What should we know about your new project, KARLYPSO?
KARLYPSO is a departure from Kinky Karl, sort of an exploration of my roots and what has sonically been growing inside me the past year. I plan on releasing a KARLYPSO EP this summer.

Who are your biggest influences; who inspires you?
My biggest influence is Bjork! My biggest inspiration would have to be John Lennon, we definitely need more "Lennons" in the world today. As far as KARLYPSO goes, my influences vary: Ex:Re, Cigarettes After Sex, Mazzy Star, and Chillwave music in general.
  
Why did you start making music?
My father was a musician and I was raised with musical instruments around me. I guess it's in my blood, but from around the age of 13 all I wanted to do was experiment with new sounds and make music. I was in choir in elementary and one day they had kids from high school come and show us different instruments. This one girl played the Adams Family theme song on bassoon and I had made my choice, so from the 6th to the 8th grade I played bassoon in band at First Colony Middle School. After that I moved in with my Dad and he bought me a Jimi Hendrix Fender Strat replica and taught me guitar while my uncle taught me piano. Then I went off on my own unique way of approaching music and instruments.
  
Your single "Rat Race" was recently released, what influenced the sound and songwriting for the track?
Rat Race was inspired by events in my life that I wanted to communicate through music. The sound was influenced by Ex:Re and the song writing was influenced by Cigarettes After Sex, as well as the vocal style.
  
You're active with visuals to go along with your music - how do you conceptualize and complete your videos?
Usually my songs have colors and emotions attached to them. I guess being an artist, I am naturally thinking about those things while making the songs. Sometimes I have a set vision but most of the time I get on the computer and spontaneously start working to let the song show me what it wants to be. Completing videos is always challenging because as an artist I just don't know when to stop or if it is complete, that is probably one of my biggest challenges.
  
What's your songwriting process?
I always make the song first, listen to it for a week and then the lyrics come to me naturally. Sometimes I will have a lyrical idea and make a song for that, but that is very, very rare.
 
Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?
Yes!
  
What are your future plans for your music?
I plan on trying to make my own label to support artists like me who are being ignored by main stream media as well as start some kind of team to promote events and artists, etc. As far as my music, I would like to reach as many people as possible and spread good vibes/love/knowledge to try to heal the world in my own unique way.
  
What would be your first question after waking up from being cryogenically frozen for 100 years?
Have ya'll resurrected Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison yet!?

Keep up with Karl
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube (Karlypso) | YouTube (Kinky Karl)

​"Last Night" by Berlin Taxi put me in a trance. Three things stood out to me after my first listen: first, the dreamy vocals, extremely well placed and delivered, made me think of Joy Division. Something about the lines gives me a Gregorian chant vibe. It makes me think of mantras. The main synth line, a perfect example of an atypical lead line, slides into an almost anti-solo. More often than not, artists spend so much time trying to technically wow the listener that they forget about the myriad of other ways to connect with an audience. Allowing your composition to become more than the sum of its parts, with each instrument supplementing and building off each other is a special skill, one Berlin has a masterful grasp of.

​This leads me to my third takeaway, which is the composition in its entirety. The track sparks thoughts of the all the best parts of 80s electronica. For anyone who appreciates the decade, synth, or dancing, Berlin Taxi will give you your fix. The band sounds like you've heard them before in all the best ways, their polish and musicianship make you assume that they're sitting comfortably among the top electronica today. I'm glad I listened and you will be too.

Keep up with Berlin Taxi
Bandcamp | SoundCloud | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram