The Monday Mix is an occasional roundup of compilations, live recordings, videos, podcasts, and more by Washtenaw County-associated artists, DJs, radio stations, and record labels.

This edition features sights and sounds from flannel-flying punks Normal Park, which has had three concerts documented by Punkbedfilms; the debut clips from Camera Cowboy's Trailside Tunes, featuring live performances by Cowgirl and Adam J. Snyder; a concert recording of the Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet; three new dance-floor mixes from MEMCO; and trumpeter Mark Kirschenmann performing melodic excerpts from his new album.

Normal Park, concerts captured by Punkbedfilms
Ypsilanti fuzz-punks Normal Park played on a benefit show for Ann Arbor's teen center, The Neutral Zone, on December 20 at Homes Campus on Jackson Road. The gig was captured by Punkbedfilms, a one-person videography company that documents shows in the Metro Detroit area. Unlike the better-known Hate5Six, Punkbedfilms doesn't sync board-recorded audio to the video, so while the sound isn't great on any of the three Normal Park concerts below, it's great to have an archive of this very talented trio, who we interviewed in 2023. (Ann Arbor's The Shrugs also performed at the Homes Campus gig. You can see that Punkbedfilms video here.)

Camera Cowboy's Trailside Tunes, episode 1: Cowgirl
Camera Cowboy's Trailside Tunes, episode 2: Adam J. Snyder
Virga's Anna Parker and Human Skull's Joel Parkkila are the core members of the Ypsi duo Cowgirl, who released a sweet country-folk mini album in 2023 and are currently mixing a new LP. Cowgirl, accompanied by Virga drummer Aaron Apsey on violin, were the first subjects of a new video series called Camera Cowboy's Trailside Tunes, created by Jonathan Downing, which records artists performing in unique locations. Cowgirls' two mellow songs were recorded in a pasture at Vestergaard Farms on Wagner Road, and Ypsi singer-songwriter Adam J. Snyder cut his high-energy instrumental at a mysterious place called Uncle Dave's Barn. (Detroit's Sonic Smut are the next ones up to hit the Trailside Tunes.)

UMS Live Session: Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet
In 2023, the University Musical Society (UMS) presented a series of shows and events at the Ypsilanti Freighthouse. That partnership between the UMich organization and the city of Ypsilanti continues to this day, with UMS recently announcing its spring programming at the Freighthouse for April 2025. The Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet performed as part of UMS's September 2024 shows at the Freighthouse, but the ensemble also recorded a 25-minute set for UMS the day after the gig on September 15. Ann Arbor's Sharp leads the quartet through a series of tunes that incorporate Eastern European and Arabic influences along with jazz and African music.

fi3nd, Exposure Mix 072
IR1S, Exposure Mix 073
Niko Iko, Exposure Mix 074
The three latest mixes from the Michigan Electronic Music Collective (MEMCO). If you're feeling high energy (or destructive), the fi3nd mix is uptempo like a jackhammer, rarely slowing down for you to catch your breath. IR1S's collection bounces between house and techno, but the BPMs are kept to a reasonable rate—your breath will finally be caught. Niko Iko's mix will allow you keep that, breath, too: His blend mixes in some downtempo with the deep-house grooves.

Mark Kirschenmann, "The Breathing Room - melodic excerpts" 
Mark Kirschenmann, "Streamlines - melodic excerpts"
U-M trumpeter professor Mark Kirschenmann recently released the haunting and lovely Tonics: 7 Melodies for Trumpet With Bamboo Mouthpipe, showcasing his unique instrument, which he modified to evoke the sound of bansuri and shakuhachi flutes. As these two videos show, you must have strong chops to play a four-valve piccolo trumpet with a bamboo mouthpiece—just thinking about the amount of air pressure Kirschenmann has to generate is making my jaw hurt. In these clips, Kirschenmann demonstrates melodic lines he laid down as the foundation for two of the album's seven tracks; he then did overdubs, performing every instrument on the record. Here's a great interview Kirschenmann did with 15 Questions about the Tonics record and his history as a musician.

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