Bryony Jarman-Pinto - Cage & Aviary

Bryony Jarman-Pinto is an up-and-coming artist based in London, though she grew up in the Northwestern part of England before studying at the Glasgow School of Arts. It was around this time that she started to work with Werkha and began to take music more seriously. Over the last three years, Jarman-Pinto has been writing and recording, and she now releases her debut album, Cage & Aviary. One of the first things that hit me in listening to Cage & Aviary is that this doesn’t sound like a debut album.

JB Nimble - Moondog Orchestra

JB Nimble is an emcee that formerly lived in the Bay Area, but he’s been living in New York for several years now. His last release was a collaborative album with Bay Area artist OneWerd called The Waiting Room. In the time since that album, Nimble has been working on his production skills, and now he releases his first self-produced album, Moondog Orchestra. Moondog Orchestra is a step forward for JB Nimble as an artist, fully rounding himself out as an emcee and producer, but at the same time, this album feels like a bit of a throwback.

A. Billi Free & Tensei - I Luma

At the beginning of this year, Chicago production duo Tensei returned after a hiatus to drop an EP by the name of Constellate. The EP featured many guests, including New Mexico vocalist A. Billi Free on the opening track, “Liquid Tongues.” If you enjoyed that track in particular, you’re in for a treat, because now Tensei and A. Billi Free have teamed up to give you a full-length album, I Luma.

G & D - Black Love & War

Georgia Anne Muldrow has been a busy woman ever since she started putting out music in the mid 2000s, but she has really been on a roll over the past year or so. Last year, she released her album Overload, and followed that up with another album this year, VWETO II. That wasn’t enough, though, because she now comes back with another album, this time with her partner Declaime. Performing as G & D, they release their first duo album in six years, Black Love & War.

Chali 2na & Krafty Kuts - Adventures of a Reluctant Superhero

Chali 2na has been making hip hop for over twenty five years, as part of Jurassic 5, as a solo artist, and as one of the most sought-out guest artists in underground hip hop. In the past couple of years, he teamed up with British deejay and producer Krafty Kuts, releasing a single called “Hands High” in 2017. Now they are ready to release their album together, a concept album called Adventures of a Reluctant Superhero.

Rel McCoy - A Different Crown

Toronto emcee/vocalist/producer Rel McCoy, fka Relic, has been releasing music since the beginning of the decade. While on earlier projects such as The 13th Floor might have gotten an assist from working with a producer like Fresh Kils, McCoy has only grown stronger and more confident in himself since that time, self-producing his 2016 album, Gas Money. He now returns with another full-length album in which he wears all the different hats, A Different Crown.

HMLT - Need You

HMLT (pronounced “hamlet”) is an R&B group from Toronto formed by brothers Corey and Taylor Wong. They have established themselves in a relatively short amount of time with a couple of EPs and singles over the past four years. Now they set out to raise the stakes with their URBNET debut, Need You. Two things become apparent as you listen to Need You. One is that mid to late-‘90s R&B is very important to HMLT, as they are surely drawing inspiration from the likes of D’Angelo, Babyface, Maxwell, and Erykah Badu, just to name a few.

Lady Midnight - Interview - 8-3-19

Lady Midnight is a vocalist from Minneapolis who has previously worked with groups such as VAN DAAM and Parables of Neptune. She recently released her first solo album, Death Before Mourning. She took the time after her set at Secret Stages to talk about her journey to the album, the album itself, and the power of music to heal. Scratched Vinyl: Let’s start with some basic back story. How did you first get into music and learn how to sing?

Suaze - Interview - 8-2-19

Suaze is a producer from Birmingham who has been working for several years. In that time, he’s made beats for the likes of Love Moor, Richard Daniel, and Shaun Judah. Most recently, he released a solo beat tape, Sunroom Sessions. He took the time during Secret Stages to talk to us about his process, working with Love Moor, and being a part of the Birmingham scene. SV: Let’s start with the basics.

Secret Stages 2019: In Review

The Secret Stages Music Discovery Festival happened this past weekend in Birmingham, it’s second in the Avondale neighborhood. It’s a great neighborhood to host the festival, because you don’t have to walk far to find great food and beer, and all five stages are within one block of each other, and they all had great sound. Also, unlike many other music festivals, hip hop is not treated as an afterthought, but was featured very prominently throughout the two days, right alongside rock and country acts, not prioritizing one over the other.