New Washtenaw music in the time of quarantine: Volume 5

MUSIC

Old piano from Pixa Bay

Another round of new releases from Washtenaw County musicians in the age of quarantine. (Visit our mini-guide on livestreams by local artists here.)

Volume one is here.

Volume two is here.

Volume three is here.

Volume four is here.

Volume five is below and features music/mixes from Silas Green, Ma Baker, Doogatron, Idle Ray (Fred Thomas), Dagoretti Records, and Andy Milne.

Silas Green (aka Kyle Hunter) hasn't been able to do his regular DJ nights at Ziggy's, so he's produced a couple of mixes so you can get boogie down at home.

 

The Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor/South Lyon jam/fusion band Ma Baker released a funky single recorded at Fundamental Sound Co. in Ypsi.

 

You can always count on compelling left-field disco from the Detroit/Ann Arbor/Ypsi trio Doogatron. The group released the "https​:​/​/​www​.​nymphowars​.​com" single in February and "Beaches" in April along with the "Empty Dancefloors - Volume 2" mix by member Stevie Tee.

 

Idle Ray is the latest project by Fred Thomas; he debuted it in Novemerber with a cover of Palace's "Agnes, Queen of Sorrow." Now comes Lockdown Tapes #1, the debut of a new series on Pete Larson's Dagoretti Records. The two 14-minute tracks mix new Thomas songs with noisy cut-ups for a trippy ride.

 

Ann Arbor's Dagoretti Records also released a live recording by Washington, D.C., free-jazz trio Heart of the Ghost from its performance at Trinosophes on April 19, 2019. The label released a previous album by the group and had another one ready to go before Dagoretti put its vinyl releases on hold during the pandemic.

 

Andy Milne is a Juno Award-winning pianist, a longtime mainstay on the New York City jazz scene, and a full-time assistant professor of music at The University of Michigan since 2018. Milne's perhaps best known for his explorations into funky polyphony via his band Dapp Theory and his association with Steve Coleman, but the pianist's new album, The reMISSION, is a beautiful trio recording. The record came out on April 10 and Milne had a 13-date tour in May -- including a gig on May 20 at Blue LLama in Ann Arbor -- but all of the performances have been canceled.


Christopher Porter is a library technician and the editor of Pulp.