The Radar tracks new music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week:
Kat Steih, Mark Braun (Mr. B), Ani Mari, Matteo Sohn, The Sea, The Sea, Duburban & Krugah, Reckless Manner, and Kylee Phillips.

Kat Steih
Unplugged
Genre: singer-songwriter
Location: Ann Arbor
Notes: Kat Steih has spent much of the past couple of years rocking and rolling with her band, The Ferals. But it was just Steih with her acoustic guitar and confident voice performing two solo shows at Willis Sound on Friday, July 18, 2025, which were documented by recording engineer David Roof and a video team. The best 12 performances from each show are out now on CD, LP, and stream.
Links: katsteihmusic.com

Mark Braun
Blues Piano Today!
Genre: boogie-woogie
Location: Ann Arbor
Notes: This album by the pianist everyone knows as Mr. B came out in July 2024, but there was no official release show, and Braun ended up hurting his left hand in a woodshop accident in February 2025. Some surgeries later, and a lot of outdoor concerts this past summer and fall, and Braun is ready for a proper celebration of Blues Piano Today!—12 tunes recorded live at Kerrytown Concert House with his drummer pal Pete Siers—with a January 4 release show at The Ark.
Links: mrbpiano.com

Ani Mari
Burnout (Live at the Fallout Shelter)
Genre:  American, indie rock
Location: Ann Arbor
Notes: This Ann Arbor singer-songwriter had a livestream of her August 13, 2025, concert in Norwood, Massachusetts. The gig is still on YouTube, but Mari also released an expertly recorded audio track of the opening song from that gig.
Links: animarimusic.com

Matteo Sohn
Letters Never Sent
Genre: classical solo piano
Location: Ann Arbor
Notes: This album was two years in the making, so when U-M student, composer, and pianist Sohn requests that you listen to it as one long work, rather than 14 individual pieces, you gotta respect his wishes. ("It is most similar to a concept album or a cycle of pieces, like Frédéric Chopin's 24 Preludes (Op. 28).") You can learn a bit more about the making of Letters Never Sent on Bandcamp, and pianists can follow along on the YouTube version since it includes sheet music.
Links: instagram.com/matteo_sohn

The Sea, The Sea
Complete Recordings (2003-2004)
Genre: screamo, emo
Location: Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti
Notes:  This comp came out in March 2025, but it just landed on The Radar. The Sea, The Sea was a six-piece screamo-emo band from Washtenaw County that was active from 2002 to 2004. The Complete Recordings compiles live recordings, a split single, a 12-inch record, and a demo. (Bonus content: a concert video with blown-out audio.)
Links: instagram.com/theseatheseaemo

Duburban & Krugah
The Serotonin Effect EP
Genre: drum 'n' bass
Location: Ypsi record label, U.K. & American musicians
Notes: The AGN7 label closes out a busy and creatively successful 2025 with this split EP featuring two collabs and two solo tracks by Duburban (U.K.) and Krugah (U.S.)
Links: linktr.ee/agn7audio

Reckless Manner
Big White Truck EP
Genre: punk
Location: Ann Arbor
Notes: Rather than release another one-off single for the new song "Thinking Out of Style," the Reckless boys have compiled it with their previous four singles plus a rough live recording of the title track.
Links: instagram.com/_recklessmanner

Kylee Phillips 
"head down/eyes up (alt)"
Genre: singer-songwriter
Location: Ypsilanti
Notes: A couple of weeks before embarking on making a new album, Phillips and her partner Chris DuPoint reworked her atmospheric September 2024 single.
Links: linktr.ee/kyleephillipsmusic

Send your music to pulp@aadl.org if you're an artist or label with Washtenaw County associations. Check out more local music coverage here and in the Friday Five archives.