Connor Vance is a young man who speaks an old language. Read more...
Photo: Connor Vance, fiddler for The Dustbowl Revival, juggles studying musicology at UCLA and touring with his band. Interested in music since an early age, the bluegrass and jazz band gives Vance a satisfying outlet for his musical ideas and helps him apply his studies as he works through college.
In some ways, the whistling, chanting and atonal flute melodies that pervade the Ecuadorian village of Kotama sound like tangled webs of rhythm that are difficult to understand. Read more...
Photo: Jessie Vallejo, a Ph.D. student who did fieldwork in Ecuador for her dissertation, found inspiration in the flute traditions of the people of Kotoma, a small village in Otavalo, Ecuador. The rich culture behind the music inspired her to produce a CD with the indigenous people, “¡Así Kotama! The Flutes of Otavalo, Ecuador.”
From the time he wakes up and makes his first cup of coffee, Walker Ashby has one thing on his mind: his music. Ashby, a fourth-year fine arts student who is known by his stage name Toy Light, said that he devoted entire days to working on his electronic music this past year. Read more...
Photo: Fourth-year art student Walker Ashby, known by his stage name Toy Light, is one of a growing number of musicians using newer technology to independently produce music within the comfort of the artist’s own home.
Back in the day, rappers wanted to be, and at times were, gangsters. Now the name of the game is transcendence: Rappers aim to be gods. Enter “Magna Carta... Holy Grail.” Read more...
Photo: courtesy of Roc-A-Fella Records
Already causing a stir within the Billboard and Recording Industry Association of America sales figures, is the album an intelligent marketing strategy or just a ploy for attention? Read more...
Owen Clapp did not think he was good enough. A musician since the third grade, Clapp still said he worried during his second year of college that he was not cut out for the rigors of the music world. Read more...
Photo: Alumnus Owen Clapp recently released collaboration album “The Journey.”
Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference. For fourth-year ethnomusicology student Forrest Mitchell, it helped him land an internship at Atlantic Records. Read more...
Photo: Aside from his internship, Forrest Mitchell is the drummer for a band.
