Hello and welcome to Shuffle Sundays, a weekly curated list of content I thought was worth sharing with more people. Today we are celebrating the African culture and its heritage through the eyes of Beyonce, listening to a podcast that investigates how music impacts our everyday lives, getting some personal recommendations from our guest Jenny Kern, and much more. Hope you enjoy the reading!
🎧 • soundtrack: Tune-Yards - sketchy.
🎬 Black is King
{something to watch/listen to • film, 85min}
Two weeks ago Beyonce made history by breaking the record for the most Grammys won by a woman and any singer, male or female, with 28 awards. Even if you don’t listen to her music, she’s one of those names that everybody knows and her importance to the music industry is undeniable. While thinking about her music and career, I realized that I had yet not seen Black is King, the visual album directed, written, and produced by her, currently available as part of the Disney+ catalog. The film is a visual representation of the 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift, curated by Beyoncé for The Lion King, the live-action adaptation of Disney’s classic animation. But instead of following the story through the animals’ perspective, here we follow a young prince’s journey, as a metaphor for the African diaspora's exploration of discovering, reclaiming, and celebrating their culture and heritage. It’s visually exciting, full of rich musical moments and a powerful message.
🎙Musically Cogitating
{something to listen to • podcast}
Music is an art form that is so integrated into our everyday lives, that it’s very rare to meet someone that claims not to like music. At the same time, listening to music has slowly become a passive activity, and not many people reflect on how they do it. That’s why I was so enthusiastic when I discovered Musically Cogitating, a podcast that describes itself as “a show about the relevance and importance of living music and how it impacts our everyday lives”, hosted by my friend and fellow artist Ciyadh Wells.
I’m got super excited when she invited me to be a guest in one of the episodes, that was just released this past week! It was a fun conversation about my career as a Music Photographer, and my recent transition into creating and curating content online.
Learn more about the podcast here and listen to this week’s episode here.
📣 Shuffle Guest: Jenny Kern
Once a month I bring a guest to feature their work and share some of their recommendations with you! You can check the previous one here.
Jenny Kern is a Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter who I had the pleasure of working with a few times, photographing some of her concerts here in NYC, where I fell in love with her music the minute she started playing. She has recently released two great new singles (Coming Back For Me and Run) and is preparing a new upcoming EP.
🗣 » Tell us a bit about yourself: Hello! My name is Jenny Kern and I’m a Canadian indie singer-songwriter now based in Brooklyn, NY. Music has always been an essential part of my life, which is why, in 2019, I decided to quit my job and pursue music full time. Outside of music, I love to spend time with my family, read, watch shows and I’m always on the hunt for the best tacos in the city. My number one goal is to be as open and honest as I can be and let people know that it’s okay to be vulnerable and share your emotions.
🎧 » Music: I listen to a lot of music. I constantly feel like I need to be surrounded by it, especially new music. When I’m writing or we’re in production I need to consume, because I’m trying to find inspiration and new ways to get creative with different sonic palettes. With that, I’ve been listening to a lot of Bon Iver (both 22, A Million and i,i). Both are so unexpected, strange, and experimental I think he’s a genius. More than that, I find his work to be deeply relatable. I’ve also been really into the EP “Chewing Cotton Wool” by The Japanese House. The production is impeccable. Everything from the synths to the vocal layering.
📚 » Book: Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss. I’m always hesitant to read a book about psychiatry or psychology. I’m skeptical because sometimes they feel very forced, like their method is the only method. But this non-fiction book was very different. It’s about a doctor who, at first, was skeptical when one of his patients started recalling past-life traumas that seemed to affect her current anxiety and fears. It really changed the way I think about life lessons, forgiveness, and patience. It has definitely been one of my favorite books in a while.
🎙 » Podcast: I’m not huge on podcasts but one I definitely find really fascinating is Song Exploder. I’m always fascinated when an artist breaks down their songs, piece by piece. Taking through everything from the writing process to the production and the overall message. One specific episode that really got me was Clairo - Alewife. The song is about a difficult time in her life where she was experiencing severe depression and anxiety that reached a low point one night in eighth grade. I was inspired by her vulnerability to share her story. I also loved that she and co-producer Rostam break down the production and talk about specific choices with percussion and guitar lines. This is just one of many amazing episodes on this podcast.
📺 » TV Series: Ted Lasso has hands down been the best show I’ve watched lately. It seriously shouldn’t be as good, funny, or moving as it is. But it is. I think I watched all 10 episodes in a single day. It’s not just about soccer or cheesy comedic moments… it dives into real-life lessons. It’s about self-improvement, coming together as a team, and what it means to be a leader. I loved everything about it and I can’t wait until season 2.
💽 New Music
{something to listen to • albums & singles}
Another week full of releases, I'm particularly interested in checking the new albums from Ben Howard, Death From Above 1979, Jadsa, and Tune-Yards. Also, great new tracks from Future Islands, Katie Buchanan, All Time Low, The Reign of Kindo, and many more. If you’re curious to hear some of these songs and more, make sure to follow my 2021 playlist on Spotify, updated weekly with new releases:
⚡️ Something to Inspire
Shantell Martin is a British visual artist best known for her large-scale, black-and-white drawings. She performs many of her drawings for a live audience. Born in Thamesmead, London, Martin lives and works in New York. Check her website or Instagram for more. Here are some favorites:
🔀 On a different note:
The fourth and last batch of photographs I took of incredible women in the music scene over the years is on my blog!
👋🏼 See you next Sunday
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Thanks for the intro to Musically Cogitating. Also, so much great music in this post!