Black Alt Magazine

(h/t Jules) And y'all already know how the Bar loves the hell out of Inuk singer Tagaq. This post originally was due a while back, shortly after the album actually dropped.  Here is the trailer for Animism , set to an excerpt from the track "Umingmak". And to my delight, there's a longer version, set to the track "Tungijuq" (it's the official music video).

Trish Doan was the bassist for Kittie , a band I adored as a teenager.  It was an immeasurable honor and privilege to complete this interview with her on April 1st, 2014, before her death on February 13, 2017. So, Trish…HUGE honor having you at my bar!!! What are you sippin’ on? I'm honoured to be here! Well, it's currently a Wednesday afternoon, so I could go for a drink! I'll take a vodka/orange juice please. A long time ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kittie alumna Fallon Bowman ( twice , in fact).  Now, for those who are unfamiliar, what can you tell them about Kittie? Well! Kittie is a four-woman metal band hailing from London, Ontario. We've put out six great records and done many tours around the world. Kittie consists of sisters Morgan and Mercedes Lander (singer-guitarist and drummer), Tara McLeod (lead guitarist) and myself (the bassist). Not only are we bandmates but also really great friends. I joined the band in 2005, departed in late 2...

Previously:  At the Bar with Big Phony I'll be honest...I don't typically bother with current artists because I've lost faith in "modern" music for the most part. But this is one artist I simply cannot ignore and have to give credit where credit is beyond due. As many of you may know singer/songwriter, Big Phony (real name Bobby Choy) recently unveiled an outstanding double release.  First there's Bobby , an acoustic album written in the classic Big Phony style, with his signature soft, moody vocals, accompanied by his lingering, evocative guitar. Next there's Long Live the Lie , a nostalgic, experimental foray into electronic new wave. And though Bobby was successfully recorded on a laptop with "a cheap mic" and a "$40 guitar", Long Live the Lie took some doing, including flying out to Taiwan and Los Angeles to collaborate with Enik Lin of iAMMEDIC .  The result was an impressive collection which got Big Phony fans doin...

Quick confession: I love fast rappers.  I almost in awe of spitfire rhymers who make your head spin; I'm convinced anyone who can do it is some sort of superhero and deserves their own comic book series. I love underground rappers.  They typically write the best shit; unshackled by million-dollar contracts and pressure to maintain a certain image, they write whatever the hell they want and they're not afraid to say it. I love rebellious rappers, hence why I love, love , love Le1f (pronounced "leaf"). I first noticed Le1f (born Khalif Diouf) when vlogger Kid Fury was listing all the people who needed to stay in 2013, and Macklemore was #8 .  Kid Fury then brought up how Macklemore got put on blast by Le1f (see tweets below), and the rest was history. Le1f produces his own tracks and runs his own label, hence the respect.  He's a strong, openly gay black rapper who possesses a distinct style; in addition to being able to effortlessly spit at a thousand mi...

I first was introduced to "powerhouse" blues rocker Davina Robinson on through the AMBW crowd.  To be honest, I was simply blinded by her beauty and managed to sweet talk my way into an interview.  It was a great opportunity to complete this with her . So how are you doing? Tell us a few things about yourself, including your favorite drink . Doing well in the heat - working hard and thanking the inventor of air conditioning. I'm a night owl. One of my friends calls me "Vamp", as in vampire. Of current TV shows, I love Breaking Bad, Dexter, Homeland and anything Gordon Ramsay does. I was a lurker on the Vote For the Worst website. RIP. I have a black pug named Bruce and a black cat named Bella. I LOVE super flare jeans. Superfly, like the 70s.

(h/t Racialicious) From Drafthouse Films : Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was a band called Death . Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early '70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death’s music— and band name—too intimidating, and the group were never given a fair shot, disbanding before they even completed one album. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family love story, A Band Called Death chronicles the incredible fairy-tale journey of what happened almost three decades later, when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of the attic and found an audience several generations younger. Playing music impossibly ahead of its time, Death is now being credited as the first black punk band (hell...the first punk band!), and are finally receiving the...

Tanya Tagaq Gillis So Amaya recently mentioned getting back into listening to music from around the world, which got me thinking I should talk about a few folks who've been on my mind. While searching for videos of Kinnie Star (another post, another day), I came across and immediately fell in love with Inuit chanteuse Tagaq , who specializes in Inuit throat singing and is a full-figured force of nature. Before we continue, some of you are saying, "Oh!  I love Mongolian throat singing!" Yeah...the two are nothing alike. Inuit throat singing or katajjaq , also known as (and commonly confused with) the generic term overtone singing, is a form of musical performance uniquely found among the Inuit. (There used to be a similar style, Rekuhkara , practiced by the Ainu in Hokkaidō, but that has since died out.) Unlike the throat singers in other regions of the world, particularly Tibet, Mongolia and Tuva, the Inuit performers are usually women who sing only duets i...