đ»
You know that one friend who just has a more sophisticated aural palate than anyone else you know?
Someone with "good ears?"
That someone for me is Joe Kay, a former Long Beach State undergrad who started a low-key musical empire from essentially out of his dorm room (Apple 1 radio show, independent music label, world-touring concert team [they have sold-out 14th anniversary shows in Los Angeles, SF, New York and Houston this month], clothing line, etc.). They think of themselves as a "borderless, genre-bending musical movement" -- think, music from South Africa, Jamaica, U.S., Brazil and UK all in a single set, often directly adjacent to each other -- and were early in on artists like Sango, Brent Faiyaz, Bryson Tiller, GoldLink, and Anderson .Paak, among others. And nobody does a better Sade flip than my boy.
Joe is up to 670 archived shows now and the link here gives a good sense of just what "eclectic soul and future beats" means -- he's put me on to SO MUCH music over the years and their Discord is particularly active.
Here's to the cats who just hear it all differently.
And tyler I think Joe would make one helluva great interview/feature for PI.FYI. Just sayin'.
Feb 16, 2025
Related Recs
â
billy has been my favorite rapper / music artist in general over the past four years, with a depth of intelligent lyrics documenting topics from neocolonialism to the haunting nature of drug trafficking to chaotic loves and the artistâs journey itself, with an album output averaging at least 2 a year (including with his group Armand Hammer with ELUCID). All this over perfectly picked exotic beats and African cinema samples, dappled with brilliant hip hop intertextuality.
Definitely a known artist at this point, I figured I should share this rec after I gushed to some friends about him last night.
Jan 28, 2024
đ§
I know all these other recs were calming and mindful, but I thought I would put this out there cause Iâm crazy obsessed. Iâve been his BIGGEST fan for a couple of years now, and knowing thereâs more music coming up is the light of my life. If you have a minute, go listen to his new song basic being basic. If you have more than just a minute I would recommend listening to his other albums twenty twenty, and decide. On a broader note, go find new music! A fresh playlist always cheers me up.
Jan 30, 2025
i got so many amazing recs from yall, i figured i'd give y'all one in return. also its the last day bhm.
Samoht is such a wizard when it comes to genre blending. whether it's combining soul, ReB, or blues, all with his unique voice, he is truly a joy to listen to. i recommend his album ALPHA
Feb 28, 2025
Top Recs from @coreydubrowa
Hey tyler hopefully this doesnât violate some PI.FYI golden rule
But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here:
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s.
Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha).
For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I canât wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! â€ïž
Mar 27, 2024
âSongs Of a Lost Worldâ coming to a goth listening station near you Nov 1 đ€
The fr FW Me Friday the 13th the world was looking for
Sep 14, 2024
I will fail to explain just how much this band meant to me in the 90s.
So I will borrow from AV Club who did a fine job of distilling it:
âUnwound is the best band of the â90s. Not just because of how prolific, consistent, and uncompromising it was, but because of how perfectly Unwound nested in a unique space between some of the most vital forms of music that decade: punk, post-rock, indie rock, post-hardcore, slow-core, and experimental noise. That jumble of subgenres doesnât say much; in fact, it falls far short of what Unwound truly synthesized and stood for. Unwound stood for Unwound. But in a decade where most bands were either stridently earnest or stridently ironic, Unwound wasnât stridently anything. It was only itself. In one sense Unwound was the quietest band of the â90s, skulking around like a nerdy terror cell. In another sense it was the loudest, sculpting raw noise into contorted visions of inner turmoil and frustration.â
R.I.P. Vern Rumsey.
This is their finest song, from their finest album.
I really canât say enough about the sheer bloody minded genius of this group. đ€
Mar 23, 2024