digital crates Archives

Digital Crates: NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

Sep 12, 2016 | Sound

I love music. And I love great ideas around how to package and share music. The evolution of technology has both totally disrupted industries as well as provided the tools to be able to share great music. In creating Digital Crates on this site, I have tried to share what I come across while traversing the world of the interwebs, albeit inconsistently. The non-profit NPR hosts Tiny Desk Concerts, which is a simple yet powerful concept – bring in artists to perform in a corner of their offices and film them. The intimacy of the performances place the spotlight firmly on the music...

Ro James’ Eldorado, Random Thoughts

Jul 6, 2016 | Sound

Our influences often subtly guide our decisions in and perspectives of the world. With musicians, being able to tap into influences without becoming imitations that fall short is a real challenge. Many an artist has floundered because they are unable to find their voice beyond the musicians that influence them. Ronnie James Tucker, known as Ro James, has been able to establish his space amidst the multiple and diverse people and sounds that have inspired him, from David Bowie, Prince, and Sly and the Family Stone to D’Angelo, Notorious BIG and Otis Redding. Born in Stuttgart, Germany to a...

Digital Crates: Brika

Jun 13, 2015 | Sound

In an entertainment world where every detail of everyone’s life is put on display and everything is often over-marketed (seemingly at the expense of the actual music created) it was a bit alarming when I struggled to find background on Brika, and Art House Records, the record label that released her debut album, Voice Memos. What I could find is that Art House Records is a Miami-based independent label that spent three years on developing Briana Alexa Martinez, who was born and raised in Miami, and that 2014 was their first year of operation. There’s the standard Wikipedia page, which...

Digital Crates – Yasiin Gaye: The Return (Side 2)

Jun 4, 2014 | Sound

My Digital Crates feature, albeit erratic (as with most of this space), is the opportunity for me to share the really dope music (in my view) that I come across. The beauty of the digital realm for me continues to be the fact that I am not dependent on radio, television and the major record labels for the music I listen to. Whether it is through social media or randomly browsing the web, there are many artists and deejays that I have 'discovered' that have become part of my life's soundtrack. Amerigo Gazaway is most definitely one of these. I recently wrote a short post on him, sharing some...

Digital Crates: DJ Chicken George

Aug 11, 2013 | Sound

In the beginning: When I came to the realisation that, to hear good music, I couldn’t solely depend on radio, television, record labels and all the other components of the ‘formal’ music industry for music – because for many, it is simply a business, man. I stumbled upon DJ Chicken George. Talib Kweli either tweeted about him or tweeted him and, for some reason, that I can’t remember, I felt compelled enough to search out his podcasts, Peddlin’ Jazztronica!, starting with iTunes and then also on his site. While hip hop remains a strong foundation, Chicken George marries that cultural...