From Music For Living Spaces, the debut LP by Los Angeles-based, non-binary artist Green-House (aka Olive Ardizoni), “Royal Fern” ripples with optimism, like sonic skipping stones toward the sun. “I’m trying to hit that part of the brain that’s affected by the emotional state that you’re in when you perceive something as cute,” Ardizoni says. “Cuteness and joy are gateways to compassion. It’s the gateway …
For most, a favorite bar, coffee shop, library, record store, barber shop or market means more than a transaction. These “third places” (home being first and work second) oftentimes provide conversation, connection and community. However, many—if not most—of these places were forced to close or operate at reduced capacity last year and, until PPP Loans arrived, with limited financial support from the government. Some cities …
Innov Gnawa’s new seven-minute single “El Ghaba” emphasizes the group’s North African roots. Hailing from Morocco, now based in NYC, the band (Ma’alem Hassan Ben Jaafer, Amino Belyamani and Ahmed Jeriouda) focuses on a genre known as Gnawa (sometimes called “Sufi Blues”), qraqeb-based music with vocal “prayers invoking saints and spirits for freedom and liberation.” Daptone co-founder Gabriel Roth produced the group’s forthcoming album, Lila, …
