Barnett found kinship with Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa, who also spent lockdown in Australia, and the two found a way to transcend the historic confines by fostering a creative support group. Mozgawa acted as Barnett’s studio sherpa, offering fresh alternatives when Barnett had “hit a wall,” as she puts it. This foundation of trust found its way onto the record as a recurring theme. Whether it was working with Mozgawa or Zooming a group of friends every Tuesday, Barnett found “a new level of gratitude for friendships that had been there for so long that I had maybe taken for granted,” she says. Ironically, the isolation of the pandemic forced her to create connections—and that was the key to breaking down her defenses. Galvanized by her fleet of new, more optimistic tracks, Barnett sought to find that connection on the road as well. Inspired by the Sonic City festival she curated in 2019, Barnett has crafted a new kind of tour, called “Here And There.” Instead of touring with the same opening bands, it’s a hybrid of intertwining tours with over 20 different bands supporting her on a string of 15 U.S. dates.“The fun part of the idea was that people could jump on or off for a couple of shows, or just one show,” she explains. Think of it as a traveling mixtape, with Barnett pushing the buttons. The festival line-up is punctuated by friends and icons, Sleater-Kinney, as well as indie darling Japanese Breakfast. At her San Diego stop at Humphrey’s (Aug. 28), like-minded chanteuses Ethel Cain and Indigo de Souza will jump on. As for how she managed to land all the star-studded support, she says: “Basically, I wrote a dream list of artists I loved.” Honesty (and flattery) is the best policy. When asked how the experience of writing Things Take Time changed her, she says,“I probably did a bit of deeper digging. I feel like a totally different person in some ways— philosophically and psychologically.” Transformation takes time, takes time.
Off the Dial San Diego’s never really been known to have a thriving experimental or electronic music scene. But Christian Gonzalez hopes to help change that with Particle FM, a DIY online radio station he created in October. The station is now raising money to set up a physical space. Gonzalez, who first began DJ’ing at UCSD’s student-run station KSDT, was inspired to create Particle FM by online radio stations like Dublab, London’s NTS, and Lisbon-based Radio Quantica, on which he had his own show for a time. Particle FM’s shows run the gamut, featuring everything from mutant jungle and heartfelt pop to international music and ambient sensory experiences—but the throughline is that you’re unlikely to hear these sounds on mainstream radio. Gonzalez created Particle FM because he was frustrated by the lack of diversity in San Diego’s music and radio scene. “Our goal really is to give underrepresented people the chance to share their music,” he says, including LGBTQ+, people from minority backgrounds, and all those whose music tastes fall outside of the mainstream. Currently, half the station’s DJs identify as women or nonbinary. Since its creation, the number of shows on the station has doubled. And though the vast majority of its DJs are San Diego-based, they’ve found listeners in countries across the world. Particle FM hopes its future physical space will give more people the opportunity to get involved, especially those who may not be able to afford the gear necessary to broadcast from home. “I picture it as a nexus for camaraderie, creativity, and learning facilitated by a shared passion for music,” said Laurie Piña, the station’s community outreach coordinator. “I honestly think it’ll mark a turning point in San Diego’s underground, and its music scene in general.” —Jakob McWhinney
36 AUGUST 2022
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