2021 is going to see Denver’s best synth pop outfit Retrofette become one of the biggest bands in Colorado. Stripping away the frill and grandeur of modern electronic music, their new single “Photogenic” is a simple yet textured synth number throwing back to groups like Hot Chip and Hercules & Love Affair. It’s clean, simple synth tones lay the groundwork for vocalist Sean Culliton’s cool, sultry mumble-like voice to set the mood.
Continue readingTag: Independent magazine
Album Review: Fresh Fruit! – Independently
The groovy, Denver-based soul band Fresh Fruit! released their first EP on January 1st. And while the chill, yacht rock vibes of their past occasionally surface, “Independently” accentuates their soul sounds in a way that is groovy and more commercially appealing.
Continue readingAlbum Review: Antonio Lopez – Roots and Wings
Antonio Lopez’ voice sits delicately perched at the center of his fourth full-length release, Roots & Wings. The fragile purity of his vocal delivery as the record’s focus proves a point: When given a proper chance, an honest voice can rise to previously un-reached heights.
As the executive director of the music/empowerment nonprofit Sound Bridge and having funded Roots & Wings via Kickstarter, Lopez knows well that respectful contributions from those who back you is a gift as precious as family and as freeing as flight.
Continue readingWho Gives A Scrap About Your Art? Blasti Does
One look around Blast N Scrap and the authenticity is palpable. A new Fort Collins DIY performance art venue located inside the art reuse center called Who Gives a SCRAP, Blast N Scrap finds itself with the right combination of quirky and weird for a unique line-blurring artistic experience that the people of Fort Collins didn’t even know they needed. At its helm is Blasti, a scrappy 36 year old New Yorker with a vision for an all-ages punk rock art space for everyone. “How are you going to tell teenagers they can’t go to shows?” Blasti says. “They invented rock and roll.”
Continue readingShemekia Copeland Says What She Wants: Blues Jam Headliner Speaks Her Mind Through Her Music
Shemekia Copeland was pissed off on a Tuesday morning. It was something she heard from one of Trump’s “offspring,” as she calls him, about how if poor people want more in life, they just have to work harder. Recognized by many as the finest blues singer of her generation, Copeland headlines the Greeley Blues Jam June 8. She also draws attention for being outspoken in a world that tends to be surprisingly silent about social issues.
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