Party Nails
Los Angeles-based artist Party Nails released her brand new single “My 404″ on July 27th.
Hailing from Chatham, New York, Party Nails is a singer/songwriter/producer and guitarist.
After entering the music world as a country music songwriter, the artist quickly started focusing on her own project Party Nails and released her first record in 2015 with the single “Break”. She has since then collaborated with established electronic acts such as Getter and MitiS and has also found success touring the US with PVRIS, Lights, MitiS and PRXZM.
She is now offering an electro-pop single titled “My 404″, co-produced by Coast Modern.
“My 404″ is now available worldwide.
Introduce yourself. Where are you from?
Hi I’m Party Nails. I live in Los Angeles. I’m from Chatham, New York (a little south of Albany). Lots of farmland.
What’s your story?
I grew up in very rural places. I spent a lot of time reading, writing, playing the guitar. I was always interested in singing, performing and recording. I started recording myself when I was 10 using a tape player. Then my mom’s laptop.
At what point did you realize you wanted to become an artist?
I’ve always been drawn to creating things, and yet I’ve always tried to avoid being drawn to creating things. At times it has made me feel crazy, or distant from others, or like it’s a waste of time because it’s not a “real job”. It’s a weird thing, because the more you commit and the deeper you go into your creative self, the better and more developed your ideas become. It took me a lot of practice, including in other mediums, to see that in music. I’m not sure if there is one specific moment where I realized it was what I wanted to do.
Tell us about your first experiences in the music industry. What did you learn from these early experiences?
I signed a stupid contract in collaboration with someone I shouldn’t have kept working with—they didn’t want to grow, they just wanted what they thought they deserved. I learned to learn from my mistakes and always move forward. I spent many years balancing day jobs, bills and music stuff. That experience taught me the value of a job that is truly fulfilling, and how hard I was willing to work for that. Making music is so much a part of who I am. I learned to respect that, get out of my own way, surround myself with people who brought out the best of that part of me.
You used to write country music. What are the differences between writing country music and the music you’re writing right now? What did country music teach you?
I love country music! It’s so earnest and so over the top, which is such a perfect stance for exploring the range of human experience/emotion. Country music isn’t very experimental sonically, which is very different from alternative, electronic, pop. In the newer genres, it’s fun and even important to play with sound and hopefully land on something new. Country music doesn’t play with rhythm, pushing and pulling. I learned a lot from country—write it down, make it rhyme, three chords is probably fine.
You released your first project in 2015. How did your sound evolve throughout the years?
I’ve been writing and recording for so long that everything feels like a reflection or a fraction of another thing. I released my first Party Nails song in 2015 after spending a few years working on something completely different: darker, more electronica, with my voice produced less poppy…and now as Party Nails I’m starting to play with some of those darker elements again. But it still very much feels like its own thing.
You recently released your new single “My 404”. What’s the story behind this record?
When I was first starting to play live shows as Party Nails, my friend Luke was playing guitar with me and was also playing in another band with Coleman. That band eventually became Coast Modern. Prior to the release of their first record, they were going to put out a mixtape and sent me a couple instrumentals to play with and write on. I was really drawn to this one in particular. I wrote the song as it is on top of the track. It didn’t get included on the mixtape release, but my management kept saying, “Hey what about that 404 song? That one is dope.” So I asked Luke if it could be a Party Nails song.
The lyrics are about my small town upbringing making me feel trapped, how it was hard to move forward, and a sweet beat love interest (i.e. a Roland 404 sampler) coming into my life and giving me the music I need to move to the groove.
In your opinion, what makes a good producer?
They know their strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weaknesses of the people they are collaborating with. They take risks. They prioritize creation over replication.
As a producer yourself, what programs and equipments do you usually use?
I generally start in Ableton Live. I use a UA 6176 to record my guitar (G&L ASAT Classic) and bass (a borrowed Fender Jazz). I use Addictive Drums, TAL synths, a Push controller and various effects plugins to adjust and create sounds. I move my session into Protools to cut and produce my vocals, sometimes before.
What do you like the most about songwriting?
The blend of trust and effort. It’s a balancing act. As a storytelling medium, I love that it is non-visual and gives us a sense of time being suspended. It’s truly magical.
You are originally from Chatham, New York and then moved to New York. As an artist, can you tell us the differences between living there and living in LA ? What made you want to move to LA?
I was working a retail booth at a flea market. I was cold. I didn’t want to be a dirty kid making music after work. I wanted to make it my job. I wanted to make something that felt special like how my favorite musicians made me feel. In that moment I realized that NYC was the wrong place to be, and that I was supposed to be in LA. It was a pretty random idea at the time.
Both cities are really inspiring and exciting. New York City is more exciting but more draining. LA can be draining too though! For me it’s easier to make stuff when I’m not cold and sad all the time.
What is the best thing about living in LA as an artist?
Two things - no seasonal depression and no shame. It’s the least embarrassing place to put yourself out there.
Where do you feel the most yourself?
On stage and when I’m writing.
How do you want to be remembered for?
My epic burps, my berry peach pie, and for writing sad pop songs that make you want to dance.
What are you currently working on?
New merch, videos, tour plans. Always new music.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
High quality, inclusive and open sex education and all single-use containers to become reusable via new designs, material, collection and sanitation.
What’s your purpose?
To articulate that which is difficult to say.
Connect with Party Nails: