Today, Warbly Jets have announced "NASA," their first release since 2019's Propaganda EP and their first single since stripping the Los Angeles-based band down to the original duo of Samuel Shea and Julien O'neill.
With traces of influences ranging from Guero-era Beck to the production magic of Rick Rubin and Dangermouse,"NASA" shifts away from the power chords and leather-clad guitar riffs of their first LP and propels the band forward. With its sticky bass riff and sampled horns, the track is a dynamic, genreless mix of plunderphonics--a new production-centered approach that has the band flexing their studio muscles. This mix of influences carried over to the video for "NASA," with everyone from Stanley Kubrick to 90s music video director Hype Williams cited as visual references.
For the band, the announcement represents survival. The fully independent WARBLY JETS have been hit particularly hard by the socio-economic realities of 2020, the impossibility of touring undercutting the bulk of the band's income. "It's no secret that nowadays artists, especially independent artists like us, rely almost exclusively on income from live shows to make a living," explains Shea. "For the last eight months we've all had to rely on streaming. In January 2019 Spotify reported that on average it pays between $0.00331 and $0.00437 in royalty to artists PER STREAM! Let's break that down. 302 streams to make $1. We've gotten so used to eating the crumbs that we forgot we used to be sitting at the table."
"Before 2020 it felt like the music world was figuring out how to be highly sustainable for the first time since the millennium," explains O'neill. "The streaming wars were decided, digital spaces were being monetized, festivals were global. Now there's a big lull and no one knows where to turn to." "It's too soon to say who/what will be left standing at the end of all of this," explains Shea. "It's a scary thing to think that while profits for artists from live music are gone until further notice, master recordings are generating more money than ever for record labels. This is really the time for artists to fight for their worth. And when this is over, hopefully that growth is represented on both sides of the table in a way that's actually fair to artists."
But WARBLY JETS are more than hopeful, predicting a post-COVID renaissance of fully independent musicians, and Shea and O'neill are determined to lead the charge. "There's bound to be many who are just going to call it a day," explains O'neill. "But there are also a lot of us who are making our best material right now and can't wait to get back in it! That's where we feel like we're at. Anyone with a Youtube channel or TikTok has an outlet for instant notoriety." "COVID is cracking open opportunities for anyone who is willing to get creative and stir the pot," adds Shea. "The people that have been able to shake off the negativity of the year, put their head down and get to work have been able to succeed. Creative people are finding solutions in places no-one else is looking."
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