \"Child star smoking cigarette, look what happened!\" You know, the trials and tribulations of Hollywood.",[],{"_key":432,"_type":22,"children":433,"markDefs":445,"style":39},"62190e7c5464",[434,438,441],{"_key":435,"_type":26,"marks":436,"text":437},"5d74f92a80a4",[],"I also was in a band in high school, and we were drinking a lot and smoking a lot. We would smoke a bunch of weed, smoke cigarettes in my dad's garage. My drinking started in high school. I had my first drink at the Toronto Film Festival, which was the world premiere of ",{"_key":439,"_type":26,"marks":440,"text":234},"eff14cc59138",[32],{"_key":442,"_type":26,"marks":443,"text":444},"9053cdc28abb",[],", actually, but it wasn't like, \"and then I became an alcoholic!\" But I do remember that night a couple of us from the movie grabbed little champagne flutes and were like, \"Oh, this is crazy,\" and then the boys were like, \"I'm done,\" and I was just like, \"Are you kidding? We're just getting started!\" I remember going to the bathroom and looking at myself in the mirror and being like, \"Hell yeah, this is awesome.\" I was able to like go say hi to Hilary Duff and the Olsen twins and not be shy. I had a couple years where I didn't touch anything, but then in high school when I joined a band and started going to parties with them or shows with them, they were all older than me [and] we all started drinking a lot. I just immediately knew [that] for some reason when I do it, there's something weird about it, where I can't stop, or I just get so sick to the point where I would black out or throw up. The other thing was, whenever I was drunk, I would kiss girls, and that was scary to me. I was like, \"Oh, what's that about?\" They started calling me the “two beer queer” [in school]. I was like, \"Oh, alcohol is making me gay. Alright, we'll address that later.” Turns out it wasn't the alcohol that made me gay [laughs].\"",[],{"_key":447,"_type":22,"children":448,"markDefs":453,"style":280},"5cbe23a0da06",[449],{"_key":450,"_type":26,"marks":451,"text":452},"4f077190a28f",[],"What sparked your pursuit of sobriety and how has your sobriety evolved over the years?",[],{"_key":455,"_type":22,"children":456,"markDefs":460,"style":39},"b764670e04af",[457],{"_key":450,"_type":26,"marks":458,"text":459},[],"Well, I drank and used from when I was 14 until I was 24. I had various attempts at trying to get myself sober, a couple of psych ward visits, a couple periods of me being like \"I'm never drinking again,\" and then two days later I'm drunk. Classic failed strategies. It wasn't until I hit all different types of rock bottoms, with alcohol and drugs ... my love life was messed up at that time. I was acting out sexually with people that I didn't even like, and getting myself into dangerous situations with people all in pursuit of when I'm gonna get a high next. Coke was my main drug of choice, and alcohol was hand in hand with it, and then the sex stuff was hand in hand with that, and money stuff, and lying, and cheating, and stealing. Then I just got to this point where I would I look at myself in the mirror for like a little too long when I was messed up, and I'd be like, \"I don't like you, I don't know you anymore. This is not what your parents wanted for you. This is not who we thought we were going to be when we grew up.\" And I just surrendered. I remember a very specific night where I was with the person I was seeing at the time, who was very toxic ... I was just like, \"God, get me out of this.\" I didn't even really believe in God, but I found myself using that word because I was desperate.",[],{"_key":462,"_type":22,"children":463,"markDefs":468,"style":39},"4ec49157714c",[464],{"_key":465,"_type":26,"marks":466,"text":467},"071606b0661b",[],"A couple days later I got this job offer that would mean I had to move to LA. A big part of my inability to stay sober when I would try was because Chicago is such a big drinking city. We drink when the Cubs win, we drink when the Cubs lose, we drink when it's cold, we drink when it's hot. I would drink at my feelings, I would drink at rejection, and at breakups, and at relationships. And so I was just like, \"I barely know anybody in LA. The people that I do know in LA seem to be pretty healthy and happy, they go on a lot of hikes and drink green juice, and they're vegan. Maybe when I go to LA, my whole life will change, and I'll become one of those healthy LA people.\" Within my first month the coke was better, I had easier access to it, and I was doing sex work to try to get free drugs, and getting into really gnarly situations. Again I was like, \"What am I doing wrong?\" And then I was at work, and I overheard a girl on set say something along the lines of, \"I don't really drink, because it shows up on camera.\" I was like, well, I gotta stop, and so my actual reason for giving up drinking was purely out of vanity. I didn't want to look like a drinker on camera and risk not getting work. My last drink was on December 10th of 2017 and I haven't picked it up since. Then I had three months of being so miserable because I just wasn't drinking or doing drugs, [and] I didn't have any therapy or any program or any community around me. I was very secretly not drinking.",[],{"_key":470,"_type":22,"children":471,"markDefs":476,"style":39},"2bb5ed45506f",[472],{"_key":473,"_type":26,"marks":474,"text":475},"8d38532f7936",[],"Around that three month mark of being a dry drunk, essentially I hit another kind of emotional bottom. I was in a polyamorous throuple situation ... and I went to a 12-step meeting for relationship stuff, and after hearing me share a couple times, a friend from that program was like, \"Hey, I'm an AA, and I think you should check that out and do that before you do address the relationship stuff, because the way that you talk about your relationships, making you want to drink and go back to drugs might be worth checking out.\" I was like, \"No, I'm not an alcoholic, I think I just really like coke, and I think my issues are really with everybody else and I attract such like toxic people.” They were like, “Why don't you just come to a meeting with me?\" I'd had friends for years that were like saving me a seat in AA without me knowing. I knew they were sober, but I didn't know they were in program because they weren't trying to out themselves at the time, but then I started going, and I loved it, and I was immediately like, \"This is where I belong.\" ... I just think it's so special. So, yeah, [I have a] little over eight years sober and I love my life. There are moments that really suck, but I just have no doubt that picking up a drink or drug because something sucks in my life is not going to help. It's going to make everything worse.",[],{"_key":478,"_type":22,"children":479,"markDefs":484,"style":280},"2d8273ada2e4",[480],{"_key":481,"_type":26,"marks":482,"text":483},"cee2702f37bb",[],"I feel like with getting sober, our relationship to our passions and creative outlets evolves. Since getting sober, has your relationship to your art changed?",[],{"_key":486,"_type":22,"children":487,"markDefs":492,"style":39},"e2a9e565f3ea",[488],{"_key":489,"_type":26,"marks":490,"text":491},"46ea9d21ef14",[],"I pivoted pretty hard into acting, and I found it a lot easier to act when I can feel my feelings. It's a huge part of it ... the first song I wrote \"Sober\" was a really cheesy song about putting the drugs down, and it was not great, but it's out there somewhere. I think it's on my Instagram, buried in my reels. I thought that my identity as an artist was so tied up in being a party girl and being drunk. \"I write better when I'm a little drunk, and I perform better when I'm a little high,\" and it was just never the case. I go back and look at some of the stand-up sets that I had taped when I was on coke, or performances of my band when I was really drunk, and I'm like, that's not the real me. This is the real me. I find having a clear mind just makes it so much easier to express the truth as an artist.",[],{"_key":494,"_type":74,"url":495},"1f94261ecbdb","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=IxvSNn4FxGI",{"_key":497,"_type":22,"children":498,"markDefs":503,"style":280},"85b5a7ed0a78",[499],{"_key":500,"_type":26,"marks":501,"text":502},"6d586dbc5949",[],"Listening to your music, you're a really poignant lyricist. What’s inspired your writing as a solo artist? ",[],{"_key":505,"_type":22,"children":506,"markDefs":526,"style":39},"10ee4e543ff0",[507,511,515,519,522],{"_key":508,"_type":26,"marks":509,"text":510},"ef507b2a02b5",[],"I was playing in bands for a long time, and I love playing with a band, but I've never been the front woman, and I've never been the primary songwriter in a band before. In fact, I was usually in bands with all guys, and oftentimes would write songs, and they'd be like, \"Oh, that's really cool, you should use that for a solo project, it's like a little too girly for us.\" I've amassed so many songs over the years that I've started releasing, and I'm really proud of this material, and what inspires me to write in my life, the shit that happens to me in my love life. I think it's pretty clear that my songs are like about relationships and situationships and half love [and] unrequited love sometimes ... that's that's what inspires me. I also pull from cinematic references like ",{"_key":512,"_type":26,"marks":513,"text":514},"a922f1a3f104",[32],"Miss Congeniality",{"_key":516,"_type":26,"marks":517,"text":518},"22229c4922bf",[],". My new single that just came out is obviously like very heavily based on the movie ",{"_key":520,"_type":26,"marks":521,"text":514},"aa87a7e5a981",[32],{"_key":523,"_type":26,"marks":524,"text":525},"e35d7ddd4602",[],". I have little references to other films and literature, and music things ... I'm such a pop culture girl, whether that's music, fashion, film, books. I'm so easily inspired by walking around Bushwick, fun nights out on the town, where thankfully I'm able to experience them fully, because I am sober, and I just hope that I can tell these stories and write these songs, and make these movies like from a place of honesty.",[],{"_key":528,"_type":22,"children":529,"markDefs":541,"style":280},"5697d18be377",[530,534,537],{"_key":531,"_type":26,"marks":532,"text":533},"79871c9b9d93",[],"What about ",{"_key":535,"_type":26,"marks":536,"text":514},"3dc1b60e6d20",[32],{"_key":538,"_type":26,"marks":539,"text":540},"788c27fbb6bf",[]," speaks to you on a personal level?",[],{"_key":543,"_type":22,"children":544,"markDefs":549,"style":39},"7c0b96629b65",[545],{"_key":546,"_type":26,"marks":547,"text":548},"e9ac7aa0c45d",[],"Oh, it's so good. Have you seen it?",[],{"_key":551,"_type":22,"children":552,"markDefs":557,"style":280},"817effa30e68",[553],{"_key":554,"_type":26,"marks":555,"text":556},"89d2ea98617e",[],"I haven't, and after watching the music video, it's at the top of my list!",[],{"_key":559,"_type":22,"children":560,"markDefs":565,"style":39},"1dd1b4b393bb",[561],{"_key":562,"_type":26,"marks":563,"text":564},"5b9b744c9e04",[],"You have to see it. Specifically, there is a scene in that movie, where she has overstepped in a mission, and the mission failed, and she potentially could have gotten herself and some other agents in danger, [but] they end up okay. But she gets home from this botched mission and she like has a little internal battle with herself and she's got a punching bag, she's punching the punching bag, then she goes to heat up dinner and she bangs the microwave a bunch, and I'm like, that is being a girl in a nutshell. It's like having something not go the way that you thought it would, even if you like poured your soul into it, worked your ass off to get there, and because you're a woman, the guys around you are like, \"I don't think you're right for this job.\" On this like feral level, she wails on this punching bag, and I'm like, \"That's me.\"",[],{"_key":567,"_type":22,"children":568,"markDefs":572,"style":39},"5597f604ac85",[569],{"_key":562,"_type":26,"marks":570,"text":571},[],"Other things about that movie [are] this idea of pageantry and performance of femininity. I'm a pretty hyper-feminine person in my day to day, and when I perform and when I’m on stage, I tend to be dolled up, but then at home I'm just such a guy [and] rough around the edges dude ... I love that movie so much, and I think Sandra Bullock is such an icon. Her character in that movie almost wins this pageant solely based on being herself, and I think that's a beautiful thing, but then if I go even deeper on it, Miss Congeniality in any pageant setting is not the winner, she's the one who everyone was best friends with – the one who was the fan favorite, maybe the one who was projected to win, but then didn't. That's kind of how I feel like my love life has been lately, so it is sort of a love letter to the girls who are the fan favorite, but never get picked.",[],{"_key":574,"_type":22,"children":575,"markDefs":580,"style":280},"e27ed5159af5",[576],{"_key":577,"_type":26,"marks":578,"text":579},"a37e8c8d9a98",[],"What was the process of that music video like? It's so cinematic, and I know you co-directed it as well.",[],{"_key":582,"_type":22,"children":583,"markDefs":588,"style":39},"a7c9748084ff",[584],{"_key":585,"_type":26,"marks":586,"text":587},"a791a7d86cf8",[],"Yeah, me and a couple of my friends got together, and my director, Katie [Colwell], who was also the director of photography – we scouted this boxing gym that's in my neighborhood, called OutBox. It's owned by a friend of mine who's like a queer trans boxer, and a couple of my friends coached there, and they graciously like offered to let us film in their space on an off-day. There were actually two people just working out in the gym while we were filming there [which was] funny. Then I got my friend Olly [Elyte], who I know from [the] dance world to play my love interest in the video slash boxing coach. It was fun to roll around in a pink dress, and I did my own makeup. The special effects makeup was all my doing. I took one class in college, and I was like, \"Okay, yeah, I'll need this forever.\" I love to give myself a little bloody nose, a little bruising. It's very fun. I love making music videos because it allows me to scratch my filmmaker itch, you know? I've made quite a few indie projects and short films that I either wrote and starred in, or produced and starred in, or just starred in. I just love being on camera.",[],{"_key":590,"_type":74,"url":591},"fab9b0c9e1e2","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Zi_RN_KTFZU",{"_key":593,"_type":22,"children":594,"markDefs":599,"style":280},"f85052213c35",[595],{"_key":596,"_type":26,"marks":597,"text":598},"cffbd327c587",[],"I love the overlap of mediums. I feel like when you integrate multiple types of creativity into each other, they bring something out that maybe just one on its own wouldn't achieve.",[],{"_key":601,"_type":22,"children":602,"markDefs":623,"style":39},"fe71217441dd",[603,607,611,615,619],{"_key":604,"_type":26,"marks":605,"text":606},"fee2f665dbdf",[],"I think that music is cinematic on its own – that's why I fell in love with Queen when I was a kid. Songs like \"I Will Always Love You\" by Whitney Houston are just so powerful. There are [also] a couple of songs by her that were written for ",{"_key":608,"_type":26,"marks":609,"text":610},"aa74605e4442",[32],"The Bodyguard,",{"_key":612,"_type":26,"marks":613,"text":614},"c3f8c7979047",[]," and I'm like, [it] makes sense that like all my favorite songs are ones that are from movies, like [Aerosmith’s] “I Don't Want to Miss a Thing” for ",{"_key":616,"_type":26,"marks":617,"text":618},"eb29da7e9c95",[32],"Armageddon",{"_key":620,"_type":26,"marks":621,"text":622},"da6ab8a19ba5",[],". There are times where I'm having a cinematic experience and the perfect song comes on in the movie, and I'm like, “Thank you to whoever the music supervisor was!” ",[],{"_key":625,"_type":22,"children":626,"markDefs":631,"style":280},"06d9f4ec7b52",[627],{"_key":628,"_type":26,"marks":629,"text":630},"35cc5cc4544b",[],"What’s next for you creatively now that “Miss Congeniality” is out?",[],{"_key":633,"_type":22,"children":634,"markDefs":639,"style":39},"dc5824040c44",[635],{"_key":636,"_type":26,"marks":637,"text":638},"b5ae9f468dee",[],"I think [I'm] probably going to release some more singles and see how that goes, and I have some film projects coming out soon, and [I’m] obviously going to keep on dancing and singing and performing as much as I can. I really want to do some live shows with the new music. I just posted an Instagram reel about looking for bandmates. So, if you're reading this and you're like, \"Hey I'm a girl and I can play drums and\u002For bass and\u002For guitar and\u002For synth, and I live in New York,\" hit me up and we'll chat. It'd be cool to maybe have a sober band. I don't know. We'll see.",[],{"_key":641,"_type":22,"children":642,"markDefs":647,"style":280},"f3fc1c997a18",[643],{"_key":644,"_type":26,"marks":645,"text":646},"31c2386ea93c",[],"Speaking of sobriety, I really liked what you said earlier about that feeling you get where you're like, \"Oh, am I a better artist when I’m drunk?\" It's such a creative hurdle to overcome, and it's scary to create while sober after years of creating in active addiction.",[],{"_key":649,"_type":22,"children":650,"markDefs":655,"style":39},"fcfffd9ebd0b",[651],{"_key":652,"_type":26,"marks":653,"text":654},"55298d9e5d9e",[],"I think alcohol and drugs block us from our real selves. I am my realest self when I'm just talking to somebody one on one without anything in my system, but the love and the spirit of the universe – and a little bit of nicotine and Red Bull [laughs].",[],{"_ref":657,"_type":206},"cf90ef13-140e-4ab6-a44f-29357374d13b","2026-06-12",{"_type":203,"asset":660},{"_ref":661,"_type":206},"image-ef1d6354b14dcc9f915c80126abfccb16d7a6e34-4082x2303-jpg",{"_type":214,"current":663},"the-power-of-self-discovery-an-interview-with-rivkah-reyes","The Power of Self-Discovery: An Interview with Rivkah Reyes",{"_createdAt":666,"_id":667,"_rev":668,"_system":669,"_type":17,"_updatedAt":672,"article":673,"author_ref":915,"category":208,"date":917,"featured":918,"image":919,"slug":922,"title":924},"2026-01-21T19:49:21Z","4dc290d1-70ba-4431-b72a-43475c7db32d","bZrivW4s4RfljxtGYzIKy6",{"base":670},{"id":667,"rev":671},"c088OSexPTMDXwKb8VontT","2026-03-03T19:52:05Z",[674,690,698,701,709,733,741,749,753,761,776,784,792,796,804,812,820,828,832,840,848,856,864,868,876,884],{"_key":675,"_type":22,"children":676,"markDefs":689,"style":39},"b217aa5758d0",[677,681,685],{"_key":678,"_type":26,"marks":679,"text":680},"0430efd1410f",[],"Sustaining creative inspiration is a challenge that faces most artists, but the great ones are able to circumvent those road blocks and recapture the ever-evasive spark. Modeling, an experimental outfit hailing from Fayetteville, Arkansas, faced their own hurdles throughout the writing process of a track following up their brilliant 2022 record ",{"_key":682,"_type":26,"marks":683,"text":684},"4f29a2ea62cf",[32],"Somewhere Before",{"_key":686,"_type":26,"marks":687,"text":688},"469093622ec1",[],". Faced with the feeling of an inability to crack that specific single's code, they spent two years chipping away before finally leaping to another cut that would become their triumphant return: \"at Variance.\" ",[],{"_key":691,"_type":22,"children":692,"markDefs":697,"style":39},"321101fdad4e",[693],{"_key":694,"_type":26,"marks":695,"text":696},"2dbd0d878252",[],"Grounded in an ethereal soundscape crafted with a razor-sharp attention to detail, inspired by the movements of dance rather than other sonic sources, it's a beautiful single that's well worth the wait. After the release of \"at Variance,\" we spoke with the brother-led trio about being moved by the work of artists ranging from Steve Reich to David Lynch, their heightened awareness of all aspects of their work including highly curated visuals, and much more. ",[],{"_key":699,"_type":74,"url":700},"2c863503380a","https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002F_5b5-30Zpeo?si=fP4lcZz59cy3At-2",{"_key":702,"_type":22,"children":703,"markDefs":708,"style":39},"c089909f25d1",[704],{"_key":705,"_type":26,"marks":706,"text":707},"45ecd260d8f8",[82,32],"Can you take us through the creative process of “at Variance”? How have you evolved as songwriters since Somewhere Before three years ago?",[],{"_key":710,"_type":22,"children":711,"markDefs":732,"style":39},"f07daa4d1e84",[712,716,720,724,728],{"_key":713,"_type":26,"marks":714,"text":715},"b8726b4613ec",[],"CUINN: The idea for “",{"_key":717,"_type":26,"marks":718,"text":719},"48f26e0f76bd",[32],"at Variance”",{"_key":721,"_type":26,"marks":722,"text":723},"3bf011fb2edc",[]," came together shortly after the release of \"Somewhere",{"_key":725,"_type":26,"marks":726,"text":727},"4ceb522e5a7c",[32]," Before.”",{"_key":729,"_type":26,"marks":730,"text":731},"2fb75e669863",[]," I was in a strange headspace and found myself struggling to connect with or understand anything around me, so naturally that started coming out creatively. We tried to make something that felt slightly out of sync, parts that don’t really repeat, timing that’s never quite locked in, but still living inside a set of rules or system. I wanted it to feel like two people dancing out of step with each other: similar movements, never fully aligned, always a beat late and pushing forward until you can’t. I’m a terrible person to ask this because I don't look back enough but I think our evolution is similar with every passing year, we try something new and exciting.",[],{"_key":734,"_type":22,"children":735,"markDefs":740,"style":39},"0aa239e44078",[736],{"_key":737,"_type":26,"marks":738,"text":739},"9d841054e3d8",[82,32],"You mentioned being burnt out on old ideas with the release of this new single – how did you navigate your way through burn out to find yourselves creatively rejuvenated?",[],{"_key":742,"_type":22,"children":743,"markDefs":748,"style":39},"67f079e02e20",[744],{"_key":745,"_type":26,"marks":746,"text":747},"1161864b7e33",[],"CUINN: We’ve been doing this music thing for most of our lives, and like anything you spend a lot of time with, it can start to feel stale if it isn’t reinvented every so often. We’ve had a hard time finding new music that inspires us lately, so we look to other art forms; movies, painting, photography, ballet, really anything for inspiration. With “at Variance” specifically, I found inspiration in Justin Peck’s Decalogue with the New York City Ballet. In my interpretation, it shares many of the same themes as “at Variance,” but instead of expressing them through music, it does so through movement. I think resonating with different art forms in this way opens up the possibility of creating something new and helps avoid falling into the same tired tropes of most music today, because you begin to view the work not just as a song, but as a shared experience between visual and sound.",[],{"_key":750,"_type":203,"asset":751},"23fcddb67552",{"_ref":752,"_type":206},"image-25e0d0efefae6a57837b79a95a4df4b8322d7cf0-828x1035-jpg",{"_key":754,"_type":22,"children":755,"markDefs":760,"style":39},"9e6ce3280558",[756],{"_key":757,"_type":26,"marks":758,"text":759},"977c296897b1",[82,32],"You’ve also discussed that depression crept into the creative process of “at Variance” because the single wasn’t coming together quickly enough. How did you reframe your expectations for the creative timeline of Modeling’s work and finish “at Variance”?",[],{"_key":762,"_type":22,"children":763,"markDefs":775,"style":39},"1e0dd1a8a64d",[764,768,771],{"_key":765,"_type":26,"marks":766,"text":767},"1a5215e77915",[],"CUINN: “at Variance” wasn’t the first single we attempted to finish after ",{"_key":769,"_type":26,"marks":770,"text":684},"4f9323a2e5d6",[32],{"_key":772,"_type":26,"marks":773,"text":774},"d6bc70550447",[],". We worked on several tracks, but spent nearly two years heavily focused on one in particular. We simply couldn’t solve it, and that left us feeling defeated. Spending so much time on a single track and feeling as though you’ve only moved backward is really discouraging. You lose a lot of confidence in yourself. Eventually, we managed to convince ourselves to move on to another song, which became “at Variance.” Ironically, the first obstacle we encountered with that track immediately triggered the same emotions we’d felt while trying to complete the previous one. I don’t really have a definitive answer for how we got past it, because I can’t tell whether we problem-solved our way through it or simply got lucky and accepted it for what it is. I guess the simplest, if somewhat cliché answer is not to put all your eggs in one basket.",[],{"_key":777,"_type":22,"children":778,"markDefs":783,"style":39},"6e45cbecfac2",[779],{"_key":780,"_type":26,"marks":781,"text":782},"1d55ef294403",[82,32],"On a recent post, you quoted David Lynch’s Catching The Big Fish – ”Ideas are like fish” – which I think is a beautiful sentiment when it comes to creativity. How have you integrated concepts like this one from Lynch into your work?",[],{"_key":785,"_type":22,"children":786,"markDefs":791,"style":39},"02440d8fae19",[787],{"_key":788,"_type":26,"marks":789,"text":790},"3dc5087609e5",[],"CONNOR: i love david lynch’s perspective on the world and his concepts have so much childlike curiosity embedded into them. for me, the takeaway is that great things take time. and in order to catch something truly great, you have to allow yourself to be patient and present. which, i think we try to do.",[],{"_key":793,"_type":203,"asset":794},"347f7cffecdf",{"_ref":795,"_type":206},"image-ac60917aacc8d564d33834c99eae3ebb6f5c24ed-828x1035-jpg",{"_key":797,"_type":22,"children":798,"markDefs":803,"style":39},"c15be060188f",[799],{"_key":800,"_type":26,"marks":801,"text":802},"200561d6ebfa",[82,32],"In a recent interview with KAUF, you mention Steve Reich as an artist you grew up listening to. How do you apply that ethos of dense, layered recordings to modeling and cuts like “at Variance”?",[],{"_key":805,"_type":22,"children":806,"markDefs":811,"style":39},"f6d7c6cf5ba1",[807],{"_key":808,"_type":26,"marks":809,"text":810},"9b96b39cb910",[],"CUINN: I found Steve Reich's music at a time when I was in desperate need of something new. Discovering him, along with artists like Philip Glass and Arvo Pärt, left a lasting impression on how I conceptualize music, and how I learned to let go of some traditional expectations of musical development. I’m drawn to music that demands patience and attentiveness, and while that can definitely be achieved through open, spacious works, which I’ve become more receptive to. there will probably always be a part of me that craves dense, unforgiving music. Music with no digressions and no narrative escape hatches. No room to think or look elsewhere. Thanks, Steve haha.",[],{"_key":813,"_type":22,"children":814,"markDefs":819,"style":39},"412e8db9a2c2",[815],{"_key":816,"_type":26,"marks":817,"text":818},"43b1f88e6ea7",[82,32],"The visuals on socials for “at Variance” have a brilliant, cinematic quality to them. Can you talk about the importance of not only perfecting your music, but the accompanying visuals as well?",[],{"_key":821,"_type":22,"children":822,"markDefs":827,"style":39},"5ff5164f449b",[823],{"_key":824,"_type":26,"marks":825,"text":826},"e222273aeb7c",[],"CONNOR: Our philosophy as a band has always been to create something we genuinely believe in, something that feels like an extension of who we are. And maybe that’s a common viewpoint amongst most artists when it comes to their work, but for us, that mindset seeps into everything. The visuals, the merchandise, even something as insignificant as a social media post should have the same level of care, attention, and most importantly, intention, behind it. They’re all representations of our artistic identity. If any one element feels lazy, cheap, or purely trend-driven, it diminishes everything. All that to say, the visuals are important and should support the music, not dilute it.",[],{"_key":829,"_type":203,"asset":830},"0b0b941d51ff",{"_ref":831,"_type":206},"image-bb39d5973c35adf9c13ee850ada0773c192e351b-828x1035-jpg",{"_key":833,"_type":22,"children":834,"markDefs":839,"style":39},"1695cd3e21f1",[835],{"_key":836,"_type":26,"marks":837,"text":838},"f4e0bc937c09",[82,32],"You also hinted that “at Variance” is part of a larger EP – what can we expect from the project?",[],{"_key":841,"_type":22,"children":842,"markDefs":847,"style":39},"0d848a5acbf5",[843],{"_key":844,"_type":26,"marks":845,"text":846},"258812b94cc0",[],"RYAN: we typically don’t like to relay any expectations because things always change, but yes an EP by mid year is the goal.",[],{"_key":849,"_type":22,"children":850,"markDefs":855,"style":39},"947789b104b7",[851],{"_key":852,"_type":26,"marks":853,"text":854},"acf8407f1772",[82,32],"You recently wrapped your Midwest tour – how do you bring that sharp attention to detail from the studio to live settings?",[],{"_key":857,"_type":22,"children":858,"markDefs":863,"style":39},"104ee38314d7",[859],{"_key":860,"_type":26,"marks":861,"text":862},"fbdaf4a6729d",[],"RYAN: most of it is out of necessity. a lot of the parts we write can’t be played on our instruments of choice, so we have to spend a lot of time deciding what should be programmed, performed or backtracked so the experience can be as immersive as possible. that trickles down into the visuals with lights and haze etc, but it’s never focus. we want the show to feel like you’re someplace else from the moment you walk in. we’re definitely not fully there, but that’s what we hope to achieve.",[],{"_key":865,"_type":203,"asset":866},"a002e8eea98b",{"_ref":867,"_type":206},"image-10fee0dc1e169be37a8993a81cac232ce3c716b5-828x1035-jpg",{"_key":869,"_type":22,"children":870,"markDefs":875,"style":39},"99eb08f6fe44",[871],{"_key":872,"_type":26,"marks":873,"text":874},"7488ef1197d0",[82,32],"Is there anything else you’d like to add?",[],{"_key":877,"_type":22,"children":878,"markDefs":883,"style":39},"1661abbc8814",[879],{"_key":880,"_type":26,"marks":881,"text":882},"89a4dd743cc2",[],"these were really great questions. thanks for being intentional and for taking the time to go into the details.",[],{"_key":885,"_type":22,"children":886,"markDefs":909,"style":39},"4e964d829dd7",[887,891,897,901,905],{"_key":888,"_type":26,"marks":889,"text":890},"5be50d87920e",[82,32],"Find Modeling's official website ",{"_key":892,"_type":26,"marks":893,"text":896},"19ffae0c74f7",[82,32,894,895],"0ed58f90e8fd","underline","here",{"_key":898,"_type":26,"marks":899,"text":900},"7805433f1395",[82,32]," and Instagram ",{"_key":902,"_type":26,"marks":903,"text":896},"9fbffe7aa662",[82,32,904,895],"02f2505d8e4c",{"_key":906,"_type":26,"marks":907,"text":908},"fd8781db2004",[82,32],".",[910,913],{"_key":894,"_type":911,"href":912},"link","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.modelingmusic.co\u002F",{"_key":904,"_type":911,"href":914},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Fmodelingmusic",{"_ref":916,"_type":206},"b980ed38-3718-4575-9e36-88835be6aeda","2026-01-21",true,{"_type":203,"asset":920},{"_ref":921,"_type":206},"image-0c7c9ebff31fc7d7f37e418eb94fba926994c8d7-3872x2082-png",{"_type":214,"current":923},"movement-in-music-an-interview-with-modeling","Movement in Music: An Interview with Modeling",{"_createdAt":926,"_id":927,"_rev":928,"_system":929,"_type":17,"_updatedAt":932,"article":933,"author_ref":1098,"category":208,"date":1099,"image":1100,"slug":1103,"title":1105},"2025-12-18T17:55:17Z","77cfed54-4a52-4c3b-a60d-43440156c7f2","esecZAIc42ptcTN00okSjh",{"base":930},{"id":927,"rev":931},"0yqNTZaj30x9njDOteZyc7","2025-12-18T18:22:50Z",[934,953,961,979,987,994,1001,1009,1013,1020,1027,1035,1042,1046,1054,1061,1069,1076,1084,1091],{"_key":935,"_type":22,"children":936,"markDefs":950,"style":39},"3592db288e66",[937,941,946],{"_key":938,"_type":26,"marks":939,"text":940},"26837d147bdf",[],"Thriving local music scenes are built on innovation from artists and promoters taking creative risks. Case and point: ",{"_key":942,"_type":26,"marks":943,"text":945},"a650a35a0c16",[944],"34ffa5b54b1b","Haus of Untz",{"_key":947,"_type":26,"marks":948,"text":949},"f8262a6aabdb",[],". Founded in 2023 during a time in which bass music dominated the Northwest Arkansas scene, the trio of DJ Girlfriend, ROCKELLE, and Susie Q banded together through shared bonds of their passion for spinning house, techno, and more.",[951],{"_key":944,"_type":911,"href":952},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hausofuntz.com\u002F",{"_key":954,"_type":22,"children":955,"markDefs":960,"style":39},"ca2394471974",[956],{"_key":957,"_type":26,"marks":958,"text":959},"fe6b5757aa28",[],"Since the collective's founding, they've evolved from DIY shows in houses to meticulously curated event nights across local clubs. Throughout their existence, Haus of Untz have also held an unwavering commitment to the betterment of the local electronic community. Whether it's through donating funds to pertinent causes or educating their fans on topics like overdose prevention and response, they've given Northwest Arkansas a safer, healthier, thriving scene. ",[],{"_key":962,"_type":22,"children":963,"markDefs":976,"style":39},"8e5578d3127c",[964,968,972],{"_key":965,"_type":26,"marks":966,"text":967},"e7e20ac85693",[],"We spoke with the Haus of Untz team about the earliest days of their work, how the Northwest Arkansas electronic scene has evolved, their upcoming debut New Years' Eve extravaganza (tickets available ",{"_key":969,"_type":26,"marks":970,"text":896},"167a141a7600",[971],"056fe149e5fe",{"_key":973,"_type":26,"marks":974,"text":975},"0b817c46ee39",[],"), and their plans for 2026 and beyond.",[977],{"_key":971,"_type":911,"href":978},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.simpletix.com\u002Fe\u002Fnew-year-new-untz-tickets-248164",{"_key":980,"_type":22,"children":981,"markDefs":986,"style":280},"e65a4de645ef",[982],{"_key":983,"_type":26,"marks":984,"text":985},"71b75bd156b1",[],"Can you take us through the earliest days of Haus of Untz? How did the collective come together and how did each of your backgrounds in DJing and night life contribute to its formation?",[],{"_key":988,"_type":22,"children":989,"markDefs":993,"style":39},"3807e6fc0087",[990],{"_key":983,"_type":26,"marks":991,"text":992},[],"We met in 2021 through a local music festival that we all played at. We heard each other play and admired the others’ style and skill. We quickly became friends in addition to being colleagues, and would often hang out and talk about local music, specifically about the fact that there wasn’t really a House\u002FTechno presence in our scene. We wanted to be able to hear this music and we were curious to see if anyone else felt the same way we did. So, we decided to throw a house party (called it House House Party because it was House music being played in a house) and just saw what happened. We ended up selling out the first event and it was magical. We each played a set and everyone just vibed together, complete strangers mind you. With us being DJs ourselves as well as people who go to shows, we always put ourselves in those shoes. Like if we were going to a show, what would make us feel welcome and appreciated? What would make us feel like we were free to be ourselves and really connect with the music and people around us? We had those things in mind as the result of a desire for them to exist, and so that’s how Haus of Untz was born.",[],{"_key":995,"_type":22,"children":996,"markDefs":1000,"style":280},"602513910edb",[997],{"_key":983,"_type":26,"marks":998,"text":999},[],"How would you evaluate the electronic scene in Northwest Arkansas at the time of Haus of Untz’s formation? How has it evolved from your perspective?",[],{"_key":1002,"_type":22,"children":1003,"markDefs":1008,"style":39},"536a05a30ff1",[1004],{"_key":1005,"_type":26,"marks":1006,"text":1007},"46ffcceaccfe",[],"The electronic music scene was mostly occupied by Bass music at the time we started, which we have a lot of love and respect for, but there wasn’t much variety outside of that. Today, it’s the complete opposite. Whatever your vibe-whether that’s Dubstep, Techno, House, Ambient, DnB, Psytrance, etc-, there is someone in Northwest Arkansas who plays it or it won’t be long before someone does. Now more than ever there’s space for everyone to showcase their unique sound.",[],{"_key":1010,"_type":203,"asset":1011},"55dbb28126c1",{"_ref":1012,"_type":206},"image-195132247b75a2727a24e68cc26f821d205e798e-3000x2000-jpg",{"_key":1014,"_type":22,"children":1015,"markDefs":1019,"style":280},"48ee03eada45",[1016],{"_key":1005,"_type":26,"marks":1017,"text":1018},[],"You’ve meticulously curated your events, whether it’s Rave To The Grave or Avant Guard. Can you speak to the work that goes into crafting every event? What’re some of the major highlights to date for Haus of Untz?",[],{"_key":1021,"_type":22,"children":1022,"markDefs":1026,"style":39},"89fab5328295",[1023],{"_key":1005,"_type":26,"marks":1024,"text":1025},[],"When we plan events, our first thought is “What kind of vibe are we going for?” Do we want a rager or something more intimate and chill? That determines how much work will go into a show. Sometimes that means planning months in advance and coordinating several moving parts with DJs and musicians, artists, performers, venue staff, event staff, etc. Other times it could be just showing up and playing music! We would say one major highlight to date would be our Pride show from this past June. It was a 2-night celebration comprising of 2 venues, 8 DJs, and several artists and creatives who helped with making decor for the show and putting it up\u002Ftaking it down. We were able to raise money for a local organization that creates spaces for Trans people to exist freely and safely. It would not have happened the way it did without the many incredible people who helped us put it together.",[],{"_key":1028,"_type":22,"children":1029,"markDefs":1034,"style":280},"ec5230bc79c7",[1030],{"_key":1031,"_type":26,"marks":1032,"text":1033},"5aec25e31f6b",[],"Your social media is not just a way to promote events - it’s a platform to educate followers on everything from the history of electronic subgenres to drug safety. Can you talk about the importance of using your social media as a meeting place for information?",[],{"_key":1036,"_type":22,"children":1037,"markDefs":1041,"style":39},"dc5db2e119d4",[1038],{"_key":1031,"_type":26,"marks":1039,"text":1040},[],"We figured since people were already looking to our social media for info about shows, why not try to empower and educate while we have their attention? When it comes to what we do, we feel that all of these aspects of electronic music- whether it’s history, DJing and rave tips, drug safety, or show details- go hand-in-hand and we use our social media as a one-stop-shop that guides people to not only understand what we do, but as a gateway to exploring electronic music and culture as a whole.",[],{"_key":1043,"_type":203,"asset":1044},"fe3206228818",{"_ref":1045,"_type":206},"image-603bed009bf34fef6bd12b3cc7999097dda0856b-5000x3333-jpg",{"_key":1047,"_type":22,"children":1048,"markDefs":1053,"style":280},"1833f62c305a",[1049],{"_key":1050,"_type":26,"marks":1051,"text":1052},"45d50a370e5a",[],"You’ve collaborated with organizations like End Overdose Arkansas on bringing overdose response training and naloxone to events. Why is it important for Haus of Untz to support overdose prevention and response in Northwest Arkansas?",[],{"_key":1055,"_type":22,"children":1056,"markDefs":1060,"style":39},"762966d322d5",[1057],{"_key":1050,"_type":26,"marks":1058,"text":1059},[],"We throw parties so we feel it would be irresponsible to not talk about overdose prevention and response! We have always been about the wellbeing of those in our spaces, and that includes having honest, judgement-free conversations about how to protect ourselves and our friends. We had been wanting to find a way to speak about drug safety, but didn’t feel comfortable due to our lack of knowledge about the matter. End Overdose was a huge help in filling that gap and making it easier for organizations like ours to get trusted information to our audiences in a way that wasn’t talking down on them or telling them what to do with their lives. Now several local Northwest Arkansas promoters, DJs, and show attendees know how to respond to an overdose and keep naloxone in their spaces because of the End Overdose trainings done at our shows. It’s making a real impact and keeping our communities safer, and we’re happy to support!",[],{"_key":1062,"_type":22,"children":1063,"markDefs":1068,"style":280},"98389a2088e5",[1064],{"_key":1065,"_type":26,"marks":1066,"text":1067},"91009b1d646f",[],"You have your first New Year’s Eve show locked in for the end of December. How did this one come together and what’re you anticipating most on your collective farewell to 2025?",[],{"_key":1070,"_type":22,"children":1071,"markDefs":1075,"style":39},"e0fed2d7fe69",[1072],{"_key":1065,"_type":26,"marks":1073,"text":1074},[],"People have asked us to do a New Year’s Eve show since we started, but we never did due to either all three of us already being booked for a NYE gig or we were just too tired from doing shows back to back all year. This year, we decided we really wanted to do it, not only for the people who wanted it but for ourselves. We are especially looking forward to hearing the lineup for this event which includes Robe Flax, Hexxanna, Tris10, Ghettdown, and XOLO in addition to ourselves. It’s going to be a really beautiful intertwining of multiple subgenres of electronic music and cultures throughout the night, which we feel is a pretty good summary of what the year was like for us! Most of all, we’re looking forward to a lot of our friends and community being together, celebrating all we accomplished.",[],{"_key":1077,"_type":22,"children":1078,"markDefs":1083,"style":280},"026d4e0caaf0",[1079],{"_key":1080,"_type":26,"marks":1081,"text":1082},"ff53d9a6bbd1",[],"What’re your plans for Haus of Untz in 2026 as you hit your three-year anniversary? And what’s your ultimate vision for Haus of Untz as a whole?",[],{"_key":1085,"_type":22,"children":1086,"markDefs":1090,"style":39},"28fcd2de8ecb",[1087],{"_key":1080,"_type":26,"marks":1088,"text":1089},[],"2026 is looking pretty exciting. We’re looking forward to running some shows back as well as trying some new ideas out. We booked a lot of people we’ve never had before and that was a lot of fun to uncover more talent from both our own backyard and from other places (Memphis, Mexico, Oklahoma, etc.) We’re also working to expand Haus of Untz’s reach by adopting new mediums to showcase what we do (more details to come hehe!) and make some connections outside of Arkansas.",[],{"_key":1092,"_type":22,"children":1093,"markDefs":1097,"style":39},"c7d4bf068b69",[1094],{"_key":1080,"_type":26,"marks":1095,"text":1096},[],"Overall, we want to put Arkansas on the electronic music map. We’ve got the community to do it and we’re confident we’ll do it together. We just hope to aid in sustaining it as best as we can for as long as we can for us and the generations after.",[],{"_ref":657,"_type":206},"2025-12-18",{"_type":203,"asset":1101},{"_ref":1102,"_type":206},"image-2caead1baa5eafe097a77e4f8476a5607e84fb9a-4000x2297-jpg",{"_type":214,"current":1104},"putting-northwest-arkansas-dance-music-on-the-map-an-interview-with-haus-of-untz","Putting Northwest Arkansas Dance Music on the Map: An Interview with Haus of Untz",1782413127476]