Q&A: “Genre Still Matters”: Arrested Youth Releases New Single “Little Cup”
TWISTING, TOPSY-TURVY AND INTROSPECTIVE — LA’s Arrested Youth has just released the song of the summer for every aching heart.
Released on the heels of his 2021 album Nonfiction, Arrested Youth’s “Little Cup” takes a sharp left turn into indie rock territory. The single reckons with the tension between love’s risks and rewards — ultimately relenting to the comfort of its embrace.
Dancing guitar lines beneath strokes of warm vocal delivery make “Little Cup” an irresistible listening experience. Pop-influenced hooks and heartfelt lyrics invite listeners into the personal journey of the track.
Luna had the pleasure of catching up with Arrested Youth over the relevance of genre, tennis and “making it.” Read below for the full interview.
LUNA: Have you listened to any music today?
AY: I did actually. I only listened to one song today. Tupac’s “Hit ‘Em Up” was on my playlist from running yesterday.
LUNA: I like it. Next question is, what's your astrological sign/do you believe in astrology?
AY: I don't understand it, so to speak. I don't have the facts of astrology. I'm definitely not well read in it.I think a lot of what astrology represents for different types of humans is more aligned than just a coincidence.
LUNA: Definitely. What media do you like to consume to get inspired to make music, if any?
AY: Just music. Some artists have movies and videos, but it's always about just music for me. Listening to music, usually just on my headphones.
LUNA: Do you have a best album of 2024 or an album of the summer so far?
AY: I'm really looking forward to it. There's only two songs out from Manu Chao. I think it's gonna be titled Moto Boy. When it comes to to summer music, I just think he's one of my favorites.
LUNA: That's a great answer. How do you get out of a creative slump, should you find yourself in one?
AY: I think the true answer is just to wait and ride it out. I've had many of them. I think at the end of the day, people have all kinds of answers, but the only real answer is time. When you're inspired, you're going to do it again and sometimes you do it even without being inspired and that's what gets you inspired. I guess time is the answer.
LUNA: Do you feel like you create more when you're happy or when you're sad? How do you tap into creativity if you're feeling the opposite emotion?
AY: I'm someone who leans into whatever emotion I have when I create. I wouldn't say I'm good at making a happy song when I'm down. Some people like that notion of fighting whatever you're in, whatever stage of life you're in, right as an escape — but I honestly don’t have that.
LUNA: Do you have a favorite hobby outside of making music?
AY: I'm at the tennis courts. I love tennis. It's definitely my biggest passion outside of music.
LUNA: Awesome. Do you think genre serves an important role in today's musical landscape?
AY: Everyone listens to what they like, who cares about genres? And that's true for sure. Whatever people like is what they end up listening to, but on a certain level, the genre still matters. lt just does. It's what brings certain demographics to the music. I'm a perfect example to say genres matter, because I was in theory, alt-anxious-hip-hop-rock, sonically sounding kind of somatic in my music in the past. Now, I'm making this record that’s much more an indie-rock record. The rap isn't there. The honest answer is that genre definitely still matters. Maybe the genre doesn't matter as much as the sentiment and the feel of the music, but for a lot of the time, that is the genre. An indie-rock album as a genre brings a much different listener than an angsty hip-hop record. Genres still matter. I think at the end of the day, the music still matters, especially from a streaming standpoint.
LUNA: Totally. What is your songwriting process like?
AY: I'm not much of an instrumentalist. I'm really a vocal and a mind. At the end of the day, I songwrite. When I go into a session, I am the singer and I am the writer. I create melody. I create lyrics. I find myself surrounding people who very effortlessly can just play and connect with me as I write. My process ranges. Some songs I'll write off of a simple guitar riff, some songs I'll write off of a drum kit, and maybe the bass part. I'm just doing some type of chord progression and from there, I follow my intuition.
LUNA: Did anyone ever tell you that you wouldn't “make it?”
AY: You know that story is interesting, because early on, no. When I felt like people didn't think I could make it was with this album. I had an interesting sound that had success, and then I really wanted to try and evolve and become what I thought was a better artist. I really wanted to change what was a very formulaic approach where I knew I could build that sound anytime I wanted, but I'd grown out of it. That's when I felt people were telling me you're not going to make it. I find myself really wondering what will happen with this album if my fans will make the leap with me. I made a decision for the love of music, to try and make something that I really, really loved. Every circle will have a different opinion. You'll find people people see music as two ways; people who believe music succeeds if the artist loves it as authentic and people who believe music succeeds if the artist takes a more commercial route and doesn't do what they love. The irony is, it's all based on artists. There's no right answer. You could take a million groups that did it their way and became massive successes, and then signed with someone who told them how to do it and they failed. You could also find a million examples of artists who started with someone who gave them a rubric like these boy bands, had massive success, then tried to do it themselves in their own authentic way and they failed. It goes both ways.
LUNA: That's such a great answer. Is there anything else you want to share about your new single, the new album, anything you want?
AY: It's the next step. It's a leap of faith for Arrested Youth. It's a leap of faith for the fans to try and make this sonic jump with me to a much different sound. My hope as an artist, of course, is that the fans enjoy it. I finally decided for myself to follow what I think makes me happy and it's great music. It's my hope that as many of my existing fans enjoy it. It's really my hope with this record that it also gets a chance to reach new ears and new people who want to welcome the music in and connect with it. It's an album that's been about my own own life and my own struggle over the past three years, and trying to very much show this album sonically and melodically. It's really there to mimic the ebb and flow that was my life these past few years, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of moments of extreme fear and doubt, and a lot of moments of also peace and tranquility and acceptance. The album to me is like a mirror of life and the emotions we go through as we go through a big transformation. My biggest hope is a as an album is that people who are going through a big transformation in their life — whether that be with their health, their work, a relationship, maybe their view of how they've been living for the past 20 years or the past 10 years — is changing. It's my hope that this album finds them. I made this album during that same time where I had so many questions, and so many uncertainties and was starting to get answers to questions I had asked myself about myself for many years of my life. I hope that it finds people who are going through that. Everybody's going through it on on some level, but the people who are really going through a lot will latch on to this album.
