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The Key Studio Sessions: Agudos Clef

Back in the fall, I was a presenting host in the city’s PHL Live music competition, and it led me one October night to Hard Rock Cafe where the finalists World Music category were set to take the stage. Admittedly, I wasn’t sure how this was going to go: “world music” is a broad term that can include anything from African highlife to Indian raga, eastern European klezmer to Jamacian reggae. I was nervous that my frame of musical reference (centered largely around Western pop/rock) was too narrow to do a good job at this gig.

Thankfully, my fears were for nothing. All the artists on the bill blew me away in one way or another, and though The Underwater Sounds (who we’ve been longtime fans of here at The Key) took home top honors, for me the standout set came from a new Latin hip-hop group called Agudos Clef. Based out of Trenton, this six-piece brought an unbelievable energy to the room – driving beats, a fierce delivery, undeniable charisma. They played an explosive 20-minute set that left me immediately wanting more, so in the days that followed, I tracked down their Bandcamp single “Monotonia” and invited them to our studio to record. Continue reading →

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The Key Studio Sessions: Brielle

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Photos by Reji B. | rejibphotography.com

Singer, songwriter, composer, flautist: Philadelphia’s Brielle has a lot going on. In the same way that she plays a multifaceted role in making music, her sound is equally tricky to pin down. It’s got roots in R&B, but there is an undeniable experimental / psychedelic sheen on her 2014 EP The Rough Break-up. She raps verses and brings in guest MCs like fellow Philadelphian Thelonius, but calling it hip-hop isn’t entirely correct. When she plays live, her backing band – which, for this week’s Key Studio Session, was nine pieces – moves deftly between slick and smooth soul to amped-up funk rock. And then there are the bits of jazz that get folded in: trippy Bitches Brew-esque sax, emphatic trumpet and Brielle’s own breathtaking flute melodies.

In short: her’s is a heady, engrossing sonic blend, and hearing its growth from her initial recordings has been a treat.  Continue reading →

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The Key Studio Sessions: The Hoppin John Orchestra

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Philly-area jazz ensemble The Hoppin John Orchestra has been doing its thing for nearly 20 years now, and it has a songbook to prove it. With over 200 selections in its repertoire – amassed by band leader Michael Hood since founding the ten-piece in 1996 – the HJO touches on vintage standards and original compositions in the spirit of Southern ragtime and New Orleans brass band music. Which means this time of year is the band’s busy season. Continue reading →

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The Key Studio Sessions: Bardo Pond

The longer they’re at it, the louder they get. Philadelphia psychedelic mainstays Bardo Pond have been a band for more than two decades at this point. Following an early handful of limited run 7″ singles, their proper debut Bufo Alvarius Amen 29:15 was released in 1995. Those numbers at the end of the album title? That was the running time of the closing track, and it was an epic game-changer. By the end of that year, the band had signed to Matador Records and were opening for Sonic Youth at the Electric Factory.

Over the ensuing years, Bardo Pond released immersive, gripping records at a steady clip. Continue reading →

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The Key Studio Sessions: OCD: Moosh & Twist

It wasn’t all that long ago that DeQuincy “Moosh” Coleman McRae and Oliver “Twist” Feighan were Haverford High School kids matching up beats with their rhymes and envisioning one day when they’d be rocking massive crowds with their party-positive jams. In just about five years, OCD: Moosh & Twist has grown from being an after school hobby of two dudes who have been friends since sixth grade to becoming their legit careers. They’ve put out a string of well-received mixtapes - The Welcome Mat in 2011, The Vestibule in 2012, and Back to the Basement in 2013 – and last year dropped their first official album, Living Out Loud. Continue reading →

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The Key Studio Sessions: Suburban Living

When he was living in Virginia Beach back in 2011, Wesley Bunch spent a lot of his free time writing and recording songs for a bedroom pop project he dubbed Suburban Living.  It yielded a couple releases: the Twin Peaks-referencing Cooper’s Dream EP in 2012 and the Always Eyes 7″ in 2013. And though some light touring and appearances at CMJ resulted, Bunch wanted more. Continue reading →

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The Key Studio Sessions: Kicking Down Doors

In many ways, Philly-area country folk combo Kicking Down Doors got together by accident. Singer / lyricist Autumn Walden came across singer-guitarist Ernie Tokay at his Little Spiders Have Big Dreams Studio in Chester County; before they’d even known each other for a day, they’d already written a song together. The two musicians clicked so readily and had such a productive streak of writing music together that the project quickly became a functioning band; first a trio with bassist Michelle Lynn, and later a five-piece with Josh Steingard on drums and Stacy Weathers on banjo. Continue reading →

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The Key Studio Sessions: Dylan Jane

In a way, Northeast Pennsylvania native Dylan Jane is making her second go as a songwriter. She grew up playing guitar and listening to records from a range of eras: Bright Eyes all the way back to Carole King. But then schooling led her to teaching, and her songwriting was temporarily put on the shelf until about 2012. “My guitar was getting dusty,” she explains. And she didn’t like that. First came her debut LP: Paint, Clay and other Mediums, recorded in Dupont, Pennsylvania (a small town between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton). She followed it up in fall of 2013 with Songbook Chapter One. As her music began to make its way out of NEPA and Dylan began performing in both Philadelphia and New York, she released her most polished outing to date, last year’s From an Island. With a captivating voice that’s soft and soulful, and a pen that writes story-songs exploring all realms of the human experience – love, betrayal, death, and more – her music instantly hooks you in. This Key Studio Session she recorded with us in early January will do the same. Continue reading →

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Download The Key Studio Sessions Volume 12 (feat. Vita and the Woolf, Son Little, Mumblr and more)

Cover photo by Rachel Del Sordo
Cover photo by Rachel Del Sordo

This is usually the part where I wax philosophical about the Philadelphia music scene, the amazing breadth of talent it contains, the standout artists in a whole range of genres we’re showcasing on this latest comp, but you know what? It’s New Year’s Eve. We all have parties to get to. I’ll be brief.

The Key Studio Sessions Volume 12 is our latest overview of our incredible music community, and it features artists that will make you dance (Cheerleader, Sugar Tongue Slim, You Do You) artists that will make you rock the eff out (Mumblr, Thee Idea Men, Tinmouth, Thin Lips), and artists that will tug your heartstrings (Dirty Dollhouse, No Stranger, Tin Bird Choir, Paper Hearts). Continue reading →

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The Key Studio Sessions: Paper Hearts

Philly singer-songwriter Angel Ocana met Tiffany Foster in the center city confines of their 9 to 5 day job. Walking around the office one day, he heard her singing to herself, and was struck by her voice. He asked her if she’d be interested in joining his band – which didn’t exist at the time. He was not yet playing drums in Northern Arms, and he only ever performed out solo. By “join my band,” Ocana meant “sing on these songs I’ve written.”

Foster checked out his ideas for songs, and was immediately excited to try it out. “That was two years ago now,” Foster recalls. “I’m so grateful that I said yes, it’s one of the best decision I’ve ever made.” Continue reading →