Article XLR8R January, 2007 Link Neither Arctic chill nor a buttoned-down reputation has kept a healthy homegrown hip-hop scene from taking root in Stockholm. The capital city teems with record stores, where you can pick up the latest from local labels like JuJu Records, DvsG (David vs. Goliath), and Raw Fusion, which has successfully exported […]
Cover Story URB March 2007 Link When Lily Allen steps onstage at Chicago’s Double Door, one of the year’s most talked about new singers suddenly becomes an enigma. Her face, framed in strands of jet-black hair and a jade headband, is greeted with applause as she strolls past a trio of horn players limply bobbing […]
Interview Chicago Tribune January 12, 2007 “The Payoff Mix,” a Frankenstein according to one of its creators, was a song that raised questions that still haunt artists and record labels. In 1983, New York producer Steve Stein and his friend Douglas DiFranco, a studio engineer, created the tune, a technically precise and occasionally humorous reworking […]
Interview XLR8R December 2006 Link House music has eccentric artists aplenty, but few can consistently turn out tracks with the twisted humor of Greenskeepers and keep a straight face. A live house outfit from Chicago, started by former golf caddies Nick Maurer and James Curd, the group delivers serious, floor-burning funk amped up with silly […]
Review Stop Smiling November 2006 Link If you were booking jazz shows in Chicago in the late ’50s, a press release with the following exhortation might have crossed your desk: “Be good to your mind’s mind/eye Earthlings… Give is a chance to do what all Earthlings must do before they cross the River Styx… be […]
Feature Chicago Tribune October 16, 2006 The building at 1825 W. Wabansia Ave. looks commonplace by current Bucktown standards. A hollow two-story structure ringed by Dumpsters and construction barricades, it’s another example of the rehab frenzy that has brought million-dollar homes to this gentrifying bohemian ‘hood. But that will all change once the wind turbines […]
Interview XLR8R October 2006 Link What’s in a name? Quite a bit if you’re 41-year-old Maximilian Lenz, better known as Westbam. The moniker–a combination of his home province Westphalia with that of his musical idol Afrika Bambaataa–dates him as a teenager of the ’80s, and suggests what he would eventually become famous for: being one […]
Story XLR8R September 2006 Link Twenty-four-year-old Matt Kimmel gets a rush from discovering obscure bands. But he’s noticed that even in a hyperlinked world, deserving artists go unappreciated–hence the inspiration to start Melted Mailbox, a new psychedelic singles club. “It’s a low-tech solution to the modern problem of finding out about new bands,” says Kimmel. […]
Interview XLR8R September 2006 Link “You’ll never be more than that girl who raps good for a girl/But really those titties is giving wood to the world.” As this line from “Rapper Girls” demonstrates, Chicago MC Psalm One (born Cristalle Bowen) is familiar with the disses thrown at female rappers. She’s heard the looks-but-no-talent teases, […]
Story XLR8R August 2006 Link Every year, American music fans are hoodwinked into listening to the newest crop of over-hyped UK bands, slavishly championed by NME and rarely worth the time. Looking for some more deserving audio imports? Follow Diplo’s lead to Brazil, where a rich heritage of tropicália, samba, and funk has mutated into […]