Date: December 19, 2014
Venue: Soapbox Gallery (NY)
Event review by Dawoud Kringle
New York City has a long and colorful history. While much of it was inspirational, much of it was also ugly. There was a time when New York City was the financial capital of the slave trade in North America. The Underground Railroad was a institution that resisted the industry and social convention of selling human beings as property.
Venue: The Flat (Brooklyn)
Date: December 3, 2014
Event Review by Dante Mann
On Wednesday December 3rd at The Flat a gathering of musicians/performers (AF THE NAYSAYER, Holm., The Fantastic Plastics, Kidaudra, and The Grand Affair) created an energized yet intimate experience. The sense of community among this budding group of artists was truly inspiring but the most apparent commonality was their pertinent use of electronic assistance.
I decided to contact all of the acts and have a conversation about the utility and function of using electronics such as loop stations (live looping, samplers, midi-controllers, and drum machines) to assist in making a live show happen.
Artist: Mehmet Polat Trio
Title: Next Spring
Label: Homerecords
Genre: world/maqam/kora music
CD review by Dawoud Kringle
Collaborations between musicians of different traditions are a peculiarly modern phenomenon. Sometimes this produces nothing more than a contradictory hybrid. Yet, many times, the masterful and insightful blending of different cultures produces a balanced and complete aggregate greater than the sum of its parts that enriches all culture and the traditions and spiritual vision that emerges from it. The later is exemplified by the work in the Mehmet Polat Trio’s CD Next Spring.
Venue: Mercury Lounge (NY)
Date: November 25, 2014
Concert Review by Dawoud Kringle
On the night of the Ferguson riots, while protests sprang up throughout major cities in the US, InnoVe Gnawa Band took the stage and brought the legendary and magical Gnawa music to NYC’s Mercury Lounge, with Black Rock Coalition mainstay Faith waiting their turn.
Artist: Mark Rogers and Mary Byrne
Title: I Line My Days Along Your Weight
Label: Important Records
Genre: folk noir/folk music
CD review by Dante Mann
I Line My Days Along Your Weight, the debut album by Mark Rogers and Mary Byrne , is compelling and an intriguing form of modern folk. There is a distinct southern flavor to this album; the music is subtle and minimalist while remaining dynamic and stylistically robust.
