Music
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Here’s How Two Local Youth Music Programs Are Keeping Traditional Mexican Music Alive
From son jarocho to mariachi, Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy in the Bay Area and the Mariachi Heritage Foundation in Chicago are preserving and keeping traditional Mexican sounds alive through music programs and young musicians. The importance of cultural preservation, specifically sounds that aren’t considered mainstream or don’t get much radio airplay, is what motivated Eugene Rodriguez (founder of Los Cenzontles) and Cesar Maldonado (Mariachi Heritage Foundation) to launch their music programs. “It was a way of connecting my Mexican side to my American side,” says Rodriguez, a musician and educator. “And it just became so natural for me to want to keep this music alive and to see younger people engaged and excited about, makes me happy.” &#...
England to Allow Indoor Concerts Starting Next Month
Social distancing will be required as the country enters phase 4 of a five-stage reopening plan. Audiences who adhere to social distancing can return to indoor theaters, music and performance venues beginning Aug. 1, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday (July 17). The policy represents the fourth phase in the country’s five-stage reopening plan for live events. In the lead up to the August start date, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will conduct pilots of performances with socially-distanced audiences — including the London Symphony Orchestra at St. Luke’s London — using the findings there to inform final guidance for venues. The announcement notes that “audiences, performers and venues will be expected to maintain social distancing at all tim...
First Spin: The Week’s Best New Dance Tracks From Calvin Harris, Maya Jane Coles, Tiësto & More
Let’s just say it clearly: there is so much great new music this week. In the past five days we got a vibey new single from Bob Moses and Zhu, Inner City released its first album in 30 years, Zedd dropped his first new music of 2020 and, incredibly, Kygo collab’d with Tina Turner. Plus, Aluna, Princess Nokia and Jada Kingdom dropped the deliciously slinky “Get Paid,” Alex Metric and Riton released the excellent “How Could I Ever” under their Kuu moniker, white-hot producer Haai dropped the spooky, ambient single “Head Above The Parakeets,” Dombresky remixed Tokimonsta‘s “Come and Go” Benny Benassi and Cece Rogers established their bromance on “I’ll Be Your Friend.” But wait, there’s more. From house t...
Water Is Wet: Donald Trump’s Niece Says She Heard President Use N-Word, Anti-Semitic Slurs
Source: Donald Trump speaks at US Air Force Base Yokota in front of US soldiers and Japanese service employees. Featuring: Donald Trump Where: Fussa, Tokio, Japan When: 05 Nov 2017 Credit: Kento Nara/Future Image/WENN.com Given Donald Trump‘s well-documented history of racism and bigotry, we all knew that the man-child who referred to Black and Latin countries as “sh*t holes” and said all Haitians had A.I.D.S. must’ve used the N-word throughout his life as much as your favorite rapper. Though he’s yet to be caught on tape using the racial slur (Ronan Farrow where you at?!), his niece, Mary Trump has confirmed that she herself has heard her infamous uncle use the word along with anti-semitic slurs in private. Last night (July16) the least hated Trump in the world sat down with Rachel Maddow...
Mo’Nique Discrimination Lawsuit Against Netflix Moving Forward
Source: Victoria McGraw @victoriasaidit / Radio 1 Digital Mo’Nique has been given the green light to do battle on that hill. A judge has allowed the Oscar-winning actress and comedienne to proceed with her discrimination lawsuit against Netflix. In case you forgot, back in 2018, Mo’Nique got big mad when she felt that Netflix was short-changing her when it came to paying her for a comedy special. Not many people were checking for a boycott of their beloved Netflix, but she went ahead and sued the streaming service anyway for racial and gender discrimination. Mo’Nique, born Monique Hicks, claims Netflix offered her $500,000 for a Netflix comedy special in 2017. When she balked and wanted more dough, she says they didn’t even bother to counter-offer. According to her lawsuit, that isn’t stan...
Stadium Goods Got The Highly Anticipated Off-White Air Jordan IV “Sail” Ready For Deployment
Source: Stadium Goods / Stadium Goods When it comes to Off-White Jordan releases the sneaker world prepares for the tattoo tears that come with the L’s on those Saturday mornings and though next week’s release is for women, many men will be wishing death on the Nike SNKRS app. Source: Stadium Goods / Stadium Goods On July 25th the highly anticipated Off-White Air Jordan IV “Sail”‘s will be releasing via draw on the Nike SNKRS app and other participating retailers, but Stadium Goods has already got you covered if you have a King Kong grip to spare. For a cool two grand, the 2020 grails can be yours and with its cool colorway and slick design, the Off-White 4’s are sure to keep you crispy throughout the summer of 2020.
Washington NFL Team Staffers Accused Of Sexual Harassment By More Than 15 Women
Source: The Washington Post / Getty The Washington NFL Team is once again in the news for causing offense, but this time it’s not over their racist name. On Thursday (Jul 16), The Washington Post broke the news of the allegation that the senior staffers of the Washington NFL Team were being accused of sexual assault by more than 15 women. Accompanied by both testimonies and screenshots of text messages, the expose revealed text messages in which the team’s assistant director of pro personnel, Richard Mann II, made inappropriate, and sexual comments to a female employee. In one text message posted in the expose, Mann told a female employee he and his colleagues debated whether her breasts had been surgically enhanced and in another text message told another female employee to expect a...
Tiësto Debuts VER:WEST Alias with “5 Seconds Before Sunrise”
Earlier this week, Tiësto informed fans that his first performance as VER:WEST is slated for Tomorrowland Around the World, which takes place on July 25th and 26th. Only a few days later, he has now released the first single under his VER:WEST alias, “5 Seconds Before Sunrise,” out via his AFTR:HRS imprint. Previously describing VER:WEST as “melodic house” and “new energy,” Tiësto has brought exactly that to the table with “5 Seconds Before Sunrise.” The chilled-out beat moves slowly for four and a half minutes, painting the perfect picture of the early morning moments leading up to dawn. Once the track fully blooms, a wave of delicate synths takes over the soft percussive elements, helping to paint an even...
Nora En Pure Drops Spellbinding “Deta/Bartok” EP
Melodic deep house fans are set for a perfect weekend thanks to Nora En Pure, who has delivered her new EP Delta/Bartok. At the beginning of the summer, the South African-Swiss producer announced that fans should expect “a steady stream of new music over the rest of the year,” so we’re just at the tip of the iceberg. In true Nora En Pure fashion, the EP provides her fans with a musical escape into a vivid landscape filled with lush instrumentals and warm melodies. She gave fans a taste of this otherworldly sound when she premiered the EP during the 200th episode of her “Purified Radio” show, which she broadcasted during a socially-distanced livestream set from the mountains of Gstaad, Switzerland. With “Delta,”...
Afrojack and SAYMYNAME Join Forces for Breakbeat Bop “Hot”
Afrojack first began teasing a collaboration with SAYMYNAME at Ultra 2019. Over a year later, they’ve finally released their collaborative track “Hot,” out via the former’s Wall Recordings. “Hot” is a party starter through and through. The tune masterfully blends Afrojack’s house-centric sound with SAYMYNAME’s screeching synths, delivering a breakbeat heater that’ll keep any dancefloor moving. Although the track is short, it isn’t lacking in impact. It opens with a catchy vocal, which is then chopped into a melody and finally used again pre-drop. The drop itself offers plenty of variation, as the pattern within the breaks changes often throughout both drops. You can listen to “Hot” below. FOLLOW AFROJAC...
Kaskade Goes Lo-Fi On “When You’re Dreaming” with Finnstagram
2020 has thrown us a lot of curveballs, the latest of which is Kaskade entering the lof-fi world with his new track “When You’re Dreaming” featuring Finnstagram. The journey began last week when he released “Parasite,” the lead single off his forthcoming Destinations: Living Room project. Very few producers can traverse the popular stylings of any given era with such grace as Kaskade, and he’s here to show us how it’s done right. Never one to be conformed to a genre box, Kaskade enlists the help of Finnstagram to deliver a whimsical soundscape of muted synths, smooth electric guitar riffs, and beautifully syncopated percussion patterns that just hit differently than any of his other works. It feels as if we are receiving an old radio broa...
Listen To New FINNTROLL Song ‘Ormfolk’
Finnish troll horde FINNTROLL has unleashed “Ormfolk”, the first single from its highly anticipated seventh studio album — the first in long seven years. “Vredesvävd” will be out on September 18 via Century Media Records. The title translates to “Wrath-woven,” which aptly implies what the vigorous, unapologetic and ill-spirited record is all about. Recorded and mixed at the renowned Sonic Pump Studios, mastered at Chartmakers and produced by keyboardist-composer Henri “Trollhorn” Sorvali with vocalist Mathias “Vreth” Lillmåns acting as his right hand, “Vredesvävd” presents the pointy-eared gang of misfits at their finest. FINNTROLL says: “After seven years of hiding, ‘Ormfolk’ slithers its way to brin...
