“For Screaming Females frontwoman Marissa Paternoster, songwriting isn’t about eureka moments. “A lot of people are under some misconception that when you write music or make paintings or execute any creative act, you’re struck by inspiration. I have never found that really to be true,” she says. “It’s kind of like banging your head against the wall until something comes out.”
“One of Jenna Camille’s first musical memories is learning to sing “You Gotta Be,” the 1994 smash hit by Des’ree, at 4 years old. “My mom tells me I was all over the house singing it,” says the 27-year-old singer-songwriter. “That was the first song I fell in love with.” It certainly influenced Camille, and not just musically: Its hook — “You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser” — is a message of self-confidence that Camille clearly took to heart.”
“Across Nils Frahm’s dozens of albums, collaborations and soundtracks, there’s often a high concept uniting them all. On “Felt,” the Berlin-based composer, pianist and producer attached felt to the strings of his piano; on “Screws,” he performed with just nine fingers because there were four screws in his broken thumb.”
“When asked to define “slizzatrism,” the philosophy of his collective, the Washington Slizzards, and the title of his most recent mix tape, Ras Nebyu reels it off with ease. “Slizzatrism,” he says, “is the art of finessing good energy to work in your favor by way of meditation, pure intent and acknowledgment of your ancestors.”
“It was uncharacteristically busy in the D.C.-area music world Thursday night. Fans of R&B might be seeing Kelela at the 9:30 Club. Hip-hop heads had ASAP Ferg and friends at the Fillmore. Country music came to the Rock & Roll Hotel via Tyler Childers. But if you were looking for the future-present of club music, you had to be in the subterranean confines of Union Stage to see Bad Gyal.”
“On Friday night, R&B singer Brent Faiyaz opened his concert at Union Stage with the lyric, “I remember being scared to go home.” Soon, the 22-year-old Columbia, Md., native would prove he had nothing to fear.”
Read more in The Washington Post.
“As Julius Jetson, 26-year-old DMV talent Julian Ragland has spent the last few years treating audiences to new songs, styles, and artists, first as a party promoter, then as a DJ-producer, and now as the head of his Ghetto Ghetto imprint. But it turns out his gift for musical introduction started even earlier.”
