Looking Back as We Look Ahead

As we look forward to the reopening of live music venues and event, Brooklyn Roads looks back at the “Artists On Our Radar” (AOOR) that we talked with so far this year as well as some of the new music we have enjoyed. These not only represent a variety of genres, but also typify the steadfast spirit of our borough’s musicians who haven’t let the pandemic squelch their creative output.

Jesse Fischer In Performance/ photo by Dennis Manuel

Meghan Pulles / photo by Kat Minogue

BROOKLYN AWAKENING: Our first AOOR of 2021, Florida-born Meghan Pulles, told Brooklyn Roads how she evolved from a trained opera singer into a singer-songwriter, noting that, “Living in Brooklyn these past eight years has really inspired me and awakened me to so much.” She also cited the borough’s cultural diversity and its “creative energy.” Pulles recently became one of the first artists to play the newly reopened Pete’s Candy Store.

ALL THAT JAZZ – AND MORE: When jazz pianist Jesse Fischer moved to Brooklyn in 2005, he soon found that being exposed to the musical and cultural “melting pot” of Brooklyn was broadening his horizons. He told us in a February interview how he has not only experienced a strong jazz scene here, but also has encountered indie rock, electronic music, and merengue as well. “We have so many different people from so many different walks of life here and the creative energy is just amazing,” he told us.

Pensive Mood Robot/ photo by Lissy Elle Laricchia

IMPERFECTIONS AND CONNECTIONS: Mood Robot is a synthwave duo consisting of brothers Ben and Alex. Having experienced living in both Los Angeles and Brooklyn, Ben said he views the latter as a culture that welcomes freedom of expression. The “imperfectionist culture,” as he put it, is what uniquely makes Brooklyn a birthplace for so many artists. He also described how living here has given Mood Robot and other artists the opportunity to make many unexpected connections.

Wxlfman / photo by Jaye Sant

HIP-HOP HUB: HIP-HOP HUB: Wxlfman (pronounced wolfman), is a Bed-Stuy hip-hop musician/rapper and dancer who names fellow Brooklynite Busta Rhymes among his influences. Calling our borough “an artistic hub,” he told Brooklyn Roads that his experience living here has influenced his artistic character. His latest album, HUEMIN, was written in response to the traumatic events that occurred during the pandemic, with an emphasis on what it is to be African American in 2021.

Bristol County Tides Album Cover

TIME AND “TIDES”: One week before the release of her latest album, Bristol County Tides, long-time Brooklynite Anne Keating praised “the unbelievably talented musicians who live here, that I’ve been lucky to play with over the years.” She added that most of her bandmates on the album live in Brooklyn and that the recording was created at “my favorite recording studio, Atomic Sound … in Red Hook.” Keating also cited the borough’s “diversity and energy” that “keeps me feeling young of heart and inspired.”

MORE MUSIC … AND MEMORIES: In the first half of 2021 Brooklyn Roads also reviewed and enjoyed full-length albums from Nicole Atkins, Dark Tea, Lake Street Dive and Ben Rice, as well as Eps from Dark Tea, Dirty Projectors and Marco Varisco. We also paid tribute to Brooklyn icon Neil Diamond and were also on hand for one of the June 20 “Make Music Ditmas Park” outdoor concerts, which ushered in Brooklyn’s summer music scene.

Brooklyn Roads’ visually stunning Photo Pit series looked back and many live musical events over that past decade as seen through the lens of several noted photographers.