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.
Judy Mills, Thanks for being with us on WMM
Judy Mills’ Favorite Musical Releases of 2024
1 – Shabaka – ‘Perceive it’s Beauty, Acknowledge it’s Grace’ / Impulse / April 12, 2024
2. Nala Sinephro – Endlessness / Warp / September 13, 2024
3. Jessica Pratt – ‘Here in the Pitch’ / Mexican Summer / May 3, 2024
4. Arooj Aftab – Night Reign / Verve / May 31, 2024
5. Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown / Domino / May 17, 2024
10:34
- 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
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Show #1071
Wednesday MidDay Medley 