The music of indie singer-songwriter Flint Eastwood is inextricably linked to her home city of Detroit – it’s rich musical heritage, its struggles, its transformations and its ever-present, collaborative, creative community. A community that Flint Eastwood is not only a key member of but one she has helped foster.
“Detroit is an amazing place,” Flint Eastwood, real name Jax Anderson, tells Music Feeds. “There has always been an amazing creative community that believes in Detroit and that has always existed there. What my generation of artists is doing isn’t replacing or overriding OG creatives, we’re using their influence and their genius and learning from it. Places like Northern Lights where you can see jazz greats and Paramita Sound where you can run into some incredible producers are some great spots to start with.”
Another place where this creativity thrives is Assemble Sound, an 1870s church that, in 2015, Anderson repurposed into a recording compound and creative hub for Detroit musicians. “Our main goal is to encourage Detroit artists to work together and to give touring artists a place to create while they’re passing through,” says Anderson.
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It was in this space that Anderson crafted Flint Eastwood’s new EP Broke Royalty, a release that directly draws on Detroit’s vast and varied musical legacy, from Motown to techno to punk rock. As a Motor City native working on-ground to breathe life into the city’s artistic foundation, despite the serious economic challenges it has faced over the last decade, Flint Eastwood has shared with us the many reasons why music coming out of Detroit has been and always will be extraordinary.
Flint Eastwood On The Music Of Detroit
Detroit has always been a very musical city that never went away. A lot of legends still live in the city and have been creating all along – I can only speak about my current viewpoint of the Detroit music community and what has always made it great.
1. The Passion
Detroit artists are some of the most passionate creatives I’ve ever experienced. We don’t have a lot of outside influences since we’re so far from other major cities, & trends generally take a long time to get to us. Because of that we kind of say fuck it and do what we want.
2. The Authenticity
Again, Detroit artists don’t really care about trends – we care about authenticity and if what you’re doing is to push boundaries. If it does, we’ll fuck with you.
3. The Talent
Growing up around Detroit there really weren’t a lot of things to do besides creating things. It’s also pretty common to run into original Motown players and other legends while out around the city – seeing that kind of talent really pushes you to bust your ass and be who you want to be.
4. The Originality
Detroit is known for basically creating new genres of music – we’re known for birthing Techno, Motown and Garage Rock, to name a few. Growing up around those influences has bred a generation of artists that are open to and focused on creating something different.
5. The Community
Detroit’s creative community has become so accepting and accessible over the last few years. Everyone wants to help everyone with their projects and it’s a really beautiful thing. We all believe in each other and want to see each other succeed.
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Flint Eastwood’s ‘Broke Royalty’ EP is out now.
