July 2014: Festivals Galore

Each year it becomes clearer that big music festivals are a young person's game. I've still got the stamina to zip and jet if I want to, but this year at Pitchfork I decided to take it a bit easier.

Featuring: Siba, Noura Mint Seymali, Bryan Adams, Bush Tetras, and more. 

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June 2014: Psych Around the World (Cup)

I sent myself down a deep rabbit hole of international psychedelic music from the '60s and '70s. That's a deep deep hole, as it seems like almost every spot on the globe (Cambodia, Turkey, Nigeria, Brazil, Korea, Iran!) went through the process of working through the psychedelic rock revolution and found a way to reconcile it with their own indigenous sound. Some results are better than others.

Featuring: Kim Jung Mi, clipping, alt-J, Otis Redding, and more.

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May 2014: South Africa, Brooklyn, Campeche, and beyond

Why is Brooklyn filled with so much extraordinary music?, we wondered. Clearly, New York City's history as a cultural hotbed has a lot to do with it. Still, there's something special about the critical mass that has accrued in our nation's fourth-largest city. 

Featuring: Samthing Soweto, Mica Levi, Atmosphere, Cian Nugent, and more. 

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