For our final Guest Curator piece of the year, I wholeheartedly believe that we have truly saved the absolute best for last. When Early Rising started, our goal for this specific series was to highlight the creatives who play a huge role in the careers and lives of the artists we love. Not everyone can sing the song and not everyone gets to be on the cover art, but it is imperative to point out that the final product that we get to see is often times thanks to the amazing teams behind the scenes.
Although 2020 was a blur, there are a group of Southern California based individuals who made an undeniable mark on the tumultuous year. If you haven’t heard of Ourros, odds are you have, you just probably didn’t know you did. Up and coming artists like Contradash, Joe Avio, Sally Boy, Hong Kong Boyfriend and Jhune have been the talk of the town when it comes to promising stars and besides the fact that they are all extremely talented, they all share something in common that has played a factor into their early success; The 5 of them all belong to the artist incubating system that is Ourros.
Now a days, one of the most difficult feats in the industry is figuring out how to successfully develop an artist while bringing their creative vision to life. What is a difficult task for some has proven to become an exciting part of their company make up. What started off as a group of friends dabbling in music videos has quickly turned into a fully-functioning creative studio and artist management company. Spearheaded by the Founding Partners, Sean Lewow, John Van Liere, Zeb Berg, Eddie Mandell, Cade Laranang, Nick Scully and Lewis Caldwell, Ourros has grown into a group of USC students who are aiming to make their mark on this industry through helping the artists who are most special to them. The rest of the team consists of Chris Begler, Ariel Birkenruth, Ava Doorley, Leila Kashfi, Talia Garg, Mitch Zaic and Kitty Huang.
From their inception, Ourros has specialized in being able to not only identify the best of the best when it comes to early talent but also being able to support + develop it to the point of stardom. Already this year, they have successfully launched the career os some of the industry’s most talked about artists and its all thanks to their detail oriented approach, passion for serving and family driven dynamic. Over the past few months, I’ve gotten the chance to spend time with a lot of the Ourros crew (Sean Lewow, John Van Liere, Zeb Berg, Sally Boy, HKBF, Jhune etc) and the moment you walk in a room with these people, it is evident not only how much they love each other, but how much they love championing great art.
A truly selfless organization that has done nothing but inspired, it is our pleasure to bring them on to our page as this week’s guest curator. I’ve attached some of their best work from the artists they work with, so make sure you check these out and bask in the brilliance that is Ourros.
