Support Smart, Local Journalism
Make a Small Monthly Donation

Give now

show preview
Posted inMusic

Listen to the Sounds of Resistance (and Cumbia) on Orquestra Pacifico Tropical’s New Album

The 11-piece collective flexes positivity and poise on ‘El Poder.’
Avatar photo by Ryan J. Prado

EL PODER by Orquestra Pacifico Tropical From the opening moments of “El Poder,” the title track from Orquestra Pacifico Tropical’s third album, the band establishes a wall of rhythmic positivity. The song, like the band performing it, emerges as a reaction to a society showing its frayed edges evermore, slicing through the political noise with […]

Posted inMusic

Sons of Analog: A John McEntire & Sam Prekop Primer

Ahead of their live album recording at Holocene, we trace the roots of the Tortoise frontman and his Sea and Cake brethren’s collaboration with four great records.
Avatar photo by Holly Hazelwood

According to Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” If you’ve ever watched the creation of modular synth music, you’ve probably felt as if you were watching what could easily be described as magic. That is to say, it’s technology applied in ways that exist beyond conventional explanation. The […]

Posted inMusic

Hannah Diamond Paints Holocene Pink and Blue

Diamond joins Portland DJs Emoji Heap and Sweetbabyjames for a night of hyperpop
Avatar photo by Emerson Brady

We can’t talk about hyperpop without talking about cult record label PC Music. ​PC Music, founded by English producer A. G. Cook in 2013, blasted hyperpop into the mainstream, revamping the trashy pop of the early aughts and spreading it like wildfire across the internet. But if PC Music’s bubblegum bass, glitchy electronic sounds, and […]

Gift this article