Drew Aron, one time classical guitarist turned folky singer-songwriter, will release his debut EP, Familiar Faces, on Elegant Regrets Music this November 13, 2020. In advance of the EP, Aron will put out two singles along with videos for each. “Running,” the first single, is due out on October 2, and will be followed by “Sugar Maple,” due out October 23. Familiar Faces will also have a video release. Read the rest of this entry »

Adult Karate (the musical moniker for versatile artist K.C. Maloney) is poised to release his second album, My Friends Are Internet And I Want To Break You Open, on July 31, 2020, on tastemaker label Plug Research. More than a year and a half in the making, this new album is a true expression of the artist’s musical evolution, a culmination of both his personal life journey and the integration of his various musical influences. This dynamic, boundary-crossing release defies genre pigeonholing and seamlessly glides between musical styles while Maloney’s candid, sometimes confessional lyrics and reverbed-out vocals hold the whole picture together. Read the rest of this entry »

John Tejada, a frequent guest on Touched Music compilations, hatched the idea of turning the final project for his CalArts “Advanced Electronic Music Production” class into a compilation album for the established label. John Tejada Presents Future Stars features 15 of Tejada’s students at their best, as well as an exclusive original track by Tejada himself called “NYC83,” which imagines an alternative of a classic b-boy breakin’ tune. Established as a non-profit, the record label benefits Macmillan Cancer Support in the UK among others. Touched Music will release Future Stars digitally on Friday, May 15, 2020, with 100-limited edition CDs to follow shortly after. The best way to support the charity—and the only way to procure the beautiful physical CD—is to purchase from Bandcamp. The release will also be available on Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, Bleep and many other platforms.

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The latest project of the Rebel Babel Ensemble is a universal tribute to hip hop pioneer DJ Premier. The transcultural international big band, perhaps the world’s largest (currently boasting over 11,000 members from sixteen countries), unleashed “Tribute to DJ Premier,” its herculean video “gift” to Preemo and the world, on the legend’s birthday, March 21, 2020. For this particular orchestration and video project, Rebel Babel and its conductor and co-founder Łukasz “L.U.C.” Rostkowski arranged samples from DJ Premier’s work for a jazz big band collaboration that was recorded in eight European and U.S. cities with just under 100 musicians involved. Read the rest of this entry »

Wajatta—the musical duo of Reggie Watts and John Tejada—kicks off the Natural History Museum’s season opener of its popularFirst Fridays series on Friday, March 6, 2020 with a performance celebrating the release of the duo’s sophomore album, Don’t Let Get You Down. Wajatta and a host of other performers and lecturers, including Ologies podcast host Alie Ward and KCRW’s Novena Carmel, will appear at the “after-hours” event that runs from 5:00 to 10:00pm.

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Produced by Break the Floor Productions and presented by Capezio in New York in partnership with The Montalbán in Hollywood,  MOVES at The Montalbán offers audiences the chance to see the most exciting emerging talent in the world of choreography and dance. The festival’s four days will highlight exciting live dance performances that audiences can’t see anywhere else. The MOVES at The Montalbán line-up includes winners of the coveted Capezio A.C.E. Awards for outstanding choreography, which is presented each year to the top choreographers of the future. Previous winners of the Capezio A.C.E. Awards include two-time Outstanding Choreography Emmy Award-winner Travis Wall, Talia Favia, Martha Nichols and Emmy nominee Al Blackstone.

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Wajatta — the musical duo of Reggie Watts and John Tejada — return with their second album, Don’t Let Get You Down, due out on the groundbreaking Brainfeeder label on February 28, 2020. Coming from different worlds, but sharing a passion for the rich history of electronic music, beat-boxer/comedian/musician Watts and electronic music artist/DJ/producer Tejada brings out the best in each other’s formidable skill sets. Where the duo’s debut album, Casual High Technology, hinted at the broad stylistic possibilities inherent in the marriage of Watts’ elastic, soul-stirring vocals and Tejada’s layered, melodically inventive productions, Don’t Let Get You Down makes good on that promise.

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Electronic music-based nonprofit Give a Beat, DJ Times magazine and DanceGruv Radio have partnered for a new radio series called Prose of a Con featuring the poetry and prose of Russell Wardlow, a resident at Omaha Correctional Center. The six-part series will run bi-weekly from Sunday, October 13 through Sunday, December 22, 2019, at 5:00 pm EST on DanceGruv Radio with each episode showcasing Wardlow’s prose and poetry read aloud by DJs across the electronic music community. Wardlow composes his work entirely behind bars. His poignant and insightful readings speak to the healing power of artistic expression to help transcend the harsh reality of the prison system.

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Electronic music-based nonprofit Give a Beat launched the Prison Electronic Music Program in two California correctional facilities in July 2019 as part of a contract awarded by California Arts Council’s Arts in Corrections (AIC) program. The goal of Give a Beat’s year-long program—which focuses on the fundamentals of DJing and beat production—is to help students develop their own sound expressions and technical acumen while also learning business development and music history. It is designed to help students return to the workforce with valuable technical, social, and entrepreneurial skills. Led by passionate DJs and music producers, currently the course is being taught at California City Correctional Facility (CAC) and Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP). This first Prison Electronic Music Program will run through June 2020. It is Give a Beat’s most expansive and long-term music production offering/course to date.

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On Friday, July 19, 2019, Mount Wilson Observatory inaugurates its Cosmic Sounds series, combining sound installation art with observing of the night sky. Sound artist Jeff Talman creates work at the intersection of art and science. Mt. Wilson Observatory premieres his latest work, Of Sound Before the Stars, in 8-channel surround sound inside the magnificent dome of the 100-inch telescope with its singular acoustics. Of Sound was made in collaboration with astrophysicists Daniel Huber and Mark Whittle. Talman will make a presentation at the opening of the evening. The event runs from 7:30pm until midnight. As dark falls, the piece will play in its entirety. And on into the night tuning the sonic with the visual experience as the audience observes celestial objects through the same telescope that determined the expansion of the universe, an epochal moment in science. Read the rest of this entry »