Spring has arrived, and Brooklyn’s PEAK bring with them fresh dates and the world looking ahead to Summer 2021.
For the first announcement in what will be a big year for the band, they’ll release their forthcoming full-length sophomore album, Choppy Water, in September, with a the Brooklyn, NY-based quartet will be hosting an album release show at the Knitting Factory on September 10 (at full capacity), with a support acts to be named very soon.
PEAK Summer 2021 TOUR DATES:
May 30 Yasgur’s May Meltdown, Bethel, NY (PEAK headline Friday) June 17 Stella Blues, New Haven, CT July 10 Electric Haze, Worcester, MA July 17 Snug’s Bar, New Paltz, NY July 23 B.R.Y.A.C. Bridgeport, CT August 26 Tellus 360, Lancaster, PA August 27 Altered State Distellery Erie, PA September 10 ALBUM RELEASE SHOW Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
Watch PEAK perform “Vanishing Skies,” live from the Studio.
The drill music scene has a certain connotation attached to it. The kind the public is accustomed to is violence laden, with expectations of braggadocious laced money talk. It’s been that way from the beginning and while we have seen success stories, there have been far more casualties of the antagonizing and deadly sub-genre.
Enter Jellz, the Brooklyn-bred emcee who embarked on his musical journey just over a year ago.
I don’t think drill has to be just violence. There’s a different part of the streets that isn’t tied to violence and that’s fast money. That’s more my speed. I think that it may deter some people, but not everyone. As an artist, I’m just trying to get the fans that like my style and aren’t looking for me to be someone else. Plus, I wouldn’t even consider myself a drill artist, I have so many vibes that I’m waiting to show, drill is just the outlet.
Shot while on vacation in Los Santos, Colombia, the music video for “Ghost (Freestyle)” sees the up-and-coming rapper bring much more flair than the drill scene is accustomed to. Drill rap music videos are often shot on location, in the neighborhoods where the artists have familiarized themselves with. Of course, many of those records are diss tracks or namedrop gangs who operate out of those areas. With no such ties, the Bedstuy-bred Jellz sees this as an opportunity to showcase his own vision as an artist.
I think that like everything else, anything that’s over done [or] repetitive gets boring. So, I wanted to switch up the scenery. How many up-and-coming artists are traveling on vacations to rollout a single and make videos there? Not too many. In order to separate yourself, you have to be a little different.
The “Bulls**t” rapper presents himself with a Jefe-like persona, as he spends the music video surrounded by local women in bathing suits and ski masks, insinuating promiscuity and danger. Jellz then proceeds to list the avenues in which he makes money, possibly making history as the first drill record where the artist admits to having worked a job.
Stuff like 20 in a box, did a like 30 on the stocks, don’t forget I had a job, if I make a M off rap I’m movin’ wock.
He accentuates his fast-money style of drill rap several times during the 1:48 video, rapping,
I really get to the money but hang with some demons, lurking, scheming, searching, fiending, they’ll do you for no reason.
And
We ain’t gotta hug a block, we ain’t gotta touch a rock.
If Jellz’s style of rap doesn’t put him at an advantage, his quality of work and transparency might just do the trick.
For the videos I shot in Colombia, I actually just went on a trip and decided to record a video there honestly. I just needed a vacation at that point, and I wanted to mix business and fun, so I did 2 videos out there. I don’t think it puts me at a crazy advantage, but visuals are important , so I do want to give the best quality that I can.
As much as violence and warfare sell, so too do tales of frivolous expenditures, when mixed with Jellz’s showmanship and earnestness, it may result in a very promising future.
Literary-folk duo, Gawain and the Green Knight, have unveiled their latest single, “Birds & Wine,” with a premiere on Folk Alley, along with an animated lyrics video.
The song comes from the forthcoming EP, A Sleeping Place, which will be released on June 21, 2021. Like many of the songs on A Sleeping Place, “Birds & Wine” takes inspiration from Greek mythology—a nod to singer and guitarist Alexia Antoniou’s Greek heritage.
Antoniou examines the connection between Aphrodite, whose name comes from the Greek word for foam, and the sea:
There’s something I really like about taking the abstract and divine – a god – and distilling them into these concrete images. It’s part of the reason why, when thinking about what supplicants might bring to a sacrifice for Aphrodite, I went with ‘birds and wine’ instead of ‘doves and wine’ – I liked the image of someone pulling up to Aphrodite’s altar with a roast chicken, grease and bones.
Originally written in a moment of insecurity, the song evolved into “a big, completely over-the-top boast from the perspective of the goddess of love and beauty herself.”
Antoniou’s bandmate, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Mike O’Malley elaborates, “I referenced neo-soul tracks (like those from Lake Street Dive and Alabama Shakes) for the percussion textures and Vulfpeck for joyous clarinet solos.”
“Alexia’s choice of chords lent a lot of opportunity for melting, diminished harmony, so there’s a lot of that in the winds – the feeling of being perpetually gooey-eyed in someone’s presence.”
Inspired by the etymology of the Greek word for cemetery, which simply means “a sleeping place,” the record sits comfortably in the deep, sometimes dark, parts of the subconscious, arranged in such a way that you remember why life can be so joyful in the first place, its tempo anything but sad.
“I think of this EP as a love letter, full of desperate affection, to anyone who has ever been alive and been scared to die,” Antoniou states. “Death is loud, but it doesn’t mean you were never heard.”’
“Birds & Wine” from Gawain and The Green Knight is available for listening on all streaming platforms.
The Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF) has announced its 24th annual installment, running from June 4 to June 13. 2021’s lineup includes the online premiere of 140 films, available to stream any time throughout the 10-day period. It also sees the return of in-person screenings, at Windmill Studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, from June 5 to June 13.
This year’s theme is ‘The Clearing.’ Cinemas are slowly reopening after spending the last year shuttered, signaling the end of a lost year. While the 23rd Brooklyn Film Festival was fully virtual, the 24th will be a hybrid, featuring distanced in-person selections.
For this year’s festival alone, BFF received 2,615 submissions from 91 countries. The 140 chosen films will air as 33 program blocks, with feature-length films playing alone and shorts grouped together by category and direction. There are six categories overall (Feature Narrative, Documentary Feature, Short Narrative, Short Documentary, Experimental and Animation), but all films are eligible to win the festival’s top award: the Grand Chameleon. There are also 29 minor awards, with each winner receiving a prize totalling $50,000 in cash, film services and products. While judging panels determine some of the winners, the BFF Audience gets to vote online for their favorites.
New York residents are getting vaccinated in large numbers and are diligently observing the city rules regarding safe distancing and mask wearing. Cinemas are re-opening with new, safer policies and criteria. Because of this, we feel a sweet sense of optimism, as if we were experiencing a slow awakening from a one-year hibernation. That is why BFF is ready to show indie films to live audiences. Considering the amazing success of last year’s virtual festival, BFF will offer the full lineup online, again this year. ‘The Clearing’ is about safe distancing also from all the accumulated pain and anger of the past year, and is about getting re-acquainted with life’s important values. Fundamentally, ‘The Clearing’ is a message of hope that we want to spread, while trying to leave the ‘Covid tunnel’ behind us.
BFF Executive Director, Marco Ursino
The 17th Annual KidsFilmFest will also stream online from June 4 to June 13. There are two programs: one for ages 3 to 7, and another for ages 8 to 15. All children’s films are rated G.
Shock G, founder of West-coast hip hop group, Digital Underground, has passed away. Best known for the group’s breakthrough hit “The Humpty Dance” and his entertainingly provocative alter ego “Humpty Hump,” Shock G — born, Gregory Jacobs — also achieved belated notoriety for mentoring a young Tupac Shakur and co-producing his debut album 2Pacalypse Now.
According to his father, Edward Racker, Shock G was found dead in a Tampa, FL hotel room. The cause of death was unclear. He was 57 years old.
Born in Far Rockaway, Queens in 1963, Shock G would move to Tampa in 1980, back north to Queens, then return to Tampa where he worked as a radio DJ. From there, he headed west to Los Angeles and later Oakland, where he worked at a music store. It was there that he connected with Jimi “Chopmaster J” Dright from Berkeley, and Tampa hip-hop radio deejay Kenneth “Kenny-K” Waters to form Digital Underground in 1987. The hip-hop group made their mark with their hit single “The Humpty Dance,” which featured the prosthetic nose wearing Shock G rapping as his alter ego “Humpty Hump.”
Playing a key role in the rise of West Coast hip hop, Digital Underground was influenced by funk bands of the 1970s, and frequently sampled in their music. A distinct contrast to gangster rap, the unique style of Shock G and jam-session vibe to albums made Digital Underground a stand out group of the era. George Clinton would go on to co-produce “The Humpty Dance.”
In 1991, Tupac Shakur would link up with Digital Underground, going from dancer to roadie to band member. Tupac’s 1993 breakout single “I Get Around” was produced by Shock G, who also worked with Dr. Dre and Prince.
Shock G, Tupac and Digital Underground would appear in the 1991 Dan Ackroyd comedy, Nothing But Trouble, in a memorable court room scene that included a performance of “Same Song.”
A talented and versatile entertainer, Shock G was a jack-of-all-trades. He played drums and the keyboard, produced his own records, choreographed his own videos and was wildly entertaining on stage. Digital Underground’s rowdy live shows became a staple of the group’s appeal. The increased entertainment value that came with Shock G’s ingenuity allowed up-and-coming entertainers a chance to showcase their talent.
Here we see a young Tupac Shakur performing live on the Arsenio Hall Show alongside Shock G during the height of the group’s popularity.
Shock G’s genius wasn’t just in his production or his rapping abilities, He marketed the group and their debut album, Sex Packets, with several grandiose tales that added mystique and made fans wonder just what in the hell was going to be on this album. Claiming in an interview that the name of the album came from a sex pill that led to orgasms as soon as a capsule was placed on the tongue. Though fans and the media were left to decipher whether Shock G was pulling on over on them, it is clear in hindsight that he had a firm understanding of the entertainment industry and what would get the group over the hump.
Tributes were shared on Twitter from Shock G’s peers and fans.
RIP Shock G, psychedelic rap pioneer, one of the 1st & best to translate funk into hip-hop. A high concept genius, who discovered 2Pac & invented sex packets. Our Groucho Mark: raunchy, hilarious & weird. Burger King bathrooms would never be the same. Humpty Hump lives forever 🥸 pic.twitter.com/F3rJtlDdh2
Rest In Peace Shock G. Also known as Humpty Hump. Also known as the frontman of the legendary group Digital Underground. Brought the world 2Pac, and produced his hits “I Get Around,” “So Many Tears” and many more. Pivotal artist & producer. Thank you for everything. 💔 pic.twitter.com/Ua2Nq4vY3z
On April 7th, multi-talented visual and musical artist Valley Latini released her latest single “Tu y Yo,” a lustrous heartbeating alt-pop track.
In the single released on Side Hustle Records, Latini takes listeners on the dark adventure of a late night rendezvous.
The song is inspired by an encounter that only happens in a place like a strip club or a dance club. It’s about having a connection with someone but not talking to them the whole night. Just a very primal connection through dancing, and spirit vibration.
Valley Latini
For the visual, the Brooklyn DIY Queen crafted a stop-motion music video, which she produced, shot, directed, and created all of the art for (she’s also a visual artist in addition to her music).
The video takes viewers on another journey through the underbelly of hell on earth where men in power attempt to control womxn. There are themes of shaming and corruption as a sleazy priest exiles women to a hell, known as the “haux house.”
Not to fear, Valley, herself as the triumphant protagonist, dangles a literal carrot in front of the priest and wreaks havoc on his deserving soul. Ultimately, as it turns out, the “haux house” leads to a beach utopia where the womxn can enjoy the finer things in paradise anyway.
Valley expands on the concept, “the video is a metaphor for a modern day ‘witch hunt’ caused by men in power that fear female sexuality and censor the female body and sex workers.”
Latini writes about her personal philosophies on delusion, joy, and romance. Her performances are based on expression of individual freedoms, and finding power in the human essence.
Originally born in Bogota, Colombia, she’s now been living in the US for most of her life and currently has a studio in Brooklyn where she writes and records all her music.
In addition to her career as a singer-songwriter, Valley is also an artist and a stripper. She uses her artwork as a way to escape from technology and defines it as transgressive divinity, mixing sensuality with alternate realities. To view her artwork, visit valleylatiniart.com.
As a stripper, she advocates for both female autonomy and the dignity of those who choose sex work. When J Lo released the critically-acclaimed award-winning “Hustlers” film, Valley was invited to partake in the premiere events as a member of New York’s sex-worker advocate group to share their experiences and the validity of the movies’ themes.
She spoke to IndieWire and others about the “whorephobia” that exists within her industry to help raise awareness and break down the misleading, misinformed labels often forced upon her occupation.
Her single “Pay My Rent” has been a sex worker’s right’s anthem ever since releasing it in 2018. Her subsequent singles “Serpiente,” “Ask Me Why,” “Blue Moon,” and the latest addition “Tu y Yo,” are set to be part of a bigger collection called Attention Lover due out by the end of 2021.
The Colombian pop artist wrote, recorded, and produced “Tu y Yo” in Austin, TX with her songwriting collaborator “Ben Cina.”
For music updates and more, stay connected with Valley Latini on Instagram, and be sure to follow her on Spotify and Apple Music.
Brooklyn Lo-fi indie R&B duo Fake Dad strike back with their silky smooth new EP Old Baby. The duo consist of Andrea de Varona as the lead vocalist and Josh Ford doing most of the albums production. The EP releases today on all streaming services.
Old Baby is a masterclass example of creating a vibe. Personality oozes out of every corner of this EP and that is largely thank to the project’s supreme production along with de Varona’s incredibly serene vocals. Verona’s voice glides effortlessly over the production on nearly every song on this EP. Several songs such as “Listen” see Verona’s vocals distorted and mixed in some incredibly inventive ways. The signature nasally deliver of Verona makes every song incredibly comforting and welcoming. Ford comes through on the song “Breakfast In New York” adding a refreshing bass filed contrast to Verona’s high pitched R&B inflection.
Verona’s vocals is only one half of the equation as the production is a feat of its own. The glossy production is reminiscent of contemporary indie band with a classic R&B flare added by de Varona’s vocals. The groovy bass leads and chilled out synth keyboards are a highlight in songs like “Breakfast in New York”.
A unique assortment of instruments are present on the EP, with every song having its own uniquely identifiable musical motif. Motifs such as the trumpet present on the song “Knit Sweater” acts as a lowkey corner stone to the songs peaceful energy.
Fake Dad take listeners on a trip down memory lane — but it feels closer to a cautionary tale than a fond retelling.
The Wild Honey Pie
Old Baby offers the perfect soundtrack to any relaxing experience, weather that be studying or chilling at the beach. The universality embodied by this album makes it recommendable to nearly everyone. The smooth vocal will satisfy any R&B fan and the mix between hip hop and indie pop will be loved by any fans of each respective genre. The EP is available for purchase here.
Key Tracks: Pretty/Ugly, Breakfast in New York, Knit Sweater
The Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium is hosting the 22nd Annual Brooklyn Jazz Festival from April 16 to April 30th.
Brooklyn’s longest continuously running festival dedicated to Jazz is excited to come back after taking 2020 off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series offers a blend of in person and and online musical events, with several pop up food booths being present at the conecerts. The in person concerts are located at restaurants located throughout Brooklyn in the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, East New York, and Gowanus. All programs and concerts are free to the public and follow NYS mandated Covid Social Distancing Guidelines.
The festival offers a diverse array of performers, including the likes of Gerry Eastman Trio, The Mat Baker Trio, The October Revolution and Grammy Nominee Nicole Zuraitis. The festival simultaneously encourages people to experience the borough’s unique ethnic enclaves and sample international cuisines. Participating institutions, organizations, and venues are Fusion East, Lila’s Café, Nostrand Social, Kingsborough Community College, Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ Jazz, Sistas’ Place, and Williamsburg Music Center.
The social impact remains long after this music series and is less noticeable. Building relationships among neighboring businesses, interactions among the different ethnic groups, and memorable experiences are some of the intangible advantages derived from bringing people together in this environment.
Clarence Mosely Jr, CBJC Chariman
Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium is a nonprofit organization founded in 1999, provides services and is a presenter of live music events within Brooklyn’s underserved communities. The Consortium was founded and organized by Torrie McCarthy, Viola Plummer and Alma Carrol. For the past 22 years, The Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium has produced an annual jazz festival, established a Brooklyn Jazz Hall of Fame, and featured local jazz talent in its programming.
Acid Dad have shared their new track “BBQ” off their sophomore album Take It From The Dead, due out on June 11, 2021
“BBQ” Single Artwork
The rock band hails from Bushwick and is composed of singer-guitarists Vaughn Hunt and Sean Fahey, and drummer Trevor Mustoe. Vaughn first started recording the band in his Bushwick apartment. Playing live in the New York City rock scene in 2016, Acid Dad quickly moved to a world stage with their self-titled debut album, released by Greenway Records in 2018.
Over 2020, Acid Dad rented studio time in Queens as well as built their own guitars. They also independently produce their music. This creativity and innovation led to their second LP Take It From The Dead. The record features a variety of influences ranging from 90’s neo-psych, modern post-punk, and 70’s rock. Their sound meanders the perfect musical boundary of brand-new and nostalgic.
The new album is accompanied by psychedelic and glitchy art videos in a collaboration with video artist Webb Hunt, adding an otherworldly visual counterpart to their dreamy music.
Artwork in collaboration with artist Webb Hunt
Listen to Acid Dad and their new track “BBQ” here. Watch the visualizer for the single here. Find out more information about Acid Dad at their website.
On Wednesday March 27, 2019 – 50 years to the day of the formation of The Allman Brothers Band, The Allman Betts Band made their debut at Brooklyn Bowl in New York City and they certainly did not disappoint.
Allman Betts Band consists of Devon Allman, Duane Betts and Berry Oakley Jr., (you can probably figure out who their Father’s are), guitarist Johnny Stachela, drummers Jon Lum and R. Scott Bryan and keyboardist John Ginty. Devon and Duane have been playing together for over 30 years and both have solo albums, and the other members of the band are definitely top notch musicians. Any Allman Brothers super fan like myself will certainly enjoy this group.
The setlist was a mix of new music from the band’s debut album Down To The River, solo cuts from both Devon and Duan’s solo albums. Of course there were also a few Allman Brothers classics like Elizabeth Reed, Blue Sky and Dreams. There was even a cover of Prince’s Purple Rain featuring country singer and Brooklyn born Jessica Lynn. You can see the full setlist below.
On April 9, 2021 the group will finally hit the road again and start their Spring tour at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Az continuing through the midwest for 15 dates. After that they will continue for 12 more show in May and June mostly in the south. You can see all of the upcoming tour dates here. They also have a follow up album to Down To The River called Bless Your Heart which was released last summer. Due to Covid19 the band was unable to tour last year but now many states are easing restrictions and it appears that live music is finally making a come back.
Setlist: All Night, Melodies Are Memories, Blue Sky (Allman Brothers cover), Left My Heart In Memphis (Royal Southern Brotherhood cover), Taking Time (Duane Betts cover), In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Allman Brothers cover), Multi-Colored Lady (Greg Allman cover), Seven Turns (Allman Brothers cover), Mahalo (Devon Allman’s Honeytribe cover), Purple Rain (Prince cover with Jessica Lynn), Dreams (Allman Brothers cover), Good Ol Days, Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead cover)
