RECENT ARTICLES

Alex Edkins, front man for the Toronto-based punk rock band, METZ, says he needs to start each day with music. If it’s true, as some suggest, that human beings respond to songs, melody and rhythm on a cellular level, then this compulsion makes perfect sense. If Edkins’ is a world of music, then there must be a renewed source for it each day. So, he puts on an album or a swath of singles and lets them unravel and begin to chart the course of his morning. This practice has helped buoy over a decade of the songwriters’ life as a professional musician and likely much longer than that as a fan. The most recent output from this artful lifestyle is METZ’ latest LP, Atlas Vending, which the band released in October. To support the album, METZ more recently released its latest video for the track, “Framed by the Comet’s Tail.” The new work is emblematic of the propulsive force a song can provide.

For sought after Los Angeles producer, Karriem Riggins, it all began with the drums. Riggins’ father, a skilled keys player, performed with, among others, the great jazz guitarist, Grant Green, and Riggins would watch intently, starting at three-years-old. Tagging along to shows inspired the aspiring young musician and when he began to understand and follow along with the drums, Riggins fell head over heals for them. The instrument’s ability to change the mood and tone in a room just by altering the rhythm or feel wowed him. Later, after he got his first drum set, Riggins began to take music seriously. He also played trumpet and he got some rudimentary recording equipment. By 1994, Riggins moved from his hometown of Detroit to New York City, where he began to flourish. This year, Riggins released unique projects with the famed rappers, Common and Madlib, and he is poised to unveil even more new work in 2021.

Chris Carrabba, front man for the popular rock group, Dashboard Confessional, has been living an acute modern duality for the past year. When scholars and scientists look back on 2020, they may be able to sum up what, exactly, was lost during one of the most tumultuous years in global history. But, with hope, they will also be able to calculate what improved, what we gained or what evolved in a positive sense, too. Carrabba, who has been at the center of both loss and gain this year, understands that balance. At the start of 2020, he and his band were poised to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut 2000 album, The Swiss Army Romance. But then the world turned upside down. Later, in June, as the COVID-19 self-quarantine truly set in, Carrabba was in a motorcycle accident, which forced him to lay up in casts. But the result of the isolation created a renewed sense of appreciation for what he’s worked to achieve over the past two decades.

Drag queen extraordinaire, Laganja Estranja, says she’s married to her work. But the ever-savvy performer knows that the key to any healthy relationship is education and dialogue. If one gets complacent with a spouse, loses appetite and curiosity, then the relationship is likely to flatten and fail. That’s why Estranja, above all else, continues to learn. She explores new tastes and ideas and, as a result, is regularly in collaboration with other creative people. Estranja, who rose to popularity on the sixth season of the television show, RuPaul’s Drag Race, has continued to grow her career ever since. The most recent example of this is the release of her newest song (and titillating video), “Daddy,” which features intimacy borne only from clear communication and trust. And cake and honey.

Everything musical started early for Mark Foster, front man for the now-platinum-certified band, Foster The People. But more accurately and acutely, everything musical stated with simple, pure sonic vibrations. Before he’d even turned three-years-old, Foster’s parents found him with his ear pressed up against the family upright piano, pushing his index finger down one note at a time as he worked his way along the keys chromatically. A few months later, Foster performed his first recital. In fourth grade, he was working with the Cleveland Orchestra in the children’s choir, exposed to the inner-workings of professional musicians and high standards of performance. Today, all that experience (and much more) has paid off for Foster, whose group is set to release its latest EP, In the Darkest of Nights, Let the Birds Sing, on Friday.

For any musician who has undertaken a lengthy tour, booked a gig at a performance venue or just spent time in a green room, one thing becomes immediately clear: there is a ton of downtime before a show. Some musicians fill it with beer and snacks. Others stay on their phones all day or take naps in some well-worn easy chair. But for Car Seat Headrest’s Will Toldeo and Andrew Katz, the green room often becomes a makeshift studio where their newest creative project, 1 Trait Danger, comes to life. The project was borne in back stages around the globe and its there where the seeds of its future releases were sewn. And this week, Toledo and Katz proudly unveiled their latest endeavor: a skillfully made 1 Trait Danger video game in which players can engage online in an effort to defeat the “evil” founder of Matador Records, Chris Lombardi.

For globally recognized rapper, Zlatan Ibile, a whole career began with a simple ask. It was 2011 and Zlatan, who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, in severe poverty, was focused on completing his education. At the time, however, neither he nor his family had the requisite money to continue his higher learning. So, Zlatan was forced to push pause on the effort and reflect on his next move. It was then, though, that he encountered a friend on the way to a recording studio. In an instant, Zlatan had an important realization. He knew that his friend wasn’t an operatic singer or virtuosic instrumentalist. So, Zlatan thought, if his friend could go to the studio to cut a track, so could he. Since that important moment, Zlatan, who is known for his joyous rapping, singing and dancing, has garnered millions of fan followers, released popular songs like the recent track, “Lagos Anthem,” and is set for a bright creative future in 2021.

For Seattle-based guitarist, Jimmy James, music should always be about comfort. That’s not to say every song is “easy listening,” of course. In each note James plays there is drama, a sense of story and a fertile tone. But each note also comes from an honest place. James, who is a virtuosic dynamo on the guitar, never offers his talents as a way of outshining anyone or in an attempt at some idea of victory. Rather, playing music, for James, is an homage to music itself. It’s like going to church and praying. If one does so honestly, the prayer is for the world. Not for individualism. That’s the secret to James’ success and that’s the vibe and tone he carries with him to his eight-piece big band, The True Loves, which is set to release its next LP, Sunday Afternoon, in March, and the record’s titular single here today.