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PG.18

PG.12

MAGENTA WAVE MUSIC review

PG.22 PG.6

The Burroughs

BANDWAGMAG.COM P UBLI SHER

ELY CORLISS

ART DI R EC TOR

CARTER KERNS

E D ITOR

AVA HARRIS CO N TR I BUTO RS

AVA HARRIS ODALIS CANCHOLA LANDON UNGERMAN

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The Burroughs Apocalypteque

Ava Harris

BandWagon Magazine

feeling going, mixing it with funk and jazz. The trumpets and beats throughout are a highlight. 04 - Dance All Night lives up to its name, it makes you want to move. There's a 70s dance jazz and funk feel running through it, carried by a powerful rhythm section. 05 - Rain Rain opens with a slower jazz vibe, and the trumpets really steal the show here.

The Burroughs are back with Apocalypteque, their third studio album and their biggest reinvention yet. The Colorado nine-piece, fronted by Johnny Burroughs, has spent over a decade building a live show built on multiple vocalists, a four-person horn section, and a rhythm section that just doesn't quit, playing everywhere from Salmonfest Alaska to the Mishawaka Amphitheater and sharing stages with acts like The Motet and The Steve Miller Band. This time around, they're leaning hard into acid house, big beat, and dance floor grooves, all wrapped around the funk and jazz chops that have always set this band apart. It's danceable from start to finish, but it's also got real range, swinging from galactic synth trips to seductive slow burns to full on horn-driven jam sessions. Track by track, here's what stood out most. 01 - Make You Sweat opens the album on a high note, with a bassline so good it sets a funky tone right away. It's a punchy little preview of everything the record has in store, and just an overall fun listen. 02 - Clock It starts quiet and builds louder right out of the gate, giving the whole song a fun sense of momentum. It sounds genuinely galactic, which matches the album's name and theme perfectly. 03 - I Came Here to Jam keeps that out of this world, galactic

06 - Made for Love starts with a slow, mesmerizing beat that feels like entering another reality, or being really high. The synth and keyboard part is addicting, and you can hear the keyboardist's jazz training in the way it's played. It's such a chill vibe that it's become an early favorite. 07 - Howlin' at the Moon jumps back into a funky groove with a fun, high energy vibe. His voice is front and center, and the layered vocal ad-libs on top of the lead are a great touch. 08 - B-E-T-T-Y brings a deeper distortion groove, and the bass is deep enough that you really feel it. It's easily one of the best basslines on the record. 09 - Cold Water slows back into a chill vibe, but the beat still hits hard underneath it. 10 - Shake Your Skeleton opens with a harmonized "la la la" hook that pulls you right in, then settles into a deep, seductive groove. The high notes in the vocal lean even further into that seductive energy. 11 - Apocalypteque announces itself as the closer within the first few seconds. It's a powerful, complete feeling way to end the album, with a groove that feels like a spy movie montage, right in the middle of a secret mission. Apocalypteque is easily the most ambitious thing The Burroughs have put out, and it doesn't sacrifice any of the live energy that's made them festival favorites for over a decade. If you're a fan of dance floor grooves with real musicianship behind them, this one's worth the full listen front to back.

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IMAGENTA NSIDWAVEE MAGENTA WAVE' S NEXT CHAPTER OPENS UP ABOUT THEIR PROCESS, THEIR INFLUENCES, AND WHAT'S AHEAD.

BY AVA HARRIS

agenta Wave's name came from an unlikely place: a bouldering wall.

"I think the name jumped out at us while we were bouldering in a pretty deep and thought provoking way," the band said. It wasn't an immediate fit. "It took a while to sit with it and explore what it truly meant to us but we eventually realized that depth and inner search was the perfect fit to represent what we were trying to achieve musically." That willingness to keep exploring shows up everywhere in the band's story, starting with geography. Magenta Wave started in Bellingham, moved to Seattle, and more recently landed in Los Angeles. Each move has been about growth rather than dissatisfaction.

"We were really looking to be around a larger group of like minded artists and people and expand our creative community," Magenta Wave said. "Bellingham was nothing but great to us and a perfect place to get the band started. I think we just wanted to expand our horizons a little bit musically and in life as well." The same logic carried them to LA. "We are always seeking new and unique opportunities and experiences in life and sometimes a change of setting provides exactly that." Ask the band to describe their sound to someone who's never heard them, and the answer is part warning label, part inside joke. "Our sound is like a big bomb teetering on the edge of explosion hiding under the guise of an indie-rock band with an exceptionally tall, red-headed guitarist," the band said. The influences behind that sound sit firmly in the PNW canon: Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and, as they put it, "lots of Jimi." It's less a specific sonic reference point than a shared appetite for songs that build and detonate.

path. Guitarist Gray wrote the song and recorded a voice memo demo, and drummer Bovey, who'd relocated to LA ahead of the rest of the band, took that memo and built it into a rough full sketch on his own. By the time the full band got in the studio together, they'd never actually played the song in the room as a group. What followed was more discovery than recording session.

"We actually had never played the song in the room together so it was a lot of trial and error and exploration to find the right sound and vibe," the band said. "We were only in the studio for two days or so and I think we were equally surprised and proud of what it became."

emotion just finds its way out. The studio often requires a far more intentional and at times grueling approach." Whatever the setting, the goal stays the same. "All we can ever hope for is for people to walk away feeling something, anything." There's a lot more already here. The band's newest single, "Dead End, Reload," just dropped, and they're already calling it a turning point.

"We've been writing quite a bit and are exploring a lot of new styles and sounds, this song exemplifies that perfectly and gives a glimpse into the next era of the band," they said.

It's a stark contrast to the year-long grind behind "The Well," and the band says the experience taught them something new about themselves.

The touring schedule isn't slowing down either, and the band sounds energized by the pace rather than worn down by it. "We don't like sitting still, the busier we are, the hungrier we get for more."

"This was a very different approach than what we did for The Well which took over a year to complete. We learned a lot about ourselves and how we work as a band."

Looking further ahead, the band has its sights set on a full-length record. After a year that's reshaped their sense of what they're capable of, the timing finally feels right.

That same push and pull between raw and controlled follows the band from the studio to the stage, just running in the opposite direction. Most bands talk about capturing a live show's chaos on tape. Magenta Wave frames the challenge the other way around: keeping the studio version honest to what happens live.

"I think this past year more than anything else we have proven to ourselves that we are capable of more than we could have ever imagined as a band," they said. "This leaves us excited for what's to come. We plan on writing a lot and working on our first fulllength album. We all feel that an album delivers a true piece of art and a sense of story more than an EP or group of singles could. We have thought about this for years now and I think the time has finally come where we are ready to explore that."

"I think if anything the challenge for us is making sure the emotional intensity of the live set is reflected in the recorded music," they said. "It can be really difficult to capture that raw energy while in a studio environment, it can't be forced. For some reason it's so much easier to just get on stage and play, the energy and

With a new single just out and a full-length record finally in motion, Magenta Wave looks like a band leaning fully into its next chapter.

That appetite is front and center on their single "Mold," which the band describes as arriving almost fully formed. "Mold came out as a sort of stream of consciousness idea," they said. "There was a lot of big change in life that was really uncomfortable that I just didn't want to face and Mold explores that deeply. That song just kind of wrote itself, maybe took like 5 minutes." They see a connection to an earlier release, "The Well," even though the two songs came together in almost opposite ways. Both, they say, deal in "complex emotions and strong feelings," a pattern that keeps showing up across their catalog. The two songs diverge sharply in process. "The Well" took the band more than a year to finish. "Mold" took two days, and got there through a genuinely unusual

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for her as she also took a different approach by reclaiming her lyricism and choosing to write from the true depths of her inner monologue. Not holding anything back. “It makes me feel excited that this part of me was able to be released. It's a manifesting album; it talks a lot about my dreams.”

ong pink hair, a trace of charisma behind a shimmery, glossy smile, and a flirty “meow” are the essence that belongs to Santa Kimex. The diva that took over Greeley and Denver’s femme reggaeton-mexa scene the past two years recently came out as a MEXiiiC*NT! Kimex stays deeply focused on her music behind the scenes. Recently, released a new album, “MEXiiiC*NT.” It’s a deeper dive into how identity and culture have shaped her musical persona. When it comes to self-expression, Kimex doesn’t hesitate to show her most authentic, vibrant personality at all times. Her album very much reflects that. “I FEEL SO FEARLESS IN MY CRAFT, F*CK IT WHO’S GONNA TELL ME NO? I'M THE ONE CREATING IT.”

Q: How long have you been working on this album?

The anticipation to share new music with fans built up over teasing songs and streaming live music sessions on KICK. When creating “MEXiiiC*NT”, she was challenging herself to make at least 100 songs, and in that practice she found how devoted she is to creating music inspired by her diverse music influences. She showed me a few unreleased songs in her studio out of pure excitement, and it is safe to say her music knowledge has turned into a full-time passion. She's been experimenting with her voice in many styles such as soul/ R&B, rap, rock, Brazilian funk, guaracha, dembow, even the nostalgic and yearning music of Rocío Dúrcal. I was left speechless with the Rocío Dúrcal sample.

KIMEX: “THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF THE YEAR. DURING THE SUMMER, MY VIBE SWITCHED AND I WAS EXPERIMENTING MORE. BUT “CASA AZUL” WAS THE FIRST SONG I MADE WITH THE HIP-HOP VIBE. SHE STARTED THE ALBUM, NOT THE ONLY ONE, BUT THE ONE.”

Kimex held an album release party “Ultimo Perreo” at Stellas Arcade where she performed her new album “MEXiiiC*NT” and some of her first singles such as “puti reggaetonera”, “MAMA DE LAS POLLITAS ", "sorriii" and many more. The celebration was also a going-away party as she is now pursuing her dream in Mexico City.

The album is inspired by the hip-hop and soul she listened to as a teenager mixed with her own reggaetonera flow. “When I first moved to the US, I felt very connected to soul music, and when I first started experimenting with those beats, I felt so free.” Creating this album was extra special

“I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE DOUBT ME BUT I KNOW I’M A C*UNT. EVER SINCE I WAS YOUNGER, I KNEW I WAS A STAR, AND FOR SOME PEOPLE IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A CALLING, YOU KNOW. IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU CHOOSE; IT'S A CALLING.”

Tracks on the album mirror her bold, dominate nature: from words of encouragement and affirmation to words of protection that shake off haters y envidiosos in the way. The first track “ugh-choo” came out like a poetic anti-f*ckboy anthem. “IKON” is a self-reminder that, duh, “baby I’m an IKON”. The last track, “Jose Murillo,” is something special and nostalgic: a trip back in time when Kimex was a little girl in Chihuahua, marrying a daydream-like memory of what her younger self felt to be true (to become a star) with what she knows now as a musician and artist. “This album is my future. My dreams. My manifestations. I end the album with the song "Jose Murillo” reminding me that I love where I’m from. I love the street I was born into (Jose Murillo), but I’m also meant for something special.” Q: Do you think writing from a different perspective opened up experimenting with more genres? KIMEX: “YES. IT'S EASIER FOR ME TO EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT THINGS ALONE. WHEN YOU’RE SO INTO YOUR ART AND TRYING NEW THINGS, IT'S EASIER IF IT'S FROM YOUR OWN ENERGY.”

SCREW SALT Denver rapper and producer Black Salt makes meaning of the mundane. BY LANDON UNGERMAN

t's almost instinctive to create art for display. A painter steps into the mind of a stranger in a gallery to guide the next stroke on the canvas. A rapper hears how their words will move a crowd before he records the next take. It’s like there’s a silent audience in the room with the artist, informing the creative process. But what happens in an age where the audience doesn't care to listen? Who does the artist create for? Alternative rapper and producer Black Salt faced this dilemma at an early stage of his creative journey. He is 22 years old, raised in Nashua, New Hampshire, and has been based in Denver for the last five years. He built a large TikTok following during quarantine almost by accident, off comedy videos and skits he filmed in his bedroom out of boredom. When he started posting his music instead, his true passion, the number at the top of his page ceased to mean anything. "THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAD ORIGINALLY FOLLOWED ME ONLY FOLLOWED ME OFF OF ONE VIDEO OR ANOTHER," HE SAID, "AND DIDN'T PARTICULARLY CARE ABOUT ME AS A PERSON." What he found in the quiet became his approach to art. If nobody is obligated to care, then the only real reason to make anything is that you want it to exist. He came here for CU Denver's audio production program and left midway through his junior year. "I learned a lot of the basics and now I can make my own music the way that I wanted to," he said. The name "Black Salt" comes from his last name, Morton (like the salt brand), and the folklore of his hometown in New England, where black salt has a spiritual purpose. It's plain salt mixed with incense ash, kept around to fend off bad spirits. His connection to the scenery and story of his childhood lives on in his releases: Spice Drawer.

Sea Salt. And releasing this fall, Screw Salt. Black Salt has a burning passion for music, but he draws his inspiration from film and storytelling. His favorite is Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013). "It's about the film photography digitizer that's working at LIFE magazine right before they went digital," he recounts. "He spends the whole movie trying to find the final film cover for the last non-digital issue." It's an all too familiar story of human processes being replaced by something faster and easier. But the film focuses on the individual’s decision to fill the mundane cycles of life with personal meaning and intention. A lesson Black Salt learned when he started creating for himself. Producing and rapping on the majority of his own songs gives him room to "tell the whole story." He made about three quarters of his catalogue himself, in Logic, on a Focusrite and a MIDI keyboard, chopping samples and building drum kits out of one-shots he pulls off Reddit. His latest single, "Fav B**ch," he produced, mixed and mastered alone, then paired with a video that studies femininity through portraits, murals, and sculpture. Every layer is arriving at the same level now. The lyrics, the beat, the visuals. He has been in the competitive landscape for years, and he is putting out undeniable art to cut through it. The new album, Screw Salt, is out October 9. The title is a triple entendre. One: screw you, Salt! Two: it's largely a 2000s R&B club record, so screw Salt, romance edition. Three: he made most of it while working at Ace Hardware, staring at screws all day. His expectations for the project are grounded and modest. "I would love to inspire people to make things like it," he says. "I hope people listen to it."

He plays The Black Buzzard on October 18 with Intuition & Equalibrum, Speak! and BRY444N. Nine days after the record lands. Listen to “Screw Salt” wherever you get your music, and get tickets to the Denver show at bandwagonpresents.com.

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