Listening to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros brings to mind thoughts of home. Many listeners received their introduction to the band with the 2010 commercial hit and rustic anthem, “Home.” From then on, the Magnetic Zeros established an image of campy charm thanks to its infectious whistling tunes with sing-along choruses galore. Read more...
Photo: (Courtesy of Community Music Group)
UCLA ethnomusicology students from the 1920s to the 1950s could only study foreign instruments in textbooks before the arrival of the Javanese gamelan. In 1958, American ethnomusicologist Mantle Hood purchased the Venerable Dark Cloud gamelan, a collection of 83 percussion instruments. Read more...
Photo: Otto Stuparitz is an ethnomusicology graduate student who is studying Indonesian music. Stuparitz said the World Music Center at UCLA is planning a Javanese gamelan performance scheduled tentatively for fall or winter quarter of the 2016-2017 academic year. (Marley Maron/Daily Bruin)
Trace Jansen feels alone in his love for country music at UCLA. For Jansen and other fans, the country music scene at UCLA is characterized more by hostility from other students rather than the welcoming culture he experienced back home in Oregon. Read more...
Photo: (Vivian Tong/Daily Bruin)
Ellen Key first fell in love with the viola in fourth grade and instantly knew she would never stop playing. But she never imagined that her future repertoire would include less Beethoven and more World of Warcraft. Read more...
Photo: Second-year civil engineering student Ellen Key plays viola for the Game Music Ensemble at UCLA. She and the ensemble are preparing for their upcoming concert “Leveled Up” on May 8 in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom. (Zoe Hessler/Daily Bruin)
Matisyahu draws from the Jewish philosophical ideas found in the Torah and Kabbalah for inspiration when shaping his music. When performing the music, the Grammy-nominated reggae artist said he tries to create an environment in which his audience can connect with their own psyche, emotions and intellect. Read more...
Photo: Reggae artist Matisyahu and special guest Nadim Azzam are performing at college campuses, including UCLA, to encourage conversation between Muslim and Jewish students. (Courtesy of Chris Townsend)
Japanese trio Perfume doesn’t look like it would be an electronic dance music group. The girl group’s doll-like aesthetic is sharply juxtaposed with futuristic beats, creating an effect of a delicate comet that does not look dangerous but still burns through the night sky. Read more...
Photo: (Courtesy of Universal Music Japan)
Nine-year-old A.J. Racy would often make small flutes out of the reeds growing a short distance away from his family’s home. He would cut suitable reeds from the garden and dry them, turning them from green to a light brown. Read more...
Photo: Ethnomusicology professor A.J. Racy plays and studies the nay, a reed flute popular in Arab music. To Racy, the nay’s popularity in Arab music stems from its ability to transport the listener to a state called tarab, which means musical ecstasy. Racy was exposed to music as he grew up in a small, rural village in southern Lebanon. (Anthony Tran/Daily Bruin)
