Location: Kingston NY

Formed by Benjamin Schurr in Philadelphia in 2007 and relocated in DC in 2013, Br’er is an ever evolving project.
Schurr moved to DC by chance while touring with the project Eskimeaux. The band’s van hit a deer en route their DC gig, and was subsequently towed to the legendary (now defunct) house space, Paperhaus. There, Schurr met artist Johnny Fantastic, who convinced him to move to DC to work on music together. This meeting served as the beginning of a new chapter for Br’er, which had existed for several years in Philly outputting numerous releases, but slogging through several lineup changes between marathon tours.

Br’er’s fourth LP, Brunch is for Assholes, was recorded in spring of 2016 at Schurr’s home studio at the Lighthouse in the Petworth neighborhood of DC. Petworth has a particular significance to the writing of the record, as it is known as one of the fastest gentrifying neighborhoods in the city. The lyrics were primarily written while Schurr was working as a mover, reflecting on the violence of gentrification’s short-selling of community in exchange for condos and fast casual cuisine. Given the current political turmoil in the District, Brunch is a timely discourse on the social history of the last eight years, given the uncomfortable context of present day politics.

brerbrerbrer.bandcamp.com

Dream pop vocalist Mimi Goese and composer/mutantrumpeter Ben Neill create an otherwordly blend of sensual lyricism and technology in their musical collaboration. Currently they are exploring the musical and poetic qualities of mathematics and science, working in collaboration with chaos mathematician Ralph Abraham and scientists from the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries. The new songs combine the interplay of Goese’s captivating vocals and the electro-acoustic explorations of Neill’s self-designed mutantrumpet with sounds created from fractal equations and Hudson River environmental data. The reflective, sometimes surreal lyrics find poetry in numbers over glitchy beats, deep sub bass, and ambient textures.

Goese and Neill began working together in the mid 2000’s on Persephone, a music theater work presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival in 2010 and released as Songs for Persephone on Ramseur Records in 2011.

Goese is known as the lead singer/co-songwriter of Hugo Largo, the critically acclaimed minimalist punk/pop group who released two albums on Brian Eno’s Opal label in the ’80s. After touring with musician/producer Hector Zazou and co-writing/singing on Moby’s album Everything is Wrong, Goese’s solo album Soak was released by Luaka Bop, David Byrne’s label.

Neill is a composer, performer, producer, and inventor of the mutantrumpet, a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument. Ten CDs of his music have been released on labels including Universal/Verve, Astralwerks, Thirsty Ear, and Six Degrees. Neill has worked closely with many musical innovators including La Monte Young, John Cage, John Cale, Pauline Oliveros, Mikel Rouse, and DJ Spooky.

http://www.mimigoeseandbenneill.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s1YbWJLq14

3 piece original indie/grunge band from Saugerties, N.Y. A plethora of lush spacial effects at times give way to intense fuzzes out instrumentation, always paired with the right balance of in-your-face screaming and sing song vocals. The drums hammer down like thunder clap of doom in accompaniment to a driving bass that won’t quit. Hailed by Kingston After Dark (Kingston Times) as one of the best bands to see in Ulster County.

https://youtu.be/VV10FAPNBos

While dwelling in various parts of upstate New York, Upgrade has been constantly developing as an emcee over the past decade. Some career highlights include sharing stages with Mac Miller, Styles P, Chris Webby, Saigon and Big Sean. Through a chance encounter he also received a big supporter in the personage of Josh Eppard (of Coheed & Cambria / Weerd Science).

Ironically as his career began to flourish his struggle with panic attacks became more pronounced. In turn, finding the right medication and correct dosage added to the burden.

Recalling that time Upgrade says “2014 was the darkest period in my life up to this point. I could hardly leave my house, I couldn’t drive any more, and I would have to have my mom or a friend drive me to my shows. Most people didn’t realize how bad I was doing. I wrote Chemical Imbalance as I was going through all of that it and it is the most honest thing I have written. I wanted people to know exactly the bullshit I have to deal with to go through the day.”

An example of this period is “Further Down the Rabbit Hole” which features a guest appearance from Eppard (in his Weerd Science guise). The emcee recalls “I left my house for the first time in a month to record that track, I think you can tell in my take.”

Currently in a better place mentally and lyrically exorcised, Upgrade HipHop has filmed multiple videos for Chemical Imbalance: Another Dose and has released a bunch of projects like “Everybody is the Worst” , “Tired and my Back Hurts” and “Late Bloomer”.

upgradehiphop.bandcamp.com

Ambrosia Parsley is best known for her work as the principal songwriter and front woman for pop noir adventurers Shivaree, much loved abroad, little seen at home. She’s worked with Laurie Anderson, Benjamin Biolay, Joe Henry, Sex Mob, Dave Sitek, and Hal Wilner, while her songs have been featured in the films of Quentin Tarantino and David O Russell.

Maxwell works out of his new Goat House Studio in Woodstock, where he composes and records music for hit TV shows like Bob’s Burgers and Inside Amy Schumer, as well as producing and writing music for other artists (They Might Be Giants, Iggy Pop, Yoko Ono, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) as part of the celebrated production team The Elegant Too.

http://www.msambrosiaparsley.com

We like to party. We like, we like to party.

What do you get when you cross a Lisa Frank trapper keeper with a sexbot from the year 3075?

We’re not sure. But its favorite band would be LOCOFREEQ.

Keys to the Moon is a five piece folk jazz band based out of the Hudson Valley in New York State. They perform original music as well as jazz standards and are influenced by artists like Joni Mitchell, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Anais Mitchell, and Lake Street Dive.

From story songs, to philosophical ponderings, to imagery that reflects on the past, songwriters Casey Richards and Jeremiah Mahoney collaborate with their fellow jazzy Keys to the Moon members to create unique original tunes.

The group met and formed while studying jazz at SUNY New Paltz so it isn’t surprising that improvisation is a persisting element in their music. In fact, one of the bands favorite moments on their debut album–Too Many Bats in the Pool–is the improvised electric bass and tenor sax “duel” in Failed Flying Machines.

keystothemusic.com

Fathered by producer/filmmaker D. James Goodwin, BALTIC is a new kind of heavy music. Glacially paced, cinematically conceived, and artfully composed, atmospheric post-metal.

https://wearebaltic.bandcamp.com

N/E PA based the Stargazer Lilies are the brainchild of husband and wife team, John Cep and Kim Field, pioneers of shoegaze’s new wave with former band Soundpool. The Stargazer Lilies is the evolution of their gaze, this time with added psych rock elements (think MBV meets Pink Floyd). Cep’s heavy effects-driven guitars are accented by drummer, Brooklyn based, Sam Art’s minimalist approach, along with Field’s dreamy vocals and drony bass lines. Following their debut album We Are The Dreamers in 2013, their sound was described in Spin Magazine as a “reverb-washed slo-mo assault of Slowdive with the sparkling ambience of Air channeled into a lush, guitar-swollen whole. Psych-fuzz epic.” Pop Matters says, “The Stargazer Lilies possess a truly widescreen, cinematic sound with crescendoes that build cascading waves of sound enveloping your whole body. The music is a bit darker than standard dream pop fare, but that only makes it that much more mesmerizing.” Brad Laner of Medicine describes them like this: “This is what your so-called shoegaze is supposed to sound like. Incredible melodies and singing plus great guitar work.”

http://www.thestargazerlilies.com

Mail the Horse is a country clunker of a five-piece careening down a highway laid to waste with Stones psychedelia and heartbroken hymnals, the tailpipe stuffed with marigolds. Recorded with Hunter Davidsohn (Porches, Frankie Cosmos) at Business District Recording in Western New York, their new EP, Magnolia (released in June 2016) channels the vibes of mid to late 70s Stones and elements of Springsteen.

The album’s sonic resonance with the rock Gods of the past should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen Mail the Horse live. Their songs simmer with a sincerity and twang that has blown the doors off of basements in Brooklyn and captivated crowds at festivals across the country. Their pedal steel player slinks through the tunes while the band’s two crooners belt out anthems and spellbinding harmonies with a casual gaze.

Born in a basement apartment known affectionately as the Gates Motel on Gates Avenue in Bushwick, Mail the Horse has been playing the kind of rock and roll that makes lady-mullets stand on end since 2010. Magnolia is the strike-anywhere match brushing seductively along the dusty edges of the powder keg.

www.mailthehorse.com

www.soundcloud.com/mailthehorse