Electronic Interviews Podcast Rap

Talking Tracks LIVE: The Return by Eleven Apollos

December 2020

Talking Tracks LIVE: The Return by Eleven Apollos December 23, 2020

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).

Eleven Apollos performs their debut album, The Return, on Talking Tracks Live. // Photo by Danny Ngan

Every month on Talking Tracks, we interview local artists about their latest drops — song by song. It’s a little bit like a curated Spotify playlist, except way more in depth, and it’s all the people who live right in our city. In each episode, you’ll get to listen to the full album or EP right alongside the artist’s inspiration behind the tracks. This month, we teamed up with LiveMo to bring you a special, live set edition of the podcast.

Seattle electronic hip-hop duo Eleven Apollos released their debut album, The Return, on November 1, 2020. In this live episode of Talking Tracks, Dan and Eleven Apollos break down the meaning behind and the making of each song on the project — a deeply earnest yet aggressive protest album against the Trump administration.

Listen to the full interview and click through our photo story of the best moments below. Download the LiveMo app on Apple and Android to stay updated on future live episodes.

 

Eleven Apollos performs their debut album, The Return, on Talking Tracks Live.

Frontman Dietrich Hanson pumps out intense vocals.

Justin Akama subs in for Mathew Flaherty due to COVID-19 restrictions.

In compliance with COVID-19 restrictions, Talking Tracks Live is broadcast from the backyard of LiveMo Co-Founder Fernando Turrent.

Hanson plays a few bars during sound check.

Host Dan Ray kicks off the show with a Dan’s Tunes face mask and a smile.

Hanson discusses Eleven Apollos’s influences for The Return.

Hanson raps with intensity and passion.

Even through an audio-only set, Eleven Apollos puts on a visually engaging show.

Eleven Apollos and Ray share a laugh.

Akama queues up the next track.

Eleven Apollos's set continues under the rain.

Ray laughs between songs.

Hanson vocalizes more gently on a quieter track from The Return.

Akama slowly fades out a track.

Talking Tracks Live is hosted on LiveMo.

Hanson and Ray converse about how some lyrics are inspired by real-life tweets.

Akama's decks.

Hanson switches to singing after rapping for most of the album.

Hanson slows things down to close out the show.

Akama and Hanson model their new Dan’s Tunes face masks.


All photos by Danny Ngan.

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Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).