Coming out of the strange musical oasis of Austin, Texas, the electro hip-hop group Holiday Mountain has kept the city’s reputation for weirdness alive and well. Fronted by singer Laura Patiño and drummer Zander Kagle, Holiday Mountain makes funk-styled futuristic grime beats that are contagiously righteous. Patiño conquers the production by emulating the untamed lyrical flow of M.I.A. and Die Antwoord, creating an altogether hallucinatory experience for listeners.
On their new album, SHIA, which is scheduled for release on August 12 through Clean Bill Music, the group has managed to blend the genres of electronic, hip-hop, dub, and a bit of the traditional Colombian dance form Cumbia together to create their eccentric sound. On the album’s brain-tingling single “Coffee&Weed”, Holiday Mountain creates an audible world filled with caffeinated rhymes and a stoned, twinkling beat. Being that we are the premier cannabis news site (and hey, who doesn’t love coffee too), what better place to premiere the new music video for “Coffee&Weed” than MERRY JANE.
In the video, Patiño and Kagle get wild in out bathtubs surrounded by cannabis plants, clad in bright green bathing suits to match the marijuana-infused ambiance. The hazy music video all but shows the group’s blatant affinity for cannabis. MERRY JANE talked to Holiday Mountain’s front woman Laura Patiño to get a more in-depth look at their new album SHIA, her love for cannabis and coffee, and how marijuana is a great communication tool to overcome language barriers.
MERRY JANE: What was the inspiration behind the music video for "Coffee&Weed"?
LP: I wanted to give a shout out to coffee and weed because they’ve both affected my life in positive ways. Ever since we wrote the song, I visualized clawfoot bathtubs filled with coffee and through circumstance and our network of artist friends, the vision basically manifested itself.
MJ: How has the combination of coffee and weed affected your personal life? How about your music writing?
LP: Whether it’s my personal life or when I’m creating, the combination of coffee and weed can definitely help my overall ability to focus in the present moment and it often becomes easier to open up to new ways of thinking or creating.
MJ: How would you describe the overall sound of SHIA? What are the influences behind the record?
LP: SHIA’s sound is fully in the digital age. When we made the album with co-producer Alex Peterson, we all shared an affinity for internet culture, EDM, hip-hop, and pop. Our mutual obsession for music like Major Lazer and Die Antwoord made it easy and unforgettably fun to make this album, so I hope that the same feeling we had making it will be passed on to each listener.
MJ: What's your most memorable recent cannabis experience on the road?
LP: When we were playing a show at SXSW this past March, the band that played right after us had just flown in from Pakistan, and I had assumed there would probably be a big cultural divide between us, but after we got off stage they were really psyched to hang out. Some of our friends started passing around a bowl and even though we couldn’t really verbally communicate with the Pakistani band if their translator wasn’t around, one of them eagerly came up and just joined us. After we smoked together, he just kept giving us a thumbs up and a high five every couple minutes for at least an hour or so. He was really nice and it was an awesome way to connect with someone from a totally different culture!
