An Interview With The NYC-Based Soul-Folk-Pop Group, THIRDSTORY!

Frequent Chance The Rapper collaborators and NYC-based soul-folk-pop group Thirdstory recently released their single “Still in Love.”

Produced by Grammy-Winner Oak Felder, “Still in Love” was released as the standout single off the band’s forthcoming album. The music video for the track tells the story of two mysterious lovers who appeared in the final scenes of the group’s music video for an acoustic version of the track, which premiered on Billboard and featured rising Detroit singer-songwriter Eryn Allen Kane.

Thirdstory’s debut album, Cold Heart, was released on March 9 via Verve Forecast. Produced by Grammy-winner Malay (Frank Ocean, Zayn, Sam Smith), Cold Heart blends the group’s signature soulful three-part harmonies with hard-hitting lyricism and R&B-influenced production – delivering a genre-transcending sound that has earned the band a devoted grassroots following and garnered millions of views on YouTube since they began posting covers on the platform in 2015.

In support of the debut album release, the band embarked on a 22-date spring tour beginning on March 20th. VIP upgrade packages for all tour dates are on sale and include a meet & greet with the band, a digital copy of their new album, a custom disposable camera, an autographed poster and a Thirdstory hat. Tickets, which are sold separately can be purchased here. The band will pass through major cities across the US, including a hometown date at Brooklyn Steel on April 14th – using live vocal looping and instrumentation to bring their soulful musical sensibility to the stage.

Cold Heart comes in the wake of an extensive 2017 tour behind Grammy Award-winning recording artist Chance the Rapper, during which the group appeared alongside the superstar in performances on Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and NPR’s Tiny Desk. The group was further featured on Chance’s Christmas mix-tape this past December, on the track “Family For”.

This marks the group’s first release since having seen great success with their 2017 3-song EP, Searching, which has gained upward of 6 million Spotify streams and has left fans wanting more.

Learn more about Thirdstory in the following All Access interview:

So what is one song that you are all loving right now? What is a song that you all disagree about loving right now?

We’re really digging a song called Gone” by a Brooklyn artist named Adrianne Lenker. Actually working on an arrangement of that tune right now.

How has 2018 been treating you all so far? What is one musical goal that you have for this year?

2018 has been treating us well – I think our biggest goal was to release our debut album, which we just did so it feels like a big weight has been lifted off our shoulders.

Can you recall the moment when you all thought you could be in a band together? Was it hard to come up with a name that you all thought fit your sound and who you are? How did you pick this one? 

Things definitely sparked when the three of us got into a room and played music together for the first time, so we just kept doing it. It was super hard to figure out a name – we went through many, many names, some of them super embarrassing. At the end of the day we liked how Thirdstory included city vibes as well as represented three people with super different stories coming together.

What has the growth been like for this band since first forming?

It has definitely felt like a rollercoaster ride at times. We released our first video on Youtube and within a few months started traveling and meeting producers and songwriters to work on our first album with. We’re always surprised by the energy of our fans at live shows – they really gave us that last burst of inspiration we needed to finish the album.

How do you think being from your hometown has influenced this group and the kind of music that you create?

This is Richard – I grew up singing in a lot of choirs and I think that definitely influences the kind of music I write. In addition to the three-part harmonies on “Cold Heart”, there are a lot of background, choral-like arrangements throughout the album that the three of us are super proud of.

Let’s talk about your debut album, “Cold Heart” that you just released this month. What was it like making this collection? Were there any unexpected challenges or happy surprises? What was it like working with your producer, Malay?

I think the biggest challenge might have been combining the visions of three very unique singer-songwriters into one, but eventually we figured out a sound that really reflected different genres, feels, tempos, and lyrics that all three of us love. Our first day with Malay was unreal – we built an early version of “Goodbye My Friend” from the ground up in about a day. For some reason the three of us clicked with him almost in the same way the three of us clicked when we first met.

How do you think that your first single “Still In Love” prepares listeners for more music from you? What was the inspiration for this specific track? What was it like making the video for it? How creatively involved with the making of it were you guys? How did you get to work with the rising singer-songwriter Eryn Allen Kane on it?

It was amazing to work with our friend Austin Winchell on the “Still In Love” video. We loved what he did for the G Train shoot, and he immediately got on board with the two-video/two-single concept we had for “Still In Love”. With Eryn Allen Kane, a producer Nate Fox showed us some of her music and we immediately knew we wanted to work with her in some capacity. Fast forward a few months and we made it happen in New York, where we recorded a video of “Still In Love” for Facebook Live.

How would you say that your experience with Chance The Rapper has helped shape the band that you are today and the music that you make together? What was your favorite moment performing with him? 

We learned a lot about performing as well as writing and recording while on the road with Chance. He’s such a charismatic performer, and it was cool to see how he builds the arc of a live set. Performing with him at Lollapalooza in Chicago was definitely a highlight because there was a special hometown energy that night. We’re excited to perform with him in South Africa after we get back from our headlining tour.

How excited are you all to be heading out on tour this month? Have you performed at any of these venues before? Which ones are you most looking forward to playing at?

All of the venues are brand new to us – we’ve also never performed headlining sets in Toronto or Vancouver, which will be super exciting. The energy was super high when we performed in those cities on the Tori Kelly and Chance tours.

How important do you think social media has been to this band? Do all you help to maintain all your sites or is one of you more into it all? Or do you rely on your PR/management team to handle it all?

We write every word that appears on our social media, and help design all of our visuals. It’s super important to us as a collective of artists to maintain a distinct vibe across everything we put out.

Who would you love to work with in the future? Who are some of your favorite artists right now? What do you think would be a dream collaboration for this group?

There are so many people we’d like to work with, but some at the top of the list include Lorde, Bon Iver and the Staves.

We are living in a trying time right now so I am curious how you think being in this band gives you the most joy in life today? Do you think that music being created today is going to reflect this challenging time? 

The visuals and music from ‘Cold Heart’ are definitely a reflection of our experience living in New York at this moment in time. I think something that’s super particular to the New York experience is that the city isn’t that nice to you when you first get there. You have to find people you like hanging with and hold as tightly as you can to them.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs? What do you hope they take away from one of your shows?

At the end of the day we hope people feel a little bit less alone when they hear our music. We hope they turn our music on when they’re going through similar emotional experiences so they can feel a little bit of comfort.