the next 9 by porsche Archives

Multimedia Visionary Sunni Colon Is Creating His Own Universe

December 3, 2021 by newhiphopnews

Confidence isn’t something that’s difficult for Los Angeles singer-songwriter Sunni Colon to conjure. He knows he’s talented but isn’t overly verbose about it. It’s refreshing for an artist to find what feels like a balance of boastfulness and humility. Plus, it doesn’t come without a level of credibility — with a degree in civil engineering from California State University, Long Beach, Sunni is able to use his understanding of space to serve as an architect for multimedia world-building.

Sunni thinks of himself as more than just a musician — he’s also an artist, a film director, and an innovator. Amongst collaboration credits with artists like Kaytranada and SebastiAn, Sunni has also contributed his signature silky ’70s R&B vibe to the soundtracks for TV shows and films like Insecure, Dear White People, and HBO’s Ballers. “The dream for me was to be in this position right now,” Sunni told Uproxx while on set for his photoshoot as a part of The Next 9 by Porsche. “My biggest dream, as a musician, is to be the greatest musician of all time. And it doesn’t have to be now, while I’m alive. It can be once I’m transported to another place. Five years from today, hopefully, I can put other people in [similar] positions.”

To get into the creative headspace, Sunni makes a point to talk to someone he admires every day, whether that be a friend, his parents, or one of his siblings. Finding inspiration from other individuals has enabled and empowered Sunni to branch out from music into other artist spaces, including film and graphic design. He even started a design agency in 2017 called Testu with a mission to create enveloping and immersive soundscape experiences. “I do love design,” he explains. “I love being able to be innovative, and inspire other folks by their viewpoint of design, break rules, and show other approaches to design and creation.”

All of these seemingly disparate influences both inform and work in tandem with one another to create a singular Sunni Colon universe.

Sunni’s multifaceted creative approach lends itself perfectly to his inclusion amongst these other innovators and trailblazers in The Next 9. It’s not difficult to picture someone listening to Sunni’s music while driving a Porsche, but it’s also not difficult to understand how Sunni the artist thinks about his work in a similar way to Porsche designers think about their own work. “I love Porsche,” he notes, excitedly. “I feel like we live on parallel planes as far as what they’ve been standing for since the beginning of the automotive industry. I think Porsche has always been about legacy and longevity, originality. Porsche has always been innovative. They’ve always created literally the best sports cars in the world. And in my industry, I strive to do the same.”

Listening to Sunni Colon’s music and engaging with his visual work, it’s clear to see that he is working toward a North Star, one that will continue to elevate the singer-songwriter.

“I want my legacy to be that I’ve always been the individual that I am always been, staying original to what I want to do.”

For more on The Next 9 series, check out our hub page.

Bobby Krlic Wants His Unconventional Sound To Start A Conversation

November 30, 2021 by newhiphopnews

You’ve likely heard Bobby Krlic’s sound, even if you don’t immediately recognize his name.

It’s unnerving, the music Krlic creates – a sonic mélange of oppressive bass and teeth-clenching drone metal that brews a heady mixture of dreamy hypnosis and sinister pandemonium. Krlic’s melodies are the sort that belong in horror movies, building an audible sense of dread as main characters unwittingly confront death or the demonic… or Swedish cults.

It’s a good thing then that the musician, producer, and composer can count director Ari Aster as a fan. The pair connected on Aster’s recent horror hit Midsommar, with Krlic crafting the movie’s soundtrack and scoring some of the most unsettling images we’ve seen on film in a long time.

But he didn’t begin his career expecting to match wailing strings and orchestral wind instruments to stories about unlucky tourists. In fact, he can chart his love affair with music to his early childhood. Krlic remembers having a guitar in his hand by age six. His parents, both musicians, encouraged him to follow his artistic passions. He played in different bands in high school and, by the time he reached college, he knew that music was what he wanted to study and perfect. Even then, however, Krlic wasn’t sure there’d be a space for his experimental sound.

“I kind of imagined that the music I made was probably too strange,” Krlic tells us. But that didn’t stop him from pursuing it. In fact, it made him that much more determined to forge his own path in the industry, reaching out to production houses and eventually dropping his own album under the stage name The Haxan Cloak.

“I’ve always had an attitude of, if somebody says no, I’ll just keep trying until somebody eventually says yes,” he explains.

Eventually, people did start to say yes. A lot.

Krlic has produced music for everyone from Troye Sivan to Khalid. In 2013, he got a call from famed film composer Atticus Ross to work on scoring a couple of movies, which led to work crafting the sound of popular TV shows like Snowpiercer and The Alienist. He’s released more music under The Haxan Cloak, and his work with Aster on Midsommar has earned him plenty of acclaim – and an Ivor Novello award.

To hear Krlic talk about his wholly original sound is to hear an artist testing his own limits. He often refers to music as simply “a conversation” and he sees his role as a composer in a very serviceable, almost utilitarian way.

“I see music and art and culture as just this ongoing conversation, one that I would love to, in any small way, keep contributing to and keep pushing forward,” Krlic says. “I try and concern myself with something that I want to see or hear, that I’m not seeing or hearing currently. That doesn’t mean that it has to be this grandiose thing, it just means no one’s doing that like I want to.”

He’s built his own sonic style by staying true to his creative instincts, even if that means challenging the status quo and breaking some rules. Actually, when it comes to Krlic’s music, it’s about breaking all the rules. That, in part, is why being chosen as one of The Next 9 by Porsche seems to humble him so much. When asked what that kind of recognition means for his art, he’s quiet, thoughtful, and intentional with an answer.

“Being part of The Next 9, I think what we’re really talking about is a shift of the culture,” Krlic begins. “I think it’s people who are not concerned with the here and now, they’re just concerned with what’s next and what hasn’t been seen yet.”

Krlic’s urge to create art that defies convention isn’t about earning clout for himself as a musician and composer. Being noticed by a brand like Porsche is flattering of course, but his deeper desire is to inspire more artists to embrace the things that make them original and make their art meaningful.

“You can be utterly true to yourself and you can still resonate with people,” Krlic says. “I view music, art, film, culture, and fashion as a way of bringing people together and asking questions. That’s what I hope I’m doing.”

For more on The Next 9 series, check out our hub page.

Oakland’s Elujay Doesn’t Believe In Artistic Boundaries

November 18, 2021 by newhiphopnews

Elujay isn’t satisfied with one lane. He wants to rule the whole road. With a handful of tracks running up the streaming charts, the young Oakland-based musician is now setting his sights on a variety of different artistic mediums — including video direction, graphic design, and more. “As a good artist, you have to be able to imitate and do different things,” he explained in a recent conversation over Zoom. “I think the initial intention is always just pure love. It’s just, I love this. I want to try this.”

A graphic designer by trade, Elujay began releasing music in 2016 and has been consistently dropping new tunes for the better part of five years, each building upon the catalog that he describes as “honest, soulful, groovy and Afrocentric.” The songs are difficult to pin down within a certain genre classification, existing in the space between rock, funk, R&B, indie, hip-hop… and almost everything else. Inspired by artists that mastered the feat of true artistic versatility and attention to detail, Elujay has been preparing for years to channel the creative spark across everything he’s done, and everything he wants to try next.

He pauses to think about it when I ask what sounds he hasn’t been able to crack yet, but still has interest in exploring. Then his eyes light up and he extends out his arms to signal the full spectrum of everywhere he still wants to go. “I want to dive a little bit more into the electronic space. Some Joni Mitchell-style stuff would be kind of sick, or just more experimental stuff. Dive a little bit more into like the Bjork — Arca bag. Maybe some Brazilian-style stuff, some by funk. I think that’d be fire.” Elujay’s base instinct is artistic curiosity, and he wants to take this opportunity to be strategic and try… everything.

In order to streamline the creative process, he notes the importance of keeping your priorities straight. “The first step is just being honest with yourself and realizing that it’s going to not happen overnight and that it’s only about the work. If you’re Black, you’re going to have to work twice as hard, because this industry is not handing anybody anything. I’ve been cognizant of how difficult it has been for people to actually care about [my art].” It’s also important to establish a good work/life balance to stave off burnout. “Make sure you give yourself time, read books, drink water. Don’t be like me. I don’t sleep. Get some sleep.”

But before he jumps into any new creative endeavor, Elujay is sure to put in the work to understand and build upon the foundation created by his inspirations. He likens the intention of his artistic process to that of Porsche: “I put that same amount of love and care in detail into a song or a visual. They both provide an aesthetically pleasing service, in a way.” He adds that being part of the Porsche Next 9 series “means the world to me, man. That’s crazy. Porsche represents that staple in time, where someone really feels like they’ve made it.”

Despite his love for the Porsche brand, Elujay’s definition of success doesn’t come in the form of a sports car, or international fame. Instead, it’s something much simpler: “I don’t have a desire to be a megastar,” he says with a mischievous grin. “What I really want is to sell-out shows. I think that’s when I feel like, ‘okay, I’ve made it.’”