Dreams Not Memes Podcast

Meredith Rounsley is a singer and songwriter who melds candid storytelling with an organic, folk-pop sound. Inspired by a life of travel and casual conversations with strangers, Meredith creates music that is warm and grounded, placing her comfortably in the company of confessional songwriters like Sara Bareilles and KT Tunstall. Meredith released a 4 song EP in the summer of 2016, Weapon, followe...

I spoke to Esperanza Delgado, born in 1994, at age 15 she began studying classical singing at the professional conservatory of music in Cordoba, where she is trained as a lyric soprano, after graduating with honors she received a scholarship at Angela Carrasco's musical theater school in Madrid. Although with her insured place at the school, It is necessary to postpone her entry to Berklee for one...

Professing over two decades of experience as a performing vocalist, Enya is known among peers for her versatility and creative value as an artist, songwriter, session singer, vocal arranger, and producer. In addition to having opened for and being featured in lifestyle and music festivals including Beerfest Asia, The Conscious Fest, Earthfest, Newport Folk Festival (RI, USA) Boston Greenfest (MA,...

Odd! Drey is a singer songwriter, musician, performer and music producer hailing from Jakarta, Indonesia. She's currently 19, and has been learning music since the age of 3, starting with vocals, piano, drums and then violin. She has won multiple music competitions both in national levels and international levels.   Now she's a fulltime musical artist, working on her own work whilst doin...

Estefanía Núñez Villamandos is a pianist, composer, arranger, and educator born in Havana, Cuba. She started studying music at the age of 6 and graduated from the National School of Music with a performance degree. Nowadays, she is a current student of Berklee College of Music, doing a dual-degree in Film Scoring and Performance and a minor in Music Production & Engineering. Estefania is a mem...

Olivia Farkas (she/her) is the founder of Eclectica Division. After growing up in a musical family and spending many nights frequenting local venues in Philly, she saw how difficult it was for women to make their way into the scene. After years of managing people in various other roles, Olivia decided to create Eclectica Division, where she could represent artists from diverse backgrounds and crea...

Coleman Rigg is an artist based in Philadelphia who started in 2018 with a  self titled E. Shortly after release, Rigg began to form a band to take his songs to live audiences in Philly, thus bringing The Ridge Runners to life. Coleman has had the pleasure of being able to work in studios such as Miner Street Studio and play in various venues across the city. In our conversation we talk about...

Margot Varret is a classically-trained harp player and has performed in orchestras, chamber groups, and as a soloist in France for ten years. In 2015, Margot moved to New York City from Paris where she was performing in several prominent jazz clubs such as 38 Riv, Club Rayé, and Baiser Salé, as well as other publicly sponsored musical events, such Fete de la musique (The national day celebrating m...

Maggie Poulos Principal, Mixtape Media Working in the music industry since 2000, Maggie spent the earlier part of her career working for independent public relations firms and talent agencies including Shore Fire Media, Good Cop Public Relations, Monterey International Artists and APA before founding Mixtape Media in 2014. She has a proven track record of increasing public awareness of clients and...

Melissa Pothier is an online entrepreneur from Quebec, Canada. She started in the online world back in 2015 with a multilevel marketing company. Pothier fell in love with the possibilities that the online world is providing so she decided to become a marketing coach, she also created an e-commerce company and sold it 2 years later. Her recent business is a branding agency ''Brand expansi...

I spoke to full time punk, organizer and anti capitalist Shaiful from Singapore. Shaiful is the founder of Prohibted Projects a booking agency and punk distro based in Singapore. In our conversation we discuss anti capitalism, living without the dependency of money, and his future dreams towards alternative culture and the elderly. Find out more on Dreams Not Memes Podcast. 

In her 15 years long DJ-route Miia Magia has been travelling from Britpop and Nu Disco to Deep House and Techno. DJing, organizing parties and earning residencies at the legendary Helsinki clubs such as Semifinal, DTM and mbar made her a diverse and open minded DJ. Alongside her own club nights she's been invited to play for all the main cities in Finland and also to Tallinn, Valencia and Madrid....

Patricia Ligia is a bass player and composer from Montevideo, Uruguay. She started studying music at the age of 9, but not until the age of 14 she grabbed the electric bass and immediately fell for it. Currently she is living in Boston, where she graduated in Jazz Composition and Performance in Berklee College of Music. Patricia's musical training is very diverse, a mix of self-taught and formal a...

María Linares is a composer, singer and cultural manager, and founder of  Fiona Records. She has composed original music and songs for documentaries, series and fiction short films for projects in Colombia, Panama, Mexico and the United States. He composed music for the inauguration of the Bogotá Cinematheque in June 2019 and has produced film concerts in important venues such as: Movistar arena,...

I spoke to the founder of The Plugger Mag and internationally published travel journalist, Camilla. Camilla is a Portugal-based writer. She began working around the music business as a project manager for a music festival. Born in Brazil, she is a girl from Rio and a member of She Is The Music as well as Women In Music. Her nomad heart made her travel the world, but she came back to her first love...

Jimena Caballero is a singer-songwriter, composer and pianist from Mexico City. She began studying piano at the age of 7, and became interested in songwriting at an early age. She was awarded a talent scholarship to go to Interlochen Summer Arts Camp twice. In 2017, he was awarded a talent scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music, where he is currently studying Songwriting. Since then, she...

I spoke to my friend Alexander who is based in New South Wales about his journey as piano player and crooning singer.  With his old-school sound and dapper demeanor, you would never guess that “piano man” Alexander is only 21 years old. Citing Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole as his influences, Alex uses his strong, smooth tone and old-school character to stand out among up-and-coming...

I spoke to Brett Lucas of Australia. Brett Lucas has been involved in the arts since he was a child, attending Victorian College of the Arts and performing as a freelancer performing with the Melbourne Symphony, State Orchestra of Victoria, Australian Ballet, Australian Opera and many other professional Arts organizations, all before the age of 19.  After getting his degree in performance, he...

X. ARI is a LGBTQIA+ Alt-Pop singer, writer, and mental health advocate from Toronto. Her life motto is all about turning “Pain Into Power” through art and self-care. Having comorbid Dis-Orders is not her identity, but her superpower. X. ARI’s visceral lyrics transmit messages of hope as often as they ponder tragedy. Her sound comes to life in the middle. Her upcoming EP “Anja”, dedicated to her f...

I spoke to Ronnie Grace a an independent Italian-Canadian singer-songwriter and performer from Venice, Italy. Raised bilingual, her first musical influences came from America and England, and although her primordial tastes are rooted in rock and soul, her music today is closer to DuaLipa and Mark Ronson's pop. In 2017 she took place in the Pordenone Blues Contest with the song "Lonely (for a long...

I spoke to my friend Gilberto, a friend of Christian Caanen ( Episode 271). Gilberto works at the intersection of multiple fields and believes in the power that policy has to create the conditions that allow others to change and become better. Hailing from Curaçao and based in the Netherlands, Gilberto is a policy advocate and activist in the field of human rights, social and climate justice, incl...

Permanent Vacation is an indie folk duo from Pittsburgh and Yorkshire currently based in Rome, Italy. They make intimate musical snapshots with the aim of capturing the world around them. Their debut album 'A Love Song for Everyone' is out now on cassette and digitally through Z Tapes. In our conversation we speak about how Italy has shaped their sound and their future goals as musicians. Learn mo...

I spoke to my friend from Tik Tok Tim Bauer from Indiana. Tim Bauer is songwriter, music blogger, Montessori teacher, and community member from Michigan City, Indiana. Tim started playing and booking shows in 2004, and currently plays with Tigershark Don't Quit and Neighbor Kidz. Tigershark just released Is it Tuesday, an album that reflects on the social, political, and human experience...

I spoke to Sarah Bailey, a friend of Leona Francoise ( Episode 263). Sarah Bailey was born in Canada and grew up in Germany. She is a fashion entrepreneur and is the founder of the clothing brand Bad Boys. The style of Bad Boys is a combination of international styles Sarah experienced and was exposed to throughout her life. Sarah’s dream has been to use fashion to help others feel good about them...

I spoke to my friend Lauren Roberts who is acquainted with Leona Francoise ( Episode 263).  Lauren Roberts is the Executive Director and co-founder of The Thriving Initiative (@thrivinginitiative), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting survivors of interpersonal violence (sexual assault, stalking, dating/domestic violence). The Thriving Initiative promotes long-term healing for student sur...