The last few years have seen a rise in experimental, genre-bending, independently produced music. Perhaps this is due to the internet’s ability to access almost any music instantly, or maybe the breadth of music already created pushes artists towards a disregard for barriers of style. The disappearance of label-driven artist development might be part of it too. Whatever the cause, the NYC scene is producing a lot of incredibly innovative music — and Jelani Sei is part of this phenomenon. The Connecticut/New York group plays soulful, hip-hop and jazz inspired music with a flair for indie and alt rock traditions. Without abandoning the approachable framework of pop music, Jelani Sei has created a complex and intelligent sound. You can hear the group’s idiosyncratic style opening for T-Rextasy on December 23rd at Trans-Pecos. – Cameron Carr

Prawn has never had the sudden rise to widespread success that has graced other bands in the supposed emo revival. They’ve played a long game, touring basements, releasing splits, and slowly building the critical respect they deserve. Which is perhaps a little strange, given their music’s knack for swelling and exploding with post-rock rapture, sometimes gradually but often abruptly. The New Jersey natives make tasteful emo embed with subtle math rock influences and cascading echoes. You can catch Prawn playing Baby’s All Right on December 22nd with an all-star lineup of current and rising, vaguely emo acts: Slingshot Dakota, People Like You, and Queen Moo. – Cameron Car

Those who happen to miss the sense of mystery the holiday season brought with it when they were more religious than they are now, have an opportunity to recover some of that feeling tomorrow (12.20) at Rough Trade, where orchestral band Seasonal Beast will perform live. Led by producer/composer Yuval Semo and singer extraordinaire Yula Beeri, the NYC collective offers uber-intense, atmospheric music that blends droney elements with classical arrangements. The visually stunning (sort of)-live video of single "This is Where" provides the perfect amount of drama and uplifting emotions to help us celebrate a holiday that can still represent an effort towards spiritual rebirth, with or without God in the picture.

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

Strawberry Runners‘ debut full-length In The Garden, In The Night, was one of the NYC pop highlights of 2017. The band, led by Emi Knight, captures intimacy with an unusual fullness, filling out bedroom-bred sincerity with trumpet and keyboards for a vaguely orchestral sound giving songs a more considered and affecting tone. The band is scheduled to play their last show of the year at new Bushwick venue Elsewhere on December 30th. Check out their recent video for ballad ‘Dog Days,’ streaming below. – Cameron Carr

When the longstanding Brooklyn DIY landmark Shea Stadium was forced to close its doors this past spring things looked grim. But, at the end of what’s been a long and difficult year for so many more reasons, Shea has thankfully managed to keep going in the interim by hosting events at other venues while it hunts for a new space to inhabit. Closing out the year, Shea brings a lineup of local favorites to Brooklyn Bazaar on December 21^st: Yucky Duster’s scrappy punk, Bueno’s crispy alt-rock, Fits’ unhinged DIY energy, and Emmerson and Her Clammy Hands‘ intimate bedroom songs. Though Shea is still deep in the process of finding a new home, let’s hope this is the only year without a stadium. – Cameron Carr

Self-described as a "breath of fresh, New Jersey Turnpike air" NJ band, The Vice Rags, lay down no-frills garage rock that isn’t afraid of getting dirty. The four-piece just dropped a new self-titled EP which presents some warm, classic-sounding tracks that will satisfy your most staunch rock ‘n’ roll crate-digging purists (see "Alright By Me" streaming below) alongside wilder, brasher songs like opening track "Shut Up & Love Me." If you take your hearty helping of garage rock with a side of fuzz and crackle, the Vice Rags are definitely not a group to pass on. – Olivia Sisinni

This artist submitted music for coverage here.

Ellen O synthesizes her training as a classical pianist with an affinity for hip hop and trap to forge a fresh sounding chillwave blend. The artist’s experimental fusion creates a soundscape of eerie synthesizers driven by a future bass aesthetic, all of which forms the perfect background for her smoky vocals. Ellen O’s second and most recent album You/Sonata features artists Smoke DZA, SHRAF, and Khallee, as well as a more mature vision of her unique aesthetic. Check out Ellen O’s newest album straight from BabyGrande Records or wherever you stream your music. —Amanda Ogea

Tomorrow’s 22nd installment of The Revolution, a Deli-sponsored monthly showcase highlighting the best emerging local artists with a particular focus on Soul, Hip Hop and Funk, will deliver a lineup that’s bound to lift souls. Yes, because soul is the common thread found in the three acts performing in the stylish architecture of Williamsburg’s National Sawdust. 

Soul Science Lab is a collective of incredible musicians able to seamlessly combine afrobeat, funk, pop and hip hop into wonderfully produced tunes even the most static of New Yorkers will be hard press not to move to.

The lineup, co-curated by Soul Science Lab, alongside Katie Jones, founder + producer of The Revolution series, will also feature the mellow pop of Meridian Lights‘ and The Experi3nce‘s inventive soul/hip-hop.

The night will start at 10pm, tickets can be found here.

Who has the guts to mash up Big Sean, Kendrick, and Chance the Rapper, AND perform said-mashup with an acoustic guitar? Anna Shoemaker does. The pop artist’s downtempo cover has garnered almost 700,000 plays, and she’s just released the VHS-filmed music video. shoemaker has quietly released covers on SoundCloud over the last 4 years, and the buzz surrounding her definitely isn’t undeserved. She recently signed with Steve Madden’s 5Towns Records, and plans to release new music next year. Anna Shoemaker’s striking voice holds its own even without production elements, but we are interested and excited to hear her with a fuller pop sound. – Geena Kloeppel

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The album artwork for Brooklyn-based Miserable chillers‘ A Flower You Would Like to Eat, looks as if it was torn from the pages of an abbot’s musical manuscripts, so it makes sense that there’s something almost cathedral-like to the EP. The collection of songs starts with "Love Theme (For the Wilderness)," a track that kicks off with Miguel Gallego’s vocals accompanied by the starkness of a clean church organ. As the track continues, the organ begins to oscillate until the song explodes into a lush, dream pop landscape. There’s a lot to chew on in this album, as Miserable Chillers propel the listener through carefully constructed soundscapes that are certainly not of this earth. Take a listen below. – Olivia Sisinni

This artist submitted music for coverage here.

In life, there are some things that we can almost always be certain of. The sun will rise, the commute will take longer than expected, and the weekend will not be long enough. Tall Juan is likely one of those things. His pace is quick, his songs are simple, and he rarely strays from his core influences. His latest EP, Joya Nedo, continues his peppy punk homage to The Ramones with four lo-fi tracks fated to make heads bob. The EP is out now digitally and Brooklyn Bazaar will host Tall Juan’s release show on December 17th. We are premiering here single "Out of Town." – Cameron Carr, photo by Audrey Del Piccolo.

Global dembow seems to be a recurring theme in NYC producer ShiShi’s work. A cursory scan of ShiShi’s Soundcloud page shows the “Global Dembow” tag occurring often alongside other internationally-minded fusion genres (“Bollywood House,” “Eastern Trap”). ShiShi’s work itself — joining, melding, mashing musical styles — is fascinating and exciting.

Both undeniably of the moment and yet steeped in traditional beats and rhythms, his latest track “Damelo” shows how societal globalization has brought the sonic commonalities in international rhythms & genres (reggaeton, bhangra, soca, for example) to a convergence in modern music production. The result is a club-ready banger with deep traditional music roots. Other ShiShi tracks explore similar concepts in perhaps even more daring (and rewarding?) ways. “Aarti” is buoyed by house production with bhangra-esque vocals. The result is a stunning, A.R. Rahman worthy work. -juan leon