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late-to-the-party-81 · 2 years

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The music that we make

AN: I made the mood board for this 'verse last year for @firefly-in-darkness' moodboard challenge. Then, @the-slumberparty posted their week four writer challenge - Across the Universe. Having just written an alternate universe fic as part of the week three challenge I had to come up with as another one. And then I remembered this! Hope you enjoy.

Beta’d by @lunarbuck

Dividers by @firefly-graphics and mood board/banners by me

Masterlist

Summary: Bucky Barnes is the handsome, but focussed Conductor of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra. You are the newly placed first chair Violinist. Your love affair with him is a secret, for fears of favouritism. You may be the musician, but he’s the one who plays you like an instrument.

Relationship: Conductor Bucky Barnes x First Chair Violinist Reader

WC: 3.7k

CW: Dickish behaviour, Excessive alcohol consumption, bit of fluff, Smut (Oral -F receiving, Edging, Overstimulation, PinV sex, Rough sex, Aftercare), Dom/Sub dynamics (‘Sir’ kink), Potential Power Imbalance, Some angst, Musical references.

The last strains of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 faded away. There was a moment of heavy silence and then the audience burst into applause. Your heart was beating hard in your chest, your head dizzy from being carried away by the music. No matter how many times you heard or played the New World Symphony, it was still as magical as it had been when you’d first heard it as a child.

When Marisa, the lead oboeist, had played her solo, you swore you’d felt a tear run down your face. And the melancholy minor key of the flautists, the rousing harmonies of the brass, then you and your fellow strings entered, bringing something light and ethereal. The layers of symphonic pieces spoke to your soul in a way no other music did. How did small black dots on a page somehow encompass the entire complexity of the human condition? The sadness? The joy? The anger? The passion?

The audience certainly agreed. They were all on their feet.

Your eyes flicked up to where he stood; your conductor, James Barnes. Up and coming, somewhat of an enfant terrible in both conductor circles and orchestral circles alike. He worked hard. He worked his musicians harder. Always trying to get to the central core of the piece and evoke all those emotions tangled up in its composition. And he was full of emotions himself. All of you in the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra had seen the joy and the anger. But only you had seen the sadness and the passion.

The sadness was when you’d gone to see him in his office after a particularly difficult rehearsal that had left several orchestra members on the verge of tears, and as first chair, the one he’d selected when he’d started his tenure, you were the conduit between him and them. The passion came a bit later.

Tap tap tap

You lightly knocked on the door. Today’s rehearsal had been bad. Barnes had obviously been in a bad mood before you’d even started, walking in with a face like thunder and barely talking before tapping his baton on his podium. It had only gone downhill from then. The flautists’ timing was off, the lead horn was flat, and the cellists obviously didn’t grasp the depth and nuances of the composition.

At the end of the session, he’d practically stormed out, leaving most of you in shock.

“He can’t treat us like that…”

“I realised I was flat and was re-tuning before he even said anything…”

“He didn’t have to be so awful about it…”

You sighed as you realised what you had to do.

You listened nervously outside of the door, waiting for the invitation to enter. It didn’t come. You knocked again.

Tap tap tap

“You either want to come in or not. Commit to it, for fuck’s sake.” His angry shout penetrated the door and filled the hallway.

Fine! If that’s the way he wanted it…

Bang bang bang

You put all your strength into the knock, wincing a bit and shaking your hand at the pain in your knuckles.

“Come in!”

You opened the door and stepped through, not sure what you were expecting to find, but it wasn’t this. It wasn’t finding your erstwhile leader sitting on the floor, back to the wall, bottle of bourbon in hand, in a room that looked like it had been ransacked. Then you looked at him properly. His usually well-coiffed hair was in disarray as if he’d been pulling and tugging at it. His face was flushed, eyes red-rimmed, and cheeks wet. Somehow, his pathetic state did nothing to detract from how attractive he was.

You immediately dropped to your knees in front of him and plucked the half-empty bottle from his grasp. He flailed, trying to reclaim it, but you kept it out of reach.

“What the actual fuck, Barnes? I’m guessing from all of this,” you gestured to the room and then to him, “that there’s a particular reason for you acting like a complete douche earlier?” You stood back up, placed the bottle on the far side of the room, and snagged a bottle of water from the shelf behind his desk. You held it out to him, and he took it from you sloppily.

Despite your intentions to rip him a new one when you’d arrived at his office, now all you wanted to do was comfort him and try and find out what was wrong. You slid down the wall next to him, and he turned to look at you, his eyes still glazed and unfocused.

“You gonna tell me what happened or what?”

His lip trembled, and he fell forward, his head resting in your lap as he started to sob. Without thinking, you started to stroke his hair. How long you were there, you weren’t sure but you eventually realised that he’d fallen asleep. Carefully you snagged his sweater from where it was discarded on the floor, folded it up, and managed to slip it under his head as you slid your legs out from under him. There was a throw on the small couch and you dragged that off, placed it over his slumbering form and, with a small backwards glance, left.

Barnes was a vastly different man at the next rehearsal. He still looked as though something was eating him, but he was kinder and more forgiving, well for a conductor at least. He didn’t mention his previous behaviour, and no one else brought it up. Conductors were known to be volatile, and everyone just chalked it up to one of those things, and they assumed you’d talked some sense into him. But you knew better.

When the rehearsal came to an end, Barnes walked over to you. He watched for a moment as you loosened your bow and placed it into the case above your heirloom violin.

“Ummm, I was wondering if I could talk to you. In my office. When you’re done?” You gave him a small nod, taking in how tired he looked. You wondered how much sleep he’d actually gotten after you left him. He flashed a brief smile, and you couldn’t take your eyes off him as he walked out of the rehearsal room.

Ten minutes later and you’d waved off your colleagues, telling them you needed to check in with Barnes about the upcoming season. This time when you rapped on his door, it opened almost immediately. You were taken aback by the smile that greeted you because such a thing on Barnes’ face was so uncommon.

He opened the door wide and stepped to the side, gesturing for you to enter. As you did so, you noticed how it bore little resemblance to how it had looked on your last visit. Everything was definitely in its rightful place now.

“What can I help you with, Sir?”

At the honorific, his lips twitched. He didn’t say anything at first, but walked over to the sideboard and poured two short measures of his remaining bourbon. You realised he’s seen the flicker of consternation that flashed across your face when he shot you another wry smile.

“Don’t worry, this is the only one today, and that’s how I plan on it staying.” He strode back towards you, miles away from the drunken, pathetic mess of your last interaction. His moves were cat-like, predatory, and you were reminded about how attractive you found him. “But no, there’s nothing you can help me with - I invited you here to say thank you. Thank you for being so kind to me when I absolutely didn’t deserve it. I was anticipating the backlash, but you didn’t give it.” He took a sip of his drink, and your eyes were drawn to the movement of his throat as he did so. You felt a rush of heat suffuse your body and took a sip of your own. However, the burn of the liquor did nothing to cool you.

“And thank you for just staying with me, and not probing. I’m used to dealing with everything alone, and you made me realise that maybe I don’t have to all the time.” He looked down for a moment, his lips curling up into a soft smile as if caught in a happy memory. “I can’t remember the last time someone stroked my hair until I fell asleep and then tucked me in. It was probably when I was a child.”

You wished he hadn’t said that because the way you were thinking about him was definitely not motherly.

“Oh, and you don’t need to call me ‘Sir’. James, or even Bucky, is absolutely fine, especially when the others aren’t here.” He finished his drink and placed the empty glass down on his desk. Another step towards you and you were practically toe to toe, forcing you to tilt your head to keep eye contact. And what eyes they were. Ice on a clear day, but also sometimes sea mist, swirling in the sky. You swore you could write your own symphony about his eyes alone.

His long, slim fingers, which held the baton with such precision, plucked your glass from your fingers and placed it… somewhere. You weren’t paying attention. No, your attention was on the tip of his tongue as it peeked out from between his lips and swiped the residual bourbon from them.

“Unless - and I hope I’m not reading this wrong - you’d like to call me ‘Sir’?” You heard a strange noise, only to realise it had come from you, a sort of strangled moan. Your heart was beating in your ears, and your lungs were burning. You should move, but you didn’t want to. How could you? James Barnes was standing in your personal space, his gaze fixed on you, asking if you wanted to call him ‘Sir’. You should say something. Something meaningful, or at least coherent.

“Yes. Sir.” The words left your lips like a sigh. Okay, it was nowhere near as meaningful or coherent as you’d wanted, but you no longer cared because he was kissing you, his hands cupping your face, and your own hands were clinging onto his shirt lest you fall on your ass with how jelly-like your legs were. His tongue traced the seam of your lips, and you opened them to let him in. You were ready to be devoured by him, to go down in flames and be sacrificed at his altar in honour of him.

You didn’t even realise he’d steered you around the room until the back of your legs made contact with his sofa. The only reason you didn’t stumble was due to your grip on his clothing. Barnes urged you down, his larger body hovering over yours as his lips broke contact and trailed down your jaw and neck. Your sharp, indrawn breath seemed to spur him on as he laved your flesh with kisses and soft nibbles.

Bucky’s hands had left your face too, roaming down your body over your clothes, and your hands worked on their own to return the favour. They dipped to his waist, before working their way under his shirt to feel the warm firmness of his skin. You were burning up with need. With passion.

“Please, please, please…” His teeth scraped lightly along the column of your throat before he raised his head to look at you again. Your fingers dug into the flesh of his lower back, urging him onwards to wherever he wanted to go, wherever he wanted to take you.

“You want more, sweetheart? You crave it, don’t you?” The backs of his knuckles drifted down your cheek. “You’re my Allegra, aren’t you? Going full pace, excitedly, and without worry. I know what you need.” His lips captured yours again, but with an intense hunger. His hands worked efficiently on your clothes, and it was a matter of moments before you were bare beneath his gaze. His eyes roved over every curve, every swell and dimple. Every small scar and stretch mark. You were not ashamed of your body, but under his singular attention you felt overwhelmed, your eyes closing in response.

“Do not hide from me, Allegra.” You felt the trail of his lips across your stomach, the light graze of his stubble. “You will keep your eyes open for me.” Despite the heaviness weighing them down, you forced your eyelids to rise. There was no ice left in his eyes now, only dark wells of lust pulling you under. You kept watching him as he moved lower, dropping to his knees and nudging his shoulders between your thighs.

“You will watch, my little songbird. You will watch as I taste you and learn you. And you will ask me before you come. Your orgasms are mine to bestow. Do you understand?”

“Yes…” You breathed out your response. He raised an eyebrow, signalling that he wanted more from you. “Sir. Yes, Sir. I understand.”

“Good girl…say red if it gets too much.” His voice was deep, and rumbled up his throat like a purr. You had little time to think about it as his mouth curved into a smile, then he dipped his head lower, and…..ohh!

It took all your willpower not to let your eyes close again under his erotic onslaught. His own sparkled knowingly as his lips roved over your pussy, making good on his word to discover all there was about you. His tongue, which had explored and claimed your mouth, slotted between your folds and swirled around your clit before moving down to dip inside your weeping channel. Your fingers clutched for purchase, one on the fabric of the small couch, part of you registering it was the throw you’d covered him with, and the other in his brown hair.

“Oh, God! Fuck!”

He fucked you with his tongue, his nose pressing up against that most sensitive part of you as his hands cradled the backs of your thighs, with your legs over his shoulders so he could move in even closer. You’d never had anyone come close to making you feel like you were feeling now, untethered and a slave to currents you had no control over. There was a tightness to your belly, like a string wound too tight.

“Please, Sir. I need to come.” He shook his head slightly, his eyes never leaving yours. You whimpered, and he granted you a small mercy by changing his focus, sliding his lips back up your pussy to wrap around your clit and suckle it gently. You cried out, eyelids fluttering before you forced them open again at a small pinch to your thigh.

Bucky then moved his hands, one placed at the base of your spine, holding you up and open, and as he continued to torture you with his mouth, he traced around the opening of your pussy with one finger before sliding it into you. Your body shook, clenching as you tried to hold off your orgasm.

“Please!” You’d never begged for anything before in your life. He broke contact briefly to growl out “No” and then returned within a heartbeat, his finger sliding in and out of your wetness. When he added a second, your legs trembled again, and you bit your lip. In response, Bucky grazed his teeth over your clit, forcing your attention on him and he shook his head again. It took you a moment to realise that he wanted to hear you, hear your cries of ecstasy.

“Bucky, Bucky, Bucky, Bucky. Oh God! Please, please, please!”

The bastard crooked his fingers, massaging your sweet spot, and tears started to roll down your cheeks at the effort you were using to control your body as it was swamped in sensation.

“I can’t! Please! I can’t, I can’t. Sir! Need to come. Need to come.”

His eyes bored into yours, holding you on the precipice, and you swore that the word he’d told you was climbing up your throat.

Then he nodded.

And you screamed.

Your back arched, and you could no longer keep your eyes open. The world was both white and black against your eyelids, complete static, as you felt electricity run through your body. The hair on your arms was on end, every nerve in your body sending conflicting signals to your brain. Up was down and down was up and you couldn’t breathe, but were also dizzy from too much oxygen…

You must have blacked out because when you opened your eyes, you were wrapped in the throw, and Bucky was squished on the sofa with you, your head on his lap as he gently rubbed his hand up and down your arm.

“Hey, there you are, sweetheart.” His smile was warm, and you broke into one of your own in response.

“Hey.” You stretched your arms above your head and flexed your toes. “Oh my God, I feel wiped out and…” A thought suddenly struck you. “What about you?” You moved your head and realised that ‘little’ Barnes was still half awake.

“Don’t worry about me. This was all about you. Trust me, you letting me do that was enough for now.”

You smiled coyly. “For now, eh? Does that mean you envisage us spending more time together?” He flushed, so different from the dominant persona he’d just displayed to you. He rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Well, I wouldn’t say no. But, like only if you want to. No pressure or anything.”

You nibbled at your lower lip, thinking. “We’d have to keep it between us. The others wouldn’t like it. They’ll think you only gave me first chair because I agreed to sleep with you.”

Bucky nodded, leant down, and kissed you gently.

That was the beginning of your secret relationship.

Somehow you’d both kept it quiet, you and Barnes managing to maintain a professional relationship in the rehearsal room before you’d retreat to his office where he’d take you apart before putting you back together again. The first night he fucked you with his cock, you lost count of the number of times you came, and by the time Bucky finally allowed himself to spill inside the tight clutch of your pussy, you were like a rag doll, just allowing him to move you up and down his cock, like a living sex toy.

It was evident from the first that he loved to hear you, loved the noises that you made. It was as though he had made it his mission to try different things with you, just to find out what new noises he could drag from you. And you had never thought you’d crave the submission he wanted from you, but giving over all the power and control was freeing. Trusting him completely brought you peace. But now the season was at a close, and you wondered what that would mean for the pair of you. Would the passion fade away without the music there to draw you together? Or would you still continue to make your own private symphonies?

The audience was still applauding, and Bucky was taking his bow. He then gestured to you, a broad smile on his face and you stood, taking your own, before the pair of you turned to the rest of the orchestra, encouraging them to rise and receive the accolade as well. You all deserved it - you’d all worked hard. You smiled until your face ached and until the adrenaline started to subside, leaving a strange melancholy feeling in your stomach.

You started the lead-off, guiding your fellow musicians backstage to where you would all clean your instruments and put them back in their cases. Some of you were then going to go out to a bar and toast a season well done.

“You got a minute?” Barnes was beside you, face neutral, and you schooled your expression into something similar.

“Sure.” You closed the latches on your violin case and then followed him down the corridor. He stopped, looked around in each direction, before taking your hand and then drawing you through a door. As soon as it shut, his lips were on yours, and your hands were in his hair.

“I need you, Allegra.” His body pressed up against yours, his erection pushing into your stomach.

“You have me, Sir…” It was the truth. He had you for as long as he wanted you. You didn’t know how long that would be, but you’d enjoy it while it lasted.

Bucky deftly opened the fly of his pants, pushed your long black skirt up and your panties to the side. You hooked your leg around his hip, opening yourself, and he plunged into your wet warmth in almost one stroke, swallowing your shouts and whimpers with his mouth. He slammed in and out of you like a man possessed, and all you could do was hold on.

“I want to take you home, Allegra. No more trysts in offices and store cupboards. I need you on my bed where I can really take you apart. And I need you in it in the mornings when I wake. No more living this life pianissimo. I need it and you, forte. What do you say?”

Your heart soared and the sounds of a thousand symphonies filled your ears.

“Yes, Sir!”

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#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes au #Orchestra au #navy and roo's sleepover #bucky barnes x y/n #late writes

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rainydawgradioblog · 7 months

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Interview with Samba Jean-Baptiste

The other day I came across an article about AI bots mass-releasing auto-generated music on Spotify under different names. A concept as democratic as “unfettered access to music by way of streaming services” was bound to be corrupted by bad actors. Artists are consigned to grueling tour schedules in order to make a living because streaming pays them in Monopoly money. Pitchfork is gone and the writing is on the wall for Bandcamp, because curation is now being handled by algorithms. It’s important to keep in mind that any artist releasing music today has to navigate a culture in which there’s more out there than ever before, it's all at the tip of one’s fingers, and everything except for the music itself is worse than it used to be.

The topic of how the internet has shaped music came up frequently in my discussion with Samba Jean-Baptiste, an independent artist out of Brooklyn. I discovered his work after seeing Dean Blunt’s music video to “Felony” (his best song? I’m ready to make the argument), and the Algorithm decided I might like a video titled “talk / pleasure.” Behind a camera that might be a flip phone, somone offers Jean-Baptiste directions: “Wait, look off that way, and start the song. Then just start doing your shit.” The music plays and we hear Samba’s subdued voice over acoustic guitar strumming. He crosses a wide urban boulevard. All of it is easy and unforced.

youtube

“Talk / Pleasure” was released on Cardinal, a project that’s difficult to categorize and beautiful and disarming. Jean-Baptiste chiefly uses acoustic guitar and his voice to create stripped-back art pop, as if the Young Marble Giants grew up listening to Stereolab instead of Lou Reed. The relationship between skilled yet raw guitar playing and more attuned peripheral production toes a line between an open mic performance and sound leaking from someone else’s headphones. There’s some really incredible interplay between organic and auto tuned vocals on “Windows.” The string and warped piano accompaniments on “A Wish Slanted” perfectly compliment Jean-Baptiste’s rhythmic strumming. It seems like he’s drawing from so much, because he’s had access to (and has seeked out) so much. The internet has given us windows into every corner of musical expression imaginable. If you’re an artist, how do you reckon with that, how does it find its way into your art? I didn’t want to put words in Jean-Baptiste’s mouth, so I reached out to see if he’d be interested in an interview for the Blawg.

He was kind enough to agree back in early December; we spoke over the phone for about 40 minutes. I think he was playing Dave Bixby in the background. In addition to the internet’s impact on the music landscape, he touched on song-writing, looping, and Veeze. Hope you all enjoy it. Please, check out Cardinal on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, and Bandcamp (before it’s subscription based).

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Yeah, I’m 22, about to be 23, I live in Bedstuy, Brooklyn, I cook at a Japanese Breakfast restaurant that’s also in Brooklyn. That’s kinda what I do four days a week. I grew up in Massachusetts playing classical music, me and my sister, I played Cello, my sister played violin and we grew up playing in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. That’s where I gained a lot of interest in music, because when I wasn’t playing cello, everyone would be showing off like, what pop song [they] could play on the piano, and from there everything trailed into, you know, writing a little song about a crush or something when I was a kid.

My family is from Haiti. That’s important to me. In middle school I used to just make beats so I was really into dubstep and a bunch of stuff on youtube. I was always big on youtube, listening to people make beats at home, and then soundcloud blew up, which gave so much access to random nooks and crannies to the country and world for that matter. Got into songwriting a little bit. Used to make a lot of different sounding stuff to now. Picked up guitar, somehow, and I guess that landed me to where I’m at now.

Songs like “Better Now” from Cardinal feature a lot of looping. Do you find that to be a big part of your process?

It’s funny because looping, from making beats in middle school, looping is such a big part of it. You make something, you loop it, you progress from there. But by the time I realized I could be playing actual instruments in my recordings, I still had that mentality. I’ll record something and think: “this part is great, I’m just gonna loop it.” And it doesn’t feel unethical. Cause for me, for a long time, looping other people’s music was like, “you’re going to hell, you’re not making music” but somehow my eyes have opened up and my ears have opened up to so many new ways of sound creation, rather than seeing it like “you have to create from the sound up like you’re fucking Beethoven.” You can hear something and make something out of that and that’s ok. It’s not yours, it's everyone’s.

Looping is really interesting too because everytime you hear something or see something you can see something new about it. There’s albums I’ve listened to kajillions of times and it’s like I’m learning something new about it every listen. The same thing can happen with a simple loop, it’ll just be new information, newly perceived information each time. So yeah loops are super important to me.

When you’re writing a song, do you have an idea of what you want the finished product to be, or does it evolve naturally over the course of the entire process?

Definitely the latter. That’s funny I was talking to my dad *today* that when I make songs, or work on an idea, I have to like make the whole song, just so that when I go back to these drafts, I can see the full blueprint. [...] It’s definitely a process. If I write a song in one sitting, I’ll kinda just… show a friend. That’s not the stuff I like releasing.

How did Cardinal become more acoustic than your previous album, Pandora?

It wasn’t so much a conscious decision to be like, I have to be different from the last record, but it was a conscious decision in my process. Because Pandora was made while I was still primarily recording through my laptop, and like, there’s guitar on there, but it’s all pitched up, and my voice isn’t in my natural cadence. But in the same way I realized I could use my instruments and play them in my recordings, I was like damn. That feels natural. I can also just sing in my natural low voice, I don’t have to be reaching for something that I’m not. So it sort of just trailed in that direction naturally.

I was wondering if playing the cello made picking up guitar easier, or otherwise informs your guitar playing? You said you “stumbled on guitar,” which sounds like a bigger undertaking than you make it out to be.

Yeah, picking up guitar was pretty simple for me because of that knowledge, but like, there’s six strings on a guitar [compared to cello’s four], so I’ve found new ways to approach an instrument, because there’s a learning curve there. A lot of my songs, if you listen to them, it’s all the same chords, because I only know so much, and sometimes I’m fucking lazy and I know certain chords and they make me feel good enough.

Also it's funny because some songs are written on different guitars. “I Could Have Cried” was written on a guitar with five strings (the high E is gone) because my roommate didn’t finish stringing it. The other one I got in London, that one plays “Talk/Pleasure” and “A Wish Slanted” and it has four strings because two of them snapped. Each weird situation lends itself to a new creation, which is like a huge part of my process anyway. Error is so acceptable, if not sought out.

The stream of consciousness of it? Less premeditated?

Right. There’s a mix too though. I love when records have noise added after cause that’s real. You can only listen to so much perfect, cookie cutter stuff.

When you were making Cardinal, were there any major songs or artists that you took inspiration from?

Nah I had no influences, I came up with this shit. I’m playing, of course, of course, there’s so many. I feel like a lot of people are finding my music through like Dean Blunt youtube wormhole, and he’s for sure one of my big influences, like all my influences are like 30+ year old black people doing their thing. But the main influence is music that sounds like wind, water, grass, and that all relates to guitar.

I wish I had a list of my influences, cause on this record there’s a lot you know? I had a lot of people in my life showing me new things, because I’m so closed minded often. And I like to try to surround myself with people that will show me something new. A lot of inspiration is what’s new to me.

I think wind, water, grass sums it up great. Wrapping up, would you have any recommendations for me and the good people of Rainy Dawg Radio as a whole? Movies, music, books, etc?

Hell yeah. I just finished this book called Your Love is Not Good, by Johanna Hedver… Movies? I’m still learning about movies. Two or three things I know about her. I’m into Jean Luc Godard, that slice of life stuff where nothing happens, cause it’s just like looping music to me. Music? I’ll just give you what I’ve been into recently, cause I have huge influences but they’re probably everybody’s. I’ve been listening to this song called “Tea in Bed” by Blessed and Blushing. That shit’s incredible. I’ve been listening to this song called “Everybody Knows” by Glucose. I’ve been listening to a Serge Gainsbourg record, The History of Melody Nelson. I’ve been listening to Veeze, you know, Ganger. There’s so much shit. There’s so much out there. Michael White is this great jazz violinist, I’d definitely recommend him. Forma Norte, that guy’s incredible.

Who’s that, Forma Norte?

Yeah, you know what’s funny is I found him on my “related artists,” online, and sometimes I find stuff I really hate through that. But sometimes I think “damn this guy’s awesome, how’s he related to me?”

It’s so interesting to hear an artist’s perspective of their “fans also like” on Spotify.

That first one I said, Tea in Bed by Blessed and Blushing, is just blowing my mind recently. I’m like, “who is sitting down and making this shit?,” it’s so good. And that’s what’s crazy is there’s so much music now, it’s like, is there even a point in trying to make a career out of this? No. I don’t think so. Which I think is lending itself to the best music ever, cause people are like “there’s no fucking way I’m gonna make a career out of this, I might as well just make what I want, whatever I want.”

You used to have to deal with the label, but now everything is just, “yeah go for it.”

It’s such a blessed time in that regard, but at the same time… let me chill on that. Let’s say, Marvin Gaye, “I Want You”? We’re not getting that right now. And that’s no hate to right now. But it’s just like that was a whole different way of living, thinking, moving, breathing you know. It’s just a whole different way of recording.

But we’re so blessed to be able to do exactly what we want without the idea of needing to make money off it. Obviously it would be nice. But it’s unlikely so people are just making cool shit. And I’m really thankful for that.

You can find Samba Jean-Baptiste on Instagram here and YouTube here. Once again, listen to Cardinal any way you get your music.

#Spotify #Youtube

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justforbooks · 1 year

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If anybody deserved the title of “Renaissance man” it would be Carl Davis, who has died aged 86 following a brain haemorrhage. A formidably gifted composer and conductor, in a career spanning seven decades he wrote scores for a string of successful films and a long list of some of the best remembered programmes on British television, including the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.

Davis won a Bafta and an Ivor Novello award for his score for Karel Reisz’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), scripted by Harold Pinter and starring the Oscar-nominated Meryl Streep, and worked on many other prominent films, including Scandal (1989), starring Ian McKellen and Joanne Whalley, Ken Russell’s The Rainbow (1989) and The Great Gatsby (2000). His theme music for the 1984 horse-racing drama Champions, starring John Hurt as the Grand National winner Bob Champion, was subsequently used by the BBC for its Grand National coverage.

A fascination for the era of silent movies prompted Davis to create new scores to accompany numerous classics from cinema’s early years, including his composition for Abel Gance’s sprawling 1927 epic, Napoleon. His work helped trigger an international revival of presentations of silent films with a live orchestra.

He achieved another career highlight when he collaborated with Sir Paul McCartney on his Liverpool Oratorio, an eight-movement piece based on McCartney’s experiences of growing up in Liverpool. The piece was recorded in Liverpool Cathedral in 1991, featuring the classical soloists Kiri Te Kanawa and Willard White.

Despite his relentless schedule and prolific output, Davis enjoyed a reputation as an expansive and witty conversationalist who could always make time for friends or interviewers. When conducting at occasions such as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s Summer Pops concerts or the BBC’s Proms in the Park, he would gently subvert notions of classical seriousness by conducting in a union jack outfit or a gold lamé coat.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Carl was the son of Sara (nee Perlmutter), a teacher, and Isadore Davis, a post office worker. His Jewish family had ancestry in Poland and Russia. Encouraged by his mother, he displayed precocious musical ability. He started playing piano at the age of two, and soon became an adept sight-reader. He recalled how from an early age he would listen to the Metropolitan Opera’s live radio broadcasts on Saturday afternoons, and he would obsessively study musical scores of operas and orchestral pieces obtained from Brooklyn’s public libraries.

He took lessons with the composers Hugo Kauder and Paul Nordoff (later the co-founder of the Nordoff-Robbins music therapy programme), then with the Danish modernist composer Per Nørgård in Copenhagen. He studied at Queens College, New York, and the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, and as an 18-year-old served as an accompanist to the Robert Shaw Chorale. He then attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson in upstate New York, which has had a remarkable roll-call of actors, writers, film-makers and musicians pass through its portals. He graduated from Bard as a composer, having already begun to compose music for theatrical productions.

In 1958 he became an assistant conductor at the New York City Opera, and then won an off-Broadway Emmy award as co-composer of the 1959 revue Diversions. This was staged at the Edinburgh festival in 1961 and subsequently transferred to the Arts theatre in London, retitled Twists. It caught the eye of Ned Sherrin, then working in production at the BBC. He commissioned Davis, who had moved to London and was living in decrepit lodgings in Notting Hill, to write music for the satirical TV show That Was the Week That Was.

It was the start of his prolific and varied career in the UK. The Davis touch added lustre to the television movies The Snow Goose (BBC, 1971) and The Naked Civil Servant (Thames Television, 1975); the adaptation of the Anita Brookner novel Hotel Du Lac (BBC, 1986); and the miniseries A Year in Provence (BBC, 1993) and A Dance to the Music of Time (Channel 4, 1997) among many others.

A notable milestone was his ominous and unsettling score for Thames’s The World at War (1973), which was produced by Jeremy Isaacs. It was through Isaacs that Davis became involved in the Thames TV series Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film, based on the book The Parade’s Gone By … by the film historian Kevin Brownlow.

Davis was tasked with tracking down musicians who had worked on films during the silent era, and the series set him off on a decades-long crusade to revive silent films with newly created scores. He enjoyed the challenge of conducting the music live as the film played. “You have to keep going,” he told the Arts Desk’s Graham Rickson in 2021. “Some conductors use click tracks and headphones. I’m old-fashioned and don’t like being tied to machinery – I try to conduct these things with as little apparatus as possible.”

The most dramatic expression of this was his work on Napoleon, and in 1980 Davis conducted a performance of it with an orchestra and audience at the Empire, Leicester Square. “That first screening wasn’t flawless, but it was electrifying,” he recalled. He subsequently conducted performances around the world, and the score let to him being appointed chevalier of France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1983.

He went on to compose music for more than 50 silent films featuring stars such as Greta Garbo and Rudolph Valentino, for comedies by Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, and for classics such as Ben-Hur (1925), the Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckler The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and DW Griffith’s Intolerance (1916).

Another genre which Davis excelled at composing for was dance. “The relationship between film and ballet is striking, and I find myself composing more and more ballet scores now, something which the film work has made me much better at,” he told Rickson. For Northern Ballet theatre, he worked with the choreographer Gillian Lynne on A Simple Man (1987) and Lipizzaner (1989). For Scottish Ballet, he collaborated with Robert Cohan, a fellow New Yorker, on A Christmas Carol (1992) and Aladdin (2000). And for English National Ballet’s Alice in Wonderland (1995), Davis (commissioned by ENB’s artistic director Derek Deane) drew on themes by Tchaikovsky.

It was also through Deane’s influence that Davis was commissioned by the National Ballet of Croatia to write Lady of the Camellias (2008), which gave him the opportunity to revisit Alexandre Dumas’s original novel and Verdi’s operatic version of it, La Traviata. The opera had been a favourite of Davis’s since his childhood days of listening to Met broadcasts, and he had also worked on a production of it for New York City Opera. The resulting piece gave the story a contemporary twist, so “the action could flow without pause and indeed the production did effectively utilise projections and film”, as Davis wrote in the recording’s sleeve notes.

He received a Bafta special lifetime achievement award in 2003, and in 2005 he was made CBE.

In 1970 he married the actor Jean Boht, who starred in Carla Lane’s sitcom Bread. She survives him, along with their daughters, Hannah and Jessie.

🔔 Carl Davis, composer and conductor, born 28 October 1936; died 3 August 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#JUST FOR BOOKS #Carl Davis #in memoriam

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mldwnka · 1 year

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#spotify #studio ghibli #howls moving castle #hayao mizayaki #sen to chihiro no kamikakushi #howl x sophie #sea #nature #seacore #barbie movie #ghibli films #ghibli movie #ghibli style #ghiblicore #cute aesthetic

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dustedmagazine · 1 year

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Henry Threadgill — The Other One (Pi)

The Other One by Henry Threadgill

Over the last five decades, Henry Threadgill has been creating a singular body of work, as both a distinguished reed players and an inimitable ensemble leader. Early on, Threadgill cultivated his sense of ensemble arranging and playing as member of AACM in the trio Air and in groups lead by Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell. But from X-75 Volume 1, his first recording under his own name released in 1979 with a group comprised of four woodwind players, three bassists, piccolo bass and vocals, he revealed a penchant for creating improvisational frameworks around distinctive voicings. Since that time, he’s honed his approach with long-standing ensembles, each building on his ear for angular, contrapuntal themes extended through open group interplay.

First up was The Henry Threadgill Sextet (a seven-piece group designated as a sextet because he saw the two drummers as a single percussion unit) featuring his alto sax along with trumpet, the low-end double bass/cello/trombone, and a percussion duo. A foray into social dance music, his Society Situation Dance Band, went unrecorded but his next ensemble, Very Very Circus, with sax, two tubas, two electric guitars, French horn, and drums added a pulsing groove while expanding on his multifaceted ear toward hocketed lines and intricate, stratified voicings. Make a Move and Zooid pared things back a bit in the size of the ensemble while still incorporating intriguing instrumental choices like paired acoustic guitars and cellos, accordion, oud and tuba. Then, with Double Up, Threadgill mixed in paired reeds, paired pianos, cello, tuba and drums, expanded even further with 14 Or 15 Kestra: Agg. With each of these ensembles, he extended his compositional approach, diving in to the timbral and dynamic opportunities afforded by an increasingly orchestral instrumental palette. All of this doesn’t even touch on the various commissions for orchestra, string quartet, and chamber ensembles he undertook.

In May 2022, Threadgill presented one of his most ambitious projects to date at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, New York. The composer prepared a three-movement composition entitled “Of Valence” for a twelve-piece ensemble made up of three saxophones, violin, viola, two cellos, tuba, percussion, piano and two bassoons. The piece, inspired by Milford Graves and his integration of the human heartbeat as a source of rhythmic understanding, is a meditation on human transience based on his observations of the exodus of people from New York City during the Covid pandemic. The performance incorporated an array of multimedia components including video, projections of paintings and photographs, electronics and recordings. Each performances was split in to two sets providing varying takes on the composition, the first set titled “One” and the second titled “The Other One.” This release, Threadgill’s eleventh for the Pi Recordings label, captures the second set of one of the performances in scintillating fidelity.

The three-movement piece begins with spare, stabbing notes and rumbling open chords on piano, intently traversing the foundational angular motifs. The reeds join in setting up the entrance of the full ensemble. Threadgill maximizes the sonic breadth provided by the full range of strings and a broadened reed section. His conducting is supported by tubist Jose Davila, cellist Christopher Hoffman, pianist David Virelles and drummer Craig Weinrib, all veterans of the leader’s groups who collectively help helm the ensemble through the intricately evolving piece. Themes are introduced, fragmented, inverted, and hocketed as sections elastically play off of each other and branch off into sub-groupings as the densities of the piece ebb and flow. Threadgill’s proclivity for utilizing underlying galvanic pulse is an anchoring element, buoyed in particular by tuba, cellos and drums as the music bobs and weaves along with the countervailing, keening melodic threads.

Threadgill’s pieces demand exacting execution, and the group fully embraces the compositional form while each displaying adroit capabilities exploring the inherent opportunities for improvisation. While Threadgill sticks to conducting here, the influence of his instrumental voice is readily apparent throughout. Milford Graves’ influence is heard most overtly at the start of the second movement where violinist Sarah Caswell, violist Stephanie Griffin and cellist Mariel Roberts each play their parts while listening to a playback of their own heartbeats as recorded previously by a cardiologist. The result is that the pulse of each individual players’ lines intertwine, mutably moving in and out of synch while maintaining an unwavering, galvanizing flow. One third of the way through the 16-minute section, lissome sax lines are introduced segueing to the entrance of the full ensemble. While density builds, there is a transparency to the orchestration as lines and instruments come to the fore and then recede. Midway through, sizzling transducer-activated cymbals play off of abraded cello overtones setting the stage for a freely lyrical tenor solo which wends to a closing section with percolating pizzicato strings and pattering percussion.

The final movement kicks off with a short interlude for strings and drums, leading in to a section of abstracted melody, with alto and bassoon lines snaking around the ensemble voicings. Interludes for solos are woven through as the pacing constantly morphs. Here, sections are clear successors to the approaches that Threadgill worked through with Zooid and Double Up, inheriting the underlying coursing flow and arcing lyricism but shading and extending it with timbral orchestration, the bassoons being a particularly astute addition. In the final section, intertwined piano and tuba and the shifting shuffle of cellos and drums set the stage for an all-in re-statement of one of the central themes, leading to the finale of the piece for the full ensemble, crescendoing to dramatic intensity. Listeners have benefited from Pi Recordings’ dedication to Threadgill’s evolving and burgeoning oeuvre. The release of The Other One is a significant addition to these efforts and essential listening for those interested in Threadgill’s music.

Michael Rosenstein

#henry threadgill #the other one #pi #michael rosenstein #albumreview #dusted magazine #jazz #AACM #air #improvisation #composition

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msfangirlgonewild · 2 years

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This is the perfect match for Francesca and Michael’s romantic dance scene.

Then…the intensity between them…almost (as Francesca refuses to remarry Michael)

The steamy Franchael love scene (as Francesca finally accepts to remarry Michael)❤️🥰…

…then the private wedding ceremony scene. 💍

Enjoy their romantic escapade whilst lusting in Austria!

And finally it’s Team Franchael’s romantic and poignant dance/waltz scene finale. 🥹❤️

Thanks to Hannah Dodd in her first appearance as the matured Francesca on season 3, I hope there’s an diverse actor across the globe who plays Michael in future seasons 5 or 6: German actor Rick Okon who plays Michael someday as a German/Austrian (besides Scottish) orphan with a tragic past was brought to the Stirlings as a family member.

Time rewatch season 3, dear gentle listeners 🐝🌹

𝔼𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪, 𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕞 𝔽𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕖𝕝!

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theloniousbach · 2 months

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MIDSUMMER’S MUSIC, Program F, BACH TO THE FUTURE, HOPE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST of STURGEON BAY, 21 JULY 2024

Just as I also say my last Door County Baseball League game yesterday, this concert was the last of the series of three chamber music concerts of our six for five flex pack. Both baseball and chamber music are charming features of Door County, ones that I wanted to take full advantage of during this extended stay having had fleeting one off tastes in previous years. We head into our last week, as long as full vacations some years, and there is this autumnal tinge. But it has been wonderful.

We saw the annual piano trio concert (Schumann, Haydn, and Beethoven’s Ghost) two weeks ago and the season opener (Verne-Bredt, Mozart, and Mendelssohn).

That there was Bach in this one allowed me to sell it in the domestic home. Indeed, we had a further extrapolation of Wacht auf, ruft uns die stemme and the first two movements of the Musical Offering. But it was also a showcase for their composer in residence, Will Healy, including his duo Upstream with George Meyer. His work is certainly modern but, save some overtones from the strings in his piano quartet Root Position, not harsh. He introduced that piece by explaining his use of suspended chords, pedal points, and the IV-I a-men resolution to explore chord movement and resolution and that helped this punter.

Healy’s Brooklyn Toccatta was inspired by his grandmother’s annotations on Bach sheet music, but was his own. As it unfolded, I awaited the rhythm section to come in as it was modernist solo piano music that would not have been out of place at Mezzrow’s. I appreciated that it didn’t mash up Bach but stood on its own terms. I did think of Dan Tepfer’s Goldberg Variations Variations and his work on the Inventions with a Yamaha Disklavier’s reconfigurations. Perhaps it is the impact of being in the room, but I liked this better (and much better than Adam Birnbaum’s use of Bach Preludes for melody lines and harmonies but then given a modern jazz rhythmic treatment and subsequent improvisation). I treasure jazz and Baroque music but each on their own terms.

Upstream (Healy and Meyer) did a five tune set after intermission that, though largely through composed, felt improvised and completely in my wheelhouse. Meyer, his biographical blurb mentioned the cross genre doors opened to him through his father Edgar, gave the opener a fiddle tune (ah, but what tradition) feel and the newest tune’s music sure looked like a lead sheet with two eight bar section. The closer Squirrel had a section that got rhythmically complex and led me to think of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Not jazz, not Celtic, but modern while still accessible.

I talked to both Meyer and Healy afterward and suggested that they could do these pieces with Grateful Dead frames and have jam banders on their side. More seriously, they both knew Tepfer but not Birnbaum. Meyer was at two Shakti shows last year, including the one from the Ryman that I streamed, and said that both were among the best things he’s ever seen. Healy and Ethan Iverson have intersected too.

It really is all folk music because we never hear a horse sing. So I’m heartened that my very eclectic tastes are paralleled by folks like Healy and Meyer who are making music like this that I value. That they bring all this to the table and translate it into the integrity of their own genre impresses me even further.

#concert review #chamber music #2024 #Midsummer’s Music

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xerks44 · 8 months

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1981 MAX ROACH & tap dancer HAROLD NICHOLAS of the NICHOLAS BROTHERS

MAX ROACH DAY JANUARY 10, 1924 – AUGUST 16, 2007

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO AN ALL-TIME JAZZ GREAT

Drummer Max Roach was born on January 10, 1924 in Newland, North Carolina.

Roach, who grew up in Brooklyn, started on the drums when he was ten and studied at the Manhattan School Of Music.

He was in the house band at Monroe’s Uptown House in 1942, getting opportunities to jam with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie who both recognized his forward-looking talents.

Roach made his recording debut with Coleman Hawkins in 1943 (and was on Hawkins’ pioneering bop sessions the following year), worked with the Benny Carter Orchestra, and played on 52nd Street with Gillespie.

With Kenny Clarke (who was the first bop drummer) in the service, Roach built upon his innovations and was quite busy during the second half of the 1940s including working with Stan Getz, Allan Eager, Hawkins, the Charlie Parker Quintet (1947-49), Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool Nonet (1949-50) and virtually every name in modern jazz including with Parker and Gillespie at the famous 1953 Massey Hall Concert.

He co-founded the Debut label with Charles Mingus in 1952 and worked with Louis Jordan, Red Allen, the Lighthouse All-Stars and Jazz At The Philharmonic.

During 1954-56, Roach co-led a pacesetting quintet with Clifford Brown that by late-1955 included Sonny Rollins; after Brown’s tragic death other members of the group included Kenny Dorham, Ray Bryant, Booker Little, Tommy Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard, Hank Mobley, George Coleman, Stanley Turrentine, Clifford Jordan, Julian Priester and Roach’s wife singer Abbey Lincoln.

One of the most respected and skilled jazz drummers of all time (and a master at using space as he built up his solos), Roach continued leading groups for the remainder of his life including a long-time quartet with Odean Pope, Cecil Bridgewater and Tyrone Brown, the all-percussion group M’Boom, the Uptown String Quartet, and special duo albums with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton and Archie Shepp.

Here is Max Roach accompanying and interacting with dancer Harold Nicholas in 1981.

-Scott Yanow

#youtube

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existentialmagazine · 11 months

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Review: Delving into dark wave and dreamy sounds all at once, emize shares her new reflective single ‘return the gaze’

Brooklyn-based producer and artist emize has grown from her classical training within her youth, originally finding herself through drama in impressionist music and creating orchestra scores in her teens. Later inspired by SOPHIE, FKA twigs, Arca & Object Blue, emize began to take her skills into the world of industrial, thundering, and yet delicate sounds, a merging of her orchestral days into something more electronically ladened. In the quiet of her bedroom, her music was her confidant, and now within her forthcoming EP ‘text me when u get home’ she begins to show off her previously unseen capabilities. Her latest offering from this body of work is the remarkable ‘return the gaze’, a profound and reflective take on the state of our modern world.

Listening to emize is like the dimming of a movie theatre for the most dramatic opening sequence, with goosebumps rising along your arms and your heart racing, you know right away that what you’ve gotten yourself in for is one hell of a ride. As ‘return the gaze’ begins with the most abstract assortment of sounds alike nothing else you’ve heard before, the futuristic world of emize will quickly become one you wish to soak yourself entirely within. From a static, whirring distortion to heavy electronic pulsations that set a striking base of beats, ‘return the gaze’ almost feels like it’s laced in the scenes of a neon-lit alleys amidst a bustling cyberpunk city, not just instrumentally distinct but completely transportive in the soundscape it delivers. Things lurk more into a dark-wave approach for the verses interruption, lingering in drawn-out synth that’s almost like muffled sirens; intermittent pounding beats and a spoken-sung approach from emize drenched in warped vocal effects for that added technological foundation the song seems to reside within. Things take a complete shift for the pre-chorus though as emize softly haunts through a flowing higher range and airy delivery, a moment of delicacy and intimacy as though this were emize’s respite in a world otherwise always watching. Paired with this sincere moment are loosely played electric guitar strings and subtle beats, an intentionally stripped-down break that sets you up for the calm before the storm. Things don’t rest for long though as emize has other plans, coming in bold and unafraid for a groundbreaking chorus, thumping through your earphones with bombastic layers of multiple beats, drum clashes and high guitar strings strung out and contorted for effect. At over three minutes in length, ‘return the gaze’ has a lot more to offer in the journey of its sound, but we’ll leave it up to you to discover those secrets.

Though we couldn’t help but compare the sound to that of a neo-city of sorts, ‘return the gaze’ lyrically reflects on the streets of the real world we live in, clasping around a sense of disturbing and almost jarring sound shifts to deliver a narrative weaved with deep significance. Writing of the everyday experience that comes with existing as a woman, ‘return the gaze’ snaps back at the male gaze and the systems in place across the world like patriarchy, sexism, capitalism, and the horrendous rise in things like anti-Asian hate crimes, meaningfully seeking change from the corruption and policies that continue to fail us. From one of the opening lines ‘everything that we’ve been told, play nice’ , emize seems to touch on the way women often find themselves fearing for their lives when approached and leered over, always told to be mindful of their words and reactions rather than the abusers face their crimes. As she continues that ‘I’ve seen ones like you before’ , emize ensures it’s clear that we are surrounded by these people who abuse their power, unsafe and left to fend for ourselves without protection. But things take a darker turn when she sings ‘quietly I’ve been chasing’ , a snap back at the fearful encounters and instead turning the tables, leaving the predator to become the prey. Locked in this standoff, the hook of the single rings out ‘return the gaze, don’t walk away’ , holding her place in a world that does not allow her the courtesy of simply being. Rallying for the creation of a ‘new world’ , ‘return the gaze’ is an anthem with a message, an urge to retake power from old white leaders who make policies at the expense of QTBIPOC and people at the margins.

Check out ‘return the gaze’ for yourself here to take on the expedition that emize’s sound takes you on, as well as an unsettling message within created to really leave you thinking deeper.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Steph Pan

// This coverage was supported and created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

#tatiana

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newmusicradionetwork · 2 years

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Raegan Sealy Releases Cinematic Ballad “Killing Song”

Indie-soul artist Raegan Sealy has released her latest single, “Killing Song,” a ballad about coming to terms with the cracks in a relationship. Following the release of her debut single “Make ‘em Jealous,” “Killing Song” is available to stream and download on all digital and streaming platforms worldwide. Taking inspiration from soul and classical harmonies, “Killing Song” is dominated by the violin and piano, whose melodies blend together in a delicate, poignant display of openness. In the song, Sealy lets listeners into her Harlem house, an intimate space of vulnerability inhabited by her and the mice that become a metaphor for a crumbling relationship in the song. The striking exposure of this private emotional and physical sphere is concealed effortlessly by the song’s wit, full of wordplay. Coming to terms with the ultimate and inevitable downfall of a relationship, Sealy’s soul-pop vocals are equally soft-spoken and assertive, filling the oceans between the confidence and irony of her storytelling and the emotion-filled delivery of her performance. The Brooklyn-based performer says “Killing Song” “is about all those little nagging problems in relationships that you know are there but don’t want to address – because you know that killing the problems will also kill the relationship.” Opening a can of worms, Raegan Sealy uncovers these tiny problems, pulling a string and witnessing the entire ensemble unfold before her eyes as she dwells on the infestation of the “most adorable, tiny, destructive little metaphors.” Scouring every nook and cranny of the apartment, she finds herself alone at last – reveling in the finality of the situation. The track’s cinematic, orchestra-like arrangement sets the tone for this monumental, painstakingly stunning display of solitude. “Killing Song” was produced by Robin Buyer, who also produced her lead single “Make ‘em Jealous.” Raegan Sealy is committed to storytelling through her wit and layered metaphors. Outside of music, Sealy is an advocate and teaching artist. She received a Fulbright Scholarship in 2015, one of the most prestigious academic scholarships in the world, along with her MFA from The New School. Continuing to sing and perform poetry, she has opened for Shane Koyczan, Kae Tempest, and Ice T. She even gave the first official TED Talk entirely in rhyming verse in 2019. Now based in Brooklyn, Sealy takes inspiration from a diverse range of artists from the Arctic Monkeys and Lana Del Rey to Yebba, Self Esteem, and Marina – beautifully fusing her musical and writing talents to share her life experiences as a soul-pop singer-songwriter. The writing is on the wall in “Killing Song” – reflecting on turning points and the inevitability of turbulent situations bursting at the seams. Brimming with double entendres and poignant images of the artist’s independence and endurance to purify every corner, “Killing Song” is a strikingly grand performance of awareness and resilience. You can keep up to date with Raegan Sealy on her Instagram @RaeganSealy or her website RaeganSealy.com. Read the full article

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houseofloveconcerts · 2 years

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Jeff Picker

Jeff Picker plays the bass.

As a youth, he gained national recognition as one of the most promising young jazz musicians of his generation. At age 18, he was named “Presidential Scholar for the Arts in Jazz” by the US Dept. of Education, and was awarded an artist grant by the National YoungArts Foundation, among other honors. He was also awarded a full tuition scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music, where he completed one year of coursework before matriculating at Columbia University. For the past decade, Jeff has been touring and recording with many of the biggest names in bluegrass and folk music, including a 5-year run with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. He performs and records frequently with Sarah Jarosz, East Nash Grass, and others. In 2023, he began touring with legendary progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek. Jeff’s solo material, including his debut record, “With the Bass in Mind,” and his sophomore release, “Liquid Architecture,” reimagines the contemporary string band, drawing on the harmonic, metric, and improvisational intrigue of his jazz background, while never straying too far from the front porch. When he’s not on the road, Jeff is Nashville based, where he works on the Grand Ole Opry and as an in-demand session player. Eddie Barbash plays American roots music on alto saxophone. He is a founding member of Jon Batiste Stay Human, the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He has performed with stars in almost every genre: jazz with Wynton Marsalis, classical with Yo-Yo Ma, rock with Lenny Kravitz, country with Vince Gill, bluegrass with Sierra Hull, funk with Parliament. He brings his horn and sensibility to Texas and Appalachian fiddle tunes, bluegrass, old time, R&B, soul, and classic New Orleans. He was raised in Oaxaca, Mexico, Atlanta, Georgia and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is 34 and lives in Brooklyn, but will soon move to Nashville. Eli Bishop is an American violinist/mandolinist, composer, and arranger who is recognized for his virtuosity and versatility across multiple genres of music. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Eli has performed with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Lee Ann Womack, Maddie & Tae, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Video Game Orchestra, and as a member of the Grand Ole Opry’s house band. Eli has also worked as an arranger for Grammy-nominated video game composer Austin Wintory (composer of Journey, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate), and has recorded with Dolly Parton for Dollywood. His musical work spans many mediums of the entertainment industry, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s movie, Don Jon, as well as the upcoming Billy Crystal movie, Here Today. Minecraft: Pirates of the Caribbean features Eli’s solo violin work with orchestra. The Chicago Tribune has praised Eli’s “silken legato phrases, impeccable pitch and seemingly effortless technique in fast-moving passages…” Frank Rische is a multi-talented musician and singer who grew up traveling and playing in a full-time family band since the age of 7. He frequently works alongside Jim Lauderdale and his sister Lillie Mae, and has been a choice touring and session musician/harmony singer to artists Tanya Tucker, Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, Aubrie Sellers, Jenny Lynn, Ahi, Milly Raccoon, Sierra Ferrell, Charles Butler, Logan Ledger, The Howling Brothers and many more. Frank proudly endorses D'Addario strings, L.R. Baggs electronics, and plays a Collings acoustic guitar.

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jshatan · 2 years

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Let’s keep this #bestof2022 thing going with a focus on what we still reductively call “classical” - features: @pathostrio, @ericnathanmusic played by @bmopmusic, @sarah.plum.75, @annezilotti and @scott.wollschleger played by the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, @joshmodney, Steven Ricks, @mayabennardo, @thecrossingchoir, @carlos_simon_music blamed by @hubnewmusic, @katesoper with Sam Pluta, @loadbangensemble, Michael Hersch, John Luther Adams, @olivia_deprato, @anthonyscheung, Julian Brink, @septimalcomma played by @yarnwire, Steven Beck, @jengrimflute, @cellistjohannesmoser, @chriscerrone, @bergamotquartet, Aaron Myers-Brooks, AGS (including @the_5th_column, @alexkranabetter & Gloria Damijan), @erengumus_, @departureduo, Paul Bowles performed by @nyfestivalofsong, @gws710gws, @subtextsound, and @gregorytylerdavis playing @hhhhhennies and @mpisaroliu. Labels include: @greyfade_label, @tripticks_tapes, @newfocusrecordings, @sonolummusic, @kairos_hne, @bridgerecords and others! #newmusic #contemporaryclassical Smash that #linkinbio! https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm95cgygZnq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#bestof2022 #newmusic #contemporaryclassical #linkinbio

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popofventi · 2 years

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VentiSongs | November 2022

November 2022 Playlist featuring new songs by Mhaol, Dream Wife, Bad Waitress, Cass McCombs, Weak Signal, Quasi, Pile, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Jam in the Van, Sway Wild, Daisy the Great, The Brevet, Paolo Nutini, First Aid Kit, Bonny Light Horseman, David Myles, Steady Holiday, Phoebe Bridgers, Wilson Trouvé, Paul Thomas Saunders, Cigarettes After Sex and James Blake

1 | “Asking For It” | M(h)aol

Ventipop previously featured M(h)aol back in October of 2021 - “Gender Studies”

Pre-order M(h)aol’s debut album ‘Attachment Styles’, out Feb 3rd 2023 via @tullecollective booking: [email protected]

linktr.ee/mhaol

2 | “Leech” | Dream Wife

"Just have some fucking empathy"

Dream Wife

London, England

Previously featured on Ventipop: “Hasta La Vista” & “Sports!”

3 | “Racket Stimulator” | Bad Waitress

Bad Waitress

Toronto, Canada

Previously featured on Ventipop: “Manners”

4 | “Vacation From Thought” | Cass McCombs & Weak Signal

Cass McCombs

Concord, California

5 | “Queen of Ears” | Quasi

Quasi

Portland, Oregon

6 | “Loops” | Pile

"You are building your brand You are splitting the difference You are making demands"

Pile

Nashville, TN by way of Boston, MA

Probably your favorite bands favorite band

7 | “Your Man’s No Good” | Ghost Funk Orchestra

"...the type of throwback album that retro soul fans will devour with its easy-flowing warmth, charm, and spirit." -- Glide Magazine

Ghost Funk Orchestra

New York, New York

A mixture of psychedelic oddities, big horns, soulful vocals, and uncomfortable time signatures.

New album A NEW KIND OF LOVE out now

8 | “Chimney Fire” | Sway Wild (with Jam in the Van)

Sway Wild

San Juan Island, Washington

9 | “Glitter” | Daisy the Great

Daisy the Great

Brooklyn, New York

Previously featured on Ventipop: “Record Player”

10 | “Will You Wait” | The Brevet

The Brevet

Irvine, California

11 | “Through the Echoes” | Paolo Nutini

Paolo Nutini

Paisley, Scotland

12 | “The Last One” | First Aid Kit

First Aid Kit

Stockholm, Sweden

Previously featured on Ventipop: “Fireworks”

New album PALOMINO out now

13 | “Someone to Weep for Me” | Bonny Light Horseman

"And I dreamed of Jacob's ladder When I laid me down to sleep And the souls all risin' and fallin' Through the whole of eternity I was named after my father In a long line of nobodies And all I ever wanted Was someone to weep for me"

Bonny Light Horseman

American Folk Trio

Previously Featured on Ventipop: “Deep In Love”, “California” & “Summer Dream”

New album ROLLING GOLDEN HOLY out now

14 | “It’s Only a Little Loneliness” | David Myles

David Myles

Fredricton, Canada

New album IT’S ONLY A LITTLE LONELINESS out now

15 | “Can’t Find A Way” | Steady Holiday

Steady Holiday

Los Angeles, California

Previously featured on Ventipop: “Living Life” & “People Take Pictures of Each Other”

16 | “So Much Wine” | Phoebe Bridgers (covering The Handsome Family)

"Where the state highway starts I stopped my car I got out and stared up at the stars As meteors died and shot cross the sky I thought about your sad, shining eyes I came back for my clothes when the sun finally rose But you were still passed out on the floor"

Phoebe Bridgers

Los Angeles, California

Previously featured on Ventipop: “Walking On A String”, “Kyoto”, “ICU”, “I Know The End”, “Summer’s End”, “Nothing Else Matters”, “Silk Chiffon”, “Atlantis” & “That Funny Feeling”

17 | “In Memory of Rina Lukita” | Wilson Trouvé

Wilson Trouvé

Brussels, Belgium by way of France

18 | “Heartlands” | Paul Thomas Saunders

Paul Thomas Saunders

Leicester, United Kingdom

Previously featured on Ventipop: “Cruel”

19 | “Pistol” | Cigarettes After Sex

Cigarettes After Sex

El Paso, Texas

Previously featured on Ventipop: “Don’t Let Me Go”

20 | “Say What You Will” | James Blake

"And I'm okay, no, I can drive myself I've been sobered by my time on the shelf And I've been normal And I've been ostracised like a comet Blazing through an empty sky"

James Blake

London, England

-xxx-

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