Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 31

Prog Rock Redux | Gary Craig: Yesterday Into Day (Independent / 10 April 2021)

Prog Rock Redux
Gary Craig: Yesterday Into Day
(Independent / 10 April 2021)

Stream It On Spotify

Prog rock meets radio friendly synth pop on this unusual and versatile release from Alabama based musician and songwriter Gary Craig. 

The prog rock thread is particularly evident on Carousel of Time, the opening track, with its ELP-esque rhythmic and harmonic changes. The Hobo Song begins as a piano driven ballad with a storyteller's sensibility, strained through country rock.  

His tenor is suited to the reflective and introspective lyrics, with rich harmonies on tracks like Putting On The Show, a radio rock song.  

Craig keeps it interesting with a variety of moods and modes. It Never Bothered Me is an interesting throwback to 90s synthpop, with a simple driving beat underneath the string sounds. Mirrors slows it down to a folk rock song with an acoustic guitar pattern at its heart. 

He comes out swinging on War Torn, a hard rock rant at the state of things. The energy and drive make it a stand-out track.

From the Artist:

"Most of the songs on this album were written in the early 90s by a younger me, but the subject matter was about time, getting older and  reminiscing. I rediscovered these recordings recently, as an older me, and was astonished at how the songs' contexts really hit home today. It's as if I went back in time and wrote these tunes as a man who had already lived the life. I was so overwhelmed that I had to record them again with today's technology and a more seasoned me!"

Tracklist:
Yesterday Into Day  1. Carousel Of Time; 2. The Hobo Song; 3. Putting On The Show; 4. Mirrors; 5. It Never Bothered Me; 6. Davita; 7. War Torn; 8. Generations

Stay in touch:

Official Website: https://garycraigmusic.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GaryE.CraigTwitter: https://twitter.com/GaryCraig_Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garycraigmusic/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OueVepKEp2AZcxBt0r3paBandcamp: https://garycraig.bandcamp.com/Gary Craig · Carousel Of Time

Vickie Pierre: Be My Herald of What’s to Come - On View June 9 through September 5 at the Boca Raton Museum of Art

From a media release:

Vickie Pierre: Be My Herald of What’s to Come
On View June 9 through September 5 at the Boca Raton Museum of Art

The Divine Feminine Interventions of Vickie Pierre
Assemble Deeper Truths about Race, Colonialism
and Who Gets to be the Princess 

Check Out The Show

Like the town crier in a fractured fairy tale, “Be My Herald of What’s to Come” rings in Vickie Pierre’s premiere solo museum show at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. 

Totems For My Sisters (We Are Illuminous!), 2019. Latex and metallic paint, metal, resin and wood shelf sconces, wooden ship bookends, decorative plastic wall plaques, Avon glass perfume bottles, plastic foliage, jewelry, silk doll hair, hand-strung beads, shaped MDF panel and vinyl lettering.

Grounded in the Arts and Crafts movement, her installations have a storybook feel. A fractured fairy tale is, after all, a new twist on an old story, reimagined and restructured for a contemporary sensibility. 

Just as fractured fairytales can be more subversive than the traditional fables, the playfulness and whimsical flourishes of Pierre’s assemblages are underscored by her pull towards the beautifully grotesque. 

In this new exhibition, her works cast a feminine deity spell within the Museum gallery. In the installation she created in 2020, titled “Black Flowers Blossom (Hanging Tree),” the artist honors the souls of people lost to racial injustice, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the many others.

Black Flowers Blossom (Hanging Tree), 2020. Created to honor George Floyd and the souls of victims of racial injustice. Hand-strung glass, plastic, and wood beads; fabric, plastic butterflies, flowers and foliage; glitter, vintage Avon perfume bottles, and wooden ship bookends. Photo by Zachary Balber.

The exhibition was curated by Kelli Bodle, the Assistant Curator of the Museum, and is on view until September 5. Vickie Pierre has also been commissioned to create two murals for the Museum’s entrance courtyard, as part of the new Sculpture Garden. 

“These works proclaim that while we can acknowledge the dark, painful parts of our past, at the same time we can also express hope and light for the future,” says the Miami-based artist Vickie Pierre.

Her artworks cling to the romanticized, ornate European-based home décor of her childhood home in Brooklyn. The interior design hearkened back to France as Haiti's the "mother country," but one that never really was maternal.

“It’s not my history, and isn’t even really my parents’ history. All of those decorative elements I remember growing up with, the European flourishes, rococo, and Victorian, were not even part of their lives when they were in Haiti. That’s the push and pull of it. It’s a fantasy, but it’s a beautiful lie,” says Pierre. “Visually, it’s the best eye candy ever.”

And Though I May Have Lost My Way, All Paths Lead Straight to You, 2013. Plastic wall plaques, porcelain, resin, wooden shelf sconces, Avon glass perfume bottles, silk doll hair, band-strung beads on MDF, latex paint, and vinyl lettering.

She uses vintage Avon perfume bottles shaped like idealized women in period skirts (but removes the tops of the bottles that are shaped like women’s heads and torsos); flaxen hair from dolls; galleon ships to represent the slave trade; bracelets, cuffs and jewelry ― all interconnected by long strands of glittering Goddess beads.

The color backdrops are reminiscent of French toile fabrics. Batons appear, as sails that have lost their wind. “It feels like when you are watching something decay, but know that something better will take its place,” says Pierre. 

“I’ve been collecting these Avon perfume bottles for some time, using them as my muses. They’ve been deconstructed because I take their heads and torsos off. It’s a play on the idea of the Princess ― who gets to be the Princess?”

Artwork detail photos by News Travels Fast 

Vickie Pierre’s creative process is informed and inspired by memory, fantasy, surrealism, popular culture and the decorative and ornamental arts. 

She is best known for her wall installations that blend elements of her Caribbean heritage with contemporary culture. 

 “There is always a sense of melancholy and longing in my work, it comes from the otherworldly state I put myself in when I am creating,” adds Pierre. 

I Can’t Say No To You (Good Enough), 2014. Resin wall plaques, plastic leaves, Avon glass perfume bottles, wooden shelf sconces and ship bookends, jewelry, and hand-strung beads, mounted on shaped MDF panel, latex paint, and vinyl lettering. 

Her exhibition includes, for the first time seen altogether, Pierre’s assemblages and freestanding sculpture that highlight her lyrical brilliance.

“This exhibition of Vickie Pierre’s assemblages is both a memorial for what has passed and a desire for what is to come,” said Irvin Lippman, the Executive Director of the Museum. 

“Exploring how people can structure their identity, Pierre pays homage to the French and larger European architectural design that influenced Haitian culture while also subverting it. Her vignettes deal with current issues, revealing deeper truths and fractured identities, but are cloaked in charming tableaus.”  

Artwork detail (photo by News Travels Fast)About the Artist

Vickie Pierre is a multimedia artist, born and bred in Brooklyn. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1997. She currently lives in Miami.

Pierre has participated in exhibitions worldwide, including: National Museum of Women in the Arts (D.C.); Miami Art Museum (PAMM); Fredric Snitzer Gallery (Miami); White Box (NY); Musee International des Arts Modestes (France); Museo de Arte Contemporaneo (Puerto Rico); Polk Museum of Art (Lakeland); The King Juan Carlos of Spain I Center (NY); Los Angeles Art Association; Museum of Art and Design (Miami Dade); Little Haiti Cultural Center (Miami); The Deering Estate (Miami); and Locust Projects (Miami), among others. Her artworks can be found in private collections and public institutions.

The inspiration for Pierre’s work has manifested itself in years of collecting diverse materials that often serve as muses in her daily practice and as actual, physical elements within her assemblages and installations. 

Her continued focus is on the universal themes of identity with references to design and nature, alongside the interconnectivity between her Haitian heritage (including the larger Caribbean community) and global cultural mythologies, while considering feminine and historic tropes that are relative to contemporary cultural politics.  

A recent interview with Vickie Pierre:

Missing & Maligned: A New Study On Muslim Representation In Movies

 From a media release:

Missing & Maligned: A New Study On Muslim Representation In Movies

Academy Award-Nominated Actor Riz Ahmed, USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, Pillars Fund and Ford Foundatin Unite to define and address issues of Muslim representation in film 

A new study MISSING & MALIGNED: THE REALITY OF MUSLIMS IN POPULAR GLOBAL MOVIES from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative funded by the Ford Foundation reveals erasure and demeaning portrayals of Muslim characters across 200 top films 

Pillars Fund announces the launch of The Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion and the Pillars Artist Fellowship in response to study findings

LOS ANGELES - June 2021. Muslims are the fastest growing and most racially and ethnically diverse religious community in the world. Yet according to a new study released today, Muslim characters are missing on screen and when they do appear in popular movies, are depicted with dangerous stereotypes that can create psychological and physical harm. 

The report, entitled Missing & Maligned: The Reality of Muslims in Popular Global Movies was released by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative with support from Academy Award-nominated actor Riz Ahmed, the Ford Foundation and Pillars Fund. The groundbreaking study includes a quantitative and qualitative exploration of Muslim representation in 200 popular films from the U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand released between 2017 and 2019. The results point to the scope of the problem and have prompted action from this coalition of voices to tackle some of the underlying reasons for the lack of Muslims in popular movies. 

“The representation of Muslims on screen feeds the policies that get enacted, the people that get killed, the countries that get invaded,” said Academy Award-nominated actor Riz Ahmed. “The data doesn’t lie. This study shows us the scale of the problem in popular film, and its cost is measured in lost potential and lost lives.” 

Less Than 2% 

As Ahmed notes, the problem is vast. Less than 2% of more than 8,500 speaking characters across the films examined were Muslim. When the movies were examined by country of origin, 5.6% of characters in 32 Australian films were Muslim, as were 1.1% of characters in 100 U.S. movies, and 1.1% of characters in 63 U.K. films. None of the 5 movies from New Zealand featured a Muslim character in a speaking role on screen. 

The overall percentages reveal one metric regarding the invisibility of Muslims, but the study also catalogues the erasure of this community in another way. Less than 10% of the 200 films studied-- 9.5% or 19 movies-- featured at least one Muslim character speaking on screen. In other words, 90.5% of movies did not include a single Muslim character in a speaking role.

 “The erasure of Muslim characters is particularly notable in animation, where not one of the animated movies we examined featured a Muslim character,” said Dr. Smith. “Paired with the finding that only 7 Muslim characters were children, popular movies send a strong message to children that Muslims do not belong and are not worthy of inclusion in storytelling. Is this the lesson we want young viewers to learn about themselves or others: that if you are Muslim it is acceptable to be erased?”  

The study also explored the intersectional nature of Muslim identity. The majority of Muslim characters were boys and men (76.4%) while 23.6% of all Muslim characters were girls and women. The majority (66.7%) of Muslim characters were Middle Eastern/North African, 20.8% were Asian, 5.6% were Black/African American, 4.2% where white, and 2.8% were multiracial/ multiethnic. Only 1 Muslim character was identified with the LGBTQ community and 1 Muslim character was shown with a disability. When Muslim characters do appear in film, a set of qualitative findings from the report shed light on the ways that the community is stereotyped: as outsiders, threatening, and as subservient, particularly to white characters. Just over half of all Muslim characters appeared in films set in the past, and the majority were shown in the Middle East/North Africa, India, or Europe. Essentially, Muslim characters were primarily shown in places other than the countries whose films were included in the study. 

"More than half of the primary and secondary Muslim characters in these films were immigrants, migrants, or refugees, which along with other findings in the study consistently rendered Muslims as 'foreign,'” said Al-Baab Khan, one of the study authors. “Muslims live all over the world, but film audiences only see a narrow portrait of this community, rather than viewing Muslims as they are: business owners, friends and neighbors whose presence is part of modern life. By presenting Muslims in an abundance of storylines, audiences can see and resonate with the innumerable experiences of Muslims from all walks of life." 

The report also notes that roughly one-third of Muslim characters are perpetrators of violence, and more than half are targets of violence. Muslim primary and secondary characters are also likely to be shown in clothing or with artifacts that reflect their faith. Additionally, Muslim women continue to be shown in stereotyped and submissive ways. The few primary and secondary Muslim women characters were primarily shown as potential romantic partners or family members. 

Read the full report here.

In response to these findings, USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative joined a coalition of partners spearheaded by Pillars Fund to create The Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion. 

"The Missing and Maligned study reveals the scope of the problem facing Muslims in entertainment, and the urgent need for solutions that increase the presence of Muslim voices in storytelling,” said Kashif Shaikh, Pillars Fund Co-Founder and President. “The Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion offers a direct response to these findings by providing a broad set of recommendations for film industry professionals. We’re excited to support the industry to take practical steps towards more nuanced portrayals that amplify Muslim voices, from sunsetting terror tropes and signing first look deals with Muslim creatives to including Muslims in diversity, equity, and inclusion programming.”

The Blueprint

The Blueprint includes short, medium, and long-term solutions for change, concrete recommendations for everyone from production companies to drama schools, and a suite of practical resources and contacts to support everything from script screening to casting. Read the full set of recommendations at https://pillarsfund.org/. 

In addition, Pillars Fund in partnership with Riz Ahmed and Left Handed Films is announcing an innovative new fellowship that seeks to transform the cultural landscape by creating opportunities for Muslim storytellers. The Pillars Artist Fellowship will focus on Muslim artists in the U.S. and U.K. at the early stage of their career, offering multiple selected fellows an unrestricted award of $25,000 and career development support. The hope is that substantial financial and professional support can create the kind of talent pipeline that will help shift on-screen representation. Championing the artist fellows will be an advisory committee of Muslim artists who have been trailblazers in the industry, including Riz Ahmed, Mahershala Ali, Sana Amanat, Karim Amer, Rosa Attab, Lena Khan, Nida Manzoor, Hasan Minhaj, Jehane Noujaim, and Ramy Youssef. 

Designed as a multi-year program, the fellowship will focus in its first pilot year on directors and writers from film and television. In further years, it will expand to cover storytellers from other disciplines, including literature, music, and visual arts. In addition to the unrestricted grant, Pillars Artist Fellows will receive a curriculum of tailored professional development resources including workshops delivered by industry experts, fireside chats from the high-profile advisory committee, and proactive one-on-one mentorship. 

Riz Ahmed speaking at the 2018 San Diego Comic Con International by Gage Skidmore (CCO 2.0 license)

“Muslim communities are bursting with talent—it’s our duty and privilege to support these incredible artists and provide them the opportunity to tell their own stories,” said Arij Mikati, Pillars Fund Managing Director of Culture Change. “Right now, a pathway to success doesn’t exist for many Muslim creatives. The Pillars Artist Fellowship addresses this by providing them the funds, connections, and high-support, high-challenge community needed to reach their greatest aspirations.” 

Riz Ahmed added: “I know the industry has the imagination and the resources to fix this problem. Now it must show the will, and the Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion can offer a practical roadmap for change. The Fellowship also offers a meaningful way to intervene. Having a source of unrestricted funding for Muslim artists and storytellers will be game changing. Muslim communities in the US and UK are amongst the most economically disadvantaged, and yet currently there’s nothing else out there like the Pillars Artist Fellowship which really invests and believes in the talent pipeline. Had I not received a scholarship and also a private donation, I wouldn’t have been able to attend drama school.” 

“Film and television provide a powerful lens through which we see and understand the cultures and communities around us and relate to the world at large,” said Noorain Khan, director of the Office of the President for the Ford Foundation. “For too long, depictions of Muslims in entertainment have failed to match the richness and diversity of our lived experiences and we have felt the impact of these flattened portrayals firsthand. At Ford, we are proud to support the collective efforts of the Pillars Fund, Riz Ahmed, and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative to clearly illuminate the extent of the misrepresentation and create a roadmap towards a more just future.” 

Pillars Artist Fellows will be selected via nomination process and will be announced later this year. For more information, visit pillarsfund.org.

On a similar note, a crowd-sourced, online project that tabulates the portrayal of Muslims in films and TV shows called "The Riz Test."

Contemporary Folk/Roots | Ad Vanderveen: Release (Independent / 18 May 2021)

Contemporary Folk/Roots
Ad Vanderveen: Release
(Independent / 18 May 2021)

Buy The CD

Amsterdam-based Ad Vanderveen's new album strengthens a solid reputation in the contemporary folk and roots genre. With a feel for storytelling over catchy melodies and making the most of simple instrumentation, it's got a laidback mood you'll put on repeat.

With poetic lyrics about life and love, he covers the usual folk/roots territory thematically. Dared To Dream is a standout track, with its sweet harmonies from Kersten de Ligny. 

Fickle Mind is another standout, with jazzy chord changes and a melancholy mood that suits his raspy vocals. 

While he lives in Amsterdam, half his heritage is Canadian, and the influence of Neil Young and his style of rhythmic acoustic guitar and emotional (rather than technically perfect) vocals comes through on several of the songs. 

He's got more than 20 solo and collaborative album credits to his name, and has worked as a musician with many others. In 2017, he was invited to open for Van Morrison based on the strength of hearing a release of his. 

Nothing But A Dream is Dylanesque, AV adding his own stamp to the sound with more refined melody and instrumentation that includes strings.

It's an interesting and varied album of contemporary folk and roots that should please fans and add to AV's growing reputation.

Personnel: AV: vocal, guitars, piano, harmonica / Kersten de Ligny: harmony vocal / Pete Fisher: bass / Michael Kay: drums, percussion / The Neil James Morrison Ensemble: strings.

Tracklist:1 Release; 2 One Last Song; 3 Always The Next; 4 Dared To Dream; 5 Wildfire; 6 Fickle Mind; 7 Nothing But A Dream; 8 Garden Of Home; 9 Ol' 56; 10 Thank You

Stay in Touch:

Official Website: www.advanderveen.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdVanderveenFP/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6LZRuFlcOOCSrlx4mNSCnlBandcamp: https://advanderveen.bandcamp.com/edit_album?id=3312658122

The Funk Comes Back | George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic At Summerstage NYC June 27 2021

From a media release:

Sony presents Blue Note Jazz Festival
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic
Sunday, June 27, 2021
Summerstage, Central Park - New York City

Two Shows:

2:30 pm - 4:00 pm (Doors open 1:00 pm) 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm (Doors open 6:00 pm)

NEW YORK CITY - George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic are more than just a great band, they remain a pillar of Black music. 

Laying the blueprint for funk in the 1970s by channeling R&B, soul, and rock and roll into space travelling acid trips, they would also provide the building blocks for the G-Funk sound that dominated the West Coast hip-hop scene in the early 1990s, through the samples that permeated its seminal work, Dr. Dre’s 1992 classic The Chronic. 

The Parliament/Funkadelic band and show is the fruit of the collective of dozens of musicians assembled by Clinton, and is an amalgamation of two distinct acts; Funkadelic’s psychedelic Hendrix-descendant rock and roll, and Parliament’s funk free-for-all, filtering James Brown and Sly Stone through ’60s acid culture and science fiction.

Sustainable Travel: Bavaria (Germany)

From a media release:

Sustainable Travel:
Bavaria (Germany)

Learn more about Bavaria

Bavaria’s locals and natives are rising to the challenge of doing all they can to preserve their cultural landscapes that offer valuable experiences. There are many local efforts to preserve Bavaria while at the same time mantaining Bavaria’s determination to welcoming its visitors in the most authentic way. 

For up to date information about travel to Bavaria, visit their COVID-19 webpage. Ramsau, BavariaBavarian Landscapes

Fish-filled pools, spectacular mountain scenery and lush, green meadows: Bavaria captivates with its pristine natural beauty and lovingly maintained cultural landscapes. The latter have been cultivated by human hands for centuries. Bavarians are at great pains to nurture their precious natural surroundings and in so doing preserve the image of the rural idyll that dominates Bavaria.

Man and nature in perfect harmony: The cultural landscapes of Bavaria are as diverse as the inhabitants themselves. The stars of our stories range from the mountain guide on the Watzmann to the hop ambassador in the Hallertau. In colourful orchards and nature reserves such as the Donaudurchbruch in Lower Bavaria and the Walberla in Franconia, local people are keen to protect the flora and fauna that flourish there.

Immerse yourself in a different world and discover unique cultural landscapes: How did they come about? Where are they found? And who are the people that devote their lives to preserving them? Go on the trail of the Myth of Bavaria and discover its exceptional landscapes.

Healthy Environment

A healthy environment is an important factor in maintaining a high quality of life in Bavaria. It’s the stunning landscapes and ancient traditions that define the Bavarian way of life for many of its people locally and internationally. Locals and visitors alike can protect the nature and the local cultures so everyone can have the opportunity to experience the unique moments and magnificent traditions Bavaria has to offer. One of the most significant ways to achieve this goal is through the sustainable use of natural resources. Already, several native Bavarians are working hard to conserve Bavaria’s natural heritage and old traditions in this way. They have made it their responsibility to ensure a prosperous future for generations to come.

Uli Brand by Florain TrykowskiUli Brandl's handwerk

In the ‘s handwerk restaurant in Sonthofen in southern Bavaria, Bavarian tradition meets the craft food trend. For founder Uli Brandl, cooking is a form of handicraft. He creates dishes that are both unusual and creative. Yet, it’s not just the exceptional menu that guests love about this restaurant. His guests come because of Uli Brandl’s special producer concept. “People are increasingly interested in where their food comes from and who the people behind it are”, says Brandl. This concept means his suppliers produce their food according to strict criteria, and feed and keep their animals in an organic system with high welfare standards. The products such as meat, fish, vegetables, bakery goods, honey, cheese and even the ice all come from small businesses around the Sonthofen area. In addition, Uli Brandl is personally involved in checking production conditions at all the businesses. He even hosts special tasting events with some of his suppliers to share with his guests this sustainable approach.

Thomas Shenk by Bernhard HuberThomas Schenk: Ethical Wine

In his family business, young winemaker Thomas Schenk does not just want to just make really good wine, he wants to do so as responsibly and sustainably as possible. “Vines have been growing on the slopes around Randersacker for 1,250 years”, says the young winemaker. “I definitely don’t want to be the last person to make a living from making wine. So I have to work out how we can produce wine sustainably. How winemaking can continue to thrive in the future. It’s not just about the environment, but also about our families and our village communities.” With this strong philosophy, Schenk belongs to the special “Ethos” group of young winemakers in his region, where they all work together and aim to use their land as an entire ecosystem with a biodiversity that must be preserved. The group’s code of ethics also supports fair wages for vineyard workers and encourages winegrowers to play an active role in the community.

Veronika Wurm making soap by Peter von FelbertVeronika Wurm: Moor Soap

Veronika Wurm values the Bavarian moors and the cultural landscape around Saulgrub, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. She makes moor soap out of the moor which is said to have natural healing properties. This earthy, almost black piece of soap smells of aromatic mountain pines, a scent that is reminiscent of native forests and moorland. This region is home to the Altenauer Moor with its wonderful wild flowers and peaty pools, a natural landscape dating back to thousands of years. Today, locals manage the fragile biotope to preserve the habitat of its many rare plants and animals. With this moor, Veronika Wurm creates her natural soaps by hand using one hundred percent natural ingredients. She produces the soap using the old tradition of cold process soapmaking as this preserves all the ingredients.

Thomas Gstettenbauer property by Gert KrautbauerThomas Gstettenbauer: Mobile Cabin “The Hyt”

Thomas Gstettenbauer, located at the foothills of the Bavarian Forest and owner of a local farm, takes his guests to experience Bavaria in the most special and natural way by combining nature, forest and the proximity of the animals. The idea of extending his farm and potentially damaging this impressive landscape was out of the question for him, so he came up with a solution- the concept of “The Hyt”, a mobile cabin. “We can rent “The Hyt” out to our guests and if it’s not needed we can simply put it away”, explains Thomas Gstettenbauer. “That way we don’t put any strain on Mother Nature.” Guests are welcome to station the cabin in any carefully selected site. In his farm, he also offers a restaurant with exquisite dishes made from home-reared animals, enhanced with regional wild herbs such as lovage, pimpernel and stinging nettles.

More on Bavarian towns and landscapes:

Gemstones Are A Passion

Gemstones Are A Passion
For Crystal Dayton (Zenmala Creations)

Check It Out

Crystal Dayton's business came out of a simple passion for rocks - gemstone, in particular.

"The inspiration for my business comes from my interest in different gemstones," she says. Her pieces, which include bracelets and decorated keychains, come from her discoveries. 

"Gems are sourced from around the world, and each and every one is carefully selected to ensure the best composition of colour, cut, and clarity," she says.

"I recently found abalone shell that I am drawn to that comes from another small business who is located in the Philippines. They make all their beads by hand. I really like just finding new bracelets or keychains to make."

Part of that interest lies in the meaning she finds in those stones and natural materials such as abalone shell.

"I have always been interested in spirituality, different types of stones, and their energy. Each stone used can help heal different areas of your life due to its energy. Each handmade beaded bracelet is crafted with the intention of bringing peace and tranquillity. The bracelets are designed to be lived in, layered, stacked, and to evolve with you."

She talks about abalone shell beads, and the meticulous process that begins with wooden beads, inlaid with shell and then polished to perfection using sand paper and at the end, a polishing cloth.

"The believed abalone healing properties of today are very similar to ancient beliefs of the shell," she explains. "Abalone healing carries energies of protection and emotional balance. It brings with it a natural shielding that blesses the person holding it with tranquility."

"Abalone healing is especially helpful for those going through emotional turmoil or those having a hard time dealing with a situation in a relationship. Through it’s soothing energy, it provides a layer of protection that perches the spirit up with the confidence necessary to view situations from a new, more understanding perspective. If you think of abalone as representative of water, like many cultures do, it is the water that will tame the flames of one’s emotional strife."

A Unique Take On Modern Rock Nadjiwan: Star Nation (Heading North Music / May 28, 2021)

A Unique Take On Modern Rock
Nadjiwan: Star Nation
(Heading North Music / May 28, 2021)

Sample/Buy The Album

At once spacey and emotional, innovative and familiar, Nadjiwan's Star Nation is musically dense and emotionally accessible. 

Nadjiwan is Marc Meriläinen, Toronto-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He's calling the release a “space-rock opera.”

Musically, it's a nice ride through a variety of grooves and moods. Just when you think you're into a steady groove, the mood switches, and the song takes a different turn. He keeps it interesting on a harmonic and melodic level, adding layers of electronics in a seamless blend of acoustic/organic and electronic sounds. 

Vocals take different forms, from a growling baritone to airy harmonies, and the vocal patterns of Chippewa traditional singing. Each track has something unexpected in the mix, and as a songwriter and producer, Nadjiwan has a nice ear for layering rhythms and sounds. Ghosts We Leave Behind is a standout track, a hauntingly beautiful elegy to loss.  

The first single:

 
Nadjiwan grew up as part of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, and musical as well as lyrical influences from that heritage blend seamlessly into rock and jazz idioms.

The result is a unique take on modern rock.

“I’m not sure if blending the traditional and the modern is entirely a conscious decision when it comes to my writing. I just let out whatever suits the song or the narrative I’m trying to convey. Music has always been synonymous with Indigenous culture and I think traditional elements will always find a way into the storytelling,” he says.

“I find it hard to look at them as separate entities; Indigenous people have been telling stories and sharing information through song for generations. I’m just continuing it in a modern context with the modern tools that have been made available to me.”

Conceptually, the lyrics revolve around the space opera theme. He talks about the idea behind the album in a release.

“Humans have always questioned and wondered about both our purpose and origins in the universe. There are numerous stories in Indigenous cultures of the ‘star people’ visiting us throughout history with the purpose of teaching us a greater understanding of not only the universe, but ourselves. In short, we ultimately come from the stars.”

A lifelong fan of sci-fi classics like the work of Ray Bradbury, the celestial theme also tied into his background - and his mother, who unfortunately passed away before the album was released.

“Much of the content and ideas for the songs came from interviewing my mother Hilda Nadjiwan,” he says. “She was a wealth of information, sharing both some traditional stories as well as her own personal experiences. After processing what she had told me, I decided to write a new fictional narrative that focuses on an original story rather than re-telling an old traditional story.”

Production, accomplished in his own studio during the lockdown, is polished and crisp. It's Nadjiwan's tenth release.

Nadjiwan has been recognized with a variety of awards over the years, including the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, the Native American Music Awards, the Indigenous Music Awards, and Toronto’s Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the Performing Arts.

Tracks:Into The Abyss Solar Dark Forest Theory The Planets The Ghosts We Leave Behind Last Survivor Around The Sun Star Nation The Path Homecoming

A live isolation performance of the song 'Homecoming' with Marc Meriläinen : vocals, guitar; Jean-Paul De Roover : guitar; Adam Gomori : bass; Alex Mine : drums

Singer-Songwriter | Will Jackson: Songs From the Briarpatch LP (Independent / 17 December 2020)

Singer-Songwriter
Will Jackson: Songs From the Briarpatch LP
(Independent / 17 December 2020)

Stream It On Spotify

Singer, songwriter and musician Will Jackson's Songs From the Briarpatch offers up Americana with a 21st century sensibility, and in a range of modes.

Acoustic guitar and the swell of an organ create a bright, full sound underneath Will Jackson's likeable tenor on Looks Like Today. Vocal harmonies flesh out the chorus, with a rhythmic drive that's infectious.

His lyrics talk about everyday pleasures, life and love, and he's got a knack for creating earworm melodies in a range of genres. Good Enough is blues flavoured, with a strong piano part and bouncy rhythm. Jackson plays both piano and guitar, adding interesting electric guitar melodies and riffs that weave in and out of the vocals.

Drinking My Way Home is a standout, a bittersweet rock ballad with a real sense of emotion. Lyrically, he has a nice sense of how to balance poetry and expression, and a gift for memorable lines.

The mood turns slow and sentimental on Polaroid Parade, with a violin adding a sweet counterpoint to the vocals. There Was A Time is another standout track with a jazzy vibe and anthemic chorus.

Walking on Fire is moody and hypnotic, just rhythmic acoustic guitar and voice. 

Jackson is a native of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and grew up in a house always filled with music, and a variety of influences.  After spending 2 years at the Berklee College of Music in Boston as a songwriting major, he moved to Nashville TN, where he is still based.

Tracklist:

1) Looks Like Today
2) Good Enough
3) Drinking My Way Home
4) Polaroid Parade
5) There Was A Time
6) Gonna Get Me Killed
7) Won't See Me In Heaven
8) Walking On Fire
9) Catch The Wind
10) Caroline Calls

Websites:

Official Website: WillJacksonMusic.comFacebook: Facebook.com/WillJacksonMusicInstagram: will_jackson_music

Global Jazz | Afro Yaqui Music Collective: Maroon Futures (Neuma Records - March 25, 2021)

Global Jazz
Afro Yaqui Music Collective: Maroon Futures
(Neuma Records - March 25, 2021)

Buy It Stream It

Jazz meets global grooves somewhere in the streets of Mexico City with an activist heart in this release by Afro Yaqui.

The first track Nonantzin has a heavy jazz groove lit up by keyboards and sax. The quirky soprano vocals deliver a captivating style that is neither traditional jazz nor classical - sung in Aztec, and all of it to a danceable beat.

Strings lead to a spoken word mash-up in Sister Soul, the second track, with a hypnotic bari sax solo in a song dedicated to women-led social and environmental movements. 

La Cigarra - cicada - is a metaphor for political prisoners who have been struggling and will be freed. It's the one track with a more traditional song structure and sound. In contrast, Ya Habibi is jazzy hip-hop, an original composition based on the song by legendary Egyptian singer-songwriter Umm Kulthum.

We Refuse To Be Used And Abused is a composition by baritone saxophonist Fred Ho, a major inspiration for Yaqui founding member Ban Barson. The piece showcases the instrument's power and range above a hyperactive rhythm section. It cycles in and out of spooky and melodic moods in the longest track on the release at just over 10 minutes.

Insurrealista is appropriately avant-garde in mood, with operatic vocal riffs and plucked strings, with a mesmerizing sax melody.

Instrumentation is rich and varied on the release, including the prominent bari sax of founder and composer Ben Barson, tenor and also tax, and Chinese traditions instruments the pipa and zheng, and the erhu, along with the usual keyboards/bass/drums to round it out. Along with two vocalists, Nejma Nefertiti acts as emcee, and wrote/co-wrote the lyrics for the original tracks.

The liner notes talk about the message. "Afro Yaqui Music Collective came together in response to the rapidly changing political climate, in which working immigrant communities have become under attack, and climate change has threatened peoples across the world. As part of the band’s mission, their work develops dialogue with activists across the world. They have performed and worked with social movement leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan, Mayan and Yaqui communities in Mexico, and Tanzania."

Frontwoman Gizelxanath Rodriguez is influenced by her experience growing up in two cultures (Mexican and American) and her ancestry as an Indigenous Yaqui woman.

Music with a message doesn't work unless the music is stellar. Afro Yaqui bring the joy of diverse musical traditions and superb musicianship to light up stories and ideas that need to be told. 

Personnel:
Ben Barson – Baritone Sax, Contrabass Clarinet (track 6); Gizelxanath Rodriguez – Vocalist; Charlotte Hill O’Neal – Vocalist; Nejma Nefertiti – EmCee; Roger Romero - Tenor Saxophonist; Alec Zander Redd - Alto Saxophone; Daro Behroozi - Tenor Saxophone and Ney (Track 3); John Bagnato - Guitar; Mimi Jong - Erhu; Yang Jin - Pipa and Zheng; Randraiz Wharton - Keyboard; Chris Potter - Keyboard (Track 5 + 6); Beni Rossman - Electric Bass; Hugo Cruz - Percussion; Julian Powell - Drums

Tracks:
1. Nonantzin; 2. Sister Soul; 3. La Cigarra; 4. Ya Habibi; 5. We Refuse to be Used and Abused 10:05; 6. Insurrealista 8:01