Juliana Huxtable will bring her manic electronica to Brooklyn Bazaar on Saturday March 25. The DJ, producer, performer and model has long been a favorite of the NYC art scene, and her music mirrors the dynamic, wild, and multi-faceted persona radiating from the artist. Huxtable’s latest release, "DISCOWOMAN MIX: SCHIZOANALYSIS," is a monster track that manages to effortlessly fold in spoken word and gossamer, echoed vocals with stomping, high-energy beats and angular synths over the course of its hour run time. Take a listen to the mix streaming below, and make sure you catch her set this Saturday. – Olivia Sisinni

Blond Ambition, the new pop project of former Ex Cops frontman Brian Harding (who recently relocated from NYC to LA), is set to release debut album ‘Slow All Over’ on May 5 via Brooklyn’s Swoon City Music. On Thursday, March 23, Harding will play an intimate, stripped-down performance at The Event Space at Genius (84 4th Street) — the show is free with RSVP.

Oh my, here’s a bill NYC music fans into forward thinking indie rock/pop should not miss: TEEN, Zula and Softspot will be sharing the Sunnyvale stage on May 12. We’ll let their music speak in this mini-playlist – book your colanders!

Dear Deli Readers,

We have finally reached the end of the road for The Deli’s Best Emerging New England Artists Poll. As usual, it’s been a lengthy, exhausting, painstaking journey through an abundance of numbers, band names, and some seriously rad tunes. Now, before we get to our list of this year’s Top Performers, we would like to thank our wonderful, knowledgeable jury of local music experts/enthusiasts (which you can view below), dedicated Deli writers and all those who took the time to check out our nominees and cast their votes. You’re the best, and we wouldn’t be able to do this without you!

1. Crumb is an outfit that takes the pleasantly dissonant atmosphere of smooth jazz and molds it into psych rock masterpieces. Their songs glide along steady pace, revealing highly skilled instrumentation without abandoning the groove. There are long stretches of jam that prove remiscent of classic indie rockers like Lotus Plaza, but there are moments of unbridled wierdness and pure chaos, sprinkled in to add some spice to the psychedelic sonic brew. Crumb is the new must listen for psych fans in New England.

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2. XR Tabs is a band to which it’s nearly impossible to assign a definitive genre. Their work contains elements of experimental noise rock, post-punk, indie rock, and electronica. They traverse unclaimed musical territory almost as a rule, making listening a wholly unexpected experience.

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3. Pompo is an alt rock band that blends elements of funk and blues to create a hybrid, modern alternative rock sound. With lengthy, funk jams that serve as an instant reminder of early Red Hot Chili Peppers, they’ve honed a classic sound and made it their own. 

 

4. Frank Viele

5. Honeysuckle

6. Moment of Clarity

7. Ripe

8. oldsoul

9. The Black Kennedys

10. Wolfmen of Mars

11. Kal Marks

12. The Right Offs

13. Choke Up

14. Ryxno

15. Tigerman WOAH

16. Seth Adam

17. Math the Band

18. The Dead L.A.

19 Fucko

20. Rick Rude https://rickrude1.bandcamp.com/

21. And Then There Was One

22. Chaser Eight

23. Squeeze Trigger

24. Julia Russo

25. Fightsong

26. Polluter

27. Mokita

29. Atlas Lab

30. Colbis the Creature

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See you next year, Best of New England Poll!

The Folks at The Deli

 

Most people (not just musicians) come to the Big Apple full of dreams, to leave it within a few years, when its frantic pace, crazy costs, and tight spaces have become unbearable. Pharmakon, the experimental, insane sounding industrial project of producer Margaret Chardiet, is the product of a human being who’s never given up to NYC: that’s where she was born and raised, currently calling Far Rockaway, Queens, home. Listening to her new track "Transmission" (streaming), from upcoming new album "Contact," make us wonder whether the track’s sound represents the sublimination of a psyche brought to the edge of insanity by a city that notoriously provides shrinks with lots of work. Is this what people escape from, when they leave NYC? Is Transmission the big apple’s own sonic version of Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream? We’ll have a chance to experience, and exorcize, its primal desperation live, at Brooklyn Bazaar, on April 14th.

Based out of both Toronto and Brooklyn, Ginla plays low key electronic music ranging from the poppy to the experimental, although it must be noted that the poppier material is the most recent one, showing a classic evolution emerging artists go through when they mature artistically. 2014’s debut single ‘Almost Plastic’ features two (or three? Bandcamp and Soundcloud seem to disagree on that matter) intriguing tracks where electronic ambient pop meets Radiohead-style experimentation. Recent single ‘Apophenia’ (strreaming) tames the angularity for an approach that follows a more linear and dreamy approach. The band will travel to Austin this week to play SXSW.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

 

Deli Readers,

We’ve been publishing the yearly Austin issue of The Deli (coinciding with SXSW) since 2011, and it’s our only print issue that’s not exclusively focused on just NYC artists. 

After last year’s fun, "PsycheDelic" approach, we decided to dedicate this year’s issue almost entirely to synth and pedals (and bands of course!), in an effort to promote our Austin Stompbox Exhibit and Synth Expo – which, if you are a gear geek heading to Austin next week, should not miss!

However, the highlight of this issue is an article about women and technology. Hope you enjoy it!

LISTEN TO A PLAYLIST OF THIS ISSUE HERE (or below)!

The Deli’s Staff

P.S. You’ll see the printed issue in Austin next week and in NYC the week after.

Revival pop and rock require, more than any other genres, a selection of wardrobe and colors that are appropriate to the era referenced in the band’s music, but possibly with some elements of "new" in it. Brooklyn’s new project Fascinations Grand Chorus excels at that, sporting a look that’s very late ’50s/early ’60s, but choosing to push the classic pastel tones of those years in a more vibrant direction, with slightly psychedelic results. Is that also how their music sounds like? To a certain extent. Overall, it’s very anchored to those pre-Beatles years in the UK, with Stephanie’s vocals disciplinately singing vintage pop melodies between bee bop and Rock’n’Roll; however, some psychedelic edge is introduced by guitar parts that – like in single "Welcome" (streaming) – are at times reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s early records. The duo released their debut, self titled EP last year and a follow up ‘Actor/Actress EP‘ early in 2017.

The thought of Austin during SXSW (read: sonic chaos with loud music coming from every direction) is inherently discordant with the music played by Kayo Dot‘s Toby Driver in his new solo project. If his original band was not exactly one to shatter eardrums (not a bad thing), the songwriter’s new tracks available for streaming take things a couple of notches in a quieter and sparser direction, with an added mystical aura. Check out single Craven’s Dawn, streaming below, and don’t miss the opportunity to take a break from SXSW’s madness when Toby plays the Hideout on March 16th.

We’ve been following NYC’s Jasmine Golestaneh for a while now, and always found her music compelling – maybe because we grew up listening to tense and dark post punk music. Her current project, Tempers, offers a dark brand of electronic pop that suits her deep and intense soprano. The duo just released a new five track EP entitled ‘Fundamental Fantasy,’ which develops their sound in a more melodic direction, without necessarily embracing the sunny side of life. The band will be playing several shows next week in Austin, including one at Hotel Vegas on March 16. Check out single ‘Tail in My Mouth’ (streaming below), and last year’s video for ‘Undoing’ – from their debut album ‘Services‘, which we missed to highlight.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Trio Ian Sweet, the brainchild of Los Angelinos guitarist Jilian Medford, relocated from Boston to Brooklyn in 2016. The city has been kind to them: the group has gathered a fair amount of interest since the move, after which they released two records in quick succession (their early releases, a lot more experimental, date back as far as 2013). While the earlier of the two (a self titled mini-LP) sounds like a transitional album, ‘Shapeshifter‘ delivers a sound that’s edgy, fun and mature – within the perimeters of the DIY aesthetics, which despise maturity. It’s a mix of math rock, indie pop and psychedelia that marries the cerebral and the imaginative in surprising ways. Jilian’s voice, always distorted in a blurry way, conveys a violent brightness to the tracks, and is at times reminiscent of early Bjork. Breakout single #23 (streaming bewlow) is the perfect exemplification of the band’s disciplinately unruly pop expressionism. The record is a constant surprise, full of incredibly vibrant sounds, often drenched with rare passion (‘2soft2chew‘) but also prone to playfulness (‘All Skaters Go To Heaven‘). The feeling we get is that ‘Shapeshifter’ is a sonic portrait of a band in the perfect musical sweet spot (like the Pixies on ‘Surfer Rosa’), that confidently balances a youthful imagination with quality songwriting, and a sound that’s daring without being over-produced. 

Ian Sweet will soon be going on tour that will take them to Austin for SXSW and then to the West Coast.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Born and raised in Brooklyn, singer-songwriter Reonda operates in the minimalistic realm of musical production. A highlight song of her latest album ‘Lightness of Being‘ is ‘Tonight in Mexico,’ tastefully arranged with delicate strings, a metronomic beat and wistful acoustic guitar accompaniment. The simplicity of her songwriting is highlighted in the album cover, showcasing a subtle, reflective warmth. Reonda was among the NYC artists selected to be performing at an official SXSW show, on March 16th (Lamberts, 8pm). – Geena Kloeppel