LogFAQs > #927886000

InYourWalls1 posted...

Are there any artists/bands/projects you're currently very excited about or who are doing very interesting things musically?

there are lots of people making great music now.

some cool Canadian acts you probably haven't heard of:
Chelsea McBride's Socialist Night School - a contemporary big band run out of Toronto. they did a cross-Canada tour last summer. they have a new album coming out very soon.
The Brood - 1 part Steely Dan, 1 Part Frank Zappa, 1 part Grateful Dead. rock band from Halifax.
Rebecca Hennessy - Trumpet player based in Montreal. I haven't actually been keeping up with her stuff lately, but I saw her project FOG Brass Band a while back. really interesting brass band stuff. I'm into the idea of having Tuba instead of bass. it's a cool colour.
James Hill - Canadian ukulele virtuoso. he's from Langley, BC. his last few albums have been largely folk-ish singer-songwriter centric.
Malika Tirolien - Great singer. based in Montreal who you might recognize from her collaboration with Snarky Puppy on Family Dinner Volume 1. her album Sur La Voie Ensoleille is cool. been a while since I've listened to it, but if I remember correctly, all the lyrics are in French.

some US acts:
Tank and the Bangas - I found them initially because one of their songs was used as the closing theme to an episode of BoJack Horseman, but they've got some great stuff. kinda R&B-ish
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah - trumpet player from New Orleans. he's incorporating a lot of trap sounds into his otherwise jazz-based music. it's cool to hear those sounds on a real drumset.
Noname - contemporary rapper.
Carla Bley - she's been a force in Jazz Composition for a long time. one of my favourite living composers. anything she's involved with is worth checking out
Joanna Newsom - harp player with Bjork-style singing and really interesting original music.
Gabriel Kahane - classically trained composer/singer/songwriter. he has an album, Craigslistlieder, where he put melodies to Craigslist ads.

some acts from across the pond:
Jacob Collier - he became famous for doing youtube videos of crazy a capella arrangements of songs. his harmonic vocabulary is astounding
Hiromi Uehara - virtuoso pianist from Japan. I saw her a couple summers ago with the harpist Edmar Castaneda, and it was one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

a few bigger names that I like to keep on my radar:
David Byrne, Brian Wilson, Janelle Monae, D'Angelo

this is mostly off the top of my head
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