/ By Jackie Brennan /Syrian-born Azniv Korkejian was sad to leave Saudi Arabia for the United States at the age of 10, when her Armenian parents unexpectedly won a green-card lottery. The displacement left her with a sense of wandering that followed her through her teens and 20s, as she and her family moved around,…
read more/ By Jackie Brennan /Given that we do a regular profile on some of the most exciting artists from LA’s music scene, we knew this was coming. We thought we’d prime the pump with some names of LA musicmakers you maybe haven’t heard of, and for several weeks, some headlines). We’re talking about one of…
read more/ By Jackie Brennan /For many Fridays, we’ve brought you profiles on LA musicmakers who either inspire us for how they channel the essence of their home region, or have made a deliberate commitment to using their platform to elevate issues. On the surface, our pick for this week’s music profile is a purveyor of…
read more/ By Jackie Brennan / Think of Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner as the bass-playing counterpart to tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington, who we shared about back in March. Like Washington, Thundercat is an LA musicmaker. Also like Washington, Thundercat was part of the studio crew that Kendrick Lamar tapped to help him on his acclaimed 2015 studio…
read more/ By Tamieka Briscoe / As planning for Upswell and building our community of changemakers continues, we’ve found inspiration in artists within and outside of the Los Angeles area who are using their talent to bring issues to light. Inspired and informed by global grassroots movements, Tamieka Briscoe is an associate at Independent Sector.
read more/ By Jackie Brennan / debut studio record—a 172-minute tour de force, recorded with his ten-piece band and aptly named The Epic—was released to critical acclaim in 2015. As the child of a musician—one of seven children, in fact—Washington started playing clarinet at a young age. He changed his tune, however, when an older cousin…
read more/ By Jackie Brennan / If you reach for studio material from Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale looking for something new, you might be disappointed. The two-man act known as Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees series. Since 2017, Ryan has also been working many Saturday nights as a producer for Minnesota Public Radio’s three shows in…
read more/ By Debra Rainey / Los Angeles is the setting for Dream,” from her second album, When You Grow Up, is both soothing and haunting, and will resonate with anyone who has found contentment in their life, despite not having achieved all of their aspirations. “Dream” was featured on several TV shows, including Grey’s Anatomy.…
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