Before putting his thoughts to hip-hop verses, Stefan Dismond was convinced his calling was making ringtones. The second-year cognitive science student, who used to make alternative music and ringtones, decided to switch to rapping just last year. Dismond said he initially used his laptop keys as a digital keyboard to produce electronic patterns that turned […]
Category Archives: Music
Album Review: ‘Views’
Drake has been busy since the release of his last proper full-length album three years ago. Since 2013’s “Nothing Was the Same,” Drake has released two platinum mixtapes, recorded his 100th song on the Billboard Hot 100 and become a full-fledged pop superstar. In “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” Drake defensively and antagonistically […]
Sounds of Schoenberg: Atumpan
Two large barrel drums sat side by side in the ethnomusicology department, representing the musical culture of African villages from which they originated. The drums are called Atumpan, considered a Ghanaian talking drum due to its ability to imitate language. In 1965, they journeyed to UCLA from Ghana through a musical collaboration between Mantle Hood, […]
Album review: ‘Home’
The music of rock band Blue October gives an in-depth look into lead singer Justin Furstenfeld’s life of substance abuse, divorce, child custody battles, sobriety and recovery. It’s an intense experience that would make even master voyeur Alfred Hitchcock blush. But with its new album, “Home,” Blue October doesn’t seem so blue anymore. The album […]
Local group inspired to overcome racism and strife through music
Westwood Village Entertainment Group, or WVEG, was inspired by an old Nigerian proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child.” For them, their proverbial child is their music. Each person in the group is a different part of the village. There’s a singer bopping along to Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu, a Jewish drummer […]
Album Review: ‘Always Strive and Prosper’
A$AP Ferg has shed his “Fergivicious” demeanor and repented to the “Hood Pope” one in hopes of finding himself. A three-year period has dramatically transformed the life of A$AP Ferg, from achieving success for his 2013 album “Trap Lord,” to the tragic loss of close friend and A$AP Mob founder A$AP Yams in 2015. Ferg’s […]
UCLA musicians fuse classical with alternative on Coachella stage
Three UCLA musicians clutched their string instruments and bows. In the Mojave tent, a few improvised notes echoed from their instruments during the sound check. The notes sounded different than the electronic and alternative sounds that pervaded the Coachella stages. Classically trained UCLA musicians – Camille Miller, Julien Altmann and Eric Lee – performed their […]