With Arular, her breakout debut, world refugee Maya Arulpragasam has finally found a home. Born in London, raised in Sri Lanka and India, and finished back in London as an art school student and hip-hop devotee, the 27-year-old Renaissance babe brandishes an intriguing patchwork of urban influences and political awareness…
After essentially establishing its own future-forward genre through years of relentless touring, Sound Tribe Sector 9 finally drops an album that reflects its innovative, enigmatic musical approach. The Santa Cruz-via-Atlanta quintet’s live shows seamlessly dissolve instrumental musings into fine-tuned sonic sculpture, veering from lengthy, jazz-driven improvisations to laptop-enhanced downtempo suites…
On a summer day in 2003, nomadic b-boy Mario Treadway embarked on a shamanistic journey — what he calls his vision quest. It was in that mystical space that he encountered the spirit guide who bestowed the name he uses today. “He approached me while I was in a trance…
Throughout the packaging for Wilco’s latest album, the title is listed so that it reads Wilco ≤ A Ghost Is Born. The equation suggests that the album itself takes precedence over the band. Fitting, because as it has continually made clear through its music, Wilco is a vehicle for its…
The fable of “The Rabbit in the Moon” transcends cultures and ages, spanning ancient Egyptian, Mayan, Chinese, and Japanese societies. All of these traditions connected the rabbit’s famed fertility and the the nighttime sky’s ephemeral centerpiece. Rumor has it that electronic music outfit Rabbit in the Moon was named after…
One of the first female DJs in South Florida, DJ Hana is used to fighting an uphill battle because of her looks. “People would come into the club and say, ‘Oh my god, what is she doing behind the mixer?’ ” the Valkyrie-esque she-jay recalls of her early days. “But…
It’s the same pessimistic diagnosis I’ve been hearing since Elvis Presley got drafted: Rock is dead. Punk is dead. Disco is dead (OK, that last one’s a bit optimistic). So this week, as the Ska Is Dead Tour skanks through a town fixated on Bright Eyes and Simpson sisters –…
You love to hate ’em or you hate to love ’em — the glam-metal peacocks of Mötley Crüe were the ’80s most infamous musical hedonists. If you’re like us, you’ve been dying for the fornicating foursome to tease their tresses, stuff their jeans, and hit the road one more time…
The cool thing about being a brainy, one-man bedroom band is you don’t have to share the groupies. The sad thing is that the groupies often consist of your mom and your cat, one of whom just isn’t impressed. Based on the sound of his music, though, I’m betting Aqueduct’s…
Declaring yourself “the world’s mightiest live funk and soul revue,” as the Dap-Kings have done, bears all the cultural import of being anointed “the world’s fastest horse-drawn carriage.” But the critics and radio programmers who employ the simple refrain of “don’t look back” are missing out on a lot of…
Don’t be misled by the deliberately cartoonish, yokel-meets-bling cover art — the Drive-by Truckers are no joke. From their Athens, Georgia, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, origins, the ace roots-rock outfit laces its crazy-quilt Americana with barbed, satirical wit, and plenty of spirit. Gangstabilly and Pizza Deliverance are DBT’s first two…
Long considered the secret, sultry weapon of the Massive Attack collective, Daddy G had been something of a recluse in recent years. Fatherhood kept him from appearing on the band’s disappointing 2003 effort 100th Window, which might explain its mediocrity. But after returning to the fold in ’04, G began…
South Florida’s veteran, gold-throated troubador, Matthew Sabatella, was born to make an album like Ballad of America. This low-key, acoustic opus is more a Folkways Smithsonian-style history lesson than a random assortment of wispy, coffee shop folk. Casual listeners, watch out: If you pay attention, you might learn something. Ballad…
It was a scene straight out of an ’80s hair-band video. Stacey — an attractive, sophisticated-looking girl with glasses and tied-back hair — seemed oddly out of place amid the bar full of tattooed arms, loose tongues, and loud mouths. This was a Southern Flaw/Trapped by Mormons show, after all…
There was a time when jet-black locks and an otherworldly gaze were not greeted with a prescription for Zoloft. Ten years ago, Fort Lauderdale culture meant something a little more profound than the Princess Diana exhibit at the Museum of Art. On Saturday, January 29, local DJs Danny Bled and…
The drums whiz who keeps the undulating pulse in the Steve Kimock Band, Rodney Holmes reveals his primary inspiration isn’t a musician at all. “Bruce Lee used to talk about martial artists never being tense but always being ready, knowing when to expand when others contract and to contract when…
In recent years, James Murphy has undeniably helped direct the hipster strata of New York music. DFA, the label that he produces with partner Tim Goldsworthy, is the Neptunes of indieland, lending guidance and technical savvy to a who’s who of exploratory bands, from the Rapture to Black Dice to…
Irony alert: In 1972, 17-year-old Miami singer Betty Wright set fire to the R&B and pop charts (peaking at two and six, respectively) with her swaggering slice of cautionary funk, “Clean Up Woman.” Fast forward to 2003: Ms. Wright — after TV talk show hosting and singing backup for David…
Before the Streets pushed things forward, before Dizzee Rascal fixed up and looked sharp, Rodney Smith — a.k.a. Roots Manuva — set the tone of future-funking UK hip-hop. Back in early ’99, Roots dropped the digitized, high-stepping Brand New Second Hand, double-dipping as innovative producer and basso profundo MC. That…
“Welcome to Mu world, bitch! Especially all the haters — I’m about to kung fu you!” Not the warmest welcome from Sheffield, England-based techno punk mutineers, Mu. Comprised of house honcho Maurice Fulton and his performance artist wife, Mutsumi Kanamori, Mu is not so much a band as it is…
After a decade as a rock-anthem-spewing locomotive, Fort Lauderdale’s Crease has nearly arrived at a cohesive, big time-ready persona. The four-piece puts on a serious game face to attack Only Human, its second full-length; this is a band that’s seen the wet end of the music industry stick, having been…
Don’t be fooled by the slick duds and white stretch limo. Urban Mystic, the Fort Lauderdale native rising fast on the national R&B scene, hasn’t let success go to his 19-year-old head just yet. “I try to keep it straight, let the homies know I’m from the ‘hood,” he says,…
