THE SPRING ISSUE
Posts Tagged ‘music’
Emmanuel Jal
From Child Soldier to Peacemaker “The AK-47 is my father and my mother.” These were the lyrics that seven-year-old Emmanuel Jal sang when he was training to become a child soldier. For the majority of his childhood, war was the the backdrop for Emmanuel’s story, and the sounds of bullets and terrified civilians were part […]
Narges Rashidi
From War in Real Life to War On-screen Lavish Alice top Manning Cartell pants The film, Under The Shadow, begins with a woman shrouded in a black hijab with a dark, intense gaze. The camera hones in on her expression riddled with sadness and frustration, which elicits immediate empathy for her before we even learn […]
Caroline Vreeland
MM6 Maison Martin Margiela Vest dress Caroline’s own jewelry and shoes Caroline Vreeland is the type of person who naturally draws people in. From her piercing blue eyes to her fearlessness in sharing her vulnerability with the world, she’s someone people want to know or wish they knew. As the great-granddaughter of legendary fashion editor, […]
Mr. Little Jeans
Adapting the name from the quirky character in Wes Anderson’s Rushmore, Mr. Little Jeans is a unique talent. The Norwegian-born singer/songwriter can easily be likened to a combination of Lykke Li, Tori Amos, and CocoRosie. However, unlike the bit character she named herself after, her music is stepping into a starring role and making waves […]
Wes Period
Wes Period. Even the name itself is punctuated and pronounced, much like Wes’ stage presence. Wes has an exuberant energy that radiates on and off the stage. Growing up in La Habra, CA, a county that meets the state average in almost every capacity, the not-so-average Wes Period rose up and landed in the world […]
Miya Folick
If Fiona Apple and Cat Power had a music love child, Miya Folick would be the result. Raised in Santa Ana, CA, Miya grew up in a Buddhist family. She picked up the guitar, taking occasional lessons, but mostly teaching herself how to play. She compares songwriting to short stories, in that both mediums allow […]
Parralox
When the Australian duo known as Parralox put “I Fell in Love with a Drum Machine” up on their MySpace page in 2008, it went viral, causing a sensation in the international club community. The tune is slightly autobiographical, referencing the early life of the band’s songwriter and keyboard player, sci-fi enthusiast John von Ahlen. […]
Elin Ruth
Elin Ruth looks like she just stepped out of a 1940’s pin-up calendar. Her long blonde hair, red lips and nails, and vintage dresses give her the presence of a World War II beauty queen. Although the tattoos and piercings let you know that she’s a modern woman. “I love everything that has to do […]
Marika Hackman [Video]
![Marika Hackman [Video]](https://www.somamagazine.com/site/wp-content/uploads/Marika_Video-310x150.png)
We spent a day with Marika Hackman and recorded her singing the beautiful Mountain Spines. Director – Olivia Beasley Camera & Sound – Henrik Knudsen Stylist – Georgina Hodson Makeup/Hair – Annabel Callum Assistant – Dominic Hawgood
Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden landed in the Bay Area in 1978 and a few years later, put together Tarpan, his world famous recording studio in San Rafael. The Grammy-winning drummer, songwriter, singer and producer was playing drums before he could walk and has collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, including Mariah Carey, Diana […]
Marika Hackman
Over recent years, folk has remerged from the depths of music history to fronting the British music scene once again. Whatever way folk may affect you, whether it lullabies you to sleep, or hypnotizes you into another runic realm that helps you forget the troubles of daily life, Marika Hackman’s pairing of her guitar and voice, since the tender age of fourteen, has played a large success in that part.
Tori Amos
Top by Sally LaPointe, full skirt by Carolina Herrera Tori Amos became a force in popular music with Little Earthquakes, an album full of confessional songs that balanced strong melodies with even stronger emotional content, including “Me And a Gun,” a graphic song about rape and abuse. Her slightly quirky melodies and emotional honesty won […]
Sea Wolf
Alex Brown Church, the central figure behind the Los Angeles-based musical entity Sea Wolf is uncomfortable. Twitchy and evasive, he populates silences with filler phrases, then ends up mumbling, “I don’t know,” when his thoughts remain unarticulated. Luckily, this communication impairedness doesn’t present itself in Church’s music. In fact, on Old World Romance, his latest […]
Onuinu
Dorian Duvall, the artist known as Onuinu (On You, In You), calls his music Disco-Hop, a moniker that obscures as much as it reveals. While the energetic thump of disco and the erratic beats of hip hop are evident in his sound, the songs on Mirror Gazer, his striking debut, can’t really be tied down […]
Enya Meets Kraftwerk in Outer Space
Text by J. Poet Photography by Aaron Sterns Grimes is the queen of the mash-up, an artist with an omnivorous musical appetite and an ability to make coherent, futuristic pop out of the most unlikely elements. On Visions, her latest album, she blends a kitchen sink of musical styles, everything from Korean pop to old […]
The Man Behind the Music
Text by Ellen Georgiou Photography by Farah Sosa Encouraged by a friend to list all the skills and talents that would help guide him in life, 16-year-old Eddie Cota had only two things on his list, a short list that proved to be more than prophetic: 1. I listen to music 2. I tell people […]
FENSTER’S SONIC HIDE-AWAY
Hauntingly visceral and poetically cerebral, the melodic and lyrical compositions that comprise Berlin-based band Fenster’s debut album Bones seem to excavate our collective subconscious. The result is a powerful collection of songs that have rapidly infiltrated Europe’s independent music scene since forming in the winter of 2010. The creation of Jonathan Jarzyna, a Berliner, and […]
SCREAMING FEMALES
It’s Saturday night in New Brunswick, New Jersey. A restless crowd buzzes with energy as a petite girl with jet-black hair slowly pushes her way through the crowd. Once on stage, she picks up a guitar that’s almost as big as she is and starts generating a grinding dissonant wail. She seems to double in […]
BAG RAIDERS
Sunny Sounds from the Heart of Winter Three years ago Sydney residents Chris Stracey and Jack Glass, the duo known as Bag Raiders, were hard at work making mix tapes for their friends. They enjoyed the process so much, they started a production company and were soon doing remixes for bands like Cut Copy, Midnight […]
DAVID GRELLIER
College & the Valerie Collective “So you suppose I play an instrument?” It was more of a statement than a question that came from David Grellier, the one-man band behind College and composer of the track, “A Real Hero,” whose thrumming synth and chaste vocals have made their tour of today’s retro-laden blogosphere and have […]
THE GOOD NATURED
You won’t hear Sarah McIntosh complaining about the demise of the record business. When she started The Good Natured, she ignored the industry and set out to do things on her own. She created the band and became their manager, publicist and booking agent, as well as the lead singer, songwriter and keyboard-player. “When I […]
UH HUH HER
“Welcome to the glamorous world of life on the road,” says bass player and singer Leisha Hailey, one-half of the creative team that fronts the indie rock band Uh Huh Her. Hailey and her partner, singer/guitarist/producer/keyboard-player Camila Grey, are in a laundromat in Cleveland, Ohio. They’re washing their stage clothes. Later on, they’ll jump in […]
Metal Mother
“I don’t like fluffy music,” says Tara Tati, the woman who records as Metal Mother. “I like music with a dark, elemental core. That’s why I chose Metal Mother as the name for my project. It’s not a reference to heavy metal, although I love that kind of music; it’s about the mother that lives […]
Hush Hush
Imagine Midnite Vultures-era Beck using the word ‘panties’ with a straight face. Now imagine him about a foot taller with a six inch beard. Berlin-based Hush Hush (aka Christopher Kline) frenetically writhes atop salacious dirty pop beats on his 2010 release Oh God and his forthcoming 12” Ooze. And he’s not afraid to sing without […]
