MUSICIANS, THIS IS YOUR SIGN TO LEARN HOW TO COLOR GRADE

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For our dissection this week, It’s a mixed bag: moments where I’m thinking, “Wow, they’re killing it,” and others where I’m like, “Bro, how do you drop the ball on something like this?” or even “These people aren’t doing something as well as they could, or as well as they can.”

The artist we’re looking at today is BLAKSWAN. A few of you mentioned them in the comments on my YouTube member videos, so I dug in.

BLAKSWAN's Artistic Evolution

BLAKSWAN caught my attention when I went down this rabbit hole recently. Their videos show a clear shift toward a solo direction, which creates an interesting dynamic with their overall presentation.

Looking at their discography starting in 2022, there's heavy religious imagery mixed with edgy content that draws directly from 2000s influences. The vocals and music pull heavily from Korn's aesthetic, creating this aggressive, alternative sound that hits differently.

The "New Millennium Boyz" Connection

This connects to something powerful I've been thinking about. One of the book’s that has hit me hardest in recent year is Alex Kazemi’s "New Millennium Boyz" - they're making this book into a movie soon and it's stuck with me like few books have. It's a really fucked up read, but I hear those themes throughout BLAKSWAN's music.

They're doing this edgy, dysfunctional home life aesthetic. The imagery speaks to that teenage anger at parents, that rebellious language. If I were back in that headspace, this would resonate hard. It speaks in a language I'd respond to today.

Breaking the "WTF" Zone

BLAKSWAN executed something interesting as they approached 2024. They waterfalled into their EP "The Elephant In The Room," released November 22, 2024. But here's where it gets smart - instead of falling into the typical post-release "what the fuck" zone, they've been dropping powerful videos after the fact.

For context, this is the boilerplate album rollout we discussed in a previous newsletter, or I cover it in this video here.

They've been releasing powerful short-form content on YouTube, driving significant growth cycles since the EP drop. While they haven't flooded short-form platforms with content, what they have released hits because it's exceptionally well-crafted. The real growth seems to come from their long-form YouTube strategy - these videos perform because they're well-produced.

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