Longtime agents Steve Martin and Andy Somers have launched a new agency -- Paladin Artists -- after leaving APA earlier this year. The agency is established founded in strategic partnership with Wayne Forte's Entourage Talent Associates and Karrie Goldberg's The Kagency.
Paladin Artists will focus on music touring, live events, theater, literary representation, touring exhibitions and estate management and is being described as a "nascent company of prominent, passionate agents who have come together as a community, committed to deliver their client’s visions to the fullest capacity, with offices in New York, Los Angeles and London."
The strategic partnerships bring "something unique and valuable to both Paladin’s artists and business," a press release reads, noting that Entourage Talent, established by Forte in 1993, is a true "boutique" talent agency and consulting firm clients that include Tedeschi Trucks Band, and guitar legends Joe Satriani and Steve Hackett. Forte is a founding member of The National Independent Talent Association (NITO), which advocated for the successful passage of the Save Our Stages Act.
The Kagency, founded by in 2004, built one of the first venue representation businesses in North America "focused solely on handling the corporate/private event, film and photo bookings for their clients," a release reads, hosting "a roster of major recording artists and other notable celebrities for their corporate contracts with diverse roster of clients," including Nike, Givenchy, Duran Duran and Beyonce to Cartier, Under Armour, Maserati and Vogue.
“The world has been through hell for the last 18 months with many places and people still struggling. I’m simply grateful to work with people I like and artists that I respect, enjoy and have fruitful relationships with,” says Martin. "Many were able to take a step back during the shutdown and evaluate what is important, be it personal or business. The industry is rapidly evolving and will continue to do so in the post-pandemic world.”
Somers added, “Paladin, Entourage and The Kagency share similar visions and will each benefit by the sharing of information, experiences, and common goals; exploring new means of improving the future of artist and brand representation while remaining independent at a controllable scale of operation.”
Paladin’s inaugural team includes agents Chyna Chuan-Farrell, Seth Rappaport, Steve Ferguson, Kath Buckell, Magaly Barone, Sara Schilevert and Christian Ellett.
“This pandemic has highlighted how short life truly is," says Forte. “So, why not work with people and clients one genuinely likes and with whom one shares similar visions and philosophies?"
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
