What happens when you put six rising producers together at a self-prescribed summer writing camp? For Chicago’s Levity and Tvvin, bringing San Diego’s GUDFELLA and New York’s Cudos to the windy city last summer resulted in the formation of WABANSIA, a boyband blending the lines between pop, future bass, and indie rock.
Their debut “Coming of Age” – the first of many to come – is fresh off the shelf as the perfect introduction to the WABANSIA world.
As a former and forever Chicagoan who once lived on Wabansia Avenue myself, I can imagine the scene of the six producers meeting for the first time in summer 2021. The tree-lined street is classic Chicago, just south of the 606, a cycling thoroughfare that connects some of Chicago’s most bustling creative neighborhoods – Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Logan Square – and the studios, boutiques, and music venues that bring the neighborhood to life.
It’s a place that overflows with energy — the perfect place for a young group of twenty-somethings to dig their heels in. WABANSIA was formed in that spirit – four artists each paving their own unique path but navigating the same challenges both in-and-out of music.
“Coming of Age” embraces a classic 2000’s pop feel with guitar riffs and and layered vocals ascending throughout the first verse. For those unacquainted with the group’s members, the evolution into the track’s chorus with stabbing synths and intertwined basslines and percussion might seem like a left turn, but “Coming of Age” is tied together excellently by its elements, from the scratchy vocalized lead to the nostalgia of the Suite Life of Zack and Cody sample that bridges the chorus and second verse.
“‘Coming of Age’ is a song about growing up & realizing that sometimes life can be a joke. Sometimes it makes sense & other times it throws you for a loop.
It’s about the experience of growing up in a world that expects so much from you yet, does everything it can to keep you in your lane. So really, who cares? Cause in the end we’re all just part of a coming of age story right?”
-WABANSIA via press release
While each of the individual artists’ discographies are well worth the listen (see: Levity and GUDFELLA’s remix of Thulani and Tinashe’s “Delilah“, Tvvin‘s amazing latest single “im wondering how you think ive been“, and Cudos’ exuberant single “Medusa“), the kick off to WABANSIA is definitely something to be thrilled and optimistic about.
Featured photo via artist Instagram
Connect with WABANSIA: Social Links
What happens when you put six rising producers together at a self-prescribed summer writing camp? For Chicago’s Levity and Tvvin, bringing San Diego’s GUDFELLA and New York’s Cudos to the windy city last summer resulted in the formation of WABANSIA, a boyband blending the lines between pop, future bass, and indie rock.
Their debut “Coming of Age” – the first of many to come – is fresh off the shelf as the perfect introduction to the WABANSIA world.
As a former and forever Chicagoan who once lived on Wabansia Avenue myself, I can imagine the scene of the six producers meeting for the first time in summer 2021. The tree-lined street is classic Chicago, just south of the 606, a cycling thoroughfare that connects some of Chicago’s most bustling creative neighborhoods – Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Logan Square – and the studios, boutiques, and music venues that bring the neighborhood to life.
It’s a place that overflows with energy — the perfect place for a young group of twenty-somethings to dig their heels in. WABANSIA was formed in that spirit – four artists each paving their own unique path but navigating the same challenges both in-and-out of music.
“Coming of Age” embraces a classic 2000’s pop feel with guitar riffs and and layered vocals ascending throughout the first verse. For those unacquainted with the group’s members, the evolution into the track’s chorus with stabbing synths and intertwined basslines and percussion might seem like a left turn, but “Coming of Age” is tied together excellently by its elements, from the scratchy vocalized lead to the nostalgia of the Suite Life of Zack and Cody sample that bridges the chorus and second verse.
While each of the individual artists’ discographies are well worth the listen (see: Levity and GUDFELLA’s remix of Thulani and Tinashe’s “Delilah“, Tvvin‘s amazing latest single “im wondering how you think ive been“, and Cudos’ exuberant single “Medusa“), the kick off to WABANSIA is definitely something to be thrilled and optimistic about.
Featured photo via artist Instagram
Connect with WABANSIA: Social Links
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