a band from France
pop / electronic

> Press Relations : Anne Laure Bouzy - albouzy@gmail.com
> Label : Yotanka - gaetan@yotanka.net
> Booking : Furax - Lena Guerard - lena@furax.fr
> Management : Collectif Toujours - collectiftoujours@gmail.com

In the final years of the last millenium, two native New Yorkers added a page to Chicago's hip hop history with the advent of the WHPK Wednesday Night Rap Show. Although short-lived and never formally christened, the Show had heads from Roosevelt to the Hundreds stuck on 88.5 FM midweek. In the show's aftermath, from the ashes of countless vinyl crates and echoes of chaotic show-closing freestyle sessions, Typical Cats was born. 

Featuring MCs Qwazaar, Qwel and Denizen Kane, producer/dj Natural and media assassin Kid Knish, Typical dropped a self-titled full-length on Galapagos4 Records and began a relentless campaign to restore a fallen hip hop world to its former promise and glory. The talent assembled was unmistakable, the sound created was formidable. Firmly planted in tradition, unorthodox in invention and possessed of a strength only earned in the furnace of experience, their Sound is the Future that hip hop's Past would have had if its Present weren't held hostage by the uninspired and unrepentant. A flurry of solo projects later, Chicago's prodigal sons return. Hip hoppers rejoice. Suckers duck and cover. Typical Cats come to conquer. Battle champs, hotline legends, poetry circuit kings. 

Tuck Your Pride In 'Cause All Lyrics Connect At The Soul. And it's on and it's on and it's on. 

QWAZAAR - A native of Chicago's gritty Low End, Qwazaar strikes from hip hop's essence. Whether the subject matter is inner city or interplanetary, the flow remains untouchable - a percussive yet fluid attack that evokes South Side rain and helicopter blades in a single breath. The content is heavy- "After the dust settles, witness the blood puddles..." Lights out, kids. The Q-W-A is here. 

QWEL - You first seen his name dangling a quarter mile up on a suspension bridge from your scratch-bombed window on the Orange line. You first heard that distinctive melodic/abrasive storm of syllables on old Nacro and Scam Artist tapes with inserts printed at the Kinko's. Now the heat's been perfected-and this nasty North Side revelation music rebel is out to wake the sleepers. From Ted Turner's devil ass to the so-called competition-everyone and their mama gets dealt with when the kid laces up his boots. 

DENIZEN KANE - From the rum and coke rumble of Chicago's North Side flow spots to the celluloid veneer of Def Poetry Jam's main stage, Denizen Kane rips the party with a poet's heart and an outsider's eye. Journalistic, impressionistic, real-life and drastic, young Kane's late night Red Line revelations turn into heathen hymns on tape, capturing the moody face of the metropolis in color. How long can a lost one roam until he finds his way home? Listen to your city fall apart through the muddy mouth of an immigrant.

Enjoy the best of Symphony Space's music, literature, comedy and family shows. Listen free on your computer or mobile device. Symphony Space was founded almost 40 years ago in the belief that the arts bring people together, transcend barriers, and celebrate both our similarities and our differences. That belief remains our guiding principle and is more important now than ever. Your generosity during the Covid19 crisis will help us continue to provide great programs free of charge. Thank you for your support.

The Invisible Firm builds, though you can only see its shadows.
(said in Bain voice)

An artist’s greatest superpower is freedom. Liberation is both the modus operandi and main ingredient of the fearless five-man band Phony Ppl. Comprised of the cream of Brooklyn’s young musician crop, each classically trained member is a product of musical parents who gifted their children exceptional DNA, exposure to the greats, and most importantly, wings for exploration and self-discovery. The result is a collective that’s as limitless as its music; one that has received praise from the likes of Tyler The Creator and Childish Gambino, performed with Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and The Roots, and killed festivals, late night television and their own residency at New York City’s legendary Blue Note. 					
The warmth of lyrics are mainly credited to lead vocalist Elbee Thrie, a former Manhattan School of Music student whose vocals possess a disarming charm and lyrics glow by advanced perspective and retrospection. Trained composer, Aja Grant provides co-writing, the keys and much of the band’s arrangements. Strings are manned by guitarist Elijah Rawk and Bari Bass, PHONY PPL’s visual artist and bass player. The crew’s heartbeat is percussionist and former Music Conservatory student Mathew Byas (whose father is DJ Jazzy Jay of the legendary Zulu Nation). 
After several jam sessions throughout high school, different iterations of the band, and honing in on their sonic cornucopia – the band has taken pride in their genre-less sound. Throughout the years, their music offerings have dabbled in experimental splashes of jazz, hip-hop, R&B, reggae, soul, rock and many more sub-genres. Their first official full-length offering Yesterday’s Tomorrow (2015) which houses discography gem “Why iii Love The Moon”, received critical acclaim from The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone and more. Their next album titled mō'zā-ik (Mozaik) would be released in 2019 via 300 Entertainment. The album earned its name because each of its songs is a singular piece of art possessing shapes and colors separate from the others, while adjoining to make symmetrical magic. Songs like “Way Too Far” and “Before You Get A Boyfriend” represent the dynamic nature of the album and solidify it as a body of work that transcends classification and time. 
The band’s new album Euphonyus is set to release this fall. An interpolation of the band’s name and the word “euphonious”, the album’s namesake comes from the duality represented by their connection to the people (You – Phony – Us) and the most literal definition of the word “pleasing to the ear”. The band’s sonic approach to the album is to connect the dots between the different feelings each song provides; housing tracks that are danceable, vibrant, and joyful under the same roof as songs that are laced with sadness, sorrow, and lust. The long journey to Euphonyus started in 2019 when the band embarked on their headlining tour with sold out dates across the country. Things caught on fire in 2020 during their set on Megan Thee Stallion’s “NPR Tiny Desk” where the artists previewed their collaboration “Fkn Around” which ultimately went viral. Shortly after marked the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed the band’s album plans but saw the release of “On My Shit” ft. Joey Bada$$. During that time, the band learned how to make music as a unit without being physically together, a skill that birthed their song “Nowhere But Up” which was made on Zoom through screen sharing. In 2021, as the world started to open back up, the band went on tour again setting the stage for 2022. While the album release took longer than expected due to the pandemic, over the last three years the band was able to record songs across the country and worldwide ranging from their individual homes in NYC to Los Angeles, Philly, Japan, and Germany; building and reinventing each track over time.
In the words of the band, Euphonyus encourages listeners “don’t think, just feel”. With the help of an eclectic roster of features from the likes of JoJo, Kaytranada, Leon Thomas, Domo Genesis, and more, Phony Ppl are ready to step into this new era.

Since its inception, Alligator has always kept a close eye both on new artists and new technologies. In the 1970s, the company produced LPs, cassettes and 8-track tapes. In the 1980s, Alligator was the first blues company to produce CDs, and in the 1990s Alligator was among the first labels to market its catalog over the Internet. These days, alligator.com, the label's website, and its social media sites are instantly updated with the latest news and tour dates. At the website, visitors can listen to a 250-song jukebox while reading bios of every artist, get free downloads and purchase CDs and other blues-related merchandise. Alligator is also deeply involved in the downloading worlds, working closely with almost all of the legitimate download services, making thousands of Alligator tracks available for instant online purchase.

Today Alligator Records is fueled by the same principles that it first established in 1971. The label continues to push forward, still bucking the odds, with everybody working long hours on a shoestring budget. The entire staff is always looking for new talent and listening to a wide variety of roots music. As driven and determined as ever, Alligator is committed to the future. "I want to keep bringing blues and roots music to new fans and getting them as excited about the music as I am," says Iglauer. 

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