Take a load off and get excited for all the new music developments that summer 2023 is bringing. This week we’re pumped about Wynne’s new release(s) and appearance on Sway, a new collaboration-driven artist retreat, and upcoming music video releases from Portugal. The Man at Movie Madness. Get into it all, Hear in Portland!
MUST SEE:
Upcoming local event(s) featuring local artist(s).
Portugal. The Man
At the intersection of indie rock legends Portugal. The Man and enduring non-profit video store Movie Madness, we find this appealing music video(s) debut. As we wrote about recently, the group's ninth studio album Chris Black Changed My Life is set to drop on June 23, via Atlantic Records. The following day, June 24, fans can catch a looped premiere of three unseen music videos the next day in Movie Madness' 18-seat theater. Directed by cinematographer Michael Ragen, all three videos were shot on location in Alaska, the state where the band formed. They'll be released later in the year—record promotion schedules are an ever-turning wheel—but for now, this is the only chance to view them. (Movie Madness, 4320 SE Belmont, Sat June 24, 11 am-5 pm, free, but update your credit card info on your rental account)
MUST LISTEN:
New release(s) from a Portland-relevant artist.
Wynne’s Freestyle on Sway in the Morning and “Hot Friend”
Portland-based rapper Wynne recently put in an appearance on Sway In the Morning, the Sirius XM show of music journalist Sway Calloway, where she freestyled over the beat to Drake’s “Lord Knows.” If I could post the lyrics in their entirety, I would, as her entire freestyle is so outstanding on a technical level. The entire thing is worth memorizing, but here's my favorite part:
“Keep my IG sexy cause I know your boyfriend’s stalking it/ they studying my shine/ all my haters meteorologist/ elbow on their knees their hands bury their face/ every single rapper should be very afraid/ I really got your favorite artist out here sharing my page/ here to fuck up the throne like Harry and Megan’s engaged/I’m in an esoteric state/ this shit’s never been a joke/ I was nine staying up ’til 2 am studying HOV/ Lord Knows, Just know, while ya’ll were outside just doing the most/ I was dirtying every beat that they give me, it’s getting gross.”
There’s so many true-ass, reference-packed bars to absorb there. Ahead of her Sway appearance, Wynne dropped another club-ready single, “Hot Friend,” which followed up her epic “Jaw Morant,” and arrived with some provocative album artwork for her forthcoming EP, Some Like It Hot, showing Wynne topless and sporting glamor-shot worthy waves by acclaimed curl specialist Mahaila Penson. We are truly not prepared for the music video drop this Friday, June 23.
ADDED TO THE QUEUE:
Some upcoming music buzz to put on your radar.
Oregon Trail Sessions
Launched by Portland-based producer Snugsworth, ILoveMakonnen, and Produce Records, Oregon Trail Sessions is a four-day artist retreat working to empower artists of different disciplines and foster an environment for creativity, development, collaboration, and healing. The name is an ode to the retreat's location, which rotates between different natural settings in Oregon. Snugsworth (AKA Curtis Samuel) serves as the retreat’s sessions producer/engineer. The roster also involves Grammy-nominated recording artist ILoveMakonnen, rapper and songwriter Bocha, and production group Yellow Trash Can. This retreat will be of interest to area artists (check out the retreat's questionnaire), but also potentially to their fans—for the cool track teases that drop on Snugsworth and Oregon Trail Sessions' respective social media accounts.
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