Improvisation Expression

Influenced by Blues and Ragtime, Jazz emerged in the 1920’s in New Orleans. Jazz is not easily defined and the simplest definition I have found still had to be translated. These are my findings; Melodies that are often interrupted with rhythmic stresses where they wouldn’t normally occur. Additionally, Jazz musicians often play independent melodies simultaneously, with intense timbre and pitch. It is not uncommon for a musician to become one with their instrument and perform solos with improvised expression.

This week we are featuring local artists, Mr. Jones and Friends. Originally, from the New Orleans area and influenced by the likes of BB King and Louis Armstrong, a Jazz visionary, was considered the father of modern jazz improvisation. Mr. Jones and Friends, developed their own unique styles of improvisation and are not a show you want to miss. 

We will be featuring Mr. Jones and Friends on all of our social media sites this week. Click the links and like our pages to find out about Mr. Jones and Friends.

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The Electronic Dance Music Wave

Emerging in the late 80s and 90s, Electronic Dance Music (EDM) is a subgenre in a wide spectrum of Percussive Electronic Music genres. For example, house, techno, trance, drum and bass, dubstep, and all of their subgenres, belong within the Percussive Electronic Dance Music genre.  

Produced for the pleasure of our dancing-based, club scene entertainment. This type of music is either a playback, which means, the original DJ or DJ’s that have permission, play the previously recording mix. Or, sometimes spectators are lucky enough to be at a club or festival when a DJ produces a live set of their own dance music and mixes all of our favorite songs with the type of beats we like to dance to.

Our featured artist and studio artist, DJ Cumulus, is making a name for himself on the local music scene. Editing mixes for many local establishments to play on their busiest nights. DJ Cumulus, born and raised in the Eau Claire area, found his passion for music the first time he went to a professional baseball game and heard an EDM based instrumental used to pump up the crowd.

Today DJ Cumulus is the most requested DJ on the night life scene. Whether a live performance or a playback, DJ Cumulus mix’s popular mainstream songs, with energized beats and flawless audio transitions to create continuous tracks.

This week we will be featuring DJ Cumulus on all of our social media sites, follow the links and like our pages to stay current with all things DJ Cumulus.

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Have You Noticed a Pattern?

Mountain music, rooted from Ireland, Scotland, and England, in the 1600s, evolved into what is now considered Bluegrass. In the 1939, the father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe formed a band called, “Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys.”

Today’s bluegrass music is usually played on acoustic string instruments. Specifically, the fiddle, banjo, guitar, bass guitar, and the mandolin. The Bluegrass genre is widely diverse and can range from Jazz to Celtic music, and is influenced from traditional Country Music, mainstream, or Rock and Roll.

I don’t know If our readers have noticed a pattern or not yet. We like to feature local artists that are involved in the community. It is a lot of work to continually improve our community and we appreciate all that our featured artists accomplish, beyond creating soul satisfying music.

This week we are featuring, local artists, Wispy Mallow. Influenced from the father of Bluegrass himself. Their harmonious vocals and acoustic vibrations flowing from their stringed instruments will get any crowd moving. Not only does Wispy Mallow create this ear pleasing noise, they volunteer at the nursing homes in the area. Playing tunes for the residents and hosting game nights that are, according to the residents, the highly anticipated event of the week. We at the Dial love the idea of helping our older generation continue to have joy in their lives.

Tune In to 97.3 The Dial, The Sounds You Love. 

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Can you Differentiate Indie Music?

Indie Rock is a vast genre and is generally referred to in sub-genres, like, Indie Electronic, Indie Folk, Indie Rock, and Indie Pop. A major trait that pertains to Indie Music is the ability of the artist or band to remain independent. A do-it-yourself mind set, and low-budget labels can be translated as “independent.” As ample as this genre is, so is the range of what each artist or band can do and because of this the flexibility bands don’t always appeal to mainstream audiences. Thus, keeping them non-corporate, or in other words, independent.

Indie Electronic became popular in the early 2000’s when home recording software and soft synthesizers (softsynth) became favored. Softsynth is a computer program or plug-in that generates digital audio, most often for music.

Inspired by folk music artist’s like Joni Mitchell and Pete Seeger, Indie Folk rise was in the early 2000s. Examples of Indie Folk groups are Lumineers and Mumford and Son’s. The wide variety of the sound is a trait in this subgenre, from acoustics to electronic beats from the softsynth.

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Indie Pop is the most melodic of the Indie sub-genres. The softer side, which emphasizes on harmonies, arrangements, and the overall craft of creating a song. A mix of instrumentals from orchestral classics to the hip and funky sounds of pop. Bands like MGMT, Fitz and Tantrums, 21 Pilots, and Alt J reflect this sound.

Indie Rock stems from the punk-rock or grunge genre’s approach. The sound can be described as distorted guitar riffs, intense drumming, emotional lyrics, with harmonious vocals.

The weeks featured artist’s, Obsolete, tend to drift towards the Indie Pop group. With soft melodies flowing from the acoustic guitar, harmonious vocals, rhythmic drumming and softsynth beats make any listener start to sway along to the music.  Born and raised in Eau Claire, band members of Obsolete, met at the EauX Claire music festival hosted by non-other than Eau Claire’s, Bon Iver. Moved by their experience and passion for music the four members started a music group and have taken off, creating a buzz on the local music scene.  Don’t miss your chance to watch this group perform, because we are almost certain they will become a favorite.

Has Hip Hop Taking Over the Music Industry?

According to a Nielsen’s 2017 year-end report, eight of the ten most popular artists came from the hip-hop/R&B genre and 6 out of the top 10 albums sales were from the same genre. The growth of hip-hop/R&B genre is believed to be because of a, “72% increase in on-demand audio streaming.” (Nielsen 2018) We definitely love Hip Hop/R&B, and some might say yes, Hip Hop is taking over the music industry. Although, we at The Dial believe all genres are equally important. Personally, I think we should all thank our lucky stars for the advancement of technology to include online audio streaming of music from all genres. How else would we all be able to so easily enjoy so many different genres of music, new and old alike. 

This week we would like to shine a light on Norah Rayn. The area’s talented country singer and songwriter. Influenced by country music icons Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks, Norah found her passion for music at a young age. She started singing in her church choir and joining local competitions, she even competed on the TV show, “American Idol.” After years of developing her voice and sound, Norah hosts a music-based summer camp, “Songbirds.” The camp’s focus is to help the area’s youth develop their voices and eliminate stage fright, which is the most common issue among performers. Keep doing your thing Norah, we know she will soon be on your playlist.

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https://www.businessinsider.com/hip-hop-passes-rock-most-popular-music-genre-nielsen-2018-1