Category: Blog

Show Review: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

by Ruben Radlauer

Following a stint of performance and production workshops for the EPD department, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith took to the Red Room to play a set of beauty and chaos to a room packed with Berklee and non-Berklee people alike.

Both as a technical feat and an artistic expression, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s set was awe inspiring. It was a perfect marriage of experimental pop, ambient music and chaotic noise music, and on top of that most of it was Continue reading “Show Review: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith”

Show Review: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile

Live at the Orpheum Theatre, Boston
by Erin Ober

I love being one of the firsts at a concert. Anticipation builds as each person files in; as each additional seat fills up. On Saturday night, the 4th of November, I waited patiently in my seat, eavesdropping on conversations about the sold-out show. Old school jukebox tunes floated softly in the air, as the murmuring few turned into a bustling crowd, before my eyes. On stage, every instrument was covered except for two acoustic guitars placed in the middle. Eventually, the lights cut out, and Jen Cloher stepped out on stage, opening the show. Continue reading “Show Review: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile”

Electronic Music Night: Live from the Red Room @ Cafe 939 Tuesday, Nov 7, at 7:00 pm on birnCORE

Berklee’s Songwriting Department presents its second Electronic Music Night, highlighting electronic student singer-songwriters.

The evening, hosted by assistant professor Erin Barra-Jean, reflects the department’s efforts to provide a dynamic technology curriculum, which supports its students as writers, producers, and performers.

This Week on BIRN Alive: Eva & The Oak Saturday, Nov 4 at 4:00 pm on birn1

Based out of Boston, with humble beginnings in Raleigh, NC, Eva & The Oak unites their folky roots with indie/alternative influences. Dark and dreamy, they spark a reminiscent calm within the listener powered by ethereal vocals, haunting guitar progressions, layers of rhythm, and blankets of texture. Natural, branching, beautiful, and grounded, Eva & the Oak tells a tale fit for its name sake.

Alluxe, Alisse Laymac and Tal Flora: Live from the Red Room, Friday, Nov 3 at 8:00 pm on birnCORE

Alluxe wields power. To send you to emotional depths, standing onstage over her controller, unleashing hard-hitting beats, loops and grooves that cut through on impact. To send your head into a tailspin via her fine-tuned studio concoctions — a mélange of vocal swirls, avant-garde affects and manipulated melodies. The talented artist, producer, DJ, controllerist, violinist and live show designer has programmed and designed groundbreaking shows for some of the biggest names in music; from Kanye West to Drake, The Weeknd to Bon Iver. Continue reading “Alluxe, Alisse Laymac and Tal Flora: Live from the Red Room, Friday, Nov 3 at 8:00 pm on birnCORE”

Maria Usbeck: Live from the Red Room @ Cafe 939, Wednesday, Nov 1 at 8:00 pm on birnCORE

Growing up in Ecuador, Maria Usbeck was immersed in salsa, merengue, bachata, and Andean music, but was more attracted to German and American culture. She, eventually, moved to the United States, alone, at the age of 17, to attend art school. After five years of fronting the new-wave band Selebrities, and writing songs in English, she knew it was time to let her mother tongue speak. That impulse manifested itself in her debut solo album, Amparo, which reads like an exotic travel diary—music made by a perceptive explorer, tapping into the shared core of human expression.

Album Review: Michael Jackson – Scream

Happy Halloween from your friends at The BIRN!
Michael Jackson – Scream
Recommended tracks – 1, 4, 8, 13, 14
Review by Jon O’Neal

Get ready to SCREAM with Michael Jackson’s latest release. Scream is a brand new compilation of Halloween-esque tracks. They span Michael’s multi-decade career, and include hits from the Jacksons, his solo career as well as an amazing 5 song mash-up from White Panda. This album is long overdue for the king of pop, and it’s a great addition to a legendary catalog of music. If you’re still looking to get your Halloween fix, be sure to check out this album! It is currently available on CD and in a really cool vinyl package!

Interview: Metz guitarist Alex Edkins discusses the band’s new album

The BIRN’s Ruben Radlauer talked to Alex Edkins, guitarist and singer of the band Metz, before their show at The Sinclair in Cambridge. Here’s what he had to say:

Ruben from The BIRN: Is this [Strange Peace] your first album doing it all live band in the studio?

Alex Edkins: Yeah. The first two records we did in I guess more of a modern way, which would be to get the drums finished and then layer everything on top. This time we got more or less what our show is like on tape all at the same time, except for vocals. It was cool, it was a lot more fun and a lot more easy than what we used to do. Continue reading “Interview: Metz guitarist Alex Edkins discusses the band’s new album”

Public and usLights: Live from the Red Room at Cafe 939, Tuesday, Oct 31 at 8:00 pm on birnCORE

PUBLIC came to be when John Vaughn (lead vocals and guitar) and Ben Lapps (drums and vocals) began writing songs in a basement. Soon after, Matt Alvarado (bass, synthesizer, and vocals) joined them. With its roots in classic rock and indie/pop, the band released its first EP, Red, in 2012, solidifying a strong fan base in its hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. They quick on the road, supporting acts such as Walk the Moon, Twenty One Pilots, and Young the Giant. PUBLIC also began playing major festivals such as Forecastle, Bunbury, CMJ, and SXSW. Continue reading “Public and usLights: Live from the Red Room at Cafe 939, Tuesday, Oct 31 at 8:00 pm on birnCORE”

This Week on BIRN Alive: Basia, Saturday, Oct 28 at 4:00 pm on birn1

Born in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Basia Galaj entered the world of music at a very young age. Taking an interest in piano at the age of six, she began taking private lessons and continued her classical piano studies in Missio Musica after moving to Warsaw. Not long after this, she began studying voice. She moved to the US in 2011. By her senior year of high school, she became dually enrolled as a student of the California Baptist University, performing with the University choir and continuing her piano and vocal studies. Continue reading “This Week on BIRN Alive: Basia, Saturday, Oct 28 at 4:00 pm on birn1”