Aisha Badru‘s songs are oddly fit for background tracks. They seem tailored for small, sentimental moments that stick to the back of your subconscious. In fact, you might recognize her music from a recent Volkswagen commerical in which it’s used in this exact context. Her voice, piercing through a warm current of acoustic instrumentation, delivers the shiver of intense nostalgia you might feel after visiting your childhood’s neighborhood. It’s a return to a place without its identifiers, a place teeming with the ghostly, ephemeral nature of memory. Aisha recently announced on her Facebook profile that she is negotiating a record deal and has a full length record on its way. – Andrew Strader
Portland
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MOGO Fest Pick 2: Blossom, Sifter, ISSA, DJ Pr11me and Verbz at Dante’s
Our next choice in MOGO Fest offerings comes by way of a show curated by the festival’s designated hip hop and R&B specialists, The Thesis, which is a series of showcases centered around the genre co-sponsored by We Out Here Magazine and XRAY.fm. Each performer and DJ on this bill has a cultural tie back to Africa, which is something important to celebrate now more than ever in recent times.
Blossom‘s music beginnings date back to age 12, where the Trinidad & Tibego made Keisha Chiddick played alongside her uncle’s steel drum band. Fast forward to now, where Chiddick’s meaningful neo-soul work under her floral moniker has added such beautiful light to Portland’s underground.
Coming from Ibadan, Nigeria, Sifter‘s migration to United States almost a decade ago was in pursuit of furthering his work as an artist, as well as taking his singing career to the next step. He started recognizing his abilities also at age 12, while singing in his church’s choir. Now, he’s signed to Nigerian based label Bugatti Recording Group. ISSA‘s (or I$$A) time in the states has been in the same vein, taking creative inspiration from his home of Dakar, Senegal. Growing up speaking French and loving American and European takes on hip hop and R&B along with other island types of music have breathed extra life into I$$A’s vision.
Spinning at this show comes from the Afro-Caribbean, dance and house stylings of Valan Primus (aka DJ Pr11me) and Crate Diggers host and DJ to Portland rapper Tope, Verbz. With so many cultural vibes flowing from this bill, it’s impossible for it to not be a good time.
Be at Dante’s by 9pm tonight to catch everything as it starts. Tickets are $10 and this show is of course 21+.
NYC
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QTY takes their classic indie rock to SXSW
Last Monday, School Night! held a free show at Baby’s All Right with Active Bird Community as a headliner. You never know what to expect from opening acts, but this time we were in for a pleasant surprise. QTY is a couple playing music reminiscent of classics such as Bob Dylan and Lou Reed, but with a sonic attitude closer to the Jesus and Mary Chain. Their song "Rodeo," which seems to tackle the couple’s relationship, delivers plenty of rock’n’roll attitude, strong songwriting, and a satisfyingly bright distorted guitar sound. If you are traveling to Austin for SXSW in two weeks, you’ll have an opportunity to catch these guys live at Maggie Mae’s on March 17th.
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Philadelphia
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Weekend Warrior, March 3 – 5
Dark-pop collective She Policeman will be celebrating the release of its debut self-titled LP tonight at Boot & Saddle. It will also mark the band’s debut live performance. Led by singer-songwriter Michelle Spano who is back by Barry Knob, Steve Quaranta, and Claire Quaranta, you’ll find the group of longtime Philly musicians transporting us back in time to what now seems like the carefree 80s compared to 2017our present day circumstances. Opening the festivities is Langor, indie pop from the oddball mind of Brian Langor (Needle Points, ex-Sw!ms), and Philly indie-rock elder statesmen, Purples, will be headlining this evening’s bill.
And if you can find your way to North Philly DIY space Trash House on Sunday, you’ll be treated to a rad lineup of Hello Shark, Power Animal, and The Goodbye Party, playing host to Brookyn’s Bellows. – H.M. Kauffman
More reasons to not sit at home this weekend…
Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) FRI Purples, She Policeman (Record Release), Langor
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, SAT Hound, SUN Marge
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI DJ BlackWidow/Backwoods Payback/DJ Deejay, SAT Stadium Armory/Geisha Façade/DJ Baby Berlin, SUN Shots Called, The One2s/In Different Sounds, FLNG, Secret Seahorse
Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) FRI Anjuli Josephine (Release Show), Christine Irizarry, Katie Jo Knaub, SUN Bullbuckers
The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) FRI Steal Your Face, Mikey B & Miz, SAT JJX, Senvenire, Kailey Prall, C.J. Dunleavy, Peter Mitchell, James Cannon/Eloise Sharkey, Christopher Perry, Calla Bere & The Attitude, Tony Ukes, Livvie Forbes/Flex Squad, Mookie Mook, O.T., YOG JP, Yo Astro
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) SAT (Upstairs) A Benefit for Living Beyond Breast Cancer: The Miners, Loose and Alright, Reckless Amateurs
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Phunkyman, Bosom Band, George Cahill, SAT The Silence (Album Release), Travel Lanes, The Donuts, SUN Kaonashi
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) SAT Little Stranger
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) FRI Bill McCloskey, Ali Wadsworth, August John Lutz II, SAT CaveWomen, SUN Owl And Wolf
Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) SUN Beano, Milano, Domi Jo
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SUN Rusty Cadillac
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI Red Letter Life, Karmalatta, Effucsion 35, Elephant Odyssey, SAT The Droogettes, The End A.D., Workhorse III
The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI The Royal Ghosts, Age of Truth, Mesmeria, Pravda, Cerebelles, SAT Trap Rabbit, The Sugarpops, Hootsie, Jonny Drucker, The Bent Benjamins
Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) FRI Tasty Face (Album Release), Past Life, Tucker Hill, SAT Stella Ruze, Jamie Gallagher, John Gilbride, Andrew Jude
The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18th St.) FRI Pet, Arthur Shea, SAT Semiotics, Boy Lawyer, Lally, Sunshine Parker, SUN Weller, Water Temple, Sleepy Freak
Creep Records (1050 N. Hancock St., Ste. 76) FRI Mercury Retrogsrade, Dot.gov, Sitting in Cars
West Kensington Ministry (2140 N. Hancock St.) FRI The Mysteries, Tangiers
Tralfamadore (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Trash Boy, Blushed, Busy Bee, Elissa Janelle Velveteen
Pilam (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI RFA
Trash House (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SUN Hello Shark, Power Animal, The Goodbye Party
Portland
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MOGO Fest Pick 1: The Fur Coats, KING WHO and Enjoy Things at Alberta Street Pub
In just its second year, MOGO Fest is beginning to make a name for itself in Portland’s fairly large market of music festivals big and small. For the next two days, cleverly curated shows will be taking place around town spanning genres from jazz to psych and indie rock, so we’ll be picking out a couple shows at the top of our list. Be sure to check out ALL of MOGO Fest’s happenings over at their website, since there’s something for everyone!
Our first choice is curated by Rola Music, who has taken care of booking all the indie and pop styles for the fest. Soulful r&b psych will be coming from our readers’ poll winners for Best of 2017 The Fur Coats. This is their second to last show before they leave on their European tour, so they’ll be sharing some new songs as they prep for the road.
Playing with them is the dreamy sludgepop of KING WHO (formally Us Lights), fit with brooding synths and layered soundscapes that help the mind escape. Along with the high energy heaviness of Enjoy Things and this show is surely something to enjoy.
This 21+ show starts at 9pm at Alberta Street Pub, with tickets running $7 a piece.
Nashville
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Best of Nashville Roots Acts: Tyler Childers and New Suede
Our Best of Nashville 2017 poll began last week with the Roots category and, after you-the-people cast your vote, we have the results to share with you!
Overall Poll winner (Jurors vote + Readers’ vote): Tyler Childers
Readers’ Poll Winner (Readers’ Vote only): New Suede
Tyler Childers offers classic country folk songs that fit the modern context. His lyrics are imaginative and descriptive of elements of life in the country. With blue-grass oriented instrumentation including fiddle, banjo, mandolin, his style brings early Avett Brothers to mind. His songs blend the modern indie-folk impulse with the root elements of the bluegrass and country. Where his vocal tendencies and lyrics use the popular style of the alternative country/folk genre in its current form, the instrumentation and song structures harken back to truly rural country roots of his origins in a rural Kentucky coal mining town.
New Suede is an act that’s mastered the art of origin digging. "Taxi," the single they’ve released ahead of their new album, is a number heavily influenced by classic R&B and Jazz elements but molded into the form of an indie rock experiment with similarities to psychedelic/jazz/indie outfits like Homeshake or Mild High Club. The makeup of their work so far consists of groovy, easy rocking that dabbles in enough dissonance to keep us on our toes. Be on the lookout for their album, Ocean Drops, coming out on March 11th.
The full list of nominees can be found under the streaming tracks.
Here is the list of all the finalists in the Nashville Roots category and their readers’ poll results:
 |
Aubrey Peeples |
   |
1% | 3 votes |
|
Bird Cloud |
|
0% | 1 vote |
|
Blackfoot Gypsies |
|
0% | 0 votes |
|
Jillette Johnson |
|
0% | 0 votes |
|
Molly Parden |
|
0% | 1 vote |
|
Moon Taxi |
|
2% | 7 votes |
|
New Suede |
|
95% | 266 votes |
|
Panfish |
|
0% | 1 vote |
|
Poly |
|
0% | 0 votes |
|
Strange Rivals |
|
0% | 0 votes |
|
Sisterhood |
|
0% | 0 votes |
|
Tyler Childers |
|
0% | 0 votes |
Nashville
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Birocratic brings loungy electronica to Sunnyvale tomorrow (03.04)
NYC’s Birocratic hones electronic production that blends elements of soul and jazz with psychedelic influences. The songs are just dancy enough to keep bodies moving but contain the type of strangeness and complexities that send heads in the clouds. The off-tempo, off-key jazz rhythms and melodies create an atmosphere that owes its origins to great loungy electronic acts like Flying Lotus or Air. Compositions like streaming single ‘Tony’s Belated Breakfast’ are monolithic enough to be instantly gratifying while throwing in tempo and key flares that spice them up and make them interesting. Birocratic offers a holistic take on electronica, crafting sonic spaces that hold both body and mind in their grip. Don’t miss tomorrow’s show at Sunnyvale (03.04) – Andrew Strader
Philadelphia
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The Deli’s Best Emerging Philly Artists 2017: Hip Hop/Funk/Electronica Poll Is Up!
We have reached the last Readers’/Fans’ Poll before we share the final results of our Overall Composite Chart. Our current list of nominees spans the categories of Hip Hop/Funk/Electronica. You can check them all out HERE, and vote for your favorite artist!
Philadelphia
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Ticket Giveaway: Rozes at The Foundry Next Thursday
Homestown area gal and Chainsmokers collaborator Rozes, a.k.a. Elizabeth Mencel, is coming to The Foundry next Thursday, March 9! To enter for a chance to win a pair of tix, just send an email to thedelimagazinephiladelphia@gmail.com with the subject line "Say You’ll Never Let Me Go". Please also include your cell number in the body of the message (in case of an emergency). Good luck!
Philadelphia
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New Track: “High Gear” – Elegant Animals
If you’re searching for some slinky, soulful funk to get you hyped for this weekend, Elegant Animals is ready to take you there. Slip into seductive groove of “High Gear,” which can be found on the freshly released Warm Blood Pt. 1. We’re thinking The Purple One was on his mine for this one. Really making us feel good this morning!
NYC
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Impressive electro-punk from DC’s Den-Mate
Babe City Records artists Den-Mate have been turning some heads with their dark and disdainful electro-punk sound. Headed by singer-songwriter Jules Hale, the band has seen success following the release of their self-titled debut album last year. Heavy with a sense of foreboding, Den-Mate’s music is at once catchy and ominous, full of traditional post-punk tropes and the dystopian sounds of Crystal Castles like beats and distortion. With very modern and skillfully constructed songs, Den-Mate is a DC band to look out for.
Catch Den-Mate this Saturday, March 4th at the Black Cat.
-Written by Michael Dranove
New England
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The Deli New England Premiere: Replacire Debuts New Track “Act/Re-Enact”
2017 is going to be a big year for Replacire. The Boston-based metal outfit is set to release their sophmore LP, Do Not Deviate, on March 17th via Season of Mist, and the band will be kicking off an east coast tour–sweeping their muscular riffs and sinister doomscapes across the Atlantic seaboard. We sat down with guitarist Eric Alper to talk about the album and to get an exclusive taste of their track "Act, Re-Enact". Of the new song, Alper remarks, "Out of all the songs on the new record Act, Re-enact is the most straight-ahead. This song combines consistent grooves and a catchy song structure while maintaining the eccentricities and rhythmic stabs that make a Replacire unique." See below for the full interview and track stream.
For new fans, who is Replacire? Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?
Replacire is an extreme metal band from Boston Mass, we formed in 2009 and have recently signed to the label Season of Mist, who will be releasing our new record in March.
The new album, Do Not Deviate, is about to drop. Your last release was The Human Burden in 2012. How has the band grown since the last album, and how does the new release represent who the band is today?
We’ve definitely gotten heavier. With this type of music, you’re always trying to push yourself as a musician. The tempos go up and the riffs get a little trickier. Something that was hard to pull of on the first record is your new comfort zone so you need to step out of that to progress. During the recording of The Human Burden I discovered that my strength was rhythm playing, mainly in my picking hand. So a lot of my contributions include string skipping and fast downpicking. In short, the band is more extreme.
The album is full of impressive technical musicianship, while at the same time keeping a strong emphasis on the integrity of the songs. Is it a challenge trying to strike that balance?
Thank you, thats something thats very important to us. Once we come up with the material that makes up the song we spend most of the time on arrangement, making sure the song winds up and releases in a pleasing way.
Can you describe what your creative process is like? Does it change from song to song? And do you find that lyrics or riffs come first?
The music has always come first for us. We all contribute riffs and have this big pile of material to draw from. Once we start working out ideas new parts are created through brainstorming. We then move on to arrangement, we come up with a name for every part and lay it out on a whiteboard. We try different arrangements until we have it flowing like a song. We try hard to avoid being linear or just riff sandwiching parts together. If you analyze the parts, often they’re all connected in some way, some are more obvious than others. Lyrics are the last step.
What are you hoping people take away from the album? Is there a central message/concept?
The lyrics are fairly metaphorical, often dealing with existential dread and the power of the mind. But honestly they’re very open to interpretation. Like most art I’m hoping the fans can find their own way to interpret and enjoy it.
In three words, how would you define your sound?
Weird, cerebral, metal.
What can we look forward to seeing/hearing from Replacire in the future?
We’re hoping to play shows and tour as much as possible in support of the new record. Hopefully some playthrough videos as well.
If you were going to go on tour, what dream artists would you love to be playing with?
Man there’s so many great bands its tough to choose. All the bands on the Season Of Mist roster are sick and it’d be an honor to tour with any of them, especially Gorguts! Outside of that, Behemoth and Meshuggah put on such amazing live shows, I could see that being a lot of fun. Also, I’m a big fan of Cattle Decapitation, it’d be amazing to be able to watch those guys every night.
Are there any artists in the NE area that you’re really excited about?
Fuming Mouth and Lord Almighty are a couple really great bands in the area right now. Scalpel, Obsidian Tongue, and Pathogenic are also some amazingly talented metal bands.
What are your biggest non-musical influences?
Mostly the need to create….and whiskey.
For more info, including upcoming tour dates, click here. -Brian Varneke
Photo credit: Tom Couture