WCPO Lounge Acts

Picture it: you’re taking in a show from a cool local band. The lead singer rocks a blonde mullet and one long earring, and the petite keyboardist dances and harmonizes along. The music is upbeat, danceable pop, filled with synthesizers. If you think you’ve been transported back to the 1980’s, guess again. It’s 2018, and this is Moonbeau, a Cincinnati-based band giving you layered music and fun performances you can’t help but dance along with. Their love for nostalgia and new wave is evident, but their sound is still distinctly modern. Paired with relatable lyrics and foot-tapping rhythms, hear them once and you won’t soon forget Moonbeau. 

Originally a one-man-band project by frontman Christian Gough, Moonbeau now plays as a foursome, including Claire Muenchen, the aforementioned keyboardist with impressive vocal chops herself, Alex Murphy-White on drums, and Kyle Kubiak playing bass. 

Though their sound and look are retro, they’re actively looking forward. Several of their singles are already available to stream, including the winsome love songs, "Are We In Love Yet?", (which was featured on an episode of MTV’s Catfish last year) and "Like The Night." The latter includes adorably catchy lyrics like, "I see stars when you’re on my mind, and you’re on my mind all the time." (The romantic side of their songs is no surprise when you learn that Gough and Muenchen are engaged to be married. Insert all the heart emojis here.) 

Set list:

• "Complicated"
• "Lover/Fighter"
• - interview -
• "Like the Night"

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It would be easy to be skeptical of an all percussion foursome, but fear not: The Kraken Quartet brings a lot to the table. Comprised of Chris Demetriou, Andrew Dobos, Taylor Eddinger and Sean Harvey, the Austin-based band met in college, and over the years they’ve found interesting and unique ways to layer their instruments to create an all-encompassing sound. Highly energetic and engaging, their style blurs genre lines, with notes of everything from indie, post-rock, electronica -- even math rock. To create the wildly expansive sounds they do with primarily percussion instruments is a testament to not only the oft-underrated power of percussion but to the talent of The Kraken Quartet’s members. They also incorporate other electronic instruments like keyboards and synths, rounding out their vibe to create an ambience that It Djents described as “a cozy, soft and warming sound blanket”. A blanket indeed, it’s not hard to get lost (in a good way) under their soundscapes.

• "The Gates"
• "Hook and Loop"
• - interview -
• "House 11"
• "Chance the Dog (The Song)"

Mixed by Brian Niesz. Hosted by Emmalee Smith.

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If you’re looking for tunes to soothe your soul, look no further than Freedom Nicole Moore & The Electric Moon. With clear influences of soul, funk, and indie sounds in their music, this Cincinnati-based group with have you singing along in no time. That said, good luck matching the smooth warmth of frontwoman Moore’s voice. With introspective lyrics that are hard not to relate to, FNMTEM sings truth for the everywoman -- and man.

Moore got her start singing background vocals for local acts, and claims she left a funk group because she didn’t have the vocal stylings they were looking for (big mistake on their part, if you ask us). Before forming the collective Electric Moon around her, she performed as a solo singer-songwriter under her previous name, Marisa Moore. With layered sounds of smooth funk and upbeat indie, the group sounds as if they’ve been playing together for decades. There’s no question: listening to this group will make you feel good. 

Set list:

• Everytime
• Pink Sugar
• - interview -
• Road Trip
• Your Friend Too
• Morning

Mixed by Brian Niesz. Hosted by Emmalee Smith.

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Blending overlapping layers of electronic sounds, upbeat rhythms, and minimalist vocals, Us, Today is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. Recently, they added an enthralling lighting element that makes their performances visual standouts as well--see their performance in the WCPO Lounge for proof. Their eclectic sound is reflected in--and largely influenced by--the eclectic background of the band members themselves: Kristen Agee, the band’s queen of the vibraphone and keyboard, also plays drums in a folk rock group. Drummer Jeff Mellot’s background is in playing modern jazz, and guitarist Joel Griggs’ tastes are self-described as “all over the map.” The three of them getting together is an experiment in and of itself, so it comes as no surprise that their sound and overall experience is highly experimental, and a full body experience to consume. As Agee explains it, they’re playing acoustic instruments with electronic influences, without being fully electronic nor fully acoustic.

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More than just another band, Cincinnati’s own A Delicate Motor is a music composition and performance project like nothing you’ve ever heard before. Launched by Adam Petersen, the group utilizes keyboard, vocals, and completely unique percussion loops to create ambient sounds that the give same improvised, untethered vibe of good jazz music, with the energy and newness of electro-pop.

A Delicate Motor’s latest, Fellover My Own, releases later this month, and will feature no shortage of sonic imagery. “This work posits to express the experience — trifling, humbling and humouring — of the conundrum of human effort,” explains frontman Petersen. “By endeavouring to cultivate higher self, or spiritual awareness, or better person, we paradoxically inhibit ourselves within our very striving.”

Set list:

• "Fall Out"
• "Bottom"
• -interview-
• "Durham"

Mixed by Brian Niesz. Hosted by Emmalee Smith.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like a warm cup of coffee, Maryland folk musician Michael Nau’s music will simultaneously relax you with cozy folk vibes and invigorate you with vibrant, expressive lyrics.

Formerly the frontman of Page France and Cotton Jones, Nau sounds like your really talented friend playing for you in the living room. In fact, Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread was recorded with friends in a one-bedroom apartment.

That LP won’t be released until August 3rd of this year, but the first single, “Less Than Positive” is available now on iTunes. It’s a blissfully sweet love song that will have you toe-tapping along, even on a first listen. Much like other Nau songs, cheerful keys carry the tune and complement Nau’s soulful, uncomplicated vocals for a fully approachable, feel-good sound.

Set list:

• Shadow On
• Diamond Row
• - interview -
• Wonder
• Light That Ever

Hosted by Emmalee Smith. Mixed by Brian Niesz.

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If you ever find yourself looking for something deeply cinematic or intensely moody, Fotocrime has just what you need. If there were a universal soundtrack to represent film noir, Fotocrime would be it. If you like your music on the dark side, but maintaining a high level of mastery when it comes to song writing and style, Fotocrime is just the ticket.

Fresh off two EP’s last year, "Always Hell" and "Always Night," both of which were well received, post-punk trio Fotocrime is now touring with brand new music in the form of a new album, called "Principle of Pain." Frontman R/Pattern (aka Ryan Patterson) joins with Shelley Anderson and Nick Thieneman, "Principle of Pain" unites a uniquely synth-meets-metal vibe with deeply personal lyrics for a sound all its own. The members of Fotocrime have established themselves as big players in the post-punk world, and were called "darkwave heaven" by Revolver Magazine.

Set list:

• "Don't Pity the Young"
• "The Rose and the Thorn"
• - interview -
• "Infinite Hunger for Love"
• "Gods in the Dark"

Mixed by Brian Niesz

Hosted by Emmalee Smith

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Set list:

• "Slow Down"
• - interview -
• "Lives for a Season"
• "The Morning"

“Created with love in Over-the-Rhine.” 

That’s how Jess Lamb’s music is described on her website. If you’re thinking it might sound more like the description of a piece of art than a style of music, you probably haven’t heard Jess Lamb’s music. And if you’re in Cincinnati and you haven’t heard Jess Lamb’s music, you haven’t been paying attention. 

Lamb has been a mainstay in the Cincinnati music scene for years, and her unique style that is equal parts soul, pop, and R&B makes her memorable to audiences lucky enough to hear her. She punched a ticket to Hollywood on the 2015 season of American Idol, and even memorably “jammed” with then-judge Harry Connick Jr. 

The “love” piece of her “created with love” description is evident in all her work, and she’s often seen teamed up with other Cincinnati-native acts. Currently working and writing out of the Harrison Skydeck Studio, Lamb continues to perform as much as she can, including an ongoing series playing every Thursday at Revel OTR Urban Winery. 

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Set list:

• "Another Chance"
• "Rising Star"
• - interview -
• "A Million Pearls"
• "Champagne"

When it comes to musical trades, it seems like Shara Nova has set out to prove that she can be jack of all trades, master of… all. With an upbringing surrounded by evangelical music followed by formal education in operatic voice and classical composition, Nova, now performing as My Brightest Diamond, produces explorative sounds described as “electronic, chamber, and art pop”. Layered with her airy, soulful voice, Nova’s technical proficiency and diverse background are on full display throughout her music.

Her classical training has hardly held her back from delving into a wide variety of musical genres, proving her to be quite the exception to the unspoken rule that artists should are generally either classical or modern. To give a clear idea of the full depth of Nova’s experience, she has provided vocal support to artists including Sufjan Stevens, Laurie Anderson, The Decemberists, Bryce and Aaron Dessner, composer David Lang, Sarah Kirkland Snider, David Byrne, Fat Boy Slim, Bon Iver, and The Blind Boys of Alabama, among others. Outside of performing, she has also composed music for orchestras, as well as marching bands.

Most recently, Nova has performed via her band concept My Brightest Diamond. Their latest EP, Champagne, was released in April of this year, and it’s just the sort of synthy-layered goodness you’d expect from this talented frontwoman. Nova’s voice takes center stage, powerful and finely tuned, but doesn’t overpower the music behind it. The title track is upbeat and bright, while “A Million Pearls” creates an emotive, introspective vibe, perfectly supported by Nova’s ethereal crooning. The EP also contains three variations on Champagne, two of which add even more electro sound to the tune. In both the original version and the remixes, the lyrics seem to be a narrative for the trajectory of My Brightest Diamond and Shara Nova:“Like bubbles in champagne, no one can stop what’s coming up. I cannot go halfway, no I will not stop, going up, going up”

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Mixed by Mitchell Graham.

Hosted by Emmalee Smith.

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Northside-based percussionist Ben Sloan is beating on a standard drum kit, but the oscillating chords, birdcalls and Star Trek-esque bleeps sound anything but typical.

"It's more like you're curating a set of sounds," the UC College-Conservatory of Music graduate said. "It's on the cusp of being a full composition and then also just improvising with the colors and sounds. Sometimes I don't really know how it's going to unfold. I have an idea and so sometimes if I hit it and it doesn't make the sound, I'm like, 'Oh, gotta roll with it that way.'" 

A sensory percussion trigger composed of a tiny mirror and light sensor sits atop each drumhead, which Sloan has mapped out into regions that produce various sounds, effects and loops when struck. Tapping the drum's rim acts like a keyboard's shift key, bringing up a whole new range of samples that Sloan has preprogrammed and created with audio software. 

"It allows you to play electronic music with the same dynamic flexibility that you get when you're playing a live drum set. I have them on these mesh heads, which are silent, but you can also put them on actual drum heads," he said.

Sloan's stop by WCPO Lounge Acts is only the second time he's ever performed with this new technology, which he got the opportunity to explore when drummer Bryan Devendorf asked him to be artist-in-residence for the new National Homecoming festival coming to Smale Riverfront Park this weekend.

"I've been doing a lot of production work and sitting in my room, which is also my studio with cables everywhere and crafting stuff and just making little ideas," Sloan said. "It was an opportunity to take that material and bring it to A Delicate Motor, which is a band I perform in under the leadership of Adam Petersen ... and collaboratively expand upon these little tiny ideas."

"Mostly I'm really motivated by the fact that (Bryan Devendorf of The National) enjoys what I'm doing. The inspiration is like encouragement from somebody who is at the top of this kind of world. And he's like, 'You got it. You're good!'"

Growing up in a musical household, Sloan was destined to gravitate toward the arts. His dad fed him a steady diet of good music and helped him set up his first recording studio, while he inherited his stepfather's drum kits and instincts. His mother founded ArtWorks, the nonprofit responsible for splashing murals across town for more than two decades, meaning he was "steeped in the arts" by the time he wrote his Walnut Hills High School entrance essay proclaiming Jimi Hendrix's drummer Mitch Mitchell as the historical figure he'd love to meet.

"Maybe he would give me his drumsticks?" Sloan laughed. 

Since studying jazz at CCM, Sloan has played in several local and national music projects, including WHY?, Lazy Heart and Fresh Funk. He also teaches percussion at MYCincinnati, a free youth orchestra program in Price Hill. 

Last year, Sloan transformed scrapyard junk into children's gold when he dreamed Price Hill's Percussion Park into existence with a $10,000 grant from People's Liberty. Propane gas tanks became drums and pipes morphed into a marimba for kids to jam on at a formerly vacant lot on Warsaw Avenue.

"It was a cool way to tie in what I do with my students at MYCincinnati with the neighborhood at-large. And then also we travel there every once in a while to play," Sloan said.

Keep an eye out for A Delicate Motor's second album, Fellover My Own, coming in June. Sloan said they'll also record his work as artist-in-residence for The National Homecoming and make that available online.

Set list:

• Since you asked
• u n e a s e
• -- interview --
• run

More at https://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/lounge-acts/sensory-percussion-triggers-let-drummer-ben-sloan-curate-otherworldly-set-of-electronic-sounds

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