Ryan J. Prado

The Chicago Guitar Phenom Discusses His Inner Halfwit

SAM COOMES Music for the creepy basement of your mind. John Clark “I NEVER have been interested in doing a solo album, or having a solo career,” says Sam Coomes at a sidewalk picnic table at a North Portland coffee shop, his dog Murphy in tow. Between bites of banana bread, Coomes talks about the […]

The Portland musician’s first solo record goes black and white.

PHOTOGRAPHY: JACLYN CAMPANARO DESIGN: CAMERON PARKINS / NICOLAS ESCOBAR SINCE MOVING to Portland from Kansas City in 2012, Minden’s ascent in the local scene has been powered by classic funk, soul, and millennial lethargy, all in the guise of psychedelic pop. The band’s latest, Sweet, Simple Things, is a sexy brew that pairs well with […]

Minden’s latest is a sexy brew.

LUCY DACUS Seriously, stop giggling. Dustin Condren WHEN LUCY DACUS sings “I don’t wanna be funny anymore” on the opening track of her debut full-length, No Burden, she delivers it with a little lilt on the final syllable. “I hurt my friends saying things I don’t mean out loud,” she sings. Dacus, at 21 years […]

Richmond, Virginia’s Lucy Dacus doesn’t want to be funny anymore.

VIOLENT FEMMES The acoustic punk-folk juggernaut keeps moving forward. EBRU YILDIZ ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, Gordon Gano announced that Violent Femmes would no longer write or record new music together. They’d continue to perform when booked, but the lively acoustic punk-folk juggernaut would cease to progress. It was a dreary portent of what the following […]

ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, Gordon Gano announced that Violent Femmes would no longer write or record new music together. They’d continue to perform when booked, but the lively acoustic punk-folk juggernaut would cease to progress. It was a dreary portent of what the following years would hold for the pride of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The rift […]

BOMBINO Ambassador of Tuareg culture. Marije Kuiper “I SING ABOUT LIFE,” explains Omara “Bombino” Moctar. “In life, there are big important cultural issues that occupy your mind and heart, and there are also personal and intimate issues that inspire you.” Over email, Moctar, who is fluent in French and his native Tuareg language Tamasheq, describes […]

The band’s Tuareg roots branch out on Azel.