FEATURES Following the Evolution of FROMTHEHEART, From Discord Server to AutoTuned Collective By Joshua Minsoo Kim July 27, 2020

Do you feel strength in me? Do you feel strengthin me? This repeated opening line from dust, the first track on FROMTHEHEARTs debut albumthings happen, its okay!, captures so much of the groups ethos and spirit. Its a simple phrase sung by FROMTHEHEARTs leader Valentine, but done with a vulnerability that pierces in its double meaning. It sounds as if shes speaking from a troubled place, asking for confirmation shes alive, but also as an offering of care to those she loves: Can you confide in her for your wellbeing?

Trust and compassion are crucial to FROMTHEHEARTs existence. The collectives members, of which there are more than 80, all converse and collaborate on a private Discord server and come from diverse backgrounds. When asked for essentials about the group, Moore Kismet half-jokingly comments that its mostly queer, an assessment that the others quickly chime in and confirm. Kismet sincerely follows up by saying, I feel so safe with all of my fellow gays. Throughout the album, lyrics touch on being content with ones identity and self, whether its Valentine singing You cant tell me who I am on dust, or Fraxiom reflecting on how they wasted years of [their] life overthinking bout how everybody gonna look at [them] on 5T4YTRU.

The group finds its roots in a 4th of July party that some members had in Los Angeles last year, deciding afterwards to make a Discord server to continue communication. Its there that they began work on MIDWESTEMO2, a track with blown-out trap percussion, AutoTuned rapping, and a half-time chopped and screwed-like outro. As with the rest of the album, its hodgepodged, genre-blending sensibilities resemble 100 gecs, albeit streamlined into more straightforward pop songs. And while 100 gecs culls musical ideas from the past two decades, FROMTHEHEARTs music seems decidedly 2010s: James Blakes introspective production and songwriting, emo revival but especially emo rap, various strains of pop and electronic music popular on SoundCloud.

By listening to their music or just looking at the track creditsthe album boasts 10 features across eight songsthe collaborative nature of FROMTHEHEART is immediately evident. Their community ethos was only made possible through the cultivation a safe space for their members, many of whom are teenagers and queer, on their private Discord server. In the discussion, many were quick to acknowledge and share stories about how IRL spaces felt unwelcoming due to members sexuality, gender, age, and race.

Despite the members coming from various backgroundsfrom DIY and chiptune to EDM and emothey largely felt unsupported in their creative endeavors. Robyn Kim, who works under the name HOLIDAYKISS, says that one of their main goals for being in FROMTHEHEART is to create the scene i want to see in my life and have it positively impact others [] to cultivate a fanbase and a music scene thatismore accepting. To ensure all this, though, theres the unavoidable reality that those damaging to the space are quickly kicked out. While the decision to do so may be uncomfortable and has happened multiple times already, Valentine says that making sure to take action when necessary just makes us stronger.

Naturally, with so many members, it can be hard to imagine the logistics of the entire enterprise: How exactly does the music end up the way it is? For Lunamatic, its ultimately Valentine who spearheads it all: She has a really specific vision in mind for the project and is really able to smoothly integrate all of our ideas. On BiG KIDS, which features credits from six different artists, theres a beautiful cohesion to the Taylor Swift interpolations, which transform a chipper rap song into something decidedly pop rock. Like the rest of the album, nothing feels out of place.

Despite Valentines role in leading the group, she says shes been creat[ing] more opportunities for other people to drive the bus, such as weekly meetings. A schedule has fallen into place, as well: on Tuesdays there are beat challenges; Thursdays are for working on FROMTHEHEART; and Saturdays are when members can share solo work and get detailed, constructive feedback from each other. On the day we caught up with the group, the beat challenge they had involved sampling sounds from themelodybot3456 Twitter accountyou can tell theyre a fun and motivated bunch. On the moody and plaintive stuck!, Valentine cries out, Think its bout damn time for me to shine. When she sings it, it sounds like shes singing both for herself and everyone else in FROMTHEHEART. Theyre more than just musicians working together: theyre a group of friends, a loving community, a much-needed support network.

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Following the Evolution of FROMTHEHEART, From Discord Server to AutoTuned Collective - bandcamp.com