A music series for emerging artists and hidden gems, B-Drop Worldwide premieres its ninth showcase, featuring Colombian pop artist VALÉ and Southern California’s Foxtide!

Just as every country has its hidden gems waiting to be discovered, every artist has their own hidden gems waiting to be heard.

Atwood Magazine is proud to be featuring B-Drop Worldwide, an exciting new music series giving a platform to emerging artists and shining a spotlight on the A-sides, as well as the beloved (but oft-neglected) B-sides. The latest iteration of this unique melting pot of music premieres today, with a special performance from A music series for emerging artists and hidden gems, B-Drop Worldwide premieres its ninth showcase featuring Colombian pop artist VALÉ and Southern California’s Foxtide!

“B-Drop Worldwide came from B-Drop TV, an online music platform supporting emerging artists doing a similar format,” founder Cindi Avnet tells Atwood Magazine. “Prior to the pandemic we were filming twice a month in a studio space, doing a few bands each time. The bands would do two songs – an A-side and a B-side, with a brief interview at the end. The last question we asked the artists would be what’s one of your all-time favorite B-side. In 2020, we decided to do continue virtually with Instagram live streams every Monday and Friday doing a similar format.”

“One day I realized I wanted to create a worldwide community that supports emerging artists everywhere. Our plan is to film every 6 to 8 weeks moving from country to country. We will have six artists total performing each time we do the session: Three from the US, and three from the country we have chosen. The format will be similar to regular B-Drop, but it will be in-person sessions. We will also try to support indie labels from other countries by supporting their bands from their respective countries. We started with the UK, and because we think that it came out so well we might spend the summer doing UK sessions just to build up momentum before we move to another country!”

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Why B-sides?

“Historically, often B-sides became more popular than the A-sides,” Avnet explains. “At B-Drop we want to encourage artists to have a chance to play one of their songs that is less well known or may have never been recorded. It’s interesting to have them do a current single as well as a B-side. From my understanding most music platforms want to just hear the current single but on our show we enjoy having the point of difference.”

B-Drop Worldwide is a showcase on a mission.

The project is now a collaboration between Avnet, Bella Elbaum, and Chris Jiannino as co-producers.

“Going forward, our vision is to bring attention to bands that may not often have opportunities and chances to thrive in this overcrowded music space we are in, Avnet says. “Our focus is to bring attention to undiscovered artists that may have not had the chance to be seen and heard otherwise. My hope is B-Drop listeners will discover new artists that they may never have heard before and add them to their playlist of artists to listen to. Also if someone is already a fan of the artist, then perhaps they will enjoy their B-side if they’ve never heard it before. The main thing for B-Drop is cultivating music discovery from new artists.”

Avnet’s favorite B-side? “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys, from the band’s unparalleled 1966 album Pet Sounds (the A-side was “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”). Co-producer Bella Elbaum’s go-to B-side? The Beatles’ “Baby You’re A Rich Man” (the A-side was “All You Need Is Love”). Co-producer Chris Jiannino’s favorite B-side? New Order’s “Elegia” (full version) off their 1985 album, Low Life. “‘Elegia’ is just one of those truly beautiful pieces of work,” Jiannino says. “It’s cinematic, and each riff holds an epic part in the deep story of the group’s late frontman Ian Curtis.”

B-Drop Worldwide is all about expanding our musical horizons. Discover VALÉ and Foxtide in the series’ latest episode, and dive deeper into both artists’ music and B-side picks below!

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B-Drop Worldwide is produced by Cindi Avnet, Bella Elbaum, and Chris Jiannino, and directed by James Schumacher of vertigo productions. Both performances were shot at Zula Den Los Angeles, with host Chris Ruckus.

VALÉ

Atwood Magazine: Can you share a little more about the songs you performed and what they mean to you?

VALÉ: The songs I performed are two of my all time favorite songs I have written. The first one is called “moody, dirty, sweaty.” I think the best part about this song for me is how it was created, it all came from the initial beat – just the sliding bass line and a couple more elements. I told the producer that I loved the exact beat he was messing around with because it was moody dirty and sweaty. It doesn’t sound real but I swear it is! We then wrote a whole song just based on that small phrase!

The second song was “lo tengo mal.” This song gets me so hyped up whenever I listen to it or play it live – it’s got this electric energy that I adore so much. The best way to describe it is that it’s got this infectious fun energy. The phrase “lo tengo mal” means he’s got it bad for you or he’s simping over you in Spanish. So I wrote this song about a made up story of a guy that is incredibly down bad for this girl – the girl is singing about how he basically worships her and she gets everything she wants.

What's the significance of a B-side, for you?

VALÉ: A B-side is a song that is too good to be shared as a lead single, so you save it for the whole project as a pleasant surprise for the fans who take the time to listen to the whole record!

What is one of your favorite B-sides, and why?

VALÉ: I love “BIZCOCHITO” by ROSALÍA. It’s so catchy, as soon as I listened to that song it became my favorite off MOTOMAMI. As I mentioned, it was too good to be a single!

Foxtide

Atwood Magazine: Can you share a little more about the songs you performed and what they mean to you?

Foxtide: Our song “hold on” is really one of the first ones we wrote together as a band so it was kinda the start of our chemistry. “She’s not yours” is one I wrote in high school when I was about 17 and it’s honestly still one of my favorite songs I’ve written.

What's the significance of a B-side, for you? / What is one of your favorite B-sides, and why?

Foxtide: B-sides are ultimately just the backs of singles, but without many records being pressed, I’d say a b-side is a song that you didn’t release as a single or didn’t think would perform as well upon release. My favorite b-side is “this boy” by the Beatles. One of my favorite songs and somewhat of a hidden gem.