This week, Detroit-based producer, songwriter and DJ Tammy Lakkis released her debut single, “This is How It Goes,” a mesmerizing meditation on the cyclical nature of life. Lakkis fuses her background in more traditional songwriting and her love affair with Detroit’s electronic music scene, honing her original demo with the help of Assemble Sound resident [...]
Call it the Lady Gaga effect: a promising young artist is “discovered,” signed to a label, and goes on to achieve viral success, leaving audiences and artists alike set on the Cinderella story of being picked up and swept away by music industry magic. This romanticized version of making it big is, unfortunately, a statistically [...]
Still from Mega Powers' "Virtual Boy" music video If there’s anything 2019 has to offer so far, it’s a wealth of releases that followed in the new year. February was an especially prolific month for Detroit artists, following in the wake of January’s month-long hangover and a few spring-feeling days that turned into [...]
photo by Studio 29 Photos Detroit feminist punk/noise band GIRL FIGHT released their sophomore record, She’s a Killer, last week - a politically charged twenty-minutes that barks and bites. Ellen Cope and Jacob Bloom fine-tune their brazen two-piece effort with tighter riffs and rhythms and lyrical prowess that breaks down complex topics and makes them [...]
photo by Sam Schmieg Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins came through Detroit with spunky come-up Kari Faux last week and it was as underrated as Michigan winters are long. Jenkins, who spent the last few years in a reflective state, taking a break from touring, came back to the stage with a fresh perspective and [...]
photo by Kate Young Chandra Oppenheim was a one-of-a-kind type of child sensation. Unlike today's child stars that come to fame because of their popularity among their peers (think Justin Bieber or JoJo), Oppenheim was revered in New York’s 1970s underground post-punk scene. As the daughter of famed American artist Dennis Oppenheim, she [...]
Photo by Hillary Ilyssa On its first full-length release, Detroit-based experimental group River Spirit delivers a lush collection of songs that seamlessly floats between genres and sends a clear message of renewal and reflection. Vanessa Reynolds (vocals, guitar), Dan Steadman (guitar) and Paul Wilcox (drums) strike a stunning balance by combining addicting melodic [...]
Jake Cramer of Morris Choice Entertainment is attempting to raise awareness around suicide prevention with his first ever benefit show Scream out the Silence. All proceeds from the show - featuring local acts Honeybabe, The Idiot Kids, ZZvava and DJ Raphy - will go to Six Feet Over, a Michigan-based non-profit that is devoted to [...]
Experimental art-punk band saajtak takes the most enticing aspects of free improvisation, opera, electronic and jazz music and melds them to create complex sonic narratives. The Detroit-based group - made up of Alex Koi (vocals), Simon Alexander-Adams (electronic artist), Jon Taylor (drums), and Ben Willis (bass) - prove to be just as compelling live as [...]
Gabe Smith has wandered far from his small hometown of Waterford, Michigan, but hasn’t forgotten the role that his neighboring city of Detroit had in shaping him as an artist and songwriter. After moving to LA in 2014, Smith spent two-and-a-half years touring on the John Lennon Educational Tour bus, helping students write/record original music [...]
