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Lost and Found sits withSadie Dupui from Speedy Ortiz

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Lost and Found recently sat down with guitarist, songwriter & singer, Sadie Dupuis, of Philadelphia based rock quartet, Speedy Ortiz, before the band plays the Rickshaw Stop in SF on November 6th.  Tune your dials and devices to KALX on Sunday, November 5th @ 4:30PM to hear their conversation.

Speedy Ortiz debuted Sadie Dupuis’ home-recording outlet in 2011, but the solo project quickly blew up into a full-fledged band beloved around the world. The group graced festival stages from Bonnaroo to Primavera, supported heroic artists from Foo Fighters to Liz Phair, and brought acts including Mitski and Soccer Mommy on some of their earliest tours.

In 2016, the band relocated from Massachusetts to Philadelphia, with the lineup changing shortly thereafter to include sonically inventive guitarist Andy Molholt (Laser Background, Eric Slick), drivingly melodic bassist Audrey Zee Whitesides (Mal Blum, Little Waist), and heavy-hitting drummer Joey Doubek (Pinkwash, Downtown Boys).

Rabbit Rabbit is the first Speedy album to feature the longtime touring members as full contributors, and Dupuis and her bandmates blaze with unpredictability, their intrepid playing thrusting songs in exhilarating new directions. Drawing from literary influences that include workplace apocalypses, magical realist family dramas, and artists’ biographies, Rabbit Rabbit is Speedy Ortiz’s most ambitious and expansive record to date.

The gnarled guitars and imagistic lyrics that defined Major Arcana, Foil Deer and Twerp Verse are still present, but Rabbit Rabbit’s recordings feel as vast as a desert landscape. “As I was channeling scenes and sentiments from decades past, I wanted to honor the bands I loved when I first learned guitar, ones that taught me to get lost in the possibilities of this instrument,” Dupuis recalls. Speedy Ortiz delved into its members’ most formative musical favorites—post-hardcore, the Palm Desert scene, alternative metal—pushing the agile complexity of the guitars and forceful rhythmic interplay between the drums and bass to unprecedentedly tricky extremes.

Airtime: Sunday, November 5th at 4:30 PM

Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

@sad13

@rickshawstop

Melodrama speaks with singer/songwriter Maude Latour

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Maude Latour has had a whirlwind few years. The 23-year-old singer/songwriter signed her first record deal, graduated from Columbia University, amassed a passionate fanbase, and appeared on the cover of the Chicago Tribune and in the pages of The New York Times. The whole time, she’s been honing her craft, pushing herself to tackle uncomfortable truths and blow open the idea of what a pop song can be.

Latour began writing songs at 15. Then, years later, at the beginning of the pandemic, “One More Weekend” went viral, and she signed with Warner Records the next year. Her latest string of EPs – 001 and most recently, Twin Flame – capture Maude at a turning point, winning over fans and critics alike from the likes of NPR, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and V Magazine, to name a few.
Always on the hunt to challenge herself musically and philosophically, Maude’s music exists on the edge of possibility —and she invites audiences to join her.
Airtime:  Thursday, November 2nd @ 1:30PM

DJ Massari in conversation with electronic pop duo Decisive Pink

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Comprised of Angel Deradoorian (former member of art-pop iconoclasts Dirty Projectors) and Moscow-based songwriter Kate Shilonosova, AKA Kate NV, whose music represents a buoyant mash-up of influences ranging from ’80s J-pop, early ’90s rave and the swagger of new jack swing

Debut album, Ticket to Fame, may sound like a grandiloquent title, but its provenance is anything but. The music confirms this: the beautiful electronic pop songs and sensitive instrumentals often point to the fact that life is a puzzle, but you can still get a lot from living it. Its quicksilver essence is also in keeping with the duo’s decision to name the project after Wassily Kandinsky’s painting, ‘Decisive Pink’.

It seems clear their creative delineations and “a mutual sense of beauty and humour”, are combined with a canny understanding of each other’s character. Angel reflects on a writing process that was “very balanced, writing-wise. Usually we can quickly fall into a writing flow and just jam together. The songs transpire swiftly.” Kate NV acknowledges the pair are “very different”, with strong sides to their characters. Kate NV is the main producer and arranger on the album, with Angel’s input. And Angel is the main lyricist – with Kate’s input.

Airtime:  Thusday, November 2nd 4:30 PM

Photo Credit: Sean Stout

Jazz/pop singer Laufey sings the soundtrack to a modern love story

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Review by Claire Roach, photos by Izzy Hory.

“A song for you, a song for you, a song for you,” declared indie/alternative artist Adam Melchor during his opening set at The Fillmore on Oct. 9th. Not only was he witty and self-deprecating in a charming way, but he truly has a song for every state, from epics derived from a divorced household to picture-perfect love stories, and even a devotion to sports.

Opening with his rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and following with three songs from his upcoming EP, u, Melchor’s set evidently sought to repair the heart that was broken in his sophomore album, Here Goes Nothing!.

As Melchor recounted numerous stories that inspired his work, the audience quickly relaxed with his endearing demeanor. His tendency to write about specific instances is directly reflected in his lyrics, where Melchor narrates his life with the acoustic backing of his gentle, solitary picking patterns.

Before one song, Melchor told the story of the old Chevy that had indefinitely sat in his front yard during his childhood. One morning, he woke to find the car stolen, to which his parents were less than concerned. When the car was returned by the police, they were reluctant to take it back and ended up selling it later that week. Melchor’s song, “Joyride,” concludes that similar to letting the car go, his parents’ divorce was a situation in which he could ultimately find acceptance. Melchor’s songs are so effective because of the narrative that he creates through storytelling.

Modern jazz artist Laufey, the headliner of the Bewitched Tour, finds similar ways to relate to her audience. She uses experiences to guide her songwriting. In one song, “Beautiful Stranger,” Laufey articulates the feeling of being a hopeless romantic by recounting the story of a fleeting but impressionable crush on the tube.

Her discography has found success in its ability for listeners to empathize with it. Everyone experiences heartbreak, unrequited love and longing, which has been a main factor in her success, beginning on TikTok. In addition, her modern/pop-inspired jazz is a unique genre that has plenty of room for experimentation and growth.

Despite the reputation of artists with large TikTok fanbases, the show reflected that Laufey’s fanbase is more than just a phenomenon. At those shows, fans usually come to scream to the most popular songs and are silent during the rest of the set. At Laufey’s set, a chorus of applause, approval and affection could be heard throughout the entire set, truly showcasing the wide reach that Laufey’s music has.

During the show, specific lines and songs stuck out slightly more than others. As Laufey sang the lyric “Everyone’s falling in love, but I’m falling behind,” fans screamed in unison. When she sat down to play the cello during “I Wish You Love,” another deafening cheer filled the venue. Laufey’s audience was enraptured from start to finish.

To finish off the set, Laufey brought out Melchor for “Time Flew Away.” Their voices in combination with the strings and collective enthusiasm of the audience crescendoed to the end of the song.

14th Annual KALX Halloweed with Count Tumble Ween

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Are you ready to be scared?! Well, are you…punk? Then don’t miss the scariest night of the year, when Count Tumble Ween plays new and old horror soundtracks in the dark, from 8pm-1am. Tune in, if you dare, to a no holds barred evening of sheer sonic terror. Just allow KALX into your ears and let the possession begin. Then turn up the volume extra loud for the trick-or-treaters, the neighbors and your own insanity, and see if you can survive till the witching hour, when everything goes berserk!

Airtime:  Tuesday, October 31st from 8:00 PM – 1AM.

interview with Peter Sellars

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Join Velvet Einstein on Thursday, October 19th @ 5PM when he sits down with renowned theater, opera, and festival director, Peter Sellars, before the Cal Performances Bay Area premier of Los Angeles Master Chorale – Music to Accompany a Departure at Zellerbach Hall on October 28th.

Together they will discuss bringing Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien (“Music to Accompany a Departure”) to a modern stage, drawing parallels between the 1630s and the present day, and the need for a ceremony to say goodbye for the millions that departed alone during the pandemic.

Following their widely acclaimed collaboration on Orlando di Lasso’s Lagrime di San Pietro, Peter Sellars, Grant Gershon, and singers of the Los Angeles Master Chorale reunite in a deeply personal meditation on what it means to say goodbye during times of struggle. The luminous music of Baroque composer Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien (Music to Accompany a Departure) serves as inspiration for a fully staged ceremony of remembrance and devotion, performed by 24 singers accompanied by organ and viol da gamba.

Schütz composed this profound exploration of mortality and grief in the 1630s, during the ravages of the 30 Years’ War, and it was dedicated to the memory of one of his dearest friends. The premiere performances of this production made the Los Angeles Times’ “Best of 2022” list, which hailed the artists’ work as “transcendent” and “incomparably moving”: “art that makes you sad yet grateful for every minute of life.”