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10 years ago
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Yes, we’re almost two weeks into 2015, so please forgive the lateness of this list—we’re just now recovering from a great New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day spent with the Bunker and 718 Sessions crews. But it’s never too late to support the home team, right? In the underground-clubbing realm, the fact that there’s been so much great music created by Gotham artists and/or released on local labels over the past twelve months is another sign of the scene’s strength—and really, we would could have made this a Forty Fave NYC Tracks list without breaking a sweat. But, for now, let’s go with the five below—click on the images to hear the tracks. Enjoy!
Siren
“Gauntlet”
Compost
There’s a windswept feel to “Gauntlet, ”the long-awaited first fruits of a studio partnership between Metro Area’s Darshan Jesrani and the Disques Sinthomme label’s Dennis Kane. It might be the majestic guitar chords, or the wailing vocals (from Apollo Heights’ Daniel Chavis), or the cut’s spacious arrangement and willingness to take its time to get wherever it’s going. Whatever it is, the song is something of an overlooked modern classic. And holy crap, does that pumping bassline hit the spot! There’s a fine remix from London groove machine Ray Mang that tightens up the song’s feel a bit—he basically houses it up, toughening up the rhythm and accentuating the acid bleep, giving it an added sense of urgency. But for our money, the sprawling original does the trick just fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?[...]
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10 years ago
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Were you at this past weekend’s Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival? If not, you missed borough-load of great parties, soundtracked by scores of brilliant artists and DJs. One of the best was the Rinsed closing party, held in a Bushwick warehouse space and featuring guest sets from the inimitable Detroit producer Omar-S, the always-worth-catching Chrissy and the Basement Floor label’s Turtle Bugg. In case you’re not familiar with Rinsed, the soiree has featured iconic artists and DJs along the lines of Inner City, MK, MJ Cole, Juan Atkins and Todd Edwards; stars of slightly more recent vintage like Jackmaster, Jacques Greene, Ejeca, Ben Pearce and Chris Malinchak; local players like Juan MacLean, Justin Strauss, Morgan Geist, Populette and Aurora Halal; and a list of outliers that includes Actress, NGUZUNGUZU, Ital, Sepalcure and Jaw Jam. Oh, and a bunch of other people, too—not bad for a shindig that, when it debuted four years ago, hosted about a hundred people in the loft space above Public Assembly. Nowadays, resident spinners Dan Wender and Blacky II, along with Rinsed’s indispensable “visual aesthetician” A.Pop, are among those running the show in Kings County. We asked the core gang, Brooklynites all, what they loved about their home borough, and here are their wide-ranging replies.
A.Pop
Some things I love about BK:
That you can find cappuccino Lays chips in Bushwick, the best slice of your life in Midwood, 24-hour amazing tacos in Sunset Park, or blue ribbon[...]
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10 years ago
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In the fall of 2012, Nasrene Haj and Mila Pinigin formed the Creators Collective. At the time Haj and Pinigin, who had recently graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, were interested in creating a collaborative space in which other artistic individuals could come together to network, generate discussion and develop projects and events which challenged the status quo. In the two years since the Creators Collective was founded, Jeremie Gluckman joined the organization as Research Director while Haj has remained at the helm guiding the Creators Collective forward, always seeking out new and innovative ways to engage the arts on a micro and macro scale.
I spoke with Haj who is the Director and Co-Founder of the Creators Collective, about what it is like being a working artist in Brooklyn today, what challenges she faced starting an organization, and what changes she has seen in the Brooklyn arts community having grown up here
Anni Irish: How was the Creators Collective formed? And what was your intent for this organization?
Nasrene Haj: I founded The Creators Collective with one of my best friends from college, Mila Pinigin. One evening, while studying abroad in Italy our junior year, we were having dinner and started throwing around ideas for projects we’d like to work on together. We thought about how amazing it would be to create a small collective in Brooklyn that would engage these various projects with other friends and community members. A few months after gradu[...]
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12 years ago
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Mixed Greens returns this month with a new date, but you can expect the same fresh, diverse music, brilliant performance art and thought-provoking video installations you've come to expect at AFP events. Plus, The Paper Box is in the coolest neighborhood in Brooklyn and the tacos can't be beat!
What more can you ask for on a Saturday night?
Our original opening band for the evening, The Disappointment have another commitment, but El Pueblo has been added to the ticket. They're a fantastic reggae, dub band (latin and jazz influences) who are known for their powerful performances. We are sure El Pueblo will get the night started properly.
Not walking the line between na trapeze, epic-symphonica, and electropunk, the music duo Muj is a mish-mash of musical styles. In their performances, they are known for playful improvisations and unexpected intense instrumentations. Muj segues seamlessly from ferocious, soaring guitar jams to moving melodic departures. They are now working on a feature-length documentary including an original soundtrack.
When The Coffin Daggers take the stage, get ready for an all out assault on your senses. A staple on the New York live music scene, The Coffin Daggers forge a new sound that will both overwhelm and delight the senses. The NY based surf-punk, instrumental rock band has released a full length album and two singles to critical acclaim.
The super-talented, creative, architect, performance artist Caridad Sola has rightfully become the r[...]
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12 years ago
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Saturdays late press and artist information..
Morning Fuzz: In 2011, the Brooklyn based band released their second EP titled, "Shadows in the Rearview" to rave reviews. They recently performed at Spike Hill and have some dates coming up next month in the midwest.
Thunda Vida: With four original albums released since the band formed in 2006, Thunda Vida has been bringing roots reggae to the masses across NYC for over 5 years.
Mariami: She's been featured by Indie Music Universe and recognized by Skope Magazine as an "Artist to Watch." The Georgian born soul, R&B, jazz artist Mariami, immigrated to NYC with her family when she was 7 years old.
Caridad Sola: The Cuban-American multi-media visual artist has performed at several AFP events over the past year including Fountain Art Fair, Miami and New York as well as the "Brooklyn Beat Festival" in June. Although you never quite know what to expect, Caridad always leaves you wanting more.
Sindy Butz: Sindy is a Berlin based visual and performance artist currently residing in New York City. Sindy likes to create discourse between fashion, science and technology in her conceptual work.
Cat Del Buono: The daughter of Italian immigrants, Cat is a video installation artist whose work focuses on how society defines beauty. She incorporates performance, interactive video, and humor as a way to engage her viewers.
Andy Slate: Andy is a highly praised DJ/Producer currently residing in Miami Beach, Florida. His recent product[...]
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12 years ago
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Day 2
As we arrived on Saturday, we found our friend Gilf in the early stages of her impressive Wall(Russ) mural in the art garden. We're so thankful for her hard work, as she completed the mural in about 6 hours! Saturday's musical festivities began with a set from DJ Jago. Jago is a young man who we've had the pleasure of seeing develop over the last few years after he won AFP's Clash of the Artists competitions at age 13. Jake has developed a forward, high energy sound that appeals to anyone who likes to shake it on the dance floor. Taking the stage around 7:30pm, Minnie and Aya delivered our first live music performance of the day, and they did not disappoint. Their smooth, soulful sounds were the perfect start to a great night of music. Next up, was long-time friend of AFP and talented DJ Sal Leone. Sal treated our guests to a mix of deep and classic grooves as we got ready for Lachi and Meridian Gold to perform. In the art garden, Caridad Sola was preparing for her performance piece, "Deliver us from Eve-Il" which morphs the urban legend of razor blades in apples with the story of the forbidden fruit and original sin. Caridad has a way of enticing people into her world, and then completely turning the tables on what's expected. Sherri Aliberti's "Green Cocoon" performance piece was also a crowd pleaser, while Iliana Quander's interactive "Trash Couture" installation involved some unexpected additions. We'll just say that the takers likely puffed away as they st[...]
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12 years ago
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After some much-needed rest, we're back at work here at AFP, and we're more than ecstatic about this past weekend's Brooklyn Beat Festival! I'm not sure where to start, but the overall theme and feedback from the weekend was quality. Personally, and this is something that is always a focus for us is diversity. Diversity is always a big part of what we do. One of the goals of AFP has always been to be inclusive and open to all art and artists. Art for Progress is not only about providing opportunities and exposure for artists. AFP is also about providing access to the arts and turning people on to new art forms. In other words, expanding and growing the arts in the community. I think we achieved all of this over three days/nights at The Paper Box.
Day One
Friday's festivities began with an exceptional performance from El Pueblo. I had the pleasure of talking to some of the members of the band, and they are also educators and involved in charitable projects. I hope we have the opportunity to work with them again. Our next performance was from Redheadphone. We really enjoyed their international collaboration of sounds and world styles. Speaking of which, the youthful and prophetic School ov Thought contributed to the increased energy in the room, as Brett from Boundless reminded us of Chuck Brown, go-go music and his eclectic style. But, Push Method took the stage with a level of energy that was unmatched and their message came through strong, particularly when they perf[...]
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