Active for almost ten years, L.A. Symphony comprises a core of five MCs backed by a rotating cast of DJs and producers. Despite the group’s geographical origins, tales of lowriders and pimps are eschewed in favor of a more intellectual approach. Still, Los Angeles’s cultural legacy permeates every song. The…
Born in Trinidad to a violinist father and a mother who worked as a piano teacher, Othello Molineaux was unsurprisingly turned on to music at a very young age. After learning piano as a child, he moved onto the steelpan, a pitched percussion instrument native to Trinidad and Tobago, which…
Performing as Hydroplane since 2003, Renzo Gorrio produces a mix of experimental hip-hop, electronica, and weird shit thrown in with some handclaps and whoop-whoops. This particular musical endeavor (Gorrio is also active in live music, such as the recently sadly-winding-down Objects in Transit and the new project Late Night Curly)…
When Gil Scott-Heron spit “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” in 1970, he was condemning crass commercialization. Fast-forward 36 years and Scott-Heron’s message has been remixed for modern sensibilities. Spoken-word artist/underground promoter Chris Imperial, of the Grassroots Collective, and director Ean Smith are filming an artistic revolution of their own…
The eclectic and eccentric Diplo seems to defy classification with genre-splicing tracks that lace reggae-styled vocals over Eighties hip-hop beats — not to mention his contrasting work spinning party mixes as half of the Hollertronix collective and his production of an instrumental hip-hop record. Much like his prehistoric namesake (taken…
In less than three scant years, Matthew Dear has gone from unknown Texas-born bedroom producer to international techno heartthrob both for his boyishly handsome looks and his otherworldly music (recorded under his own name as well as pseudonyms Audion, Jabberjaw, and False for top labels like Ghostly International, Plus 8,…
Indiana has produced some unusual stars, including the Jackson Family and Axl Rose. Though these music giants share something in common with one of the state’s main crops (they’re corny), Indianapolis’s lesser-known good ol’ boys Up! Scumbag have taken a decidedly less commercial road. The trio has stayed true to…
During his ten-year career, jazz singer Kurt Elling has released six albums, and all have been nominated for Grammys. Renowned for his original compositions as well as his modern interpretations of standards, Elling has the unique ability to add meaningful lyrics to already meaningful works by jazz greats such as…
Nine years ago, Gustavo Cerati was preparing to leave the Argentine pop-rock band that put his name among the more influential singer-songwriters to come out of Latin America — ever. Curiously enough, though the market in the region hasn’t quite found the proper substitute for the sense of controlled adventure…
Let’s face it: DJ Rap knows she’s smokin’ hot, both on and off the decks. The veteran British drum ‘n’ bass mixologist/producer/actress had her confidence game all set early on in her career, when she named her own independent label Proper Talent Records. But as people have tried to force…
Former Awesome New Republic member Michael John Hancock is back in Miami’s limelight with his new solo act, John Hancock ANR. Describing his latest tunes as dance, folk, rock and roll, and R&B, Hancock isn’t shying away from any genre. “Basically I put it all in a pot and see…
Despite deeming themselves progressive, the members of AGHORA appeal to those of the death-metal old school, those who like their guitar dirges irony- and humor-free. Lead vocalist Diana Serra very seriously suggested the staff at this newspaper wasn’t heavy enough to fathom AGHORA, saying, “Perhaps you should send someone from…
Mariah Carey. Glitter. No other combination of words evokes images of four-inch stilettos, dresses of about the same length, and a near-shattering fall from grace quite like those three. The past few turbulent years in Carey’s career have made it difficult to believe that one of the media’s biggest punching…
After a summer of touring behind their new full-length album, the twee-poppers of Miami’s Baby Calendar return to finish where their journey began — at Churchill’s. There the bandmates hosted a CD-release party in May for their third LP, Gingerbread Dog, and then went on a nearly three-month trek of…
After releasing countless EPs, Dominic Angus has made a name for himself as the harder and more experimental voice of dance music. Performing under the name Dom and Roland (Roland referring to Angus’s drum machine) for the past ten years, Angus has always followed a darker style, especially when compared…
Though he has only recently released his second album, Beto Hale has been a musician nearly his entire life. Performing at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City when he was eleven, Hale got an early start crafting his unique blend of pop-punk, Brit-pop, and New Wave. He learned the drums…
What makes the Lawrences an unusual punk band, aside from their conceptual albums and duet-style vocals, is their fierce hatred of the Warped Tour (and not because the group hasn’t been invited to it). The band played on the tour in 2002 and was kicked off for criticizing the tour…
Ryan Cabrera began his musical career in Texas playing guitar in a noisy punk band before discovering Dave Matthews and deciding he wanted to make music that sounded softer, trading electric for acoustic and forming alt-rock band Rubic’s Groove. The band grew popular in Dallas, opening for acts like Cheap…
Rapping and singing love-torn lyrics over jazz-tinged guitars and hip-hop beats on “Ms. Used” — the first track on Tiffany Miranda’s debut album, I Speak Music — Miranda has a genuine knack for blending R&B, jazz, and hip-hop into something refreshingly different. Now living in Miami, Miranda was born in…
Jamaican-born Eddie Kirkland has toured with Otis Redding, performed with John Lee Hooker, and has played guitar during a televised performance while standing on his head. Brought up in Alabama, Kirkland learned guitar, harmonica, and vocals before moving to Detroit, where he first met and recorded with Hooker in 1943…
Bandleader, singer, composer, trombonist, Grammy winner, political activist, and living legend Willie Colón has done it all. He cut his first album, El Malo, at the age of seventeen with vocalist Héctor Lavoe, another artist with a now-legendary resumé. El Malo helped define the “New York sound” — known today…
Zac Brown is a younger Jimmy Buffett, assuming Buffett traded his margarita for a beer and hung out with bikers. The lead singer and guitarist of the Zac Brown Band, Brown belts out sentimental lyrics with a hint of a Southern drawl over catchy, acoustic guitar notes and the backing…
