Velveteen Echo has come out with a new music video to celebrate their sophomore album golden ring. Authoritative drumlines and dreamy climbs of the guitar make the background. Lauren Massa looks out at the water. When the first organism crawled out of the sea and made its home in the dark soil it was the beginning of everything, but more accurately, it was the beginning of Velveteen Echo’s Nuclear family. A shedding of inhibitions like the way that you take off your clothes. Nuclear family is an embrace of the more animal sides of humanity. Through its lingering guitar riffs and an otherworldly female vocalist, it transforms what was once a standard person. Examining what it means to separate ourselves from nature, from ourselves, how far we have come from the joyful play of our evolutionary ancestors.

Velveteen Echo’s first music video, “Do You” was written and directed by Lauren’s sister, Kristin Massa. Like the bright and shiny music video called Nuclear family it has to do with non-humans taking on human wants and needs and humans developing more animal inclinations. Velveteen Echo Lauren’s concern is with the line or liminal space between being, and existing as a human being with all of the caveats and challenges. There are so many emotions that humans experience. There is so much to be gained when we cast off our human garments and go play a while. When asked about what excited her most about being in this newly formed group was the fact that “it’s the first time I’ve ever played amplified with an electric guitar and performed as a frontwoman. It’s incredibly fun and empowering.” It’s this power that she channels into her sophomore album, Golden Ring and sustains her plans for a Texas tour in December 2019.

Tossing normally held conventions and flipping it all upside down on top of the head. A celebration of senses and pack mentality. Velveteen Echo sets itself apart from others through its high quality and acknowledgment of the divinity of nature. How if we can be more like nature and follow the seasons just as the animals do things would be simpler. Being a part of something, rather than being separate. The warmth of the drumline and the guitar cradling us, making the listener whole. A yearning for the fulfillment of promises rather than the breaking of truths. Being together, a community of animals that we are, all worshiping the things that take care of us, such as the dog in the music video. We are left with an animal howl and a yearning to be a part of Velveteen Echo’s soft ambient soundscape.

When I first met Sam Catral, he was wearing a patterned button-down and a full beard that would give some the impression that he was much older than what his years were. Snow was still in drifts along the streets and you couldn’t go outside without shivering. After our toes had thawed, we made conversation about our shared love of guitar music. Being a full-time student and teacher of jazz guitar, he gave me some pointers that have served me since (Keep your hand still, let your fingers do the talking). He was giving me advice on life, which I thought was a bit bold – me being two years his senior, he at the time was only around 19 years old.  Despite, or perhaps because of this youth you’ll find Milton, Sam, and Yanni’s influence dominate in just about every stage in Milwaukee.

The Sunkin Suns are the human embodiment of the DIY culture that permeates the Milwaukee music scene. Their ethic is one of empowerment of the individual and the employment of alternative approaches outside of traditional mainstream consumer culture. They are as punk-spirit as it gets… but make it jazz. Since their conception, they have created Milwaukee music nights where other DIY bands have a place to excel. Be it in sweaty attic shows where the oppressive air seems to take on a cross breeze pushed only by their groovy guitar bends and eccentric drum lines or loud basement shows hosted by a local anarchist. They push on, despite societal and bureaucratic obstacles. Circumventing the traditional route of the creation of music. They take total control of their final product. The pleasure of watching the Sunkin Suns perform is like stepping outside of your comfort zone, outside of the established cultural community and finally being able to choose what you want your night to look like.

The Sunkin Suns was originally Sam’s pet project with his friend Milton. They officially met on the high school bus he informed me, introduced by a mutual friend. It was the beginning of a project that has survived through undercover jobs at jazz bars in Milwaukee; brief ill-fated forays with cover bands and has now culminated in a Psychedelic Jazz Trio Jam Band that plays everywhere that matters. Despite Milton and Sam having incredible talent, they were lucky enough to pick up one of the best drummers that I personally have ever been lucky enough to see, Yanni. The might of that man’s internal metronome and quick humor makes a person think that anything is possible. Their forces combined; the smooth music is like cold water on a sultry day and refreshes all parts of the good land from River Revitalization foundation fundraisers to Marquette University’s Straz Theater.

Four years later after Milton and Sam met, more often than not getting turned away from shows because of their age, you can find their sticker on every lamp-post of Milwaukee county’s streets from West Allis to Oak Creek. They have around eight songs in rotation that they wrote themselves and are more than willing to hop on the bill with other up and comings of the music scene in Milwaukee. Most famously, Cullah but also other lesser known but should be known Christian Porter, Graham Scott, Gnatcatchers, and Dogbad. There is so much to be seen in the streets and stages of Milwaukee both in snow and in sunshine. Like a duck, calm above the water, but below- a flurry of productive activity and everyone wants in.

The Sunkin Suns mixes old favorites with new takes like a twist of lemon on your mineral water carbonation of sound-buds. As their deft fingers pick out the classic melodies and lift up the spirits of every pair of ears they touch, they weave notes as if they were cotton strings set precisely on a loom. If the songs they create bring so much happiness, then the influences that they leave behind are DIY euphoria. Leave all of the out-moded disbeliever talk at the door and let your soul decipher the meaning of the connection of the melodies to your past, your present, and your future. Without realizing, you will find your head bobbing to the beat.

It’s hard to believe, but over the last year, Cullah has created three music videos as well as producing yet another album. His natural intensity is reflected in this video, his newest accomplishment. Never a stranger to pushing the needle forward, he teamed up with local Milwaukee talent to create a flowing effortless portrayal of the rhythmic development of romance. Marina Dove, Dan Wein, and Cullah began working together they spoke over their plates of summer squash and lemonade homemade in Cullah’s childhood home. As they reworked section after section of the vibrant new world of “I Don’t Mind It” the message aged and maturated. According to Cullah, “I create my music to balance between my own individual expression and the forms in which others can digest them” He uses this approach as he salts the taste buds of our ocular and visual palates.

An aesthetic taste to sate appetites of all inclinations. Gliding across the screen, the natural and organic process of falling in love is absorbed. This pattern ingestion is not only the narrative of the music video but also of the viewer’s experience as they view the oftentimes psychedelic movement of Cullah’s music video. Even the choreography of the experience defied the expectations that society separates itself, and throughout the three minutes and thirty seconds, elevates it to high-brow. The three fates border Marina and Cullah as pervasively as society expects us to follow the rules and “natural progression” of love.

Ignoring the fates surrounded by the color blocks of red hotel stairs and cutting contrast of black costume and white. He believes that “Art is the most intense expression of individualism. A true artist believes in himself. A true artist must understand the society that they are formed by.” His struggle to maintain his freedom is clear in the dizzying melting patterns with brass saxophone. What, after all, separates an individual’s wants from the wants of their culture? The main character’s willful cold shoulder to the external elements that shape his art create a destructive paradox. In ignoring his culture, he is, at the same time subject to it. This excitement of love and staying in love that, in the end, resulted in the corrosion of his own artistic vision. Although, crossing the skyline of Milwaukee, it doesn’t seem that he minds following society’s expectations.

Again and again, Cullah goes above and beyond, not only through the stellar production work, but a masterful command of narrative. His methods are devoted to balance and a drive to deliver excellence of product and taste to truth. Heart and the ever-undulating pressures of society on the artistic mind are the central themes of Cullah’s newest production.

On a cool October evening in the setting sun of the Montrose area of Houston, Texas the two young men who make up the Worldwide Black Inturnet Radio sit before me. With clear-rim glasses and beanie, Ike details to me his love of craft beer (Yellow Rose, Victory Golden Monkey, Voodoo Ranger, and Jai Alai) and Courtland, his love of sleep and equal love of photography.  Ike Ekwueme and Courtland Webb tag team production and develop their lyrical sound with the same level of respect that they approach with each other.

Drawing from their contemporary existence and influenced by old inspirations they make music a priority rather than an afterthought. Having art and presenting it to people, they have only been in this particular project since January of 2019. When I first met them, they were freshman performers trying out their craft on one of their first live crowds at Axelrad’s open mic. But when not performing at trendy art galleries and crowded chic bars, they dedicate a large chunk of time toward producing their sound.

Every Monday, the music comes first, using samples from the 70s and 80s and Courtland playing the guitar they embark on the germination of their up and coming self-titled album WBIR. Working weekly, WBIR is a production duo made up of two individuals who got along so well you could’ve sworn they’d grown their whole lives up with their houses right next to each other.

They had only played their first show this past October after having put out a single called Velvet Bed Spread. Insomnia gallery hosted and the two shared the stage with a band called Uncommon colors. They’ve been playing in every corner of Houston since then. Their epic vibrations are out of this world. But for them, it’s all about the down to earth love and friendship that places its roots in the music. The skeleton of beats made flesh by their mouthwatering lyrical feats. Their self-titled album will grace the networks of the worldwide web most likely by the end of the year. Bring your friends, and enjoy the time-transcendence cranial global experience of Worldwide Black Inturnet Radio.