Most people stopped digging the moment the algorithm offered to do it for them. @tangerine.wedges did not get that memo, and boy are we glad.
Rooted in metal and everything that lives next to it, but never boxed in by any of it. Smaller artists, honest recommendations, and the firm belief that how music looks and feels is as important as how it sounds. We have been following this account for a while. We wanted to know more.
Before we get into the interview, we've been handed a playlist. Join us and indulge.
Introducing: Name
Not everyone who loves music wants to talk about it. Some people just want to listen, collect, disappear into it. And then there are the ones who turn that love into something. Who build a space around it because the alternative, keeping it to themselves, is genuinely not an option.
That is where @tangerine.wedges came from. A real love for the smaller artists, the ones the rest of the internet walks straight past. A taste that lives mostly in metal and its neighbours but refuses to be boxed in. A platform built around the idea that music is a visual and emotional experience as much as a sonic one.
We wanted to know how someone like that thinks about discovery, about the industry, about what actually makes an artist impossible to ignore. Here is what they said.
What was the magic moment that made you fall in love with music?
I always talk about Linkin Park as the very first band I fell in love with, and it did shape a good part of my taste.
But if we go back even further, my mom used to engrave playlist on CDs for my siblings and I.
And that very first playlist (I was 5 at the time I believe), being able to pick which songs we wanted to have on it and then listening to it for months in a row, it played a huge part on my love for music. That was sort of my first experience in music curation. But yeah, Hybrid Theory, that’s where it really took shape. It’s the first time I understood what an album really meant and the first time music became more than background noise to play in the car on the way to school.
How would you describe the 'sonic DNA' of your page/blog? What is the common thread in the music you choose to champion?
It’s a bit random, I guess. I don’t really specialise in one genre, and even if I have more affinities with metal and adjacents, it varies vastly depending on whichever phase I’m in at the moment of the post.
I also tend to enjoy "smaller" artists so it’s quite unlikely to see a major pop star on my timeline (as much as I still like some of them).
In an era of endless uploads, what is the one thing, beyond the music itself, that makes an artist impossible for you to ignore?
I really like artists who consider music as a larger medium than "just sound". A beautiful and original cover art, an innovative promotional campaign, a well thought out live show and videos that could be short movies of their own…
If the whole aesthetic makes sense and stays consistent, I’m in. I love when everything around their music really shows how passionate they are about it.
What originally drew you to music curation, and what keeps you hunting for new sounds every day?
I’ve been the music friend for years, always the first person to turn to for
recommendations, and I decided to make it into something sort of more professional. Partly because I wanted to recommend things more often than I was being asked, or more often than I thought people would tolerate my ramblings.
As for what keeps me hunting, it’s both my endless curiosity and the community I found through this account. Being surrounded by other music maniacs makes me want to dig even deeper.
Which streaming service do you use, and why?
Deezer in general, Bandcamp whenever I can. I used to be on Spotify but since it’s awful on every level, I went back to Deezer. And with my family already on it, it’s cheaper for me now, which means more money for Bandcamp purchases!
Walk us through your discovery process. Do you prefer the 'wild' of SoundCloud/Socials, or do you rely on specific communities?
I’m a fan of both the natural random discovery and the purposefully researched finding. My next obsession can come as much from a stroke of luck on socials or even directly on the streaming platform, as it can from my own desire to find something new. For the latter, I have some preferred sources, aka other music curators I trust because we generally have similar taste.
What is one trend in the music scene right now that you think more listeners (and artists) should be paying attention to?
What counts as a trend? I don’t really know, I’m so clueless about trends, it’s not even funny. But the only thing I guess counts as one is the huge growth in women-lead bands in rock and metal scenes. Not only the number of bands but also their popularity. And if listeners can pay attention to it, it’ll only keep growing.
If our readers could only listen to three artists you’ve discovered recently, who should they be?
Die Spitz - not so much of a recent discovery, but now is really the time to join the club if you’re not in it yet. Their sound is oscillating between punk and metal, but they’re not restricting themselves as is proof on their first full length.
Gaia Banfi - now that’s a recent discovery. The vibe of a bedroom pop artist but with a classical upbringing, and a mastery of synths in the style of M83, heart wrenching music but with a comforting voice and in Italian. Merge all that together and you get Gaia Banfi. Her Live on KEXP is outstanding!
Bleech 9:3 - a post-punk band hailing from Dublin, you already know it’s good. They only have a few singles out so far, but the potential is already obvious, and it will be great to say "I was there since the beginning" when they get big, right?
Socials
Instagram @tangerine.wedges
Superfan @tangerine
Thanks to Tangerine for joining us in the Q&A series,
