Exploring III Points’ Swerving Serpents Vol. 1 Compilation
III Points joined forces with 10K Island Studios in Little Haiti to bring nine local musicians playing the festival together to create Swerving Serpents, the very first compilation project for the fest aiming to connect thoughts, people, ideas, and the community. The artwork for the album was created by local artist Brian Butler of Upperhand Art. The artists, whose genres range from punk rock to electronic music, were provided access to the studio for 48 hours with copious amounts of herb, pizza, and complete creative freedom. The results were four remarkable tracks that embody everything that III Points is about. The festival will be kicking off in just nine days on Friday, October 7th, but the organizers have announced a special release party, free of charge, taking place Thursday at Bardot. All of the artists involved will be present performing the music from the compilation live for the first time.
I had the opportunity to catch up with the artists who worked on the compilation and asked them about the experience. Together, we will explore the Swerving Serpents compilation and get to know the talented minds behind the music.
“Bored Games” By Nick Leon & POORGRRL
The first official release from the Swerving Serpents compilation was Nick Leon and POORGRRL‘s dark and eerie track “Bored Games.” Although they had previously met and were aware of each other’s art, this was the first time that Nick and Tara Long (POORGRRL) collaborated. Tara’s a Miami-girl through-and-through with a strange love for the city that she describe’s as “so EXTRA!” She continues, “You either embrace it or run as far from it as you can. I think I’m stuck in the middle somewhere… sort of trapped, but I’ve chained myself here, and I have the key. A very oppressed type of loyalty at this point, like a neglected dog that’s been set free only to beg to return to the comfort of its inhumane cage. It is bright and violent here but also palm trees.” Nick grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, just 20 minutes away from Miami, which he feels gave him a more sheltered upbringing, allowing him to dedicate himself to his music for the last 11 years.
After coming together at 10k Islands, the two worked diligently to get the song done in time and bonded over pizza and joints during breaks. “We are both complete weirdos, and I think that helped a lot,” Nick told MFN. “The unspoken rule was, let’s get as crazy as we can possibly get. We didn’t question too much of what was going on.” Tara pulled Carlos Castaneda and clown videos up on YouTube and played them in the background, which served as visual inspiration for the duration of the time at 10k Island. “At one point I felt bad for Nick, because he had smoked weed beyond his limits… I raised a newly rolled joint into the air, and his face spoke for him… ‘fuuuuck,’ but we smoked on. Its weird how smoking is great, but then it’s terrible.”
As for the 48-hour deadline, Nick felt it kept him focused, since he’d never spent that much time working on one song without getting distracted. POORGRRL was indifferent, saying that she’s comfortable writing in any circumstance, though it doesn’t always come out well. “Luckily I liked what came out with Nick, ’cause either way we had to use it.” Of the experience, Nick said, “I am grateful and flattered that they had me come in to be a part of the first compilation. I thought it was a brilliant idea to showcase the talent that we have in South Florida.”
Be sure to catch their sets at III Points Festival next week! POORGRRL will be performing on Saturday (October 8th) at 6:30 PM on Mainframe and Nick Leon on Sunday (October 9th) at 4 PM on the Isotropic stage.
For more from these two talented artists, follow their social medias.
POORGRRL: Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram
Nick Leon: Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram
Video Courtesy of Willa Be
“Unusual Ventures” By Twelve’len & Twelve Tales
III Points took us on an Unusual Adventure with the second release from Swerving Serpents. The futuristic track brings together the soulful voice of Twelve’len with smooth electronic production from lifelong friends Michael Montuori & Daniel Abruna (Twelve Tales). Twelve’len comes from a rock and soul background stemming from Hip-Hop and R&B while Twelve Tales background in music is in experimental electronic music, hip-hop and psychedelic sounds. The two styles mesh perfectly together allowing the artists to do their thing without straying too far from the sound that they are known for.
Michael of Twelve Tales felt right at home at 10k Island having previously worked at the studio independently with their artists John Hancock III, Viigo and Bad Wave. However, this collaboration would be the first time that these gentlemen meet. “All we knew about Twelve’len was that he had mad soul and we were both fond of the number 12. Not knowing him didn’t really effect things,” the group said of the time spent collaborating. “Twelve’len is very adaptable. He wrote to every demo we made, which was probably around 6 completely different style tracks.” Twelve’len’s friend and fellow III Point collaborator Nick Leon (of “Bored Games”) told him that the two producers were dope and that it would be interesting an collaboration to which he told us “He was right.”
Initially, the session began like most with them playing records for one another and hanging out while getting to know each others style. Twelve Tales laid some chords down, “all of a sudden we’re running into the back of the studio digging through percussion and grabbing all types of instruments, just having a great time.” the boys recalled. “There was a definite moment where the music created magical energy, and from there it was effortless.” The two artists spoke very highly of the experience and said that one of their favorite moments happened when they were recording live claps together. “It felt great because we were translating the fun, positive energy in the studio into the song.”
We asked them how it felt to be a part of the very first compilation and they each expressed extreme gratitude with Twelve Tales saying “This kind of community building is something Miami needs desperately. The mission of the compilation was described as ‘fostering a collaborative spirit in Miami’, and in the short time since these sessions we’ve seen a blooming of positive energy in the community. We have so much love for the local scene, we’ll always be proud to have been part of Volume 1.”
Be sure to catch their sets at III Points Festival next week! Twelve’len will be performing on Friday (October 7th) at 10:30 PM on Sector 3 and Twelve Tales on Saturday (October 8th) at 8 PM on the Sunset@Noon stage.
For more from these two talented artists, follow their social medias.
Twelve’len: Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram, Twitter
Twelve Tales: Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram, Twitter
“Binary” By Austin Paul, SNDNGCHLLZ, & Byrdipop
The third release from the III Points compilation came from Austin Paul, Byrdipop, and SNDNGCHLLZ (Enzo Leonardo). Austin Paul is a III Points veteran having played the festival every year since it’s inception in 2013. This will mark Byrdipop’s second time playing the fest and Enzo’s first. Prior to this collaboration, Austin Paul and Byrdipop had known each other through Bardot. “My musical background is mainly classical & jazz.” Austin told MFN. “I think the contrast between my more traditional melodies & Byrds experimental modern take on production made for a unique sound.” This would be both of their first time meeting Enzo, an artist from Peru who’s lived in South Florida since 2001.
“Binary” played to the three artists strengths with everyone knowing the role they’re to play in the creation.”It was pretty cool for all of us to kind of divide the workload and express without arguing on who would do what,” Enzo said of the experience. SNDNGCHLLZ laid vocals down for the first verse as well as the percussion for the song. The mesmerizing piano heard throughout the song was played by Austin Paul who also lent his vocals to the track. Byrdipop handled the beat, bass, synths, and arrangement.
Austin shared a story about the time spent at 10k Island for the compilation. “Three years prior I was working on one of my past projects at 10K Islands and I dropped a rose quartz crystal into a hole in the patio wood outside.” he said. “While we were sitting there working on the III Points Compilation we shined a light into the hole and the Rose Quartz had still been there all that time.” While Austin told us that they left it there, SNDNGCHLLZ recalls the three of them sitting with knives and forks trying to fish it out before giving up and getting back to work.
The three gentlemen are appreciative for the experience and feel honored to be a part of the very first compilation with Byrdipop saying “It’s great, I think we did a good job setting the vibe. Kept it weird ya know…”
Be sure to catch their sets at III Points Festival next week! Austin Paul will be performing on Sunday (October 9th) at 3:30 PM on the Isotropic Stage, Byrdipop on Sunday (October 9th) on the Sunset@Noon stage, SNDNGCHLLZ on Saturday (October 8th) at 5:45 PM on the Mainframe stage.
For more from these two talented artists, follow their social medias.
Austin Paul: Facebook, Soundcloud
Byrdipop: Facebook, Soundcloud, Twitter
SNDNGCHLLZ: Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram
“Trinity” By Deaf Poets & Virgo
The final track off the Swerving Serpents compilation comes from punk rock band Deaf Poets and electronic producer Virgo. This collaboration is special, because it has the Deaf Poets exploring other genres with what Virgo calls “synths vs. guitars.” Virgo’s beautifully soft voice rests over lush pads and guitars with reverb-heavy drums. The three-and-a-half minute track works great to close out the first volume of III Points’ compilation.
Deaf Poets’ band members Nico & Sean admired Virgo and were excited to collaborate with an electronic producer for the first time. “It’s definitely different, but that’s what made the experience fun! I don’t see us immersing ourselves in the electronic-deep house genre, but we’re always willing to broaden our reach,” Sean told us. “But the Deaf Poets will continue to be a heavy Rock & Roll band, and we have no plans of changing that. It’s what we enjoy playing the most and what we feel expresses who we really are, rockers at heart.” Virgo, who has played the festival the last two years, is no stranger to working with III Points artists since she collaborated with the self-proclaimed Prince of Miami, Niko Javan, last year.
The artists connected immediately over their shared love for Drake, so much so that their initial idea was to emulate the style of a Drizzy song. “We veered away from that once we started laying down ideas,” Virgo told MFN. “Somehow the thought of going in a direction entirely separate from our sounds sparked a level of comfort that eased us into merging together. Sean wrote the first riff on guitar, and all the melodies spiraled from there.”
After laying down the riff, Nico contemplated what they would do drum-wise. Nico never worked with a drum machine before, since the band always preferred the live setup, but for this particular project the three agreed that they needed something simple and percussive to drive the track until they got to the build-up and final chorus. Since Virgo and Nico had bonded over Drake, that inspiration solidified the drum idea. Once the foundation of the song was recorded, the band gave Elizabeth (Virgo) space to experiment with her two synth keyboards to come up with a general tone. During that time, Sean grabbed the engineer’s personal acoustic and began brainstorming melody ideas. He had been showing Elizabeth examples and came to the conclusion that the song melody fit a female voice. “I wanted something sexy and mesmerizing,” Sean said. “So after writing the lyrics and general idea, we tried it out and felt the magic in the air. We had a song.”
“At one moment, Nico imagined our song set to the zion dance party scene in The Matrix Reloaded,” Virgo shared with us. “After we played the song back in sync with a video off YouTube, we all died laughing at how perfect it went.” One of Nico’s favorite parts of the experience was the abundance of marijuana provided to them. “The joints were amazing; it felt never-ending. We were cracking jokes back and fourth, periodically spacing out because the weed was extremely strong,” he reminisced. “By the time the munchies hit, Courtney would politely say ‘The pizzas here.’ As you can imagine we were extremely excited to walk into a kitchen packed with food. ”
In conclusion, Sean had this to say about the experience: “It’s been a very fun and exciting project, and we couldn’t be more happy with the response to our track. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and hopeful for Miami’s growing music and art scene. III points as well as these future compilations are an incredible boost in the right direction. As a musician and local supporter we need organizations like III Points to give the underground independent artists the opportunity to get out there: a chance to play our music and show people what we’re made of.”
Be sure to catch their sets at III Points Festival next week! Virgo will be performing on Saturday (October 8th) at 7:30 PM on Sunset@Noon stage and Deaf Poets on Saturday (October 8th) at 7:15 PM on the Mind Melt stage.
For more from these two talented artists, follow their social medias.
Deaf Poets: Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram
Virgo: Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram, Twitter
III Points will be taking place October 7-9 in Miami FL at Mana Wynwood. Three-day GA wristbands, foresight passes, and single-day tickets to the fourth annual III Points Festival are still available on the official website. The lineup includes LCD Soundsystem, Flying Lotus, Thievery Corporation, M83, Flight Facilities, Vince Staples, Flight Facilities and more. Get your tickets today!