To celebrate Black History Month, UCLA Radio’s Digital Press and Music departments have come together to highlight the artists shaping the soundscape of today while drawing from a deep lineage of Black musical innovation. This month, we recognize not just the music, but the cultural and historical legacies embedded within it. Listen, engage, and reflect.
Photos courtesy of the Hollywood Bowl Before writing his new album SMILE! :D, Porter Robinson wanted to make music that was all about having fun, with absolutely no sincerity involved. It’s an understandable move, as spending years examining your biggest insecurities and fears through song would make anyone want to take a break from honesty.…
Photos courtesy of Panchiko It’s one of the internet’s most beloved music stories: a CD from the year 2000, D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L, found at a charity shop in 2016. A four year search for the mysterious identities of the long-defunct “Panchiko” followed, with a community of dedicated fans eventually helping to bring the band back together. Starting…
Photos courtesy of BLOND:ISH Ahead of her Santa Monica Beach Clean Up & performance in downtown LA this Saturday, September 14th, we caught up with producer/DJ/label owner/philanthropist BLOND:ISH to hear about all that’s going been going on in her world this summer in Ibiza and beyond, Bye Bye Plastic, and more. Questions by Ethan Kung…
“If someone talked to you / The way you do to you / I’d put their teeth through / Love yourself!” IDLES- “Television” Photos by Keifer Lamberth Over the course of their fifteen year career, British rock band IDLES have earned their reputation as one of the most brutal live acts in the world. But…
Photos courtesy of death’s dynamic shroud Any list of the greatest vaporwave acts of all time would lose all of its credibility if it didn’t include death’s dynamic shroud near the top. Since 2014, James Webster, Keith Rankin, and Tech Honors have helped push the niche and often misunderstood genre towards the spotlight of internet…
Photos courtesy of FM Skyline Since the release of his debut record in 2017, Pete Curry, a.k.a. FM Skyline, has been a figurehead of the vaporwave community. It’s easy to understand why – his unique brand of abstract, nostalgic, and dreamlike aesthetics have become nearly synonymous with, if not definitive of the “utopian virtual” style.…
Photos by Lily Stockton Looking at the crowd outside the Shrine Auditorium, it would’ve been fair to assume that they were waiting for a blockbuster movie premiere, not a concert. Fans dressed in identical black cloaks, technicolor Hawaiian shirts, and oversized bolero hats joyfully exchanged fan merch and made conversation. Topics ranged from compliments on…