Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features jazz vocalist Allan Harris, hyperpop hip-hop by Gvmmy, electro-IDM by Fantishow, spooky trip-hop by Othercast, and hip-hop by Choke Uno & Foul Mouth featuring Tru Klassick & J-Classic.

Allan Harris, Live at Blue LLama
Ann Arbor's Blue LLama Jazz Club is one of the most sonically and aesthetically pleasing clubs I've ever been in, so it's no surprise that musicians love recording live albums in the venue. Blue LLama has state-of-the-art equipment to capture the shows—audio and video—so everyone from local acts to well-established artists such as New York City vocalist-guitarist Allan Harris has made albums here. Harris' live album was also put out on Blue LLama's house label, with Allen posting videos from the concert on his YouTube page.

Live at Blue LLama is a combination of performances from the two sets Harris played on January 21, 2023, featuring ArcoIris Sandoval (piano), Irwin Hall (saxophone), Norman Paul Edwards Jr. (drums), and Marty Kenney (bass). Harris applies his commanding baritone to standards such as "The Very Thought of You" and "Nature Boy," a vocalese version of Miles Davis' "So What," and several originals including "Black Coffee Blues” and “Shimmering Deep Blue Sea."

Gvmmy, PBS
This is Gvmmy's third album of 2023—and the latest example of their immense talent. The Ypsilanti-based rapper-producer and Community High School senior creates ultra-sassy hyperpop hip-hop with heavy doses of dance music and electronica. PBS is comprised of 10 swaggering tracks that sound unlike anything else coming out of Washtenaw County.

Fantishow, Beatkeeper EP
Ann Arbor's Fantishow is an animator who also happens to make music—or perhaps it's the other way around. Either way, the Beatkeeper EP is both aesthetically pleasing—look at that fab beehive amp on the cover, with the keeper sporting Fantishow's logo on his shoe—and musically captivating. The four tracks float between IDM and electro, all imbued with the sort of chill but confident vibe that beekeepers exude.

Othercast, Cult of the Circle Dance full album video, directed by Pete McDeter
I wrote about Othercast's Cult of the Circle Dance album in August 2022, so I'm just going to copy and paste that review below. But I wanted to highlight the full-album video that Pete McDeter made for an outdoor listening party Othercast held on July 20 of this year at The Cabin, a unique dwelling for one of the University of Michigan's oldest student groups.

Kelman Wolfkostin is Othercast, and the Ann Arbor producer has written a soundtrack—and a plotline—for a spooky movie that exists in his brain, Cult of the Circle Dance. The 20-track instrumental LP mixes trip-hop and ambient elements to tell the tale of a young person—perhaps a college student?—who conjures a mystical world through a dance in the woods that brings together all sorts of lost souls seeking community ... until that fantasy world, like the real one, crumbles under the menacing weight of The Darkness. Wolfkostin said he's been working on the album for a long time, and the attention to detail shows. Cult of the Circle Dance is an immersive headphone listen—but you might want to keep the lights on to stave off The Darkness.

Choke Uno & Foul Mouth featuring Tru Klassick & J-Classic, "Unsolved Mysteries"
Detroit MC Choke Uno and producer Foul Mouth linked up with Ypsi rappers Tru Klassick and J-Classic for the second single off their forthcoming album, Midnight Run. You'll have to wait a minute for the full-length, which is scheduled for March 2024, but you can dig into the video for "Unsolved Mysteries" now.

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