Hesta Prynn
Encyclopedia
Julie Potash also known as Hesta Prynn (Born March 20, 1978), is an American musician
, singer/rapper from Long Island, New York. She began her career in music as one-third of the all-female hip-hop
group Northern State. After the band broke up she started focusing on solo material and, in July 2010, released an EP, entitled Can We Go Wrong
. She is currently working in L.A. on her full length solo debut.
, along with Correne "Spero" Spero and Robyn "Sprout" Goodmark, who all met while attending high school in the 1990s. In this group she took her moniker from Hester Prynne
, the protagonist of The Scarlett Letter. The group was initially formed as a joke, but eventually became fairly successful, receiving critical acclaim from Rolling Stone
magazine and touring with artists such as Tegan and Sara
. They have released three albums. After the last Northern State album was completed, all three members started working on their own material. As of yet, there are no definite plans for Northern State to record another album.
, was released in July 2010 and has received positive reviews from Time Out New York and NME
. The 6 track EP was produced and co-written by Chuck Brody, who, at the time, also served as her live guitarist. The sound of her solo material is more electronic-based than her work with Northern State, utilizing dance beats in combination with 90's-style electric guitars. When describing Hesta Prynn's solo musical style, the New York Post
referred to her as "M.I.A.
and Miike Snow
's lovechild" and named her the #4 Artist to Watch in 2010.
Following the release of "Can We Go Wrong", she has played with Andrew WK, Jay-Z
and Avi Buffalo
and has collaborated with Neon Indian
, Bear Hands, Les Savy Fav
's Tim Harrington and remixer RAC
. The title track "Can We Go Wrong" has been featured in ads for Ray-Ban and Nylon Fashion TV. Hesta Prynn toured Europe with Tegan and Sara
in the summer of 2010 and played Wireless Festival
in London's Hyde Park on July 4, 2010.
In August 2010, Hesta Prynn launched the first part in a series of webisodes entitled "Hesta Prynn & Friends", which features backstage footage with Tegan and Sara
, Chuck Brody, photographer Lindsey Byrnes, and UK grime rapper Scorcher
. In a similar fashion, Hesta Prynn (along with Sara Quin) appeared in Kaki King
's video for "Pull Me Out Alive".
' song Pepper
and is a collaboration with Shawn Crahan, aka "Clown", from Slipknot
. The B-side is a song called "Seven Sisters", the song that started off her solo project with Chuck Brody. September 2010 also marked the release of a stop-motion video for the song "Can We Go Wrong" composed of 13,000 still images. The video was directed by NYC indie director Randy Scott Slavin (videethis.com) and received much attention including a feature on MTV's "The Seven". Jared Leto
of 30 Seconds to Mars
was intrigued by the video and took Hesta Prynn on tour in late 2010.
As of December 2010 Hesta Prynn shared some of her personal interests outside of music with the world. Hesta is an avid fan of horror movies which, as she has explained in interviews, often inspire her lyrics. Because of this particular interest, she has been given her own column on Artist Direct entitled "Oh the Horror with Hesta Prynn" in which she writes film reviews in the horror genre.
In February 2011 UK record label Too Pure
which is part of Beggars Banquet
released "Turn It Gold" on vinyl. "Turn It Gold" is being played on the BBC 6 station including Steve Lamacq
's show. A provocative video also directed by Slavin depicting Hesta Prynn in various states of undress was released in conjunction with the single She subsequently went on a European tour to promote this release.
She also appeared as a guest model for designer Daryl K
's spring 2011 line and is set to walk in her runway show during Fashion Week in Feb 2011.
she revealed that her move to L.A. was motivated by a desire to move her musical style away from hip-hop and more towards dance, dubstep
with big hooks. With different cities having different beats she expressed her desire to move in the direction of the music coming out in gay clubs in L.A.
Singles
EPs
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, singer/rapper from Long Island, New York. She began her career in music as one-third of the all-female hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group Northern State. After the band broke up she started focusing on solo material and, in July 2010, released an EP, entitled Can We Go Wrong
Can we go wrong
Can We Go Wrong is the first solo EP by Hesta Prynn, formerly of the band Northern State. It was officially released on July 6, 2010, but was available weeks earlier through her own website and at her live concerts as the support act for Tegan and Sara...
. She is currently working in L.A. on her full length solo debut.
Northern State
Hesta Prynn is a founding member of Northern StateNorthern State
Northern State may refer to:*Northern State , a female rap group from New York City*The Northern State Parkway, a limited-access parkway located on Long Island*Northern, Sudan, one of 26 states in Sudan...
, along with Correne "Spero" Spero and Robyn "Sprout" Goodmark, who all met while attending high school in the 1990s. In this group she took her moniker from Hester Prynne
Hester Prynne
Hester Prynne, the young protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, is a woman condemned by her Puritan neighbors. The character has been called "among the first and most important female protagonists in American literature."...
, the protagonist of The Scarlett Letter. The group was initially formed as a joke, but eventually became fairly successful, receiving critical acclaim from Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine and touring with artists such as Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...
. They have released three albums. After the last Northern State album was completed, all three members started working on their own material. As of yet, there are no definite plans for Northern State to record another album.
Can We Go Wrong
Hesta Prynn's first solo EP, called Can We Go WrongCan we go wrong
Can We Go Wrong is the first solo EP by Hesta Prynn, formerly of the band Northern State. It was officially released on July 6, 2010, but was available weeks earlier through her own website and at her live concerts as the support act for Tegan and Sara...
, was released in July 2010 and has received positive reviews from Time Out New York and NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
. The 6 track EP was produced and co-written by Chuck Brody, who, at the time, also served as her live guitarist. The sound of her solo material is more electronic-based than her work with Northern State, utilizing dance beats in combination with 90's-style electric guitars. When describing Hesta Prynn's solo musical style, the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
referred to her as "M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
and Miike Snow
Miike Snow
Miike Snow is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg and Andrew Wyatt.-Early years:Miike Snow was formed in 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden....
's lovechild" and named her the #4 Artist to Watch in 2010.
Following the release of "Can We Go Wrong", she has played with Andrew WK, Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and Avi Buffalo
Avi Buffalo
Avi Buffalo is an indie-pop band based in Long Beach, California founded by singer/songwriter and guitarist, Avi Zahner-Isenberg. Their self-titled debut album was released on the 27th of April, 2010, and was given positive reviews by The Onion A.V. Club, NME, Filter, Drowned in Sound and numerous...
and has collaborated with Neon Indian
Neon Indian
Neon Indian is an indie electronic band from Denton, Texas. The music is composed by Mexican-born Alan Palomo , also known for his work with the band Ghosthustler and as the artist VEGA. The band's debut, Psychic Chasms, has received many favorable reviews, including the designation of Best New...
, Bear Hands, Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav is a New York City indie rock band. Their style is influenced by art rock and post-hardcore. The group is known for the stage presence of lead singer Tim Harrington...
's Tim Harrington and remixer RAC
The Remix Artist Collective (RAC)
The Remix Artist Collective is a group of international members who create re-interpretative rock/electronica/dance remixes for musical artists. RAC strives to maintain a style of remixing that strays from the "club mix" archetype, creating new incarnations of songs that stem from the original...
. The title track "Can We Go Wrong" has been featured in ads for Ray-Ban and Nylon Fashion TV. Hesta Prynn toured Europe with Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...
in the summer of 2010 and played Wireless Festival
Wireless Festival
The Wireless Festival is a music festival in England that takes place every year in Hyde Park, London, and took place at Harewood House, Leeds in 2006 and 2007. It is owned and managed by Live Nation....
in London's Hyde Park on July 4, 2010.
In August 2010, Hesta Prynn launched the first part in a series of webisodes entitled "Hesta Prynn & Friends", which features backstage footage with Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...
, Chuck Brody, photographer Lindsey Byrnes, and UK grime rapper Scorcher
Scorcher (rapper)
Scorcher is a rapper and producer from North London.-Biography:Scorcher is a grime MC and producer from Enfield, North London. He began his career in Cold Blooded where he became known for his 'shank' bars, and would regularly attend pirate radio and work his way up through the North London grime...
. In a similar fashion, Hesta Prynn (along with Sara Quin) appeared in Kaki King
Kaki King
Kaki King is an American guitarist and composer. King is known for her percussive and jazz-tinged melodies, energetic live shows, use of multiple tunings on acoustic and lap steel guitar, and her diverse range in different genres.In February 2006, Rolling Stone released a list of "The New Guitar...
's video for "Pull Me Out Alive".
Solo Developments
In September 2010, relatively shortly after the release of the "Can We Go Wrong" EP, Hesta Prynn released a 7" vinyl single called Pepper with two previously unreleased tracks. The A-side is a cover of the Butthole SurfersButthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
' song Pepper
Pepper (song)
"Pepper" is a song by American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers. It appeared on their 1996 album Electriclarryland, and reached number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart...
and is a collaboration with Shawn Crahan, aka "Clown", from Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
. The B-side is a song called "Seven Sisters", the song that started off her solo project with Chuck Brody. September 2010 also marked the release of a stop-motion video for the song "Can We Go Wrong" composed of 13,000 still images. The video was directed by NYC indie director Randy Scott Slavin (videethis.com) and received much attention including a feature on MTV's "The Seven". Jared Leto
Jared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
of 30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1998. Since 2007, the band has consisted of actor Jared Leto , Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević...
was intrigued by the video and took Hesta Prynn on tour in late 2010.
As of December 2010 Hesta Prynn shared some of her personal interests outside of music with the world. Hesta is an avid fan of horror movies which, as she has explained in interviews, often inspire her lyrics. Because of this particular interest, she has been given her own column on Artist Direct entitled "Oh the Horror with Hesta Prynn" in which she writes film reviews in the horror genre.
In February 2011 UK record label Too Pure
Too Pure
Too Pure is a London-based independent record label that was formed in 1990 by Richard Roberts and Paul Cox.-History:Too Pure started off as a small experimental label and had built their reputation by releasing primarily alternative/independent music which they felt was being ignored by the major...
which is part of Beggars Banquet
Beggars Banquet
- Personnel :The Rolling Stones* Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica on "Parachute Woman"* Keith Richards – acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar on "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man", backing vocals, lead vocals on opening of "Salt of the Earth"* Brian...
released "Turn It Gold" on vinyl. "Turn It Gold" is being played on the BBC 6 station including Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
's show. A provocative video also directed by Slavin depicting Hesta Prynn in various states of undress was released in conjunction with the single She subsequently went on a European tour to promote this release.
She also appeared as a guest model for designer Daryl K
Daryl K
Daryl Kerrigan, known professionally as Daryl K is an Irish born, fashion designer based in New York City-Early life:...
's spring 2011 line and is set to walk in her runway show during Fashion Week in Feb 2011.
Upcoming Full Length Solo Debut
Hesta Prynn has started working in L.A. on her full length solo debut, which will probably be released later in 2011 and will include no songs from the Can We Go Worng EP. In an interview with Curve MagazineCurve (magazine)
Curve is a lesbian magazine in the United States. It covers news, politics, social issues, and includes celebrity interviews and stories on entertainment, pop culture, style, travel, and a website that hosts an internet forum focusing on lesbian issues, active since 2000.The magazine was first...
she revealed that her move to L.A. was motivated by a desire to move her musical style away from hip-hop and more towards dance, dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
with big hooks. With different cities having different beats she expressed her desire to move in the direction of the music coming out in gay clubs in L.A.
Solo releases
EPs- Can We Go WrongCan we go wrongCan We Go Wrong is the first solo EP by Hesta Prynn, formerly of the band Northern State. It was officially released on July 6, 2010, but was available weeks earlier through her own website and at her live concerts as the support act for Tegan and Sara...
(EP) (2010)
Singles
- Pepper (7" Vinyl) (2010)
- You Winding Me Up (7" Vinyl) (2010)
- Turn It Gold (7" Vinyl) 2011
with Northern State
Albums- Dying in Stereo (2002) Star Time/WichitaWichita RecordingsWichita Recordings is an independent record label located in London, founded in 2000 by Mark Bowen and Dick Green. Its most notable signees are Bloc Party, The Cribs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Her Space Holiday, Los Campesinos! and Peter Bjorn and John...
- All City (2004) Sony
- Can I Keep This Pen?Can I Keep This Pen?Can I Keep This Pen? is the third album from New York-based rap trio Northern State.-Track listing:#"Mic Tester" – 1:47#"Better Already" – 2:57#"Oooh Girl" – 2:57#"Mother May I?" – 3:15#"Away Away" – 3:35...
(2007) IpecacIpecac RecordingsIpecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles,...
EPs
- Hip Hop You Haven't Heard (2002)
- At the Party (2005, WichitaWichita RecordingsWichita Recordings is an independent record label located in London, founded in 2000 by Mark Bowen and Dick Green. Its most notable signees are Bloc Party, The Cribs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Her Space Holiday, Los Campesinos! and Peter Bjorn and John...
) - Better Already (2007, KanineKanine RecordsKanine Records is an independent record label based in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York started at the end of 2002 by Lio and Kay Kanine. Their first release, NY: The Next Wave, was a 20 track compilation featuring mostly unsigned and emerging acts from the area...
)
External links
- Official site
- Hesta Prynn & Friends: Episode 1
- Filter Magazine Article
- ArtistDirect Review
- Spinner SXSW Interview
- Irish Times Article
- SBTV Wireless Festival Video Interview
- Music OMH Wireless Festival One to Discover Article
- RWD Magazine Article
- Interview on afterellen.com
- Hesta Prynn Talks Horror Movies at BloodyDisgusting.com
- Hesta Prynn feature in Foam Magazine
- NME Ten Tracks You Have to Hear This Week
