While we often think about advancing boldly forward into the future with web3, there is something to the idea of incorporating the the best of the old into the new. For example, once upon a time, the album was a celebrated and respected piece of work; we got one guaranteed single, and then we took ourselves to Sam Goody to listen to the album in its entirety on release day!

The i-wave spotlight is on rilles (pronounced “reels”; she/her or they/them pronouns), whose album Satellite Bird is out everywhere since Friday. Before the drop, we heard just ONE track from the album, the poignant “Anchor.” The song’s layers of emotion, harmonies, and robust arrangement create a symphony; repeated listens necessary.

In a web3 landscape (hellscape? This is Twitter, after all) where artists feel pressured to see & be seen at all times, where artists drop NFT after NFT like they’re candy (scarcity who!), rilles takes a different approach. Selective, thoughtful, genuine, and standing proudly for & behind the album experience, rilles is crafting their web3 existence in a way that speaks a lot more to me than the overwhelming noise of endless drops and keys and tokens.

In our interview, rilles states that they hope listeners can take 35 minutes to listen to Satellite Bird in its entirety. I hope you do, reader, and do join the rilles tape club if you like what you hear. My 35 minutes of Satellite Bird was contemplative and reflective, while definitely wandering a little far out in space as rilles intended.

Below, the artist in their own words: rilles.

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Artist Statement of the Moment: What’s your story?

I’m a singer-songwriter/producer and just released my debut album, Satellite Bird, which I describe as “left-of-center electronic music” that includes elements of downtempo, ambient, dream pop, and all-around chill vibes. I’m very interested in the places where disparate things and ideas meet — acoustic and electronic instruments, analog and digital production techniques, and digital and IRL communities and experiences, for example. I released my first single (“Anchor”) on the usual streaming services as well as on Catalog, and I’m really interested in the ways in which Web3 invites the world to reconsider how we interact with music and build communities around art. After spending the last 15 years in Washington, DC, I’m now based in Brooklyn and very excited to explore the incredibly vibrant music community here. Finally, as a queer, non-binary creator, I believe in music as an expansive and unifying force among the infinite experiences of this universe. 

How are you feeling now?

Simultaneously burned out from the past 3 years (lol) and energized by the million projects I want to dive into! 

What does success mean to you?

Success means being able to create and share music for as long as I can 🙂 

What work of yours has you excited & inspired right now?

I’m verrrry excited to share my debut album (Satellite Bird) with the world! I really connect with the album as a musical format, and I put a lot of thought and care into this body of work. It’s somewhat loosely a concept album about an astronaut traveling through space, but it also relates some very human experiences, including grief and isolation. My greatest hope is that listeners can carve out 35 minutes to listen to the whole thing in one go, but truthfully I’m just super grateful that I get to create and share music with the world at all!

What does web3 mean to you, and what excites you about it?

To me, Web3 means new opportunities and possibilities, including future things we haven’t even thought of yet. I’m most excited about the ways in which we’ve already begun to rethink how to build communities around art and how to build art into our communities.

Describe yourself in one word!

elemental

What message do you have for fans/supporters?

From as deep and honest a place as exists in my being, THANK YOU SO MUCH for listening and allowing me to share this music with you. Music is one of the purest joys of my life, and it is just a real blessing to be able to make it and share it.

How do you stay grounded in the VERY online world of web3?

My dog gets me out of the house a few times a day 🙂

Any other comments/questions?

THANK YOU CELIA!! 

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xo C