Wednesday MidDay Medley TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
WMM Serves Music of Boulevardia + Chris Haghirian + KC Music Industry Commission
WMM spins music of the bands & artists playing Boulevardia 10. We’ll feature: Tech N9ne, The Greeting Committee, honestav, The Freedom Affair, Katy Guillen and The Drive, Kat King, Lorna Kay, The Creepy Jingles, Jamogi, Little Miss Dynamite, Flora From Kansas, TheBabeGabe, Shay Lyriq, Paris Williams, Dalima Kapten, Jackie Myers, Malek Azrael, and The Soul Activators. We’ll survey the music of Boulevardia 10, happening on Saturday, June 14, with 5 stages and over 45 bands/artists, celebrating Kansas City with the biggest urban street festival at Crown Center, 2396 Grand Boulevard, KCMO. To learn more about the Live Music, Silent Disco, Food Trucks, Beers & Seltzers, Yard Games, Maker’s Market, Canna Village, Monster Teeter-Totter, The Swifty Experience, and more, you can go to: http://www.boulevardia.com
At 10:00 Chris Haghirian joins us for the first 90 minutes of our show to share details about Boulevardia 10. Chris Haghirian is Host & Producer of Eight One Sixty, heard Tuesday nights at 6:00 PM, on 90.9 The Bridge. Chris studied Journalism / Advertising at The University of Kansas. Chris also studied Photography at Kansas City Art Institute. Chris worked for The Kansas City Star for over 20 years. Chris was co-founder of the Middle of The Map Fest. Chris works for Spray KC. Chris organizes multiple concert series throughout the metro, and music stages for Plaza Art Fair, as well as Boulvardia.
At 11:30 Mark talks with Meighan Peifer who taught for 33 years in public schools in Wyandotte and Johnson County and has operated the Federal Child Care Center in KCMO for 26 years. We also talk with James D. McGee Sr, Creative Director of Kansas City’s Mutual Musicians Foundation. Meighan and James will discuss The Kansas City Music Industry Commission formed in 2024 as a joint venture between Black Vine Worldwide Media Group, LLC and Black & White Enterprises, LLC. This initiative aims to create a central hub for the representation, support, and management of various stakeholders within the Kansas City music industry. The commission’s mission is to strengthen the local music ecosystem by supporting musicians, recording artists, studios, venues, managers, agents, marketers, publicists, and content creators. By collaborating with city government, private entities, and surrounding the Kansas City music industry.
On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org
Wednesday MidDay Medley TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
WMM presents: Ross Brown of Fullbloods + Run With It + Nathan Reusch & Zach Laman of KC Synthesizer Collective
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
Lady Blackbird – “Like A Woman” from: Slang Spirituals / Foundation Music Production / September 13, 2024 [Marley Munroe was born January 18, 1985. known professionally as Lady Blackbird, is an American-born jazz and soul singer-songwriter, working primarily in the United Kingdom. She has been described as “the Grace Jones of jazz”. // Munroe was raised in Farmington, New Mexico by a religious family and was encouraged by her parents to sing from a young age, first performing the national anthem at local basketball games and in church. By 12, she signed with a Christian record label based in Nashville, which resulted in work with the rap and rock trio DC Talk. This contract was in place until Munroe was aged 18 in around 2003, but she had realised by 16 that she did not identify fully with the Christian music world and decided to leave at the contract’s end. Munroe then became an independent musician, touring with DC Talk’s TobyMac and appearing on his first four solo albums, and doing sessions in New York City and Los Angeles. This included collaborations with notable artists such as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Sam Watters, Tricky Stewart and Louis Biancaniello. // Her next record deal was signed with Epic Records in 2013. Munroe released two pop-soul singles on the label, but left relatively soon afterward due to creative differences, as “Epic wanted more of an R&B direction.” Around this time, Munroe wrote and sang backing vocals for Anastacia’s 2014 single “Staring at the Sun”. // Following the end of her contract with Epic, Munroe began working with friend and Grammy-nominated producer Chris Seefried. In his LA studio, they experimented with jazz ballads, and recorded an original song called “Nobody’s Sweetheart” and an interpretation of the 1966 song “Blackbird” by Nina Simone, using a cappella vocals and then building the music around Munroe’s voice. The song inspired Munroe to take up the stage name Lady Blackbird, rather than using her real name as she had previously planned. // “Blackbird” was released in May 2020 as Munroe’s debut single under the Lady Blackbird moniker, bringing her to mainstream critical attention. Despite having been recorded a year earlier, its release coincided with the Black Lives Matter movement in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, bringing a sombre contemporary context to the song about Black womanhood. // Munroe signed to BMG Rights Management in July 2021. Her debut album, Black Acid Soul, a further collaboration with Seefried, was released on September 3, 2021, with physical editions released on January 28, 2022. The album bears a strong jazz influence and emphasis on pared-back vocals, with a number of covers and reinterpretations of songs from the 1960s and 70s. These include “Collage” by The James Gang, “It’ll Never Happen Again” by Tim Hardin, and “Wanted Dead or Alive” by The Voices of East Harlem. The title was coined by Seefried as a made-up sub-genre, and is also the name of the final track. // The album peaked at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart. It also entered the Official Jazz chart at Number One, as well as number 20 on the Vinyl chart. Three songs also hit number one on the UK Indie Breakers Chart through 2022 and 2023. A two-disc deluxe edition, containing five bonus tracks and some remixes, was released in October 2022. The singles “Feel It Comin” and “Woman” peaked at number 39 and 35, respectively, on the Official UK Top 40. // Black Acid Soul received a five-star review in The Guardian, with Alexis Petridis describing it as “musically understated, stark and rooted in jazz”. Petridis was “struck by the sense of an artist who’s finally found her calling” and noted, “these are songs and performances that burn deep into you.” // Following the album’s release, Munroe performed on a number of television shows, including The Graham Norton Show, The Jonathan Ross Show, and Radio 2’s Piano Room, as well as at numerous jazz festivals and supporting Gregory Porter on tour. //Munroe has said her second album Slang Spirituals is “about women’s empowerment”. // In 2023, producer Trevor Horn recorded a remake of Grace Jones’ “Slave to the Rhythm”, which he co-wrote, with Lady Blackbird on lead vocals. It was released on September 25 as the lead single from Horn’s album Echoes: Ancient & Modern.]
10:10 – TRAИƧA and otherwise
One of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken by the storied activist and music production non-profit Red Hot, TRAИƧA is a spiritual journey across eight chapters and 46 songs with over 100 artists contributing. The album spotlights the gifts of many of the most daring, imaginative trans and non-binary artists working today. This 6-LP Box Set spotlights many of the most daring, imaginative trans and non-binary artists working in music today. Many of the artists in this collective we have been featuring on WMM since our inception as a radio show. More info at: https://redhot.org/ From this new collection we are going to hear Lauren Auder + Wendy & Lisa – “I Would Die 4 U”
But first. a track that also quotes the lyrics of Prince, the new single is from Moses Sumney, Syd & Meshell Ndegeocello – “Hey Girl(s)”is a new version of “Hey Girl” from Moses Sumney’s 2024 EP Sophcore. “Hey Girl(s),” features Syd (of the Internet) and Meshell Ndegeocello. Ndegeocello said, “I was excited when Moses thought of me for this song because I love his voice, it’s just otherworldly, and this song spoke to me because of the way he pushes a romantic narrative into the future. It was a pleasure to get a glimpse into his process and an honor to be part of it.” // This year Meshell Ndegeocello won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album for – No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin. She’s the only artist ever to win the category, as she took home the trophy in 2024, too, for The Omnichord Real Book, when Best Alternative Jazz Album was handed out for the first time.
Moses Sumney, Syd & Meshell Ndegeocello – “Hey Girl(s)” from: Hey Girl (s) – Single / TUNTUN Records / February 5, 2025 [Moses Sumney has released a new version of his Sophcore song “Hey Girl.” The new song, called “Hey Girl(s),” features Syd (of the Internet) and Meshell Ndegeocello. In a statement, Ndegeocello said, “I was excited when Moses thought of me for this song because I love his voice, it’s just otherworldly, and this song spoke to me because of the way he pushes a romantic narrative into the future. It was a pleasure to get a glimpse into his process and an honor to be part of it.” // This year Meshell Ndegeocello won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album for No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin. She’s the only artist ever to win the category, as she took home the trophy in 2024, too, when it was handed out for the first time. // Written by Moses Sumney, Syd, Meshell Ndegeocello, Zach Cooper, Vic Dimotsis. Produced by Zach Cooper, Moses Sumney, King Garbage. Rhodes and Synths by Zach Cooper; Drums by Vic Dimotsis, Graham Jonson; Piano by Moses Sumney; Horns/Woodwinds by Hailey Niswanger; Guitar and Bass by Zach Cooper; and Percussion by Abe Rounds. Vocal Engineering by Beatriz Artola (Electric Lady Studios), Moses Sumney (Blackalachia Studios); Horn Engineering by Hailey Niswanger. Mixed by Ben Baptie and Chris Tabron. Mastered by Joe LaPorta (Sterling Sound) // Moses Sumney (born May 19, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. His self-recorded EP, Mid-City Island, was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled Lamentations. His first full-length album, Aromanticism, was released in September 2017. His second studio album, Græ, was released in 2020. Sumney has performed as an opening act for James Blake, Solange Knowles, and Sufjan Stevens. // Born in California, Sumney was raised by pastor parents, and moved with his family back to Ghana at the age of 10. He described his childhood as “Americanized” by this age and had difficulty adjusting to the culture of Ghana, especially the rural nature of his new environment. There he grew up on a goat farm in Accra and commuted by public bus to school. His family returned to Southern California when Sumney was 16, settling in Riverside. // He did not learn to play any instruments until he was older, writing a cappella music for years instead. Sumney did not perform his musical compositions publicly until he was 20. // >>> After high school, he moved to Los Angeles in 2010 to attend the University of California, Los Angeles. He majored in creative writing and studied poetry, which helped him improve his songwriting. // A singer, songwriter, and producer working in a variety of pop and folks styles, Syd was born Erin Sidney in Burlington, Vermont, where he started out first as a drummer before picking up the guitar at the age of 15. He began posting his music online and, gaining a fan base through his efforts, he moved to Boston and met drummer Jason Gardner while attending college. They decided to work together, and the two began recording Week Days, Weak Knees in Gardner’s apartment. Self-released, the record sold respectably and Syd began to up his performance schedule to promote the album. Many of his live performance recordings were traded by fans, which in turn helped spread his music even further. With his music career gathering momentum, Syd released his sophomore album, Fault Lines, in 2004, followed by The Way We Found It in 2007 and the Upswing EP in 2009. Syd has also been active as a producer and drummer, contributing to albums by Mia Dyson as well as performing and recording with Hotels & Highways, the Pullmen, and Radio Skies. In 2016, following a seven-year gap, Syd began issuing songs, one at a time, which eventually culminated in the 2017 full-length album, Easy Magic. ~ Bradley Torreano // >>> Meshell Ndegeocello is an unassuming colossus whose body of work extends far beyond the early hits and virtuosic bass playing with which she is most associated. “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night),” her taunting and funky breakout single, immediately set her apart as an instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Less than a year after the song entered Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop, dance, and pop charts, Ndegeocello was nominated for four Grammys, including Best R&B Album for Plantation Lullabies (1993) and Best Pop Vocal Collaboration for “Wild Night,” her Top Ten hit duet with John Mellencamp. Ndegeocello has remained impossible to typecast ever since. A preternatural synthesist, she has mixed and moved across jazz, blues, soul, funk, and reggae, as well as folk and rock. As a leader, she has alternated just as freely between small combos and large ensembles, and as a session musician and featured artist has written and recorded across an even wider spectrum of styles. In addition to her lithe and melodic primary instrument and vocals encompassing authoritative raps, pensive spoken word, and ethereal choruses, Ndegeocello has played keyboards, drums, and guitar, among other instruments. Foremost among the many highlights in her catalog are three additional Grammy-nominated albums: the oft-pointed and probing Peace Beyond Passion (1996), the imaginative covers set Ventriloquism (2018), and the wide-scoped Omnichord Real Book (2023), the latter of which marked her Blue Note debut and took the first Grammy for Best Alternative Jazz Album. The following year, Ndegeocello was behind the Sun Ra tribute Red Hot & Ra: The Magic City and No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin. // Michelle Lynn Johnson was born in Berlin and raised primarily in Washington, D.C. Her father Jacques Johnson was a U.S. Army sergeant major, educator, and tenor saxophonist who played extensively in army bands and recorded several albums. Interested in a wide range of music, the younger Johnson began to play bass in and around D.C. in her teens, performing with go-go bands such as Rare Essence, Prophecy, and Little Benny & the Masters. She graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts and studied music at Howard University before moving to Harlem. In New York, she played in clubs, auditioned for Living Colour (the role went to Doug Wimbish), and contributed to 1991-1993 recordings by the Lenny White-produced group Voyceboxing, saxophonist Steve Coleman, and singers Toshi Kubota and Caron Wheeler. During this period, Johnson was on the brink of quitting music and had enrolled in barber college when her otherwise ignored solo demo attracted a deal with Maverick, the Warner-distributed label launched by Madonna. // Having been credited for her session work under Me’Shelle, Meshell Johnson, and Me’Shell NdegéOcello, Johnson settled on the latter with the Swahili word for “free like a bird” as her last name. Her solo album debut was made in October 1993 with Plantation Lullabies. From the start, Ndegeocello showed a natural disinclination for conforming to industry genre designations, freely blending funk, jazz, and hip-hop with mature contemporary R&B. Ndegeocello produced the entirety of the album with David Gamson (Scritti Politti), André Betts (Madonna’s “Justify My Love”), and Bob Power (A Tribe Called Quest) alternating as co-producers. Veteran musicians such as Wah Wah Watson, Geri Allen, and Bill Summers were involved as much as younger contributors like Joshua Redman and DJ Premier. In addition to her fluid and melodic basslines, Plantation Lullabies displayed Ndegeocello’s aptitude for both singing and rapping and ease with switching from confrontational to seductive modes. It also showed Ndegeocello as a lyrical firebrand confronting racism and related issues such as beauty standards and the faults of capitalism. “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night),” its most attitudinal and energetic single, reached number 23 on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart, number 20 on the dance chart, and cracked the Hot 100, peaking at number 73. While that song was taking hold, John Mellencamp released his cover of Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” with Ndegeocello on bass and co-lead vocals. The duet went to number three on the Hot 100. Ndegeocello was subsequently nominated for four Grammys: Best R&B Album, Best Rhythm & Blues Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (both for “If That’s Your Boyfriend”), and Best Pop Vocal Collaboration (for “Wild Night”). // Almost three years passed between the release of Ndegeocello’s first and second albums. During the interim, she was heard on albums by Madonna, Marcus Miller, and Guru, among others, and appeared on soundtracks and compilations ranging from Higher Learning and Panther to the Red Hot Organization project Stolen Moments, joined on the latter by Herbie Hancock. Peace Beyond Passion, Ndegeocello’s second full-length, was produced by main Plantation Lullabies collaborator David Gamson and made with many of the same associates. Leaner and more atmospheric qualities distinguished it from the debut. The set, which added Gene Lake (drums), Wendy Melvoin (guitar), Billy Preston (organ), and Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet) to the Ndegeocello collaborative mix, saw release in June 1996 and peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 63, considerably higher than the debut. Along with originals as provocative as their titles indicated — “Deuteronomy: Nggerman,” “Leviticus: Fggot,” and so forth — Peace Beyond Passion contained a cover of Bill Withers’ “Who Is He (And What Is He to You?)” that topped Billboard’s dance chart. At the 39th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, Peace Beyond Passion was up for Best R&B Album, and Chaka Khan’s November 1996 single “Never Miss the Water,” featuring Ndegeocello on bass and secondary vocals, was nominated in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. // Busying herself with more soundtrack and session activity, Ndegeocello again took three years to deliver another album. In addition to appearances on Batman & Robin and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, she recorded with an assortment of artists including the Rolling Stones, Queen Pen, and Scritti Politti. Bitter, on which she was billed as Meshell Ndegéocello, arrived in August 1999. Downcast, reflective, and organic with sympathetic production from Craig Street, Ndegeocello’s third album was bolstered by instrumental support from the likes of Wendy & Lisa, along with guitarists Ronny Drayton, David Torn, and Doyle Bramhall II. It was also notable for setting off a long-term association with bassist and guitarist Chris Bruce. While only “Grace” was promoted as a single, “Beautiful” and “Fool of Me,” and a version of Jimi Hendrix’s “May This Be Love” draped with strings, became some of Ndegeocello’s best-known ballads. Bitter’s release was trailed by more soundtracks and collaborations. Albums from Indigo Girls, John Mellencamp, Ledisi, Joe Henry, and Lamb arrived from late 1999 through the first half of 2002 with Ndegeocello the common factor. // After a few delays, Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape, recorded in mid-2001 with Ndegeocello and Allen Cato as co-producers, landed in June 2002. It marked the simplification of the musician’s name with the dropping of the accent from Ndegéocello. Threaded with sampled spoken passages from the likes of Dick Gregory, Gil Scott-Heron, and Angela Davis, Cookie was also packed with similarly sharp, often rapped critiques from Ndegeocello herself, leading with “Dead N*gga Blvd.,” a song targeting hollow gestures and the perpetuation of racist stereotypes, among other issues, with a call to “redefine what it means to be free.” Caron Wheeler and Lalah Hathaway supplied some of the LP’s additional vocals, while the single “Pocketbook” was remixed by Rockwilder and Missy Elliott with appearances from Redman and Tweet. Cookie became Ndegeocello’s second album to crack the upper half of the Billboard 200, and it was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Contemporary R&B Album. The following October, Ndegeocello closed out the Maverick era with the sensual Comfort Woman. Its liquid funk and reggae grooves, anchored by Ndegeocello’s bass and Chris Dave’s drums, were co-produced by Cato. // Setting up temporarily with the Shanachie label, Ndegeocello moved forward with The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel. A significant departure, the exploratory and entirely self-composed set was rooted in jazz and primarily instrumental. Ndegeocello opted to not sing, leaving its few vocal turns to Cassandra Wilson, Lalah Hathaway, and Sabina Sciubba, and shared bass duties with Matthew Garrison. Also among the shifting personnel was drummer Jack DeJohnette, saxophonist Oliver Lake, and clarinetist Don Byron. Dance of the Infidel was the leader’s first album to register on Billboard’s jazz chart, reaching number nine upon release in June 2005, and was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Instead of remaining in that stylistic mode, Ndegeocello continued to keep listeners on their toes with album seven, The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams. Had it not been preceded by a rumbling cover of Radiohead’s “The National Anthem” and a Grammy-nominated radical reworking of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Fantasy,” it would have likely surprised her entire fanbase. The fruit of another one-album label affiliation — this time with Decca — The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams ranged in approach from the confrontational and driving rock of “The Sloganeer” to the lovelorn folk of “Shirk,” featuring Pat Metheny and Hervé Samb on guitar, and a secondary vocal from Oumou Sangare. // Ndegeocello capped the 2000s in October 2009 with Devil’s Halo, recorded for Downtown Music subsidiary Mercer Street. One of her tightest and most rock-oriented albums, it was made with a core backing band of Deantoni Parks (drums), Chris Bruce (guitar), and Keefus Ciancia (keyboards), and was filled with candid songwriting, as well as a longing cover of Ready for the World’s “Love You Down.” She then settled in with the Paris-based Naïve label for four projects. The same trio of players backed her for the first of these, Weather, a collaboration with Joe Henry that arrived in November 2011. Along with the fraught “Dirty World” and strutting “Petite Mort” were spare readings of Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel” and Soul Children’s deep Stax gem “Don’t Take My Kindness for Weakness.” Next, in October 2012, Ndegeocello detoured again with Pour Une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone, interpretations of songs Nina Simone either wrote or covered herself, from Simone and Weldon Irvine’s “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” to Cohen’s “Suzanne.” Parks, Bruce, and keyboardist Jebin Bruni backed Ndegeocello, who shared lead vocals with the likes of Sinéad O’Connor, Toshi Reagon, Lizz Wright, and Valerie June. Comet, Come to Me followed in June 2014. Drummer Earl Harvin joined Bruni and Bruce as primary support, and Doyle Bramhall II contributed vocals and guitar to two songs. Stylistically, Comet, Come to Me picked up where Weather left off, highlighted by probing soul-blues-rock hybrids like “Conviction,” the rootsier “Good Day Bad,” and a creative update of Whodini’s “Friends.” It was the eighth album Ndegeocello placed on the Billboard 200, and her tenth on the R&B/hip-hop chart. The Naïve phase concluded in March 2018 with Ventriloquism. An imaginative all-covers set with Abe Rounds on drums, it refreshed songs dating mostly from the ’80s, including Prince and Wendy & Lisa’s “Sometimes It Snows in April,” Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s “I Wonder If I Take You Home,” and the System’s “Don’t Disturb the Groove.” Ventriloquism was up for a Grammy in the category of Best Urban Contemporary Album. // During the years Ndegeocello was on Naïve, she contributed to a wide assortment of additional sessions led by the likes of Victor Wooton, Robert Glasper, Chris Connelly, Ibeyi, and Marc Ribot. Moreover, she produced Jason Moran’s All Rise: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller and Marcus Strickland’s Nihil Novi, a pair of Blue Note dates. That activity continued in 2020, throughout which Ndegeocello factored in material from Joan as Police Woman, Pat Metheny, and Lakecia Benjamin, and also Glasper. “Better Than I Imagined,” pairing Ndegeocello with H.E.R. for Glasper’s Black Radio III, was the winner of that year’s Grammy for Best R&B Song. Additional Ndegeocello collaborations from 2021 to 2023 occurred on projects from Antonio Sanchez, Brandee Younger, and Sam Gendel. During this period, Ndegeocello covered “Fantastic Voyage” for the David Bowie tribute album Modern Love. // Tightening her association with Blue Note, Ndegeocello signed with the historic label for her 13th album. The Omnichord Real Book, a double-length set of genre-spanning work on which she was joined by the likes of Moran, Younger, and Jeff Parker, with Josh Johnson as producer, was released in June 2023. It was her first set of primarily original material in almost a decade. It won the inaugural Grammy for Best Alternative Jazz Album eight months after arrival. The Red Hot Organization recruited Ndegeocello to curate the 2024 benefit project Red Hot & Ra: The Magic City. The nine-song benefit set — featuring all originals by the curator and her collaborators inspired by Sun Ra — was released that April. Its cast included jazz luminaries such as nonagenarian saxophonist Marshall Allen (current leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra), drummer Deantoni Parks, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, and saxophonist/vocalist Darius Jones. Ndegeocello then returned on Blue Note with No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, an extension of a theatrical production she presented at Harlem Stage in 2016. The August 2024 release of No More Water coincided with writer/activist Baldwin’s 100th birthday. ~ Andy Kellman]
Lauren Auder + Wendy & Lisa – “I Would Die 4 U” from: TRAИƧA / Red Hot / November 22, 2024 [One of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken by the storied activist and music production non-profit Red Hot, TRAИƧA is a spiritual journey across eight chapters and 46 songs with over 100 artists contributing. The album spotlights the gifts of many of the most daring, imaginative trans and non-binary artists working today. // Dust Reid, who led production on Red Hot’s 2014 tribute to Arthur Russell, and Massima Bell, an artist and activist based in Los Angeles, began tracing the contours of what would become TRAИƧA together in 2021. The two producers originally met at a video shoot in upstate New York, and immediately bonded over their shared love of Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s music, as well as a common devotional connection to nature. // The passing of SOPHIE, the pathbreaking electronic producer who died in January 2021, galvanized the producers and focused their work. “We started talking about all the gifts that trans artists have been giving to the world, and wanted to create a Red Hot project that centered and celebrated those gifts,” says Reid. “We hoped to create a narrative that positions trans and non-binary people as leaders in our society insofar as the deep inner work they do to affirm who they are in our current climate. We felt this is something everybody should do. Whether you identify as trans or non-binary or otherwise, if you took the time to explore your gender, get in touch with the feeling side of yourself, maybe we would have a future oriented around values of community, collaboration, care, and healing.” // Bell and Reid began conceiving of the album as a spiritual journey in eight chapters, a mirror of the original eight-stripe rainbow pride flag. The narrative begins at the earliest awareness of consciousness; moves through awakening, trauma, and grief; and arrives at liberation and continual reinvention. “One thing trans people do all the time is turn grief into possibility,” says Bell. “Living under the ongoing Western binary system, trans people reveal maps of possibility for everyone. It’s something that we can all learn from – expanding the possibility of human life.” Each chapter begins with a “chapter track,” kicking off a collection of songs that speak to that chapter’s theme. // As the producers began inviting musicians to contribute to TRAИƧA, the political climate in the United States and across the world started to foment an acute reactionary streak. Legislation denying trans people the hard-won right to medically transition proliferated across the country. Book bans rained down on libraries, stamping shut crucial apertures into trans and queer lives. The necessity of TRAИƧA’s presence in the world started to crystallize. // “The stakes have never been higher,” notes Bell. “We’re seeing a rise in anti-trans hate and vitriol that is particularly being spewed in the United States. I am a trans person from Iowa, one of the states that signed into law a bill that prohibits access to gender-affirming care. It is clearly, materially, a terrifying time.” // TRAИƧA FEATURED ARTISTS:Adrianne Lenker * Ahya Simone * Alan Sparhawk (Low) * Allison Russell * Am Taylor * Anajah * Ana Roxanne * André 3000 * Anjimile * Arthur Baker * Asher White * AV María * Babehoven * Bartees Strange * Belina Rose * Benét * Beverly Glenn-Copeland * Bill Callahan * Blake Mills * Bloomsday * Calvin Lauber * Caroline Rose * Cassandra Croft * Cassandra Jenkins * Christian Lee Hutson * claire rousay * Clairo * CLARITY * Cole Pulice * Dave Longstreth * Devendra Banhart * Eileen Myles * Eli Winter * Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland * Ezra Furman * Faye Webster * Fleet Foxes * Frankie Cosmos * Gary Gunn * Gia Margaret * Green-House * Grouper * Hand Habits * Heart Shaped * Helado Negro * Hunter Schafer * Jamal Shakeri * Jay Dee Daugherty * Jayne County * Jeff Tweedy * Jlin * Joy Guidry * Julianna Barwick * Julie Byrne * Julien Baker * Kara Jackson * Kathi Wilcox * KB Brookins * Kelela * Laraaji * Laura Jane Grace * Lauren Auder * Lee Ranaldo * Lightning Bug * Lomelda * Lucy Liyou * Lynn Avery * Lyra Pramuk * L’Rain * Mary Lattimore * MIZU * Moor Mother * More Eaze * Moses Sumney * Nico Georis * Niecy Blues * Nina Keith * Nsámbu Za Suékama * NYC Trans Oral History Project * Pepper MaShay * Perfume Genius * Pharoah Sanders * Quinn Christopherson * Rachika Nayar * Sade Adu * Sam Smith * Sharon Van Etten * SKY * SOAK * Soft Rōnin * Sparkle Division * Taryn Blake Miller * Teddy Geiger * Time Wharp * Wendy & Lisa of the Revolution * Yaeji * Yaya Bey // >>> Lauren Auder was born in 1998. She is a British-French singer-songwriter and record producer. Born in Watford and raised in the French town of Albi, she began her career producing for underground French and English rap artists. Auder signed to True Panther Sounds and made her solo debut in 2018 with the EP Who Carry’s You, which was followed by the EP Two Caves In in 2020. Her debut album, The Infinite Spine, was released on 18 July 2023. // Auder was born in Watford, near London, where she lived until the age of seven when she moved with her music journalist parents to Albi, France to avoid the “hectic and expensive lifestyle” of London. At the time of their migration, her mother worked at NME, while her father worked at Kerrang!. She revealed in 2015, at the age of seventeen, that she was doing literary studies in Albi. In 2015, Auder began working with artists in the London underground hip hop scene such as Lord Pusswhip, Jeshi and Slowthai, while also self-publishing content onto SoundCloud on the side. During this period of her early career, Daisy Jones of Dazed wrote, “With [her] woozy, far-away vocals and dreamy, half-baked beats, the 17-year-old French-English producer sounds like King Krule if [she] got heavily into hip hop and pushed [her] music through a coedine-coated seive.” After graduating from high school in September 2016, she returned to London shortly after signing to independent record label True Panther Sounds. // In December 2017, Auder made her professional solo debut under True Panther Sounds with the single “The Baptist” which was inspired by Maurice Duruflé and received acclaim from Pitchfork. This was followed by her second single “These Broken Limbs Again Into One Body” in February 2018. Both singles would feature on her debut EP Who Carry’s You, which was released in March 2018. In October 2018, she accompanied Christine and the Queens on their tour of Europe supporting the album Chris (2018). // Supported by the singles “June 14th” and “Meek”, Auder’s second EP Two Caves In was released in March 2020. In September 2020, Auder and Boston-based producer Mmph provided American band Haim a remix version of the song “Summer Girl” by for their titular remix EP. In December 2020, Auder and American singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek released a cover version of the song “Some Small Hope” by Virginia Astley.// Auder released her third EP, 5 Songs for the Dysphoric, in February 2021. Her first album The Infinite Spine was released on July 18, 2023. // Auder is a baritone vocalist. Daisy Jones of Noisey described her musical style as orchestral pop. Steve Janes of WithGuitars.com wrote that she “adopt[s] the ethos of classic era baroque pop to fuse elements of post-rock and soul with modern classical, ambient and experimental electronics.” Auder cites French composer Maurice Duruflé and California rap duo Main Attrakionz as some of her biggest musical influences, while also being inspired by romantic poets such as William Blake. // In September 2019, Auder came out as transgender. She used the pronouns up until August 2020 when she began publicly identifying as a woman. She told i-D: “In a lot of ways I’ve known forever, and in other ways I’ve known since I was 12, and in other ways I’m only just figuring it out, but I’m way more in touch with myself and how I feel and who I want to be […] I think it’s made me more confident and aware of myself. That transition in my life, and becoming an adult, has gone hand in hand with the way I present my work.” // As of October 2020, Auder resides in Bermondsey in England. // Wendy & Lisa (briefly known as Girl Bros.) is a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band the Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasing their eponymous debut studio album in 1987. In recent years they have turned their attention to writing music for film and television and have won an Emmy Award. // They have released five studio albums, with their most recent album being 2008’s White Flags of Winter Chimneys. // In 1980, Lisa Coleman replaced Gayle Chapman in Prince’s touring band on keyboards and piano. Coleman was asked to contribute vocals to several tracks over his next few albums. In 1983, guitarist Dez Dickerson left the band over religious conflicts. Prince invited Wendy Melvoin (Lisa’s girlfriend at the time) into the band as they began to record Purple Rain (1984). The film and album turned Prince and the newly named Revolution into superstars. Prince’s personal life also became intertwined with Melvoin’s when he began dating her twin sister Susannah. // After Purple Rain (1984), Prince and the Revolution recorded Around the World in a Day (1985) and then Parade (1986), the soundtrack to Prince’s film Under the Cherry Moon (1986). In interviews, the two reported they felt they were not getting the recognition and credit they deserved despite their growing contributions to his work. During 1986, Melvoin and Coleman became increasingly disillusioned with Prince’s decision to expand the Revolution with non-musicians, such as Wally Safford and Greg Brooks, and Prince’s increasing machismo that these new members brought with them. Unhappy and vocal about their feelings, they were eventually convinced to remain with the band through the end of the Hit N Run – Parade Tour. However, Prince felt spurned and as a result he had already decided he would dissolve the Revolution once the tour was complete. Hence, by October 1986, Melvoin and Coleman (along with Bobby Z.) were dismissed by Prince, disrupting the Dream Factory album that was already completed and effectively dissolving The Revolution. // In 1987 the duo released an album simply titled Wendy and Lisa on Columbia Records in the US and on Virgin Records in the UK. The singles released were “Honeymoon Express”, “Waterfall” and “Sideshow” but none hit the top 40 on either side of the Atlantic. The follow-up album, Fruit at the Bottom, was released in 1989. The singles released were “Are You My Baby?”, “Lolly Lolly” (remixed by Prince) and “Satisfaction”, which gave them a top 40 single in the UK. “Waterfall ’89” failed to capitalize on the success of “Satisfaction” and reached another minor placing. // In 1990, the duo signed with Virgin Records in the US (which was already their label in Europe) and released Eroica. However, this too met only minor chart success. In 1991, Virgin UK released the remix album Re-mix-In-a-Carnation, a selection of club mixes from the first three albums as remixed by producers like the Orb, William Orbit, and Nellee Hooper. // In the mid-1990s, Wendy & Lisa worked on several movie projects with record producer Trevor Horn. They recorded an album with him as producer, but had a falling out (according to them, due to Horn and his wife Jill Sinclair’s alleged homophobia) and the project was shelved, leaving the master tapes in Horn’s hands and acrimony between the parties involved. // Their next solo effort – the 1998 album Girl Bros. – was the first to be independently released, with all subsequent releases also self-released. // In 2004, the duo reached a rapprochement with Prince and contributed to several tracks on his Planet Earth (2007) album. // In December 2008, White Flags of Winter Chimneys was released. The title is taken from a line in the Joni Mitchell song “Hejira”. 2011 saw the release of the Snapshots EP, which came with limited edition artwork, autographs and a photo book. It is a 6-track collection of songs that were recorded over the preceding 20 years of their careers but had previously never been released. // Melvoin and Coleman have done session work and/or written songs with Seal, k.d. lang, Joni Mitchell, Meshell Ndegeocello, Pearl Jam, Terence Trent D’Arby, Lisa Germano, Lisa Marie Presley, Liz Phair, Michael Penn, Grace Jones, Tricky, the Three O’Clock, Uh Huh Her, Sheryl Crow, Victoria Williams, Rob Thomas, Gwen Stefani, Skye Edwards, Scritti Politti, Nerina Pallot, OK Go, Madonna, The Like, Nina Gordon, fDeluxe, the Family, Doyle Bramhall II, Nikka Costa, André Cymone, Kate Earl, Eric Clapton, Bettye LaVette, Ilse DeLange, Mac Miller, and Walk the Moon. Their vocals were featured on the soundtrack for Toys (1992). // Their first scoring project was for Dangerous Minds (1995). The team has scored numerous TV shows and films, including popular TV shows like Crossing Jordan, Heroes, Nurse Jackie and Firefly Lane. // Wendy & Lisa technically share the honor of winners of a Grammy and Oscar for being part of the Revolution, as Purple Rain (1984) won two Grammys, and the Oscar for Best Original Score. In 2010, they received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for their work on Nurse Jackie. They received the ASCAP award for Composers of the Year for their work on Dangerous Minds (1995), the theme to HBO’s Carnivàle, Crossing Jordan and Heroes. They were nominated for an Emmy in 2012 for the main title theme for the Fox show Touch. // Melvoin and Coleman have made numerous contributions to television themes. They wrote theme music and background scores for TV shows such as Shades of Blue, Crossing Jordan, Bionic Woman, Carnivàle, Heroes, Mercy and Showtime’s Nurse Jackie. // In 2001 they worked with Neil Finn on his second solo album, One Nil. // They have also been featured on several film scores and soundtracks, including Dangerous Minds (1995), Hav Plenty (1997), Something New (2006), and Wine Country (2019). The film Toys (1992) featured their song “The Closing of the Year” as its main theme, and they also produced the full-length Heroes: Original Score, released in April 2009, composed entirely of their full-length compositions for each of the show’s characters. They scored the TV series Touch created by Crossing Jordan and Heroes creator, Tim Kring. // Melvoin and Coleman collaborated with Grace Jones for her 2008 album Hurricane.]
Benjamin Booker – “SLOW DANCE IN A GAY BAR” from: Lower / Fire Next Time Records / January 24, 2025 [Third full length album from Benjamin Booker was born Benjamin Roderick Evans on June 14, 1989. He is an American musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He cites The Gun Club, Blind Willie Johnson and T. Rex as influences. His music was described by the Chicago Tribune as “a raw brand of blues/boogie/soul,” by The Independent as “frenzied guitar-strumming and raw, soulful vocals that are hair-raising in intensity” and by Spin as “bright, furious, explosive garage rock.” // Benjamin Booker was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His family relocated to Tampa, Florida, where he attended all-ages DIY punk shows as a teenager. He attended Orange Grove Middle School, a magnet school for the performing arts, followed by Hillsborough High School, where he studied in the International Baccalaureate Program. He then attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, studying journalism with intentions of going into music journalism. After college, he moved to New Orleans to work for a non-profit organization and began playing shows. He self-released the four-track EP Waiting Ones in 2012, a collection of “low-fi blues-influenced folk-punk recordings and handclap percussion” that gained the attention of music blog Aquarium Drunkard. The track “Have You Seen My Son” eventually landed on Sirius XM satellite radio. In 2013, he began touring as an electric duo and signed with ATO Records to produce his debut album.
beabadoobee – “Coming Home” from: This is How Tomorrow Moves / Dirty Hit / August 9, 2024 [This Is How Tomorrow Moves is the third studio album by the Filipino-English singer and songwriter Beabadoobee. It was released by English independent label Dirty Hit on 9 August 2024.[1] It features the singles “Take a Bite”, “Coming Home”, “Ever Seen”, and “Beaches”. “Real Man” was later released as the album’s fifth single. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, making it her first to do so. // Beabadoobee had released two studio albums since 2020. With the release of This Is How Tomorrow Moves at age 24, critics started calling it her first “adult” album. The singer pivoted to new themes, moving away from the teenage angst on her previous records. It is primarily an indie rock record which incorporates dream pop and indie-pop heavily influenced by the early 2000s. // Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus[a] was born June 3, 2000. She is known professionally as Beabadoobee (/biːbəˈduːbiː/; bee-bə-DOO-bee), is a Filipino-British singer-songwriter. From 2018 to 2021, she released five extended plays (EPs) under the independent label Dirty Hit: Lice (2018), Patched Up (2018), Loveworm (2019), Space Cadet (2019) and Our Extended Play (2021). Her debut studio album Fake It Flowers was released in October 2020, and received critical acclaim. Her second studio album, Beatopia, was released on 15 July 2022, which spawned the hit “The Perfect Pair”. Her third studio album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, was released on 9 August 2024; it became her first album to peak atop the UK Albums Chart. // Beabadoobee served as a supporting act for labelmates the 1975 during several legs of their Music for Cars Tour, as well as American singer Clairo during her Immunity Tour. She was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards, and was presented with the Radar Award at the 2020 NME Awards. Beabadoobee was also predicted as a breakthrough act for 2020 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2020. In 2023, Beabadoobee was an opening act for Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour. // Laus was born in Iloilo City in the Philippines on 3 June 2000 and moved to the United Kingdom with her parents at the age of three. She grew up in West London listening to original Pinoy music as well as pop and rock music from the 1990s. While she was a teenager, she listened to indie rock artists including Karen O, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Florist and Alex G. // She studied at Sacred Heart High School, an all-girls Catholic school, before completing her thirteenth year at Hammersmith Academy. Laus spent seven years learning to play the violin, before getting her first guitar second-hand at the age of 17. She also learned through watching YouTube tutorials produced by other accomplished guitarists. She was inspired by Kimya Dawson and the Juno soundtrack to start making music. She identifies as bisexual. Laus says that she can understand the Philippine languages Hiligaynon and Tagalog fluently, but cannot speak them. // The first song Beabadoobee wrote on her guitar was “Coffee”.[20] She took her professional name as a joke when her friend and producer Oscar Lang was preparing to upload “Coffee” and suggested she release her music under an artist name. Beabadoobee was a name she had invented for her finsta account because none of her names were being accepted by Instagram. // She released “Coffee” as well as a cover of Karen O’s “The Moon Song” in September 2017. “Coffee” gained over 300,000 views on YouTube, as well as the attention of Dirty Hit Records. She signed to the label in April 2018. This was followed by the release of her debut EP Lice in March 2018 and her second EP Patched Up in December 2018. In January 2019, Beabadoobee was placed with Billie Eilish on NME’s annual list of “essential new artists”, the “NME 100”. She subsequently released her third EP titled Loveworm. Beabadoobee released an acoustic version of this EP titled Loveworm (Bedroom Sessions) in July 2019. // In September 2019, Beabadoobee embarked on her first tour supporting Clairo on her Immunity Tour, before releasing her fourth EP, Space Cadet, in October 2019. Beabadoobee subsequently made the front cover of NME on 25 October 2019.[14] She was shortlisted for the Rising Star Award at the 2020 Brit Awards in December 2019.[34] In November 2019, Beabadoobee released a pair of Spotify Singles, one being a cover of “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds as well as a version of “She Plays Bass” recorded in Abbey Road Studios in London. In December 2019, Beabadoobee was longlisted in the annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2020. // In February 2020, Beabadoobee performed at the 2020 NME Awards after winning the Radar Award. She supported labelmates the 1975 on their Music for Cars Tour for both the U.K. leg in February 2020. She was scheduled to also support the band during the North American leg of this tour in April 2020,[39] however it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. // A sample of Beabadoobee’s 2017 debut single “Coffee” was used on Canadian rapper Powfu’s 2019 single, “Death Bed (Coffee for Your Head)”. The song became a massively successful sleeper hit after going viral on the app TikTok in early 2020, becoming Beabadoobee’s first official chart entry in her career, both locally and internationally. By April 2020, it had entered the Top 5 in several countries including the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. It earned gold certification status in Belgium, Canada, France, Mexico and New Zealand, as well as Platinum or higher in the U.S. and the U.K. among several other countries. Speaking about her reaction to the popularization of “Death Bed”, Beabadoobee said, “I’m not going to lie, it was overwhelming… I kinda hated it. I hated more people knowing about the first song I’d ever written and not my others. I was so stubborn but I grew into it and accepted that’s just how life works. I was extremely grateful for its existence and it’s only given me more opportunities.” // Beabadoobee announced her debut studio album, Fake It Flowers, and released its lead single “Care” on 14 July 2020. In early August 2020, she released the album’s second single, “Sorry”, and revealed the album’s track listing, cover art and official release date. Beabadoobee released “Worth It” as the third single, “How Was Your Day?” as the fourth single, and “Together” as the fifth and final single of Fake It Flowers. The album was released on 16 October 2020 to critical acclaim and spent one week in the UK Albums Chart at number 8. According to sales in the United States, Billboard ranked Beabadoobee as the Top New Rock Artist of 2020. In 2021, she embarked on a headlining tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland to support the album. // Beabadoobee released the single “Last Day on Earth” on 24 March, produced and co-written by Matty Healy and George Daniel of the 1975. The musician announced that the single is taken from her EP Our Extended Play, which she said that she wrote with her labelmates “on the countryside”. // Her second album, Beatopia, was announced on 23 March 2022. It was released on 15 July 2022 through Dirty Hit and spawned the R.I.A.A. Gold certified song “The Perfect Pair.” // In January 2023, Beabadoobee posted the snippet of an unreleased song on TikTok, which soon went viral across the website due to its popularity with couples and the approach of the upcoming holiday. “Glue Song” was later released on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2023, with another version featuring Clairo released on 17 April 2023 which charted in several countries. The collaboration gained significant attention and marked a continued evolution in her sound, blending chamber pop with heartfelt lyrics inspired by her personal experiences. // Starting in March 2023, Beabadoobee toured in Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. Beabadoobee also performed as an opening act on twelve shows of the US leg of Taylor Swift’s 2023 The Eras Tour. // On June 29, 2023, Beabadoobee announced that she would cancel her European tour due to an unspecified illness. She then announced a new single on July 11, 2023, called “The Way Things Go”, which was released on July 19, was released on October 20, 2023. // Her third studio album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, was released on August 9, 2024, which went on to debut at number 1 in the UK, making it her first number-one album. // Laus has cited Elliott Smith, Mac DeMarco, the Moldy Peaches, Pavement, Mazzy Star, the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and Daniel Johnston as her musical influences.[4][15] She has a tattoo of Johnston’s artwork from the cover of his album Continued Story with Texas Instruments. In a 2018 interview with Vice, she expressed plans to make film soundtracks in the future as they heavily inspired her to make music. Laus’ musical style is also deeply influenced by 90s alternative rock and shoegaze bands like The Cure, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, and The Smashing Pumpkins.]
FKA Twigs – “Eusexua” from: EUSEXUA / Young Recordings / January 24, 2025 [EUSEXUA is the third studio album from FKA twigs and follow up to CAPRISONGS which was part of WMM 120 Best Recordings of 2022. CAPRISONGS was the follow up to FKA Twigs November 8, 2019 album MAGDALENE, which was #29 on WMM’s 119 Best Recordings of 2019. // Tahliah Debrett Barnett was born on January 16, 1988. She is known professionally as FKA Twigs. She is a British singer and songwriter, raised in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. She became a backup dancer after moving to South London when she was 17 years old. She made her musical debut with the extended plays EP1 (2012) and EP2 (2013). Her debut studio album, LP1, was released in August 2014 to critical acclaim, peaking at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart and number 30 on the US Billboard 200. It was later nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize. She released the M3LL155X EP in 2015 to further critical praise, as well as her second studio album Magdalene four years later. Her work has been described as “genre-bending”, drawing on various genres including electronic music, trip hop, R&B, and avant-garde. Her work has been compared to the work of Tricky as well as Kate Bush, Janet Jackson, The xx, and Massive Attack, while Slate described her work as distinctive in a way that rises above her influences. The Wall Street Journal described her as “an heir to futuristic R&B muses like Aaliyah, Missy Elliott and others under the progressive sway of producer Timbaland.” Describing her artistry, she said: “I am not restricted by any musical genre. I like to experiment with sounds, generating emotions while putting my voice on certain atmospheres […] I found my own way of playing punk. I like industrial sounds and incorporating everyday life’s sounds like a car alarm.” FKA Twigs has been associated with the alternative R&B tag, though she herself has rejected the R&B label as related to her race: “It’s just because I’m mixed race. When I first released music and no one knew what I looked like, I would read comments like: ‘I’ve never heard anything like this before, it’s not in a genre.’ And then my picture came out six months later, now she’s an R&B singer. I share certain sonic threads with classical music; my song ‘Preface’ is like a hymn. So let’s talk about that. If I was white and blonde and said I went to church all the time, you’d be talking about the ‘choral aspect’. But you’re not talking about that because I’m a mixed-race girl from south London.” The first singers who influenced FKA Twigs were Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Marvin Gaye. When she started composing songs, she wanted to reproduce music she liked: “every bit of music that I made sounded like a pastiche of Siouxsie and the Banshees or Adam Ant. But through that I discovered myself”. In an interview after being shortlisted for the 2014 Mercury Prize, Twigs cited GERMFREE ADOLESCENTS by X-Ray Spex as her favorite album of all time.]
[Fullbloods play The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO on Friday February 21, at 9:00 pm with Fake Italian for Daniel Gum’s The Great Conjunction Album Release Show. ]
[Fullbloods play Hillsiders 403 N. 5th Street, KCK on Friday, March 7 at 8:00 PM for their own PLAYING IT SAFE Album Release Show with Schemada, and 2w33dy.]
10:35 – Interview with Ross Brown
Ross Brown joins us live in our 90.1 FM studios to talk about “Playing It Safe” the new studio album from Fullbloods, released both digitally and on vinyl through High Dive Records on March 7, 2025.
Fullbloods is a studio project of songwriter and producer Ross Brown who is also in the bands: Shy Boys, Koney, and Snacky. When Fullbloods play live, Ross is joined on stage by his friends.
In writing about Ross Brown’s previous Fullbloods album, Soft and Virtual Touch , Lionell Williams aka “Vinyl Williams” of PRIVATE PLAYLIST on KCRW calls “Ross Brown a frickin’ genius. He’s the modern day Brian Wilson of America. His whole album, the entire way through, is one of those albums [where] every microsecond, every quantum moment, is wow. He’s just a straight-up genius.”
Fullbloods play The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO on Friday February 21, at 9:00 pm with Fake Italian for Daniel Gum’s The Great Conjunction Album Release Show.
Fullbloods play Hillsiders 403 N. 5th Street, KCK on Friday, March 7 at 8:00 PM for their own PLAYING IT SAFE Album Release Show with Schemada, and 2w33dy.
Fullbloods – Mild West – 11 track album – March 1, 2016 Engineered by Mike Nolte at Westend Studios in Kansas City, KS. Additional tracking by Ross Brown at the Reservation in Kansas City, MO. Mixed by Fullbloods at Westend Studios. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. //All songs written by Ross Brown (Bargain Hunt Music / ASCAP) // Artwork by Shelby Keierleber, photographed by Chris Daharsh //Back cover and insert photographs by Stacey Schmitz //Special thanks to Jerad Tomasino, Mike Nolte, David Seume, The ACBs, and friends + families
Ross Brown joins us live in our 90.1 FM studios to talk about “Playing It Safe” the new studio album from Fullbloods, released both digitally and on vinyl through High Dive Records on March 7, 2025. Fullbloods is a studio project of songwriter and producer Ross Brown.
Fullbloods play The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO on Friday February 21, at 9:00 pm with Fake Italian for Daniel Gum’s The Great Conjunction Album Release Show.
Fullbloods play Hillsiders 403 N. 5th Street, KCK on Friday, March 7 at 8:00 PM for their own PLAYING IT SAFE Album Release Show with Schemada, and 2w33dy. More info at: http://www.fullbloods.com
Ross Brown welcome to Wednesday MidDay Medley
When Fullbloods play live, Ross is joined by his friends: Konner Ervin on guitar, Kyle Little on keyboards, Kyle Rausch on bass, Fritz Hutchison on drums.
Ross Brown is also in: Shy Boys, Koney, Snacky, and Ghosty
Shy Boys / The ACBs / Ghosty / The I’ms / Fullbloods / Koney – Discography
The ACB’s / The ACB’s / July 10, 2007 [Debut from KC based 4-piece with Konnor Ervin on lead vocals, Bryan McGuire on bass, Matt Saladino on guitar, Corey Egan on drums & vocals. Written by, and arranged by Konnor Ervin. Produced by Tim Suttle. Recorded & mixed at Underdog Studio in Desoto, KS. Mastered at Euphonic Masters in Memphis, TN.]
The Abracadabras – Be Still, Be Cool / The Abracadabras / January 1, 2008 [5-piece KC band formed in the spring of 2007, with Jocelyn Olivia (John) Nixon on keyboards & vocals, Travis Mckenzie on lead guitar, Bobby (Wayne Hutcherson) Topaz on guitar & vocals, Collin Rausch on bass & vocals, and Kyle Rausch on drums & vocals.]
The ACBs – Stona Rosa / The ACBs / January 1, 2011 [After half of the band left to move to LA, Konnor Ervin and Bryan McGuire got help from: Andrew Connor of Ghosty, and Beau Bruns of Cowboy Indian Bear. All songs written by, and arranged, lead vocals & guitar by Konnor Ervin. Mike Nolte on bass, Bryan McGuire on bass & vocals, Andrew Connor on guitar & vocals, Beau Brus on drums. Kyle Rausch on vocals. Produced by Mike Nolte. Mastered by Roger Seibel Recorded at More Famouser Studios. Mixed at More Famouser Studios. Mastered at SAE Mastering.]
The I’ms – Second MIXES / Independent / 2011 [Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch. Kyle Rausch also plays with The ACB’s. In 2011 on WMM we started playing songs from The I’ms, a duo made of up Collin and Kyle, who posted 6 of their self recorded songs on their facebook page. We included this informal release in our Top Ten of The 111 Best Recordings of 2011. 3 of the songs from The I’ms ended up being rerecorded for Shy Boys.]
Ghosty – GHOSTY / More Famouser Records – High Dive Records / April 17, 2012 [3rd full length release from Lawrence and KC area band. Ghosty is Andrew Connor, Mike Nolte an Bill Belzer who recorded their new album themselves over the last couple of years with help from David Wetzel, Josh Adams, Jake Blanton, Konnor Ervin, Ryan Connor, Kirsten Paludan, and Dan Talmadge. The new release was pressed on vinyl and available on LP and digital download. More info at ghostysounds.com.]
The ACBs – Little Leaves / High Dive Records / March 5, 2013. [Konnor Ervin on lead vocals, & guitar; Bryan McGuire on bass, Andrew Connor on guitar; Kyle Rausch on drums. Their songs have been featured on MTV’s The Inbetweeners, and Daytrotter. The title “Little Leaves” is a nod to Konnor Ervin’s landscaping day job. The lead single, “Ocean” was released as a free download in late 2012, prompting Popmatters to declare the ACBs as one of its “Best Hopes to Break Out in 2013.”]
Shy Boys – Shy Boys / High Dive Records / January 17, 2014 [Debut release. Brothers Collin Rausch, Kyle Rausch, and friend and roommate Konnor Ervin, are members of this KC based trio. Collin and Kyle’s father was a High School band director and music teacher. Konnor Ervin is the lead singer and songwriter of The ACBs, where Kyle also plays drums. The 10 song release had two singles premiered by Stereogum. “Keeps Me On My Toes” was a song Collin wrote in 15 minutes while his girlfriend was in the shower. The album was recorded at West End Studio, over two-weekends.]
Shy Boys – “Life is Peachy” – Single Release / High Dive Records / July 15, 2014 [Stereogum has premiered the band’s new song, “Life Is Peachy”, the A-side to their new 45 rpm, 7″ single coming from High Dive Records. Brothers Collin Rausch, Kyle Rausch, and roommate Konnor Ervin, are members of the Kansas City based band, Shy Boys. ]
Fullbloods – Mild West / High Dive Records / February 26, 2016 [Second full length release from Fullbloods: Ross Brown; Jared Tomasino; David Seume; and Bill Pollock. Recorded at Westend Studios in Kansas City, Kansas by Mike Nolte. Mixed by Fullbloods. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. (Starfucker, Of Montreal).]
Shy Boys – Bell House / Polyvinyl Record Co. / August 3, 2018 [Shy Boys line-up consists of brothers Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. The group formed shortly after the trio became roommates in 2012. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were already band mates in the indie-pop band The ACBs and Collin had been playing for years in the Kansas City area in various bands. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records. The album received generally positive reviews and the single “Bully Fight” was featured on Spin.com
Shy Boys – Dim The Light / Brick By Brick – Singles / Polyvinyl Record Co. / Feb. 15, 2019 [Single release follow up to band’s 2nd album and Polyvinyl debut, Bell House. Shy Boys line-up consists of brothers Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were already band mates in the indie-pop band The ACBs and Collin had been playing for years in the Kansas City area in various bands. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records. The album received generally positive reviews and the single “Bully Fight” was featured on Spin.com. In June 2014 the band recorded and released two more singles and one of them, “Life Is Peachy,” was featured on Stereogum. On April 4th, 2018, it was announced that the band had signed to Polyvinyl Record Co.]
Fullbloods – Soft and Virtual Touch / High Dive Records / April 3, 2020 [3rd full-length. All songs written, performed, recorded, mixed by Ross Brown in KCMO. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. Artwork by Nika Winn. Kyle Rausch played drums on 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, & 9, sang on 9. Bill Pollock Played drums on 3 & 5. David Seume played bass on 5. Jerad Tomasino played synth on 9 & 10, sang on 9. Jenni Kornfeld played cello on 4. Leslie Butsch played sax on 10. More info at: http://www.fullbloods.com.]
Shy Boys – Talk Loud / Polyvinyl Record Co. / September 25, 2020 [3rd album from the KC band Shy Boys. New music follow up to the Dim The Light / Brick By Brick, singles released February 15, 2019. Shy Boys released their 2nd album and Polyvinyl debut, Bell House on August 3, 2018. Shy Boys line-up consists of brothers Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were already band mates in the indie-pop band The ACBs and Collin had been playing for years in the Kansas City area in various bands including The Abracadabras, and The I’ms with brother Kyle. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records.]
Koney – Koney / High Dive Records / October 9, 2020
[from Lucas Wetzel’s Pitch Feature: “To bring the songs to life, Konnor enlisted brothers Collin and Kyle Rausch, his roommates in their ramshackle West Plaza house/practice space and his bandmates in chamber pop group Shy Boys. Ross Brown (of Fullbloods) played synthesizer and helped run sound, and multi-instrumentalist Kyle Little contributed on guitar. Fritz Hutchison and Andrew Connor also contributed on several tracks. Recording engineer Mike Nolte flew in from Portland to run the controls at Westend Recordings, and the group set up camp in the studio over a long snowy weekend in 2015.” ]
Ross Brown welcome to Wednesday MidDay Medley
Fullbloods play The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO on Friday February 21, at 9:00 pm with Fake Italian for Daniel Gum’s The Great Conjunction Album Release Show.
Fullbloods play Hillsiders 403 N. 5th Street, KCK on Friday, March 7 at 8:00 PM for their own PLAYING IT SAFE Album Release Show with Schemada, and 2w33dy.
[Fullbloods play The Ship 1221 Union Ave, KCMO on Friday February 21, at 9:00 pm with Fake Italian for Daniel Gum’s The Great Conjunction Album Release Show. ]
[Fullbloods play Hillsiders 403 N. 5th Street, KCK on Friday, March 7 at 8:00 PM for their own PLAYING IT SAFE Album Release Show with Schemada, and 2w33dy.]
11:00 – Station ID
Run With It – “Night Watch” from: “Night Watch” – Single / Run With It / August 21, 2024 [Miguel Antonio on lead vocals & guitar. Daniel Cole on drums, Paul Seiz on keyboards. Cody Ryan Stapleton on lead guitar, and Matt Muckenthaler on bass guitar // “Night Watch” is a pulsating anthem of the nocturnal world, vividly capturing the allure and chaos of nightlife. It plunges into a city where nights stretch endlessly, illuminated by flashing lights and electric energy, evoking both an invitation and a warning. The song’s chorus, “I’m on the night watch, baby,” symbolizes a restless vigilance amidst the thrilling uncertainties of the night. // The band has always been known for their energetic live shows, leaving it all on the stage, and working their musical assets to make their audiences happy. The band has toured extensively. Run With It are influenced by The Black Keys, Maroon 5, Bill Withers, and more. With backgrounds in gritty rock, groovy soul, stylish R&B. // Miguel Carabello was born June 11, 1980 originally from Junction City, Kansas, Married. Daniel Cole was born April 8, 1991 and graduated from Lee’s Summit West HS in 2009. Paul Seiz Paul graduated from Millikin University with a degree in Commercial Music and began his professional career as the Resident Music Director of Playhouse On The Square, a professional theater in Memphis, TN. Paul has been the regional entertainment director for Howl At The Moon for nearly eight years. And also plays with Songwheels and works as a DJ. Paul lives in Overland Park KS and has three kids. Cody Ryan Stapleton lives in KCK he has played with several bands including The Dear Misses. Matt Muckenthaler studied at Missouri Western State University and has played in several bands. // Run With it were last on WMM on October 23, 2024, before that is was nearly eight years ago on March 22, 2017 when the band was aa three-piece with Miguel Caraballo on lead vocals & guitar, Daniel Cole on Drums, and Ben Byard on bass & vocals. promoting their EP How To Start A Fire release March 24, 2017. The band put together 60 songs before going into the studio. They sifted through the songs with producer Josh Gleave and found the six best songs to record. // // More information at: http://www.runwithitband.com]
[Run With It play a 60-minute concert on MidCoast LIVE! Friday, February 14, at 12:00 noon on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio.]
11:03 – Interview with Run With It
Run With It return to WMM. Miguel Antonio on lead vocals & guitar, Daniel Cole on drums & percussion, Paul Seiz on keyboards, Cody Ryan Stapleton on lead guitar; and Matt Muckenthaler on bass guitar collectively are one of the hardest working bands in Kansas City. For nearly a decade, Run With It has been touring across the country, from college campus showcases to corporate galas. Their high-octane performances leave an indelible mark. Run With It combine their exceptional original songs with skillful covers of artists like Kings of Leon and Ed Sheeran. Run With It are influenced by The Black Keys, Maroon 5, Bill Withers, OneRepublic, and Imagine Dragons with backgrounds in gritty rock, groovy soul, and stylish R&B. Their alternative rock vibe creates an electrifying atmosphere. Run With It released their recent singles: “Ghost Like You” on September 13, 2024; “Nightwatch” on August 21, 2024; and “It’s Not Over (feat. The Royal Chief) on April 10, 2024.
Run With It play a 60-minute concert on MidCoast LIVE! Friday, February 14, at 12:00 noon on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio. More info at: linktr.ee/runwithitband
Miguel Antonio , Daniel Cole, Paul Seiz, Cody Ryan Stapleton, and Matt Muckenthaler thanks for being with us again on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Run With It released their newest singles: “It’s Not Over (feat. The Royal Chief) on April 10, 2024; “Nightwatch” on August 21, 2024; and “Ghost Like You” on September 13, 2024.
Run With It offers a diverse musical experience tailored to various events. From campus showcases to corporate galas, their high-octane performances leave an indelible mark. With influences ranging from OneRepublic to Imagine Dragons, their alternative rock vibe creates an electrifying atmosphere. Combining exceptional originals with skillful covers of artists like Kings of Leon and Ed Sheeran, Run With It ensures a night of non-stop.
Run With it were last on WMM on October 23, 2024. Before that is was eight years ago on March 22, 2017 when the band was a 3-piece. They have now expanded to be a 5-piece band. More info at: linktr.ee/runwithitband
Miguel Antonio – Lead Singer / Guitar – was born June 11, 1980 originally from Junction City, Kansas, Married.
Daniel Cole – Drummer – was born April 8, 1991 and graduated from Lee’s Summit West HS in 2009 Damniel also plays with Kat King
Paul Seiz – Keyboardist – graduated from Millikin University with a degree in Commercial Music and began his professional career as the Resident Music Director of Playhouse On The Square, a professional theater in Memphis, TN. Paul has been the regional entertainment director for Howl At The Moon for nearly eight years. And also plays with Songwheels and works as a DJ. Paul lives in Overland Park KS and has three kids
Cody Ryan Stapleton – Lead Guitar – lives in KCK he has played with several bands including The Dear Misses.
Matt Muckenthaler – Bass Guitar – studied at Missouri Western State University and has played in several bands
“Night Watch” is a pulsating anthem of the nocturnal world, vividly capturing the allure and chaos of nightlife. It plunges into a city where nights stretch endlessly, illuminated by flashing lights and electric energy, evoking both an invitation and a warning. The song’s chorus, “I’m on the night watch, baby,” symbolizes a restless vigilance amidst the thrilling uncertainties of the night.
Nightwatch – Run With It V1 Late nights Losing time The cars The trains The flashing lights Fit right In the line When they let me in I dance all night PC Just one taste (gonna kill the pain) eh eh eh Just one taste Just one taste (all it’s gonna take) eh eheh Just one taste CH I’m on the night watch baby Run and tell the sun I’ll run until the sun. Comes up V2 Lost in the bathroom stall Spin around until I make it out Her lips said it all If this is lost I don’t want to be found PC Just one taste (gonna kill the pain) eh eh eh Just one taste Just one taste (all it’s gonna take) eh eheh Just one taste CH I’m on the night watch baby Run and tell the sun I’ll run until the sun. Comes up
Run With it were last on WMM on October 23, 2024, before that is was nearly eight years ago on March 22, 2017 when the band was aa three-piece with Miguel Caraballo on lead vocals & guitar, Daniel Cole on Drums, and Ben Byard on bass & vocals. promoting their EP How To Start A Fire release March 24, 2017. The band put together 60 songs before going into the studio. They sifted through the songs with producer Josh Gleave and found the six best songs to record.
11:13
Run With It – “It’s Not Over (feat. The Royal Chief)” from: “It’s Not Over (feat. The Royal Chief)” – Single / Run With It / April 10, 2024 [Miguel Antonio on lead vocals & guitar. Daniel Cole on drums, Paul Seiz on keyboards. Cody Ryan Stapleton on lead guitar, and Matt Muckenthaler on bass guitar // “Night Watch” is a pulsating anthem of the nocturnal world, vividly capturing the allure and chaos of nightlife. It plunges into a city where nights stretch endlessly, illuminated by flashing lights and electric energy, evoking both an invitation and a warning. The song’s chorus, “I’m on the night watch, baby,” symbolizes a restless vigilance amidst the thrilling uncertainties of the night. // The band has always been known for their energetic live shows, leaving it all on the stage, and working their musical assets to make their audiences happy. The band has toured extensively. Run With It are influenced by The Black Keys, Maroon 5, Bill Withers, and more. With backgrounds in gritty rock, groovy soul, stylish R&B. // Miguel Carabello was born June 11, 1980 originally from Junction City, Kansas, Married. Daniel Cole was born April 8, 1991 and graduated from Lee’s Summit West HS in 2009. Paul Seiz Paul graduated from Millikin University with a degree in Commercial Music and began his professional career as the Resident Music Director of Playhouse On The Square, a professional theater in Memphis, TN. Paul has been the regional entertainment director for Howl At The Moon for nearly eight years. And also plays with Songwheels and works as a DJ. Paul lives in Overland Park KS and has three kids. Cody Ryan Stapleton lives in KCK he has played with several bands including The Dear Misses. Matt Muckenthaler studied at Missouri Western State University and has played in several bands. // Run With it were last on WMM on October 23, 2024, before that is was nearly eight years ago on March 22, 2017 when the band was aa three-piece with Miguel Caraballo on lead vocals & guitar, Daniel Cole on Drums, and Ben Byard on bass & vocals. promoting their EP How To Start A Fire release March 24, 2017. The band put together 60 songs before going into the studio. They sifted through the songs with producer Josh Gleave and found the six best songs to record. // // More information at: http://www.runwithitband.com]
[Run With It play a 60-minute concert on MidCoast LIVE! Friday, February 14, at 12:00 noon on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio.]
11:16 – More Interview with Run With It
Run With It return to WMM. Miguel Antonio on lead vocals & guitar, Daniel Cole on drums & percussion, Paul Seiz on keyboards, Cody Ryan Stapleton on lead guitar; and Matt Muckenthaler on bass guitar collectively are one of the hardest working bands in Kansas City. For nearly a decade, Run With It has been touring across the country, from college campus showcases to corporate galas. Their high-octane performances leave an indelible mark. Run With It combine their exceptional original songs with skillful covers of artists like Kings of Leon and Ed Sheeran. Run With It are influenced by The Black Keys, Maroon 5, Bill Withers, OneRepublic, and Imagine Dragons with backgrounds in gritty rock, groovy soul, and stylish R&B. Their alternative rock vibe creates an electrifying atmosphere. Run With It released their recent singles: “Ghost Like You” on September 13, 2024; “Nightwatch” on August 21, 2024; and “It’s Not Over (feat. The Royal Chief) on April 10, 2024.
Run With It play a 60-minute concert on MidCoast LIVE! Friday, Feb. 14, at 12:00 noon on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio. More info at: linktr.ee/runwithitband
Miguel Antonio , Daniel Cole, Paul Seiz, Cody Ryan Stapleton , and Matt Muckenthaler on bass guitar thanks for being with us again on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Step into the world of Run With It, where every performance feels like a journey through indie-pop bliss. With their infectious energy and captivating stage presence, this band effortlessly weaves together indie rock vibes with irresistible pop hooks, drawing inspiration from acts like The Killers, Walk the Moon, and Kings Of Leon.
Their music journey has been a passion-fueled ride, resonating deeply with listeners through infectious melodies and high-energy anthems. Each track showcases their creativity and profound connection with their audience. Memorable shows at venues like Al Udeid Air Force Base in Doha, Qatar, touring college campuses, and sharing stages with Candlebox and Jake Clemons are propelling them into a bright future.
Whether lighting up a festival stage or creating an intimate vibe in a local venue, Run With It brings a personal touch that turns every performance into a shared experience. Join their musical journey and discover why their sound is making waves.
Main contact – Miguel Antonio – 816-582-2056 – booking@runwithitband.net
Booking for Public/Private Events – lauren@redbeatentertainment.com
The band is known for their energetic live shows, leaving it all on the stage, and working their musical assets to make their audiences happy. Run With It are influenced by The Black Keys, Maroon 5, Bill Withers, and more. With backgrounds in gritty rock, groovy soul, stylish R&B.
Ghost Like You delves into the intoxicating pull of a toxic love, where the protagonist is entranced by a ghostly presence that blurs the line between pleasure and pain. The lyrics explore the conflict between desire and self-destruction, as the protagonist grapples with the consuming nature of this almost supernatural connection.
Ghost LIke You V1: I’ve been waiting for a ghost like you I’ve got these walls that you can walk on through Your voice it echos down these empty halls Your touch is soft come and break my fall I’ve been sleeping when the suns comes up The days are torture without your touch Wake up again to the light of the moon I’ve been waiting for a ghost like you CH; You haunt me, i’m fadin i gotta let go Come and save me take control Are you my demon or my angel of gold Is there a heaven you know is there a heaven you know V2: You take my hands tie me to the bed Give me a drink the room starts to spin You whisper words that I can’t forgive You bite my chest and make me want to live You’re a demon played me for a fool You’re a angel only speak truth Say your prayers and make me new I’ve been waiting for a ghost like you CH; You haunt me, i’m fadin i gotta let go Come and save me take control Are you my demon or my angel of gold Is there a heaven you know is there a heaven you know
Miguel Antonio , Daniel Cole, Paul Seiz, Cody Ryan Stapleton , and Matt Muckenthaler on bass guitar thanks for being with us again on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Run With It play a 60-minute concert on MidCoast LIVE! Friday, February 14, at 12:00 noon on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio. Info at: linktr.ee/runwithitband
11:25
Run With It – “Ghost Like You” from: “Ghost Like You” – Single / Run With It / September 13, 2024. [Miguel Antonio on lead vocals & guitar. Daniel Cole on drums, Paul Seiz on keyboards. Cody Ryan Stapleton on lead guitar, and Matt Muckenthaler on bass guitar // “Night Watch” is a pulsating anthem of the nocturnal world, vividly capturing the allure and chaos of nightlife. It plunges into a city where nights stretch endlessly, illuminated by flashing lights and electric energy, evoking both an invitation and a warning. The song’s chorus, “I’m on the night watch, baby,” symbolizes a restless vigilance amidst the thrilling uncertainties of the night. // The band has always been known for their energetic live shows, leaving it all on the stage, and working their musical assets to make their audiences happy. The band has toured extensively. Run With It are influenced by The Black Keys, Maroon 5, Bill Withers, and more. With backgrounds in gritty rock, groovy soul, stylish R&B. // Miguel Carabello was born June 11, 1980 originally from Junction City, Kansas, Married. Daniel Cole was born April 8, 1991 and graduated from Lee’s Summit West HS in 2009. Paul Seiz Paul graduated from Millikin University with a degree in Commercial Music and began his professional career as the Resident Music Director of Playhouse On The Square, a professional theater in Memphis, TN. Paul has been the regional entertainment director for Howl At The Moon for nearly eight years. And also plays with Songwheels and works as a DJ. Paul lives in Overland Park KS and has three kids. Cody Ryan Stapleton lives in KCK he has played with several bands including The Dear Misses. Matt Muckenthaler studied at Missouri Western State University and has played in several bands. // Run With it were last on WMM on October 23, 2024, before that is was nearly eight years ago on March 22, 2017 when the band was aa three-piece with Miguel Caraballo on lead vocals & guitar, Daniel Cole on Drums, and Ben Byard on bass & vocals. promoting their EP How To Start A Fire release March 24, 2017. The band put together 60 songs before going into the studio. They sifted through the songs with producer Josh Gleave and found the six best songs to record. // // More information at: http://www.runwithitband.com]
[Run With It play a 60-minute concert on MidCoast LIVE! Friday, February 14, at 12:00 noon on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio.]
11:28 – Underwriting
Bobcat Attack – “Bird of Prey” from: “Bird of Prey” – Single / Les Bon Bons Electriques – The Record Machine / Jan. 10, 2025 [Bobcat Attack is the alter ego of electronic musician Nathan Reusch. Reusch has a passion for blending dub, techno, and ambient electronica into his own improvised vision. His compositions, crafted with synthesizers, drum machines, and modular synths, create a pulsing soundscape that is both intimate and lush, setting him apart in the electronic music scene. // Reusch first started making electronic music influenced by emo/punk in the early 2000s, opening for acts like Taking Back Sunday, Mewihoutyou, Coheed and Cambria, to more fitting artists like Joy Electric, Atom & His Package, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and Yacht. In 2003, he started his indie label, The Record Machine, and in 2011, he founded KC’s Middle of the Map Fest; his time and focus on making his music came to a halt. The pandemic inspired Reusch to dust off his Bobcat Attack moniker and renewed his interest in making music. After a few months of waywardly trying to figure out patches and midi cables, he joined KC’s Synth Collective and found a group of similarly-minded electronic musicians. // After a year of playing and organizing shows with the KC Synth Collective, he is regaining his footing; Reusch is ready to release his first new material in nearly two decades. Bobcat Attack bridges the gap between ambient, dub-techno, and house music. The result is a rich textural environment of blooming melodies, entrancing techno beats, and ambient soundscapes that immerses the listener in a vibrant, flooding forest of electronica. His arrangements are patient and complete, and there’s always a discovery bubbling underneath the surface. // Bobcat Attack’s debut single release, “Pallas,” (Sept. 20, 2024) was the inaugural release on Les Bon Bons Electriques – The Record Machine imprint. This collaboration between fellow electronic musician and collaborator Mark Ronning (Mr. Golden Sun/Pool Culure) and Reusch’s label, The Record Machine,]
[Bobcat Attack plays The Kansas City Synthesizer Collective third anniversary special show, Friday, February 21, at 7:00pm, at Stockyards Brewing Co, 1600 Genessee St, Ste 100, KCMO.]
11:33 – Interview with Nathan Reusch and Zac Laman
Nathan Reusch is co-founder of The Record Machine an area music label that is celebrating 22 years! Nathan Reusch first started making electronic music under the name Bobcat Attack influenced by emo/punk in the early 2000s, opening for acts like Taking Back Sunday, Mewihoutyou, Coheed and Cambria, to more fitting artists like Joy Electric, Atom & His Package, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and Yacht. In 2003, he started his indie label, The Record Machine, and in 2011, he founded KC’s Middle of the Map Fest; his time and focus on making his music came to a halt. Under Nathan’s leadership The Record Machine has been the label for Static Phantoms, Monta, Various Blonde, Cowboy Indian Bear, LaGuerre, The Philistines, and Black Light Animals and many more. Nathan is also a DJ. The pandemic inspired Reusch to dust off his Bobcat Attack moniker and renewed his interest in making music. After a few months of waywardly trying to figure out patches and midi cables, he joined KC’s Synth Collective and found a group of similarly-minded electronic musicians. His debut track, Pallas, released September 18, 2024 was the inaugural release on Les Bon Bons Electriques imprint on The Record Machine label. This collaboration between fellow electronic musician and collaborator Mark Ronning (Mr. Golden Sun/Pool Culure) and Reusch’s label, The Record Machine,
Nathan Reusch thanks for being with us on WMM.
Kansas City based musician Zac Laman records music as Wrker_. Wrker_ is an electronic music producer who has been pushing the boundaries of jungle and drum and bass since 1996. Growing up in Bentonville, AR, his early days were steeped in a passion for underground sounds that would later find new expression through the innovative capabilities of the Polyend Tracker. In 2004, a move to Kansas City, MO marked a turning point, offering fresh perspectives and a vibrant new scene to fuel his creative journey. // Drawing inspiration from influential forces like the pioneering UK label Metal Headz, as well as the experimental realms of Aphex Twin, Venetian Snares, and Squarepusher, wrker_ crafts complex, high-energy soundscapes that blend intricate breakbeats with futuristic electronic textures. His work is a seamless fusion of classic jungle/drum and bass rhythms and contemporary production techniques, resulting in a sound that is both a nod to the genre’s storied past and a bold step into its future. // Today, Wrker_ continues to explore and expand his sonic palette, delivering tracks that captivate audiences with their technical precision, relentless energy, and unmistakable creative vision. // We first played Wrker_ on WMM on October 4, 2023.
Zac Laman thanks for being with us on WMM.
Nathan Reusch (Bobcat) Attack & Zac Laman (Wrker_s) share details about the KC Synthesizer Collective, a group of electronic musicians working to build platforms for experimental & emerging artists. The KC Synthesizer Collective is cultivating a community centered around creativity & self-expression in the electronic music scene. The collective meets on the 1st & 3rd Tues. from 6 to 10:00 pm at Stockyards Brewing Co.
The Kansas City Synthesizer Collective will celebrate their third anniversary with a special show, Friday, February 21, at 7:00pm, at Stockyards Brewing Co, 1600 Genessee St, Ste 100, KCMO. More info at: http://www.kcsynthcollective.com
The new Bobcat Attack single “Bird of Prey” is Bobcat Attack’s debut single release, “Pallas,” (Sept. 20, 2024) was the inaugural release on Les Bon Bons Electriques – The Record Machine imprint. This collaboration between fellow electronic musician and collaborator Mark Ronning (Mr. Golden Sun/Pool Culure) and Reusch’s label, The Record Machine..
Zach Laman grew up in Bentonville, AR, his early days were steeped in a passion for underground sounds that would later find new expression through the innovative capabilities of the Polyend Tracker. In 2004, a move to Kansas City, MO marked a turning point, offering fresh perspectives and a vibrant new scene to fuel his creative journey.
The new single from Wrker_ is “ICE” from an upcoming EP to be released soon. Earlier this year on January 7, 2025 Wrker_ released the 5-track EP – HEAR THIS.
11:40
Wrker_ – “ICE” from: “Ice” / Wrker_ / January 14, 2025, 2023 [“ICE” is from an upcoming EP to be released soon. Earlier this year on January 7, 2025 Wrker_ released the 5-track EP – HEAR THIS. On July 18, 2024 Wrker_ released the single “5”. On November 22, 2023 Wrker_ released the singe, “Berserk Earth.” // Kansas City based Wrker is Zachary Laman. Zach Laman records music as Wrker_. Wrker_ is an electronic music producer who has been pushing the boundaries of jungle and drum and bass since 1996. Growing up in Bentonville, AR, his early days were steeped in a passion for underground sounds that would later find new expression through the innovative capabilities of the Polyend Tracker. In 2004, a move to Kansas City, MO marked a turning point, offering fresh perspectives and a vibrant new scene to fuel his creative journey. / Drawing inspiration from influential forces like the pioneering UK label Metal Headz, as well as the experimental realms of Aphex Twin, Venetian Snares, and Squarepusher, wrker_ crafts complex, high-energy soundscapes that blend intricate breakbeats with futuristic electronic textures. His work is a seamless fusion of classic jungle/drum and bass rhythms and contemporary production techniques, resulting in a sound that is both a nod to the genre’s storied past and a bold step into its future. // Today, wrker_ continues to explore and expand his sonic palette, delivering tracks that captivate audiences with their technical precision, relentless energy, and unmistakable creative vision. We first played Wrker_ on WMM on October 4, 2023 wehen we played the track “Champion Soun” where Wrker_ who Chopped, sampled, tickled, and keyed. Made on the Polyend tracker.]
[Wrker_ plays The Kansas City Synthesizer Collective third anniversary special show, Friday, February 21, at 7:00pm, at Stockyards Brewing Co, 1600 Genessee St, Ste 100, KCMO.]
11:45 – More Interview with with Nathan Reusch and Zac Laman
Nathan Reusch is co-founder of The Record Machine an area music label that is celebrating 22 years! Nathan Reusch first started making electronic music under the name Bobcat Attack influenced by emo/punk in the early 2000s, opening for acts like Taking Back Sunday, Mewihoutyou, Coheed and Cambria, to more fitting artists like Joy Electric, Atom & His Package, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and Yacht. In 2003, he started his indie label, The Record Machine, and in 2011, he founded KC’s Middle of the Map Fest; his time and focus on making his music came to a halt. Under Nathan’s leadership The Record Machine has been the label for Static Phantoms, Monta, Various Blonde, Cowboy Indian Bear, LaGuerre, The Philistines, and Black Light Animals and many more. Nathan is also a DJ. The pandemic inspired Reusch to dust off his Bobcat Attack moniker and renewed his interest in making music. After a few months of waywardly trying to figure out patches and midi cables, he joined KC’s Synth Collective and found a group of similarly-minded electronic musicians. His debut track, Pallas, released September 18, 2024 was the inaugural release on Les Bon Bons Electriques imprint on The Record Machine label. This collaboration between fellow electronic musician and collaborator Mark Ronning (Mr. Golden Sun/Pool Culure) and Reusch’s label, The Record Machine,
Nathan Reusch thanks for being with us on WMM.
Kansas City based musician Zac Laman records music as Wrker_. Wrker_ is an electronic music producer who has been pushing the boundaries of jungle and drum and bass since 1996. Growing up in Bentonville, AR, his early days were steeped in a passion for underground sounds that would later find new expression through the innovative capabilities of the Polyend Tracker. In 2004, a move to Kansas City, MO marked a turning point, offering fresh perspectives and a vibrant new scene to fuel his creative journey. // Drawing inspiration from influential forces like the pioneering UK label Metal Headz, as well as the experimental realms of Aphex Twin, Venetian Snares, and Squarepusher, wrker_ crafts complex, high-energy soundscapes that blend intricate breakbeats with futuristic electronic textures. His work is a seamless fusion of classic jungle/drum and bass rhythms and contemporary production techniques, resulting in a sound that is both a nod to the genre’s storied past and a bold step into its future. // Today, wrker_ continues to explore and expand his sonic palette, delivering tracks that captivate audiences with their technical precision, relentless energy, and unmistakable creative vision. // We first played Wrker_ on WMM on October 4, 2023.
Zac Laman thanks for being with us on WMM.
Nathan Reusch aka Bobcat Attack and Zac Laman aka Wrker_share details about the Kansas City Synthesizer Collective, a group of electronic musicians working to build platforms for experimental & emerging artists. The KC Synthesizer Collective is cultivating a community centered around creativity & self-expression in the electronic music scene. The collective meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays from 6:00pm to 10:00 pm at Stockyards Brewing Co.
Nathan Reusch aka Bobcat Attack & Zach Laman aka Wrker_ Thanks for being on WMM
The Kansas City Synthesizer Collective will celebrate their third anniversary with a special show, Friday, February 21, at 7:00pm, at Stockyards Brewing Co, 1600 Genessee St, Ste 100, KCMO. More info at: http://www.kcsynthcollective.com
Dusk Runner – “Stranger Danger” from: “Stranger Danger” – Single / Dusk Runner / 2025 [Dusk Runner is Jesse Jones]
[Dusk Runner plays The Kansas City Synthesizer Collective third anniversary special show, Friday, February 21, at 7:00pm, at Stockyards Brewing Co, 1600 Genessee St, Ste 100, KCMO.]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
NEXT WEEK, Feb 19 – MC, Band Leader, Activist, Les Izmore joins us as Guest Producer.
THANK YOU to our incredible KKFI Staff; Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers and Shaina Littler – Office Manager Book Keeper
This radio station is more than the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of hardworking people, unselfishly setting aside ego, to work for the greater good of community building and the gigantic goal of keeping our airwaves free, non-commercial, and open to all! Congratulations and thank you to all programmers & volunteers who went the extra effort to keep our station alive.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information. Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org
Wednesday MidDay Medley Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2024 (Part 3 of 4)
Wednesday MidDay Medley presents part-three, of our four-week special: WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2024. Based on playlists of this little ole radio show, we’ve compiled representative tracks from our favorite full-length albums and EP recordings of 2024. We realize these “Best of” lists can seem subjective, so we ask that you please accept our list as a celebration of the year in music.
In 2024 we’ve broadcast nearly 900 different tracks on WMM over our 100,000 watts of 90.1 FM Community Radio Airwaves. Over 500 of these tracks were from New & MidCoastal Releases. 60 of the representative tracks in our “Best of” list are from MidCoastal Releases. We conducted over 118 interviews with 141 special guests. 40 of the bands and artists in our “Best of” list have joined us as guests on WMM.
Tune into Wednesday MidDay Medley throughout December for our 4-week series: The 120 Best Recordings of 2024, on December 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th. This is our celebration of the year when we were able to survey over 1000 area musical releases.
We’ll count down #60 through #31 with tracks from: ALBER, elska, The Whips, Zee Underscore, RxGhost, True Lions, Quiet Takes, Lonnie Fisher, Paris Williams, Keelon Vann, Dan Camino, Danielle Nicole, Say That Again, MellowPhobia, The Fun Guy, Marty Bush,Xiu Xiu, Kali Uchis, PJ Morton, Swamp Dogg, Hermanos Gutiérrez, MJ Lenderman, Flamy Grant, Billie Eilish, Arooj Aftab, Nubya Garcia, Okay Kaya, Nilüfer Yanya, Laura Marling, and Samara Joy.
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / Dec. 20, 1979 [WMM’s theme]
(#60.) Xiu Xiu – “Common Loon” from: 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips / Polyvinyl Records / Sept. 27, 2024 [13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, colloquially referred to as 13″, is the fourteenth studio album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on September 27, 2024 by Polyvinyl. // “Common Loon”, is the lead siongle which was accompanied by a music video featuring Alicia McDaid. The singles “Arp Omni” and “Veneficium” were released on August 13, 2024 // The album’s title comes from a switchblade owned by band frontperson Jamie Stewart. In an interview with Our Culture, Stewart explained, “Switchblades, since the 1950s, are an almost clichéd symbol of ‘tough guy’ aesthetics. But as an instrument of violence, they’re pretty useless… Serving as a symbol for violence and fear while being pretty useless is a fascinating symbol of violence generally.” Stewart said one driving force the record was “interesting uselessness”, “a stupid contradiction that could have genuine consequences”. They said that there were switchblades “around the studio or at our desks or whatever”, which functioned as a sort of talisman, guiding the band throughout the production. // On the review aggregating website Metacritic, 13″ received “universal acclaim” based on a normalized rating of 81 out of 100 from 6 critical reviews. Dale Maplethorpe of Far Out praised the album for being an “unpredictable mesh of chaos,” and wrote that it “is an absolute joy from start to finish.” The Quietus’s Claire Biddles said the album “might be Xiu Xiu’s best,” further noting that it’s “funny, terrifying, extreme, horny, embarrassing, relatable – everything that Xiu Xiu have ever been at once.” // Current members: Jamie Stewart on production, vocals, percussion, guitar, synthesizers, keyboards, piano, programming, bass, organ, harmonium, viola (2002–present); Angela Seo on production, vocals, percussion, piano, synthesizers, programming, organ, harmonium (2009–present) // David Kendrick on production, drums, percussion (2022–present) // Xiu Xiu (SHOO-shoo) is an American experimental rock band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of multi-instrumentalists Stewart (the only constant member since formation), Angela Seo, and percussionist David Kendrick. The band’s name comes from the Chinese film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, which has influenced the sound of their music, according to Stewart. // Xiu Xiu released their first two albums, Knife Play (2002) and A Promise (2003), on 5 Rue Christine to positive critical reception. In-between the two, the EP Chapel of the Chimes was released via Absolutely Kosher. The compilation album Fag Patrol was released shortly after, and their third studio album Fabulous Muscles was released in 2004. La Forêt was released in 2005 after Caralee McElroy joined the group, and The Air Force followed in 2006. 2008’s Women as Lovers was released via the main Kill Rock Stars label in 2008, and McElroy departed the group shortly afterwards. // Dear God, I Hate Myself was released in 2010 and was the first Xiu Xiu album to prominently feature longtime member Angela Seo. Following a signing to Polyvinyl and Bella Union, Xiu Xiu released Always (2012) and Angel Guts: Red Classroom (2014). In between those two projects, the group released a Nina Simone tribute project, Nina, in late 2013 via Graveface Records. // Plays the Music of Twin Peaks (2016) followed, an album consisting of covers from the Twin Peaks soundtracks originally as a Record Store Day exclusive release but re-released by Polyvinyl later that year. Forget (2017) and Girl with Basket of Fruit (2019) were released afterwards, and Xiu Xiu released their twelfth album Oh No in 2021. Their thirteenth album, Ignore Grief, was released in March 2023, and their fourteenth, 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, was released in September 2024. // Jamie Stewart formed Xiu Xiu in 2002 after their previous band, Ten in the Swear Jar, disbanded. Stewart and Cory McCulloch continued from the previous group, and were joined by Yvonne Chen and Lauren Andrews. The band’s sound was characterized by its use of indigenous instruments and programmed drums in place of traditional rock instruments: harmonium, mandolin, brass bells, gongs, keyboards, and a cross between a guitarrón mexicano and a cello for bass, etc. Stewart states that the group is equally influenced by Nina Simone and Krzysztof Penderecki, by The Birthday Party and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). // Xiu Xiu would tour their first LP Knife Play, and its successor EP, Chapel of the Chimes, in 2002, blending both melody and cacophony with a heavy reliance on percussive instrumentation and brass instrumentation. // Following 2002, the group would shrink in membership as Yvonne Chen left to focus on her vegan boutique Otsu and self-published magazine Zum, while Cory McCulloch also stopped touring, focusing instead on producing the band’s next two LPs. A personal loss would affect Xiu Xiu as well, as Jamie Stewart’s father, musician and record producer Michael Stewart was found dead after an apparent suicide. Coping with these losses, Stewart would record the group’s follow-up to Knife Play, 2003’s A Promise. Xu Xiu played The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Lawrence, KS. On October 24, at 7:00pm With special guests: Ebony Tusks. And Jackson Graham.]
(#59.) Kali Uchis – “Perdiste” from: ORQUIDEAS / Geffen Records / January 12, 2024 [The fourth studio album and second Spanish-language album by American singer-songwriter Kali Uchis, who was born Karly-Marina Loaiza on July 17, 1994. Kali Uchis is an American singer and songwriter. After releasing her debut mixtape Drunken Babble (2012), she released her debut EP Por Vida (2015). She released her debut studio album Isolation (2018) to widespread acclaim. Her second studio album and first Spanish-language project Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) (2021) spawned the single “Telepatía”, which became her first solo charting hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Her third studio album Red Moon in Venus (2023) became her first to debut within the top 5 on the Billboard 200. // Uchis was featured on Kaytranada’s 2019 single “10%”, which won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. Her other accolades include an American Music Award, two Billboard Music Awards, and a nomination for a Latin Grammy Award. // Uchis was born Karly-Marina Loaiza in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 17, 1994, the daughter of a Colombian family. Her parents met during the late 1980s, and her father moved back to Colombia when Uchis was in high school. She subsequently spent summers in Colombia with her father, uncles, and aunts. During the school year, she lived with her mother and older siblings. In high school, she learned to play the piano and saxophone. She participated in a jazz band, and graduated from Alexandria City High School (then called T. C. Williams High School). She often skipped class to spend time at the photo lab, making experimental short films. Her interest in photography led to her creating mixtape cover art. Skipping class and breaking the curfew set by her parents led to her being kicked out of her home. During this time, she lived in her car and wrote songs on her keyboard which would later appear on her debut mixtape Drunken Babble (2012). She also wrote poetry and did not initially intend to sing, being more interested in directing films than being in the spotlight. She was given the nickname “Kali Uchis” by her father and adopted it as her stage name.]
(#58.) The Whips – “I Think She Knows” from: Stardust & Motor Oil – EP / Midtopia Records / August 2, 2024 [The Whips are Miles Patterson on drums, Quinn Cosgrove on bass, Max Indiveri on guitar, and Coop on piano. The Whips are a funk/soul band based in Kansas City. The Whips released their 12 track debut album HOW TO HOLD A GRUDGE on Lotuspool Records on September 1, 2023, Recorded with Audio Engineer Chris Cosgrove. the album features an array of their favorite local musicians guest in various tracks including: Malek Azrael, Anna Duntz, Atomic Blonde, Die Jane, Tre’ Mutava, Lymerrick & Lucy Brock. The Whips released their single, “Begin Again”on February 2, 2024. The Whips released their single, “As Long As You Want Me” on March 8, 2024. The Whips released their 6-track Debut EP, NEVER CHANGE, OR DO on August 20, 2021 on Draft Crew Records. The Whips released multiple singles in 2021. More info at: ww.thewhipsband.com].
PJ Morton’s latest album, PAUL, is out now.
(#57.) PJ Morton – “I Found You” from: Cape Town to Cairo / Morton Records / June 14, 2024 [P.J. Morton (born Paul Sylvester Morton Jr.; March 29, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 2012, he has been the keyboardist for the pop band Maroon 5. Morton originally joined the band as a touring member in 2010 and became an official member in 2012 after Jesse Carmichael went on a short hiatus (he returned to the lineup playing guitar in 2014). // Morton released his debut solo EP, Following My First Mind, in March 2012, through the record label Young Money. Adam Levine and James Valentine were featured on the lead single, “Heavy”. In May 2013, Morton released his first major-label debut album, New Orleans. In 2016, he released his mixtape Bounce & Soul Vol. 1 in March and the Sticking to My Guns EP in July. On April 14, 2017, Morton released his first self-released studio album Gumbo, earning Morton two Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. // In April 2019, Morton said he would begin a project to restore the New Orleans home of jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden and create a museum and community space at the site. Bolden’s former home has been owned by Morton’s father’s church for more than a decade, and had been cited for demolition by neglect. // Morton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father is Canadian-born American gospel singer and Founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, Bishop Paul S. Morton. His mother is Dr. Debra Brown Morton, pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church. // Morton graduated St. Augustine High School and majored in marketing at Morehouse College, graduating in 2003. // In 2010, Morton’s friend and Maroon 5’s musical director Adam Blackstone asked him to audition for a position in the band as a touring keyboardist and backing vocalist. Morton was the first to audition and left an indelible mark on the group. Since then, he has played with Maroon 5 in concerts and other live performances. From 2012 to 2014 Morton filled-in for the band’s keyboardist, Jesse Carmichael, who was on an indefinite hiatus from performing with the group, as stated on their official website in March 2012. In 2012, he joined the band as a full-time member, contributing his vocal and keyboard parts on Maroon 5’s fourth studio album, Overexposed, and continuing to do so during the processes of recording the band’s albums, V (2014), Red Pill Blues (2017), and Jordi (2021). // Morton’s solo work won the attention of Mack Maine, who signed him to his production company, Soothe Your Soul, and Young Money Entertainment in 2011. The Following My First Mind (EP) was released on March 27, 2012. // On May 14, 2013, Morton released his major-label debut studio album with Young Money Records, titled New Orleans. The album’s lead single, “Only One”, which features Stevie Wonder, was nominated for the Best R&B Song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014. // In 2016, Morton moved to New Orleans and opened a record label called Morton Records which he envisioned as “the New Orleans Motown”. Same year, Morton started working on Gumbo. About the album’s title he said “I named it Gumbo because the actual dish is a bunch of things mixed in together to make [something] beautiful. I wanted to grow as a songwriter and talk about more things … about where we are in the world today, the tension, how divided we are as a country. It kind of felt like I was dumping a bunch of subject matter together and I made it in New Orleans so that sounded like gumbo to me.” As a first step, on March 25, 2016, Morton released Bounce & Soul Vol. 1, a mixtape which includes re-imagined versions of his best songs in New Orleans’ bounce style.On July 1, 2016, Morton released the Sticking to My Guns EP, featuring the single of the same name. The EP, besides including alternative versions of “First Began” and “Sticking to My Guns”, also contains “Say So”, a song that was later cut from the final tracklist of the album. On November 15, 2016, Morton released “You Should Be Ashamed”, a Stevie Wonder-esque socially conscious song that was later replaced by “Religion”. On March 13, 2017, Morton announced on his Instagram page April 14, 2017 as the release date of Gumbo. // Gumbo did not manage to enter on the US Billboard 200 chart but received positive reviews from most music critics, who complimented Morton’s style and praised him for his singing and songwriting. The album earned Morton two Grammy nominations for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. On February 14, 2019, Morton collaborated with singer JoJo on the song “Say So”, which served as the lead single for his sixth album Paul. // In 2020, Morton recorded his live album, The Piano Album. It features songs from Gumbo and Paul. On August 28, 2020, Morton released his long awaited gospel album Gospel According To PJ: From The Songbook of PJ Morton. The album features The Clark Sisters, Comissioned, Zacardi Cortez, Darrel Walls, and others. It also features remade versions of So In Love by Amber Bullock, Over and Over by Trinitee 5:7, and Let Go by Dwayne Woods. A documentary was released talking about how he was pressured to make Gospel music, the process of each song, and his father. Don’t Let Go from his previous album Paul was included featuring Kim Burrell. Do You Believe feat. Yolanda Adams was included from “Christmas With PJ Morton.” // Watch the Sun was released in mid 2022. The album blends elements of R&B, soul, and gospel, featuring collaborations with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Nas, JoJo , and Alex Isley. Known for its themes of hope and personal resilience, the album was praised for its emotional depth and musicality. // In 2023, Morton released Watch the Sun Live: The Mansion Sessions, a live album featuring stripped-down, intimate performances of songs from the original album, showcasing Morton’s vocal and instrumental prowess in a more acoustic setting. // Cape Town to Cairo is the seventh studio album by American musician PJ Morton, released in 2024 via Morton Records and EMPIRE. The album was conceived and recorded during a 30-day journey across Africa, with stops in cities such as Cape Town, Lagos, Accra, Cairo, and Johannesburg. Morton undertook the project without any pre-written material, seeking to capture the essence of his experiences in real-time. The album draws on various genres, including R&B, soul, gospel, jazz, and pop, all influenced by African musical traditions and rhythms, which Morton encountered throughout his travels. // The album features collaborations with several notable African artists, including Fireboy DML, Made Kuti, Aṣa, Ndabo Zulu, and the Soweto Spiritual Singers. Songs like “Simunye (We Are One)” emphasize African unity, while tracks like “Count On Me,” featuring Fireboy DML, explore themes of friendship and global togetherness. The project has been compared to Paul Simon’s Graceland (album) in its ambition and scope, but Morton’s direct immersion in African culture during the album’s creation sets it apart. // Morton has described Cape Town to Cairo as an exploration of the African diaspora through music, combining influences from the continent with his roots in New Orleans soul and gospel. The album was recorded with local musicians and producers such as P.Priime and The Cavemen (band), and its themes range from personal lineage and gratitude to broader messages of unity and identity. // After winning Grammy Awards for his songwriting and production on India.Arie’s Interested, Morton won Dove and Stellar Awards in 2008. // Morton was also noticed by AR Rahman, composer for Slumdog Millionaire, who asked Morton to contribute “Sajna” to the soundtrack and movie for the Vince Vaughn comedy Couples Retreat. Morton has also produced and written for musicians such as Jermaine Dupri, LL Cool J, Jagged Edge, Monica, India.Arie, gospel musicians Fred Hammond, Men of Standard, Brian Courtney Wilson, and Heather Headley. In 2009, he published a book entitled ‘ Why Can’t I Sing About Love? // Morton who wrote a song called “Battle Field” by Chinese singer Jane Zhang from the 2016 film The Great Wall. // in October 2023, Morton was featured in Portuguese singer Barbara Bandeira’s debut studio album Finda on the track Ego. // Morton wrote the song “Special Spice” for the theme park attraction Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is inspired by Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. // He married his wife Kortni Morton on December 25, 2008. They grew up attending the same church and began dating as adults. They have three children;Jakai (aged 19), Paul III “P3” (aged 13) and Peyton (aged 11).]
(#56.) Swamp Dogg – “Count The Days (feat. Jenny Lewis)” from: Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St. / Oh Boy Records / May 31, 2024 [Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St, is Swamp Dogg’s first record with Oh Boy Records . “Count The Days (feat. Jenny Lewis)” was first released in 1967 by Inez and Charlie Foxx and re-envisioned, with an official music video featuring Swamp and Lewis recording the track at Nashville’s Sound Emporium. // The feature-length documentary Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted premiered at the 2024 SXSW and received raves from The Austin Chronicle and The Hollywood Reporter who called it, “a documentary that draws its voice and aesthetic from the spirit of its subject, resulting in a tight 97 minutes that feel organic and satisfying and, as befits that subject, appealingly odd.” Rolling Stone also included Swamp Dogg’s official showcase in their Best of SXSW roundup proclaiming, “Swamp Dogg sounded bold and robust, his vigor encouraging his band to ratchet up the energy… every musician on stage was locked into an undeniable groove.” // Produced by Ryan Olson (Poliça, Gayngs) and recorded with an all-star band including Noam Pikelny, Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas, Chris Scruggs, Billy Contreras, and Kenny Vaughan, the 12-song collection is a riotous blend of past and present, mixing the sacred and the profane in typical Swamp Dogg fashion as it blurs the lines between folk, roots, country, blues, and soul. Special guests like Margo Price, Vernon Reid, Jenny Lewis, Justin Vernon, and The Cactus Blossoms all add to the excitement, but it’s ultimately the 81-year-old Swamp Dogg’s delivery—sly and playful and full of genuine joy and ache—that steals the show. // “Believe it or not, I didn’t do anything but sing these songs the way I would have sung them if it was an R&B album. That’s just the way the music comes out of me, and it would have been unholy for me to try and imitate anybody else,” explains Swamp Dogg about the making of the album. “Black music has had so many different labels put on it over the years that sometimes I’m onstage and I don’t know what the hell it is that I’m singing,” Swamp Dogg says with a laugh. “The only thing I know how to do is be myself.” // “Swamp Dogg is one of my favorite humans on the planet… How to classify him I just don’t know. He’s a soul artist, a psychedelic artist, a protest singer, he’s a man for all seasons.” – Ann Powers // Jerry Williams Jr. was born July 12, 1942. He is generally credited under the pseudonym Swamp Dogg after 1970, is an American soul and R&B singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. Williams has been described as “one of the great cult figures of 20th century American music.” // After recording as Little Jerry and Little Jerry Williams in the 1950s and 1960s, he reinvented himself as Swamp Dogg, releasing a series of satirical, offbeat, and eccentric recordings, as well as continuing to write and produce for other musicians. He debuted his new sound on the Total Destruction To Your Mind album in 1970. In the 1980s, he helped to develop Alonzo Williams’ World Class Wreckin’ CRU, which produced Dr. Dre among others. He continues to make music, releasing Love, Loss & Autotune on Joyful Noise Recordings in 2018, and Sorry You Couldn’t Make It in 202. // Williams was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He made his first recording, “HTD Blues (Hardsick Troublesome Downout Blues)”, for the Mechanic record label in 1954, when he was aged 12, with his parents and uncle and backing musicians, and was regularly hired to play private parties. From 1960, he released occasional singles for a variety of labels, including the self-written “I’m The Lover Man” in 1964, which was first issued on the Southern Sound label and was then picked up by the larger Loma label, almost breaking into the national Billboard Hot 100. He also wrote successfully for other musicians, including “Big Party” for Barbara and the Browns. // As Little Jerry Williams, he had his first national chart success in 1966, when “Baby You’re My Everything”, which he co-wrote and produced, was released on the Calla label and rose to #32 on the R&B chart, again just missing the Hot 100. He released several more singles on Calla through to 1967, by now credited simply as Jerry Williams, but with little commercial success, although some of his records such as “If You Ask Me (Because I Love You)” later became staples of the Northern Soul movement in the UK. // By late 1967 he started working in A&R and other duties for the Musicor label in New York. In 1968 he co-wrote, with Charlie Foxx, Gene Pitney’s up-tempo hit, “She’s a Heartbreaker”, which Williams also claimed to have produced, saying: “I produced the motherfuck out of it… [and] Charlie Foxx put me down on the label as “vocal arranger.” What the fuck is that? When they took out full-page ads in Billboard and Cashbox, there was a picture of Charlie on one side and a picture of Gene Pitney on the other and no mention of me.” // Later in 1968 Williams began working as a producer at Atlantic Records with Jerry Wexler and Phil Walden, on artists including Patti LaBelle & the Blue Belles, though he found the administration frustrating. He established a songwriting partnership with Gary Anderson, who performed as Gary U.S. Bonds, and the pair wrote the R&B chart hits “To the Other Woman (I’m the Other Woman)” by Doris Duke, and “She Didn’t Know (She Kept on Talking)” by Dee Dee Warwick. He also recorded a single, “I Got What It Takes”, in a duo with Brooks O’Dell, and released two singles under his own name on the Cotillion label, a subsidiary of Atlantic. // Swamp Dogg Williams later wrote:I became Swamp Dogg in 1970 in order to have an alter-ego and someone to occupy the body while the search party was out looking for Jerry Williams, who was mentally missing in action due to certain pressures, mal-treatments and failure to get paid royalties on over fifty single records…. Most all of the tracks included were recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and Macon, Georgia, which brings me to how the name Swamp Dogg came about. Jerry Wexler, Atlantic Records v.p. and producer/innovator second to none, was recording in the newly discovered mecca of funk Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He coined the term “Swamp Music” for this awesome funk predominately played by all white musicians accompanying the R’n’B institutions e.g., Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, King Curtis… I was also using the same “swamp” players. I was tired of being a jukebox, singing all of the hits by Chuck Jackson, Ben E. King, etc., and being an R’n’B second banana. I couldn’t dance as good as Joe Tex, wasn’t pretty like Tommy Hunt, couldn’t compare vocally to Jackie Wilson and I didn’t have the sex appeal of Daffy Duck. I wanted to sing about everything and anything and not be pigeonholed by the industry. So I came up with the name Dogg because a dog can do anything, and anything a dog does never comes as a real surprise; if he sleeps on the sofa, shits on the rug, pisses on the drapes, chews up your slippers, humps your mother-in-law’s leg, jumps on your new clothes and licks your face, he’s never gotten out of character. You understand what he did, you curse while making allowances for him but your love for him never diminishes. Commencing in 1970, I sung about sex, niggers, love, rednecks, war, peace, dead flies, home wreckers, Sly Stone, my daughters, politics, revolution and blood transfusions (just to name a few), and never got out of character. Recording in Alabama and sincerely singing/writing about items that interested me, gave birth to the name Swamp Dogg. // Having adopted his moniker before Snoop Dogg was born he has claimed to be “the original D-O double G.” // In 1970 he emerged in his new Swamp Dogg persona, with two singles on Wally Roker’s Canyon label, “Mama’s Baby, Daddy’s Maybe”, again co-written with Bonds, and “Synthetic World”. He also produced the first Swamp Dogg album, Total Destruction to Your Mind. The album sleeve showed Williams sitting in his underwear on a pile of garbage. Williams’ new direction apparently followed an LSD trip, and was inspired by the radical politics of the time and by Frank Zappa’s use of satire, while showing his own expertise in, and commitment to, deep soul and R&B music. According to Allmusic: “In sheer musical terms, Swamp Dogg is pure Southern soul, anchored on tight grooves and accentuated by horns, but the Dogg is as much about message as music…” Although not a commercial success at the time, Swamp Dogg started to develop a cult following and eventually the album sold enough to achieve gold record status. Record critic Robert Christgau wrote that “Soul-seekers like myself are moderately mad for the obscure” album and has called it “legendary”. It was reissued in 2013 by Alive Naturalsound Records. // Around the same time, one of the songs Williams had co-written with Gary Bonds, “She’s All I Got”, became a top-ten R&B hit for Freddie North, and was recorded with even greater success by country star Johnny Paycheck, whose version reached #2 on the country music chart in late 1971. In a later interview on NPR’s Studio 360, Williams stated he was raised on country music: “Black music didn’t start ’til 10 at night until 4 in the morning and I was in bed by then… If you strip my tracks, take away all the horns and guitar licks, what you have is a country song.” However, he also continued to write and produce deep soul songs for other musicians, including Z. Z. Hill and Irma Thomas. In 1971 in collaboration with co-producer and writer the legendary George Semper he released “Monster Walk Pt. 1 and 2” by the Rhythm ‘N’ Blues Classical Funk Band on Mankind Records label. Produced for Jerry Williams Productions, Inc.and in spite of modest sales the record once again demonstrated his entrepreneurial skill as an artist. // As Swamp Dogg, he was signed by Elektra Records for his second album, Rat On! in 1971. The sleeve showed him on the back of a giant white rat, and has frequently been ranked as one of the worst album covers of all time. Sales were relatively poor, and he joined Jane Fonda’s anti-Vietnam War Free the Army tour. His next albums Cuffed, Collared and Tagged (1972) and Gag a Maggott (recorded at the TK Studio in 1973) were released on smaller labels, though his 1974 album, Have You Heard This Story??, was issued by Island Records. In 1977 he had another minor R&B hit with “My Heart Just Can’t Stop Dancing”, credited to Swamp Dogg & the Riders of the New Funk. He continued to release albums through the 1970s and into the mid-1980s as Swamp Dogg, on various small independent labels and in a variety of styles including disco and country and maintained a healthy cult following. He also set up his own publishing and recording company, Swamp Dogg Entertainment Group (SDEG). // In 1999, “Slow Slow Disco” was sampled by Kid Rock on the track “I Got One for Ya”, sparking a revival of interest in Swamp Dogg, who began performing live gigs for the first time. Several other of his recordings were sampled, and in 2009 he released two new albums, Give Em as Little as You Can…As Often as You Have To…Or…A Tribute to Rock N Roll, and An Awful Christmas and a Lousy New Year. He also released some further singles, and a compilation album of the best of his work as both Little Jerry Williams and Swamp Dogg, It’s All Good, was released in 2009. Most of his early Swamp Dogg albums have also been reissued on CD. // Swamp Dogg released a full-length album of new songs in 2014, The White Man Made Me Do It, which Williams described as being a sort of sequel to Total Destruction To Your Mind. Shortly thereafter, Swamp Dogg teamed up with Ryan Olson from Poliça to produce the tracks for his 2018 album Love, Loss & Autotune, Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) fine-tuning the vocal tracks. The song also features instrumentation by Guitar Shorty. The music video for “I’ll Pretend” premiered at NPR and was later featured at Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Spin and elsewhere. Swamp Dogg described the song as a character study about “a guy sitting in a restaurant by himself losing his fucking mind because he’s hoping his woman is gonna walk by, but she’s at a Ramada Inn somewhere fucking somebody else to death.” // In 2020, he released the album Sorry You Couldn’t Make It, a country-styled record recorded in Nashville with producer Ryan Olson and musicians including Justin Vernon, John Prine, and Jenny Lewis. More info at: http://www.theswampdogg.com]
(#55.) Hermanos Gutiérrez – “Low Sun” from: Sonido Cósmico / Easy Eye Sound / June 16, 2024 [6th album from Latin instrumental band formed in 2015 in Zürich by Ecuadorian-Swiss brothers Alejandro Gutiérrez (guitar and lap steel) and Estevan Gutiérrez (guitar and percussion). In 2022, the US label Easy Eye Sound released the band’s fifth album, El Bueno y el Malo. // Alejandro& Estevan Gutiérrez, two of four siblings, were raised by an Ecuadorian mother and a Swiss father in Switzerland, and often visited family in Playas, Ecuador. Around age nine, Estevan learned to play classical guitar in Latin styles such as milonga and salsa, and as a surfer was later inspired by surf rocker Jack Johnson. Alejandro, who is eight years younger, taught himself guitar by watching tutorial videos on YouTube. The Hermanos Gutiérrez band traces its origins to a jam session in Alejandro’s apartment in Zürich during a visit from Estevan in 2015. // The band’s first three albums (8 Años, El Camino de mi Alma, and Hoy Como Ayer) drew broadly from the world of Latin music. A visit to Mexico and the Southwest US in February 2020 inspired their fourth album, Hijos del Sol, which incorporated more Western sounds. An eight-minute music video for the title track came out in advance of the album’s release on September 25, 2020. // El Bueno y el Malo, the band’s first non-indie project, was recorded in Nashville in collaboration with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and released by his label Easy Eye Sound on October 28, 2022. The album (and its title) were inspired by Ennio Morricone’s The Good, the Bad & the Ugly soundtrack. The album was critically acclaimed and has been described as mentally transporting listeners to Spaghetti Western landscapes. Songs from El Bueno y el Malo comprised Hermanos Gutiérrez’s set list in an NPR Tiny Desk Concert in January 2023. That year, Auerbach was nominated for the Grammy Award for Non-Classical Producer of the Year in part for his work with Hermanos Gutiérrez.]
(#54.) The Fun Guy – “Cinnamon and Cardamom” from: From the Attic to the Underground / The Fun Guy / June 6, 2024 [Lawrence, Kansas based 3-piece band. From I Heart Local Music, June 11, 2024 written by Fally Afani: “The season is ripe for political discontent and a revolution. The Fun Guy’s latest album provides a pretty good soundtrack for such an occasion. // From the Attic to the Underground comes from the Lawrence trio, one of the scene’s newest up-and-coming acts spotted around town over the last year. Fronted by staggeringly tall Ranjit Arab (who is not Arab, but actually Indian and American), the band has been indulging us with a perfectly retro punk vibe (think The Clash). The album was recorded at Exception Studio in Topeka. Songs tackle everything from identity to politics to crimes against indigenous populations (when a seven-foot-tall brown man is yelling at you about stealing land from the indigenous, you need to listen), all against some speedy guitar riffs and beats that always get the crowd going. The band burst out the gate strong at the beginning of the year, and don’t seem to be slowing down. // IHLM: We’re sure you’re a fun guy, but you sound pretty angry on this album. What prompted you to tackle these political themes? // RA: Ha! Yes, the whole point of The Fun Guy is just to have fun and hopefully make people dance and have a good time, but I’m also pretty upset with the state of things these days. How can you not be? If you aren’t, you’re not paying attention. There’s no room to remain silent. We all need to speak up about the atrocities happening in Palestine with our U.S. tax dollars, for example. Meanwhile, “Prisoner or Guard” is about having to work your entire adult life, and “Never Skipped A Beat” has a rant about various respectable professions, so, yeah, I have a lot on my mind these days. IHLM: I imagine you feel like most of us (yours truly included) who live with ethnic identities in the U.S. Which songs helped you process this?RA: All of them did, really–that’s why I write in the first place. I’ve struggled a lot being torn between two cultures (American and Indian), and so everything I create reflects that, I guess. “Lost and Found” was especially therapeutic since it allowed me to rant in a way that wasn’t just shouting. // IHLM: On “Lost and Found,” you proclaim “every city in the nation was built on a foundation of lies.” Tell us how you really feel, Ranjit? // RA: Yes! I’ll always tell you how I really feel. I’m terrible at hiding that. I want people to have fun when they see us, but also leave them with some deep topics like settler colonialism and how we Americans are just as guilty of terrorizing people (Native Americans) as what’s happening now with Palestinians. So, we have a lot of work to do–whether that’s reparations for Indigenous people or putting an immediate end to the genocide against Palestinians.// RA: Right now we’re just looking forward to playing our next show at Lucia on Thursday, and lining up more gigs, writing more songs. I’m sure my politics will always be front and center in my songs, but hopefully people also find the tunes catchy and enjoy the musicianship. I’m especially excited to be playing with bassist Noah Meitler and drummer Foy Keith–we have a good chemistry that’s hard to come by, I think.]
(#53.) Marty Bush – “Time Tickin’ By” from: The Long Way Home / Marty Bush / August 30, 2024 [Hailing from the plains of eastern Kansas, Marty Bush is a torchbearer of the American songwriting tradition. His songs resonate with the weight of his influences such as Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley, and Kris Kristofferson, but he has channeled their emotional honesty and unvarnished truth-telling into something uniquely his own. While his 2022 solo debut “The Long Way Home” established him as a devout follower of the country and western songwriting tradition, his follow-up LP “Cowboy Chords”released October 13, 2023, took a bold step forward in establishing his voice as both a songwriter and performer. Taking the reins as both producer and engineer, Bush plays every instrument on the album with the exception of pedal steel which is skillfully manned by Devon Teran (Timbers). The result is a clear and precise vision of songs that honor the past and think to the present. Touring extensively, Bush played over 250 shows in 2022. He continued that break-neck pace into 2023, writing songs from behind the wheel and testing material in dives, honky-tonks, and juke-joints all over the US, pausing in May and June to record, then hitting the road again this July, August, September and October with Natalie Prauser and November with Johnny Lawhorn of The Pentagram String Band.]
10:29 – Underwriting
(#52.) MJ Lenderman – “She’s Leaving You” from: Manning Fireworks / Anti / September 6, 2024 [Mark Jacob Lenderman (born 1999), also known as Jake Lenderman and MJ Lenderman, is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has released three solo albums, and also plays with the alternative rock band Wednesday. He also has played drums for Indigo De Souza. Lenderman’s style has been described as alt-country, classic rock, and indie rock music. // Lenderman was born in Asheville, North Carolina. His great-grandfather was saxophonist Charlie Ventura. He was raised Catholic and was an altar boy. He played basketball and obsessively watched tapes of Michael Jordan. He grew up listening to Mark Linkous and Jason Molina. In his junior and senior years of high school, he began posting his music to Bandcamp. Lenderman studied at UNC Asheville for three semesters.[ // In 2018, Lenderman played the drums for fellow Asheville artist Indigo De Souza on her albums I Love My Mom and Any Shape You Take. Lenderman met Karly Hartzman, lead singer for the group Wednesday, and he joined the band for an EP called How Do You Let Love Into the Heart That Isn’t Split Wide Open (2018). // In July 2019, he released a self-titled album, his first solo album. At that time, he was working in an ice cream shop to support himself financially. // Lenderman toured with Wednesday in early February 2020, until the COVID-19 pandemic ended the tour.[4] During the COVID-19 pandemic, while collecting unemployment insurance, Lenderman wrote the songs that became the album Ghost of Your Guitar Solo, released in 2021. // His third album Boat Songs was released in 2022 on Dear Life Records. It was listed as one of the best albums of 2022 by Pitchfork, The A.V. Club, and The Ringer. After the success of the album, Lenderman signed a recording contract with Anti-. In 2023, he released the singles “Rudolph” and “Knockin'”. // Lenderman contributed guitar and vocals to the album Tiger’s Blood by Waxahatchee, released in March 2024, and was listed as featured guest artist on the album’s lead single, “Right Back To It”. In March 2024, Lenderman performed “Right Back To It” with Waxahatchee on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Lenderman’s next album, Manning Fireworks, released in September 2024. // Lenderman was in a relationship with his Wednesday bandmate Karly Hartzman for several years. In July 2024, The Guardian reported that the two had split.]
MJ Lenderman Discography Albums MJ Lenderman / June 15, 2019 / Dear Life Records Ghost of Your Guitar Solo / March 26, 2021 / Dear Life Records Boat Songs / April 29, 2022/ Dear Life Records And the Wind (Live and Loose! / November 17, 2023 / Anti- Manning Fireworks / September 6, 2024 / Anti-
Extended Plays How Do You Let Love Into the Heart That Isn’t Split Wide Open MJ Lenderman & Wednesday / December 13, 2018 / Self Released Faucet Nash to Stoudemire1 / November 7, 2019 / Self-released Lucky MJ Lenderman / December 25, 2019 / Self-released Guttering MJ Lenderman & Wednesday / January 22, 2021 / Super Enema Knockin’ MJ Lenderman / August 20, 2021 / Dear Life Records
(#51.) Flamy Grant – “How To Find The Words” rom: CHURCH / Glam & Glory Records / October 11, 2024 [Flamy Grant released her debut album, Bible Belt Baby on October 6, 2022. Flamy’s single “Good Day” released 9/6/23 is the first song by a drag performer to reach #1 on the iTunes Christian charts. It also debuted at #20 on Billboard’s Christian digital chart. // Between those two albums Flamy released a few singles. One of them ia: Fortune Teller Produced by Ben Grace. Sound engineer and electric guitars by Daniel Shearin. // Flamy Grant is winner of 2023 Kerrville New Folk Competition; and the 2023 San Diego Music Award nominee for Best Pop Album for BIBLE BELT BABY, the world’s first contemporary Christian music record by a drag performer. With influences from gospel, blues, folk & rock, hines light on queerness, faith, and overcoming spiritual trauma so often endured by LGBTQ+ people and others who grow up in conservative religious spaces. // Flamy’s iconic roots-rock sound is influenced by singer/songwriters like Natalie Merchant, Tracy Chapman, Over the Rhine, and Amy Grant. Her art shines a spotlight on the queer spiritual journey, telling stories of resilience and recovery from religious trauma. With a bold lip, a big lash, and a blistering voice, Flamy is here to rewrite the rules when it comes to faith-based entertainment, demanding a reckoning for an industry that for too long has silenced and shut out its LGBTQ+ artists and fans. //. Flamy Grant played an Official Showcase the 2024 Folk Alliance Intern. Feb 22.]
(#50.) Billie Eilish – “The Diner” from: Hit Me Hard And Soft / Darkroom – Interscope / May 17, 2024 [Third studio album by Billie Eilish. It is her first full-length studio album release since 2021’s Happier Than Ever. Eilish co-wrote Hit Me Hard and Soft with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O’Connell, who also produced the album. // Upon release, Hit Me Hard and Soft received universal acclaim from critics, praising the production, songwriting, and vocal performances. It topped the charts in over 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, and charted all 10 of its songs in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. The track “Lunch” was released as the lead single concurrently. “Birds of a Feather” was released as the second single from the album to great commercial success, peaking at number two on Billboard Hot 100 and in the top ten of several charts. At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, the album and its songs received a total of seven nominations, including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Song of the Year and Record of the Year. // To support the album, Eilish has embarked on her seventh concert tour, Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, which commenced on September 29, 2024. // Eilish co-wrote and recorded her second studio album, Happier Than Ever, at her brother Finneas O’Connell’s home recording studio, located in the basement of his Los Angeles residence. Recording took place weekly between April 2020 and February 2021, with the track listing finalized by the duo during the album’s creation. Released on July 30, 2021, Happier Than Ever was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, topping the Billboard 200 and nominated twice at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Eilish surprise-released her second extended play (EP) Guitar Songs in July 2022. The following year, she released “What Was I Made For?” for the soundtrack to the fantasy-comedy film Barbie (2023); she was inspired to write the song after seeing unfinished scenes of the film during its production. The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media. // In December 2021, Eilish began formulating ideas for her third studio album with O’Connell. In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, she mentioned that she hoped to start writing the album in 2023. In December 2023, Eilish said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that the album was “almost done”. Three months later, she confirmed that the album had been mastered. // Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell (/ˈaɪlɪʃ/ EYE-lish; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer and songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single “Ocean Eyes”, written and produced by her brother Finneas O’Connell, with whom she collaborates on music and live shows. In 2017, she released her debut extended play (EP), Don’t Smile at Me. Commercially successful, it reached the top 15 of record charts in numerous countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. // Eilish’s debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019), debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart and was one of the year’s best-selling albums. Its single “Bad Guy” became the first by an artist born in the 21st century to top the US Billboard Hot 100 and be certified diamond by the RIAA. The next year, Eilish performed the theme song “No Time to Die” for the James Bond film No Time to Die, which topped the UK Singles Chart and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2022. Her subsequent singles “Everything I Wanted”, “My Future”, “Therefore I Am”, and “Your Power”, each peaked within the top ten in the US and UK. Her second studio album, Happier Than Ever (2021), topped the charts in 25 countries. She wrote and performed “What Was I Made For?” for the fantasy film Barbie (2023), which became her second number-one single in the UK and earned her a second Academy Award. Her third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft (2024), was met with critical acclaim and spawned the US top-five singles “Lunch” and “Birds of a Feather”, with the latter becoming her first number-one on the Billboard Global 200. // Eilish has received multiple accolades, including nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, twenty Guinness World Records, seven MTV Video Music Awards, three Brit Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards. She is the second artist in Grammy history to win all four general field categories—Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, as well as Best New Artist—in the same year. Eilish is also the first person born in the 21st century to win an Academy Award and the youngest ever two-time winner. She was featured on Time magazine’s inaugural Time 100 Next list in 2019 and the Time 100 in 2021. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Billboard, Eilish is the 26th-highest-certified digital singles artist and one of the most successful artists of the 2010s. She was honored as one of the BBC 100 Women in December 2022. // Eilish has a history of political activism, focusing on climate change awareness, women’s reproductive rights, gender equality, and animal rights.]
(#49.) Arooj Aftab -“Autumn Leaves (feat. James Francies)” rom: Night Reign / Verve / May 31, 2024 [Arooj Aftab was born March 11, 1985. She is a Pakistani-American singer, composer, and producer. She has worked in various musical styles and idioms, including jazz and minimalism. // Aftab was nominated for the Best New Artist award and won the Best Global Music Performance award for her song “Mohabbat” at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in April 2022. She became the first-ever Pakistani artist to win a Grammy Award. // On the 75th diamond jubilee anniversary of Pakistan, President Arif Alvi awarded Aftab the Pride of Performance Award, Pakistan’s most prestigious award for excellence in the field of art and music. // Aftab was born to Pakistani parents expatriated in Saudi Arabia. When she was about 10 years old, they returned to their native Lahore, Pakistan. She taught herself the guitar and gradually acquired her singing style while listening to Billie Holiday, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Mariah Carey, and Begum Akhtar. At that time, Aftab lived in a country where access to Western online platforms was difficult, and the infrastructure for independent music was lacking. In this context, however, she promoted her music in Pakistan, being one of the first musicians to use the Internet in the early 2000s; her renditions of “Mera Pyaar” and “Hallelujah” went viral and launched the Pakistani indie scene. // Aftab moved to the United States at the age of 19 in 2005 and earned a degree in music production and engineering at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. She moved to New York in 2010 and began working as an editor and scoring films. Since her graduation in 2010, Aftab has lived there, being part of the city’s jazz and “new music” scene. // In April 2011, Aftab was included in the “100 Composers Under 40” selection launched by NPR and WQXR-FM’s Q2 (a contemporary classical music internet radio station). // Aftab’s first album, Bird Under Water, was released independently in 2014. It received critical acclaim from David Honigmann of the Financial Times, who gave the album four out of five stars in March 2015. // She worked as an editor on the documentary Armed With Faith (2017), winning a 2018 Emmy Award afterward. // Her second album, Siren Islands, was released on June 12, 2018, through New Amsterdam Records. NPR included the album in their “Favorite Electronic and Dance Music of 2018” list. The New York Times listed the song “Island No. 2”, which represented the album, in their “25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2018” list. In mid-July 2018, the song “Lullaby”, taken from Bird Under Water, was ranked number 150 on the NPR’s “200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women” list. // In 2020, Aftab sang, among other vocalists, on Residente’s Latin Grammy Award-winning single “Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe”. That year, she composed the music for the Student Academy Award-winning film Bittu (narrative category) by Karishma Dube. // An anticipated release, Aftab’s third studio album, Vulture Prince, was released on April 23, 2021, via New Amsterdam Records. Thematically, the album discusses stories of people, relationships, and lost moments and is dedicated to the memory of her younger brother, Maher. Vulture Prince received praise from publications such as Pitchfork, NPR, and the Al Jazeera English-language news channel. Barack Obama selected the song “Mohabbat” from this album as one of his summer playlist favorites for 2021. “Mohabbat” was called one of the best songs of 2021 by Time and The New York Times. Vulture Prince was named the best album of 2021 by Netherlands newspaper de Volkskrant, topping their year-end list. Brenna Ehrlich ranked the album sixth on Rolling Stone’s “Best Music of 2021” staff list. It was ranked number twenty by The Guardian on their list of the “50 best albums of 2021”, and Laura Snapes named Aftab “[t]he year’s biggest musical revelation”. While Vulture Prince did not rank on the Los Angeles Times’ top ten “Best Albums of 2021”, it was, however, included on their “15 deserving albums” list. In late 2021, Aftab signed with Verve Records. // Aftab won a Grammy in 2022 for her song “Mohabbat”. In 2023 she became the first Pakistani artist to perform at the Grammys ceremony. // Aftab has performed at notable music venues such as the Barbican, the Chan Centre, the Lincoln Center, the Andy Warhol Museum, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, The Kitchen, (Le) Poisson Rouge, and the Museum of Modern Art. // She has also performed at international music festivals such as Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera Sound Barcelona, Roskilde Festival, Big Ears Festival, The Ecstatic Music Festival, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Pitchfork Music Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. In 2018 she opened for Mitski at The Brooklyn Steel. // In 2022, Aftab performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts’s Temple of Dendur, and at The Broad’s 2022 Summer Happenings series. // In May 2024, Aftab was announced as one of the curators for the Dutch music festival Le Guess Who?, set for November 7–10. Aftab’s lineup will include performances by herself, her father, Aja Monet, Dina El Wedidi, Meshell Ndegeocello, Noura Mint Seymali, and Zsela. // Aftab’s music has been described as a blend of jazz fusion, jazz, electronica, neo-Sufi, folk, Hindustani classical, classical music, indie pop, minimalism, and acoustic music. Aftab told the Los Angeles Times that she had aspired that Vulture Prince would “transcend boundaries”. // She has mentioned Abbey Lincoln, Abida Parveen, Anoushka Shankar, Begum Akhtar, Esperanza Spalding, Jeff Buckley, Julius Eastman, Meshell Ndegeocello, Morton Feldman, and Terry Riley as her influences. Aftab also expressed her admiration for Billie Eilish. Lyrically, Aftab has cited Asian poets as influences such as Rumi, Mirza Ghalib, and Hafeez Hoshiarpuri and uses Urdu Ghazal. Her vocals have been described as “meditative”. Vulture Prince revolves around themes of grief and longing. // In October 2023, Aftab signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to Joe Biden, President of the United States, calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. // Aftab has a tremendous love for animals. In 2023 she paired with Pakistani animal rights organization, the Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation to raise funds for their continued animal rescue efforts in Karachi. // Aftab raises her voice for gender equality in the music industry. In 2022 she spoke at Global Citizens’ Women of Influence panel on The Power of Gender in Shaping Culture alongside Gayle King, Pharrell Williams and Gloria Steinem. // In 2024 Aftab once again joined the Global Citizen action platform dedicated to achieving the end of extreme poverty, performing her song “Diya Hai” from her 2022 album Vulture Prince. Info at: http://www.aroojaftab.com]
(#48.) Nubya Garcia – “Set It Free (feat. Richie)” from: Odyssey / Nubya Garcia – Concord Jazz / September 20, 2024 [ Nubya Garcia’s album SOURCE from Concord Jazz / released August 21, 2020, was paft of WMM’sa 120 Best Recording 0f 2020. Nubya Nyasha Garcia was born in 1991. She is a British jazz musician, saxophonist, flautist, composer and bandleader. Garcia is the youngest of four siblings born in Camden Town, London to a Guyanese mother, a former civil servant, and a British Trinidadian film maker father. Garcia followed her older siblings to the local Saturday music centre at the age of 5, where she first learned the violin and later played the viola in the London Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO). Garcia has said her home life with her stepdad, a brass player with a vast collection of instruments, and her mother a keen collector of all genres of music from reggae and Latin to classical and soul, coupled with the music activities at school, Camden School for Girls, meant she was saturated with music of all genres. Garcia began learning the saxophone at the age of 10, with Vicky Wright until attaining ABRSM G8 distinction. She very early became a member of the Camden Jazz Band, directed by jazz pianist Nikki Yeoh, before joining the junior jazz program at the Royal Academy of Music. She also attended the workshops of Tomorrow’s Warriors under the direction of Gary Crosby. While still in High School, she received a scholarship for a five-week summer program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. During her Gap Year she studied with former Jazz Messengers member, Jean Toussaint. In 2016 she graduated with Honours from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, in Jazz Performance. In 2017, Garcia released her debut album Nubya’s 5ive via the label Jazz re:freshed. That year, her Nubya Garcia Band was an opening act at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival in Sète; the following year she played at the NYC Winter Jazz Festival and the Jazzfest Berlin.In her 2018 EP When We Are, Garcia explored how electronics can be used in a live jazz environment; the EP was created as a result of the Steve Reid Innovation Award. She is also a member of the Nérija, a collective, and the band Maisha led by drummer Jake Long. In addition, she is a collaborator on albums by Makaya McCraven, Theon Cross, Moses Boyd, the Toshio Matsuura Group and Sons of Kemet to Shabaka Hutchings; contributions from her can be found on five tracks of Brownswoods We Out Here, a sampler album from the modern London jazz scene. Garcia tours internationally, in Europe, India, Australia, and North America. She regularly performs at Greenfield festivals in the UK including Love Supreme Jazz Festival. She has headlined sell-out shows at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club London. Garcia also has a burgeoning reputation as a DJ, with a hit monthly radio residency on NTS Radio since November 2017. Garcia was supposed to perform at the Glastonbury Festival, but the festival had to be cancelled due to the increasing concerns over the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.]
(#47) ALBER – “Caldo” from: Lento / Locale Records / April 12, 2024 [Alberto Racanati is a genre-bending musician originally from Bari, Italy, now established in Kansas City. His musical journey started at age 11 when he learned to play his first notes on the trumpet. At age 14 Alberto enrolled in the Bari Conservatory to pursue his performance degree in the academy, while living a parallel musical existence in the rich musical underground in Southern Italy, playing drums and trumpet in a plethora of bands across all genres. His musical studies then took him to the National Music Academy in Gdansk, Poland, where he lived from 2011 to 2014, discovering the multicultural nature of the arts. In 2014 Alberto moved to the United States to work as a Graduate Assistant at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois. In 2016 Alberto continued on to Kansas City to pursue a Doctoral Degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he became enamored with the local music scene. 2018 saw the start of Alberto’s journey with electronic music, writing material for trumpet and electronics. This is where the project Alber starts, especially using social media as an interactive, open sketchbook for his sonic excursions. Alberto’s first self-titled album was released in 2020, followed by significant live performing presence in 2021 in Kansas and Missouri. His second album Journey, was then released in 2021. At the same time, Alberto ramped up his touring of the Midwest region and collaboration with a variety of other artists. Most recently in 2023 Alberto was awarded the ArtsKC Inspiration Grant for his multimedia installation “Born at Sea”, a project centered on the idyllic sea scenery of his hometown, debuting in 2024. Additionally he became one of the Charlotte Street Foundation Studio Residents, a program that features some of the most brilliant up and coming artists in the Kansas City region. Still in 2023, Alberto toured the East Coast of the US and his native Italy, in a much welcome reconnection with his musical roots. Currently, Alberto is about to release his third full length album Lento and finalizing his upcoming 2024 tours to the East Coast and Southern Italy.]
11:00 – Station ID
(#46.) Elska – “Tesori” from: Dancing Alone (LP) / Time Released Sound / July 5, 2024 [11-track album release. Electronic/Ambient music from KC based Elska. elska is the narrator of cinematic lullabies and creation of Composer Laura Boland. She represents love, imagination, optimism, conflict & awareness. Elska writes, “My vignettes are comprised of moments and memories that explore the human condition and our spiritual migrations in the context of our ever-changing environment.” Composed, recorded, and mixed by Laura Boland in Kansas City, MO. Mastered by Jessica Thompson in San Francisco, CA. Polaroids by Laura Boland, Alex Alexander and Peter Rad. Polaroid stories by Laura Boland Artwork/Design by Colin Herrick and Maria Chenut. // Elska writes: “Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this and listen. I am happy to present Dancing Alone to you: a slow waltz through the darkest corridors of our yesterdays. Here, we excavate dusty memories and are united with our shadows to uncover a reverberating love inside our hearts’ distorted beats. Evocative orchestrations of ghostly soundscapes and nostalgic synth textures decorate this internal terrain and accompany ethereal vocal narrations that tie together the complexities and explorations of “home.” // Elska re;leased the 5 track EP lerden in Januaryt 29, 2021. // Elska released the 8-taxck album elska on September 28, 2018. More info at: elskamusic.me]
(#45.) Okay Kaya – “Picture This” from: Oh MY God – That’s So Me / Okay Kaya / September 6, 2024 [Kaya Wilkins (born August 14, 1990), better known as Okay Kaya, is a Norwegian-American musician born in New Jersey. // Wilkins was born in New Jersey and raised in Nesoddtangen, 4 miles outside of Oslo. Raised by her mother along with 5 brothers, she has both Scandinavian and African-American roots. // Wilkins’ first release under the moniker of Okay Kaya was the song “Damn, Gravity”, which was released in 2015. Three years later, she released her first full-length album, Both. The album was recorded with her boyfriend Aaron Maine of the band Porches. In 2020, Wilkins released her second full-length album as Okay Kaya, titled Watch This Liquid Pour Itself, via Jagjaguwar. The album received three out of five stars from The Guardian. Her cover of Cher’s Believe was featured in the HBO show Industry. // Wilkins acted her first role in the Norwegian drama Thelma. In August 2020, she released her mixtape Surviving is the New Living.]
(#44.) Nilüfer Yanya – “Mutations (Radio edit)” from: My Method Actor / Ninja Tune / September 13, 2024 [On May 1, 2024 we played Nilüfer Yanya’s single “Like I Say (I runaway)” that came out Appril 24, 2024. This offering followed her celebrated 2022 album PAINLESS and was her release since signing to Ninja Tune. // My Method Actor is the third album by English singer Nilüfer Yanya, released on September 13, 2024 through Ninja Tune. It is Yanya’s first album on the label, and follows her 2022 album Painless. The album was preceded by the singles “Like I Say (I Runaway)”, “Method Actor”, “Call It Love”, “Mutations”, “Made Out Of Memory”, and “Just A Western”. // Yanya worked on the album with English record producer Wilma Archer, and wrote and recorded the album in London, Eastbourne, and Wales. Yanya called the album the “most intense […] in that respect. Because it’s only been us two. We didn’t let anyone else into the bubble.” The album centres on the theme of “entering a transition between one part of life into another”. / Yanya is the daughter of two visual artists. Her mother is of Irish and Barbadian heritage and her father is Turkish. Yanya grew up in Chelsea, London, listening to Turkish music and classical music at home. She gravitated to guitar rock and learned how to play the instrument at the age of 12. // Informally starting her musical career with demos uploaded to SoundCloud in 2014, Yanya turned down an offer to join a girl group produced by Louis Tomlinson of One Direction and focused on developing her own music instead. She has spoken out against this model of talent acquisition, telling The Guardian: “‘Let’s go and pinch some young people, tell them we’re going to make a really successful group but we’re obviously going to make a lot more money than them.’ It’s a very selfish thing to do.” The project was reportedly abandoned after a year. // Her first EP, Small Crimes/Keep on Calling, was released in 2016. Her second EP, Plant Feed, was released in 2017, followed by Do You Like Pain? in 2018. All three EPs were later compiled into the EP Inside Out in 2021. // In 2019, Yanya released her debut studio album, Miss Universe, which received rave reviews and critical acclaim, with critics noting her ability to bounce back and forth between musical and lyrical styles, shifting between “gimlet-eyed composure and cataclysmic panic”. Yanya’s music has been described as nervous and restless, combining influences from indie rock to soul, jazz, and trip hop. A Stereogum review called her voice “malleable and endlessly expressive.”In July 1-2, 2022, Yanya performed before Adele’s first live UK concert after five years, in Hyde Park. Later that year, Yanya was the UK opening act for rock band Roxy Music, who reformed in 2022 for a 50th anniversary tour. Yanya featured on the Bombay Bicycle Club track “Meditate” on the band’s 2023 album My Big Day. Nilüfer Yanya played The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., Lawrence KC, on Sunday, October 13, at 8:00pm with Angélica Garcia and Lutalo.]
(#43.) Zee Underscore – “What More Do You Want?” from: The Zee Underscore Experience – EP / Underscore Form / June 15, 2024 [Zee Underscore is one of 5 children in her family. Zee Underscore studied at The School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) in Cincinnati, Ohio, where her confidence and talent flourished, sparking a deep passion for music creation and supporting artists of diverse backgrounds. Zee completed a five-year electrical engineering program at The University of Cincinnati, and her work in electrical engineering led her to Kansas City. // Zee is co-founder of ZNTL Enterprises. Through this work she emcees and produces outdoor stage shows at First Friday’s in the West Crossroads. // Zee embodies the spirit of dreaming without limits, juggling roles as a singer, songwriter, recording artist, emcee, event coordinator, entrepreneur, and mentor while also working full time as an electrical engineer. // Zee moved to KC to work in engineering, which brought you out to KC, which helped her find herself and rediscover your love for the arts. Family members would give Zee beats and she would write songs to them. Zee’s band imcludes: Alex Chase, Jade Harvey, Stephen Bond who helped Zee translateher songs to live instruments. More info at: http://www.linktr.ee/Zeebee.notes%5D
(#42) RxGhost – “Over and Over The Same Things” from: Scaffolding / Celery Wolf / April 11, 2024 [RxGhost is: Josh Thomas on vocals & guitar, Justin Brooks on drums, James Capps on guitar, Chris Smead on bass, and Jeremiah James Gonzales. Scaffolding was produced by RxGhost, recorded and mixed by Paul Malinowski at Massive Sound Studios and mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. Music by RxGhost and Lyrics by Josh Thomas. RxGhost played miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO Saturday, July 20 ay 8:00pm w/ The Sluts, and LYXE. More info at: rxghost.bandcamp.com]
(#41.) True Lions – “That’s My Rabbit” from: Cold Gravy Bowl / Manor Records / March 1, 2024 [Alison “Al” Hawkins is a queer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music teacher, and leader of True Lions, a band consisting of Al and whoever is playing music with them, which often includes Fritz Hutchison—a drummer, singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer, bandmate, bandleader, friend, sibling, Gemini, and Kansas Citian who just wants to do a good job and keep it fun for everybody. Last year, True Lions and Fritz Hutchison released a homemade split cassette tape via Manor Records. When their drummer Eli Kosko moved to the desert, Al, Fritz and bassist Carly Atwood started performing acoustically. When Carly was sometimes unavailable, Al and Fritz explored amplified fiddle, synth, and drums, through old-time tunes. Their noise art creation COLD GRAVY BOWL is scheduled for cassette release Friday, March 1 via Manor Records. // COLD GRAVY BOWL is the demon music baby of Kansas City duo Al Hawkins and Fritz Hutchison, blending amplified fiddle distortion, heavy drums, and bass synth through Ozark old-time. The album artwork was drawn by local queer artist Spade Nine. // True Lions released the True Lions- Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette through Manor Records on April 26, 2023. True Lions released their debut full length album, “The Fempire Strikes Back,” on Manor Records on April 9, 2021 with Alisön Hawkins on keytar & vocals; Adee Rocket Dancy on cello & vocals; Claire Adams on guitar, Elizabeth Kosko on drums & percussion; Iona DeWalt on synthesizers; Miki P on guitar & vocals, and Teri Quinn on bass & vocals. Recorded at Deep Space Co-op. Tracking & engineering by Ross Brown at Escape Pod Audio. Mixing and mastering by Joel Nanos at Element Recording. In 2019 True Lions released their EP debut, “Cute at Best,” on February 5, 2019. They followed up with a second EP called. You’re Not Invited, released on November 9, 2019. For these recordings True Lions was: Alison Hawkins on guitar, synth, and vocals; Elizabeth Kosko on percussion, vocals; Mikala Petillo on bass, vocals; Claire Adams on guitar, vocals; Leslie Butsch on saxophone, Ezgi Karakus on cello; and Teri Quinn on vocals. All songs written by True Lions and produced by Claire Adams and Alison Hawkins. Tracking & Engineering by Claire Adams. Mixing and Mastering by Ian Dobyns and Chase Horseman. More info at: http://www.manorrecords.com . // True Lions played a Cold Gravy Bowl, Album Release show March 2, 2024 with The Matchsellers, at The Emerald, 1717 W. 9th Street, KCMO [West Bottoms]. A theatrical punk drag rock and roll folk event. // True Lions joined us Feb. 28, 2024]
(#40.) Quiet Takes – “Meri Said” from: Regrets Only / Sarah Magill / February 15, 2024 [Songwriter Sarah Magill makes music for feelers as Quiet Takes. A writer and wanderer, Magill is currently establishing a nomadic creative practice and will be releasing her first full-length solo album (recorded in Eau Claire, Wisconsin) in early 2024. Written by Sarah Michelle Magill. Produced, engineered & mixed by Zach Hanson. Mastered by Huntley Miller. Recorded at The Hive in Eau Claire, WI. Environmental sound recorded by Sarah Michelle Magill in various locations, except 2, recorded by Redditor @roffels. // On November 5, 2021 Quiet Takes released the EP, Weekly, Weakly with music written by Sarah Magill, produced by David Bennett, with vocals & keyboards by Sarah Magill. Guitars, bass and percussion by David Bennett. Drums by Jared Bond. Engineered and mixed by David Bennett at Aorist Studios in Kansas City, MO. Mastered by Zach. Weekly, Weakly the third collaboration between Magill and producer/multi-instrumentalist David Bennett. “Ghosty…” was inspired by pandemic-era panic attacks and social unease. This song was one way I tried to process the new, very anxious voice inhabiting my brain, which I nicknamed Ghosty. Sarah writes, “I made the WEEKLY, WEAKLY EP exactly as titled: During weekly Friday sessions at Aorist Studios with my producer, David Bennett, while feeling extremely weak. I was living alone during the pandemic and (like many of us) coping with isolation, depression and anxiety. Making this EP was my lifeboat. Both the process of making music — refining lyrics, experimenting with new textures, collaborating on harmonies — and the commitment to the weekly process kept me relatively grounded and connected. This project tethered me to human-ness when I was afraid I was going to float off into some kind of feral, disconnected netherworld of pandemic loneliness. I’ll forever be grateful to David and his wife, Kayla, for creating a safe space to continue working at Aorist during such a dangerous time.” WEEKLY, WEAKLY followed the release of Sarah Magill’s EP, SAN FIDEL under her moniker, Quiet Takes. Released March 5, 2021. Written by Sarah Magill. Produced by David Bennett and Sarah Magill. Vocals and keys by Sarah Magill on vocals & keyboards, David Bennett on guitars and bass, Ian Thompson on additional keyboards & synthesizers, Kyle Rausch on drums, and Bryan Koehler on percussion. Engineered and mixed by David Bennett at Aorist Studios in Kansas City, MO. Mastered by Zach Hanson. Cover image by Shawn Brackbill. Sarah Magill released her single “Wanted (The Dirty Windshield Version)” on May 1, 2020. . Sarah Magill released AHEM, a 4-song EP, on December 11, 2020. The songs were originally released under her old project name MYRY, in November 2018. Quiet Takes (formerly MYRY) is an on-going collaborative music project by Sarah Magill a writer & musician based in KC. She performs with a rotating cast of friends—although these stay-at-home days, she is playing solo. In KC, she is known for hosting house shows and co-founding Rubix, a performance art collective. MYRY’s first EP, AHEM, was released in 2018. Sarah released four of MYRY’s songs from that 2018 EP release as Quiet Takes singles in 2020. Sarah Magill was a guest on WMM on May 13, 2020. We interviewed Sarah Magill on WMM on March 10, 2021 and Nov. 2, 2021. // Quiet Takes played Knuckleheads Gospel Lounge, February 24, opening for friend Sara Swenson. // Info at: https://quiettakes.com ]
(#39.) Lonnie Fisher – “I Will Never Forget” from: FLOATING PALACE / Lonnie Fisher / August 9. 2024 [Recorded with Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab. Lonnie Fisher studied music at Kansas State University, graduating in 1992. By 1999 he was touring with his band, Sturgeon Mill. After the band broke up Lonnie embarked on a solo career while also pursuing a career as a chef. After the loss of his girlfriend to cancer in 2005 Lonnie began to struggle with alcoholism. In 2008 Lonnie suffered a major stroke followed by a second stroke two years later. His life as a chef and musician stopped as Lonnie struggled to relearn everything and rehabilitate. Against all odds, Lonnie returned to the studio and stage in 2018. He couldn’t return to the kitchen due to the inability to move fast enough, but started his own business as a personal chef. Lonnie Fisher released the EP SEEDS on July 27, 2023. Lonnie Fisher released the 8 track album BEAUTIFUL STAR on February 9, 2023. Lonnie Fisher released his 8-song, solo album FAMOUS GIRL on January 19, 2022. It was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2022. FAMOUS GIRL was engineered by Ed Rose and Duane Trower with contributions from: Chris Nunez. Tim Jenkins, Tim Manning, and Julia Reynolds. On October 22, 2021 with his band Lonnie Fisher And The Funeral released HAUNTED with Lonnie Fisher on lead vocals, 5 String Guitar & Keyboards; Tim Jenkins on guitars; Chris Nunez on drums, Tim Manning on bass, & Julia Reynolds on vocals & keyboards.More information at: http://www.lonniefisher.bandcamp.com.]
(#38.) Paris Williams & The Human – “Alien Luv” (radio edit) from: A Paris Williams Joint / Bitter Sweet Sound / November 19, 2024 [Paris Williams is a 25-year old artist from Muskegon, Michigan in the midst of redefining the bedroom pop label. Employing his own sound that he’s dubbed, “bittersweet,” Williams never shuts away from his DIY aesthetic – producing his own work to maintain full creative flexibility. Premiering in December of 2019 with his debut album, DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, Paris is a believer in hitting the ground running and then just never letting off the gas. This mentality was shaped by the inspiration he’s pulled from other famously out-of-the-box artists: such as Kanye West, Pharrell, and Toro y Moi. // Fueled by the multi-faceted artists, Williams believes heavily in pulling from all creative mediums as a way to add layers and texture to his music. This approach has led to Williams seeing support from larger than life musical pillars, like Iggy Pop himself – who showed love to Williams’ song of the same name by spinning it on his BBC radio show in 2018. Williams reshapes the musical landscape around him as his burgeoning career continues to solidify its own form more and more each day by bringing in a breath of fresh air with him everywhere since he wrote his first bars in elementary school. Paris Williams previously released the single, “Hopscotch” on June 21, 2022. He released,“Chunky”on April 20, 2022. He released the single, “Sunsets & Solariums (feat. Bloom Allen)” on October 21, 2021 through Bittersweet Sounds. More info at: allmylinks.com/popstarparis]
11:28 – Underwriting
(#36.) Dan Camino – “Get You By” from: Rock Dreams / Camino Records / October 4, 2024 [Released as a single with “Connections” on September 6, 2024. Solo debut album from Kansas City-based artist Dan Camino who is also the frontman of Field Daze. Dan Camino wrote that he put at least 1000 hours of his life into the production of this album, almost two years, and did all the heavy lifting besides drums on the first two songs. // Field Daze, is an Indie Rock/Dreampop band, originated in Kansas City, Missouri when Rodd Fenton and Dan Camino responded to a Facebook call to start a Dreampop band. Their collaboration led to the creation of early demos. Shortly after, they were joined by Tracer Cauy, Kyer Lasswell, and Beau Harris, solidifying the band’s lineup. // The band has packed venues like The Rino, The Ship, and The Bottleneck. Field Daze’s live performances became synonymous with an immersive musical experience, drawing in crowds with their captivating melodies. // Currently, the band channels their creativity by recording homegrown tracks within Rodd Fenton’s personal studio, honing their craft and evolving their unique sound.]
(#35.) Danielle Nicole – “Make Love” from: The Love You Bleed / Forty Below Records / January 26, 2024 [Danielle Nicole is one of the finest singers and bassists in roots music today. Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, she has spent her life making music and pleasing fans, both domestically and abroad. Her stunning new album, The Love You Bleed, includes twelve heartfelt tracks exploring themes of love, loss, and perseverance. It will be released this Friday, January 26 on Forty Below Records. // The Love You Bleed was co-produced by Tony Braunagel (Taj Mahal, Eric Burdon, Robert Cray) and Nicole, with John Porter (B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Bryan Ferry) mixing. The tight-knit group on the album features Danielle on bass guitar and vocals; Brandon Miller (electric, acoustic, pedal steel, mandolin, and 12-string guitar), Damon Parker (keyboards); Go-Go Ray (drums), and Stevie Blacke (violin and cello). // Nicole was inducted into the Kansas City Hall of Fame and has been the recipient of seven Blues Music Awards. Her last release Cry No More was nominated for a Grammy in the Contemporary Blues category, debuted at number one on the Billboard Blues Charts and boasts over 10 million streams on Spotify. // Danielle Nicole’s last release, CRY NO MORE, released February 23, 2018, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.. Her self-titled solo debut EP was released March 10, 2015 on Concord Records. The self-titled EP features Grammy Award-winning producer-guitarist Anders Osborne, Galactic’s co-founding drummer Stanton Moore and keyboardist Mike Sedovic. On February 25, 2015, American Blues Scene premiered the track “Didn’t Do You No Good” off the new EP. Danielle Nicole was previously in the band Trampled Under Foot with her brothers Kris and Nick Schnebelen. At the 2014 Blues Music Awards, Trampled Under Foot’s album, Badlands, won the ‘Contemporary Blues Album of the Year’ category. At the same ceremony, Danielle Nicole, under the name of Danielle Schnebelen, triumphed in the ‘Best Instrumentalist – Bass’ category. The band was also nominated in the ‘Band of the Year’ category. In September 2015, her debut album, Wolf Den, was released on Concord Records. It reached number 2 in the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart in October that year. Danielle Nicole’s second solo album, Cry No More, peaked at # 1 in the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. Bill Withers wrote one of the tracks on the new album. // Danielle Nicole played Records With Merritt, at 1614 Westport Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 2, 2024.]
(#34.) Say That Again – “Stuck Around” from: Get Over It / Say That Again / February 23, 2024 [ Say That Again were formed in early 2020 with Will Kuenne on lead vocals & rhythm guitar, Trecen Peeler on bass, Vinnie Cascone on drums, and Carlos Nunez on lead guitar. Their music is a fun blend of Alternative/Indie Rock and Bedroom Pop that’ll get your toes tapping. Say That Again released their debut EP “Flying Cars” in December of 2021 and just released their first full-length album, “Get Over It” on February 23, 2024. More info at: linktr.ee/SayThatAgainKC. // Say That Again played miniBar at 3810 Broadway Rd KCMO on Friday, March 8 with City Grey, The Chunk, and Breaking In.]
(#33.) MellowPhobia – “Finding It Hard” from: The Act of Loving In Return / Jackal And Hide Records / May 15, 2024 [Based in Kansas City, Kansas, MellowPhobia is an alt-rock band that brings a lively and dynamic sound to the music scene. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the band relocated and recorded their debut EP, “Is This Seat Taken?” released in 2021. Their single, “Jackal” later gained attention, leading to performances at festivals and indie venues. Notable highlights include sharing stages with national touring acts such as The Greeting Committee, the Regrettes, The Velveteers, Colony House, and more. By 2024, “Jackal” had surpassed 40,000 streams and the band continues to grow its fan base. Looking ahead, MellowPhobia is gearing up for new releases, each contributing to their evolving sound. // From I Heart Local Muaic., May 15, 2024 written by Fally Afani: “ It’s been a while since we’ve had a really well-produced local indie album come our way, but MellowPhobia continues to check all our boxes. // The Act of Loving in Return is a masterclass in youthful angst. It kicks off with the frustration-laden “Finding It Hard,” setting the tone right away for the album with angsty lyrics over guitar tantrums. From there, the band continues to share their dissatisfactions with us, all while treating their listeners to fantastically-written melodies. We’ve noticed that their bridges are always a moment for quiet reflection before diving back into their noisy airing of grievances. We love it. The frontperson certainly has the vocals for this mood. // We’ve said before that this is a great band live. However, they’ve been garnering a lot of attention online for their recorded work as well. The single “Jackal” is a popular one at shows, but it’s racked up thousands of streams on Spotify. There’s a great vintage vibe for songs like “Scholars” and “Therapy.” “Los Angeles” breaks our hearts, and closer “Breaker Waves” is absolutely stunning. // MellowPhobia is great therapy for today’s young fans. Their live sets are already a blast, but The Act of Loving in Return seals the deal with solid indie rock songwriting. The sheer innocence of it all is enough to leave us emotionally wrecked. We hear these songs and just want to hug them (or shake them) and say “You have your whole lives ahead of you! It’s going to be ok!” If nothing else, this is a perfect Summer album released at just the right time. // MellowPhobia played Lawrence Pride on June 1, 2024.]
(#32.) Laura Marling – “No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Can” rom: Patterns in Repeat / Chrysalis Records / October 25, 2024 [8th studio album from Laura Beatrice Marling, born Feb. 1, 1990, from Eversley, Hampshire. Her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim, her 2nd album I Speak Because I Can, and her 4th album Once I Was An Eagle were all nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2008, 2010, 2013, respectively. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards, and was nominated for the same award at the 2012 and 2014 Brit Awards. The youngest of three daughters, Marling learned guitar at an early age. Her father, Sir Charles William Somerset Marling, the 5th Marling Baronet, ran a recording studio, introduced her to folk music and shaped her musical taste, an experience that Marling later described as, “a bit of a blessing and a bit of a curse….[because] I couldn’t slot myself into the age-appropriate genre”. Marling received a scholarship to attend Leighton Park School, a private Quaker school in Reading, Berkshire. During her secondary school years she felt uneasy around other people and was afraid of death. Marling dated Noah and the Whale singer/guitarist Charlie Fink briefly before the pair separated in 2008. She also dated Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons until late 2010. She moved to Silver Lake in LA, California in 2013, before relocating back to London in December 2014. In September 2013, Marling explained: “I am a solitary person but I love people, I’m not a misanthrope. I like the idea of speaking only when it’s strictly necessary. The closest I ever feel to people is in shared experience. I’m still exploring that, I don’t know where it’s going to lead me.]
(#31.) Samara Joy – “Autumn Nocturne” from: Portrait / Verve / October 11, 2024 [Samara Joy’s Grammy Winning Linger Awhile was released September 16, 2022 and was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2022. // Samara Joy McLendon, is known professionally as Samara Joy. She won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2019 and was named Best New Artist by Jazz Times for 2021. // A native of the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, Joy was born in 1999 into a musical family. Her paternal grandparents, Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon, were founders of Philadelphia gospel group The Savettes. Her father, a bass player who has toured with gospel singer/songwriter/producer Andraé Crouch, introduced her to gospel greats like The Clark Sisters, and soul and Motown were also a big presence in her home. // At Fordham High School for the Arts she performed with the jazz band, and won Best Vocalist at Fordham University’s “Essentially Ellington” competition at Lincoln Center. But she first encountered jazz in a meaningful way when she enrolled in the jazz program at SUNY’s Purchase College as a voice major, and was named an Ella Fitzgerald Scholar. Friends there introduced her to the great jazz vocalists like Sarah Vaughan and Fitzgerald and instrumentalists like Kenny Washington, Jon Faddis (with whom she studied) and Ingrid Jensen. While she was still in college, before the release of her first album, film director Regina King called her “a young woman who seems like Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald are both living in her body.” // In 2019, as Samara McLendon, she won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. // Working with producer and eventual manager Matt Pierson, she recorded her self-titled debut album while still in college, graduating magna cum laude in 2021. Samara Joy was released on July 9, 2021 with Whirlwind Records. // On February 15, 2022 she performed on Today with guitarist Pasquale Grasso and performed again on Today in September 2022.// She released a number of viral video performances, including one that had been viewed over 1.5 million times as of October 2020. These videos had as of November 2022 gaineduding a series of sold-out conc and other festivals, as well as in Europe. // In February 2021 she was featured in Women of Color on Broadway, Inc.’s music video of “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess and on jazz pianist Julius Rodriguez’s album Let Sound Tell All. // Jazz Times named her Best New Artist for 2021. // On June 15, 2022 she was featured at Carnegie Hall’s 16th Annual Notable Occasion. and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival. On September 16, 2022 she released her second album, Linger Awhile, on Verve Records. The album features drummer Kenny Washington, guitarist Pasquale Grasso, pianist Ben Paterson, and bassist David Wong. // She won two Grammy Awards, for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album for Linger Awhile.]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Tune into WMM thru Dec. for WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2024 Dec 4, 11, 18, and 25.
NEXT WEEK, On December 25, we will bring you the finale, part 4 of our 4-week special: The 120 Best Recordings of 2024. We’ll count down #30 through #1 with tracks from: Eddie Moore, Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark, The Swallowtails, Kat King, Clarke Wyatt, Supermoto, Amble Haunt, The Roseline, Miss Boating, BLACKSTARKIDS, Flight Attendant, Waxahatchee, Krystle Warren & The Faculty, The Highwater, Little Miss Dynamite, Scott Hrabko & The Rabbits, Shabaka, Jamie xx, Charli xcx, X, Beth Gibbons, Moses Sumney, The Cure, Mdou Moctar, Leyla McCalla, Hembree, Cheery, Nala Sinephro, Adrianne Lenker, and Meshell Ndegeocello.
Thank you to all who have donated during our two Fall Fund Drive Show on Wednesday MidDay Medley and our WMM Facebook Fundraiser, we received donations from 46 individuals who donated a total of $3436.00. That is 97% of our ambitious goal, I call that a success!!!
THANK YOU to our incredible KKFI Staff; Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers, KKFI Accounting & Administration – Shaina Littler
This radio station is more than the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of hardworking people, unselfishly setting aside ego, to work for the greater good of community building and the gigantic goal of keeping our airwaves free, non-commercial, and open to all! Congratulations and thank you to all programmers & volunteers who went the extra effort to keep our station alive.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information. Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org
You can find our playlists at: http://www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org Sign up to receive our weekly announcements. Use our search engine to learn more about musical artists we play.
Wednesday MidDay Medley Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
2024 – The Year in Music with: Bill Brownlee, Judy Mills, Chris Haghirian, & Fally Afani
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Motion Picture Soundtrack to All That Jazz / Universal / Dec. 20, 1979 [WMM’s theme]
Bill Brownlee’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2024
5. Behzod Abduraimov – Shadows of My Ancestors / Alpha Classics / Jan. 12, 2024
4. Blackstarkids – Saturn Dayz / Dirty Hit / September 20, 2024
3. Betty Bryant – Lotta Livin’ / Bry-Mar Music / January 26, 2024
2. Pat Metheny – MoonDial / Modern Recordings – BMG / September 26, 2024
1. Peter Schlamb – Pliable Consciousness / Peter Schlamb / February 23, 2024
10:00
Behzod Abduraimov – Sergei Prokofiev’s “Scene: The Street Awakens” from: Shadows of My Ancestors / Alpha Classics / January 12, 2024 [Behzod Abduraimov (born 11 September 1990) is an Uzbek pianist. A former student of Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at Park University’s International Center for Music (ICM), he was described by The Independent as “the most perfectly accomplished pianist of his generation”. Abduraimov won the London International Piano Competition in 2009 at the age of 18, which launched his career. He continues to perform internationally in solo recitals, chamber music performances, and as soloist with leading orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Sydney Symphony Orchestra under such conductors as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Manfred Honeck, Vasily Petrenko, James Gaffigan, Jakub Hrůša, Thomas Dausgaard and Vladimir Jurowski. // Abduraimov was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and began to play the piano at the age of five. He initially started his studies with his pianist mother, later studying with Tamara Popovich. At the age of 15, he began studying with Stanislav Ioudenitch, gold medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001, at Park University’s International Center for Music (ICM). Since 2014, Abduraimov has served as the ICM’s artist-in-residence. // In 2009, at the age of 18, Abduraimov won the London International Piano Competition. His performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (Op. 26) in the final round with the London Philharmonic Orchestra was described by The Daily Telegraph as “the most enthralling roller-coaster ride of a Prokofiev third concerto imaginable.” Shortly after his victory in London, he substituted for Martha Argerich in a performance of the concerto with Charles Dutoit and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and also toured China, performing as a soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. In 2010 he won the Kissinger Sommer festival’s international piano competition, Kissinger Klavierolymp. Soon after, Abduraimov signed with HarrisonParrott artist management and the Decca Classics record label. // Abduraimov has collaborated with numerous major international orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Hr-Sinfonieorchester, San Francisco Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, working with such conductors as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Manfred Honeck, Vasily Petrenko, James Gaffigan, Jakub Hrůša, Thomas Dausgaard and Vladimir Jurowski. He has also collaborated with such musicians as Truls Mørk and his mentor Stanislav Ioudenitch, and appeared at such festivals as the Aspen Music Festival, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, and the Vail Valley Music Festival. // In 2012, Abduraimov released his debut album for Decca, a recording of Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 6 and other works by Prokofiev, Liszt and Saint-Saëns: the album won the Choc de Classica and the Diapason Découverte. His second album for Decca, a recording of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI conducted by Juraj Valčuha, was released in 2014. // In July 2014, Abduraimov, substituting for Yefim Bronfman, performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. Later that year, in October, he substituted for Leila Josefowicz and performed Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Although he got his own gig with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in August 2017 (performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at the Hollywood Bowl), he substituted for Khatia Buniatishvili in July 2018 and performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl. // In 2016, at the age of 26, Abduraimov made his solo recital debut in the Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall, becoming one of the very few young artists to do so; he played works by Schubert, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and Liszt in addition to transcriptions of Johann Sebastian Bach by Alfred Cortot and Ferrucio Busoni. He had played a solo recital in Carnegie Hall’s much smaller Weill Recital Hall that previous year, and also performed Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev at the Stern Auditorium in a concert that was broadcast by the video streaming platform Medici.tv. That same year, he also made his debut at the BBC Proms, performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Munich Philharmonic conducted by Valery Gergiev; his performance was described by The Guardian as a “glitteringly idiomatic account”. In 2017, Abduraimov returned to the Proms, performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Thomas Søndergård.]
10:03 – Interview with Bill Brownlee
Bill Brownlee is a music industry veteran based in the Kansas City area. He worked in the warehouse of a music distributor based in Olathe, Kansas, and was a clerk at Penny Lane Records in the 1980s. He was the Midwestern sales representative for hundreds of independent record labels in the 1990s. He pitched releases from labels such as Death Row Records and Rounder Records to chains including Walmart and to mom-and-pop shops. // When the streaming revolution transformed the industry, Bill became a freelance writer for The Kansas City Star. The newspaper published hundreds of his concert reviews and thousands of his concert previews. // His concert recommendations and audio features have been published and aired by KCUR. // The pandemic years aside, Brownlee attended more than 100 concerts in each of the past 20 years. He documents many of these outings at Plastic Sax, his 18-year-old Kansas City jazz blog, and at There Stands the Glass, a site he founded in 2005.
Bill Brownlee, thanks for being with us on WMM.
10:06
BLACKSTARKIDS – “MOTHA URF” from: Saturn Dayz / Dirty Hit Records / September 30, 2022 [Gen-Z upstarts BLACKSTARKIDS have released their new single and video “SOULMATEZ!” on August 30, 2024, alongside the announcement of their upcoming sixth studio album Saturn Dayz, touching down to earth on September 20 via Dirty Hit. The lead single “SOULMATEZ!,” is a magnetic, blissed-out bop that brings together pop, indie, and alt-rap, reminiscent of Dev Hynes-era Solange mixed with De La Soul. // The follow up to BLACKSTARKIDS’ acclaimed 2022 album CYBERKISS* which featured standout singles “CYBERKISS 2 U* ft. beabadoobee” and “SEX APPEAL,” SATURN DAYZ is an otherworldly, genre-crossing testament to their unrelenting artistry and is their most impressive work to date. PRESS HERE to pre-save SATURN DAYZ. // Putting out music at a prolific rate and making waves for their formidable songwriting and producing talents, as well as their endless energy and truly limitless sound, BLACKSTARKIDS have received critical acclaim from New York Times, MTV, UPROXX, Billboard, Alternative Press, SPIN, Ones To Watch, Rolling Stone France, The Line Of Best Fit, DIY, Coup De Main, and more. Blending garage rock with synth-punk and hip-hop to usher in a new surge of indie, such as on their beloved album Puppies Forever which features anthemic singles “ALL COPS ARE BASTARDS,” “JUNO,” and “FIGHT CLUB,” BLACKSTARKIDS are well on their way to indie stardom and have previously toured with the likes of The 1975, COIN, Glass Animals, beabadoobee, Christian Leave, GroupLove. // Incorporating each member’s wide-ranging influences into their blissful DIY sound, such as Toro Y Moi, NERD*, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Outkast, Odd Future, and A Tribe Called Quest, BLACKSTARKIDS first captivated the internet with their “black coming of age trilogy” of projects Let’s Play Sports, Surf, and Whatever, Man that feature critically acclaimed singles including “BRITNEY BITCH” and “FRANKIE MUNIZ.” // Blackstarkids are phenomenon who came out of Kansas City in 2020 became the soundtrack for the summer. Blackstarkids are a pop/R&B/hip-hop trio based in Kansas City, Missouri. Members include: TheBabeGabe, Deiondre, and TyFaizon (of the Drop Dead XX collective). The members have known each other since high school in Raytown, Missouri. Members met at Raytown South High School and formed the band in 2019. The group released its first album, Let’s Play Sports, on August 1, 2019. Blackstarkids then released their second album SURF through their own label Bedroom Records on February 28, 2020. Blackstarkids caught the attention of The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy and were then signed to The 1975’s management company and UK-based label Dirty Hit Records. They were featured in Clash Magazine. Blackstarkids then released, Surf Basement Demos on Dirty Hit Records on March 5, 2020. On October 29, 2020, Blackstarkids released Whatever, Man on Dirty Hit Records, their third album release of 2020. Gabe, of Blackstarkids recently described the KC Music community to an interviewer, “The music scene here is really nice. There are a lot of bands who are super talented and do all types of genres. The jazz music here is really great as well. Kansas City is honestly a hidden gem when it comes to music. I feel like you can meet an artist anywhere and anyplace in this city.” Deiondre added, “The music scene here is getting cool now, there’s a lot of jazz musicians that go to school for music here too but you can find people from different scenes all over if around the city.” Ty wrote, “The Kansas City scene is great, the community here is so supportive and genuine. This is a really prideful city here and I think they’re finally getting the musicians they deserve.”]
10:13
Betty Bryant – “Put a Lid on It” from: Lotta Livin’ / Bry-Mar Music / January 26, 2024 [A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Betty Bryant is a revered pianist/singer who brings a solid piano technique, a light, swinging touch and a skilled vocal approach to her music. Whether she is playing the blues on “He May Be Your Man (But He Comes To See Me Sometime)”, or delivering obscure cabaret gems like Mort Lindsey’s humorous “Scratch”, or romping through serious jazz compositions like Bud Powell’s “Parisian Thoroughfare”, Betty always connects with the material and with her audience. // Dubbed “Cool Miss B” by her fellow musicians, Betty’s career started in her hometown of Kansas City, where she was mentored by the great Jay McShann. She moved to the west coast in 1955, where she immediately got an engagement at Beverly Hill’s famed “Ye Little Club”. This was the beginning of mostly solo appearances in Los Angeles. Her reputation grew, and she quickly became a popular attraction in the many little nightspots that used to dot the beach towns from Santa Monica to Laguna. // In 1987 “Betty Bryant Day” was declared in Kansas City, and she was awarded the keys to the city. A famous photograph of Betty with Jay McShann hangs in the lobby of the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City. // Betty has performed internationally in the Middle East and Brazil, and for many years was a popular regular attraction at the upscale Tableaux Lounge in Tokyo, Japan. She had a long term engagement at celebrity chef Susan Feniger’s exciting new restaurant “Street” in Hollywood in 2009, and in 2012 she was a featured performer at the Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival in Boquete, Panama. The “Betty Bryant Birthday Bash” is a hugely popular annual event in Hollywood, presented at the famed “Catalina Jazz Club”. // Betty has released 14 critically acclaimed CDs, including 2009’s “No Regrets”, which got airplay on over 100 jazz stations nationwide. Peter Solomon, of station WCVE – FM in Richmond, Virginia wrote, “This is a sweet little album. I was struck by her laid-back phrasing. Her piano style sounds something like Basie. This woman has soul.” Selections from the album were programmed onto the inflight entertainment channels of seven major airlines worldwide. Christopher Louden, writing in JazzTimes Magazine, called Betty’s CD “Together” (2011) a “superlative testament to the depth and breadth of her showmanship.” Betty’s 2013 release “iteration +” charted on the JazzWeek National charts. Peter Kuller, from Radio Adelaide, Australia said, “Betty Bryant is absolutely amazing and deserves worldwide recognition. A jazz pianist who also sings or a jazz singer who also plays piano, whatever you prefer she does both with great distinction!” Her 2018 release “Project 88” is her most heard record to date, and spent six months on the JazzWeek charts topping out at #22. Her original song “Catfish Man” was a bonafide jazz hit, bringing her new fans worldwide. She has just released her 14th recording “Lotta Livin” to rave reviews. // Whether listening to one of Cool Miss B’s CDs at home, or catching her live, perhaps it was best expressed by Judy Jordan in a feature article in Venice Magazine – “Snuggle into a cozy ringside club chair and let Betty Bryant steal your heart….your ears will be tickled, your heart will dance, and your feet may find a will of their own, for Betty Bryant is an enchantress.”]
10:20
Pat Metheny – “We Can’t See It, But It’s There” from: MoonDial / Modern Recordings – BMG / September 26, 2024 [Patrick Bruce Metheny was born August 12, 1954. He is an American jazz guitarist and composer. // He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progressive and contemporary jazz, latin jazz, and jazz fusion.[2] He has three gold albums and 20 Grammy Awards,[3][4] and is the only person to have won Grammys in 10 categories. // Metheny was born in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. His father Dave played trumpet, his mother Lois sang, and his maternal grandfather Delmar was a professional trumpeter.[5][6] Metheny’s first instrument was the trumpet, on which he was taught by his brother, Mike. Pat’s brother, father, and grandfather played trios together at home. His parents were fans of Glenn Miller and swing music. They took Pat to concerts to hear Clark Terry and Doc Severinsen, but they had little respect for guitar. Pat’s interest in guitar increased around 1964 when he saw the Beatles perform on TV. For his 12th birthday, his parents allowed him to buy a guitar, which was a Gibson ES-140 3/4. // Pat Metheny’s life changed after hearing the album Four & More by Miles Davis. Soon after, he was captivated by Wes Montgomery’s album Smokin’ at the Half Note which was released in 1965. He cites the Beatles, Miles Davis, and Montgomery as having the biggest impact on his music. // When he was 15, Metheny won a scholarship from Down Beat magazine to a one-week jazz camp where he was mentored by guitarist Attila Zoller, who then invited him to New York City to meet guitarist Jim Hall and bassist Ron Carter. // While playing at a club in Kansas City, Metheny was approached by Bill Lee, a dean at the University of Miami, and offered a scholarship. After less than a week at college, Metheny realized that playing guitar all day during his teens had left him unprepared for classes. He admitted this to Lee, who offered him a job to teach as a professor, as the school had recently introduced electric guitar as a course of study. // He moved to Boston in the early 1970s to teach at the Berklee College of Music under the supervision of jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton[8] and established a reputation as a prodigy. He appeared on Burton’s studio recordings, from Ring in 1974 to Passengers in 1977. // In 1974, he appeared on an album unofficially titled Jaco with pianist Paul Bley, bassist Jaco Pastorius, and drummer Bruce Ditmas on Carol Goss’s Improvising Artists label—but he was unaware that he was being recorded. The next year he joined Gary Burton’s band with guitarist Mick Goodrick. // Metheny released his debut album, Bright Size Life (ECM, 1976), with Jaco Pastorius on bass guitar and Bob Moses on drums. His next album, Watercolors (ECM, 1977), was recorded with Eberhard Weber on bass and Danny Gottlieb on drums, and significantly marked Metheny’s first outing with pianist Lyle Mays, who would become his key collaborator in forming the Pat Metheny Group later that year.[11] With Mark Egan on bass, the lineup was set for the group’s self-titled debut album, Pat Metheny Group (ECM, 1978). // When Pat Metheny Group (ECM, 1978) was released, the group was a quartet comprising Metheny, Danny Gottlieb on drums, Mark Egan on bass, and Lyle Mays on piano, autoharp, and synthesizer. All but Egan had played on Metheny’s album Watercolors (ECM, 1977), recorded the year before. // The second group album, American Garage (ECM, 1979), reached number 1 on the Billboard jazz chart and crossed over onto the pop charts. From 1982 to 1985, the Pat Metheny Group released Offramp (ECM, 1982), a live album, Travels (ECM, 1983), First Circle (ECM, 1984), and The Falcon and the Snowman (EMI, 1985), a soundtrack album for the movie of the same name for which they collaborated on the single “This Is Not America” with David Bowie. The song reached number 14 in the British Top 40 in 1985 and number 32 in the U.S. // Offramp marked the first appearance of bassist Steve Rodby (replacing Egan) and a Brazilian guest artist, Nana Vasconcelos, on percussion and wordless vocals. On First Circle, Argentinian singer and multi-instrumentalist Pedro Aznar joined the group; as drummer, Paul Wertico replaced Gottlieb. Both Rodby and Wertico were members of the Simon and Bard Group at the time and had played in Simon-Bard in Chicago before joining Metheny. // First Circle was Metheny’s last album with ECM; he had been a key artist for the European record label but left following disagreements with the label’s founder, Manfred Eicher. // Still Life (Talking) (Geffen, 1987) featured new group members trumpeter Mark Ledford, vocalist David Blamires, and percussionist Armando Marçal. Aznar returned for vocals and guitar on Letter from Home (Geffen, 1989). // With Metheny working on multiple projects, it was four years before the release of the next group record, a live album titled The Road to You (Geffen, 1993). This release featured live versions of tracks from the two Geffen studio albums as well as previously unreleased tunes. The group integrated new instrumentation and technologies into its work, notably Mays’ use of synthesizers. // Metheny and Mays have referred to the next three Pat Metheny Group releases as a triptych: We Live Here (Geffen, 1995), Quartet (Geffen, 1996), and Imaginary Day (Warner Bros., 1997). Moving away from the Brazilian-inspired styles which had dominated the releases of the previous ten years, these albums included experiments with hip-hop rhythms, sequenced synthetic drums, free-form improvisation on acoustic instruments, and symphonic signatures, blues, and sonata schemes. // With Speaking of Now (Warner Bros., 2002), new group members were added: drummer Antonio Sánchez from Mexico City, Vietnamese-American trumpeter Cuong Vu, and bassist, vocalist, guitarist, and percussionist Richard Bona from Cameroon. // On The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005), harmonica player Grégoire Maret from Switzerland was introduced as a new group member, while Bona contributed as a guest musician. The album consists of a single 68-minute-long piece—split into four sections—based on a three-note motif: the opening B, A♯, F♯, and its later variation F♯, A, B. // Metheny has recorded albums under his solo artist billing regularly throughout his career. His solo acoustic guitar albums include New Chautauqua (ECM, 1979), One Quiet Night (Warner Bros., 2003), and What’s It All About (Nonesuch, 2011). // Building on the work of his experimental quartets (see § Side projects), Metheny further explored fringes of the avant-garde on Zero Tolerance for Silence (Geffen, 1994), a solo electric guitar outing. // For the album Orchestrion (Nonesuch, 2010) Metheny hand-crafted an array of elaborate, custom mechanical instruments which allowed him to compose and perform as a one-person orchestra. By contrast, his album Secret Story (Geffen, 1992) uses lush orchestral arrangements usually found in movie soundtracks, such as The Falcon and the Snowman (see above) and his own A Map of the World (Warner Bros., 1999) film soundtrack. // Recent solo-billed recordings include From This Place (Nonesuch, 2020), recorded with a variety of guest artists, and the all-guitar collaboration Road to the Sun (Modern Recordings, 2021). // In 2012, Metheny formed the Unity Band with Antonio Sánchez on drums, Ben Williams on bass and Chris Potter on saxophone. This quartet released the album Unity Band (Nonesuch, 2012) and toured Europe and the U.S. during the latter half of the year. In 2013, as an extension of the Unity Band project, Metheny announced the formation of the Pat Metheny Unity Group, with the addition of the Italian multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi.]
10:26
Peter Schlamb – “Fairway [feat. Logan Richardson]” from: Pliable Consciousness / Peter Schlamb / February 23, 2024 [From August 11, 2024 edition of Plastic San, written by Buill Brownlee: “The jazz community in Kansas City is a victim of negligence. Although it was released in February, Plastic Sax only recently stumbled upon Pliable Consciousness, the latest missive from Peter Schlamb. The excellence of the 22-minute recording compounds the oversight. // The vibraphonist, composer and bandleader has perfected the distinctive approach first documented on Tinks in 2014. The production of Pliable Consciousness is crisper and the guest artists- Hermon Mehari, Mike Moreno and Logan Richardson- are even more inspiring. // Schlamb has long been indifferent to self-promotion. Even so, managing to keep the superlative Pliable Consciousness a secret is a feat. The fact that Pliable Consciousness hasn’t received a smidgen of notice elsewhere doesn’t excuse Plastic Sax’s failure to keep tabs on one of Kansas City’s preeminent artists. I apologize.]
10:29 – Underwriting
10:31 – Interview with Judy Mills
Judy Mills is the founder, owner and manager of Mills Record Company at 4045 Broadway Blvd, KCMO. For the last 11 years, this locally owned indie record store has been buying and selling vinyl records, physical music, and books, in the heart of Kansas City. In two days, on Friday, November 29, opening at 7:00am, Mills Record Company are participating in Black Friday Record Store Day, one of the biggest days in the Record Store Day calendar. Judy has been a curious student all her life and most recently. She has previously taught in colleges and served ion the corporate retail world. Her favorite things are Conway the dog, writing a good “to do” list and introducing people to new music.
Shabaka – “Living [feat. Eska]” from: Perceive It’s Beauty, Acknowledge It’s Grace / Impulse Records / April 12, 2024 [Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is the solo debut studio album of London jazz musician Shabaka Hutchings, working under the name Shabaka. The album was preceded by two singles, “End of Innocence” and “I’ll Do Whatever You Want”. // The album follows Hutchings’s hiatus from the saxophone and the end of his bands Sons of Kemet and the Comet Is Coming, and sees him focusing on different types of flutes, including the shakuhachi and the svirel, as well as the clarinet. // The album was recorded in Van Gelder Studio in 2022. Hutchings shared producing duties with Dilip Harris, and brought in a long list of collaborators including his own father Anum Iyapo, André 3000, Laraaji, and Floating Points. Musically, it focuses on jazz and new age music. Critical reception for the album was positive, highlighting the boldness of Hutchings’s shift in style. // On January 1, 2023, Hutchings announced his intention to take an indefinite hiatus from playing the saxophone, explaining later in the year that his enthusiasm for the instrument had waned after years of intense touring. This also coincided with the end of his two bands, Sons of Kemet and the Comet Is Coming. Hutchings’s last live saxophone performance was on 7 December 2023, where he played John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. // Hutchings’s new musical interests lied primarily with the flute and similar instruments, having started with them in 2019 after acquiring his first shakuhachi. Subsequent instruments Hutchings picked up include Mayan Teotihuacan drone flutes, Brazilian pifanos, Native American flutes, Slavic svirels, and South American quenas. The move coincided with an increase in attention on jazz flute following the release of André 3000’s 2023 album New Blue Sun, on which Hutchings contributed shakuhachi to one track. // Hutchings announced the album on 28 February 2024, set for a release on April 12, by Impulse! Records. On the same day, he released its lead single, “End of Innocence”, along with a music video directed by Phoebe Boswell. “End of Innocence” sees Hutchings playing the clarinet, with a band consisting of pianist Jason Moran, drummer Nasheet Waits, and percussionist Carlos Niño. // The second single, “I’ll Do Whatever You Want”, was released on March 21. Hutchings cowrote the song with Laraaji and Floating Points. It features Hutchings on shakuhachi, André 3000 on drone flute, Laraaji’s wordless vocals, Floating Points on Rhodes Chroma synthesizer and vibraphone, Esperanza Spalding and Tom Herbert on bass, Dave Okumu on guitar, Marcus Gilmore on drums, and Niño on percussion. Hutchings said the song is “about surrender and the intimate space we go to within the grasp of possession.” Other musicians on the record include Moses Sumney, Brandee Younger, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Saul Williams, Lianne La Havas, and Elucid. // Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is Hutchings’s solo debut studio album, following his 2022 solo EP Afrikan Culture, which also centered Hutchings’s woodwind play. The titles of both releases are connected; in Hutchings’s words, they’re mean to be read as “Afrikan Culture, comma, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace”, with his next album being “the next sentence in a long form poem that encapsulates, hopefully, all the solo records of my career.” The song names on the album were extracted from a poem written for the album.]
10:40
Nala Sinephro – “Continuum 5” from: Endlessness / Warp Records / September 6, 2024 [Nala Sinephro (born 1996) is a Caribbean-Belgian experimental jazz musician, currently based in London. She is best known for her ambient jazz compositions, where she predominantly plays the pedal harp, modular synthesizer, keyboards and piano. // In 2021, she released her debut studio album, Space 1.8, on Warp Records to widespread critical acclaim. The album placed highly on several music publications’ end-of-year lists. // Nala Sinephro spent her childhood in Belgium, growing up on the outskirts of Brussels, near a forest. Her Belgian mother was a classical piano teacher and her Martiniquan/Guadeloupean father was a jazz saxophonist. // During her teenage years, Sinephro developed a tumor in her jaw. The tumor’s successful removal influenced a period of hedonistic living, with Sinephro frequenting Brussels-based clubs to seek out hardcore dance music. // Initially interested in becoming a biochemist, Sinephro eventually transferred to an arts-based high school which featured a jazz department. There, she discovered the harp, which she quickly connected with. Sinephro attended Berklee College of Music in Boston for one year, dropping out after finding her job as a sound engineer provided a more practical education. She moved to London and enrolled in a second jazz college, though she quickly dropped out as a result of the racial disparity there. // In London, Sinephro became a contemporary of saxophonists Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia, and the jazz improvisation collective Steam Down, where she developed a sense of individuality in her style. Sinephro began performing with Steam Down regularly, working alongside the London Contemporary Orchestra’s artistic director Robert Ames. // Sinephro began writing the songs that would appear on Space 1.8 in 2018 and 2019. Writing on piano, she would record her pedal harp and modular synthesiser parts at her home before entering Pink Bird recording studio to record with the album’s collaborators, with included saxophonists Nubya Garcia and James Mollison, drummer Jake Long, and bassists Twm Dylan and Wonky logic. Sinephro emphasized minimalism and intentionality when composing the album. // Sinephro currently lives in Tottenham, North London. She has family based in the Caribbean island Martinique. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sinephro spent months living on Martinique, where she developed an interest in field recordings.]
10:44
Jessica Pratt – “Life is” from: Here In The Pitch / Mexican Summer / May 3, 2024 [On her fourth album, west coast artist Jessica Pratt expands the scope of her artistry, placing her sharpest songs to date within an ever-broadening pool of influences including spectral ’60s pop, Hollywood psychedelia and bossa nova. Whereas Pratt’s 2019 record, Quiet Signs, floated elegantly in the ether, Here in the Pitch is entrenched in more earthen characteristics, as the title suggests, and her craft is emboldened with a newfound gravitas. // Jessica Pratt (born April 24, 1987) is an American musician and singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Her self-titled debut album was released in 2012 via Birth Records, a record label founded by White Fence songwriter Tim Presley to release Pratt’s music. She is often associated with the freak folk movement. Her second and third albums are On Your Own Love Again (2015) (Drag City) and Quiet Signs (2019) (Mexican Summer/City Slang). She released her fourth album, Here in the Pitch, in 2024. // Pratt was raised by her mother, who exposed her to a broad range of artists, including Tim Buckley, X, and the Gun Club. She learned to play the guitar around the age of 15, after her older brother gave up playing his Stratocaster. She took his guitar and started practicing with the 1971 T. Rex album Electric Warrior. She was soon able to play the guitar parts of the whole record. She eventually began recording songs at the age of 16, using her mother’s Fender guitar amp and microphone. // “Pratt grew up in Redding, a small Northern California city with a complicated relationship to Christianity and conservative politics,” noted Quinn Moreland in a 2024 New York Times profile on Pratt. “Her family was comparatively freewheeling: Her mother, who raised her, was an astrologer and music obsessive. Pratt began writing songs as soon as she learned a few rudimentary chords, penning impressionistic songs inspired by the Incredible String Band and Leonard Cohen on a thrift store nylon string guitar.” // After she moved to San Francisco, she was introduced to Tim Presley’s solo project, White Fence, through Presley’s brother, who was her roommate for three years.In the following years, Presley heard Pratt’s demo songs through her then-boyfriend, who had posted her songs on Facebook. He eventually contacted her to release her music. // Pratt’s self-titled debut album was released in 2012 through Presley’s label, Birth Records. The album featured the songs that were originally recorded in 2007 over analogue tape. The initial 500 pressings of the album sold out in less than two weeks. It received attention from many music websites and magazines, including Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound and PopMatters. // In January 2014, she revealed the studio version of a new track, “Game That I Play.” // In October 2014, Pratt announced her second album, On Your Own Love Again. Pratt toured extensively around this record, both as a headliner and in support of Beach House, Panda Bear and José Gonzáles. On Your Own Love Again would eventually be ranked at #85 of Pitchfork’s Best Albums of the 2010s. “Back, Baby” appeared in the first episode of season three of the show Atlanta, and was sampled by Troye Sivan on his 2023 album, Something to Give Each Other. // In October 2018, she announced her third album, Quiet Signs, and released a video for a new track entitled “This Time Around”. Pitchfork reviewed the song, giving it the Best New Music designation and noting a stylistic shift, comparing it to “a Tropicalia version of a Christmas song, or a ’60s jukebox standard playing in a beach town diner during the off-season.” The album was released in February 2019 on the independent labels Mexican Summer and City Slang. It was the first one recorded in a proper studio which provided a crystalline sound. Pitchfork states the album “warps the typically direct, observational role of a singer-songwriter into something altogether more mystifying”. // After writing throughout the pandemic, Pratt returned to Gary’s Electric with Quiet Signs co-producer Al Carlson, Matt McDermott and session musicians including Spencer Zahn and Mauro Refosco, this time influenced by Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and the music of the ’60s group the Walker Brothers. “I’ve always been very interested in that micro era of ’60s pop music where the production is atmospheric like a snow globe,” she told the New York Times on her intentions throughout the writing and recording process, which spanned from 2020 to 2023. // In February 2024, she released a video for a new track titled “Life Is” which served as the lead single for her first new album in five years. Here in the Pitch, was released on May 3, 2024, via Mexican Summer and City Slang, to universal acclaim. “Her chords are crisper, her singing more concrete and commanding, occasionally imagining echoes of lost Bowie or Beatles ballads aside her twilight bossa nova grooves,” wrote Jen Pelly for NPR. Pitchfork awarded the album a Best New Music designation and an 8.8 score, stating Pratt’s “fourth album of hypnagogic folk music hones her mysterious song to its finest point.” The lead single from the record, “Life Is,” concluded Chanel’s Fall-Winter 2024/25 Haute Couture Show. She performed the song with her band on The Late Show in July 2024. // On August 2, 2024, she featured on the single “Highjack” from ASAP Rocky’s upcoming fourth studio album Don’t Be Dumb. // According to Philip Cosores of Consequence of Sound, Pratt’s music “displays a lyrical and musical range without straying from a palette of picked acoustic guitar and raw, bending vocals” and nods to “60s folk, California classic rock, and the early 2000s freak folk.” She is compared to various folk artists, including Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Sibylle Baier, David Crosby and Karen Dalton. She also expressed admiration for Ariel Pink. // Pratt dislikes the Joan Baez comparisons, and is hesitant about being classified strictly as “folk” or “freak-folk.” In an interview with Impose magazine, she stated on the freak folk comparisons: I think anybody has an opposition to being pigeonholed into semi-trendy music genres. I definitely love a lot of those artists. There have been comparisons to people like Joan Baez [who] plays very straight-forward folk music, almost academic folk music. I’ve written so much new material that I’m almost ready for a next record. I guess it’s just my fear of sounding one-dimensional, or being classified as strictly a folk artist.
Jessica Pratt – Discography Jessica Pratt (2012) On Your Own Love Again (2015) Quiet Signs (2019) Here in the Pitch (2024)
10:49
Arooj Aftab – “Bolo Na [feat. Moor Mother & Joel Ross]”( from: Night Reign’/ Verve / May 31, 2024 [Arooj Aftab was born March 11, 1985. She is a Pakistani-American singer, composer, and producer. She has worked in various musical styles and idioms, including jazz and minimalism. // Aftab was nominated for the Best New Artist award and won the Best Global Music Performance award for her song “Mohabbat” at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in April 2022. She became the first-ever Pakistani artist to win a Grammy Award. // On the 75th diamond jubilee anniversary of Pakistan, President Arif Alvi awarded Aftab the Pride of Performance Award, Pakistan’s most prestigious award for excellence in the field of art and music. // Aftab was born to Pakistani parents expatriated in Saudi Arabia. When she was about 10 years old, they returned to their native Lahore, Pakistan. She taught herself the guitar and gradually acquired her singing style while listening to Billie Holiday, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Mariah Carey, and Begum Akhtar. At that time, Aftab lived in a country where access to Western online platforms was difficult, and the infrastructure for independent music was lacking. In this context, however, she promoted her music in Pakistan, being one of the first musicians to use the Internet in the early 2000s; her renditions of “Mera Pyaar” and “Hallelujah” went viral and launched the Pakistani indie scene. // Aftab moved to the United States at the age of 19 in 2005 and earned a degree in music production and engineering at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. She moved to New York in 2010 and began working as an editor and scoring films. Since her graduation in 2010, Aftab has lived there, being part of the city’s jazz and “new music” scene. // In April 2011, Aftab was included in the “100 Composers Under 40” selection launched by NPR and WQXR-FM’s Q2 (a contemporary classical music internet radio station). // Aftab’s first album, Bird Under Water, was released independently in 2014. It received critical acclaim from David Honigmann of the Financial Times, who gave the album four out of five stars in March 2015. // She worked as an editor on the documentary Armed With Faith (2017), winning a 2018 Emmy Award afterward. // Her second album, Siren Islands, was released on June 12, 2018, through New Amsterdam Records. NPR included the album in their “Favorite Electronic and Dance Music of 2018” list. The New York Times listed the song “Island No. 2”, which represented the album, in their “25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2018” list. In mid-July 2018, the song “Lullaby”, taken from Bird Under Water, was ranked number 150 on the NPR’s “200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women” list. // In 2020, Aftab sang, among other vocalists, on Residente’s Latin Grammy Award-winning single “Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe”. That year, she composed the music for the Student Academy Award-winning film Bittu (narrative category) by Karishma Dube. // An anticipated release, Aftab’s third studio album, Vulture Prince, was released on April 23, 2021, via New Amsterdam Records. Thematically, the album discusses stories of people, relationships, and lost moments and is dedicated to the memory of her younger brother, Maher.[19] Vulture Prince received praise from publications such as Pitchfork, NPR, and the Al Jazeera English-language news channel. Barack Obama selected the song “Mohabbat” from this album as one of his summer playlist favorites for 2021. “Mohabbat” was called one of the best songs of 2021 by Time and The New York Times. Vulture Prince was named the best album of 2021 by Netherlands newspaper de Volkskrant, topping their year-end list. Brenna Ehrlich ranked the album sixth on Rolling Stone’s “Best Music of 2021” staff list. It was ranked number twenty by The Guardian on their list of the “50 best albums of 2021”, and Laura Snapes named Aftab “[t]he year’s biggest musical revelation”. While Vulture Prince did not rank on the Los Angeles Times’ top ten “Best Albums of 2021”, it was, however, included on their “15 deserving albums” list. In late 2021, Aftab signed with Verve Records. // Aftab won a Grammy in 2022 for her song “Mohabbat”. In 2023 she became the first Pakistani artist to perform at the Grammys ceremony. // Aftab has performed at notable music venues such as the Barbican, the Chan Centre, the Lincoln Center, the Andy Warhol Museum, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, The Kitchen, (Le) Poisson Rouge, and the Museum of Modern Art. // She has also performed at international music festivals such as Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera Sound Barcelona, Roskilde Festival, Big Ears Festival, The Ecstatic Music Festival, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Pitchfork Music Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. In 2018 she opened for Mitski at The Brooklyn Steel. // In 2022, Aftab performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts’s Temple of Dendur, and at The Broad’s 2022 Summer Happenings series. // In May 2024, Aftab was announced as one of the curators for the Dutch music festival Le Guess Who?, set for November 7–10. Aftab’s lineup will include performances by herself, her father, Aja Monet, Dina El Wedidi, Meshell Ndegeocello, Noura Mint Seymali, and Zsela. // Aftab’s music has been described as a blend of jazz fusion, jazz, electronica, neo-Sufi, folk, Hindustani classical, classical music, indie pop, minimalism, and acoustic music. Aftab told the Los Angeles Times that she had aspired that Vulture Prince would “transcend boundaries”. // She has mentioned Abbey Lincoln, Abida Parveen, Anoushka Shankar, Begum Akhtar, Esperanza Spalding, Jeff Buckley, Julius Eastman, Meshell Ndegeocello, Morton Feldman, and Terry Riley as her influences. Aftab also expressed her admiration for Billie Eilish. Lyrically, Aftab has cited Asian poets as influences such as Rumi, Mirza Ghalib, and Hafeez Hoshiarpuri and uses Urdu Ghazal. Her vocals have been described as “meditative”. Vulture Prince revolves around themes of grief and longing. // In October 2023, Aftab signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to Joe Biden, President of the United States, calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. // Aftab has a tremendous love for animals. In 2023 she paired with Pakistani animal rights organization, the Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation to raise funds for their continued animal rescue efforts in Karachi. // Aftab raises her voice for gender equality in the music industry. In 2022 she spoke at Global Citizens’ Women of Influence panel on The Power of Gender in Shaping Culture alongside Gayle King, Pharrell Williams and Gloria Steinem. // In 2024 Aftab once again joined the Global Citizen action platform dedicated to achieving the end of extreme poverty, performing her song “Diya Hai” from her 2022 album Vulture Prince. Info at: http://www.aroojaftab.com]
10:56
Beth Gibbons – “Reaching Out” from: Lives Outgrown / Domino / April 14, 2024 [Lives Outgrown is the debut solo studio album by English musician Beth Gibbons, released on 17 May 2024 through Domino Recording Company. The album was produced by Gibbons, James Ford and Lee Harris. It was preceded by the singles “Floating on a Moment”, “Reaching Out” and “Lost Changes”. // Gibbons wrote the album over a decade, with topics including “motherhood, anxiety, menopause, and mortality”. Gibbons said that the album was directly influenced by the deaths of family and friends over the preceding several years and she “realised what life was like with no hope” // Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, who have released three albums. She released an album with Rustin Man, Out of Season, in 2002, and a recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2019. She released a solo album in 2024 titled Lives Outgrown. // Gibbons was born in Exeter, Devon, England and raised on a farm with three sisters. Her parents divorced when she was young. She attended St Katherine’s School in Pill, Somerset, in North Somerset. // At 22, she moved to Bath, then Bristol to pursue her singing career, where she met Geoff Barrow, her future collaborator in Portishead, on an Enterprise Allowance course in 1991. // With Adrian Utley, Gibbons and Barrow released the first Portishead album Dummy in 1994 and have produced two other studio albums, a live album, and various singles in the years since. // She has also collaborated on a separate project with former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb (Rustin Man). Before she joined Geoff Barrow in Portishead, she had auditioned for the singer’s slot in .O.rang, the group formed by Webb after Talk Talk’s late-Eighties departure from EMI, but Portishead’s sudden success pre-empted matters. In October 2002, they released the album Out of Season in the United Kingdom under the name Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man. The album peaked at number 28 in the UK Albums Chart. It was released in the United States a year later: while touring in North America, Variety favourably described her performance with Rustin as “Billie Holiday fronting Siouxsie and the Banshees”. // In June 2013, Gibbons announced plans for a new solo album with Domino Records. She contributed vocals to a cover of the song “Black Sabbath” with the British metal band Gonga, released on April 24, 2014. // In 2018, Gibbons contributed vocal performances, along with Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, to the Spill Festival held in Ipswich in an audio installation entitled ‘Clarion Calls’, which uses the voices of 100 women to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. // In 2014, Gibbons performed Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Górecki with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki. Gibbons sang in Polish. The performance was released in 2019; reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Jayson Greene wrote: “Part of the tension comes from hearing her untrained voice scale these rocky heights. Her vibrato, tight and trilling and barely controlled, sounds an awful lot like someone fighting off a panic attack. This would get her dismissed from a traditional opera audition, probably, but it is magnificently effective at sending raw shudders through what can be a pretty well-worn work.” In 2022, Gibbons featured on the track “Mother I Sober” from Kendrick Lamar’s album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. For her collaboration in the album she received a nomination for Album of the Year at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards as a featured artist and songwriter. On February 7, 2024, Gibbons announced the release of her first solo studio album in over 20 years. The album, titled Lives Outgrown, was released May 17, 2024. It was announced alongside a single titled “Floating on a Moment”, with its second single “Reaching Out” being released later that year on 10 April. // She has cited Nina Simone, Bono of U2 for his performance on The Joshua Tree, Otis Redding and Jimmy Cliff as musical inspirations. She has covered Janis Joplin songs and enjoys the music of Janis Ian.]
11:00 – Station ID
11:00 – Interview with Chris Haghirian
Chris Haghirian shares his passion for the KC music community as host of Eight One Sixty, heard Tuesday nights at 6:00 pm, on 90.9 The Bridge, just a few clicks up the dial. Chris worked for The KC Star for over 20 years. Chris organizes music for, Boulevardia, The Plaza Art Fair., and many other musical venues and events. With Nathan Reusch of The Record Machine, Chris created The Middle of The Map Fest.
Chris Haghirian thanks for being with us on WMM.
Chris Haghirian’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2024
5. Hidden Murals – Sweet Drive (EP) / Further Beauty Media /June 24, 2024
4. The Highwater – Spilling (EP) / The Highwater / April 1, 2024
3. Elska – Dancing Alone (LP) / Time Released Sound / July 5, 2024
2. Danny McGaw – “Soho” – Single / Northern Sky Recordings / April 22, 2024
1. Land Lion – “Townie Song”- Single / Land Lion / July 25, 2024
11:03
Hidden Murals – “Beauty Moon” from: Sweet Drive (EP) / Further Beauty Media / June 24, 2024 [In 2024 Hidden Murals released the 3-song EP, Sweet Drive on June 24, 2024. Hidden Murals released the 3-song EP, Garden Music on March 8, 2024. Hidden Murals released the 8-track EP, Hot Worship on August 3, 2023. All 14 songs are 2:08 minutes long. Hidden Murals write: 128 seconds per song. 128 beats per minute. Maybe it’s 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 (8th in sequence). Or maybe it’s (8+8) x 8. It has something to do with 8’s. As does literally everything. That is all that is known at the moment. Hidden Murals is a music and art project based just outside of Kansas City. The band’s website: http://www.hiddenmurals.com actually offers nothing more in terms of information about the band, unless you want t-shirts.]
11:07
The Highwater – “Emma” from: Spilling EP / The Highwater / April 1, 2024 [Kansas City band Konrad Hell & The Highwater is in pursuit of 2000s indie coolness. The song is smooth, chic, sexy, rocky, electronic and reminiscent of NYC band The Strokes. The song transports you to a glitzy lounge, where the twinkling lights of a disco ball pour over your face. Despite being dressed in suits with a full band setup and mood lighting to boot, the relaxed nature of Konrad Hell & The Highwater makes it seem like this is just an average night for the group, and they’ll keep jamming long after the camera turns off.
11:13
Elska – “Tesori” from: Dancing Alone (LP) / Time Released Sound / July 5, 2024 [11-track album release. Electronic/Ambient music from KC based Elska. elska is the narrator of cinematic lullabies and creation of Composer Laura Boland. She represents love, imagination, optimism, conflict & awareness. Elska writes, “My vignettes are comprised of moments and memories that explore the human condition and our spiritual migrations in the context of our ever-changing environment.” .Composed, recorded, and mixed by Laura Boland in Kansas City, MO. Mastered by Jessica Thompson in San Francisco, CA. Polaroids by Laura Boland, Alex Alexander and Peter Rad. Polaroid stories by Laura Boland Artwork/Design by Colin Herrick and Maria Chenut. // Elska writes: “Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this and listen. I am happy to present Dancing Alone to you: a slow waltz through the darkest corridors of our yesterdays. Here, we excavate dusty memories and are united with our shadows to uncover a reverberating love inside our hearts’ distorted beats. Evocative orchestrations of ghostly soundscapes and nostalgic synth textures decorate this internal terrain and accompany ethereal vocal narrations that tie together the complexities and explorations of “home.” // Elska re;leased the 5 track EP lerden in Januaryt 29, 2021. // Elska released the 8-taxck album elska on September 28, 2018. More info at: elskamusic.me]
11:17
Danny McGaw – “Soho” from: “SOHO” – Single / Northern Sky Recordings / April 22, 2024 [Danny McGaw also released theses singles: “Step Into The Future “on 2024; “Love Is Real” on 2024; “Start Over” on July 25, 2024; “Human” on May 24, 2024; “Scars” May 8; “Any More That I Do” on April 15. Manchester, England born Danny McGaw was a footballer, then a street musician, then a bar musician, and then a husband and father living in Lawrence, Kansas, where he released one of our favorite recordings of 2012 called, “Eccles Road.” After that he formed the band, Welles The Traveler with Jason Jones, Dan Hines, Chad Brothers, and Mike West, who produced the group’s debut recording. Eventually Danny and family relocated to California. He has made over 10 records in 25 years and records his songs in his home studio.][Danny McGaw plays the 20th Annual Crossroads Music Fest, Sat, August 24, on the The Campground – KKFI 90.1 FM Stage, 1531 Genessee St. with: Jelly Rose, Zee Underscore, Starhaven Rounders, Aztlán, and Supermassive Black Holes.]
11:23
Land Lion – “Townie Song” from: “Townie Song” – Single / Land Lion / July 25, 2024 [Land Lion band make happy songs about sad things. This KC-based indie rock collective led by Ben Wendt and backed by a revolving all-star supporting cast of musicians draws inspiration from Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire, and Bruce Springsteen.]
11:28 – Underwriting
11:30 – Fally Afani’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2024
5. The Roseline – Keystone of the Heart / RPH Records / February 2, 2024
4. MellowPhobia – The Act of Loving In Return / Jackal & Hide Records / May 15, 2024
3. The Fun Guy – From the Attic to the Underground / The Fun Guy / June 6, 2024
2. The Creepy Jingles – “Love Like You” – Single / The Creepy Jingles / July 14, 2024
1. VCMN & Joel Leoj – “Fab (Vmix)” – Single / VCMN Music / September 2, 2024
The Roseline – “Keystone of the Heart” from: Keystone of the Heart / RPH Records / February 2, 2024 [Keystone of the Heart is the eighth album from the Lawrence, Kansas based band. The Roseline features: Colin Halliburton on lead vocals, Bradley McKellip on guitar, Heidi Gluck on Keyboards & backing vocals, Colin Jones on bass, Jim Piller on drums, and Chase Horseman on Mellotron. Engineered, produced, and mixed by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studios in Kansas City, KS Mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering in Chicago, IL. // Keystone of the Heart, is arguably their most distilled, elegant, and emotionally resonant album of their career. Halliburton describes it as “a protest record which protests the dissolution of a marriage, the slog of existence in late stage capitalism, and grotesque hatred and violence.” While this certainly sounds clunky and heavy-handed, Halliburton knows when to inject some levity and humor. Songs which appear dour and grim in the early verses always seem to find some hope and light by their end. Keystone of the Heart offers pure aural aloe for troubled times. // The Roseline played an Album Release Show at The Bottleneck con February 2, 2024 with Suzannah Johannes and Empty Moon. The band will be traveling back to Scandinavia in March.// The Roseline’s 7th album CONSTANCY was released November 5, 2021, was #1 on WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2021. // The Roseline are a Lawrence, KS, based alt-country, Americana, rock band, formed by Colin Halliburton with friends in 2005. The Roseline released their 6th album GOOD / GRIEF on April 3, 2020. The Roseline released BLOOD on September 29, 2017; and TOWNIE on June 19, 2015. The band has toured the US and parts of Europe. Halliburton has completed two European solo tours thus far, taking him through Poland, Germany, Belgium, and The Netherlands. // . The Roseline founder and principal songwriter, Colin Halliburton, began the project as an acoustic folk trio. It has since evolved into the five-piece heartland rock band of its current form. // Kind foreign press and high charting on the Euro Americana Chart (“Lust for Luster,” “Blood,” “GOOD/GRIEF” and “Constancy” all charted in the top 10) led to a deal in the Benelux with Dutch label King Forward Records. The band also released “Vast as Sky” in 2012 with the Bay Area label Ninth Street Opus (home to Sarah Lee Guthrie and Carrie Rodriguez). Aside from those, the project has largely been a truly DIY, independent venture. // The Roseline has had the good fortune of landing placements in indie movies and major network television shows such as ABC’s “Nashville” and “Resurrection,” as well as USA’s “Queen of the South,” Netflix’s “Virgin River” and MTV’s “Teen Mom.” The band’s work has been featured on NPR, “Pop Matters,” “American Songwriter,” “The Bluegrass Situation” and “No Depression,” among others. Colin Halliburton joined us on WMM on March 25, 2020. More info at: https://roselinemusic.com/%5D [The Roseline will tour throughout Sweden and Norway in March.]
10:34 – Interview with Fally Afani
Fally Afani is an award-winning journalist with a career spanning nearly 20 years in media. She has worked extensively in radio, television, newspapers, and magazines. She has received several Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards as well as an Edward R. Murrow award for her online work in journalism. Fally lives in Lawrence, Kansas, where she reports on local & touring musicians and is the editor & founder of, I Heart Local Music a comprehensive website providing info and place for music lovers in Lawrence to gather. It was started out of a deep love & appreciation for the local music scene.Fally is also a co-founder of the Lawrence Music Alliance. Info at: http://www.iheartlocalmusic.com
Fally Afani, Thank you for being with us in Wednesday MidDay Medley.
11:37
MellowPhobia – “Finding It Hard” from: The Act of Loving In Return / Jackal And Hide Records / May 15, 2024 [Based in Kansas City, Kansas, MellowPhobia is an alt-rock band fronted by Tillie Swedlund-Hall. MellowPhobia brings a lively and dynamic sound to the music scene. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the band relocated and recorded their debut EP, “Is This Seat Taken?” released in 2021. Their single, “Jackal” later gained attention, leading to performances at festivals and indie venues. Notable highlights include sharing stages with national touring acts such as The Greeting Committee, the Regrettes, The Velveteers, Colony House, and more. By 2024, “Jackal” had surpassed 40,000 streams and the band continues to grow its fan base. Looking ahead, MellowPhobia is gearing up for new releases, each contributing to their evolving sound. // From I Heart Local Muaic., May 15, 2024 written by Fally Afani: “ It’s been a while since we’ve had a really well-produced local indie album come our way, but MellowPhobia continues to check all our boxes. // The Act of Loving in Return is a masterclass in youthful angst. It kicks off with the frustration-laden “Finding It Hard,” setting the tone right away for the album with angsty lyrics over guitar tantrums. From there, the band continues to share their dissatisfactions with us, all while treating their listeners to fantastically-written melodies. We’ve noticed that their bridges are always a moment for quiet reflection before diving back into their noisy airing of grievances. We love it. The frontperson certainly has the vocals for this mood. // We’ve said before that this is a great band live. However, they’ve been garnering a lot of attention online for their recorded work as well. The single “Jackal” is a popular one at shows, but it’s racked up thousands of streams on Spotify. There’s a great vintage vibe for songs like “Scholars” and “Therapy.” “Los Angeles” breaks our hearts, and closer “Breaker Waves” is absolutely stunning. // MellowPhobia is great therapy for today’s young fans. Their live sets are already a blast, but The Act of Loving in Return seals the deal with solid indie rock songwriting. The sheer innocence of it all is enough to leave us emotionally wrecked. We hear these songs and just want to hug them (or shake them) and say “You have your whole lives ahead of you! It’s going to be ok!” If nothing else, this is a perfect Summer album released at just the right time. // MellowPhobia played Lawrence Pride on June 1, 2024.]
11:43
The Fun Guy – “Cinnamon and Cardamom” from: From the Attic to the Underground / The Fun Guy / June 6, 2024 [Lawrence, Kansas based 3-piece band. From I Heart Local Music, June 11, 2024 written by Fally Afani: “The season is ripe for political discontent and a revolution. The Fun Guy’s latest album provides a pretty good soundtrack for such an occasion. // From the Attic to the Underground comes from the Lawrence trio, one of the scene’s newest up-and-coming acts spotted around town over the last year. Fronted by staggeringly tall Ranjit Arab (who is not Arab, but actually Indian and American), the band has been indulging us with a perfectly retro punk vibe (think The Clash). The album was recorded at Exception Studio in Topeka. Songs tackle everything from identity to politics to crimes against indigenous populations (when a seven-foot-tall brown man is yelling at you about stealing land from the indigenous, you need to listen), all against some speedy guitar riffs and beats that always get the crowd going. The band burst out the gate strong at the beginning of the year, and don’t seem to be slowing down. // IHLM: We’re sure you’re a fun guy, but you sound pretty angry on this album. What prompted you to tackle these political themes? // RA: Ha! Yes, the whole point of The Fun Guy is just to have fun and hopefully make people dance and have a good time, but I’m also pretty upset with the state of things these days. How can you not be? If you aren’t, you’re not paying attention. There’s no room to remain silent. We all need to speak up about the atrocities happening in Palestine with our U.S. tax dollars, for example. Meanwhile, “Prisoner or Guard” is about having to work your entire adult life, and “Never Skipped A Beat” has a rant about various respectable professions, so, yeah, I have a lot on my mind these days. IHLM: I imagine you feel like most of us (yours truly included) who live with ethnic identities in the U.S. Which songs helped you process this?RA: All of them did, really–that’s why I write in the first place. I’ve struggled a lot being torn between two cultures (American and Indian), and so everything I create reflects that, I guess. “Lost and Found” was especially therapeutic since it allowed me to rant in a way that wasn’t just shouting. // IHLM: On “Lost and Found,” you proclaim “every city in the nation was built on a foundation of lies.” Tell us how you really feel, Ranjit? // RA: Yes! I’ll always tell you how I really feel. I’m terrible at hiding that. I want people to have fun when they see us, but also leave them with some deep topics like settler colonialism and how we Americans are just as guilty of terrorizing people (Native Americans) as what’s happening now with Palestinians. So, we have a lot of work to do–whether that’s reparations for Indigenous people or putting an immediate end to the genocide against Palestinians.// RA: Right now we’re just looking forward to playing our next show at Lucia on Thursday, and lining up more gigs, writing more songs. I’m sure my politics will always be front and center in my songs, but hopefully people also find the tunes catchy and enjoy the musicianship. I’m especially excited to be playing with bassist Noah Meitler and drummer Foy Keith–we have a good chemistry that’s hard to come by, I think.]
11:49
The Creepy Jingles – “Love Like You” from: “Love Like You” – Single / The Creepy Jingles / July 14, 2024 [This is the third of several new singles being released by The Creepy Jingles this year. The band released “Repeat After Me” on April 19, 2024. The band released “When Things Go Wrong” on February 23, 2024. The Creepy Jingles are a Kansas City based, rock and roll band that both honors and defies convention. Led by singer / song-writer Jocelyn Olivia Nixon, a transgender wordsmith who charms with razor wit and dazzles with her lyrical acrobatics. // Song (lyrics/melody/chords) written by Jocelyn Olivia Nixon. Mixed and Recorded by Paul Malinowski and recorded at Massive Sound Studios in Shawnee, Kansas. Mastered by Zack Hames. Jocelyn Nixon on lead vocals & rhythm guitar, Will Van Doorn on lead guitar & backing vocals, Andrew Woody on bass & backing vocals, Nick Robertson on drums & bait. // The Creepy Jingles released their album, TAKE ME AT MY WORDPLAY on March 25, 2022 through High Dive Records. Paired up with lyrics centering on themes of identity, strained relationships, social media madness, meme magic, pandemic paranoia, paid off political pundits, backyard bullies and barking up the wrong tree. Everything and the kitchen sink or swim. No stoner left unturned. The Creepy Jingles released their Debut EP on High Dive Records on May 3, 2019. The release was in the top ten of WMM’s 119 Best Recordings of 2019. ] The Creepy Jingles released their Debut EP on High Dive Records on May 3, 2019.] [The Creepy Jingles play Apocalypse Meow 17 on Saturday, November 2nd at recordBar.]
11:55
VCMN & Joel Leoj – “Fab (Vmix)” from: Fab (Vmix) – Single / VCMN Music / September 2, 2024 [VCMN released the single “Fab” on July 26, 2024. VCMN release the single, “Boounce (Remix) [feat. Amira Wang & The Epitome] on August 11, 2023. VCMN released their debut album entitled “The VCMN Project” on Friday, May 13, 2022. VCMN is an American singer-songwriter duo who’s artistry is shaped by way of edgy, alternative R&B, Pop, and Rock. Victoria and Emmanuel “Manny” Cable—aka the “Vic” and “Man” of VCMN. Victoria grew up in the Bethel International Center of Worship church in Kansas City, Kansas, where her father, Cleveland Drone, was a pastor. From the ages of 10-19, she toured across the country singing gospel music. Manny came to performance via a different path: ballet and modern dance. They’ve been working it out with the rhythms and the rhymes for years now. VCMN Project was first birthed into existence when they were still dating; the album was finished after they were married. It all began on their living room sofa. The VCMN Project is just as much a party as it is a beautifully written love story. The 10-track “The VCMN Project” encompasses a song from every top 40 music genre. R&B, Rap, Pop, Alternative Rock, Ballad, Country, Hip Hop, and Dance Pop. VCMN played Lawrence Gay Pride, presented by I Heart Local Music. Fri. June 24, 2022 at Lucia, 1016 Mass with Cuee & Friends. INFOt: http://www.vcmnofficial.com%5D%5D
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
NEXT WEEK on Wed., December 4 we begin WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2024. Tune into WMM thru Dec. for our 4-week series on Dec. 4th, 11th, 18th, & 25th. This is our celebration of the year in music based on the playlists of this little ole radio show. In 2024 we’ve played hundreds of New & MidCoastal Releases. We conducted over 120 interviews with 152 special guests.
Thank you to all who have donated during our two Fall Fund Drive Show on Wednesday MidDay Medley and our WMM Facebook Fundraiser, we received donations from 46 individuals who donated a total of $3436.00. That is 97% of our ambitious goal, I call that a success!!!
THANK YOU to our incredible KKFI Staff; Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers, KKFI Accounting & Administration – Shaina Littler
This radio station is more than the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of hardworking people, unselfishly setting aside ego, to work for the greater good of community building and the gigantic goal of keeping our airwaves free, non-commercial, and open to all! Congratulations and thank you to all programmers & volunteers who went the extra effort to keep our station alive.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information. Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org
You can find our playlists at: http://www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org Sign up to receive our weekly announcements. Use our search engine to learn more about musical artists we play.
Wednesday MidDay Medley Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
WMM is Spinning Records With Marion Merritt + Jessica Dressler & Jen Frank Klenke of “Rennie”
We welcome back to the show, Marion Merritt as our special “Guest Producer!” Marion will share her sonic discoveries and information from her musically-encyclopedic-brain. Marion Merritt is an empath and has a special ability to know what music you’re seeking. She’s our most frequent contributor to WMM. Marion grew up in Los Angeles and St. Louis and went to college in Columbia, MO. She studied art & musical engineering, and is an avid lover of classic films. She saw Talking Heads on their 1st tour at One Block West in 1978. For 20 years she’s been sharing music form her musical journeys. Marion also writes about new releases as a contributor The Pitch. With partner Ann Stewart, Marion is the proprietor of Records With Merritt, a minority owned business at 1614 Westport Rd. in KC. More info at: http://www.recordswithmerritt.com.
Marion Merritt welcome back to Wednesday MidDay Medley
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
Dimitri From Paris – “Prologue” from: Sacrebleu / Yellow Productions – Atlantic / June 11, 1996 [Debut studio albumm from Dimitri from Paris was born Dimitrios Yerasimos, on October 27, 1963. He is a French music producer and DJ of Greek descent. His musical influences are rooted in 1970s funk and disco sounds that spawned contemporary house music, as well as original soundtracks from 1950s and 1960s movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, La Dolce Vita and The Party, which were sampled in his album Sacrebleu. Dimitri fused these sounds with electro and block party hip hop he discovered in the 1980s. // Contrary to his musical pseudonym, Dimitri was born not in Paris but born in Peckham, South London, to Rûm parents (Greeks of Turkey), Dimitri grew up in France where he discovered DJing at home, using whatever he could find to “cut and paste” samples from disco hits or in to montages heard on the radio, blending them together to make tapes. This early experimentation helped him launch his DJ career. // He started out by DJing at the French station Radio 7, before moving on to Skyrock and finally to Radio NRJ, Europe’s largest FM radio network, in 1986. There, he introduced the first ever house music show to be broadcast in France, while simultaneously producing under the direction of sound designer Michel Gaubert, runway soundtracks for fashion houses such as Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hermès and Yves Saint-Laurent. He also released two solo EPs from 1993 to 1994 and contributed to the Yellow Productions compilation La Yellow 357. // In 1996, Dimitri gained worldwide recognition with the release of his first full album, Sacrebleu, released on Yellow Productions. A blend of diverse influences including jazz, original film soundtracks, samba, and organic house, Sacrebleu sold 300,000 copies worldwide and was named Album of the Year by UK’s Mixmag magazine. // In 2000, Dimitri followed Sacrebleu up with A Night at the Playboy Mansion (Virgin) and Disco Forever (BBE), followed by My Salsoul in 2001, After the Playboy Mansion in 2002. In 2003, Cruising Attitude was released, to be closely followed by his first outing on UK’s premier dance music label Defected: Dimitri from Paris In the House. // He has followed a somewhat glamorous musical path by recording soundtracks and advertising campaigns for fashion houses Chanel, Jean-Paul Gautier and Yves Saint Laurent and remixing hundreds of artists as diverse as Björk, The Cardigans, James Brown, Michael Jackson, New Order and Quincy Jones. He also did the music for the anime Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase and mixed the soundtrack for the French luxury dessin animé Jet Groove produced by Method Films. // 2005 saw Dimitri go back to his Funk and Disco roots, with Japanese hip hop producer and über collector DJ Muro for Super Disco Friends a double CD mixdown. In 2006 he offered his House of Love outing to Valentine’s Day’s lovers. Later on Dimitri produced Los Amigos Invisibles “Super Pop Venezuela” album which grabbed a nomination for a Grammy Award. // 2007 saw the release of the Cocktail Disco project with longtime partner BBE, a handful of disco classics remixes and other surprises down the line. // 2009 saw the release of the Night Dubbin’, a post-disco R&B compilation remix album.]
King Fela – “Yehla Moya (feat. Omagugu) [Da Capo & Nduduzo Makhathini Remix]” from: Da Capo – Genesys / Genesys / May 29, 2020 [Nicodimas Sekheta Mogashoa (born June 9, 1992), professionally known as Da Capo, is a South African DJ and record producer. Born and raised in Seshego, Da Capo rose to prominence after remixing the single “Pretty Disaster” by Moneoa. He then signed a recording deal with Soulstic Music and his studio debut album Indigo Child (2017), which was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA). // Nicodimas Sekheta Mogashoa was born on August 14, 1992, Seshego township Zone 3, Polokwane, South Africa. After completed his matric, he studied for media and communication at University of Limpopo but dropped out. His musical career began as a rapper and later developed interest on house music. // After he signed a record deal with Soulstic Music, Indigo Child was released on December 8, 2017, in South Africa. It features GoodLuck, Berita, Wanda Baloyi, Jackie Queens, Renee Thompson, Soulsta, Miss Dippy, Tshepo King, and Darian Crouse. The album was certified double platinum[7] and garnered over 36.5 million streams on digitally streaming platforms. // He established independent record label Genesys Entity and released his EP Genesys in May 2020. “Moyo Wanagu” featuring BATUND was released as EP’s lead single. // “Light House” was released on September 3, 2021, by TRESOR featuring Da Capo and Sun-El Musician. // In the fourth quarter of 2021, he collaborated with Gallo to remix “Imbizo”, which appeared on compilation album Music is Forever, released on December 17, 2021. // “Molili” featuring Batundi, Nana Atta and Lokua Kanza released on June 23, 2023, as lead single of his Bakone EP released on July 14. “Molili” reached No 29 at Phalaphala FM Top 30 Chart. // Bakone was released on July 14, 2023. The EP is an afro-house record fused with afro-tech and deep house elements. Capo calloborated with Batundi, Nana Atta and Lokua Kanza, Da Africa Deep. Same day, Capo was announced as Sghubhu cover star by Apple Music. // In February 2024, Capo announced two upcoming albums Indigo Child II, and Aquatone Cotton Fabric. // In an interview with The Playground, Da Capo said: his musical career was inspired by Jimpster, Nick Holder, Quinton Harris. // Nduduzo Makhathini is a pianist, composer, teacher and music philosopher. He started singing gospel music in the Zion Evangelical Ministries of Africa in his teenage years in Umgungundlovu, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. // After matriculating from high school, Nduduzo studied Jazz Piano at the University of Kwazulu Natal where he attained a Diploma in 2005. // Nduduzo continued his journey in music education working as a lecturer in Wits University, University Of Kwazulu Natal and as a Head of music department at University of Fort Hare. // He came from a musical family with his father being a guitarist and his mother a keyboardist and singer who also was his first piano teacher. // Nduduzo has claimed John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme as an album that made him first fall in love with jazz. He first encountered the album at the University of Kwazulu Natal music library as a student. Although Nduduzo’s sound and musical effect is unique, he is influenced by Jazz greats like McCoy Tyner, John Coltrane, Bheki Mseleku etc. // Nduduzo himself explained Bheki Mseleku’s influence on his music during the recording of his third studio album, Listening To The Ground: …if people believe I have a voice; I think they are just hearing the echoes of bab’ Mseleku. // He was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist award for Jazz in 2015. Makhathini is the first South African artist to release music under the legendary Blue Note Records.]
SUUNS – “Road Signs and Meanings” from: The Breaks / Joyful Noise / September 6, 2024 [Produced by Liam O’Neill and SUUNS. Engineered by Adrian Popovich at Mountain City and Breakglass-Montreal 2022-2023. Mixed by Adrian Popovich. Mastered by Heba Kadry, NYC. Jacket photographs by Joseph Yarmush. Insert by Alexander Ortiz. Layout by Ryan Hover and Joseph Yarmush. All Songs by SUUNS Ben Shemie, Liam O’Neill, Joseph Yarmush. // Suuns (/suːns/) is a Canadian rock band from Montreal. It was formed in mid-2007 when vocalist and guitarist Ben Shemie and guitarist and bassist Joe Yarmush got together to make some beats which quickly evolved into a few songs. The duo was soon joined by drummer Liam O’Neill and bassist and keyboardist Max Henry to complete the original line-up. The band signed to Secretly Canadian in 2010. Since 2018, Suuns saw the departure of Henry as an official member[2] (he continues to record in the studio) to pursue a scholastic path, and in 2020 they officially signed with Joyful Noise Recordings with their 2020 output of Fiction, followed by their 2021 LP The Witness.]
Alan Sparhawk – “Can U Hear” from: White Roses, My God / Sub Pop Records / September 27, 2024 [White Roses, My God is the upcoming second solo album by former Low guitarist/vocalist Alan Sparhawk, set for release on September 27, 2024, by Sub Pop. It is Sparhawk’s first album since the death of his wife and bandmate, Mimi Parker, and the subsequent end of their band. Sparhawk began recording for the album in late 2023. // White Roses, My God is Sparhawk’s first album since his wife and Low bandmate Mimi Parker died of ovarian cancer in 2022, and the subsequent retirement of the band. Encouraged by his friend, Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner, Sparhawk returned to live performances. He played shows with his and Parker’s daughter Hollis, opened for Lambchop and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and played a solo set at Utrecht music festival Le Guess Who? 2023. Low had cancelled their headling set at the 2022 edition of Le Guess Who? due to Parker’s health, and she died a week before the festival. // Sparhawk also started recording around the same time, and started two new groups: punk funk band Derecho Rhythm Section, and funky electronic duo Damien with his and Parker’s son Cyrus. A second solo album, a collaborative project with Duluth, Minnesota, folk band Trampled by Turtles, began during that time. // Sparhawk first mentioned White Roses, My God in an interview with The New Yorker’s Justin Taylor, published April 11, 2024. At the time, he said the album would be released in late 2024. Sparhawk later shared on Low’s Twitter account that the album would be released by Sub Pop in “late September”, and that its first song would be released in July. // The album was officially announced on July 16, with a release date set for September 27 by Sub Pop. The lead single, “Can U Hear”, was released the same day, accompanied by a music video directed by Rick Alverson. The song is electronic and “near-industrial”. // The second single, “Get Still”, was released on August 20, accompanied by a music video directed by Ingrid Weise. Like “Can U Hear”, “Get Still” consists of electronic instrumentation, with Sparhawk’s “voice so heavily Auto-Tuned that it no longer sounds recognizably human.” // When asked on Twitter about the album name’s significance, Sparhawk said “Mim loved roses, and sometimes I think she is God.” // The album was recorded at 20 Below Studios in Duluth, Minnesota. Sparhawk produced and recorded along with Nat Harvie, who also mixed the album, and Heba Kadry mastered it. On these recordings, Sparhawk said he “was messing with this rigid stuff. There were moments where it would quickly become very visceral, very spontaneous. You’ve created the structure for it to happen and come through you, but you’re trusting the universe about what is going to come in.” Those recordings included him experimenting with improvising guitar and pitch-shifted vocals over a preset synthesizer clocked to a drum machine. // Stylistically, White Roses, My God follows Low’s last two albums, 2018’s Double Negative and 2021’s Hey What, in applying layers of distortion over otherwise-straightforward songwriting. Going further down that route, Sparhawk included synthesizers, drum machines, dance beats, and pitch-shifted vocals. All of the album’s vocals were recorded with a vocoder. Influences included Prince’s alter ego Camille and Neil Young’s album Trans. // All tracks are written by Alan Sparhawk.]
10:24 – Underwriting
PJ Morton
PJ Morton – “All The Dreamers (feat. Aṣa & Ndabo Zulu)” from: Cape Town to Cairo / Morton Records / June 14, 2024 [P.J. Morton (born Paul Sylvester Morton Jr.; March 29, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 2012, he has been the keyboardist for the pop band Maroon 5. Morton originally joined the band as a touring member in 2010 and became an official member in 2012 after Jesse Carmichael went on a short hiatus (he returned to the lineup playing guitar in 2014). // Morton released his debut solo EP, Following My First Mind, in March 2012, through the record label Young Money. Adam Levine and James Valentine were featured on the lead single, “Heavy”. In May 2013, Morton released his first major-label debut album, New Orleans. In 2016, he released his mixtape Bounce & Soul Vol. 1 in March and the Sticking to My Guns EP in July. On April 14, 2017, Morton released his first self-released studio album Gumbo, earning Morton two Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. // In April 2019, Morton said he would begin a project to restore the New Orleans home of jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden and create a museum and community space at the site. Bolden’s former home has been owned by Morton’s father’s church for more than a decade, and had been cited for demolition by neglect. // Morton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father is Canadian-born American gospel singer and Founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, Bishop Paul S. Morton. His mother is Dr. Debra Brown Morton, pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church. // Morton graduated St. Augustine High School and majored in marketing at Morehouse College, graduating in 2003. // In 2010, Morton’s friend and Maroon 5’s musical director Adam Blackstone asked him to audition for a position in the band as a touring keyboardist and backing vocalist. Morton was the first to audition and left an indelible mark on the group.[6] Since then, he has played with Maroon 5 in concerts and other live performances. From 2012 to 2014 Morton filled-in for the band’s keyboardist, Jesse Carmichael, who was on an indefinite hiatus from performing with the group, as stated on their official website in March 2012. In 2012, he joined the band as a full-time member, contributing his vocal and keyboard parts on Maroon 5’s fourth studio album, Overexposed, and continuing to do so during the processes of recording the band’s albums, V (2014), Red Pill Blues (2017), and Jordi (2021). // Morton’s solo work won the attention of Mack Maine, who signed him to his production company, Soothe Your Soul, and Young Money Entertainment in 2011. The Following My First Mind (EP) was released on March 27, 2012. // On May 14, 2013, Morton released his major-label debut studio album with Young Money Records, titled New Orleans. The album’s lead single, “Only One”, which features Stevie Wonder, was nominated for the Best R&B Song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014. // In 2016, Morton moved to New Orleans and opened a record label called Morton Records which he envisioned as “the New Orleans Motown”. Same year, Morton started working on Gumbo. About the album’s title he said “I named it Gumbo because the actual dish is a bunch of things mixed in together to make [something] beautiful. I wanted to grow as a songwriter and talk about more things … about where we are in the world today, the tension, how divided we are as a country. It kind of felt like I was dumping a bunch of subject matter together and I made it in New Orleans so that sounded like gumbo to me.” As a first step, on March 25, 2016, Morton released Bounce & Soul Vol. 1, a mixtape which includes re-imagined versions of his best songs in New Orleans’ bounce style.On July 1, 2016, Morton released the Sticking to My Guns EP, featuring the single of the same name. The EP, besides including alternative versions of “First Began” and “Sticking to My Guns”, also contains “Say So”, a song that was later cut from the final tracklist of the album. On November 15, 2016, Morton released “You Should Be Ashamed”, a Stevie Wonder-esque socially conscious song that was later replaced by “Religion”. On March 13, 2017, Morton announced on his Instagram page April 14, 2017 as the release date of Gumbo. // Gumbo did not manage to enter on the US Billboard 200 chart but received positive reviews from most music critics, who complimented Morton’s style and praised him for his singing and songwriting. The album earned Morton two Grammy nominations for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. On February 14, 2019, Morton collaborated with singer JoJo on the song “Say So”, which served as the lead single for his sixth album Paul. // In 2020, Morton recorded his live album, The Piano Album. It features songs from Gumbo and Paul. On August 28, 2020, Morton released his long awaited gospel album Gospel According To PJ: From The Songbook of PJ Morton. The album features The Clark Sisters, Comissioned, Zacardi Cortez, Darrel Walls, and others. It also features remade versions of So In Love by Amber Bullock, Over and Over by Trinitee 5:7, and Let Go by Dwayne Woods. A documentary was released talking about how he was pressured to make Gospel music, the process of each song, and his father. Don’t Let Go from his previous album Paul was included featuring Kim Burrell. Do You Believe feat. Yolanda Adams was included from “Christmas With PJ Morton.” // Watch the Sun was released in mid 2022. The album blends elements of R&B, soul, and gospel, featuring collaborations with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Nas, JoJo , and Alex Isley. Known for its themes of hope and personal resilience, the album was praised for its emotional depth and musicality. // In 2023, Morton released Watch the Sun Live: The Mansion Sessions, a live album featuring stripped-down, intimate performances of songs from the original album, showcasing Morton’s vocal and instrumental prowess in a more acoustic setting. // Cape Town to Cairo is the seventh studio album by American musician PJ Morton, released in 2024 via Morton Records and EMPIRE. The album was conceived and recorded during a 30-day journey across Africa, with stops in cities such as Cape Town, Lagos, Accra, Cairo, and Johannesburg. Morton undertook the project without any pre-written material, seeking to capture the essence of his experiences in real-time. The album draws on various genres, including R&B, soul, gospel, jazz, and pop, all influenced by African musical traditions and rhythms, which Morton encountered throughout his travels. // The album features collaborations with several notable African artists, including Fireboy DML, Made Kuti, Aṣa, Ndabo Zulu, and the Soweto Spiritual Singers. Songs like “Simunye (We Are One)” emphasize African unity, while tracks like “Count On Me,” featuring Fireboy DML, explore themes of friendship and global togetherness. The project has been compared to Paul Simon’s Graceland (album) in its ambition and scope, but Morton’s direct immersion in African culture during the album’s creation sets it apart. // Morton has described Cape Town to Cairo as an exploration of the African diaspora through music, combining influences from the continent with his roots in New Orleans soul and gospel. The album was recorded with local musicians and producers such as P.Priime and The Cavemen (band), and its themes range from personal lineage and gratitude to broader messages of unity and identity. // After winning Grammy Awards for his songwriting and production on India.Arie’s Interested, Morton won Dove and Stellar Awards in 2008. // Morton was also noticed by AR Rahman, composer for Slumdog Millionaire, who asked Morton to contribute “Sajna” to the soundtrack and movie for the Vince Vaughn comedy Couples Retreat. Morton has also produced and written for musicians such as Jermaine Dupri, LL Cool J, Jagged Edge, Monica, India.Arie, gospel musicians Fred Hammond, Men of Standard, Brian Courtney Wilson, and Heather Headley. In 2009, he published a book entitled ‘ Why Can’t I Sing About Love? // Morton who wrote a song called “Battle Field” by Chinese singer Jane Zhang from the 2016 film The Great Wall. // in October 2023, Morton was featured in Portuguese singer Barbara Bandeira’s debut studio album Finda on the track Ego. // Morton wrote the song “Special Spice” for the theme park attraction Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is inspired by Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. // He married his wife Kortni Morton on December 25, 2008. They grew up attending the same church and began dating as adults. They have three children;Jakai (aged 19), Paul III “P3” (aged 13) and Peyton (aged 11).]
Yannis & The Yaw – “Rain Can’t Reach Us (feat. Tony Allen)” from: Lagos Paris London (feat. Tony Allen) – EP / Transgressive Records / August 30, 2024 [In 2016, Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis was offered the opportunity of alifetime: a two-day session working with the great drummer Tony Allen, who he admired intensely for his influential, multi-genre work with the likes of Fela Kuti, Sébastien Tellier and Jeff Mills. The result is the five-track EP, ‘Lagos Paris London’, out 30th August 2024 via Transgressive. More information at: http://www.yannisandtheyaw.com.]
Lettuce – “4 on 6 (Live)” from: Live in Tokyo / Lettuce Records / January 4, 2004/2005 / Reissued 2024 [Lettuce is a funk band originating from Boston, Massachusetts in 1992. Its members include guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff, Nigel Hall (keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ, piano, vocals), Adam Deitch (drums/percussion), Erick “Jesus” Coomes (bass), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone) and Eric “Benny” Bloom (trumpet). // Lettuce began in the summer of 1992, when all of its members attended a music program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts as teenagers. Brought together by the influence of various funk bands including Herbie Hancock, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Tower of Power, the band jammed throughout that summer before going their separate ways. // In the fall of 1994, the band reconvened as undergrads at Berklee and attempted to play at various Boston jazz clubs, walking in and asking the club owners and other musicians if they would “let us play”, giving birth to the name Lettuce. Michael Butler played keyboards with the band early on and then Jeff Bhasker took on the role. When he left, Neal Evans joined. // Mainly from word of mouth, Lettuce developed strong followings in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Tokyo. They released their first CD, Outta Here, in 2002, followed by their Live in Tokyo album recorded at the Blue Note in 2003. // In 2008, Lettuce released their second album, entitled Rage!. Drawing heavily from many of the leaders of the 1970s funk movement, Rage! features covers of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move on Up” and Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band’s “Express Yourself”. // In 2011, Lettuce played on the Royal Family Ball tour with their brother band, Soulive, and was accompanied at select shows by Rashawn Ross of the Dave Matthews Band. During this tour, they began playing new songs that would be featured on the band’s next album, Fly!, in 2012. // Many of Lettuce’s members have had success in other areas of the music industry. Krasno and Evans are members of the jazz/organ trio Soulive. Zoidis is a former and founding member of the Rustic Overtones. Coomes is a session bass player and has toured with Britney Spears and The Game. Deitch is a producer who also plays with Break Science, and he has worked with John Scofield and Wyclef Jean. Smirnoff has toured with Lady Gaga and Robert Randolph & the Family Band. In addition to playing with Lettuce, Ross has been a full-time member of the Dave Matthews Band since 2010. // Lettuce played with the Soul Rebels Brass Band on Jam Cruise 2013. The band’s album Crush was released in November 2015 and reached number one on the U.S. Jazz Albums chart. // In 2020, Lettuce’s album Elevate was nominated for a Grammy for Instrumental Album of the Year.]
Floating Points – “Del Oro” from: Cascade / Ninja Tunes / September 13, 2024 [Samuel Shepherd, known professionally as Floating Points, is a British electronic music producer, DJ, and musician. He is the founder of Pluto Records, co-founder of Eglo Records and leader of a 16-piece group called Floating Points Ensemble. He took over the 6 Music Artist in Residence radio slot on July 15, 2024. // Raised in Manchester, England, Shepherd studied piano at Chetham’s School of Music before receiving a PhD in neuroscience and epigenetics at University College London. He also worked as a DJ at Plastic People, a London club, in the late 2000s. // In late 2008, Shepherd and Alexander Nut launched the Eglo record label. Eglo Records had released music by Floating Points, Fatima, Funkineven, Steve Spacek, Dego & Kaidi, Shafiq Husayn, K15, Mizz Beats, Natalie Slade, Destiny71z, Shy One, Henry Wu, Chunky and others. // In 2010, Shepherd performed with a 16-piece live incarnation of Floating Points, entitled the Floating Points Ensemble. The group won an award for “Best BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale Session”. // In 2015, Shepherd founded Pluto records. He released projects such as Eleania, Kuiper, Crush, and Reflections: Mojave Desert from the label. // Shepherd’s musical influences include Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, and Bill Evans. He began releasing work under the Floating Points moniker in 2008, and in 2017 toured with The xx. // He has also remixed musicians such as Thundercat, Caribou, Basement Jaxx, Skepta & Headie One. // Shepherd’s first release was the Vacuum EP in 2008 on Eglo Records. Over the next few years, he would continuously release EPs and singles on Eglo, but also other labels such as Planet Mu. Notable releases included 2011’s Shadows EP and 2014’s “King Bromeliad” / “Montparnasse”. // On November 6, 2015, Shepherd released the first Floating Points album – Elaenia. Around its release, Shepherd launched an 11-piece live show and immediately sold-out a string of global live dates including headline shows at Islington Assembly Hall and two dates at Electric Brixton in London. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Elaenia received an average score of 85, based on 20 reviews, indicating “universal acclaim”. Hamill Industries and Floating Points created the exhibition ‘Future Shocks’ at 180, The Strand in London in collaboration with FACT. The exhibition featured an installation by Hamill called “Vortex”. // In 2017, Shepherd released Reflections: Mojave Desert. The album recording was accompanied by a short film produced by long-time collaborator Anna Diaz Ortuño of Hamill Industries. The album was recorded in August 2016 in the Mojave Desert when Shepherd and his band were rehearsing for their upcoming US tour. Floating Points explained: “Whilst we were out playing and exploring the area around us—the sound reflecting from the rocks, the sound of the wind between them, complete stillness at night and packs of roaming coyotes in the distance—it became apparent that we could use this as its own unique recording environment.” // On 29 March 2019, Shepherd contributed a DJ mix to the Late Night Tales series. // On October 18, 2019, Shepherd released the album Crush. It received positive reception upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music publications, the album received an average score of 81 based on 16 reviews, indicating “universal acclaim”. Shepherd embarked on a tour following the album’s release, selling out shows at Printworks, Elysee Montmartre, and Funkhaus. // During lockdown, Shepherd collaborated with KDV Dance Ensemble and Boiler Room to host an interactive live stream on Zoom. He was Interviewed by New York Times. // On March 26, 2021, Shepherd released a collaborative album with Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra, entitled Promises. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize 2021 and reached #6 in the Official UK Albums Chart and #1 in the Official UK Vinyl Albums Chart. The album was released on New York label Luaka Bop. Sanders was impressed by Elaenia and befriended Shepherd, who was 40 years younger than him. Sanders proposed that they produce a collaborative album. Shepherd composed the music and played both electronic and non-electronic instruments. // After Sanders’ death in 2022, Shepherd put together a one-time live performance of the album at the Hollywood Bowl, conducted by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson with an ensemble cast including Sam Shepherd, Kieran Hebden, Dan Snaith, Shabaka Hutchings, Kara Lis Coverdale, Hinako Omori. The Independent reviewed the performance, calling it “A near perfect body of music paired with a beautiful tribute” and gave it 4/5 stars. // In 2022, Shepherd released the singles Vocoder, Grammar, Promises, Birth4000, and Someone Close. In 2023, Shepherd released Birth4000. // He collaborated as a producer for Japanese American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada album Bad Mode, working on the songs Bad Mode, Kibunja Naino (Not In The Mood) and Somewhere Near Marseilles. // Shepherd composed an original score for Mere Mortals for the San Francisco Ballet which premiered on January 26, 2024. The ballet, featuring choreography from Aszure Barton, contextualised the ancient parable of Pandora’s Box in AI. Shepherd worked with long-time creative collaborators Hamill Industries. The initial run of shows sold out. A second run is planned for April 2024.]
Molchat Doma – “Сон / Son” from: Belaya Polosa / Sacred Bones / September 6, 2024 [Molchat Doma (Russian: Молчат Дома, lit. ’Houses Are Silent’, pronounced [mɐlˈt͡ɕat dɐˈma]) is a Belarusian post-punk band from Minsk, formed in 2017. Their current lineup consists of Egor Shkutko (vocals), Roman Komogortsev (guitar, synthesizer, drum machine), and Pavel Kozlov (bass guitar, synthesizer). Their style has been described as post-punk, new wave, synth-pop, and cold wave. // They self-released their first album, S krysh nashikh domov (С крыш наших домов, ‘From The Roofs of Our Houses’) in 2017 and later released their second album, Etazhi (Этажи, ‘Floors’) in 2018, through German independent label Detriti Records. After gaining popularity worldwide, they signed to American independent label Sacred Bones Records in 2020, who reissued their albums, marking their first releases in North America. Their third studio album, Monument (Монумент), was released on November 13, 2020 and their fourth studio album, Belaya Polosa (белая полоса) was released on September 6, 2024. // Molchat Doma formed in Minsk, Belarus, and began releasing music in 2017. They self-released their debut studio album, S krysh nashikh domov (Russian: С крыш наших домов, ‘From The Roofs of Our Houses’), on April 24, 2017. In July 2017, they released the song Kommersanty (Коммерсанты, ‘Businessmen’) as a single. Later that year, S krysh nashikh domov received a re-release through German independent label Detriti Records. The following year, the band released their second album, Etazhi (Этажи, ‘Floors’), which included Kommersanty, on 7 September 2018, also through Detriti. The label released the album both digitally and on vinyl. // Over time, the band’s first two albums gained popularity through YouTube and Bandcamp. Their music was uploaded to YouTube unofficially by a user named “Harakiri Diat”, who also uploaded music by other bands with similar sounds. By the end of 2019, Etazhi had gained roughly two million listeners through their upload of the album.[8] The band were not initially as popular in their home country of Belarus as they were in the rest of Europe; they had played sold-out shows across the continent but never in Belarus. They have stated, however, that they have no interest in performing a sold-out show at Minsk-Arena. Later that year in September, the band released two singles. The first was called Zvezdy (Звезды, ‘Stars’) and the second was a collaboration with Russian post-punk band Ploho, called Po krayu ostrova (По краю острова, ‘Along the Edge of the Island’). // In January 2020, Molchat Doma signed with American independent label Sacred Bones Records, who later reissued their first two albums on vinyl in North America. During the first half of 2020, the band gained popularity through the online video platform TikTok, specifically their song Sudno (Boris Ryzhy) (Russian: Судно (Борис Рыжий), ‘Bedpan (Boris Ryzhy)’), from Etazhi; the song had been used as the soundtrack to numerous videos created on the platform. Some notable videos that used the song include one made by a user based in San Francisco, California, who compiled several clips of his native country of Russia, adding that he misses being there, as well as a “challenge” that involves a fast photo compilation of the video creator trying on as many clothes in their wardrobe as possible within a time limit. The song’s popularity during this time resulted in it reaching No. 2 on the Spotify worldwide Viral 50 chart. // Molchat Doma had planned to tour in North America for the first time, alongside American singer-songwriter Chrysta Bell, but the original tour dates were canceled once the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the continent. The band contributed to a Black Sabbath tribute album, along with other signees of Sacred Bones, titled What Is This That Stands Before Me?. They covered their song “Heaven and Hell” (Russian: Небеса и ад), with a dark wave sound and Russian lyrics, for the album. The album was released in May 2020, and their “Heaven and Hell” cover was released as a standalone single on digital platforms later that month. // On September 15, 2020, Molchat Doma announced their first album through Sacred Bones, titled Monument, and its release date of 13 November. Alongside the announcement was the release of the album’s lead single, “Ne smeshno” (Не смешно, ‘Not Funny’). // The first Russian-speaking artist at the Coachella festival in Indio, California in April 16 and 23, 2022. // In May 20, 2023, the band performed at the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena, California. // In November 18, 2023, the band performed at the Darker Waves Festival in Huntington Beach, California with Tears for Fears, New Order, The Human League, Echo & the Bunnymen and others. // In June 11, 2024, the band announced their second album through Sacred Bones, titled Belaya Polosa (White Stripe) they also premiered the first single, Son (Dream), with an accompanying music video directed by Bryan M. Ferguson. On 16th July, 2024, the second single from the album was released – Ty Zhe Ne Znaesh Kto Ya (You Don’t Know Who I Am), followed by the third single Belaya Polosa on 7th August. // Members: Egor Shkutko (Belarusian: Yahor Shkutko) – vocals; Roman Komogortsev (Raman Kamahortsau) – guitar, synthesizer, drum machine; Pavel Kozlov (Pavel Kazlou) – bass guitar, synthesizer.]
11:00 – Station ID
Hermanos Gutiérrez – “Low Sun” from: Sonido Cósmico / Easy Eye Sound / June 16, 2024 [6th album from Latin instrumental band formed in 2015 in Zürich by Ecuadorian-Swiss brothers Alejandro Gutiérrez (guitar and lap steel) and Estevan Gutiérrez (guitar and percussion). In 2022, the US label Easy Eye Sound released the band’s fifth album, El Bueno y el Malo. // Alejandro& Estevan Gutiérrez, two of four siblings, were raised by an Ecuadorian mother and a Swiss father in Switzerland, and often visited family in Playas, Ecuador. Around age nine, Estevan learned to play classical guitar in Latin styles such as milonga and salsa, and as a surfer was later inspired by surf rocker Jack Johnson. Alejandro, who is eight years younger, taught himself guitar by watching tutorial videos on YouTube. The Hermanos Gutiérrez band traces its origins to a jam session in Alejandro’s apartment in Zürich during a visit from Estevan in 2015. // The band’s first three albums (8 Años, El Camino de mi Alma, and Hoy Como Ayer) drew broadly from the world of Latin music. A visit to Mexico and the Southwest US in February 2020 inspired their fourth album, Hijos del Sol, which incorporated more Western sounds. An eight-minute music video for the title track came out in advance of the album’s release on September 25, 2020. // El Bueno y el Malo, the band’s first non-indie project, was recorded in Nashville in collaboration with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and released by his label Easy Eye Sound on October 28, 2022. The album (and its title) were inspired by Ennio Morricone’s The Good, the Bad & the Ugly soundtrack. The album was critically acclaimed and has been described as mentally transporting listeners to Spaghetti Western landscapes. Songs from El Bueno y el Malo comprised Hermanos Gutiérrez’s set list in an NPR Tiny Desk Concert in January 2023. That year, Auerbach was nominated for the Grammy Award for Non-Classical Producer of the Year in part for his work with Hermanos Gutiérrez.]
Hermanos Gutiérrez – “Sonido Cósmico” from: Sonido Cósmico / Easy Eye Sound / June 16, 2024 [Hermanos Gutiérrez is a two-piece band formed of the brothers Alejandro and Estevan Gutiérrez. // More info at: http://www.hermanosgutierrez.ch.]
Etran de L’AÏr – “Imouha” from: 100% Sahara Guitar / Sahel Sounds / September 13, 2024 [Etran de L’Aïr is a Nigerien rock band from Agadez, Niger. The band is currently signed to Sahel Sounds. The group has released two albums, No. ] in 2018 and Agadez in 2022. The groups’ first album, No. 1, was named the number one album of the year by Amanda Petrusich of The New Yorker. Both albums by the band have received positive reviews. Discography: No. 1 (2018, Sahel Sounds) // Agadez (2022, Sahel Sounds) ]
The Lijadu Sisters – “Come On Home” from: Horizon Unlimited – EP / Afrodisia / 1979 [Reissued on Numero 2023] [Kehinde Lijadu (22 October 1948 – 9 November 2019) and Taiwo Lijadu (born 22 October 1948) were identical twin sisters from Nigeria who performed as the Lijadu Sisters from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. They achieved success in Nigeria, and also had a more modest success in the United States and Europe. Described as an influential dynamic who mixed Afrobeat sounds with jazz and disco, the sisters retired from the music scene in the late 1980s, reforming and performing sporadically during the 2010s up until Kehinde’s death in 2019. They were the cousins of the popular Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. B// The twins grew up in the Nigerian city of Ibadan, and were inspired musically by various artists including Aretha Franklin, Victor Olaiya and Miriam Makeba. They had guidance from music producer Lemmy Jackson who is credited with helping them with their early successes. Their music was a mix of Jazz, Afrobeat, Reggae and Waka. Sometimes they sang in English and other times in African languages[which?]. One of their first songs was arranged with assistance from jazz saxophone player Orlando Julius. They released their first album Iya Mi Jowo in 1969 after winning a record contract with Decca Records. They worked with the late Biddy Wright on their third album Danger (1976). American rapper Nas sampled “Life’s Gone Down Low”, a track in the Danger album, as “Life’s Gone Low” on his 2006 Mixtape without crediting the duo. The Lijadu Sisters recorded Sunshine in 1978 and Horizon Unlimited in 1979. // The sisters were top stars in Nigeria during the 1970s and 1980s. During these years, they branched out to America and Europe and found modest success. They performed with drummer Ginger Baker’s band Salt at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in Munich at the World Music Festival. The New York Times reported that the sisters were “smiling free spirits” who mixed “sisterly banter and flirtatiousness” in their performances which featured positive messages such as the benefit of returning home. Their reggae number Reincarnation insisted that if reincarnation was a reality, then they would like to be reincarnated again into the home where they grew up. Some of their song lyrics were politically themed. Their harmonies were described as “ethereal”. // In 1984 Shanachie Records released Double Trouble in the US which was a compilation of their previously recorded material from their albums Horizon Unlimited and Danger. Their song “Orere Elejigbo” was included on a double CD entitled Nigeria 70, Africa 100, and was added to the Roots & Wings playlist in 1997. // During the 1980s, the sisters moved to Brooklyn, New York. They performed in various venues including the lower Manhattan club Wetlands and in Harlem with King Sunny Adé’s African Beats as their backing band. They performed with the Philadelphia-based band Philly Gumbo. They were featured in the music documentary Konkombé by English director Jeremy Marre, and their music was featured in the Nigerian installment of the 14-episode world music series entitled Beats of the Heart which aired on PBS during the late 1980s. // On 1 April 2014, they appeared live at an all-star tribute, the Atomic! Bomb Band, for reclusive Nigerian musician William Onyeabor at the Barbican Centre in London. They sang some of their own tracks including “Danger”, as well as providing backing and lead vocals on William Onyeabor material.They also performed with the Atomic! Bomb Band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and on tour dates in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles in May 2014. // On 9 November 2019, Kehinde suffered a stroke and died on the same day, at the age of 71.]
Joan As Police Woman – “Lemons, Limes and Orchids” from: Lemons, Limes and Orchids / Play It Again Sam / September 20, 2024 [Lemons, Limes and Orchids is the 12th studio album by an unorthodox but consistently rewarding singer-songwriter. Its songs have a supple groove and probing feel as though circling an idea or scenario. Joan Wasser, aka Joan as Police Woman, sings with nuanced changes in emphasis, one moment pressing, the next softly languorous. The combination of rhythmic depth and vocal sophistication recalls the vaunted spirit of one of her musical inspirations, Joni Mitchell. Wasser has been operating as Joan as Police Woman since 2004. Her curious stage name derives from one of the first television cop shows with a female lead. Police Woman was a 1970s procedural drama with Angie Dickinson as an officer who goes undercover to solve crimes, posing as a nurse, airline stewardess and so on. Wasser became Joan as Police Woman after a friend compared her look to Dickinson’s character. But there is a further affinity. Like the undercover TV crimebuster, she has appeared in many different guises during her career. Raised in Connecticut, she trained as a classical violinist but wanted to perform new music rather than repertoire. She played in punk and alt-rock bands, trying to make her violin as loud as possible, before joining Antony and the Johnsons in 1999. She has done session work for Elton John and the Scissor Sisters among others, toured in Lou Reed’s backing band and played keyboards for Iggy Pop. Her last album, 2021’s The Solution Is Restless, was a collaboration involving Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen (who died the year before its release). “I was ready to make an album that truly featured my voice,” she says of her new songs. Her vocals start up almost immediately in most of the 12 tracks. “Back Again” is a plea to an absent lover to return, done with subtly soulful intensity. “With Hope in My Breath” finds her switching to a breathier type of singing for an entrancing ode about infatuation. The basslines that give the music its swing are played by fellow singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello. Drums, piano, synths and guitars are the other main instruments. Love and pain are the lyrical poles. The songwriting quality is high throughout, but the title track stands out. It is an achingly drawn-out number with cryptic lyrics about trying to make one’s way in a dangerous world. Precise meaning is elusive, but the song’s power is unmistakable.]
Julia Holter – “Something in the Room She Moves” from: Something in the Room She Moves / Domino Records / March 22, 2024 [Julia Shammas Holter (born December 18, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, artist, and academic, based in Los Angeles. Her work has received critical acclaim and incorporates elements of Art pop, Chamber pop, baroque pop and Ambient music. Following three independent album productions, Holter released Tragedy as her first official studio album in 2011. Ekstasis followed in 2012. After signing with Domino Records in 2013, she released the albums Loud City Song (2013), Have You in My Wilderness (2015), the live-in-the-studio album In the Same Room (2017) and the double album Aviary (2018). // Holter composed the score for the 2020 film Never Rarely Sometimes Always and released Behind the Wallpaper (2023) in collaboration with Spektral Quartet and Alex Temple. Her most recent studio album is Something in the Room She Moves, released in 2024. // Holter has also collaborated with other musicians, including Nite Jewel, Laurel Halo, Ariel Pink, Ducktails, Linda Perhacs, Michael Pisaro, and Jean-Michel Jarre. // Holter was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At age six her family moved to Los Angeles, where she later attended the Alexander Hamilton High School. She studied music at University of Michigan for four years, graduating with a degree in composition. After seeing Michael Pisaro perform an avant-garde composition in Michigan, she was inspired to study with him at CalArts, where she graduated from another composition program.Holter contributed songs to multiple compilation albums in 2008. In 2010, she began playing with Linda Perhacs’ band and released a CD-R titled Celebration and a collection of live recordings. // Following three independently produced albums – Phaedra Runs to Russia (2007), Cookbook (2008), and Celebration (2010), Holter’s official debut album, Tragedy, was released in August 2011 on Leaving Records. Inspired by Euripides’ Greek play Hippolytus, the album received generally favorable reviews and was named one of NPR’s “Best Outer Sound Albums of 2011”. // Holter released her second album, Ekstasis, in March 2012 on the RVNG Intl. label. The album drew comparisons to works by such artists as Laurie Anderson, Julianna Barwick, Kate Bush, Joanna Newsom, Grouper, and Stereolab, and received many positive reviews. Holter spent three years making the album, whose title comes from the Greek word meaning “outside of oneself.” The music video for album track “Moni Mon Amie”, directed by Yelena Zhelezov, was also released in March. // In addition to collaborating with other California-based musicians like Nite Jewel (Ramona Gonzalez), Holter released her third album, Loud City Song, in August 2013 on Domino Records. It was universally acclaimed by critics and Unlike her preceding albums, which were recorded mostly alone in her bedroom, Holter recorded Loud City Song with an ensemble of musicians. // In 2015, Holter released the album Have You in My Wilderness, which was acclaimed by critics and became her most successful charting release to date. She also contributed to Ducktails’ fifth studio album, St. Catherine, with her bandmates Chris Votek and Andrew Tholl. // Holter collaborated with Jean-Michel Jarre on a song for the second part of the Electronica double album, released on July 18, 2016. // In November 2016, she curated her own program during the tenth-anniversary edition of Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht. This program included performances by Laurel Halo, Josephine Foster, Maya Dunietz, Jessica Moss and other artists. // In September 2017, she performed a world premier of her scoring of the 1928 silent French film The Passion of Joan of Arc on September 29 at the FIGat7th in downtown Los Angeles. // In September 2018, Holter announced her fifth commercially released album, Aviary, and released the lead single “I Shall Love 2”. She followed it with another single, “Words I Heard”, before the album’s release on October 26. The record was praised for its scope and ambition and appeared on multiple year end lists for the best albums of 2018. // In 2021, Holter was appointed the Johnston-Fix Professor of the Practice in Songwriting; Visiting Assistant Professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles. // On January 9, 2024, Holter announced her sixth studio album, Something in the Room She Moves, which was released to critical acclaim on March 22 by Domino.In June 2024, Holter appeared throughout her partner and longtime bandmate Tashi Wada’s studio album, What Is Not Strange?. // The Guardian wrote that “Holter’s vocal register […] faintly recalls Siouxsie Sioux or Nico”.[19] Under the Radar similarly compared her to other female artists saying; “Holter is Siouxsie Sioux meets Kate Bush, with a matchstick intensity, relighting her own wick by the conversation in her voice, her diaphragm shifting between instruments”. // Holter was previously in a relationship with former Real Estate guitarist and Ducktails frontman Matt Mondanile. In 2015, she contributed to his Ducktails album, St. Catherine. In the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against Mondanile, Holter divulged that Mondanile was “emotionally abusive to the point where I had to have a lawyer intervene and was afraid for my life.” // Holter is married to musician Tashi Wada, son of the sound artist Yoshi Wada. They have been in a relationship since 2015, and they have a daughter together who was born during the COVID-19 pandemic Holter and Wada first met in 2007 when they both played in a harmonium ensemble organized by their friend James. Holter collaborated with Wada on his 2024 studio album, What Is Not Strange?.]
Marion Merritt thank you for being out Guest Producer on WMM
With partner Ann Stewart, Marion is the proprietor of Records With Merritt, a minority owned business at 1614 Westport Rd. in KC. More info at: http://www.recordswithmerritt.com.
11:34 – Underwriting
10:36 – Interview with Jessica Dressler & Jen Frank Klenke of “Rennie”
Jessica Dressler is a Kansas City native who has performed in countless theatrical productions over the last 25 years, and is best known for her groundbreaking work with Late Night Theatre, which she co-produces with Ron Megee. Most notably, she is known for her character, Dirty Dorothy, the drag show hostess extraordinaire. The concept Dressler portrays is that of Dorothy coming back to Oz with a new, redefined perspective, one that’s perhaps not so “small and meek.” Dressler’s fascination with Judy Garland has led her to create multiple shows and performances giving audiences her uncanny, and memorable vocal and acting interpretations of Judy. Jessica has also been involved in decades of charitable work and has been working in real estate.
Jen Frank Klenke is a wife, a mother of two, a published behavior analyst and comedy writer, and she has dabbled in the Kansas City theater and national stand-up comedy scenes. In 2021, she turned her attention to a writing partnership with Jessica Dressler. Together, they created Rennie and a number of other scripts and treatments. They are the co-writers, co-producers, and co-directors of this magnificent film, in which Jen earned a part on screen as The Nursemaid.
Jessica Dressler & Jen Frank Klenke join us live in our 90.1 FM Studios to share details about their new film “Rennie” making its world premiere at The Folly Theater, October 11 and 12th. This voyeuristic look into a small town’s Renaissance Festival delves into the lives of a motley crew of characters and what brings them back to their comfortless corsets, ballsack hugging codpiece tights, and sweltering animal pelts year after year. Through the twists and turns of personal exploration, our heroes and heroines use this time together to fulfill the most basic desire in life: to love, be loved, and belong as one’s true self. Our beloved Rennies reveal that in a place centered around pretending to be something that you are not, everyone discovers who they are. “Rennie” will have its World Premiere at The Folly Theater on Friday, October 11, and Saturday, October 12, 2024 at The Folly Theater 300 W 12th St. Kansas City, MO. More info at http://www.follytheater.org
Jessica Dressler & Jen Frank Klenke thanks for being with us on WMM
“Rennie”–Feature Film Premiere, Kansas City October 11th and 12th, 2024 at The Folly Theatre 300 West 12th Street, KCMO http://www.follytheater.org
Kansas City: it’s time for a Red Carpet Full Feature Film Premiere! This incredibly heartfelt comedy was filmed locally in 2023 by an all local film crew with all local talent–it is 100% homegrown KC proud!
A powerhouse of female creatives: Written/Produced/Directed by Jessica Dressler and Jen Frank Klenke, Supervising Producer Marie Gough, Director of Photography Johanna Brooks, and a nearly all female executive producers group.
The producers were so extremely happy to utilize the incredible talent within not only the acting community of Kansas City–MY GOD WE HAVE TALENT HERE–but also the tremendous talent KC has within the local Film Community–Kansas City is the next big film market about to break!
The event:
7:00pm red carpet arrivals begin.
7:15-7:45 The Jolly Rogers, local and widespread Renaissance Festival famed pirate band, will be gracing the stage and also be piped throughout the building. Photo ops set up throughout the lobby to immortalize the evening.
8:00 pm KC Premiere screening of “Rennie”!
Dress Code: Black Tie, Renaissance Fest Costume, or fuse them in RenFest Couture!
“Rennie” is a feature film by Jessica Dressler and Jen Frank Klenke: This voyeuristic look into a small town’s Renaissance Festival delves into the lives of a motley crew of characters and what brings them back to their comfortless corsets, ballsack hugging codpiece tights, and sweltering animal pelts year after year. Through the twists and turns of personal exploration, our heroes and heroines use this time together to fulfill the most basic desire in life: to love, be loved, and belong as one?s true self. Our beloved Rennies reveal that in a place centered around pretending to be something that you are not, everyone discovers who they are.
Quotes: “We’re so appreciative of the choice to film Rennie in Kansas City. Independent films are the heartbeat of a dynamic film industry, and seeing “Rennie” come to fruition here in KC is a real testament to the talent and creativity that drives our growing film community. We can’t wait to see the product of all the hard work put forth by our impressive local talent, both in front of and behind the camera.”
Rachel Kephart, KC Film Office Director, Office of Mayor Quinton Lucas
“Rennie” is a Kansas City film through and through (script, crew, cast) with themes that will engage audiences across the nation. Filmmakers Jen Frank Klenke and Jessica Dressler galvanized resources in Kansas City to put together a film that I believe can become an indie darling. They met with me when I was the Kansas City Film Commissioner and allowed me to bring Kansas City’s Mayor Pro Team Ryna Parks Shaw to set during production. We were impressed by the diverse crew, a female DP (Johanna Brooks) and the hilarious cast. I can’t wait to see it in full at the upcoming premiere.”
Stephanie Shannon, Kansas City Film Commissioner 2014-2024:
Directed by Jessica Dressler and Jen Frank Klenke
Written by Jessica Dressler and Jen Frank Klenke
Cast
Brett Alexander … Guard I / Fred Adalmer Omar Gonzalez Anavisca … Goth Dancer Chioma Anyanwu … Katy Cathie Alex Arthur … Knighting Child Wesley Arthur … Knighting Child Imran Bangash … Matthew Montegue Nadine Beech … Zipline Rider Damian Blake … Sir Froderick Foulfeather Andrea Boswell Burns … Saffy Lizzie Boyce … Parade Queen II Elijah Brattin … Romeo Emily Brattin … Aramis Johanna Brooks … Camera Operator Alec Calonge … Goth Dancer Alex Chang … Piercer Luis Omar Chavez … Goth Dancer Annie Cherry … Sapphire Marusa Clark … Preschool Child John Cleary … Sir Lancelot Arthur Phog Clifford … Pete / Suitor Robert Coppage … Little Jon Jeff Cox … Festival Dad Rick Daniels … Jack Vanessa A. Davis … Murderous Mary O’Malley Rory Decker … Milkmaid Extra Amber Dickinson … Missy Montegue Jack Dolan … Mark Montague Michael Donaldson … City Councilman Ed Doris II … Mayor Dan Doris Francis Doris … Knighting Child Carryl Dressler … Leather Shop Patron Jessica Dressler … Bonnie Rome Greg Edson … Leatherworker Zoe English … Goth Dancer Mitch Etter … Potter Sean Foree … Jolly Roger Katie Gilchrist … Boom Mic Operator Jake Gillespie … Robin Hood Brianna Gray … Mistress Fonn Wolfe Grossheim … Porthos Russell Lee Gummelt … Jousting Team Shelly Gunerson … Barbarian Mom with Camera Luke Gygax … Luke Gygax Kurt Hanover … Jolly Roger McCandlys Harrison … Luke Montague Dylan Hart … Kyle / Shakespeare Dalton Homolka … Caliban George Hunt … Jolly Roger Maggie Hutchison … Juliet Casey Jane … Carla Beech Jack Kapple … Food Vendor Tom Christina Keller … Jousting Team Dean Kinsey … Clothing Shop Worker James Klenke … ‘Sir’ James Jen Frank Klenke … Nursemaid Susan Klenke … Face Paint Mom Tierney Klenke … Girl with Face Paint Cliff Lawson … Jolly Roger Josephine Lenati … Goth Dancer Benjamin Leroy … Child with Mermaid Olivia Lero … Child with Mermaid Lana Luxx … Influencer Valerie Mackey … Francesca the Milkmaid Nellie Maple … Slurrmaid Cipriana Medlock … Kid Wanting Treasure Ron Megee … Martin Rome Dean Mehling … Athos Mary Jean Miller … Mistress Foxglove Josh Moncure … Guard II Midwest Mythicals … Maypole Faeries Jacie Nagel … Knighting Child Hunter Nelson … Food Vendor Jon Equus Nobilis … Jousting Company Mandy Ortiz … Maid Marian Tristan Pomerance … Turkey Leg Gawker Christopher Preyer … Jouster for the Danes Victoria Renard … Mistress Vanadis Anastasia Rendina … Faery Raquel Rowenhorst … Mistress Vulpine Cassandra Schimpf … Parade Queen I Felix Shewmaker … Smiling child Amberle Smith … Leather Shop Clerk Sebastian Roldan Smith … Anus Girl Superfan Mark Stahl … Jolly Roger Anna Stephens … Jousting Team Alyssa Stoeckel … Preschool Child Riley Stoeckel … Preschool Child Victoria Strafuss … Lisa / Madame Ambrosia Lauren Taylor … Iris Brittany Tilander … Slurrmaid Odeta T’ger Togg … Shop owner Karen Troeh … Harpist / Mary Queen of Scots Jessi Troester … Jousting Team Justin Volker … Bar Patron Camryn Warner … Genevieve Minola / Queen Elizabeth I Vivienne Watson … Preschool Child Wynne Watson … Knighting Child Christopher Wise … Milkmaid Extra Cathy Yoakum Wise … Milkmaid Extra
Produced by Suzanne Frye Doris … associate producer Jessica Dressler … producer Marie Gough … supervising producer Eric Keith … executive producer Jen Frank Klenke … producer Jor-El Washington … line producer
Music by Jolly Rogers
Cinematography by Johanna Brooks
Editing by Isabella Vizetta
Costume Design by Jon Fulton Adams Chadwick Brooks Robin Murphy Angel Skorupan
Production Management by Sebastian Roldan Smith … unit production manager
Art Department Carryl Dressler … craft services supervisor
Sound Department Isaiah Amos … sound Zachary Terrell … sound Jessie Evan Sakkie Van Der Vyver … sound Larissa Van Der Vyver … sound Jor-El Washington … sound
Camera and Electrical Department Blake Betts … second assistant camera Johanna Brooks … camera operator DeVonte Brown … first assistant camera Benjamin Burton … camera operator Jeff Cox … DIT Everett Farrow … grip Wyatt Farrow … gaffer Estelle Hansen … grip Kaci Kimie … still photographer Bryce Kuegler … second assistant camera Collin Martin … camera operator Joey Moreno … first assistant camera Max Moynihan … camera operator Craig Richard … second assistant camera Eric J. Warren … second assistant camera Molly Whiting … still photographer Carter Wilch … second assistant camera
Casting Department by Johanna Brooks … casting
Costume and Wardrobe Department Bridgette Cook … costume supplier Jay Coombes … costume supplier Shawnasea Holst … costume supplier David Levin … costume supplier Jamie Levin … costume supplier Kyr Levin … costume supplier Robin Murphy … costume supplier Courtney Cave Perry … costume supplier Mark Swezey … costume supplier T’ger Togg … costume supplier
Script and Continuity Department Jean-Jacques Corbier … script supervisor Suzanne Frye Doris … script supervisor Christy Ray Henry … script supervisor
Additional Crew Nadine Beech … production assistant Joel Brown … production assistant John Cleary … Stunts and Fight Coordinator Ryland Cummings … production assistant Cris Grigs … production assistant Susan Klenke … production assistant Robin Murphy … Props Betty Welch … production assistant
“Rennie” Thanks to: Anne Alexiou, Matt Alexiou, Misti Bernard, Shelley Binkley, Leann Brock, George Brunson, Peggy Darrow, Greg Edson, Diane Klenke, Kathleen Kunkler, Brenda Lowe, Tim Lowe, Teri Miller, Kelly Nagel, Holly Post, Bill Reisler, Vicki Reisler, Jack Rinkes , Jennifer Smith, E.K. Unruh, Hailee Bland Walsh, Lee Warren, Lori Warren
Jessica Dressler & Jen Frank Klenke thanks for being with us on WMM
“Rennie” will have its World Premiere at The Folly Theater on Friday, October 11, and Saturday, October 12, 2024 at The Folly Theater 300 W 12th St. Kansas City, MO. More info at http://www.follytheater.org
For Marion Merritt, Jessica Dressler & Jen Frank Klenke, WMM, I’m Mark Manning. Thanks for listening!
11:53
The Freedom Affair – “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More” from: “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More” – Single / Sunflower Soul Records / September 18, 2024 [The follow up single to “Love is Love” released June 26, 2024. Before that they released, “If You Don’t Want Me” on May 15, 2024. The Freedom Affair is a 9 piece soul juggernaut from Kansas City, MO. The band formed in 2017 with a vision to write original soul music inspired by the traditions of the genre’s past with a universal message looking toward the future. Their new single “Iain’t Gonna Cry No More” features: Shon Ruffin on vocals, Seyko Groves on vocals, Paula Saunders on vocals, Cole Bales on guitar, Branden Moser on guitar, Chris Hazelton on bass, Dave Brick on drums, Pete Carroll on trumpet, Brett Jackson on tenor Sax. Recorded by Chris Hazelton. Mixed by Cole Bales. Mastered by JJ Golden // With their debut album FREEDOM IS LOVE, The Freedom Affair has received critical acclaim and have established themselves as a force in the soul music scene across the states and abroad. Keep your eyes and ears open for their songs and album art featured in the series Bel-Air, an Apple commercial, a Netflix series, etc… This band is just getting started. // The Freedom Affair’s live shows have proven to be soul-stirring, transformative events moving audiences both physically and emotionally to joy. // The Freedom Affair released their debut album Freedom Is Love on September 25, 2020. from The album explores themes of love, heartache, empower-ment, and togetherness through a varying landscape of hard-hitting funk, luscious soul, and everything in between. The album was recorded and produced by Chris Hazelton, utilizing the best of vintage and new recording techno-logies to create an authentic experience, befitting of a soul record that would have been relevant 50 years ago as much as it will be 50 years from now. For the debut record The Freedom Affair was: Misha Roberts on vocals; Paula Saunders on vocals; Seyko Groves on vocals; Cole Bales on guitar, sitar (Track 3); Branden Moser on guitar; Chris Hazelton on bass guitar, organ (Tracks 1, 2, 9, & 10), Tambourine (Track 1), Glockenspiel (Track 3), & Chimes (Track 4); Dave Brick on drums; Pete Carroll on trumpet; Brett Jackson on tenor sax, baritone sax (Tracks 1 & 5), & tambourine (Tracks 5, 6, & 8). Additional Musicians: Pat Conway on Congas (Tracks 1, 3, & 6), Alyssa Bell on viola (Tracks 3, 4, & 7), Elizabeth Codd on violin (Tracks 3 & 4), Matt Bennett on violin (Tracks 3 & 7), John Wickersham on timpani (Track 4), Pamela Baskin-Watson on piano (Track 10), Nick Howell on tambourine (Track 10), The Freedom Family Choir (Track 10): Misha Roberts, Erica Hazelton, Seyko Groves, Paula Saunders, Jordyn Saunders, Cole Bales, and Chris Hazelton. All Horn & String Arrangements by Chris Hazelton except: “Heartaches Don’t Come Easy” and “Give A Little Love” by Pete Carroll & Brett Jackson “Don’t Shoot” by Chris Hazelton & Allyssa Bell. Produced, Recorded, & Mixed by Chris Hazelton. Assistant Produced by Dave Brick. Rhythm Section on Track 10 recorded by Chad Meise. Mastered by JJ Golden. Cover Artwork by Matthew “Mo” Manley. Front cover photograph of civil rights protesters in Kansas City, MO (April 9th, 1968). The Freedom Affair and their track “Rise Up” were selected to be part of Colemine Records 3xLP box set, “Soul Slabs Vol. 2” a Record Store Day Exclusive, released April 13, 2019. Colemine writes: “The Freedom Affair is a freight train of KC soul! Dirty, funky drums, gritty horns, and the combined vocals of Misha Roberts, Seyko Groves, and Paula Saunders to put this band over the top. Politically charged soul music for the dancefloor!”]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Next week on October 2, we talk with special guest Adria Patterson who is a swimmer, a life guard, and a certified instructor teaching adults how to swim, helping people overcome their fear of water and end generational cycles of aquaphobia. (fear of water). More information at PCSwimming.com. // At 11:00am we’ll talk with Alex Kimball Williams a Lawrence, Kansas based musician, scientist, researcher, speaker, activist, teacher. Alex Kimball Williams identifies and celebrates her Native Alaskan / Black / Portuguese origins, with the motto: “Music is Medicine,” and released her album Red & Black on June 19, 2023. It was #5 on WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2023. // AND at 11:30 we welcome back to the show, our friend IVORY BLUE.
THANK YOU to our incredible KKFI Staff; Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers, KKFI Accounting & Administration – Shaina Littler
This radio station is more than the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of hardworking people, unselfishly setting aside ego, to work for the greater good of community building and the gigantic goal of keeping our airwaves free, non-commercial, and open to all! Congratulations and thank you to all programmers & volunteers who went the extra effort to keep our station alive.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information. Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org
Wednesday MidDay Medley Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
WMM is Spinning Records With Marion Merritt
Today, we welcome back to the show, Marion Merritt as our special “Guest Producer” to share sonic discoveries and information from her musically-encyclopedic-brain. Marion Merritt has an empathic ability to know what music you’re seeking. She’s our most frequent contributor to WMM She grew up in Los Angeles and St. Louis and went to college in Columbia, MO. She studied art & musical engineering, and is a avid lover of classic films. She saw Talking Heads on their 1st tour at One Block West in 1978. For 20 years she’s been sharing her sonic discoveries and information from her musically-encyclopedic brain. Marion also writes about new releases as a contributor The Pitch. With partner Ann Stewart, Marion is the proprietor of Records With Merritt, a minority owned business at 1614 Westport Rd. in KC. More info at: http://www.recordswithmerritt.com.
Marion will spin tracks from: Ana Frango Elétrico, Shabaka with Moses Sumney, Shabaka with Floating Points & Laraaji, Phosphorescent, DIIV, Isobel Campbell, Beth Gibbons, Kamasi Washington, Fay Victor & Herbie Nichols, Gloria Coleman Quartet with Pola Roberts, Leyla McCalla, Valerie June, Swamp Dogg, Kleenex, Lucy Rose, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Mdou Moctar, and The Lostines.
Marion Merritt welcome back to Wednesday MidDay Medley
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
Dimitri From Paris – “Prologue” from: Sacrebleu / Yellow Productions – Atlantic / June 11, 1996 [Debut studio albumm from Dimitri from Paris was born Dimitrios Yerasimos, on October 27, 1963. He is a French music producer and DJ of Greek descent. His musical influences are rooted in 1970s funk and disco sounds that spawned contemporary house music, as well as original soundtracks from 1950s and 1960s movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, La Dolce Vita and The Party, which were sampled in his album Sacrebleu. Dimitri fused these sounds with electro and block party hip hop he discovered in the 1980s. // Contrary to his musical pseudonym, Dimitri was born not in Paris but born in Peckham, South London, to Rûm parents (Greeks of Turkey), Dimitri grew up in France where he discovered DJing at home, using whatever he could find to “cut and paste” samples from disco hits or in to montages heard on the radio, blending them together to make tapes. This early experimentation helped him launch his DJ career. // He started out by DJing at the French station Radio 7, before moving on to Skyrock and finally to Radio NRJ, Europe’s largest FM radio network, in 1986. There, he introduced the first ever house music show to be broadcast in France, while simultaneously producing under the direction of sound designer Michel Gaubert, runway soundtracks for fashion houses such as Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hermès and Yves Saint-Laurent. He also released two solo EPs from 1993 to 1994 and contributed to the Yellow Productions compilation La Yellow 357. // In 1996, Dimitri gained worldwide recognition with the release of his first full album, Sacrebleu, released on Yellow Productions. A blend of diverse influences including jazz, original film soundtracks, samba, and organic house, Sacrebleu sold 300,000 copies worldwide and was named Album of the Year by UK’s Mixmag magazine. // In 2000, Dimitri followed Sacrebleu up with A Night at the Playboy Mansion (Virgin) and Disco Forever (BBE), followed by My Salsoul in 2001, After the Playboy Mansion in 2002. In 2003, Cruising Attitude was released, to be closely followed by his first outing on UK’s premier dance music label Defected: Dimitri from Paris In the House. // He has followed a somewhat glamorous musical path by recording soundtracks and advertising campaigns for fashion houses Chanel, Jean-Paul Gautier and Yves Saint Laurent and remixing hundreds of artists as diverse as Björk, The Cardigans, James Brown, Michael Jackson, New Order and Quincy Jones. He also did the music for the anime Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase and mixed the soundtrack for the French luxury dessin animé Jet Groove produced by Method Films. // 2005 saw Dimitri go back to his Funk and Disco roots, with Japanese hip hop producer and über collector DJ Muro for Super Disco Friends a double CD mixdown. In 2006 he offered his House of Love outing to Valentine’s Day’s lovers. Later on Dimitri produced Los Amigos Invisibles “Super Pop Venezuela” album which grabbed a nomination for a Grammy Award. // 2007 saw the release of the Cocktail Disco project with longtime partner BBE, a handful of disco classics remixes and other surprises down the line. // 2009 saw the release of the Night Dubbin’, a post-disco R&B compilation remix album.]
Ana Frango Elétrico – “Electric Fish” from: Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua / RISCO – Mr Bongo / Oct. 20, 2023 [2024 on vinyl] [Ana Frango Elétrico is the most effervescent and innovative voice to surge up from Brazil’s new wave. Already with two critically acclaimed albums and a swathe of award-winning production turns under their belt, Ana will present their most confident and accomplished work to date on October 20th: Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua / Call Me They That I’m Yours. Gesturing to a tradition of Brazilian boogie music, but bouncing with modern pop ebullience, the album sees the Rio artist evolve from a captivating upstart into a surefooted scene leader in full stride. // At just 25, the prolific artist and producer has already garnered worldwide admirers. Ana’s sophomore Little Electric Chicken Heart was nominated at the 2020 Latin Grammys, and found support in the shape of Gilles Peterson and The Needle Drop – as well as from major global media. Since then, standalone singles “Mama Planta Baby” and “Mulher Homem Bicho” have received the WME ‘Best Music Producer’ Award, recognising Ana’s deep passion for music production – a passion which has led to collaborations with nascent Brazilian stars Dora Morelenbaum, Illy and Sophia Chablau. Most recently, Ana was hailed for their co-production of Bala Desejo’s 2022 Latin Grammy-winning album Sim Sim Sim. // With a string of celebrated collaborations and productions added to their CV since Little Electric Chicken Heart, it is unsurprising that Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua finds Ana at their most assured and full-voiced. A fresh swagger – first teased on 2020’s disco stomper “Mulher Homem Bicho” – is immediately present. Album opener “Electric Fish”, with Nile Rodgers bass and shimmering backing vocals, sets a buoyant tone. “Boy of Stranger Things” is its bombastic counterpart. It’s the grooviest Ana has ever sounded. And the most brazen. Lyrically, where Ana was once oblique on personal matters, they are now forthright – lucidly exploring their gender identity, citing accessible cultural reference points (from Stranger Things to Camel Blue cigarettes), and often singing in English. “I’m the boy of the Stranger Things/ I’m not the girl that you think”, they proclaim over funk organ and syncopated percussion. Both sonics and sentiment are rooted in disco – certainly the expansive arrangements and unabashed grooviness; but also Ana taps into disco’s history as music of queer expression. // “I started this album in 2021 with the intention of showing, in means of sound, understandings and feelings about queer love, subjectively exposing myself,” the non-binary artist states – before qualifying that though “feeling was its driving force, the album is really about musical production.” // It is this counterpoint – between “exposing” oneself, and honing a distinctive “production” value – that makes for their most clear and cohesive album to date. Like many of the greats, Ana has that ineffable gift of sounding like themselves regardless of the genre they are exploring. Their distinctive conversational voice is more present in the mix than before – and thematic throughlines of identity, sex and relationships invites you to listen closely – becoming their confidante as they lead you restlessly from genre to genre. // “There’s so many references to different decades,” Ana explains. “Seventies drums with eighties processing … Going back, getting beyond … Testing the limits of organic sounds”. Characteristically playful, on Me Chama, Ana takes vivid and rewarding detours through funk-inflected R&B (“Dela”) and art pop (“Dr. Sabe Tudo”). “Nuvem Vermelha” is a cinematic chanson with lush strings that recalls Arthur Verocai. Then, “Coisa Maluca” loafs with the indie insouciance of Canadian slacker Mac Demarco. Later, “Let’s Go Before Again”, is a full-on drum machine workout evocative of Stereolab. “Even if people don’t find my own references here, they’ll find theirs,” observes Ana. “Maybe that’s this record’s biggest goal.”]
Shabaka – “I’ll Do Whatever You Want [feat. Floating Points & Laraaji]” from: Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace / Impulse Records / April 12, 2024 [Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is the solo debut studio album of London jazz musician Shabaka Hutchings, working under the name Shabaka. The album was preceded by two singles, “End of Innocence” and “I’ll Do Whatever You Want”. // The album follows Hutchings’s hiatus from the saxophone and the end of his bands Sons of Kemet and the Comet Is Coming, and sees him focusing on different types of flutes, including the shakuhachi and the svirel, as well as the clarinet. // The album was recorded in Van Gelder Studio in 2022. Hutchings shared producing duties with Dilip Harris, and brought in a long list of collaborators including his own father Anum Iyapo, André 3000, Laraaji, and Floating Points. Musically, it focuses on jazz and new age music. Critical reception for the album was positive, highlighting the boldness of Hutchings’s shift in style. // On January 1, 2023, Hutchings announced his intention to take an indefinite hiatus from playing the saxophone, explaining later in the year that his enthusiasm for the instrument had waned after years of intense touring. This also coincided with the end of his two bands, Sons of Kemet and the Comet Is Coming. Hutchings’s last live saxophone performance was on 7 December 2023, where he played John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. // Hutchings’s new musical interests lied primarily with the flute and similar instruments, having started with them in 2019 after acquiring his first shakuhachi. Subsequent instruments Hutchings picked up include Mayan Teotihuacan drone flutes, Brazilian pifanos, Native American flutes, Slavic svirels, and South American quenas. The move coincided with an increase in attention on jazz flute following the release of André 3000’s 2023 album New Blue Sun, on which Hutchings contributed shakuhachi to one track. // Hutchings announced the album on 28 February 2024, set for a release on April 12, by Impulse! Records. On the same day, he released its lead single, “End of Innocence”, along with a music video directed by Phoebe Boswell. “End of Innocence” sees Hutchings playing the clarinet, with a band consisting of pianist Jason Moran, drummer Nasheet Waits, and percussionist Carlos Niño. // The second single, “I’ll Do Whatever You Want”, was released on March 21. Hutchings cowrote the song with Laraaji and Floating Points. It features Hutchings on shakuhachi, André 3000 on drone flute, Laraaji’s wordless vocals, Floating Points on Rhodes Chroma synthesizer and vibraphone, Esperanza Spalding and Tom Herbert on bass, Dave Okumu on guitar, Marcus Gilmore on drums, and Niño on percussion. Hutchings said the song is “about surrender and the intimate space we go to within the grasp of possession.” Other musicians on the record include Moses Sumney, Brandee Younger, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Saul Williams, Lianne La Havas, and Elucid. // Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is Hutchings’s solo debut studio album, following his 2022 solo EP Afrikan Culture, which also centered Hutchings’s woodwind play. The titles of both releases are connected; in Hutchings’s words, they’re mean to be read as “Afrikan Culture, comma, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace”, with his next album being “the next sentence in a long form poem that encapsulates, hopefully, all the solo records of my career.” The song names on the album were extracted from a poem written for the album.]
Shabaka – “Insecurities (feat. Moses Sumney)” from: Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace / Impulse Records / April 12, 2024 [Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is the solo debut studio album of London jazz musician Shabaka Hutchings, working under the name Shabaka. The album was preceded by two singles, “End of Innocence” and “I’ll Do Whatever You Want”. // The album follows Hutchings’s hiatus from the saxophone and the end of his bands Sons of Kemet and the Comet Is Coming, and sees him focusing on different types of flutes, including the shakuhachi and the svirel, as well as the clarinet. // The album was recorded in Van Gelder Studio in 2022. Hutchings shared producing duties with Dilip Harris, and brought in a long list of collaborators including his own father Anum Iyapo, André 3000, Laraaji, and Floating Points. Musically, it focuses on jazz and new age music. Critical reception for the album was positive, highlighting the boldness of Hutchings’s shift in style.]
Phosphorescent – “Revelator” from: Revelator / Verve Records / January 24, 2024 [Matthew Houck, f is Phosphorescent. The Alabama native, now resides in Brooklyn has delivered 5 albums as Phosphorescent since his 2003 debut. Houck has a highly distinctive artistic voice, but also a refreshing, rolled-sleeves approach to his expression, and if he had his way, he’d have twice as many albums under his belt by now. // Matthew Houck on Voices, Guitars, Percussion; Jo Schornikow on Synths; Scott Stapleton on Synth, Piano; Jack Lawrence: Bass, Synthbass, Theravox; Noah Denney on Percussion; Ethan Ballinger on Guitar; Jim White on Drum Kit; Bobby Hawk on Strings, and Ricky Ray Jackson on Guitar, Pedal Steel]
DIIV – “Brown Paper Bag” from: Frog in Boiling Water/ Fantasy Records / May 24, 2024 [Frog In Boiling Water, produced by Chris Coady, was a four-year process that nearly broke the band before the album was completed. With an aim to push their sound, make a record that challenged them, and treat the band as a democracy for the first time, DIIV began an ambitious journey, both individually and collectively. This journey left their relationships with one another fraying, with the many complex dynamics of family, friendship and finances entangled, coupled with suspicions, resentments, bruised egos and anxious questions. They ultimately found their way through, and the result is 10 songs that mine a new lyrical and musical depth, those two halves mirroring one another inside a reflective and immersive whole. It is a mesmeric testament to enduring, to envisioning anything else on the other side while you remain here, in the slowly heating water of right now. // Frog in Boiling Water, both the title and the themes of the record, reference “The Boiling Frog” in Daniel Quinn’s The Story of B. The band explains, “If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will of course frantically try to clamber out. But if you place it gently in a pot of tepid water and turn the heat on low, the frog will sink into a tranquil stupor, exactly like one of us in a hot bath, and before long, with a smile on its face, it will unresistingly allow itself to be boiled to death.” // “We understand the metaphor to be one about a slow, sick, and overwhelmingly banal collapse of society under end-stage capitalism, the brutal realities we’ve maybe come to accept as normal. That’s the boiling water and we are the frogs. The album is more or less a collection of snapshots from various angles of our modern condition which we think highlights what this collapse looks like and, more particularly, what it feels like.” ]
10:31 – Underwriting
8. Isobel Campbell – “Dopamine” from: Bow to Love / Cooking Vinyl / June 14, 2024 [Isobel Campbell was born April 27, 1976. She is a Scottish singer, songwriter and cellist. She rose to prominence at age nineteen as a member of the indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, but left the group to pursue a solo career, first as The Gentle Waves, and later under her own name. She later collaborated with singer Mark Lanegan on three albums. Her latest studio album, There Is No Other, was released in 2020. // Campbell’s music has been described as either indie pop, chamber pop or singer-songwriter. Regardless of genre, Campbell makes gentle and sombre music, often using classical instruments. // From 1996–2002 Isobel Campbell oplayed with Belle & Sebastian. // Belle & Sebastian was formed in 1996 by Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David; Campbell had met Murdoch at a New Year’s Eve party at age nineteen, and then participated in a recording session with Murdoch and David sponsored by Stow College’s Music Business Administration curriculum. They named themselves Belle & Sebastian after a children’s book of the same name.[1] Murdoch was the lead singer on the first two albums, with Campbell playing cello, percussion and singing backing vocals. A classically trained cellist, Campbell also played keyboards. She also took lead vocals on a few songs from the band, and co-wrote their top-20 UK single “Legal Man”. // Their follow-up was The Boy with the Arab Strap which contained the track “Is It Wicked Not to Care?” where for the first time Campbell sang lead vocals. The band’s next album was Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant. The album introduced many stylistic changes, such as a larger string section and more of the members singing lead vocals; Campbell sings on “Family Tree”, and performs a duet with Stevie Jackson on “Beyond the Sunrise”. // Most of 2002 was spent on touring and recording a soundtrack album, Storytelling (for Storytelling by Todd Solondz). Campbell left the band in spring of 2002, in the middle of their North American tour.]
Beth Gibbons – “Floating On A Moment” from: Lives Outgrown / Domino / April 14, 2024 [Lives Outgrown is the debut solo studio album by English musician Beth Gibbons, released on 17 May 2024 through Domino Recording Company. The album was produced by Gibbons, James Ford and Lee Harris. It was preceded by the singles “Floating on a Moment”, “Reaching Out” and “Lost Changes”. // Gibbons wrote the album over a decade, with topics including “motherhood, anxiety, menopause, and mortality”. Gibbons said that the album was directly influenced by the deaths of family and friends over the preceding several years and she “realised what life was like with no hope” // eth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, who have released three albums. She released an album with Rustin Man, Out of Season, in 2002, and a recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2019. She released a solo album in 2024 titled Lives Outgrown. // Gibbons was born in Exeter, Devon, England and raised on a farm with three sisters. Her parents divorced when she was young. She attended St Katherine’s School in Pill, Somerset, in North Somerset. // At 22, she moved to Bath, then Bristol to pursue her singing career, where she met Geoff Barrow, her future collaborator in Portishead, on an Enterprise Allowance course in 1991. // With Adrian Utley, Gibbons and Barrow released the first Portishead album Dummy in 1994 and have produced two other studio albums, a live album, and various singles in the years since. // She has also collaborated on a separate project with former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb (Rustin Man). Before she joined Geoff Barrow in Portishead, she had auditioned for the singer’s slot in .O.rang, the group formed by Webb after Talk Talk’s late-Eighties departure from EMI, but Portishead’s sudden success pre-empted matters. In October 2002, they released the album Out of Season in the United Kingdom under the name Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man. The album peaked at number 28 in the UK Albums Chart. It was released in the United States a year later: while touring in North America, Variety favourably described her performance with Rustin as “Billie Holiday fronting Siouxsie and the Banshees”. // In June 2013, Gibbons announced plans for a new solo album with Domino Records. She contributed vocals to a cover of the song “Black Sabbath” with the British metal band Gonga, released on April 24, 2014. // In 2018, Gibbons contributed vocal performances, along with Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, to the Spill Festival held in Ipswich in an audio installation entitled ‘Clarion Calls’, which uses the voices of 100 women to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. // In 2014, Gibbons performed Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Górecki with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki. Gibbons sang in Polish. The performance was released in 2019; reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Jayson Greene wrote: “Part of the tension comes from hearing her untrained voice scale these rocky heights. Her vibrato, tight and trilling and barely controlled, sounds an awful lot like someone fighting off a panic attack. This would get her dismissed from a traditional opera audition, probably, but it is magnificently effective at sending raw shudders through what can be a pretty well-worn work.” In 2022, Gibbons featured on the track “Mother I Sober” from Kendrick Lamar’s album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. For her collaboration in the album she received a nomination for Album of the Year at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards as a featured artist and songwriter. On February 7, 2024, Gibbons announced the release of her first solo studio album in over 20 years. The album, titled Lives Outgrown, was released May 17, 2024. It was announced alongside a single titled “Floating on a Moment”, with its second single “Reaching Out” being released later that year on 10 April. // She has cited Nina Simone, Bono of U2 for his performance on The Joshua Tree, Otis Redding and Jimmy Cliff as musical inspirations. She has covered Janis Joplin songs and enjoys the music of Janis Ian.]
Kamasi Washington – “Interstellar Peace (The Last Stance)” from: Fearless Movement / Young Records / May 3, 2024 [Kamasi was born in LA California, on February 2, 1981 to musical parents and educators, and was raised in Inglewood, California. He is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, producer, and bandleader. Washington is known mainly for playing tenor saxophone. He is a graduate of the Academy of Music of Alexander Hamilton High School in Beverlywood, Los Angeles. Washington next enrolled in UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology, where he began playing with faculty members such as Kenny Burrell, Billy Higgins and band leader/trumpeter Gerald Wilson. Washington features in the album Young Jazz Giants in 2004. He has played along with a diverse group of musicians including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Horace Tapscott, Gerald Wilson, Lauryn Hill, Nas, Snoop Dogg, George Duke, Chaka Khan, Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Mike Muir, Francisco Aguabella, the Pan Afrikaan People’s Orchestra and Raphael Saadiq. Washington ventured into big band music when he joined the Gerald Wilson Orchestra for their 2006 album In My Time. Washington played saxophone on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. His debut solo recording, The Epic, was released in May 2015 to critical acclaim. His second studio album, Heaven and Earth, was released in June 2018, with a companion EP titled The Choice released a week later. // Turning his attention to dance for his latest album, Fearless Movement out this May on Young, Kamasi Washington resumes his ongoing study of music as a means of connection. His 2015 album The Epic, as well as 2018’s Heaven and Earth were received by critics and audiences as a reimagination of modern jazz showcasing Washington’s larger-than-lift compositions full of celestial grandeur and his distinct blend of jazz, Latin, funk, classical, hip-hop and soul. Fearless Movement, however, offers something different: terrestrial rhythms and collaborations from rappers, musical icons and even Washington’s own daughter. Features include: Thundercat, Taj Austin, Ras Austin, Patrice Quinn, DJ Battlecat, Brandon Coleman, D-Smoke, George Clinton, Bj the Chicago Kid, Andre 300]
Kamasi Washington – “The Visionary (feat. Terrace Martin)” from: Fearless Movement / Young Records / May 3, 2024 [Kamasi Washington was born in LA, California, on February 2, 1981 to musical parents and educators, and was raised in Inglewood, California. He is a jazz saxophonist, composer, producer, and bandleader. Washington is known mainly for playing tenor saxophone. He is a graduate of the Academy of Music of Alexander Hamilton High School in Beverlywood, LA. Washington next enrolled in UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology, where he began playing with faculty members such as Kenny Burrell, Billy Higgins and band leader/trumpeter Gerald Wilson. Washington features in the album Young Jazz Giants in 2004. He has played along with a diverse group of musicians including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Horace Tapscott, Gerald Wilson, Lauryn Hill, Nas, Snoop Dogg, George Duke, Chaka Khan, Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Mike Muir, Francisco Aguabella, the Pan Afrikaan People’s Orchestra and Raphael Saadiq. Washington ventured into big band music when he joined the Gerald Wilson Orchestra for their 2006 album In My Time. companion EP titled The Choice released a week later.]
10:57 – Station ID
Fay Victor & Herbie Nichols SUNG – “Life Is Funny That Way” from: Life Is Funny That Way / Tao Forms / April 5, 2024 [= Herbie Nichols SUNG = Fay Victor on voice, lyrics, arrangements, bandleader; Michaël Attias on alto & baritone saxophones; Anthony Coleman on piano; Ratzo Harris on bass; and Tom Rainey on drums. // Life Is Funny That Way is the major new work from acclaimed and singular singer-soundartist-lyricist-bandleader Fay Victor. It is both a loving celebration and thorough reconsideration of jazz composer Herbie Nichols’ rich legacy & a powerful work of art from a formidably talented and forthright black woman. This landmark work is also the first time that a full program of lyrics have been written & recorded for Nichols’ compositions. Victor’s innovative arrangements are brought to vibrant life by Herbie Nichols SUNG, a dedicated and profoundly gifted quintet of veteran jazz performers. // Nearly 30 years ago while living in the Netherlands, Victor discovered and was captivated by Nichols’ music in the collection of her future husband. She first began to explore the concept of singing this tremendous work with Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg and then together with trombonist and one-time Nichols collaborator Roswell Rudd. // It was in 2013 that Fay Victor formed the Herbie Nichols SUNG project with American players and began to present it regularly in NYC, adding to a European trio version that had already toured the continent. This deep and extensive artistic journey which Victor embarked on, alongside leading other acclaimed bands and recording projects of all- original material, led to the involvement of the TAO Forms label. Its creative director drummer Whit Dickey not only shared a great appreciation of Nichols’ singular work as a composer, but was also a long-time fan of the exceptionally gifted Victor. // Recalling her first experience of hearing Nichols’ music, Victor says, “I put the record on and it sounded very strange to me. But then I heard “House Party Starting”. That was the one, that just sent something through my soul. I was blown away by that composition, and decided then and there that I want to learn this, I want to be able to sing this. And at that moment, I couldn’t. There was definitely some technical work I needed to do. It was great to have that challenge, and I was determined.” [ “Tonight” is Victor’s ultimate realization. } // A decade later and clearly ready, Life Is Funny That Way was recorded with the long-devoted veterans of Herbie Nichols SUNG: Michaël Attias (alto & baritone saxophones), Anthony Coleman (piano), Ratzo Harris (bass), and relatively new addition Tom Rainey (drums). A tremendous group to be sure; united by their mutual love of both Nichols’ writing and Victor’s estimable artistry. // She and her band’s work was exquisitely captured & mixed by engineer Andy Taub at his Brooklyn Recording studio. // The source material comes from Nichols’ Blue Note sessions of 1955-56, plus three compositions not recorded in his lifetime. // The album’s material is wide-ranging in mood, from the puckish opening title track and abstracted “The Culprit Is You” (both with the full band) to the dark voice-alto-bass explorations of “Bright Butterfly” and a ghostly voice-alto-piano reworking of “The Spinning Song”, aptly titled “Descent Into Madness”. // “Shuffle Montgomery” has Victor scatting ebulliently over the full band with Attias on baritone, while “Twelve Bars”, another tune unrecorded by Nichols, is a feature for the piano trio. // In addition to fêting Nichols, Victor takes the opportunity to celebrate the person who gave him his greatest exposure. Billie Holiday was the first to write lyrics for one of his tunes, “Serenade”, making it one of her signature works: “Lady Sings The Blues”. As Victor explains, “I chose to include this song because I think about the audience a lot. If anybody knows Nichols at all, they know this song. But the other thing is that when Billie sang his song, she didn’t sing his bridge. So I wanted to sing the lyrics with his bridge. That was important to me. I wanted people to know what the complete composition sounded like. Those are great lyrics Billie Holiday wrote and it’s also an homage to her because sometimes I feel that she doesn’t get her full due in terms of how incredible a musician she was, how visionary she was.” // All compositions by Herbie Nichols. // All lyrics & arrangements by Fay Victor. // Recorded & Mixed by Andy Taub at Brooklyn Recording. // Mastered by Paul Wickliffe at Skyline Underground. // Produced by Fay Victor.]
Gloria Coleman Quartet – “Que Baby (feat. Pola Roberts)” from: Soul Sisters / Impulse / May 21, 1963 [Reissued on 2024 Verve] [Soul Sisters is an album by American jazz organist Gloria Coleman featuring Pola Roberts recorded in 1963 for the Impulse! label. The Allmusic review by Brandon Burke awarded the album 3 stars, stating “One probably doesn’t hear the name Gloria Coleman thrown around quite as often as other organists of the day. Similarly, the Impulse! label wasn’t particularly known as a home for organ combos, but perhaps that’s what makes this title the underappreciated gem that it is”. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on May 21, 1963, with Gloria Coleman on organ, Leo Wright on alto saxophone, Grant Green on guitar, and Pola Roberts on drums. // Gloria Coleman was an American musician. Coleman played bass, piano then organ. As a jazz organist she released two albums. The first, Soul Sisters by the Gloria Coleman Quartet, was for the Impulse! Records label. It featured drummer Pola Roberts, Leo Wright and Grant Green. It was produced by Bob Thiele. The second album featured Ray Copeland, Dick Griffith, James Anderson, Earl Dunbar and Charlie Davis. Coleman wrote many songs for Bobbi Humphrey and Ernestine Anderson, among others. Coleman married saxophonist George Coleman. The couple had two children and divorced. She died on February 18, 2010.]
Leyla McCalla – “Scaled To Survive” from: Sun Without The Heat / Anti – Records / April 12, 2024 [Leyla McCalla on vocals, cello, banjo, guitars; Shawn Myers on percussion, drums; Nahum Zdybel on guitars; Pete Olynciw on electric bass, piano; Maryam Qudus on synthesizers, organs, backing vocals; Louis Michot on fiddle on “Tower”. Recorded and Produced by Maryam Qudus at Dockside Studios, June 20-29, 2023. Assisted by Justin Tocket. Mixed by Maryam Qudus at Best House. Mastered by Heba Kadry, NYC. All songs written by Leyla McCalla (Makala Music (BMI)) except “Love We Had” music by Ali Mohammed Birra, arrangement and lyrics by Leyla McCalla (Makala Music (BMI)) // On May 6, 2022 Leyla McCalla released Breaking the Thermometer on Anti- Records. // Leyla Sarah McCalla was born October 3, 1985. She is a classical and folk musician. She has been a cellist with the Grammy-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops but left that group to focus on her solo career. Both of McCalla’s parents were born in Haiti. Her father Jocelyn McCalla was the Executive Director of the New York-based National Coalition for Haitian Rights from 1988 to 2006 and is credited as translator on Vari-Colored Songs. Her mother Régine Dupuy arrived in the United States at age 5, is the daughter of Ben Dupuy who ran Haiti Progrès, a New York based Haitian socialist newspaper. McCalla’s mother went on to found Dwa Fanm, an anti-domestic violence human rights organization. McCalla was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey. She lived in Accra, Ghana for two years as a teen. After a year at Smith College, she transferred to New York University to study cello performance and chamber music. She then moved to New Orleans where she played music on the streets. We first played Leyla McCalla in 2016 the same year we saw her live at Folk Alliance International and the same year she released her critically acclaimed album Vari-Colored Songs on Music Maker Recordings on February 4, 2014. The album is a tribute to Langston Hughes which includes adaptations of his poems, Haitian folk songs sung in Haitian Creole and original compositions. McCalla says the first song she wrote for the album was Heart of Gold because it provided “a window into Hughes’ thinking”.McCalla chose to dedicate this work to Hughes because she says “reading his work made me want to be an artist.” McCalla started working on the album 5 years prior to its release. Commentators have noted the influence of Louisiana musical traditions such as old Cajun fiddle melodies and trad-jazz banjo on the album. Members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops appear on the album. Along with her solo work Leyla McCalla was part of Songs of Our Native Daughters is the debut Americana/folk album by four North American singer-songwriters collaborating as Our Native Daughters. The group includes Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell. The album was released on the Smithsonian Folkways label in early 2019. Songs of Our Native Daughters addresses American historical issues that have influenced the identity of black women, including slavery, racism, and sexism. The album features 13 songs, 11 of them written by the group’s members. It also includes a cover of a 1970s Bob Marley classic and a song that draws its lyrics from two poems.]
Leyla McCalla – “Small Towns (Are Smaller for Girls)” from: My Black Country: The Songs of Alice Randall / Oh Boy Records / April 12, 2024 [Collaborative album celebrates the Black female experience in Country & Folk music with additional contributions from Adia Victoria, Rhiannon Giddens, Saaneah Jamison, Miko Marks, Leyla McCalla, Rissi Palmer, Allison Russell, SistaStrings, Sunny War & Alice’s daughter Caroline Randall Williams, Re-recording the greatest songs from New York Times bestselling novelist, award-winning songwriter & educator Alice Randall’s catalog. Produced by Ebonie Smith (Hamilton, Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy, Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer, Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, founder & president of Gender Amplified) // Companion album to Alice Randall’s new book: My Black Country: A Journey through Country Music’s Black Past, Present and Future.]
Valerie June —“Big Dream” from: My Black Country: The Songs of Alice Randall / Oh Boy Records / April 12, 2024 [“Growing up, we all have dreams and wishes. Alice Randall’s lyrics capture the magic of our personal dreams. In the simplest way, she invites listeners to remember the power of collective dreaming. If God can be a woman in a patriarchal society, then there are no limits to what can be achieved. Balance is restored through the sacred art of dreaming, and each dream big or small helps to shape our world. I am a dreamer. Everyone on this record is a dreamer. Together we are breaking boundaries just as so many who’ve come before have done for us.” – Valerie June // On March 12, 2021 Valerie June released her 5th full length album The Moon And Stars on June Tunes – Concord records, co-produced by Jack Splash and Valerie June. // Valerie June Hockett was born January 10, 1982), known as Valerie June, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Her sound encompasses a mixture of folk, blues, gospel, soul, country, Appalachian and bluegrass. She is signed to Concord Music Group worldwide. // Born in Jackson, Tennessee on January 10, 1982, June is the oldest of five children. As a child growing up in Humboldt, June was exposed to gospel music at her local church and R&B and soul music via her father, Emerson Hockett. As a teenager, her first job was with her father, owner of Hockett Construction in West Tennessee, and a part-time promoter for gospel singers and Prince, K-Ci & JoJo, and Bobby Womack. She helped by hanging posters in town. Her father died in late 2016. // June relocated to Memphis in 2000 and began recording and performing at the age of 19, initially with her then-husband Michael Joyner, in the duo Bella Sun. After her marriage ended, she began working as a solo artist, combining blues, gospel and Appalachian folk in a style that she describes as “organic moonshine roots music”, and learning guitar, banjo, and lap-steel guitar. She became associated with the Memphis-based Broken String Collective. // In 2009 she was a featured artist on MTV’s online series $5 Cover (following the lives of Memphis musicians attempting to make ends meet), and in 2010 she recorded the EP Valerie June and the Tennessee Express, a collaboration with Old Crow Medicine Show. // In 2011 she was honored by the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission at the Emissaries of Memphis Music event. She raised funds to record an album with producer Craig Street via Kickstarter.com, raising $15,000 in 60 days. Later that year she relocated from Memphis to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Shortly after, record producer Kevin Augunas introduced June to Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, which led to the recording of June’s album Pushin’ Against a Stone in July 2011, which was co-written and produced by Dan Auerbach and Kevin Augunas. // In 2012, June performed with producer John Forté on a collaboration called Water Suites (on the hip-hop-blues song “Give Me Water”), and with Meshell Ndegeocello on the song “Be My Husband”. She contributed The Wandering’s 2012 album Go on Now, You Can’t Stay Here: Mississippi Folk Music Volume III. In 2012 she performed in the UK for the first time, playing at Bestival and appearing on Later… with Jools Holland. // She has received substantial radio play in Europe on BBC Radio 6, including a feature on Cerys on 6 with Cerys Matthews. Mary Anne Hobbs of XFM has said of June: “This woman has already touched my heart, she really, really has.” // In February 2013, June was invited to support Jake Bugg on the UK leg of his tour. In March 2013, June performed two nights at South By Southwest. The first performance was on March 14 as part of the Heartbreaker Banquet. On March 16, June performed again, this time as part of The Revival Tour. Rolling Stone June’s second album, The Order of Time one of the 50 Best Albums of 2017, citing “her handsomely idiosyncratic brand of Americana, steeped deep in electric blues and old-time folk, gilded in country twang and gospel yearning….a blend of spacey hippie soul, blues and folk with June’s pinched, modern-Appalachian voice at the center”. In a 2017 interview, Bob Dylan was asked what artists he listened to and respected; June was among the artists he mentioned in reply.More info at: http://www.valeriejune.com]
Swamp Dogg – “Mess Under That Dress” from: Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St. / Oh Boy Records / May 31, 2024 [Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St, his first record with Oh Boy Records that will be released on May 31. The effervescent new single which was first released in 1967 by Inez and Charlie Foxx and re-envisioned here, arrives with an official music video featuring Swamp and Lewis recording the track at Nashville’s Sound Emporium. // Last month, the feature-length documentary Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted premiered at SXSW and received raves from The Austin Chronicle and The Hollywood Reporter who called it, “a documentary that draws its voice and aesthetic from the spirit of its subject, resulting in a tight 97 minutes that feel organic and satisfying and, as befits that subject, appealingly odd.” Rolling Stone also included Swamp Dogg’s official showcase in their Best of SXSW roundup proclaiming, “Swamp Dogg sounded bold and robust, his vigor encouraging his band to ratchet up the energy… every musician on stage was locked into an undeniable groove.” // Produced by Ryan Olson (Poliça, Gayngs) and recorded with an all-star band including Noam Pikelny, Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas, Chris Scruggs, Billy Contreras, and Kenny Vaughan, the 12-song collection is a riotous blend of past and present, mixing the sacred and the profane in typical Swamp Dogg fashion as it blurs the lines between folk, roots, country, blues, and soul. Special guests like Margo Price, Vernon Reid, Jenny Lewis, Justin Vernon, and The Cactus Blossoms all add to the excitement, but it’s ultimately the 81-year-old Swamp Dogg’s delivery—sly and playful and full of genuine joy and ache—that steals the show. // “Believe it or not, I didn’t do anything but sing these songs the way I would have sung them if it was an R&B album. That’s just the way the music comes out of me, and it would have been unholy for me to try and imitate anybody else,” explains Swamp Dogg about the making of the album. “Black music has had so many different labels put on it over the years that sometimes I’m onstage and I don’t know what the hell it is that I’m singing,” Swamp Dogg says with a laugh. “The only thing I know how to do is be myself.” // “Swamp Dogg is one of my favorite humans on the planet… How to classify him I just don’t know. He’s a soul artist, a psychedelic artist, a protest singer, he’s a man for all seasons.” – Ann Powers // Jerry Williams Jr. was born July 12, 1942. He is generally credited under the pseudonym Swamp Dogg after 1970, is an American soul and R&B singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. Williams has been described as “one of the great cult figures of 20th century American music.” // After recording as Little Jerry and Little Jerry Williams in the 1950s and 1960s, he reinvented himself as Swamp Dogg, releasing a series of satirical, offbeat, and eccentric recordings, as well as continuing to write and produce for other musicians. He debuted his new sound on the Total Destruction To Your Mind album in 1970. In the 1980s, he helped to develop Alonzo Williams’ World Class Wreckin’ CRU, which produced Dr. Dre among others. He continues to make music, releasing Love, Loss & Autotune on Joyful Noise Recordings in 2018,[3][4] and Sorry You Couldn’t Make It in 202. // Williams was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He made his first recording, “HTD Blues (Hardsick Troublesome Downout Blues)”, for the Mechanic record label in 1954, when he was aged 12, with his parents and uncle and backing musicians, and was regularly hired to play private parties. From 1960, he released occasional singles for a variety of labels, including the self-written “I’m The Lover Man” in 1964, which was first issued on the Southern Sound label and was then picked up by the larger Loma label, almost breaking into the national Billboard Hot 100. He also wrote successfully for other musicians, including “Big Party” for Barbara and the Browns. // As Little Jerry Williams, he had his first national chart success in 1966, when “Baby You’re My Everything”, which he co-wrote and produced, was released on the Calla label and rose to #32 on the R&B chart, again just missing the Hot 100. He released several more singles on Calla through to 1967, by now credited simply as Jerry Williams, but with little commercial success, although some of his records such as “If You Ask Me (Because I Love You)” later became staples of the Northern Soul movement in the UK. // By late 1967 he started working in A&R and other duties for the Musicor label in New York. In 1968 he co-wrote, with Charlie Foxx, Gene Pitney’s up-tempo hit, “She’s a Heartbreaker”, which Williams also claimed to have produced, saying: “I produced the motherfuck out of it… [and] Charlie Foxx put me down on the label as “vocal arranger.” What the fuck is that? When they took out full-page ads in Billboard and Cashbox, there was a picture of Charlie on one side and a picture of Gene Pitney on the other and no mention of me.” // Later in 1968 Williams began working as a producer at Atlantic Records with Jerry Wexler and Phil Walden, on artists including Patti LaBelle & the Blue Belles, though he found the administration frustrating.[5] He established a songwriting partnership with Gary Anderson, who performed as Gary U.S. Bonds, and the pair wrote the R&B chart hits “To the Other Woman (I’m the Other Woman)” by Doris Duke, and “She Didn’t Know (She Kept on Talking)” by Dee Dee Warwick. He also recorded a single, “I Got What It Takes”, in a duo with Brooks O’Dell, and released two singles under his own name on the Cotillion label, a subsidiary of Atlantic. // Swamp Dogg Williams later wrote:I became Swamp Dogg in 1970 in order to have an alter-ego and someone to occupy the body while the search party was out looking for Jerry Williams, who was mentally missing in action due to certain pressures, mal-treatments and failure to get paid royalties on over fifty single records…. Most all of the tracks included were recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and Macon, Georgia, which brings me to how the name Swamp Dogg came about. Jerry Wexler, Atlantic Records v.p. and producer/innovator second to none, was recording in the newly discovered mecca of funk Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He coined the term “Swamp Music” for this awesome funk predominately played by all white musicians accompanying the R’n’B institutions e.g., Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, King Curtis… I was also using the same “swamp” players. I was tired of being a jukebox, singing all of the hits by Chuck Jackson, Ben E. King, etc., and being an R’n’B second banana. I couldn’t dance as good as Joe Tex, wasn’t pretty like Tommy Hunt, couldn’t compare vocally to Jackie Wilson and I didn’t have the sex appeal of Daffy Duck. I wanted to sing about everything and anything and not be pigeonholed by the industry. So I came up with the name Dogg because a dog can do anything, and anything a dog does never comes as a real surprise; if he sleeps on the sofa, shits on the rug, pisses on the drapes, chews up your slippers, humps your mother-in-law’s leg, jumps on your new clothes and licks your face, he’s never gotten out of character. You understand what he did, you curse while making allowances for him but your love for him never diminishes. Commencing in 1970, I sung about sex, niggers, love, rednecks, war, peace, dead flies, home wreckers, Sly Stone, my daughters, politics, revolution and blood transfusions (just to name a few), and never got out of character. Recording in Alabama and sincerely singing/writing about items that interested me, gave birth to the name Swamp Dogg. // Having adopted his moniker before Snoop Dogg was born he has claimed to be “the original D-O double G.” // In 1970 he emerged in his new Swamp Dogg persona, with two singles on Wally Roker’s Canyon label, “Mama’s Baby, Daddy’s Maybe”, again co-written with Bonds, and “Synthetic World”. He also produced the first Swamp Dogg album, Total Destruction to Your Mind. The album sleeve showed Williams sitting in his underwear on a pile of garbage. Williams’ new direction apparently followed an LSD trip, and was inspired by the radical politics of the time and by Frank Zappa’s use of satire, while showing his own expertise in, and commitment to, deep soul and R&B music. According to Allmusic: “In sheer musical terms, Swamp Dogg is pure Southern soul, anchored on tight grooves and accentuated by horns, but the Dogg is as much about message as music…” Although not a commercial success at the time, Swamp Dogg started to develop a cult following and eventually the album sold enough to achieve gold record status. Record critic Robert Christgau wrote that “Soul-seekers like myself are moderately mad for the obscure” album and has called it “legendary”. It was reissued in 2013 by Alive Naturalsound Records. // Around the same time, one of the songs Williams had co-written with Gary Bonds, “She’s All I Got”, became a top-ten R&B hit for Freddie North, and was recorded with even greater success by country star Johnny Paycheck, whose version reached #2 on the country music chart in late 1971.[7] In a later interview on NPR’s Studio 360, Williams stated he was raised on country music: “Black music didn’t start ’til 10 at night until 4 in the morning and I was in bed by then… If you strip my tracks, take away all the horns and guitar licks, what you have is a country song.” However, he also continued to write and produce deep soul songs for other musicians, including Z. Z. Hill and Irma Thomas. In 1971 in collaboration with co-producer and writer the legendary George Semper he released “Monster Walk Pt. 1 and 2” by the Rhythm ‘N’ Blues Classical Funk Band on Mankind Records label. Produced for Jerry Williams Productions, Inc.and in spite of modest sales the record once again demonstrated his entrepreneurial skill as an artist. // As Swamp Dogg, he was signed by Elektra Records for his second album, Rat On! in 1971. The sleeve showed him on the back of a giant white rat, and has frequently been ranked as one of the worst album covers of all time. Sales were relatively poor, and he joined Jane Fonda’s anti-Vietnam War Free the Army tour. His next albums Cuffed, Collared and Tagged (1972) and Gag a Maggott (recorded at the TK Studio in 1973) were released on smaller labels, though his 1974 album, Have You Heard This Story??, was issued by Island Records. In 1977 he had another minor R&B hit with “My Heart Just Can’t Stop Dancing”, credited to Swamp Dogg & the Riders of the New Funk. He continued to release albums through the 1970s and into the mid-1980s as Swamp Dogg, on various small independent labels and in a variety of styles including disco and country and maintained a healthy cult following. He also set up his own publishing and recording company, Swamp Dogg Entertainment Group (SDEG). // In 1999, “Slow Slow Disco” was sampled by Kid Rock on the track “I Got One for Ya”, sparking a revival of interest in Swamp Dogg, who began performing live gigs for the first time. Several other of his recordings were sampled, and in 2009 he released two new albums, Give Em as Little as You Can…As Often as You Have To…Or…A Tribute to Rock N Roll, and An Awful Christmas and a Lousy New Year. He also released some further singles, and a compilation album of the best of his work as both Little Jerry Williams and Swamp Dogg, It’s All Good, was released in 2009. Most of his early Swamp Dogg albums have also been reissued on CD. // Swamp Dogg released a full-length album of new songs in 2014, The White Man Made Me Do It, which Williams described as being a sort of sequel to Total Destruction To Your Mind. Shortly thereafter, Swamp Dogg teamed up with Ryan Olson from Poliça to produce the tracks for his 2018 album Love, Loss & Autotune, Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) fine-tuning the vocal tracks. The song also features instrumentation by Guitar Shorty. The music video for “I’ll Pretend” premiered at NPR and was later featured at Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Spin and elsewhere. Swamp Dogg described the song as a character study about “a guy sitting in a restaurant by himself losing his fucking mind because he’s hoping his woman is gonna walk by, but she’s at a Ramada Inn somewhere fucking somebody else to death.” // In 2020, he released the album Sorry You Couldn’t Make It, a country-styled record recorded in Nashville with producer Ryan Olson and musicians including Justin Vernon, John Prine, and Jenny Lewis. More info at: http://www.theswampdogg.com]
18. Kleenex / LiLiPut – “Ain’t you” from: First Songs / 2024 Kill Rock Stars [Kleenex/LiLiPUT (also referred to as LiLiPUT and First Songs) is a compilation album by Swiss punk rock band LiLiPUT. Released by Off Course Records in 1993, the album compiles the band’s entire recorded output, from their first recordings under the name Kleenex to their later material after changing their name to LiLiPUT. // also referred to as First Songs”, a 2LP set of 24 recordings. “First Songs” combines all the pre-1982 material, all 3 Kleenex singles, the first 2 LiLiPUT 7″’s and all the originally unreleased material prior to LiLiPUT’s debut LP. All 46 songs from the “LiLiPUT” release. // “You can’t dispute LiLiPUT’s status as pioneers of feminist art-punk. Along with fellow travelers like the Slits and the Raincoats, this (mostly) female Swiss group took advantage of punk’s anything-goes attitude and created jittery, spirited pop that was both in step with the times and completely singular. The early material is a riot of exuberant energy, taking stylistic cues from peers like Gang of Four and Wire– propulsive bass, skittering pop rhythms, slashing guitars– and adding distinctive overlapping vocal patterns, which are sung, shrieked, and hiccuped in three languages and made- up dadaistic slang. More than 20 years on, it still sounds fresh.” – Lisa Gidley.]
Kleenex / LiLiPut – “Nice” from: First Songs / 2024 Kill Rock Stars [Kleenex/LiLiPUT (also referred to as LiLiPUT and First Songs) is a compilation album by Swiss punk rock band LiLiPUT. Released by Off Course Records in 1993, the album compiles the band’s entire recorded output, from their first recordings under the name Kleenex to their later material after changing their name to LiLiPUT. // also referred to as First Songs”, a 2LP set of 24 recordings. “First Songs” combines all the pre-1982 material, all 3 Kleenex singles, the first 2 LiLiPUT 7″’s and all the originally unreleased material prior to LiLiPUT’s debut LP. All 46 songs from the “LiLiPUT” release. // “You can’t dispute LiLiPUT’s status as pioneers of feminist art-punk. Along with fellow travelers like the Slits and the Raincoats, this (mostly) female Swiss group took advantage of punk’s anything-goes attitude and created jittery, spirited pop that was both in step with the times and completely singular. The early material is a riot of exuberant energy, taking stylistic cues from peers like Gang of Four and Wire– propulsive bass, skittering pop rhythms, slashing guitars– and adding distinctive overlapping vocal patterns, which are sung, shrieked, and hiccuped in three languages and made- up dadaistic slang. More than 20 years on, it still sounds fresh.” – Lisa Gidley.]
11:30:30 – Underwriting
Lucy Rose – “Light As Grass” from: This Ain’t The Way You Go Out / Communion / April 19, 2024 [This Ain’t the Way You Go Out is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Lucy Rose, released through Communion Records on 19 April 2024. // The album was written following Rose’s first pregnancy, after which she developed pregnancy-associated osteoporosis and broke eight vertebrae in her back. It was recorded over two days with Rose’s backing band and the producer Kwes. In comparison to Rose’s previous music, This Ain’t the Way You Go Out has been noted as more “energetic and joyful”. // Lucy Rose Parton[1] (born 20 June 1989) is an English singer-songwriter. Her career as a musician began in 2012 with her first studio album Like I Used To and she has released five more since, the latest of which, This Ain’t The Way You Go Out, was released in April 2024. She founded her own record label, Real Kind Records, in January 2020; the record label is a partnership with the UK record label, Communion. // Born in Camberley, Surrey, England, Rose’s musical origins began with her playing drums in her school orchestra; her songwriting started with her writing tunes on her family home’s piano. She is the youngest of three sisters. She later bought a guitar from a shop she passed on the way to school, taught herself and began writing material at around the age of sixteen.[citation needed] Rose never played her material for anyone until she left home after completing her A-levels. // At eighteen, she moved to London; instead of taking her place at University College London to study geography, she began experimenting and performing with other musicians. It was at this time when she met Jack Steadman, the frontman of Bombay Bicycle Club. After becoming friends, Steadman asked if she would like to perform vocals on a song he had written and was recording. The acoustic album Flaws came out with Steadman on lead vocals, and Rose performing backing vocals, most notably on the title track “Flaws”, as well as others on the album. She went on to perform some backing vocal duties on Bombay Bicycle Club’s third album, A Different Kind of Fix, and features in their fourth, So Long, See You Tomorrow. Rose also performs some backing vocal duties on the track This Sullen Welsh Heart by the Manic Street Preachers on their album Rewind the Film. In 2018 she provided backing vocals for Paul Weller’s fourteenth studio album True Meanings, and appeared on stage with him in 2019 for his Royal Festival Hall concert, Other Aspects. // A fan of tea, Rose began selling her own blend named “Builder Grey” (two part English Breakfast and one part Earl Grey) at her shows as a substitute for merchandise or CDs.]
Lucy Rose – “This Ain’t The Way You Go Out” from: This Ain’t The Way You Go Out / Communion / April 19, 2024
Ghost Funk Orchestra – “To The Moon!” from: A Trip To The Moon / Colemine Records / February 23, 2024 [Coming off the heels of 2022’s A New Kind of Love, A Trip To The Moon sees GFO diving even deeper in the worlds of film music, exotica, and psychedelic surf rock. The aim is to create a layered and collaged listening experience with more elements than you could possibly pick out in a single listen. The guitars are fuzzy and flooded with spring reverb, and the horns are arranged in a studio big band fashion. It’s full of big compositions with garage rock attitude. Influences range everywhere from Eddie Palmieri and Esquivel to The Lively Ones, Dusty Springfield, and War. The tracks are tied together by real recorded transmissions from the Apollo moon missions. The concept for the album is a story about a woman stranded on earth by her cosmonaut partner, left to ponder his whereabouts and whether or not he’ll make it back from the cosmos alive. // Ghost Funk Orchestra is the brainchild of composer/multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum. What started as a one-man recording project has now evolved into a powerhouse live band. It’s a sonic kaleidoscope that defies genre specification, but draws heavy influence from the worlds of soul, psych rock, salsa, and beyond. Their unique blend of genres has attracted praise from the likes of NPR, Bandcamp, KUTX, Brooklyn Vegan, Earmilk, and more. Over the years they’ve had the honor of sharing the stage with the likes of Os Mutantes, Grace Potter, Marco Benevento, La Luz, Monophonics, The Nude Party, and The Jack Moves, as well as playing such legendary festivals as Montreal Jazz, Treefort, Telluride Jazz, Otis Mountain Get Down, and BRIC’s NYC Winter Jazz. Local NY blog Post-Trash described their sound as a ‘psych odyssey of traditional sounds delivered in a non-traditional fashion.’ Bandcamp’s Editorial Director J. Edward Keyes praised the band’s ability to ‘leave no funk-adjacent genre unexplored.’ Experimentation is the key, and unpredictability is what has been attracting folks from all corners of the globe to see what GFO pulls off next…]
Mdou Moctar – “Imouhar ” from: Funeral for Justice / Matador / May 3, 2024 [‘Funeral For Justice’ is the new album by Mdou Moctar. Recorded at the close of two years spent touring the globe following the release of 2021 breakout ‘Afrique Victime,’ it captures the Nigerien quartet in ferocious form. The music is louder, faster, and more wild. The guitar solos are feedback-scorched and the lyrics are passionately political. Nothing is held back or toned down. // Mdou Moctar immediately stands out as one of the most innovative artists in contemporary Saharan music. His unconventional interpretations of Tuareg guitar and have pushed him to the forefront of a crowded scene. Mdou shreds with a relentless and frenetic energy that puts his contemporaries to shame. More info at: http://www.mdoumoctar.com]
The Lostines – “A Tear” from: Meet the Lostines/ 2024 Gar Hole Records / April 26, 2024 [Camille Wind Weatherford on vocals, guitar; Casey Jane Reece-Kaigler on vocals, guitar, percussion; Ross Farbe on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12 string acoustic guitar, bass, drums, percussion; Sam Doores om drums, percussion, organ, rhodes, baritone guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, harmonies; Howe Pearson on bass, drums, guitar, tubular bells, harmonies; Gina Leslie on bass, harmonies; James Wallace – rhodes, piano, organ, guitar, synth, omnichord. // All songs written by The Lostines. // Co-produced by Ross Farbe, Sam Doores, and The Lostines. Recorded and mixed by Ross Farbe. Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering. Recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana at The Tigermen Den and Deslonde Studios. Fiddles recorded at Valcour Records in Eunice, Louisiana. Photography by Horatio Baltz. Album art by Adam Zeek. Special thanks to Baby Stingray & Ernest. // Guest musicians and friends in order of appearance: Kelli Jones on fiddle on After Party, Southwest Texas; Joel Savoy on fiddle on After Party, Southwest Texas; John James on lap steel on After Party; Jordan Odom on guitar on Come Back To My Arms; Casey McAllister on keys on Southwest Texas; Peter J. Bowling on viola on Frankie & Eva, Last Night; Thomas Bowling on violin on Frankie & Eva, Last Night; Sam Hollier on cello on Frankie & Eva, Last Night; Sam Gelband on vocals on Last Night. // Although recorded in the band’s hometown of New Orleans, Meet The Lostines — the full-length debut from songwriters Casey Jane Reece-Kaigler and Camille Wind Weatherford — is an album that charts its own geography. This is where the swampland meets the sock hop. Where golden-age rock & roll crosses paths with old-school country. Where timeless American roots music drops its anchor and climbs skyward, finding some balance between the earthy and the otherworldly. // At the center of that sound are the entwined voices of Casey Jane and Camille, two longtime friends whose songs explore the uncharted territory between genres. There’s rarely a melody on Meet The Lostines that the two don’t sing together, stacking their voices into lush harmonies that recall the girl groups of the 1960s. Don’t mistake Meet The Lostines for a retro project, though. It’s a modern album that exists out of time, filled with songs about heartbreak, old relationships, new beginnings, and vulnerability. // “Our songwriting process is like a therapy session,” says Camille. “We’ll show our ideas to each other, work out our harmonies, and then bring the song to our band so they can add their influences, too. When it comes to creating the full sound of the Lostines, the band — and New Orleans as a whole — has a huge influence on that.” // Before relocating to New Orleans as young adults, Camille and Casey Jane were both raised by musical families in the Pacific Northwest. “My parents taught me to play guitar, and I grew up going to fiddle camps, too,” says Casey Jane, an Oregon native whose vocal harmonies can be heard on albums across the New Orleans americana-verse. Meanwhile, Camille grew up in Portland, where her mother regularly attended a weekly jam session with several family friends. Camille began playing guitar as a teenager and eventually headed to New Orleans, meeting up with artists like Sam Doores, Riley Downing, and Pat Reedy along the way. // “New Orleans was a magnet for both of us,” says Casey Jane. As new residents of the city, the two musicians crossed paths at a campfire hosted by a mutual friend. A spark was lit as soon as they sang together, with their voices meshing together seamlessly. Inspired, they formed their own band — one that would salute their adopted hometown of New Orleans, but also reach far beyond the city’s borders for inspiration — and got to work, unveiling their sound with EPs like The Lostines and Heart of Night before turning a new page with Meet the Lostines. // Meet the Lostines is more than a full-length introduction. It’s an invitation to enter the Lostines’ world: a place where baritone guitars are coated in spring reverb, where orchestral strings swoon and sway, where Cajun fiddle solos share the spotlight with Theremin and upright piano. Many of these songs take place at night, and Meet the Lostines unfolds like a soundtrack to the wee small hours. “After the Party” takes the listener for a midnight walk along the levy overlooking the Mississippi River and the Industrial Canal, with fiddle and pedal steel guitar providing the soundtrack. “Neon Lights” looks back at an overnight drive from Los Angeles to Denver, with a bouncing chorus that’s every bit as luminous as the title suggests. “Full Moon Night” twinkles like a sky full of stars, rooted in a storyline about desire, longing, and the lure of a past relationship. // With contributions from some of New Orleans’ brightest lights, including Sam Doores (The Deslondes), Ross Farbe (Videoage), Howe Pearson and Gina Leslie (too many to count), Meet the Lostines is also the work of a community. Skyway Man camped out at the recording studio for a week, playing multiple instruments on multiple songs. K.C. Jones and Joel Savoy contributed dueling Cajun fiddles to “Southwest Texas” and “After the Party.” Jordan Odom played electric guitar on “Come Back To My Arms,” Casey McAllister played keys on “Southwest Texas,” and Ross pulled double-duty as the album’s lead guitarist and engineer in addition to mixing and co-producing the record with Sam and The Lostines. Casey Jane and Camille may have been the captains, but this was a team effort. // “We are fortunate to be surrounded by friends who are incredible musicians and songwriters, and we all influence one another,” says Casey Jane. “A lot of our bandmates are in our friends’ bands, as well, and there’s something that feels very cohesive about that, because there’s so much collaboration.” Collaboration. That’s the glue that holds Meet The Lostines together. It’s an album that bridges the gaps between genres, created by two songwriters who’re happy to build their own world. ]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Marion Merritt thank you for being out Guest Producer on WMM
Marion Merritt is founder of Records With Merritt, a small, independent, minority owned business, at 1614 Westport Rd., in KCMO. More info at: http://www.recordswithmerritt.com
Next week on Wednesday, June 5, is my birthday! For this special Wednesday MidDay Medley live radio broadcast, I will share tracks from some of my favorite recordings representing different seasons of my life. I will spin influential recordings from: The Beatles, The Carpenters, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, The B-52’s, Prince, The Ramones, David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, The Smiths, The Clash, Patti Smith, LaBelle, Joni Mitchell, Iris DeMent, Mavis Staples, The Magnetic Fields, and Krystle Warren. // At 11:00, Peregrine Honig and Izzy Vivas will share details about The West 18th Street Fashion Show happening Saturday, June 8, at 7:30pm at 116 W 18th Street, KCMO. This year’s theme is Summer in Slumberland. More Information at: west18thstreetfashionshow.com
THANK YOU to our incredible KKFI Staff; Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers, KKFI Accounting & Administration – Shaina Littler
This radio station is more than the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of hardworking people, unselfishly setting aside ego, to work for the greater good of community building and the gigantic goal of keeping our airwaves free, non-commercial, and open to all! Congratulations and thank you to all programmers & volunteers who went the extra effort to keep our station alive.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information. Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org