Category: Capital Region

Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear music from El Modernist, E.R.I.E.and many more!

WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.

El Modernist – “Evolution”

El Modernist delivers a new take on the world of indie rock. With pulsating hooks and lush melodic waves of psychedelia, the band combines upbeat, catchy garage-rock with a modern alternative hip-hop sound.

“Evolution” is an anthem for queer artists who have been contributing and pushing the boundaries of art since the beginning of time, while more often than not having to hide their true selves while doing so. Artists like Freddie Mercury and Elton John were often thought of as eccentric rather than LGTBQ+ (occasionally thought of as womanizers), but laid the groundwork for today’s LGBTQ+ artists and pioneers. “Evolution” is a fight song. A fight for equality. A fight against hatred. The future is gay as hell.

When asked by WEQX’s Pearson on what they are currently working on and how they are coping during this time, they shared:

What we’re working on/how we’re coping… Well, now that the bustle of the record release and the release party is over, we suspect performance opportunities will unfortunately be few and far between as the weather gets colder. We have a nice collection of songs just waiting to be properly demoed for what will eventually be LP2. So, the plan will be to hunker down and focus on that, which will be the first time the four of us write together. We’re definitely looking forward to letting some pent up creativity bounce off the walls, albeit mostly from separate houses/studios. The pandemic has certainly taken a toll on us all, personally speaking. The opportunities we get to play together in a room have been incredibly therapeutic, and we’re certainly grateful we can still do that responsibly. But ahead of the pandemic, we were all gearing up to play out a lot – it’s something all four of us really needed in our lives for a variety of reasons – so the fact that it all came screeching to a halt is tough to cope with, especially with no real end in sight. Like everyone else, I think we’re just pivoting the best we can and diving into the next record maybe a little sooner than we otherwise would have. I write a lot of songs, so I’m always ready and willing to jump behind the board and make some magic happen.

All BandCamp proceeds for the track will be donated to The Trevor Project.

E.R.I.E. – “Fire Away”

Hailing from New York’s vibrant Capital Region, rock outfit E.R.I.E. debuted on Mint 400 Records with Don’t Wanna Live, Don’t Wanna Die in September. Combining addictive progressions with alternative undertones, the record boasts an anthemic pop-rock aesthetic, with the integrity of an early 2000’s basement or VFW hall.

E.R.I.E. has brought me back to my roots, in a way. Growing up, I played in scrappy punk bands and as I got through college and beyond, my interests and writing style began broadening. I started taking myself more seriously, arguably to a fault. While creating this record, my main goal was to have a positive and fun studio experience. I paid a lot more attention to content rather than mechanics. Ultimately, creating Don’t Wanna Live, Don’t Wanna Die was a natural process, without most of the stresses recording can bring.

TJ Foster, E.R.I.E.

Upon listening, it’s not hard to hear that sense of lightness and clarity songwriter TJ Foster was striving for. The record exudes a sense of urgency that has drawn comparisons to the likes of Frank Turner and The Gaslight Anthem, while also embodying an intimacy one would expect from Death Cab For Cutie or Frightened Rabbit.