Good music whispered echoes a hundred miles. Take for instance singer/songwriter Graham Knoxx. I’ve seen Graham out and about at a couple of events in Atlanta. Making her way through a sea of hipsters and posers she greets me with a smile as sweet and earnest as her voice. Her natural style, poise and statuesque beauty gave her a glow that was hard not to notice, even without the brief introduction from promoter Wil May.
Welcome to the estranged metropolis we’ve come to call Atlanta, Georgia, the heart and soul of the Dirty South. Atlanta is a city in which only those who reside can try to personify, and truthfully, most of us have just about given up. We dwell in a self-appointed “community” where fine wine and prime rib is as common as sweet yams and fried okra, where a BMW drives high on your left and a ’77 Chevelle rides low on your right. In this extremist-defined population, we compromise and classify through our art: the makers, the players, the hustlers, and the good ole’ audience. Because here, if you’re not somebody, then you’re nobody. When mass appeal becomes irrelevant and art is enjoyed for the shameless sake of enjoyment, the people will congregate and decide the next representers of this mecca of manifold men, also known as Atlanta, Georgia.
The young always have the same problem–how to rebel and conform at the same time. Not ready to make nice and as sure as death and taxes, The FountNHead reek with Teen Spirit, but come off un-apologetically themselves. Fresh off a performance at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California, the Atlanta punk-hoppers sent us their recent high-energy visual from their song “As A Skunk.” Dark day jobs and bright night basement parties, after catching the FountNHead live at The Masquerade in Atlanta this past September, I can attest to their commitment to having a good time as sweet as their music.
As a professional writer and avid traveler of North America, I often take advantage of the cheap deals existing for the most-traversed of all American flight routes: ATL to New York City, which could be to any of that area’s three major international airports. The World’s Busiest Airport saw over ninety-four million visitors pass through her gates and concourses in 2011, while I was a year removed from the utter nightmare that bartending on the Delta Concourse in Atlanta was. Back to town – back to the central city – where the Capital of the South has made great cultural strides since the Olympics swept through in 1996.
“Set my heart on fire, I want, I need you baby,” Karen.Alise coos on her latest track “Fire.” This is Late mornings, early nights. This is 808′s and Breakdowns. This is that #unFUCKwithable Andre 3000esque space drawl. Say Hey Ya! to the love below, Atlanta based singer/songwriter Karen.Alise. Listen and download “Fire” below.
Emily Detrick considers herself an artist who uses photography as a tool to communicate an issue visually. She struggled with the decision to study psychology or photography, until she realized she could combine the two and use each to aid the other. Now, living, working and attending SCAD in Atlanta Emily is creating work that focuses on societal issues and psychological problems. Emily aims to start conversations and encourages her audience to reevaluate the way they perceive themselves in relation to society. With that said, Emily has penned an open letter to society complete with visual pieces that can aid any wayfarer on their path to greatness.
Greg Mike took to his blog to announce the recent completion of his latest mural. Known for his collaborations with brands such as Freddy Jones and artists like Donnis, this time the Atlanta based artist and designer collaborated with New Belgium Brewery for a vibrant mural outside their space in the Little Five Points area of Atlanta.
Madam CJ is obviously feeling good, feeling great, how are you? And when you feel this good, you can’t help but make music that fits your mood like a glove. London born, Atlanta based producer Daz-I-Kue is on that same wavelength as the Memphis born dancefloor diva, so it’s no wonder his first drop of 2012 is not one, but two feel-good house remixes of the pint-size soul singer’s self-love anthem “Smell Urself.”
I suggest that it’s easy enough that the majority of us can attest to modern hip hop flurrying through its handle of potential lyricists who start off sweet with a solid fan-base then, switch it up, but hey!—it happens to the golden ones too. Some hip hop-heads can also think that some artists just slip through those greasy cracks and randomly see fame. The game and culture of this life will continue to throw grenades at us, whether with ability to MC or not so much, that’s life baby, but!—I do know with this video introducing me to what the whole Voyeur explosion is about, I’m sold the first half of the video in, scouts honor.
Atlanta based rapper Rome Fortune, real name Jerome, has been rapping since he was in high school. “I thought I’d take the JE off as Jerome reminds me too much of the fake pimp on Martin,” he explains. Seven years later the 23-year-old originally from New York is just days away from unveiling his collaborative project with producer Childish Major entitled VOYEUR set for release next week.
It’s 2012. This December, the world is ending depending on who you believe and with only minutes to the top, Atlanta based band Arrow in the Air is reaching for the sky despite the Mayan’s prediction. If you’ve frequented Art Nouveau Magazine, you may recognize the lead singer Sye Spence, former solo artist who’s worked extensively with us on numerous projects. With her new band, a new sound, attitude and direction, Arrow in the Air is ready to touch the sky.
To talk about the film Color Outside the Lines, you must first talk about black people in art. It has always been quite difficult to emerge as just an artist. You were always a Negro artist. You were always an Afro-American artist. You were always an African-American artist. You were always a Black artist. You were always a colored artist. You were never, simply, an artist. We can speak about Jean-Michel Basquiat, but it would be irresponsible to speak about him without mentioning that half of his insanity and demise was built on the fact that he couldn’t escape the bricks walls that is being confined and defined by your color (and all the stigma that is attached to it) versus by your creations.
