In this special episode of LaunchLeft, guest host Thurston Moore launches rising artist Devon Ross to celebrate the release of her new EP, Pinups. The project—a four-song digital release on Moore’s Daydream Library Series—reimagines classic tracks through Ross’s raw, minimalist, and emotionally charged lens.

From analog nostalgia to DIY recording techniques, this conversation dives deep into Ross’s creative process, musical influences, and the timeless power of reinterpretation. Then, listeners will be treated to ‘Killer’, the song that first put Devon Ross on Thurston Moore’s radar.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:
✅ The story behind Devon Ross’s EP Pinups and its stripped-down, home-recorded sound

✅ How artists like Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, and Randy Newman shaped Devon’s musical identity

✅ Tension between convenience and connection in modern music consumption

✅ Why cover songs can be acts of discovery, not imitation

✅ Ross’s approach to recording entirely solo using minimal tools (even a phone drum app)

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TIMESTAMPS:  

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

💎Devon Ross approaches cover songs not as replicas, but as reinterpretations that reflect her own artistic voice. By maintaining the emotional core while reshaping the sonic landscape, she creates something that feels both familiar and entirely new. 

💎Despite being part of a digital-native generation, Devon deeply values analog music culture—vinyl records, CDs, and physical collections. This influence shapes not only her listening habits but also her artistic sensibility, grounding her sound in timeless traditions. 

💎Devon recorded Pinups entirely on her own, using minimal equipment—including a drum machine app on her phone. This stripped-down process allowed for complete creative control and emotional authenticity. This kind of intimacy often translates into a more compelling and honest listening experience.

💎Great songwriting transcends decades, whether it’s Buddy Holly in the 1950s or Randy Newman in the 1970s. Devon gravitates toward songs with strong emotional resonance, proving that simplicity and sincerity remain powerful across generations.

💎While Pinups is a focused, intimate project, Devon hints at a bigger, louder, and more fully realized full-length album on the horizon. The groundwork laid by this EP reflects her evolving confidence and artistic clarity. 

ABOUT THE GUEST: 

Thurston Moore started Sonic Youth in 1980. Since then Thurston Moore has been at the forefront of the alternative rock scene since that particular sobriquet was first used to signify any music that challenged and defied the mainstream standard.

With Sonic Youth, Moore turned on an entire generation to the value of experimentation in rock n roll – from its inspiration on a nascent Nirvana, to Sonic Youth’s own Daydream Nation album being chosen by the US Library of Congress for historical preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2006.

Thurston records and performs in a cavalcade of disciplines ranging from free improvisation to acoustic composition to black/white metal/noise disruption. He has worked with Yoko Ono, John Zorn, Bobby Gillespie, David Toop, Cecil Taylor, John Paul Jones, Faust, Glenn Branca and many others. His residency at the Louvre in Paris included collaborations with Irmin Schmidt of CAN and Stephen O’Malley. Alongside his various activities in the musical world, he is involved with publishing and poetry, and teaches writing at The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, Boulder CO, a programme founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman in 1974. Thurston also teaches music at The Rhythmic Music Conservatory (Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium) in Copenhagen.

Presently Thurston Moore resides in London. He performs and records solo, with various ensembles and in his own band, The Thurston Moore Group. 

Devon Ross is a model, actress, musician, and poet who splits her time between London and Los Angeles. Born in Toronto, Ross grew up touring with her father, Lenny Kravitz's guitarist Craig Ross. Music has always been a defining part of her life, and she started playing guitar as a teenager. 

RESOURCES:

LaunchLeft Podcast Smart Link

GUEST RESOURCES: 

THURSTON MOORE LINKS:

https://www.thurstonmoore.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thurstonmoore58/

https://www.facebook.com/ThurstonMooreOfficial/

DEVON ROSS LINKS:

https://www.instagram.com/devonross