B-Side Magazine Vol I

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CONTENTS EDITORS’ NOTE 1 SPRING WEEKEND ARTIST PREVIEWS

By B-Side Staff

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THE SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR MEALS 4

By B-Side Staff A TROOP OF ECHOES 6

Interview by Jake Goodman and Bethany Hung WHAT WILL THE REVOLUTION SOUND LIKE? 11

Feature by Rodell Jefferson III BENEVOLENT RECORDS 13

Interview by Chris Patino and Marisa Kouroubacalis RAPS FROM DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

Review by Yasmine Hassan

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SOBER OCTAVES 18

Interview by William Van Zandt GIGS ON THE GRASS 21

Photos by Naomy Pedroza AUDITORY ODDITIES: THE RISE OF GLITCH

Feature by Max Luebbers LUK AND VAL MAKE MUSIC 24

Interview by Daven McQueen MUSIC VENUES AROUND PROVIDENCE B-SIDE STAFF LIST

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EDITORS’ NOTE Since its launch two years ago by founders Rebecca Blandón ‘16, Benjamin Williams ‘16, and Francis Torres González ‘16, B-Side Magazine has grown to have a significant presence on the Brown University campus. It began as an online platform for writers interested in the College Hill and Providence music scene, and has expanded to include reviews and features of all sorts. With a growing number of dedicated staff members, it has been a pleasure to see the realization of this digital space.

In addition to expanding our reach to more students and local residents, B-Side has diversified its content to include comprehensive “Albums of the Year,” photos series, video interviews, live streaming, and much more. In addition, events such as the regular CoffeeHaus have built new relationships between student musicians, and provided artists with greater exposure across campus. In November, we hosted our first Tent Shows, an incredibly successful event featuring over 15 student musicians and groups. The intimacy of the performances created a safe space for sharing voices (and our Creative Directors produced a beautiful Snapchat filter).

We still see growing possibilities for B-Side. Looking forward, we hope that B-Side will expand its focus further beyond College Hill and into the community, giving space to local musicians who are not necessarily students. We hope that B-Side will build stronger relationships with local music spaces, and will plan more events that go beyond the style of the CoffeeHaus. This print issue represents an early milestone in the journey of B-Side, moving from a solely online publication to a physical magazine. Continuing this project and learning about other formats that the magazine can take, such as on digital music platforms like Soundcloud, will be key. We hope to remain a place for music-lovers of all sorts.

Thank you for your support.

- B-Side Managing Editors Katherine Chavez and Jake Goodman Cover and title images designed by Bethany Hung Layout by Katherine Chavez Edited by Michael O’Neill, Jake Goodman and Bethany Hung Sponsored by the Brown University Music Department

R E AD THI S I S SU E O N LIN E A N D B RO WS E O U R FUL L CONT ENT AT B S IDEM A G A Z IN E. O RG

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SPRING B-Side staff members preview four artists coming to Brown’s Spring Weekend 2017...

PRINCESS NOKIA

by Yasmine Hassan It takes a special sort of artist to perform as one of Spring Weekend’s most anticipated acts, as well as share her thoughts on “spirituality, feminism, and race” in a sold-out Women’s History Series talk at the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center. But Destiny Frasqueri is just that sort of artist.

Frasqueri has adopted a number of monikers over the course of her career.

These days, she is best known under the guise of the high-energy, don’tgive-a-fuck persona Princess Nokia, but it is impossible to understand the thought and artistry behind Princess Nokia without first understanding her personal background and complex past. Destiny’s identity is a whirlwind of intersections and contradictions. A proud Afro-Nuyorican who spent her adolescence drifting between Spanish Harlem and the Lower East Side, she’s both self-proclaimed New York tough kid and classic Boricua shorty, unapologetically punk tomboy and traditional Caribbean woman--a person who fully embraces all of her hard and soft edges, and who is equally grounded in and inspired by her roots, her ideals, her favorite comic books, and the “cinematic landscapes” of her native New York.

Having lost her mother to HIV/AIDS at the age of ten, she was forced to deal with an abusive household after becoming a product of the foster care system. Before running away to the Lower East Side at the age of sixteen, it was the surrounding queer communities who helped raise her; she became a “club kid,” go-go dancing, attending vogueing competitions, and wholly immersing herself in the local underground creative scene.

This time spent in the Lower East Side, explains Frasqueri, is what catalyzed her career as Princess Nokia--and as a “legitimate” musician. Before the era of Princess Nokia, she was just Destiny, and subsequently, Wavy Spice, an artist who would infrequently post tracks on SoundCloud. Mostly, though, she would revel in the freedom of playing underground, “high-powered punk shows... performing, making people feel good, [and] singing songs that people [couldn’t] get online.” Her first track, “Destiny” (recorded 2010, released 2012), only gained modest popularity online, but it read like a prophecy. “I'm doing shit so legit it’s beyond you / My characteristic spit, I’ll admit it’s beyond you / My shit is X-Men, I'm a mutant you can’t see me / blowing up the masses like the invention of the TV” Shortly after, she would release a second track, titled “Bitch I’m Posh.” With its lush, metallic synth piano and backdrop of classic house percussion, as well as her “posh” voice spitting lines replete with QTPOC slang, the track clearly harkens to her roots in the queer club scene. Faced with the international recognition that followed, Frasqueri then felt the pressure to create a record in lieu of her usual, experimental approach to music. Soon followed tracks like “YAYA” (a dedication to her indigenous roots, its title meaning “Great Spirit” in Taino) and “Versace Hottie.”

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YOUNG THUG

by Chris Patiño On April 28th, Jeffery Williams, more famously known by his stage name Young Thug, will headline the first day of Spring Weekend. While most popularly known for hit songs like “Best Friend,” “Lifestyle,” and the Travis Scott-featuring “Pick up the Phone,” Thug has an extensive catalog of high-energy records that showcase his unique rapping style over Atlanta’s signature trap production. While his high-pitched, auto-tuned raps and gender-defying wardrobe have made him a polarizing figure in hip-hop fan circles, he has earned himself the attention of hip-hop’s elite; Thug was featured on Kanye West’s “Highlights” from his latest album, and appeared twice on Drake’s latest project.

In 2014, Young Thug released two of his break out singles, “Stoner” and “Danny Glover.” Among his cult fans, these records have gone on to become classics.

Both records feature signature Atlanta trap production from super producers Dun Deal (known for Migos’s “Hannah Montana”) and Southside (known for Future’s “Fuck Up Some Commas”) while also showcasing Young Thug’s unique vocal style.

Then in 2015, Young Thug released his commercial debut project Barter 6 and released the first two installments of his Slime Season mixtape series. Thug’s biggest hit to date, “Lifestyle,” a collaboration with fellow Atlanta rapper Rich Homie Quan, was released that year on Birdman’s Rich Gang The Tour: Part 1 compilation. Thug also showcased his crossover abilities on Jamie XX’s “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times),” dropping two overtly sexual and ridiculously catchy verses over the indie-electro producer’s stunning backdrop.

Within a month of “Versace Hottie,” Frasqueri reimagined herself as “supernatural hood fairy” Princess Nokia. First came “Nokia”, a nod to “ghetto girls”, early 2000s butterfly-clips-and-glitter aesthetics, and Japanese pop culture. (Who else could get away with sampling Utada Hikaru’s “My Sanctuary” from Kingdom Hearts and singing “Konnichiwa / Me llamo Nokia / y me gusta Pokemon” in the same song?) Then was “Dragons,” a track inspired by her fascination with the relationship between Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo of Game of Thrones, but accompanied by a standalone video love story made of arcade game kisses and quotidian bedroom scenes. With the release of mixtapes ‘Metallic Butterfly’ and ‘Honeysuckle,’ as well as her first EP ‘1992’, her discography expanded to include irreverent, attitude-packed hits “TOMBOY” and “KITANA.”

Last year, Thug continued to make waves with the release of his final Slime Season mixtape. The highly anticipated lead single from the mixtape, With Them, was premiered at Kanye West’s “Yeezy Season 3” event in Madison Square garden. He also released the mixtape I’m Up, and followed it up with the critically-acclaimed Jeffery. On this project, Thug experimented with different musical and vocal styles, particularly by bringing in elements of dance hall and including instrumentals from younger, less-established producers.

Of her most recent artistic transformation, Frasqueri says, “As Princess Nokia I can project the multi-dimensional aspects of myself that I could not express with the name Wavy Spice...I’m making worldly music that will talk to all kinds of people: Banjee girls in Harlem, teen brides in the Middle East, gay boys in East Asia....My new music is cosmic and three dimensional, and it will really speak of who Princess Nokia is. Princess Nokia is sound.

It is progression. It is all that I am.”

Currently, Young Thug is working on new music, which many believe will lead to his debut album Hy!£UN35 (pronounced high tunes). Thug recently appeared on the new Calvin Harris single “Heatstroke” alongside Ariana Grande, and Pharrell.

WEEKEND ERYKAH BADU

CHERRY GLAZERR

by Brianna Gilmore

by Tia Forsman

Early this year came the twentieth anniversary of a debut album that launched the career of one of music’s most innovative, free-spirited, and visionary artists: Erykah Badu. Her music, an exciting blend of soul and contemporary R&B, helped spawn what came to be known as the neo-soul genre. And soon, on April 29th, the queen of neo-soul, Ms. Badu herself, will grace Brown’s campus for the annual Spring Weekend Concert.

Amongst a line-up of strong female talents this Spring Weekend, LA’s Clementine Creevy and her group Cherry Glazerr are bound to bring all the raunchy, raw rock n’ roll your heart could desire. Mix together the raw guitar sounds of Sonic Youth, dynamic style of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, and honest lyrics of Girlpool and you might get something close to Cherry Glazerr. If you’re new to the group’s tunes, the best place to start is their recently released full-length album Apocalipstick.

As you might guess from the title, the album packs a powerful punch as it tackles issues of women’s rights, strength, and independence. In the opening track, “Told You I’d Be with the Guys,” Creevy sings “I was a lone wolf / I thought I lost my pack / where are my ladies?” The song resolves with a build up of heavy power chords and Creevy in solidarity with other women as they try to find their space in a male-dominated world. “Now I see the beauty/ it’s necessary/ to give a lady love.”

The debut album in question, Baduizm, brought the world its first taste of the hypnotic spell that is Erykah Badu’s music. Badu introduced her unique style with this debut, but more importantly, she introduced her –izm, her truth. In an interview Rachel Stuart of “Planet Groove”, Badu said:“Badu is my last name, ‘izm’ is what should get you high and Baduizm [is] the things that get me high.

Lighting a candle, loving life, knowing myself, knowing my creator, loving them both... Using my melanin. Using my power to get to where I need to go to do the creator’s work—that’s what I’m here for.”

Badu operates on a rare frequency. Her songs center on her blackness and her womanhood, her spirituality, and her progressive and often subversive politics. Her music reveals her unique perception of the world through a use of creative metaphors or sometimes a quick and funny line that cuts straight to her point. And with the way she’s been known to push boundaries and take artistic risks in her work, many consider her a visionary.

Beyond Baduizm, Badu has produced a variety of albums and mixtapes bent on sharing her light and power with the world. Her works include a live album and a two-part project titled New Amerykah, among several others. More recently, in 2015, Badu released a mixtape, But You Caint Use My Phone, that speaks about love in the digital age.

With references to past songs such as “Tyrone” and “Telephone Man,” Badu incorporates her past work into this new project, breathing new life into old words. Pitchfork calls Badu’s work on But You Caint Use My Phone as “offthe-cuff, but steeped in wisdom”, which is a more than accurate description of Badu and her music. In much of her work Badu casually drops knowledge with a sureness that will immediately convince you of the truth in her –izm, and this most recent mixtape proves no exception.

Two years after the fact, many will be familiar with “Cel U Lar Device”, Badu’s cover of Drake’s “Hotline Bling.” Badu’s cover takes a twist on Drake’s song, slowing it down as the singer makes it her own. Other standouts from this mixtape (hand-selected by yours truly) include “Phone Down” and “Hello.” To get more of a sense of Badu’s music, check out B-Side’s playlist of some of her best tracks or catch her at the Spring Weekend Concert, April 29th, and experience her –izm for yourself.

Cherry Glazerr’s mature sound and snarky--sometimes hilarious--lyrics might suggest that Creevy and her bandmates have been making music together for ages, but the current trio has gone through several iterations. On top of that, Creevy is still in high school. How’s that for precocious? Creevy began making music when she was 15 under the name Clembutt and soon caught the eye of Burger Records. After signing with Burger, Creevy and three other bandmates wrote and recorded Cherry Glazerr’s first album Haxel Princess, which has much more of a garage-band sound. Slower guitar licks and slurred lyrics created an apathetic attitude that gave the group their ‘we-don’ttake-ourselves-too-seriously’ aesthetic.

Now a bit more evolved, Cherry Glazerr is Creevy, Tabor Allen (drums), and Sasami Ashworth (synth). They are now signed to Secretly Canadian Records and have worked with big-name creatives--namely Joe Chiccarelli, who has worked with artists like Frank Zappa, The White Stripes, and The Strokes. Hedi Slimane, the creative director of the fashion company Saint Laurent, even took an interest in Cherry Glazerr’s sound back in 2014 when he asked them to write a song for a runway show.

The group came up with “Had Ten Dollaz,” an eerie punk song with catchy bass-lines and perfectly simple lyrics. Today, the group still carries the laid-back aesthetic of their first album Haxel Princess but have injected their sound with fiery ferocity.

So what is Cherry Glazerr going to bring to the Main Green this Spring Weekend? Well, the short answer is simple: badassery. But for the longer answer: a refreshing dose of rock n’ roll that is both brutally honest and blissfully bold. Expect infectious guitar riffs to run through your head all night, along with an undeniable urge to dismantle the patriarchy. But if that amount of empowerment isn’t your thing, fear not; the group’s setlist will likely also include songs on a range of topics including a “Nuclear Bomb,” “Lucid Dreams,” “Grilled Cheese,” and even “Moon Dust.” Whether it’s their their humor, energy, or laid-back hipster aesthetic, Cherry Glazerr has so much to throw at us this Spring Weekend and you will not regret a single second spent dancing to their tunes.

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THE SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR MEALS Looking for the best place to grab food or drinks and listen to music? B-Side has got you covered. Our staff writers sat in at dining halls across campus to check out the tunes of Brown’s eateries. Here’s what they found:

Andrews Commons Like most of the eateries on campus, the playlist in Andrews is controlled by whichever students are working their shifts throughout the week. Although there tend to be blocks of genre-consistent jams on any given day (which presumably transition once the aux cord is handed off to another worker), the range of music played is incredibly diverse. Maybe it’s that we’re biased towards eclecticism, but it’s hard not to get excited at every single song that pops up.

Standing in line for a granola bowl or brunch burrito on the weekend, one can expect to hear anything from classic throwbacks to ‘90s hip-hop — who knew that “Holiday Inn” by Chingy could pair so well with lime-green furniture and a mid-morning headache? Late nights in Andrews are sometimes a bit of a toss-up in terms of a soundtrack to accompany your 1:30am pizza craving, with the selection ranging from assorted heavy metal to nostalgia-indulging hits from Lil Wayne, Nelly Furtado, and My Chemical Romance.

But coming through on a weekday during busy lunch hours, forget about predictability. Depending on the day, the tunes trend in a number of different directions, from more recent indie bands (Of Monsters and Men, anyone?) to bluesy throwbacks from Ray Charles. Be it a string of new releases like Beyonce & Jay-Z’s collab with DJ Khaled or a tracklist entirely composed of albums from new wave darlings The Smiths and The Cure, BUDS workers sure know how to curate a lunchtime rotation.

One can also expect to hear reggaeton, dancehall, and in general, a host of Latin American and Caribbean music featuring familiar tunes from Shakira, Maluma, J Balvin, and Juanes on a regular basis. That, along with the occasional back-to-back afrobeat blocks, makes Andrews perhaps the only other eatery on campus to consistently feature music in other languages aside from the V-Dub. -Auriane Benabou + Yasmine Hassan

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Jo’s When you’re not enjoying the exquisite pleasure of a spicy with or a signature salad, you can always catch some rockin’ tunes at Jo’s. Known for its variety of throwbacks, Jo’s blasts everything from Britney Spears to Stevie Wonder to Blink-182. Listeners often note the acute loudness of the music, along with the occasional interruption of a Spotify commercial. On a poppin’ Saturday night, in which the many patrons of Jo’s roam the sticky floors, Kesha can be heard singing hit singles like “TiK ToK” or Keri Hilson belting “Pretty Girl Rock”.

Jo’s always has the perfect middle-school nostalgia playlist. Jo’s is not afraid of variety though; like other dining halls Jo’s ventures into other genres like reggaeton, pop punk, and funk. As the current supervisor on the floor usually connects their phone to the speaker system, the music often varies with the various shifts of BUDS workers. Whether you’re looking for 90’s throwbacks or 2000’s pop hits, the playlists at Jo’s will perfectly complement your spicy with.

-Jake Goodman

The V-Dub Verney-Woolley dining hall is notable for its eclectic selection of tunes throughout the day. Head to the omelette bar every morning for a daily dose of dancehall, pop, and hip hop to help you wake up before your 9 AMs. You can expect some of the most recent hits like “One Dance” and “Work”, but you’re always bound to hear something you’ve never heard.

If you’re looking for something more low key or alternative, head to dinner just as VDub starts clearing out. Around 7PM it’s likely you’ll catch some of your indie and alt-rock favorites ranging anywhere from The Sundays to Jeff Buckley, Jackson Browne to The Decembrists. 80’s synth Pop greats like New Order and Depeche Mode can be heard from time to time as well.

-Max Luebbers

The Underground On a cloudy Tuesday morning, The Underground is full of busy students, warm coffee smells, and most importantly exciting sounds. In the same way The Underground exists as a generally open, collaborative space for a number of purposes, the music that plays is a product of a collaborative effort.

You’ll never really know what to expect because on any given day the students who work at The Underground take turns plugging in and controlling the tunes.

After ordering a small Latte to the sounds of “Fool”

by Frankie Cosmos, I struck up a conversation with Jeremy and Abigayle, two students who were working the espresso machine that morning. Jeremy was in charge of the music at the moment; he mentioned playing things that he was personally really into at the time--artists like Car Seat Headrest, Beach Fossils, and Blood Orange. Abigayle admitted to being “the worst DJ” but mentioned the “Morning Acoustic” playlist on Spotify as her main go-to when she is in charge of the music.

Both Jeremy and Abigayle agreed the music in the space plays a key part in setting the “vibe” of The Underground. Jokingly, Jeremy claimed, “music is everything,” but as he handed me my latte, he corrected himself: “the coffee is everything, and the music is supplementary.” Either way, you are bound to hear something you love in The Underground and if you’re feeling a little low on caffeine or music recommendations, now you know where to go.

-Tia Forsman

The Ivy Room We know the Ivy Room as the ideal weeknight snacking spot, with a vibe reminiscent of a comfort food diner. The space is multipurpose, almost like a living room at home, and filled with a white noise that caters itself to most late night needs. It’s quiet and spacious enough that you could comfortably settle down for a night of studying, but the atmosphere also lends itself to laid-back dinners and spontaneous run-ins. It’s a more laid-back, toneddown Jo’s, and an eatery with some of the best food on campus.

Usually, the person who is supervising takes charge of the song selection, but BUDS workers mention often taking turns with the aux cord as well. So fittingly, the Ivy Room rings of variance; the vibe re-

flects the tastes of the students behind the smoothie bar and falafel line. Expect to find yourself dining to a playlist of 90s and early 2000s throwbacks, like the Gorillaz and Justin Timberlake. Jacob Alabab-Moser, a BUDS student who I often see behind the ever-popular bruschetta bar, mentions the value of keeping the songs upbeat and wellknown—which makes shifts go faster, especially late on weeknights. Throwbacks consistently feed the energy of the room, but so do the other Ivy Room standards: Chance, Kanye, Beyonce, Frank Ocean, and the occasional reggaeton.

-Tara Sharma

The Blue Room The Blue Room is always a hotspot on campus anytime during the week. Whether you’re picking up a delicious butter rum muffin, meeting up with friends, or basking in all of the actual color blue that’s in the Blue Room (one single painting hanging up on the yellow walls), there’s always one reason or another to visit the most colorful room on campus.

Yet another reason? How about the music? While the Blue Room may not boast the hipster, coffeeshop vibes of the Underground or the surprising range of hip hop and rap in the Mail Room, the Blue Room’s music appeals to the biggest crowd.

Seemingly playing off the iTunes Top Singles on a Tuesday afternoon, mainstream hits such as “Bad and Boujee” by Migos, “Battle Scars” by Lupe Fiasco and Guy Sebastian, and “Latch” by Sam Smith all keep the vibes of the Blue Room upbeat and energetic. Another favorite of the Blue Room is “Needed Me” by Rihanna, which I’ve heard playing there on at least twenty different occasions.

In one of the most popular destinations on campus, you can expect to hear songs from the top charts in the Blue Room. I’ve heard top artists such as The Chainsmokers, Drake, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, Frank Ocean, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, Kanye West, and on one rare occasion, Noname, all rocking the Blue Room.

It may not be the most underground music scene or as exploratory as Spotify’s ‘Discover Weekly’ playlist, but the Blue Room will continually keep the music jamming and jiving, and your feet moving and grooving to the beats.

-Zander Kim

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Photos courtesy of A Troop of Echoes Interview by Bethany Hung and Jake Goodman We talked to A Troop of Echoes, a Providence instrumental band, on a dark and stormy night. Across from a wall-sized 3D anaglyph rendering of the Moon in the Lincoln Field Building, we sat and discussed the band’s album, touring history, and current projects. Band members Dan, Nick, Pete, and Harry introduced themselves and told us a bit about their lives – including their favorite animals and the scene in which they grew up.

BETHANY: When did you guys start making music?

Individually and as a group.

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DAN: And Nick is the first person I played music with, so we’re still going strong seventeen years later.

JAKE: Hi guys, nice to meet with you. Can you tell us your names, what you play, and your favorite animal?

NICK: I play the guitar, and occasionally other things.

Favorite animal? Tiger.

DAN: I’m Dan, I play the drums, and…

NICK: Maybe a cheetah.

DAN: Oh. So I’m Dan, I play the drums, and the xylophone, and the glockenspiel, and occasionally the Moog, and my favorite animal is a lamprey.

NICK: So, 2004 was when the band became a thing. I mean, I’ve been playing guitar since 2000…?

HARRY:: Yeah, I started in 2000 as well. I actually knew a mutual friend who knew Pete, and he said Pete was trying to get a band together, and he needed a bass player. And so he recommended me, and I was 14 when I joined the band. And I’m 27 now. So, yeah, we’ve had a lot of maturing to do over the course of this band.

PETE: So yeah, I started playing in 1995... I was in third grade. I barely played, though, until I was 16, which would’ve been 2002, and then I hit it pretty hard.

DAN: Wait Pete, when did you start playing?

HARRY: I’m Harrison, Harry for short. I play the bass, and also occasionally play Moog, keyboards, also unofficial recording engineer. Red panda.

PETE: 1995.

PETE: Hi, I’m Pete. I play all the saxophone in A Troop of Echoes, and my favorite animal is Dan.

BETHANY & JAKE: 1997.

DAN: Ooh, hey buddy.

HARRY: The Danimal.

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DAN: I think our first band practice was in 2004, so it’s been a while.

DAN: When were you guys born?

DAN: Nice. Pete’s saxophone is older than you guys.

JAKE: How would you guys define your genre, or style?

PETE: So, we’ve had a big problem with that over the

years, partially because we’re a rock band with a saxophone, but also because our style changed so much at times. So like we used to be kind of a math rock band, and now we’re essentially post-rock, as much as none of us really like that label at all. We sound like other bands that kind of exist in that space, so we kind of use that now.

DAN: Labels aren’t always bad.

NICK: We’re an instrumental band with an atypical structure at times.

HARRY: It’s not always straight ahead, verse-chorusverse type of thing. But, you know, when you have to be quick and pithy, sometimes you just have to be like, “Alright, this is sort of the sandbox we’ve been playing in.” Make that compromise – not a compromise, but sort of make that call.

BETHANY: So I read your Facebook bio… I know Peter, Nick, and Harry, you guys study music, and Dan, you’re a geology PhD at Brown. How does what you study relate to your music? Do you see it reflected in what you play as a band, or not so much?

DAN: That’s a heady one.

us hone our skills, to be able to have the theory.

NICK: Yeah, it definitely infects the language that you end up using – kind of more technical language at times, just because you have the name for something.

But I think, procedurally, it’s not much different from what every other band does. Just get in a room together and try to make some cool stuff. Generally, when we’re playing, we do a lot of writing through spontaneous jamming, like a lot of bands do. So it’s still totally an intuitive process, but you can’t help having the things that you study kind of infect the things you’re going to do. It’s sort of like what you read determines how you’re going to write in a lot of ways, same kind of deal.

DAN: There are a couple songs on the new album with string arrangements, horns, something like that, and those kinds of embellishments would’ve been tricky to do without some sort of education.

NICK: We probably would’ve had to talk to someone else, at least, to help us get it on the paper or whatever.

Whereas, instead, any of us could just score something out and write actual music and give it to some string players and be like “Hey, this is exactly what we’re thinking of.” So I guess having a little bit of that background helped us sort of make that a possibility.

HARRY: Also, at the same time, though, sometimes that language hinders you.

Dan, especially – some rehearsals we’ve had where we’re just talking for thirty, forty minutes about something and Dan’s just like, “Nah, play it, like, more open” and we’re like, “What,” and he says “Just play it open!” and we play it again and it’s like “Oh, yeah, yeah, just do it like that!”

HARRY: I think that at least, for Nick and Pete and I, the music majors, I think being in that academic setting, you would get introduced to some music that you might not necessarily think about. Like, I got really heavily into 20th century classical music when I started to be a music major. And, granted, we’re not writing huge pieces for 50-piece orchestra with graphic notation, but it’s just sort of opening the doors about what is out there and what can be done. And I think it’s helped

DAN: Just play it really loud.

HARRY: So sometimes being tied to those technical terms does hinder you.

DAN: I think the worst music we wrote was when you guys all were in school together because we were basically just so far up our own asses with technical stuff.

The songs got lost in the technique, so it was only a few

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years after they got out of school where we started to make it more organic, started to breathe a little more.

BETHANY: Continuing on the influences, most of the bands we tend to interview are Brown student bands who haven’t had much exposure to the broader Rhode Island-Providence music scene. How do you think being a part of that has shaped your style as a band?

PETE: I could go on about this, but the thing about being part of the Providence music scene is that we’ve been lucky to grow up around bands who are so ridiculously amazing. Some of them are famous and a lot of them are not, and Providence just has this huge creative energy in the community. When we started, we didn’t have that exposure to that community, because we were right out of high school, so the first thing that happened to us as a band was going out to shows together. We were just soaking in it the whole time and being influenced by the people who are around us, and we got really lucky to be born in a town where that actually works out, you know. That’s what I’ve taken out of it.

HARRY: I also think that Providence is so diverse. And there are certain people who… I wouldn’t say they’re heroes of the local music scene, but they’re people who have been in bands for twenty years – like the guys from Dropdead, you’ll see them at the vegan restaurant down the street, or you’ll see them at a show or something like that, and they’re all really really positive about everything. Some of them will be like, “Well, your music’s not my thing, but I’m really happy that you’re here and that you’re doing it.” And to have that kind of support and just do what we want to do, play the music we want to play – we’re glad to have that here in this scene. That’s really what’s important, and I can’t imagine this band working anywhere else besides Providence, honestly.

DAN: Yeah, in those early days, we’d go see bands together a lot and shamelessly rip them off. We’d go see Lightning Bolt and want to write a noise jam, but with a saxophone. And then we’d see Mahi Mahi and want to write an electro-dance-rock piece, but with a saxophone. We jumped off the ship of aping the scene once everyone in Providence started folk bands.

HARRY: Or doom metal bands.

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DAN: We skipped the doom metal stage.

HARRY: And then we started to do things like, alright, how do we combine this into something else? Something a little less isolated from song to song; combine it into something that’s a little more… coherent.

NICK: Yeah, we just found a sound that we all liked and wanted to build on.

JAKE: Did you guys say that you all grew up in Rhode Island?

BAND: Yep. NICK: So Dan, Pete, and I all went to high school together, actually, so that’s very Rhode Island of us. And Harry grew up a town away. We were very lucky... seems like it’s not really the same now. So I teach guitar, and I have a lot of younger students, high-school age students. I don’t get the vibe from any of them that it’s really the same anymore, which is kind of sad. When we were in high school, there were probably a hundred kids who played in bands. We had Battle of the Bands in our high school, in a white suburban town, in Rhode Island, but we had Battle of the Bands with well over a dozen bands. Probably close to twenty bands. Usually not a lot of repeat customers from band to band. Just all unique individuals.

DAN: And they’re all doing different stuff, for the most part.

NICK: So we kind of came from an anomaly, a weird scene for our town, a weird moment in time. And that sort of catapulted us into it when we got into Providence; it was not so strange for us to just sort of be thrown into a mix of all kinds of different shit.

PETE: That’s true, actually. Like Nick, Dan, and I, when we were in that high school, it’s true – you could have a concert of just high school kids where sixty or a hundred people would play or something, which is obviously super unusual. But, like you said, that translated really easily into being a part of the Providence scene.

NICK: But yeah, the Living Room would book anyone.

If you wanted to play, it didn’t matter if your side project wanted to play a show, if your new experimental music project with one person in it wanted to play a show, they would book you and say, “Yeah, that’s great, you’re on Thursday night. It’s $6 at the door.”

NICK: With hardcore bands, and doom bands, and classic rock cover bands. Just everything. You name it, we had it. You get here and it’s like yeah, it’s a little more experimental, in general, definitely at the time. There was lot of noise stuff, and out-there electronica-type music, when we got to Providence, but it wasn’t any extreme sort of culture shock.

PETE: And no one will be there.

JAKE: Did you guys play around Brown a decent amount?

DAN: Yeah, there’s not like puddles of water on the stage.

NICK: We played on the radio, right?

HARRY: There are doors on the bathrooms…

DAN: We did. That was before I was going here, too.

We also played a couple parties, at one point.

NICK: Yeah, but now, me and Dan are in another band playing around (Public Policy), so we also play Aurora, Dusk, AS220 still.

NICK: Yeah, Brown Student Radio. We were in studio there, once. In 2007 or something. Which was a riot.

That was a blast. We also probably played five years ago, some party down Benefit Street, or Congdon Street.

PETE: We’re not going to tell you about what happened there.

NICK: Needless to say, it was pretty wild. But other than that, not that many house shows or anything around here. At least not on the East Side.

PETE: Yeah, but we play in Providence a lot, obviously.

JAKE: So what are the venues that you usually play at most often? Or favorites, fete or anything like that?

DAN: So for Providence, probably AS220.

HARRY: That was really where we cut our teeth, I think.

NICK: When we first came out, there was also The Living Room, which no longer exists. That was the place where we first started playing before we could even get into AS220. Back in the day, AS220 was a little bit more insular, which is sort of a negative word, but that’s what it felt like. They sort of had their faves, and they would pick from that same pool of people whereas a couple years after that, they really opened it up.

HARRY: Yeah, it was when their booking agent changed.

NICK: That was just a grime-hole, but it was also like…

Think of shows that are now at the Met, now – those shows were at the Living Room. Mid-level touring bands would play through there and now they’d come to the Met, which is way better, in some ways.

PETE: I think we did the highest number of shows at AS220, and probably our best shows were also there.

We also played at the Met. HARRY: The Met was pretty fun. Also, Fete was pretty rad – we played with Cloud Nothings there. That was baller.

PETE: Yeah, that was a good time. They were nice dudes. I think they played the Brown Spring Weekend a few years back.

DAN: Honestly, the most fun shows we’ve had are at warehouses spaces or DIY places, just showing up and someone has Christmas lights in their basement.

PETE: In the last few years we’ve been doing a lot more regional touring and a lot less playing a bunch of shows in Providence. You know, we stopped relying on this particular scene so much. We would play one or two shows in Providence in a couple months and play all up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

BETHANY: So have you guys mostly toured on the East Coast?

NICK: We’ve been down to New Orleans, down the Atlantic Coast, and went through Nashville and Florida.

So we’ve done that sorta route a couple of times. Then we went out to the Midwest. We went out to Chicago, Minneapolis, Canada, Port Huron.

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DAN: Up into Toronto, Montreal. That’s our boundary region of shows.

BETHANY:: I saw on your website you have a food blog. I’m curious – why a food blog?

HARRY: We just got so sick of rest stops.

DAN: Burger King.

HARRY: Every hour you would see Wendy’s, McDonald’s.

DAN: Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. (laughs) HARRY: We weren’t making a ton of money, but when we toured it was like a vacation. So we’d be like “We’ll spend a bit of money to get a good meal.” We would start asking people we were playing with “What’s your favorite restaurant in the city; where should we go if we can only go to one restaurant?” We’d get all sorts of things. It really started with the Annabel Lee in Baltimore.

PETE: A magical, magical, place.

HARRY: It’s this great tavern. Dark and moody. Edgar Allan Poe-inspired. They have a great beer selection, great crab cakes. It was kind of a joke to say oh we should start reviewing these places. But after a while we started actually doing it.

DAN: When you’re on tour, you don’t really get to see a city. You show up, unload your gear, play the show, you load your gear back up, go to wherever you’re sleeping, and it’s four AM. So the things that we could do to see what a city was about was to get food for dinner. That was the only interaction we had with a city except for getting gas and sleeping in a stranger’s room (band laughs). So that was kinda the point of the food blog.

Just like, here’s the way we’re interacting with the cities.

NICK: Also, it was a pretext for a tour blog that wasn’t just about playing shows. It was a lead in. Most of them have a story behind them. Like all the ridiculous stuff that happened to us seen through the lens of fine dining.

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HARRY: I will say they’re not all positive reviews.

There’s one review I think that was the only negative review we have, but it was such a bizarre place.

PETE: We stopped by this one that was like a messed up off-brand Subway restaurant, but they had a million video cameras, a strangely conspicuous number of security cameras.

HARRY: They also served pizza, breakfast all day, and ice cream.

PETE: The food was the weirdest thing ever. It was all very uncomfortable. But yeah, that’s kind of the thing. When you go on tour, weird things happen to you. That’s how it goes. We didn’t have a way to talk about that.

NICK: You have no idea what you’re going to get into any given day.

HARRY: We just wanted free wifi (Everyone laughs).

To be fair, they didn’t share their wifi password with their employees. So what’s going on there? *** Read the full interview on bsidemagazine.org!

A Troop of Echoes is on Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, and Soundcloud. You can also buy their records at local Providence music stores, such as What Cheer! and Armageddon Shop.

Feature by Rodell Jefferson III I read a tweet the other day that said, “2016 was a terrible movie with an amazing soundtrack.” The year of 2016 will forever go down in history as the year that exchanged many of the world’s heroes for one big orange villain with a toolkit of oppression and disrespect. For myself and many others, recent political events have been not so much surprising, as it has been unsettling to the very core.

In my ongoing struggle to remain active, aware, and inspired, 2016’s soundtrack has been helping to keep me afloat. When I find my own voice choked up in the back of my throat, it has been Solange speaking for me, or Vince Staples, or one of the many other artists caught up in the times. Resistance comes in many forms and it can be heard in the melodies and rhymes of this year’s music.

Nina Simone believed that it was an artist’s duty to reflect the times. I don’t think any song better reflected the times than YG’s “FDT (Fuck Donald Trump)”. “He too rich, he ain't got the answers / He can't make decisions for this country, he gon' crash us,” YG raps. “FDT” is political diss track — a crowd of protest signs packed into one four minute-long single.

If hard times make for good music, then we could quite possibly have a musical renaissance on the horizon. 2016 has already brought us a slew of fiery protest music from everyday household names, to artists still lurking under the radar, to legends whose voices bring nostalgia to our ears.

2016 is the year that A Tribe Called Quest sparked back to life. 2016 was also the year that took Phife Dawg, making their final album all the more meaningful. The Tribe wastes no time bouncing from one political topic to another, and showing that they’ve still got their rapping chops while they’re at it. In an interview with Beats 1 Radio, Q-Tip explains that the Tribe tries to paint pictures and speak to a climate in hopes of inspiring young folks that could be the next “Jimmy Carter” or “Angela Davis.” How many people were possibly inspired and influenced by Tribe tearing down walls and denouncing “Agent Orange” at the Grammy Awards?

Black women in particular have made their political voices loud and clear this year on the musical landscape. If you’re still using the “no women in hip-hop” excuse to not seek out women in hip-hop, you’re long behind the curve. From Solange’s A Seat at the Table to Noname’s Telefone, Black women

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were undeniably present.

Rapsody, who you may recognize from Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, released one of my favorite songs of the year on her Crown EP. “Fire” is a five minute-long reflection on the state of America, and a passionate dedication to justice and equality. “We’re living in America but ain’t paying the same rent / We need progress and they still talking past tense,” she raps — one of the many profoundly quotable moments throughout the song. If you happen to be putting together a revolution and resistance playlist, Rapsody’s “Fire” deserves that first spot.

But as I said, resistance comes in many forms. For myself, this very article is a form of resistance and a coping mechanism for stressful times — a political act in the form of a journal feature. Artists are soundtracking resistance, but not only through their charged lyrics. Some artists have found themselves tapping into the sounds of older Black music to express themselves.

Perhaps Kendrick’s jazz-infused To Pimp a Butterfly from the year before helped to open the door to this trend — the sax-

“grown folks” music and turn up the volume before exclaiming that I “don’t know nothin’ ‘bout this!”

Childish Gambino (a.k.a. Donald Glover), one of my favorite artists, also helped to push this trend along. When Childish Gambino’s Awaken My Love! released I was quick to find my time with the project. I played it through my roommate’s stereo system, sitting under the dim glow of string lights. I found myself hypnotized by sounds that felt both familiar, and like nothing else I had heard before. I was suddenly a child again in the backseat of my dad’s car with funky chords spilling out of the speakers — only to look outside the window to a different planet made of different sounds.

The same way I found voices to support my own in some music, I found a familiar comfort in the sounds of others. “There’s something about that ’70s Black music that felt like they were trying to start a revolution,” Glover said in an interview with Billboard. If Glover is trying to start a revolution through his music, he isn’t the only one. In times like these, it is important that we do not forget how to feel; there can be no change — no

GOING INTO 2017, I AM WEARING MY HEART ON MY HEADPHONES AS ARTISTS CONTINUE TO REMIND US THE REALITIES OF WHERE WE ARE, AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF WHERE WE COULD BE. ophone just as present on the album as his own voice. This year brought us Chance the Rapper backing his rhymes with the power of gospel music on Coloring Book, making for a joyful testament to Chicago, his newborn daughter, and the musicality of Black worship. Elsewhere, Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge (the duo known as NxWorries) crafted their album Yes Lawd! out of pure nostalgic soul. My dad would describe it as

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revolution — without handling our emotions in their rawest forms. Artists, with their music, paintings, and poems, are there to offer us constant reminders of our emotions.

There is something revolutionary about keeping these sounds — these feelings, these hopes,

these histories — alive. Going into 2017, I am wearing my heart on my headphones as artists continue to remind us the realities of where we are, and the possibilities of where we could be. If you don’t know what the revolution will sound like, then you might not be listening hard enough.

Interview by Chris Patiño and Marisa Kouroubacalis in Fall 2016 Get ready Brown (and RISD), ‘cause Benevolent Records (BR for short) is about to change the music scene on campus like you wouldn’t believe.

The all Brown-RISD student-run music record label is expanding exponentially. It started with Lindsay Sack ‘19, a passionate music student who felt the music scene on campus needed to change. For musicians, producers, and aspiring music business leaders, it had been very hard to find the place to collaborate and celebrate this passion in an industry model. There was always a music scene on campus, but many students were left in the dark, especially if they weren’t a musician with musician friends to form a band with. Now music enthusiasts from all realms can join forces and make the magic happen they always dreamed of. The label aims to provide the resources students need to flourish musically and artistically. *** Can you describe your individual experiences with music, specifically those that led you to starting Benevolent Records?

LINDSAY: Music was always something that I was passionate about in some way and really liked, but it was never a huge part of my life. I would secretly google "Jobs in the Music Industry," but it was never something I was going to do. But when I came here, I decided to take music theory, and that started getting me into it. It was also around the same time that I signed up by chance for WBRU,

which was honestly one of the best decisions I've made because being in it and getting the chance to work in music, meet people who are involved in music, and go to shows on campus triggered a realization in me that this was something I really liked. Second semester of last year- I had been a Computer Science concentrator until halfway through- I made the decision that if this was something that was calling out to me to as much as it has been for so long, I needed to go after it. It was the best decision I've ever made.

ANNA: Music has been a big part of my life since I was a child. My parents are musicians, not as a career but as a hobby, and I used to play in a group with all of my brothers. It’s just really been an integral part of my entire life. But I never really loved performing or felt like that was what I wanted to do. At the same time, I wanted to participate in music in some way, and so I feel like this record label is a really cool way to allow me to do so, and also extend the opportunity to others to participate in music without necessarily being a performer.

What exactly does the label do?

LINDSAY: So we're the only student run record label on campus. There are two sides to it: the more tangible aspect of what we provide is resources like help with recording, performance opportunities, promotion, marketing, things like that that directly cater to our artists. But the core

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of what we want to do is to build an environment of people who love music and a space for people to create music and feel welcomed to do so. Because right now, the music scene here- while I feel like there is a lot of talent and a lot of incredible people- is sort of segmented, and there are a lot of voices that are not heard. So a lot of what we're doing is trying to give opportunities to these people who are so talented but who aren't heard because they don't fit a certain genre.

een. So I think we had to compromise a little bit of creativity because we needed to cater to what the night was and we wanted a solid showing. But I know we were really proud of how it went and it was great to see how happy people were to perform. I feel like we have a start and now we can expand on that.

What are the short and long term goals for the label?

LINDSAY: One thing that we are going to try to do the second week of November and make a regular thing is to have an open mic. I went to an open mic a few weeks back in Providence by a company that puts them on every month, and it was super small and intimate. Basically it was an opportunity for people to share music in a pretty un-intimidating space. So we're definitely going to try to do that, and it will be the kind of thing where you play one or two songs and everyone who wants to do it can do it. We're planning a show for second semester that we're really excited about. Basically, we're going to work with different film makers who will each choose a song from one of our artists and make a music video. Then we're going to get a space, Granoff if we can, and have a live music video concert where the artist performs live in front of the video. I think it would be really cool to tap into other organizations and get more of that collaboration going on.

LINDSAY: Our short term goal is just continuing to form who we want to be as an organization and providing more concrete opportunities. We just had our first show, and we're definitely planning a lot more in the future. We also want to start to really work with our artists because so far we have been more focused on establishing ourselves as an organization. Our long term goal is to create a space where people can find music because I have found a lot of opportunities for music here, but I have had to go all over for them. So to be an organization that, if someone is interested in music, they can come to, and we can provide all these avenues for them whether they are a songwriter or someone who is interested in the industry. We want to help people make meaningful things.

Can you talk about the process or any challenges involved in putting together something like the Benevolent Records Halloween Kick-Off Show?

Was it what you had envisioned? What would you do differently next time?

ANNA: The event was definitely challenging in some ways but I think in most regards it was very easy to put together because there are so many talented musicians at Brown who want to perform, and there is an audience for it. So if you do the small easy task of pairing these things together, then you can create really cool events that might require a lot more work if you were in other places.

LINDSAY: PW also made it really easy for us.

A lot of the planning that we're doing for future shows is more creative and out of the box, and going forward we want to focus on more of that. We want to expose that side of Brown more and really challenge the musicians, but we also understood the fact that we had our first show on Halloween weekend and there are limitations to that; people probably aren’t going to come to a small, acoustic concert or a weird experimental show on Hallow-

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What events does Benevolent Records have planned for the future?

ANNA: Our first event was awesome and so fun, but I think there are even more groups and genres on campus that we just haven't even tapped into yet, and different art forms like you said Lindsay.

This is a lot live music which is awesome but hopefully in the future we can also be mixing in other art forms with music.

What are your future career goals/plans?

LINDSAY: So this is a bold statement, but I am going to change the music industry because I don’t think the way it is right now is how it should be.

I have seen certain companies that, to me, are the core of what can be good with it- companies like Sofar Sounds and NPR Music- but I feel that right now there is something missing in the industry. I don’t know what that is yet, but I’m trying to find it through my classes and through projects and exploring things. What I do know is that I want to be part of the industry and make a new space in it because there are so many things wrong and there are so many things that could be better. Music is the most powerful thing in the world, and the fact

that it's commoditized and that not enough of it is heard . . . there is just so much more that can be there, so I want to figure out how to get that.

ANNA: Well I don't have as good of an answer.

(Laughs) I'm studying economics and want to do that for a career. But what is important to me--and Benevolent Records will hopefully do a good job of this--is making it so that people for whom music isn't the one and only thing they want to do, can still be participating. Even if you aren't pursuing it as your dream career you can still be a part of it and have it be a part of your life. I've got nothing more concrete than that. (Laughs) If you can meet any musician, who would you meet and why?

LINDSAY: I would have to say John Mayer. I don't really listen to him much anymore, but he was the first musician that became all-consuming for me. I felt like the transition that he seemed to be going through that he shared in his music was something I was experiencing at the same time, and I related so strongly and was so changed by it.

Like I said, I don't really listen to him that much anymore because his music is so strongly associated with a different time for me that it’s hard to connect, and also my taste has changed a little bit.

I’ve gotten more into the root of what he’s doing like soul and blues. But I would like to have a conversation with him because he seems like such an intelligent guy.

ANNA: Can this person be dead? I would chose to Amy Winehouse. I don't think there would be many questions that I would have for her because I feel like music is something that is so natural for her. She doesn’t even think about it, it just comes out of her. So I would just sit there and listen to her sing her something.

What song do you wish you wrote? You can choose multiple.

LINDSAY: There's so many! I'm going to steal that question! “Hope She'll Be Happier” by Bill Withers, not so much lyrically, but because I was so taken when I heard that song. “Midnight in Harlem,” Tedeschi Trucks Band.

ANNA: All of the lyrics that Chance writes are just so clever and funny, same with Kendrick. In terms of melody, I really like Erik Satie's "Trois Gymnopedies", that’s like the prettiest melody.

LINDSAY: “Bohemian Rhapsody” too. I saw Lake Street Dive perform it a month ago, and singing along to that song live is the most incredible release. I can't imagine writing that.

Where can people go if they are interested in getting involved with the label?

LINDSAY: Reach out to us! We're happy to meet up and talk about what we're doing or get ideas.

If you're interested in the industry side, come to our meetings every other Wednesday at 9:00 PM in Wilson 101. For the artist side, there is an artist application that you can fill out. It’s on our Facebook page, or you can email either of us and we can send it to you. Fill it out and our people will reach out to you so you can get involved!

ANNA: Yeah, we want everyone!

LINDSAY: Even if you can't be involved directly, please come support our shows and listen to our artists' music because there are so many people doing incredible things here and more people need to hear them.

Any final thoughts?

LINDSAY: The main thing that I have learned from this process is that if you believe in something strongly, just do it and don't be afraid of it.

Personally, the transition from computer science to music was not an easy decision because it meant going from security to total questioning. But don’t be afraid of what you want. Music is an incredible thing. Also, shout out to our leadership team because they are some of the most incredibly talented people with amazing ideas who are so committed to the organization. We are so grateful to be able to work with them.

ANNA: Honestly most of what Lindsay and I are doing is just connecting all of the talented people at Brown to make something together. We're not trying to make this one specific thing, we just want to be a space where people can do whatever they want. Whatever genre, whatever style, whatever anything, come to us because we want to help you produce your ideas! *** You can reach Lindsay or Anna through their emails at Anna_Croley@brown.edu and Lindsay_Sack@ brown.edu. Make sure you check out the Benevolent Records Facebook page for more information!

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RAPS FROM DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE Cover Photo from Jahi's IG, taken by Felege Gebru Review by Yasmine Hassan Despite his enigmatic social media handle (@ whoisjahi), it’s not too hard to spot Jahi around campus. Hailing from New York City, he’s a sharp-dressed guy equipped with an equally-sharp tongue and a perpetual air of laid-back chill. Between spoken word open mics and Brown Cypher guest appearances, he’s commanded a distinctive artistic presence since his freshman year, but lately, he’s been bubbling up even more on the College Hill music scene. This autumn alone, he’s opened at the Bodega Beats x DAP live show at the Spot Underground in October, and spit bars for Brown’s notoriously silly, sexy, funky supergroup, richard.

Undeniably disarming cool vibes aside, he’s a pretty private person, but his latest EP, HOME4THESUMMER, is heavily steeped in personal experience. And as it turns out, it’s inspired by the kind of story that a lot of us can relate to. Obviously, he describes his intentions best himself.

“I wanted to capture a moment in time. This project is about the experiences that come from leaving home to achieve your goals. With this comes trials and tribulations, love found and love lost, and somewhere along the way you mess around and find out you started knowing yourself. But the craziest feeling is going home, where you can finally see how much has actual-

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ly changed since you’ve been gone. I am forever grateful that the people that love me are still there for me, and knowing that they’re proud of me is one of the proudest achievements that I can attain. Something I’m especially proud of today though, is what I now share with you, 3 songs, under 15 minutes, and the chronicle of the most formative season of my life.”

Sonically, HOME4THESUMMER feels like a dim, smoky room, thick with the heady smell of incense. It is the kind of album that makes you just kind of sit and reflect--the kind of jams I know I’d want to listen to on a train home, thinking about life and love, catching flashes of my still reflection in the darkened windowpane. Romanticism aside, there is a lot to be said about each song individually. There are only three, but they each reflect distinctive elements of JAHI’s style.

The first track (and the first stop on JAHI’s adventure, naturally) is “Providence Station.” It starts off slowly, with ambling piano phrases punctuated by old-school upright bass. Within a few bars, smoky saxophone riffs begin to lazily unwind across the track, overdubbed by mellow, reverb-heavy background vocals. The piano relaxes into a cohesive pocket groove as the sax continues to noodle… and all of a sudden, JAHI is there.

When you hear him rhyme, the first word that comes to mind is “ease,” referring to the unbelievable ease with which he spits complex lines, drops unorthodox vocabulary, and crafts double-take-inducing metaphors. Listening closely, his direct references to familiar places and experiences will pull more than a few heartstrings. It’s no secret that people tend to relate their lives to the music that they listen to, but it’s a completely different experience when music manages to relate itself directly to life. “It’s kind of funny how far from heaven Providence is,” he professes, and he isn’t wrong.

“Providence Station’”s soundscape conjures up visions of walking on a nippy autumn day in a big city, leaves tumbling as the world quietly bustles by in the background.

After a brief vocal interlude, “the Internship” continues with the same moody, smoky feel, but it marks a definite departure from the train station. Here, he clears his throat and immediately sheds his usual laid-back vocal stylings; everything is markedly darker and grittier, with a more aggressive beat and overall aesthetic.

Having heard this first at the Bodega Beats show, I can say that it makes for an awesome live show. It could be because of the dark, aggressive vibe, but it also be the painfully relatable chorus--“I been out here grindin’, but I ain’t gettin’ no money.”

beginning section, he manages to convince you to go down to Rockaway with him. Just as with “Providence Station, this track has a lot of visual power. The progression of time is audible; you’re being brought along for this trip, passing time on the beach until the sun sets. And then, the layers fall away, and the second section of the track is all ocean waves and violin and reverb and magic.

Whether this was his intention or not, JAHI’s HOME4THESUMMER evokes really strong imagery; it feels personal, visual, and visceral, all at once. It offers three starkly different windows into time: before, during, and after his time spent under the Providence summer sun.

For all of those reasons, I sort of wish it went on for longer. We get to see three disparate sides of JAHI as an artist, but more than anything, they make you want to see all of the shades and nuances that lie between. For me, this EP feels like a lot of different things--like missing home, like nostalgia for summer afternoons on John St., like late nights spent wandering the East Side.

Most of all, though, it feels like getting a taste of something that only makes you crave a little bit more. It represents separate slices of an adventure that, because it feels like I’ve experienced my own parallel version, piques my curiosity to hear the cohesive, fleshed-out story arc.

IT’S NO SECRET THAT PEOPLE TEND TO RELATE THEIR LIVES TO THE MUSIC THAT THEY LISTEN TO, BUT IT’S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE WHEN MUSIC MANAGES TO RELATE ITSELF DIRECTLY TO LIFE. As soon the second track comes to a close, the dense groove of “Rockaway Beach” starts all at once, and JAHI is finally home. There’s a catch, though. “I been away for too long,” he admits, “And I won’t be home for too long”.

The production on this song is probably the most impressive on the entire EP, complete with ad-libbed background vocals, quickpaced percussion, beautiful live instrumentation, and plot-driving sound clips. After the

But these themes transcend the strange duality of the liberation/intense grind of that first summer on your own. Really, HOME4THESUMMER is about, well... just that: going home, and how we all change while we’re away, and how it feels to try and pick up where we left

off, and the emotions that come with all of that.

Now that summer has come and gone, andautumn is almost over, it’s hard to say where JAHI will go next. Wherever it may be, though, I doubt that I’m the only one who is eager to see what kind of stuff he has up his well-cuffed sleeves.

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SOBER OCTAVES a visual album Interview by William Van Zandt With Felege Gebru, Antone “Tone” LeBlanc, Warner Meadows, and Javon “SO4P” Stephenson Conception of the idea?

FELEGE: The basic idea came from when I was writing some bars for a cypher that never happened. One of the lines was ‘gambling with the hand that God gives, but I keep it lowkey with my sober octaves’, and I thought that idea could be further extracted, and I brought up the concept originally to Javon at the end of last year. I started messing around with the idea of having three narratives for the story and associating a different color with the narratives. It was very much visual what I wanted to do at first. There were very talented individuals that I had good experiences with in the past that I reached out to, and we started building visual and music inspiration.

What is Sober Octaves?

FELEGE: Sober Octaves is a visual album following the narrative of three young black men, and it’s trying to deal with the nuances that come with dealing with conformity. It’s not a point blank, you know, realizing that you’re confined and you try to fight against that. It’s showing the three possible outcomes of trying to deal with that type of conformity, also providing an immigrant’s, specifically an Ethiopian’s, point of view on such subject matters.

WARNER: In addition to dealing with conformity, it’s dealing with conformity specifically in the context of race, providing perspectives that people from other races, or people who have different backgrounds might not be able to fathom. Specifically things we’ve encountered in our own lives.

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JAVON (SO4P): I’m not gonna lie to you, I had no clue whether what was really about to happen.

Felege brought this up to us last year, and it was during the time we were talking about the cypher.

For me, that was my first time joining the cypher.

The cypher didn’t happen, and I was like alright cool whatever. We were just talking about plans and I knew Felege was talented and I had to work with him before he leaves. For me, I know that I always have conversations with people about plans and it never happens. Felege kept us on check always having these meetings over the internet. If it wasn’t for those meeting I would’ve just been chillin’ talking about my other music. He kept on pushing it until the school year started, and it was like, let’s start this. The fact that it was a thesis put so much more gravity on it too.

FELEGE: It was really interesting because at every stage of the creative process they were fully involved in it, even though they weren’t actually editing the files and what not. They are talented in that realm. They understand how to create that type of art, and how to have a vision. Having additional creatives forces like that made it so much more than I could’ve made personally.

What were the steps you took to finish this project?

ANTONE (TONE): The worth of your purpose on earth ain’t purchased.

WARNER [to FELEGE]: Remember at the beginning of the year at that BBQ at Harambe? And we went into your room and had that initial meeting, and we talked for like an hour just kept throwing out ideas. At the end of that meeting we had a vague idea of the overall concept and the idea of conformity and the masks.

WILLIAM: Do you want to elaborate on that or just let it be?

ANTONE (TONE): Before that, didn’t we start by making a long playlist of music? We made a Souncloud playlist. We used that for inspiration to make something dope.

JAVON (SO4P): I think we had more people come than people who said they were going on Facebook. To see that we filled an entire lecture hall to the point where people were sitting on the steps and crowding the back -- that was very powerful for me.

JAVON (SO4P): We definitely had the intention of making music that was going to bring knowledge.

I feel like we all listen to artists that do that in the first place, which is why the playlists were so helpful. Just to get us thinking.

FELEGE: In terms of visual and narrative inspiration, there were a couple movies we saw. We saw Memento, we saw Lemonade, we saw Moonlight, and we were kind of heated that some of the concepts overlapped.

WARNER: When I was scoring it I referenced Moonlight and Get Out a lot. Moonlight in terms of the vibe of the music. The music fit the scenes really well and I kept watching this one specific scene a lot. The scene when Chiron’s mom is yelling at him. It’s one of the only scenes where there’s no dialogue, and I wrote an essay on that for class.

I was researching that scene in depth and I tried to think in that mindset when I was doing the score.

FELEGE: Generally talking about the process of making the visuals and the music, we had the script was done first, then we heard your beat [to me].

WARNER: The first beat was yours. The second beat was mine that I made last summer. The third beat we all made together in your room [to Antone]. I made the main chord progression and you were just telling me if it was trash or not.

JAVON (SO4P): There were so many things we were doing that linked us together. It just had to happen.

What were the messages you guys wanted to get across, if any?

ANTONE (TONE): I’ll just let that be.

What was the experience seeing it finished in Macmillan?

ANTONE (TONE): Truthfully I wanted to cry.

When I first saw how many people were coming in and cared, I really didn’t expect it. I’m an introvert, I don’t really go outside that much. To see all those people that I see but don’t really know, and to share a piece of myself with them, it was crazy. I was so thankful, I said thank you so many times.

WARNER: For me, the whole process showed me how much effort goes into something like this. We could have marketed it well, and filled MacMillan with a half assed project, and people would’ve been like ‘okay that was kind tight’. But they were really astounded. It motivated me to not put shit out until it was really, really fucking good.

FELEGE: For me it was really personal. Putting footage of my family in there felt very exposing.

The fact that people were interested in talking about a different side of myself definitely made me more comfortable to do more stuff that’s my narrative. I’m possibly considering going back to the motherland (Ethiopia) and trying to make art that’s based off my Ethiopian heritage. It was cool to see that people were interested in that. It was cool to see my mom there man.

JAVON (SO4P): It was cool to see the people that trained us, whether they know it, sitting in the crowd watching that. It was great to see all the people that tell us how great our work is on the daily basis be there. It made me realize that I’m not wasting my time in what I do.

WARNER: Telling people every night that I’m in the studio, and I’m working on music -- it’s hard to quantify that. Sometimes it can sound like I’m not putting the same amount of effort in as oth-

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er people at Brown are, even though I know that I am. For all the people that I’ve been blowing off plans with to finally see what it was I was working on was really cool.

SONGS TO EAT SHERBERT TO

Last thoughts?

WARNER: It’s been a very like meaningful experience for me. It’s been such a time commitment, and it’s been the first musical project that I’ve really seen to completion that’s going to go into the public. It’s been really such a collaborative process. Its forced us all to spend so much time together, and like bond, and travel. I just feel like there were so many times in this project when I was like ‘wow, I feel like in a year, I’m gonna look back at this whole thing and remember these things’.

ANTONE (TONE): The creation of this project, what it took from us, and what it required, made us family. We were all cool before, but before this it wasn’t like it is now. We’re all best friends now and that because we’ve been through so much stuff, with the stress of deadlines, and traveling together in the snow for hours trying to get the right shots, going to New York, staying at Warner’s house, meeting his family – I’ve been able to grow so much with these people.

JAVON (SO4P): Not only in terms of the messages in the film, but in terms of the experience itself, it made me really think about keeping myself out of the boxes that society tries to put us all in. Like most of the people here at Brown I spend a lot of my time stressing out. It was just a process that showed me that once I put my mind to something I can do anything. As we continue to figure out what we want to do in our lives, yes, every part of our education is essential, but it’s really how you use what you’ve learned in that time. It helped me figure out what I’m going to do with all my energy from now on. It’s really been eye opening in terms of how I’m going to handle the rest of my life.

FELEGE: Another thing, besides being with incredibly talented people, is finding validation in your thoughts. I think it would’ve been toxic to get early critique, because that takes away from your creative process. It’s hard to communicate your vision at an early stage. Having self-validation is really important to have. Especially in such a subjective form of expression, and something that’s so personal, you shouldn’t let their people dictate how you execute your vision, finding confidence in your work.

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Playlist by Chris Patino Hideaway

by WRLD, Savoi

GUD VIBRATIONS

by NGHTMRE, SLANDER

Shelter

by Porter Robinson, Madeon

On My Way Up

by Conro

Slide

by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, Migos

Summer

by Marshmello

Rice Rain

by Cashmere Cat

Anywhere

by Dillon Francis, Will Heard

Feel Good (feat. Daya)

by Gryffin, Illenium, Daya

The Half

by DJ Snake, Jeremih, Young Thug, Swizz Beatz

Be Right There - Boombox Cartel Remix

by Diplo, Sleepy Tom, Boombox Cartel

Curry Chicken

by Joey Bada$$

Love On Me

by Galantis, Hook N Sling

Forbidden Voices - Original Mix

by Martin Garrix

Closer - R3hab Remix

by The Chainsmokers, Halsey, R3hab

Angels (feat. Saba)

by Chance the Rapper, Saba

GIGS ON THE GRASS

photos by naomy pedroza

Chloe Kibble ‘17 richard

Aidan Cron ‘19 Electric Kitty

Dan Davis ‘19 Electric Kitty

Luk Yean ‘19 Strawberry Generation

Sam McKinney ‘18 Now Hiring

Valerie Zhu ‘19 Strawberry Generation

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Feature by Max Luebbers In 1998, the music production world collectively lost its mind 37 seconds into Cher’s comeback single “Believe,” when her voice magically warbles in and out of tune for a split second. Following the release, there was widespread speculation about what effects processor or studio trickery could have created the now iconic sound that made the track an instant dance floor hit. Cher’s producers at the time were cagey about giving away any of their secrets for fear that other artists would be quick to copy. They even attempted to throw prying media off the scent by crediting the sound to vocoders and vocal synthesizers.

The truth about “Believe” was only revealed much later, when a producer on the track admitted they had used the studio pitch-correction software Auto-Tune. The software saw widespread use before the release of “Believe” but only for making minor alterations to a given track to polish vocal imperfections.

Cher’s single would be the first harness its creative potential by pushing the software beyond its limits and making it correct Cher’s voice much faster and more aggressively than had ever been done in the studio up to that point. The result is unpredictable and robotic, yet infectiously catchy.

This glitchy, broken version of Auto-Tune, became ubiquitous in the late 2000s with major support from artists like T-Pain and Kanye West. It’s largely become a dirty word in the alternative music world today because of its connotation as a lazy fall-back for mediocre vocalists, but the public’s fascination with Auto-Tune reflects a general pattern in music that has been apparent since the early days of experimental and electronic music. We are enamored with unique audio glitches. They're bizarre quirks of modern day technology turned into sonic spice for any musical artist, popular or otherwise, and while Auto-Tune is a fairly recent development, there is a long lineage of experimentation leading up to Cher’s comeback hit.

Even though these glitches are most often attributed to the rise of computers, the technique and theory

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behind them were being developed far before computers were ever used in music. The movement was spearheaded by Italian futurists in the early 1900s with the beginnings of noise music, but it was truly solidified by an American named John Cage. Generally credited as the most influential and important composer (perhaps even artist) of the 20th century, Cage was the grandfather of post-modern arrangement and Fluxus, a 1960s avant garde performance art movement that placed the conception of artistic ideas over the finished product. He influenced musicians from the Beatles to modern Japanese noise rock. His work eschewed established aesthetic limitations of the time to free sound from the grips of the composer. He embraced indeterminacy and randomness in his music to create pieces that are unreplicable and as close to nature as possible. Cage’s most famous work is “4:33” which, true to its name, involves 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. In a filled concert hall, the ambient rustles of the audience become the composition.

The legendary Brian Eno also embrace the ambient possibilities of music albeit with the help of synthesizers and computers. In 1978, he released the landmark Ambient 1: Music for Airports, a sprawling, 48-minute tone piece that solidified ambient electronic music as a viable genre. While Eno is one of the most often cited influences for electronic musicians today, his most important contribution to glitch was his work with computer generated music in the 1990s. To achieve his goal of truly “ambient” works, he had to find a way for his music to play infinitely, without end. The solution lay in computer algorithms that systematically produced compositions by altering and adding onto existing progressions and melodies. While Eno’s pieces are for the most part peaceful and understated, his work still borrowed concepts from John Cage’s more dissonant work and further added to the foundations of more established glitch music entering the 1990s and 2000s. Embracing the innate and unique qualities of different sounds over their arrangement and composition, both Eno and Cage were unknow-

ingly the forefathers of a movement of producers and artists that incorporated deliberate malfunctions and technological quirks into their musical work.

When the Robert Moog and Donald Buchla released the first modular synthesizers to the general public in 1964, musicians first wanted to replicate already existing instruments, hoping that it would legitimize the new technology. The Moog Synthesizer’s first major breakthrough came in the form of Brown graduate Wendy Carlos’s 1968 classical album, Switched on Bach. However, artists soon discovered that the most exciting possibilities for synthesizers lay outside the realm of what the general public understood to be “musical.” Electronic musicians were now deliberately acknowledging the limitations and affordances of the technology in their music. Japanese musician Yasunao Tone embodies this formalist approach to electronic music. Once a member of Fluxus, Tone pioneered Japanese noise music by producing a series of ear-shredding pieces throughout the '90s, his most famous being Solo For Wounded CD in ‘97.

Tone practiced a kind of musical kintsugi, the art of repairing broken objects. His creative process would involve damaging CDs and stitching their various malfunctions and erratic sounds back together to form a new piece. While Tone’s music is certainly hard to listen to, the German group, Oval, took inspiration from his methods and produced more accessible work by further arranging and editing the sounds.

The EP’s final track, “Woods”, was a far-cry from the group’s previous work, featuring only Justin Vernon’s voice, pitch shifted and corrected to create intricate harmonies and intriguing pitch modulations. Kanye West had taken notice of Bon Iver by this point, and the two artists began collaborating. West’s 2010 record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, featured “Woods” as a prominent sample on the track “Lost in The World”. The two mutually influenced each other for the next half-decade, resulting in perhaps the most mainstream glitch album to date: Bon Iver’s 22, A Million in 2016. Despite the group's previous electronic experimentation, many fans were surprised by the dominance of synths and vocal samples, replacing the traditional acoustic instrumentation. 22, A Million relied on many of the techniques the group had been developing over the past decade. Sound engineer Chris Messina even created a new instrument that acted as a harmonizer and was responsible for many of the watery, resonant, choral lines throughout the album. It was a sound unlike anything listeners had heard before.

The electronic glitch is unique and often unable to be replicated, due to its accidental and experimental creation. Glitch artists, and now even mainstream musicians have allowed nature to take hold of technology, one of Cage’s driving theories. The appeal of Cher’s unnatural warble lies in its own unpredictability.

When used properly, the glitch catches our attention,

WE ARE ENAMORED WITH UNIQUE AUDIO GLITCHES It was a departure from Cages teachings of indeterminacy, but it was a necessary step in legitimizing the possibilities of glitch in the greater musical community. Oval was still niche, but it laid the groundwork for the popularization of glitch techniques.

By the late 2000s the inclusion of technological imperfections in music had become both intentional and mainstream. The end of the decade saw the release of “Heartless” by Kanye West, and “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black-Eyed Peas. Both tracks would take cues from Cher’s “Believe” and aggressively pitch correct the vocal tracks. “Boom Boom Pow” would additionally use stutter effects to create a staccato, robotic effect. Both tracks would become pop classics, but even beyond the realm of hip-hop, artists were experimenting with the newer possibilities. The 2010s saw a rise in Dubstep and other EDM sub-genres that embraced unpredictable industrial sounds and broken vocals. Even folk groups began turn to the computer. Bon Iver released the EP Blood Bank in 2009, the same year as “Boom Boom Pow”.

but only long enough to pique our curiosity. Gone in an instant, we are left to wonder whether it was there on purpose, when it will come back, and how the sound was even created. True glitch music will never fully catch on; it’s too dissonant, and for the mainstream consumer, there isn’t much substance.

But, lessons can be learned from these niche artists like Eno and Oval. Despite the seemingly endless cycle of predictable pop songs, some of the most well remembered and respected are the ones that poke at the boundaries of what's been done before, often taking cues from lesser-known artists. Many casual listeners will forget that the Beatles, the most recognizable pop act in the world, borrowed elements from French experimental music of the 1950s, and pushed music as a whole towards experimentation and psychedelia in the late 60s. My hope is that the same will happen again for Cher, and now Bon Iver and Kanye West. They are prominent voices in the music industry and popular taste, for better or worse, tends to follow prominent voices.

23

Interview by Daven McQueen Based on their music styles, Luk Yean ‘19 and Valerie Zhu ‘19 are an unlikely pair. While Val identifies as more of an acoustic, singer-songwriter artist, Luk is more interested in pop and mixing music.

Nonetheless, they’ve brought together their musical talents, first as “Luk and Val Make Music” and now as “Strawberry Generation,” playing in several campus music events and even winning the Battle of the Bands at Gigs on the Grass in Fall 2016. You can find their band’s music at Strawberry Generation on Bandcamp. *** DAVEN: When did each of you start making music?

VAL: Well, I started playing piano at like eight, and I played until the end of middle school. And then, starting from like fifth grade I was playing saxophone...yeah, I don’t know! I guess since I was eight.

LUK: I started playing piano when I was five or six, but I stopped after one year. And then I never picked up another instrument until I was fifteen. I started learning guitar, and I started learning a bit of piano on my own as well.

DAVEN: When did you start making music together?

LUK: It was [during our first] year. It was...origi-

24

nally, there were three of us, including our friend Chris, who is unfortunately very busy with CS classes. But it was originally a trio.

VAL: We did a B-SIDE Coffee Haus, and yeah, it was good! We were just kinda like, jamming, before that.

DAVEN: How would you define your genre or style...whatever you want to call it?

VAL: Mm...I don’t know! I guess for me, maybe just like...singer-songwriter? You’re more like indie-punk, or something.

LUK: I guess, like...twee-pop?

VAL: What?

LUK: Twee-pop. It’s a thing.

DAVEN: How would you describe your dynamic working together?

LUK: I’d say it’s unconventional, ‘cause we have very different music styles. But that’s also what makes the music sound a little bit different, because we both approach the same song with different backgrounds and tastes.

VAL: Yeah! And, I don’t know, I feel like personality-wise we’re pretty different. I’m very like woo,

out there! And Luk is much more grounded. But...I don’t know, we just, like, have a good time.

DAVEN:: That’s cool. When you work together, do you write your own music together, or...what’s your process?

VAL: We write individually, and then we’ll play songs for each other and it’ll be like, oh, we like this, we like that.

DAVEN: Nice! So who or what are the biggest influences on your music?

LUK: The Carpenters. For both of us, that’s probably one of the few bands that we both enjoy. And then for each of us, it’s very diverse.

VAL: Honestly, like, when I was growing up I listened to a lot of Taylor Swift. You’re cringing right now.

high school, which was a long time ago. And since then, since arriving at Brown, I’ve worked on more sample-oriented indie pop music. But it’s kind of hard to play live. But that’s probably the direction I’m going to take. More standard pop instrumentation.

VAL: I guess the stuff I do is a little more acoustic, not because I’m trying to be acoustic but because I don’t know how to do any of the mixing stuff that [Luk] does. So, like, all I’ve got is okay, play some piano, play some ukulele or whatever. But yeah, kind of the stuff that I can do just me and an instrument.

LUK:: You do three-part harmonies.

VAL:: Oh, okay, when I record stuff I like to do a lot of harmonies! It’s fun.

VAL: Um, and...I think I listen to a lot of YouTube people now. I don’t know, just a lot of YouTube and indie writers. But just like, whoever.

LUK:: I try to as well, but then I end up not knowing how to sing them and I’m just like “Val, teach me how to sing my parts.” Harmonies are great though, just off the cuff. I don’t really pay attention to harmonies, it’s just like, if I feel like I need to have a harmony I’ll just add it in there without considering how it’s done.

LUK: I don’t know, I think I’m more of like...everything except YouTube people.

DAVEN: So Luk, you’re studying music, right?

And econ. Val, are you also?

VAL: Okay.

VAL: Oh, I’m studying actually biology. I know, I’m not a music concentrator.

LUK: No, no, Taylor Swift is great!

LUK: But you know this! So, usually just like DIY indie people.

VAL: But also, I don’t know, I’ll appreciate a small thing in one person’s song, and I’ll be like, “Oh, that’s kind of cool that they did that there!” and like put it into a song. But I don’t think there’s one style or one artist.

LUK:: But she’s technically much more skilled than me.

VAL:: That’s not true! But I think I would really like to take music classes, I think it would be great.

All my friends are music concentrators so I guess I still kind of get a part of that scene.

LUK: And I’m like, listening to multiple artists at once, picking through their Spotifies.

DAVEN: What other involvement have you had in the music scene at Brown?

DAVEN: And then the Carpenters.

VAL: I mean, I’ve gone to a lot of performances!

I went to the Folk Festival. I have played in Jazz Jams, like, once. But I always go, I go like every other week.

LUK: And the Carpenters. They’re just universally, like, can’t really go wrong there. They’re just a good band.

DAVEN: Can you tell me a little bit more about the music you’ve made so far? Alone or together—or both!

LUK:: I wrote [some songs] when I was still in

LUK:: I’ve watched from the corner.

VAL: Yeah, so a lot of [being in the] audience and, I don’t know, it’s good.

DAVEN: Besides Chris—and each other—have

25

either of you performed with other musicians on campus?

VAL: Oh, yeah! Well I’m in the Wind Symphony, the Brown Band, I play in a saxophone quartet but it’s kind of low-key.

DAVEN: That explains why Luk said you’re really busy.

LUK:: She’s not done yet! There’s more.

VAL: What? Oh yeah, I’m also in an a capella group, [the Alef Beats]. And yeah, sometimes I’ll just jam with some friends or something. But yeah, that’s all I can think of right now.

DAVEN:: What are your goals for your music?

LUK: Make music, make friends, and if I have time, world domination. Fair?

VAL:: Fair.

LUK: Only if we have time. We’re both very short on time.

VAL: And I guess like, keep improving. I don’t want all my music to kinda sound the same… which, I don’t know, sometimes it happens. But I want to like the stuff that I do more and more.

But also just to make a lot of music. Because sometimes you write a crappy song, and you’re like, eh, it’s there. You’ve gotta write the crappy ones before you can write the good ones, as Luk has taught me.

DAVEN: Any last things you want people to know?

LUK: This is where we need a witty quip.

Ultimate Care II Excerpt One

by Matmos Foldin Clothes

by J. Cole No

by Nicolas Jaar Parallel Jalebi

by Four Tet Alberto Balsalm

by Aphex Twin Chrono - 2009 Remastered Version

by Kraftwerk Oxygen, Pt. 4

by Jean-Michel Jarre Aquamarine

by Ital Tek A Walk

by Tycho Everyday

by The Field Changeling/Trasmission

by DJ Shadow Ultimate Care II Excerpt Six

by Matmos

VAL: A witty quip...I don’t know.

LUK: Yeah, me neither. I know we should have one, I’ve got to think of one.

VAL: Stay… I was gonna say “stay fresh,” but...I don’t think that should go in.

DAVEN: It might. *** Be sure to check out Strawberry Generation on Bandcamp and Luk and Val’s solo music online at Luklukluk on Bandcamp and ValNotes on Soundcloud.

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Playlist by Max Luebbers

SPIN CYCLE

MUSIC VENUES AROUND PROVIDENCE & WHY YOU SHOULD GO TO THEM

By B-Side Staff DOWNTOWN AS220 (115 Empire St. Providence, RI): 20 minute walk In many ways, AS220 is the heart of the city’s art scene. It’s a space for printmakers, musicians, spoken word poets, and other artists. There are several concerts a week, and they’ve got a good spread of local talent plus out of town acts that come through. There’s usually a small cover charge ($5-8), and bands range from indie rock to hardcore. At the moment, they have 3 main performance spaces: Main Stage, Black Box, and Psychic Readings. Check out www.as220.org.

Aurora (276 Westminster St. Providence, RI): 15 minute walk Aurora is relatively new to the Providence scene, but the space had been a venue beforehand. Jacob Wolf sets up FREE shows on Mondays that bring in talented local artists, plus random touring artists that happen to be in Providence on a Monday night (Chilean psychedelic rock bands, shoegaze from Olympia, Deradoorian of Dirty Projectors).

There’s a wide range of experimental electronic to alt rock to folk music throughout the week, with tickets costing anywhere from $5-10. Check out www.auroraprovidence.com or their FB page.

Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel (79 Washington St. Providence, RI): 15 minute walk Sometimes Lupo’s fills up, sometimes it doesn’t. The space is really cool and pretty intimate for a venue featuring bigger artists.

It attracts most of the popular acts that come through Providence, but also provides space for mainstream indie artists. Tickets range from $25-60 depending on the show. Look at www.lupos.com for upcoming shows.

The Spot Underground (180 Pine St. Providence, RI): 15 minute walk This venue tends to move around a lot (I believe 3 times in the past year). They’ve got a good range of artists that play there, and

quite a few student musicians have played there. Music 7 nights per week, including open mics, free jams, and world music.

Tickets may range $5-20. Check out www. thespotunderground.com for how not to make a website and their shows.

Nick-a-Nee’s (75 South St. Providence, RI): 20 minute walk There’s a weekly bluegrass show here on Wednesdays, usually a good escape midweek. The house band plays Monday nights, with other acts coming through on Fridays/ Saturdays, mostly blues, rock, and folk type stuff. They do not have a cover charge, so perhaps order a drink. Find them on FB or just show up.

THE WEST END/OLNEYVILLE Columbus Theater (270 Broadway Providence, RI): take a bus/bike The Columbus opened a few years back as part of an initiative by members of the Low Anthem. They organize events around Providence, but mostly have shows for indie rock artists and folk musicians. It still feels very much like a theater, so it’s an interesting place to see a concert. Tickets range from $15-25. Learn more at www.columbustheater.com.

Firehouse 13 (41 Central St. Providence, RI): take a bus/bike You’ll find a good deal of punk, hardcore, and metal bands here, with shows going on throughout the week. Tickets range $7-10 so you’ll get to see a headliner and a few supporting acts. Check out www.fh13.com.

Fete (103 Dike St. Providence, RI): take bus/bike Fete is the sister venue of Firehouse 13, and they tend to feature less intense/loud acts, from DJs to rock to R&B. Tickets range from $10-30. It’s located in the center of the Olneyville warehouse district, just a short

27

walk from the main bus stop. Check out http://fetemusic.com/.

Tate II Events happen here sporadically, mostly involving local bands. Entry may cost $5-7.

They don’t publish their address, so we will abide by their rules. It’s more of someone’s apartment/personal gallery than a venue...

186 Carpenter Street (address same as name): take bus/bike This small arts space hosts a gallery, intimate music performances, and writing workshops. A few non-profits work out the back, but Jori Ketten of What Cheer? organizes occasional shows in the front gallery space. You’ll get a really close-up experience of the artist and can probably chat afterwards. Donations are suggested. Check here for info: http://186carpenter.tumblr.com/.

Spark City Another underground show space. They don’t publish their address, but essentially the space is located in an old warehouse, so it makes for really raucous fun shows.

Check out http://sparkcityprovidence.tumblr.com/ for contact info.

The Grange (166 Broadway Providence, RI): take bus/bike The Grange features intimate, mostly acoustic concerts on Wednesday nights, though they have the occasional concert on the weekend. There shouldn’t be any cover, but they do have decent food & drink. Learn more at www.providencegrange.com!

PAWTUCKET The Parlour (1119 N Main St. Providence, RI): take the bus Come out Monday nights for Reggae at The Parlour, as well as open mics on Tuesdays.

They feature a good deal of roots music throughout the week. Cover is either free or $5-10. Check out www.theparlourri.com.

Machines with Magnets (400 Main St. Pawtucket, RI): take the bus A real center for electronic music and experimental work in the area, including multimedia installations. They’ve got a recording studio, a gallery, and even a guitar

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repair shop. There are consistent shows, perhaps 2-3 per week. If you’re really interested in experimental/electronic music, this is the place to be. Tickets range $7-15, even for day-long festivals. For more info on any of their programming, go to www. machineswithmagnets.com.

The Met (1005 Main St. Pawtucket, RI): take the bus This venue attracts an odd variety, from fairly big names to little known acts. As a result, tickets can run anywhere from $5-30.

You’ll get blues, metal, pop, punk etc. Most shows fall later in the week. Learn more at www.themetri.com.

News Cafe (43 Broad St., Pawtucket, RI 02860): take a bus Art gallery, live show venue, and bar. Music themed nights, like “The Hop,” a 50s/60s vinyl dance night. Events are sometimes promoted on FB. http://on.fb.me/1FCr7cp OTHER Funky Jungle An underground music venue for the punk/ hardcore scene mostly. They don’t publish directions so: http://newfunkyjungle. blogspot.com/p/calendar.html or join the FB group (https://www.facebook.com/ groups/564013276959552/).

Dusk (301 Harris Ave. Providence, RI): bus? or cab/bike Even if it’s a bit hard to access, Dusk is a really nice venue/bar that hosts a wide range of acts. It’s just over the highway from Federal Hill, next to the Steel Yard and a short drive from IHOP. Cover charge may be $515. Check out www.duskprovidence.com.

Sofar Sounds (PVD) This volunteer organization hosts covert and stripped down living room, acoustic shows featuring local artists. You must reserve a ticket for guaranteed entrance as spots fill up quickly. Facebook: https://www. facebook.com/sofarsoundsprovidence/ and tickets: https://www.sofarsounds.com/providence

B-SIDE STAFF + MANAGING EDITORS Jake Goodman Katherine Chavez

+ CREATIVE DIRECTOR Bethany Hung, assisted by Katie Ta

+ SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM Ryan Joudeh Christopher Patiño Kyle Wemple

+ STAFF WRITERS

+ SECTION EDITORS

Peter Goldman

Michael O’Neill (Reviews)

Nora Gosselin

Tara Sharma (Features)

Julian Jacobs

Tia Forsman (Interviews)

Rodell Jefferson III

Max Luebbers (Playlists)

Nathan Kahn Marisa Kouroubacalis

+ MULTIMEDIA TEAM Yasmine Hassan Keri Brooks Auriane Marie-Edythe Benabou Naomy Pedroza Jon Nelson

+ EVENT PLANNING TEAM

Daven McQueen Jacob Pompey Zander Kim Nikhil Pant Sarah Clapp Caroline O’Loughlin Moses William Van Zandt

Julia Rosenfeld Drew Wendel Brianna Gilmore

Interested in joining the B-Side Staff? E-mail us at bsideprovidence@gmail.com!

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Spring 2017