Q&A: Skateland on Opening Sips & Sounds Music Festival and upcoming Ambient-Pop music
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
THERE IS A SPECIFIC KIND OF MAGIC WATCHING A “BEDROOM POP MASTERMIND” OUTGROW THE FOUR WALLS THAT RAISED THEM. For Dorian Williams II, the multi-instrumentalist and producer known as Skateland, that growth has felt less like a gradual shift and more like a vivid metamorphosis. Since moving from Las Vegas to Austin to study at UT, Williams has been busy distilling "all-too-familiar brain rot" and sentimental cravings into a sound that Earmilk describes as a blend of dreamy indie pop and lush indie rock.
Following the release of his second EP, Joyce Howell, How are You?, a career-defining opening slot for Foster the People and now a set at Sips & Sounds Music Festival in Austin, Skateland’s momentum seems to only get faster. His music acts as a time capsule, catching the friction between insecurity and the "vividly ethereal soundscapes" that have become his signature.
Fresh off an electric performance at Sips & Sounds, where he shared the bill with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Calvin Harris, we got to debrief with the Austin-based artist to talk about the "summer camp" energy of his hometown festival, moving his sound from the bedroom into the garage, and why his next era looks a lot like brutalist architecture covered in greenery.
LUNA: You officially kicked off Sips & Sounds this weekend at Auditorium Shores. As someone who lives here and goes to UT, how did it feel to be the one to open up the festival?
SKATELAND: It was a great feeling. I forgot what it felt like to play a hometown show! I went on a North American tour last fall with Casey Lowery, so my last time playing live was in front of new crowds in different cities every night. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing experience, but it felt really nice to be back at home playing in front of my fans and day ones. On top of that, I got to play with old friends like Foster the People, and new ones like Flipturn and Between Friends who are all so sweet. The Between Friends crew and I watched Christina Aguilera from front of house and we were geeking out, and same with some of the Flipturn guys and I when Calvin Harris was playing. It felt like a summer camp.
LUNA: You’ve described playing live as something that was once "foreign" to you. After this weekend, what’s one part of the live performance that you’ve finally started to enjoy?
SKATELAND: I’d definitely say interacting with the audience. When I first started playing live, I was so nervous that I could barely open my eyes, let alone look at someone in theirs. I would be so locked in on silly stuff like remembering lyrics and all my guitar parts that sometimes I’d forget people were watching me and that it was a communal experience. Nowadays, I feel like the communal aspect of playing live is my favorite part of it all—reading people’s faces and emotions, telling jokes, banter. Treating it less like a show and more like a hang.
LUNA: You studied advertising and consumer research at UT—how does understanding human behavior influence the way you approach your music career?
SKATELAND: I feel like more than anything, it’s just taught me that the key to creativity is authenticity. Learn what you’re good at, do that thing to the best of your ability, and your audience will find you. When you’re trying to imitate someone else or do something that’s foreign to you just because it’s popular, people can immediately tell. It’s like walking out of the house in a jacket that’s three sizes too small just because you liked how it looked on someone else. You look crazy and we can all see that it’s not yours… wear the thing that fits you and own it! People gravitate towards that sort of authenticity, so focus on honing your sense of self and the rest will come.
LUNA: What are some key elements shaping your sound or upcoming music?
SKATELAND: Being a Las Vegas kid, I grew up listening to and making a bunch of electronic stuff like house, EDM, and IDM, and I feel like I’ve been gravitating back towards those original influences as my career goes on. So I’d say lots of programming stuff like samples, arps, soft synths, and loops. Not quite Aphex Twin or Boards of Canada level, but definitely pulling from a lot of that kind of stuff.
LUNA: You’ve mentioned that you’re officially "graduating" from the bedroom pop label. If you had to name the genre for the new era of Skateland, what would it be?
SKATELAND: I’d say this next era’s moved out of the bedroom into the garage, haha. My upcoming project is definitely rooted more so in the ambient electronic pop space—thinking Grimes, Caroline Polachek, Blood Orange, Sampha, Kaytranada, Oklou, etc.
LUNA: What color do you associate with your new music?
SKATELAND: Concrete grey but with a little bit of green. I’ve been reading a lot and watching a lot of docs on brutalist architecture, and my mood board is like entirely made up of these really cool concrete structures but with lots of green plants and foliage hanging off of them. I’d say that’s the “color scheme” for what's to come.
LUNA: What’s one thing you want people to "feel" when they walk away from a Skateland set?
SKATELAND: Better! The horrors persist and it feels like there’s chaos everywhere we look, so honestly I want people to walk away just feeling a little bit happier, even if it’s only for a little bit. Dance a little, laugh a little, cry a little if you need to. Feel better.
LUNA: What intentions do you have for this spring season?
SKATELAND: I’ve been working really hard on a new project for a while now, and I’m going to start rolling out the singles for that really soon! I can’t wait for people to hear them. I'll be heading off to Europe shortly after it comes out, so I'll be playing a couple of live shows in preparation for that as well.
