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“We’re all just really close friends who were right with each other when we all like started learning and discovering who we all individually were as artists”
Since the release of their first single, ‘eastside w my dogs’ in June 2025, WHATMORE have seen a rapid rise. With nearly 300k followers across their social platforms and over 220k monthly listeners on Spotify, the New York five-piece are building momentum at a pace that feels impossible to ignore.
Fresh from completing a UK and European tour supporting Joey Valence and Brae, the group are now gearing up for festival season, carrying with them the kind of energy that defines a new generation of musicians. Entirely self-shaped, WHATMORE craft everything from their in-house promo campaigns to their music videos, pairing nostalgia-soaked visuals with genre-blurring sounds that feel both chaotic and carefully considered. Their world is one where creativity has no hierarchy, where even a rogue motion director can turn a porta potty into an office.
At the centre of it all is friendship. What began as a group of close friends discovering themselves as artists has evolved into one of the most exciting emerging acts to watch. In an exclusive interview with PAUSE Magazine, WHATMORE reflect on the whirlwind of the past few months, the creativity that drives them collectively, and how they navigate influence, legacy and comparison while carving out a world entirely their own.
Interview and Words: Satine Miles | @satineyaz
PHOTO CREDIT: COLORSxSTUDIOS
Last month you guys played the Gobi stage at Coachella, a stage that has a capacity of up to 10,000 people at a historic festival! What was that like for you guys?
Jackson August: It was definitely a trip, I mean for sure the biggest stage that we’ve played on so it’s already a dream, like, Coachella is like one of the biggest festivals in the world so… I mean we’re blessed and like we’re feeling that every day. Even like, being out here in Europe, it’s like a crazy thing to experience, you know with all the homies.
Cisco Swank: Yeah, it was fun to have all that space to play with.
One of the features that I think really makes you guys stand out as a group and what actually drew my attention to you guys in the first place, was the promo videos and music videos you create. How does it work as a group when creating videos like the Coachella promo and the 2000s Pop Punk RnB video?
Jackson August: It usually starts with an idea. I keep loads of notes on my phone because growing up in New York, you naturally run into the funniest interactions. Whether it’s on the subway, in the deli, wherever, there’s always something happening. I’ll write those moments down and ideas kind of grow from there. Then we all start spitballing together. The first skit we made, the one in the diner with the homeless guy, was inspired by all the music industry bullshit we’d been dealing with at the time, like label meetings and stuff. It became this hyperbolic version of everything we were experiencing. When it worked, we were like, ‘LOL, how far can we actually push this?’ The Coachella one was definitely the most ridiculous.
That was one of my favourites, I liked the porta potty.
Yeah, that was just like… can we do this? We were like, fuck it. So that one was funny as hell. We kind of wanted to be like, we’re going to LA, we’re stepping out of our element, into this super superficial stereotype of LA, you know? I mean, we do it all ourselves. Cisco colours it, I edit it, and me and Yoshi write a lot of it. It’s definitely a huge collaborative effort on our end, and we basically do it all in-house.
I think you guys are really funny, and that really comes across in all the promo videos.
Jackson August: “Who’s the funniest though?”
I’m saying the homeless man from the first one. A Sides / A Sides, featuring their two new singles ‘Still Loiteringgg’ and ‘2000s Pop Punk RnB’, was released in March. Alongside the release, the promo video racked up around 410k views. How did it feel receiving such a positive reaction on your first release following your debut album?
Cisco Swank: “So great. We put a lot of time and effort into making the music and figuring out what it was going to look like, so it’s cool seeing it be received by people and knowing people like it. We’re very grateful. But we take nothing for granted. Even if one person watched it, we would still be overjoyed.”
I loved the music videos for both singles too. You worked with Sean Kaufman from The Summer I Turned Pretty, which I thought was really cool.
Jackson August: “You want the lore?”
Elijah Judah: “Well, first of all, Sean went to LaGuardia High School with all of us. He was in the same grade and year, so we’d always seen him around. He was kind of a mutual friend of ours. But I also went to summer camp and college with him.”
Jackson August: “Me and Yoshi went to middle school with him too.”
Elijah Judah: “Yeah, so we’re all really good buddies with him.”
Jackson August: “So we kind of have him from all angles. We were like, ‘Please be in our music video.’”
Elijah Judah: “It wasn’t even like that. They were just like, ‘You should hit up Sean,’ and I texted him. He was immediately like, ‘Yes’.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Razy Faouri
As a group of five, with all of you also working on solo projects, how do you balance your individual styles while still creating a cohesive sound together?
Elijah Judah: “We’re all really close friends, and we were around each other while we were still figuring out who we were individually as artists. Even our solo music has always been collaborative in some way, so we all know what each person brings to the table. A lot of it just comes down to friendship and chemistry. We’ve known each other for such a long time that when we come together, it kind of naturally happens.”
Keeping those individual identities feels important musically, but when it comes to fashion and personal style, what influences you most?
Sebastiano: “Growing up in New York shaped a lot of it. We were always looking at artists, actors and the culture around us. A few of us were sneakerheads growing up too, so street fashion was a big influence.”
Elijah Judah: “Going to a performing arts school definitely played a part as well. People really took risks with fashion there, it almost felt like an event some days. It gave us space to experiment and figure out our own personal taste.”
Jackson August: “I think everyone’s also really confident in their own style. There’s overlap between all of us, but everyone wears things their own way. I’ve always leaned more towards preppy influences mixed with streetwear, whereas Yoshi might go more into oversized hip-hop silhouettes. We all kind of cross over, but everyone feels comfortable owning their thing.”
It’s 2057 and the WHATMORE movie is in cinemas. Who’s playing each of you, and who’s directing?
Jackson August: “Robert De Niro is still alive…”
Sebastiano: “Robert De Niro’s directing?!”
Jackson August: “I was gonna say Timothée Chalamet for me.”
Sebastiano: “I want Danny DeVito to play me.”
Cisco Swank: “Either Michael B. Jordan or Jaden Smith.”
Elijah Judah: “I think I’d have to play myself.”
Jackson August: “This would be so fire.”
Your music is emerging during such a saturated time online, both musically and socially. What do you think makes WHATMORE stand out, and how do you deal with comparisons to groups that came before you?
Jackson August: “It’s hard to exist online and avoid comparisons, but I’ve kind of made peace with it. We’re all super jazz and classically trained musicians, and a lot of us play multiple instruments, so I think that background naturally shapes what we do. A lot of the groups we get compared to are artists I genuinely love and am inspired by, so it’s all love. But I think we’ve all put a lot of hours into music outside of just WHATMORE, and that’s something special we bring to the table.”
So where does the inspiration behind the music come from?
Yoshi T: “Demi Lovato.”
Cisco Swank: “Life, honestly. Everything becomes a song. You wake up, eat food, meet someone, dream about something, it can all turn into music. Even when you’re inspired by another song, that song came from life too.”
Elijah Judah: “And we’re always chasing that feeling of hearing something new. Someone will come into the studio like, ‘Yo, I just heard this crazy song,’ and then we’ll experiment with whatever risk or idea inspired us.”
If you got the chance to do something like a Triple J cover or a BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, what song would you pick?
Elijah Judah: “Something from Camp Rock or the Jonas Brothers.”
Jackson August: “‘Year 3000’ would go crazy.”
Cisco Swank: “Or the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato together.”
Jackson August: “‘Wouldn’t Change a Thing’ from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. We’re dead serious.”
You’ve also been intentional about bringing your music directly to fans through DIY shows in New York. In the UK right now, grassroots venues are disappearing because of rising costs. How important have those spaces been for your career?
Elijah Judah: “So important. Small, accessible shows are what build communities. That’s why we were really big on doing free DIY shows, because people shouldn’t miss out on live music just because they can’t afford it. Concerts should be accessible. We’d love to support grassroots venues in the UK however we can.”
Jackson August: “We want to do a show in a chicken shop one day.”
You need to go to Morley’s. But so far, how have UK crowds responded to the tour?
Sebastiano: “Really well. A lot of people didn’t even know there was an opener, but they’ve been showing us so much love after the shows.”
Jackson August: “We were talking to Joey Valence and Brae about it because some fans have been telling us it’s their first concert ever. Hearing that in places like Liverpool is crazy.”
Finally, you guys have had such a huge rise already. What’s next for WHATMORE?
Sebastiano: “More music, more shows, festivals. We’re playing Lollapalooza.”
Jackson August & Elijah Judah: “Reading and Leeds Festivals!”
Jackson August: “More A-sides coming soon.”
I’d love to see you headline London soon.
Jackson August: “That might happen sooner than you think.”
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PHOTO CREDIT: @whatmoreeee
