Bklyn Sounds 3/12/2025—3/18/2025

This week's events include David Murray Octet / Rose Kourts / Alabaster DePlume / Angelika Niescier, Tomeka Reid & Savannah Harris / Kraftwerk / Kim Deal / 'Groovy Groovy' / and much more

Clockwise from upper left Tomeka Reid, Angelika Niescier & Savannah Harris; David Murray, Rose Kourts, Alabaster DePlume

A couple of weeks back Dada Strain produced its monthly show for The Lot Radio, and the guest was the redoubtable musicker, Lily Wen, who is, among other things, a DJ at WFMU, an engineer at Figure 8 Recording, and the major domo at Figure & Ground Records. Check the show out below (a full playlist of what we’re playing is in the Soundcloud comments):

Recently, Lily has started a monthly party at her local, DJ Lil’ Stranger presents Bouncehall, and the next one takes place on Wednesday 3/12, 9p @ Pomo, Prospect-Lefferts - FREE. She’s got massive records and loves DJing the sh*t out of them. If you’re south and east of the park, go support!

A few Dada Strain In the News catch-ups from February:

Adlan Jackson, the culture reporter/editor of the great local news site Hell Gate, wrote a short profile of myself and the project as part of the site’s Leave Your Apartment events-recommendation column. Tell your friends—and please consider subscribing to Hell Gate, and to The City, both of which are invaluable local news sources.

Music-writing colleague (and Knicks never-say-die-hard) Amy Linden hosted me on her Imma Let You Finish podcast where I babbled about pop culture things I pay attention to only tangentially. I am, I’ve learned, a lot better as a focused writer than as an off-the-cuff-topics podcast guest. [Cue discussions about “Why Hot Takes Suck” in my writing classes…but now I’m the guilty party.]

This does remind me that there’s an interview I quite enjoyed doing, and which turned out very well, that I did not let readers know about. It took place around the election and was for Dada Strain supporter Dori Fern’s excellent Life Changing podcast about life choices. Of potential interest to those curious about my immigrant backstory and how it relates to Dada Strain.

Lastly, thanks to a reader for pointing out that the website for the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville which takes place in late March opens its “Our Press” section with a big fat Dada Strain quote. [screen-grab below] It’s from a piece I wrote last year, “Big Ears, Full Hearts, Possible Futures,” after visiting the festival for the first time since its inaugural edition in 2009.

I just read the piece again before reposting and stand by its conclusions. Musicking things happen during this week in Knoxville which are heartening in terms of open listening and community engagement; though as with everything else in our current world, they can absolutely improve in how they are accessed and by whom. For new music to be a true agent of change— and yes, I know this is not everyone’s goal, but it is Dada Strain’s—that music must be as open as possible in gaining ears (even bigger) and audiences (even broader) without betraying its values. This is something I think about every week, while putting together and writing this column.

I could really use a boost of that energy right now, but will unfortunately not be at Big Ears this year. (Hopefully next…insha’allah.) That said, for the anyone interested in all the different directions Dada Strain explores, and for those who can afford a music vacation, I can’t recommend Big Ears enough.

THIS WEEK’S SHOWS:

Previously unfamiliar with Polish reed player Angelika Niescier, I listened to her 2023 album Beyond Dragons squarely because of her mighty accompanists, cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Savannah Harris. And I’m so glad I did. It’s an acoustic trio piece that showcases three great individual lights who form a unique constellation. Harris offers her trademark drive; Reid’s cello floats between melodic and rhythmic figures, and at times brings in a chamber-like gravitas; while Niescier’s (primarily) alto stretches and searches, at times playing off her accomplices into free minimalist sections that are dance-floor-ready in my mind. Sadly, there's no dancing at Jazz Gallery. (Wed 3/12, 7:30p & 9:30p @ Jazz Gallery, Manhattan - $25-$35)

Though producer/composer Taylor Deupree began his musical career in ambient and techno spaces 30 years ago, he’s been operating in more complicated and less defined terriroties almost as long. Sound art pieces, electronic collages and collision, collaborations across mediums. This evening sees Deupree collaborate with arranger/producer Joseph Branciforte, who on 2024’s Sti.ll, beautifully re-imagined Deupree’s music for traditional instruments. They’re joined by musicians who played on that music, clarinetist Madison Greenstone, and guitarist Ben Monder. (Wed 3/12, 8p @ Roulette, Downtown Bklyn - $25adv/$30)

Lagos-born, New York-based DJ Akanbi’s wonderful Groovy Groovy—a spiritual and intentional party, an international friendship party, a love party—returns to the site of its 10th anniversary triumph. The vibe is pan-global throw-down, heavy on sweaty energy and cross-generational, inter-continental records. But it’s also heady! The guests this time are L-Vis 1990, whose Night Slugs label introduced a maximalist version of this sound in the late Aughts, and Nigeria-born, London-based Kem Kem. (Thu 3/13, 10p @ Public Records, Gowanus - $20)

Bristol drum’n’bass producer Roni Size was hardly the first to make connections between the breakbeat arts, live jazz improvisation, the MC and the soundsystem. But the 1997 album New Forms, with his then-group Repazent, made an oversized impression. Size remains an exceptional DJ at mixing those elements. Tonight with Dieselboy + Dave Shichman + Sister Gaia. (Fri 3/14, 10p @ H0L0, Ridgewood - $25)

Another one of the lesser-known heroes of Chicago house-disco musicking, Mark Grusane was, alongside his partner Mike Cole, the proprietor of Mr. Peabody, a destination record store for DJs. He also made edits. That knowledge now gets translated to mastry behind the decks. Especially during long sets full of ups-and-downs, twists-and-turns. In other words, Grusane is the perfect selector to stay up all night with at Musicland. Highest Recommendation! (Fri 3/14, 11p @ “Musicland,” Bushwick - $35+RSVP)

Molto Ohm is the project of Matteo Libertadore, a media-artist/multi-instrumentalist who is also one-half of the team behind the great Please Y.S. music series. Next week, Molto Ohm is releasing its debut album, FEED, a maximalist, conceptual, yet imminently bubblegum treatise on media, capitalism and humanity. Chances are, what you step into at Zone One on Saturday night will involve not only sound but video and theory. But fun too, I’m sure. I always trust Matteo to bring that. Also: Peretsky + 1alkebulan. (Sat 3/15, 8p @ Elsewhere-Zone One, Bushwick - $18)

Brooklyn on Wax is a new DJ collective (Reuben, Rapha Bord and Sam Bordenave) that’s playing all-vinyl dance music, not disco-boogie-funk throwbacks, but newer classic and forgotten 12”s of the post-rave generations. Getting Kourtney Rose Kourts to be a guest at their Pisces Fest is a perfect score, as she’s a techno-minded party-starter who brings it hard whenever I’ve seen her. (Sat 3/15, 10p @ Earthly Delights, Ridgewood - $17)

Algo.Riddim is a long-running Friends & Lovers monthly featuring two selectors of Bklyn’s beloved diaspora riddims: the Flex kingpin Epic B, and the cumbia editor-turned-dancehall don, Uproot Andy. Recently, they’ve started hosting guests, and this week, they’ve got one of my favorite young DJs in the city, The Bronx’s Ultra Violet, whose idea of a pan-Latin sound is a spectrum from house and Afro-Caribbean drums, to hip-hop and reggaeton, to bass-y bodega jams of all shapes and sizes. (Sat 3/15, 10p @ Friends & Lovers, Crown Heights - $5-$10)

This DIY-noise show curated by musician/artist Dean Cercone features saxophonist Tamio Shiraishi, one-time member of the Fushitsusha, a Japanese psyche freak-out band of some renown. But for me, the main attraction here is Xavier Paes & Inês Tartaruga Água, a duo from Porto, Portugal, part of the Favela Discos artist collective, involved with electro-acoustic experiments and drones. Earplugs recommended. (Sun 3/16, 7p @ Living Gallery, Broadway & Myrtle - $10-$20)

Here’s a wonderful double-bill of earnestly empathetic conceptualists. British saxophonist and poet Alabaster DePlume has become a touch-points at a unique crossroads of our current cultural moment, the one where emo songwriting intersects with new indie/underground jazz-adjacent music. His songs have full-hearted, big-sound ideas that can suddenly skip off into musically radical, open spaces. But its the feelings that retain the most importance. Opening act, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist/ composer Patrick Shiroshi is far more of a functional experimentalist, but he too loves sympathetic melodies and textures. At LPR, they’re both playing in the round, better for us to all get close and **feel** together. Highest Recommendation! (Sun 3/16, 8p @ Le Poisson Rouge, Manhattan - $30adv/$35)

Though they’ve slowed down a bit from what felt like a relentless schedule during the first half of Marshall Allen’s centenary year, the Sun Ra Arkestra remains the hardest-working free-jazz big-band in the universe. Full of new and old music. TV Eye has become one of their regular Bklyn venues. Always a pleasure, with Marshall or without. (Mon 3/17, 7p @ TV Eye, Ridgewood - $30)

Over the course of March, legendary NYC saxophonist David Murray is holding an every-other-Monday residency at the mainstream Village jazz club. Among the stand’s surprises is that Murray has rolled out a new version of his Octet, performing some of the music written for his great eight-piece bands of the ‘80s. The new ensemble is an all-star conglomeration, with pianist Lafayette Gilchrist, drummer Russell Carter, bassist Luke Stewart, trombonist Corey Wallace, guitarist Mingus Murray, trumpeter Shareef Clayton and alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins. Highest Recommendation! (Mon 3/17, 8p & 10:30p @ Blue Note, Manhattan - $30-$$$ + minimum)

READING: Ben Ratliff, one of my all-time favorite philosophical writers about music, has a new book on the way, Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening. His release day reading, promo appearance is at the mighty Colloquium for Unpopular Culture, where he’ll read and be in conversation with Kieran Press-Reynolds. (Tues 3/18, 6:15p @ NYU Bobst Library, Manhattan - FREE with RSVP)

A double-bill of lyrical, improvising pianist Mara Rosenbloom in two different sonic spaces. Early on, she will play against the resonant strings of DoYeon Kim’s gayageum, a traditional Korean plucked zither, and Melanie Dyer’s viola. Later on, Rosenbloom will battle William Hooker’s booming drums. She’s adept at finding a glorious path around both. (Tue 3/18, 7:30p @ iBeam, Gowanus - $20)

The return of a great, electronic improvising duo. Keys/synths man Jason Lindner ia Bklyn Sounds MVP for always jumping on a variety of projects (joining bands, DJs, one-offs) where improvised weirdness and synthetic grooves are called for. Drummer/multi-instrumentalist Nate Wood appears much less regularly, but his own proclivity for fusioneering chaos is also well documented. Together, it’s a riot! (Tues 3/18, 9p & 10:15p @ Bar LunAtic, Bed-Stuy - $10suggested)

MEMORIAL: Brooklyn Botanic Garden is commemorating the 5th anniversary of the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, and saluting the losses that followed, with a two-week-long musical installation. Originally debuted in 2021, “loved., ” a piece for seven vibraphones by Bang on a Can’s co-founding composer Michael Gordon, will play on the Cherry Esplanade every hour on the hour, lasting approximately five and a half minutes. (Sat 3/15 - Sun 3/30, 10a-5p @ Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Crown Heights - $22adults)

MORE RECOMMENDED EVENTS:

• Kim Deal (Wed 3/12, 8p @ Bowery Ballroom, Manhattan - $$$) - Breeders/Amps frontwoman, multi-generational indie heroine, in one of the city’s best indie-rock rooms.

• Daniel Villareal (Thurs 3/13, 7p @ Public Records, Gowanus - $25) - Panama-born drummer and Latin psyche-soul singer now based in Philly, who keeps making the best groove music

• Wendy Eisenberg salutes Morton Feldman (Thurs 3/13, 8p @ The Owl, Prospect-Lefferts - $15) - having already recorded Feldman’s “The Possibility of a New Work for Electric Guitar,” one of New York’s extraordinary guitar players brings their love for the composer to the stage.

• Combo Chimbita (Thurs 3/13, 10p @ Babys All Right, W’burg - $20) - Brooklyn’s finest punky psychedelic Colombiano tropicalistas.

• Conditioner x Ballet (Thurs 3/13, 10p @ Nowadays, Ridgewood - $22) - a bigbill of “ephemeral electronics” (and a rapper, DORIS), from a pair of young artful crews I learned about from 29 Speedway.

• Karriem Riggins feat J.Rocc (Thurs 3/13, 10p @ Nublu, Manhattan - $22) - classic drummer-meets-DJ pairing to showcase the connections between jazz and hip-hop

• Kraftwerk (Thurs 3/13, 8p @ King’s Theatre, Flatbush + Fri 3/14, 8p @ Beacon Theatre, Uptown - both $$$$) - as of Wednesday afternoon, scattered tickets were still available to both of the local “Multimedia 2025” tour appearances by Germany’s legendary techno-pop robots. Not cheap, but if you love electronic music and have never seen their show, it’s highly recommended.

• Lorren Conors + poets (Fri 3/14, 6p @ Property Is Theft, W’burg - $uggested) - deeply influential no wave guitarist opens for poets Dylan Angell & Lizzy Hindman-Harvey, Emily Martin and Geoffrey Olsen.

• Sloppy Heads + Les Sans Culottes (Fri 3/14, 9p @ Main Drag, Williamsburg - $15) - two generations of hometown garage-rock conceptualists, one jammie, the other Francophile.

• NIKARA presents Black Wall Street (Fri 3/14, 9p & 10:15p Bar LunAtico, Bed-Stuy - $10suggested) - hometown vibraphonist/bandleader whose band beautifully splits groove and abstraction, playing the perfect venue.

• Fixed x Love International (Fri 3/14, 10p @ Good Room, Greenpoint - $20-$30) - Dave P & JDH’s party institution hosts a slate of DJing ambassadors from Croatia’s globally beloved, summer house music festival - including Ivan Smagghe.

• Chris Jonas Deserts Quartet (Sat 3/15, 8p @ “Soup & Sounds,” Prospect-Lefferts - $20) - reeds player Jonas brings his gorgeously meditative “music from the deserts” to drummer Andrew Drury living room series.

• Whait (Sat 3/15, 8p @ The Owl, Prospect-Lefferts - $15) - the new duo project of Maru Rubio and Wendy Eisenberg, two heart-on-sleeve faves. Really look forward to hearing them.

• LADYMONIX b2b Waajeed (Sat 3/15, 9p @ The Signal, East W’burg - $10-$30) - two of Detroit’s finest at the new East W’burg club, which is…alright, good sound and dance vibes, but still too much talking on the dance-floor.

• Tropical Past & Future (Sat 3/15, 11p @ El Santo, Bushwick - FREE) - Prince of Queens, Adrian Is Hungry and NYCTrust’s great cumbia-meets-house party returns.

• Tim Berne residencies (Sat 3/15, 6p @ Barbés, Park Slope - $20 + Tues 3/18, 9p @ Lowlands, Gowanus - $uggested) - the alto saxophone maestro of Gowanus parish is on 9th St and 6th Ave on Saturday evenings, and his favorite 3rd Ave haunt on Tuesday nights.

• EMEL (Mathlouthi) + Rasha Nahas (Tue 3/18, 8p @ Pioneer Works, Red Hook - $30) - a double-bill of two Palestinian singers, Mathlouthi globally renowned, Nahas beloved by the indie kids.