Since the start of the pandemic, Chicago has lost an incredible number of artists whose contributions to the local music community helped shape the sound of the city and beyond. They include drummer and vocalist Joe Camarillo, who passed away in January following a stroke. Since the mid-80s, when he was a high school student […]
Author Archives: Jamie Ludwig
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Chicago’s Wingtips bring a little light to the dark synth-pop of Cutting Room Floor
In 2021, the idea of editing yourself can sound cynical—it’s been tainted by social-media influencers who manufacture images and videos of a blemish-free life of luxury while struggling to make ends meet offline. But on their brand-new second album, Cutting Room Floor, dark Chicago synth-pop duo Wingtips suggest that self-editing can be part of a […]
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Buddy Miles wrings every drop of emotion from “The Segment”
I was walking through Fulton Market on my way home from a work event a few weeks ago when “Yes, I Know” floated out into the summer air from the PA of a nearby restaurant. The song appears on Jiaolong, the 2012 full-length debut of Daphni, a dance-music project by Dan Snaith of Caribou. It’s […]
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Jonn Wallen of Oui Ennui has released 18 records since contracting COVID
Chicago multi-instrumentalist and producer Jonn Wallen, who records and performs as Oui Ennui, has been writing music since he was five. Working mostly with synths and computers, he makes maximalist compositions he describes as “paintings.” In September 2019, he gave his first public performance in more than a decade as part of the Plantasia event […]
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Sasha Daltonn, jazz singer and founder of the Chicago Gospel Music Festival
“We weren’t only honoring Professor Dorsey—this was a major event introduced by the first Black mayor of the city, and it needed to be outstanding.”
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Damon & Naomi reunite with guitarist Michio Kurihara for meditative songs about distance and connection
One of the few positive aspects of the pandemic is how it’s highlighted the importance and irreplaceability of our relationships, even as a tangled web of geographic and public health considerations has often made it unclear when (or even if) we might be able to see one another after prolonged separation. A Sky Record, the […]
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Chicago dance-pop duo Drama return to the stage to showcase their pre-pandemic album
We’ll never know what might have been for any of us had 2020 turned out a little less soul crushing. But it feels extra bittersweet to imagine the possibilities for Chicago duo Drama, who released their debut album, Dance Without Me (Ghostly International), just before lockdown. Since joining forces in 2014, vocalist Via Rosa and […]
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At the Gates’ The Nightmare of Being confronts the tragedy of being alive
The new album from pioneering Gothenburg death-metal band At the Gates confronts the absurdity of existence.
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The revolution is finally televised with Summer of Soul
The documentary is a window into the Harlem Culture Festival and discussions of Black history, community, and identity in the 60s.
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Fatima Al Qadiri creates a contemplative space outside history with Medieval Femme
Kuwaiti conceptual artist and composer Fatima Al Qadiri merges traditional Arabic poetry and futuristic electronics on her new album.
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Japanese Breakfast’s effervescent Jubilee will give you something to smile about
If you’ve ever watched someone you love struggle through a cruel illness and eventually succumb, you know that some days it can be hard to find any lightness under the crushing weight of grief. So it’s beyond inspiring that Michelle Zauner, the solo artist behind Japanese Breakfast, made not one but two dreamy indie-pop albums […]
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Alison Chesley, cellist and composer, aka Helen Money
“A year without music venues, without audiences, without seeing other people play has really made me realize how important that is for me.”
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Heavy experimentalists Nadja turn from shoegazing to stargazing on Luminious Rot
Experimental drone and postmetal outfit Nadja got their start in 2003 as the solo studio project of ambient musician Aidan Baker, but by 2005 he’d enlisted the help of bassist and vocalist Leah Buckareff to bring his music to the stage. They’re a married couple as well as bandmates, and they’ve since relocated from their […]