Metropolis Radio
The Unheard Playlist
The Unheard Playlist is my audio love letter to all the people that dared to hear differently and taught me to do the same. Whether direct mentors (Dorothy Hindman, Gabriela Lena Frank, Elliott Sharp, Marilyn Crispell) heroes (Carla Bley, Ornette Coleman, Cannonball Adderly) or inspiring colleagues from my generation (Janelle Monae and Nathalie Joachim), their contributions gave me the room to create The Unheard Mixtapes. Parliament-Funkadelic was the first to reveal the concept of a sound world to me, Charles Mingus showed me how to be passionate through music, and Stravinsky’s Sacre du Printemps was the first classical composer to induce the same euphoric reaction I felt when I first heard Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Artists like Pamela Z and Sly and the Family Stone showed me the potential of creative sound making and the impact of playfulness in art-making. I am indebted to each of these artists – and many, many more – for inspiring me, for showing me the way, and for populating my personal soundtrack with unforgettable music. As P Funk says, “Do not attempt to adjust your radio, there is nothing wrong.” You are on a ride in my brain.
—Matthew Evan Taylor
this week’s curator: Matthew Evan Taylor
Composer and saxophonist Matthew Evan Taylor (1980) has been hailed as “a promising new voice” (Lawrence Budmen, Miami Herald) and a “risk taker” (Neil De La Flor, Huffington Post) whose music is “insistent and defiant…envelopingly hypnotic” (Alan Young, Lucid Culture). His new album The Unheard Mixtapes, commissioned and produced by Metropolis Ensemble, is available now on Bandcamp through New Amsterdam Records. The album will be released monthly as a series of 5 EPs starting September 2020 to January 2021.
about metropolis radio
Welcome to Metropolis Radio, our new ongoing series of curated playlists from the next generation of composers and performers. In addition to providing direct support to our artists for creating these playlists, we hope they serve as a connection to listeners during and after COVID-19, as well as promote a sense of community and discovery among Metropolis artists and beyond. New playlists dropping every Friday!
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