Mini Sessions gives a sweet acoustic ride during their virtual concert at Flow House
For artists and music lovers alike, virtual concerts during the pandemic have become a haven to escape from the stressors of daily life. On Oct. 28, Living Records Mini Sessions hosted a concert at Flow House for artists to debut their new or upcoming music. These performers include USC artists Ashes to Amber, FUN SUCKR and Ella Collier, as well as Los Angeles-based musicians Iz LaMarr and David Kaiser.
The first of the five to perform was Iz LaMarr, an L.A.-based singer, rapper and producer. He has released a few singles in the past few months such as “Lightbulb,” “Westside” and “BLOW.” At the virtual concert, he performed songs from his upcoming EP, “Mapped to Stardom.”
In it, his songs “Target,” “Bag,” “AF1” and “Tag” all have upbeat rhythms that compliment his high energy and rapping style. His songs talk about his aspirations and what he hopes to accomplish. For upcoming artists, he advises them not to wait around for things to happen and to “really make sure that you are the one in control.”
Softening down from that high energy, Kane Acosta, a senior majoring in music industry who goes by Ashes to Amber, performed some slower beats while playing an electric guitar. In July, Acosta released his EP, “Miss Future,” as a way to help people stay happy during these times, and on Oct. 30, he released a song he didn’t perform, “1976 Horror Movie Chick” as a way to expand the genres he creates music in.
Acosta played two unreleased songs for the concert, “Do Not Pick The Flowers” and “Going Down,” which are more sentimental and melancholic than his previously released music. The songs feel similar to the vibes of Joji’s music.
Following Ashes to Amber, FUN SUCKR, a female pop band, matched the easy-going vibe. The duo includes Zoe D’Andrea, a junior majoring in popular music, and Samatha Short, a senior majoring in theatre and narrative studies. A couple years ago, D’Andrea and Short were in a musical theatre class, passing notes on band idea names, and that’s how the band came into being.
“I feel like we really hit momentum after we released [‘Can’t Keep Me Away’], so we have definitely changed and grown a lot since then,” D’Andrea said.
At the beginning of the quarantine, the two went home and took a break from writing music for a few months. Since they came back together, they have been writing a bunch of new songs they said they hope to release soon. For the concert, they performed “Pretty,” “Giving Love” and “Fun Suckr.” The last song is a tribute to Halloween fanatics who will be celebrating the holiday at home this year.
After them, David Kaiser took the stage with heartfelt songs about the pressure society at large is under right now. Even in their ambiguity, his songs reflect his worry about society’s apathy for other people.
“I think that there is a lack of compassion right now,” Kaiser said. “I don’t think that hatred is the opposite of love or compassion or empathy. I think apathy is … [when] you don’t recognize emotions in other people, you don’t recognize that’s an important thing.”
Kaiser’s song “Just Like That” expresses this idea and the confusion with society using abstract sounds and other voice-over clips to create multiple levels within the song. His raps are mixed with strong vocals to impart a feeling of tension on the listener. Kaiser also performed two songs he hopes to release before Nov. 4: “Stonehenge” and “Durrington Walls.”
“I think the path to healing has to do with compassion over apathy,” Kaiser said. “Because we all have to figure out how to heal, the journey is from apathy to empathy … Love realizes that there is no other, there is only us.”
The closing performer for the night was Ella Collier, a junior majoring in popular music performance who has been releasing music since she was 12 years old. With the release of her new single “cinderella,” which came out Oct. 30, Collier feels that her new music is “authentically me.”
For the concert, she sang “cinderella,” “Like That” and a cover of UPSAHL’s “MoneynMyMind.” Throughout her whole acoustic performance, she showcased her strong vocals against the sounds of the piano and guitar.
Flow House’s cozy vibe gave the entire hour-long concert a personal touch. Each artist brought their unique voice to their performances, and I look forward to what they put out in the future. All the proceeds from this concert went to Suitcase Joe Foundation, which is working to fight poverty in the L.A. area.