Ricky Berger at Good Folk in Los Angeles

Always a joy watching my best friend do what she does best. This photo was taken during her live set at Good Folk, a concert series curated by singer/songwriter Abby Litman. Joining her that evening was a roster of luminary musicians, among them: Jamie Drake, Amanda Carson (Amanda on the Moon), Gal Musette and Daisy Abrams. Ricky played some of my favorite songs of hers, as well as premiering new work with lush arrangements for harp, celesta, cello and multiple voices.

In conversation with McKenzie Stubbert

I had the great pleasure to lead a post-concert Q&A with Emmy Award-nominated composer McKenzie Stubbert at the album release/listening party for his latest LP, Waiting Room. On August 28th, the audience gathered in the Community Room at the South Pasadena Public Library for a live performance of selected tracks from the album, with Stubbert on piano accompanied by harpist Jackie Urlik. In the words of the composer: “I hope incorporating developing technologies into our work continues to be as human-centric as possible and that recordings and live performances reflect that, conveying it to an audience in a manner that helps them feel it on such a deep level they value it more.”

Waiting Room was released by Curious Music on August 18th and is available to stream anywhere, as well as on 180-gram vinyl and CD.

Teens In My Twenties: The Interview with ERIKA POH

Teens In My Twenties, the debut EP from multi-hyphenate composer-performer-singer-songwriter ERIKA POH, springs to life from a vivid musical palette influenced by Broadway melodies, R&B and symphonic masterworks. With lyrics leaping from irreverent to contemplative, her latest collection of songs explores the doubts of young adulthood with intricate harmonies woven from a large cast of collaborators and friends. I recently sat down with ERIKA to discuss her artistic journey that led to creating Teens In My Twenties, and what uncharted emotions and new sounds she has yet to explore.

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Describe some themes on Teens In My Twenties. What motivated you to write about these things at this point in your career?

ERIKA: “Teens In My Twenties is about a coming of age. It’s about unrequited love, daddy issues, social anxieties, failed dates and the fear of growing up. While the music seeks to mask these anxieties with humor, it is this very disguise that exposes its vulnerabilities and sensibilities. It’s a body of work that questions societal expectations of growing up. It questions the need to feel like growing up is a point of arrival or even a process in which the individual emerges from it having everything figured out. I think all these thoughts/phases are what I’m currently going through right now in my career which is what compelled me to write this. These thoughts are always something I struggle with, and this body of work validates these feelings—it tells me that it’s ok to live life right now.”

I’m curious, how do your methods for composition inform or contribute to your pop songwriting?

ERIKA: “I think my music theory knowledge definitely affects the choices for voicing and counterpoint that I make in my music. Sometimes I notate BGV (background vocal) voicings or even keyboard voicings that I later track in the DAW, just to make sure that the dissonances make harmonic sense. I think another direct influence from my compositional training is my ability to write string arrangements! I love writing, arranging, and recording string arrangements—and I love doing this with my long-time collaborator and violinist Olena Kaspersky. You can hear her playing in my arrangement on ‘it’s too much.’ Other than this, I don’t think I often intentionally think about how my classical background affects my writing, it just probably exists and affects it in subtle ways!”

April 26th, 2023: ERIKA POH performs at SONIC ACTIVATION, a collaborative concert between dublab and the USC Thornton School of Music. (Photo by LZ)

Tell us about your collaborators on Teens In My Twenties. What roles did they play in the songwriting process & production?

ERIKA: “All the collaborators on this project are my good friends. Many I play with in my band, including Jacob E, Manny Martinez, Julia Levin, Terako and Hailey Wild. Mostly, they follow the charts/MIDI demos that I give them and record their parts over these demos in their own style. Charlie Hallock also helped me record and produce vocals on some of my sessions. In addition to these friends who collaborated with me as session musicians, I also co-produced with several others who contributed to the songwriting and the sound of the EP. JC Chiam, Samvel Krajian and Grace Miedziak co-wrote ‘Teens In My Twenties’ with Yafeu Tyhimba. JC was pivotal in helping me conceive of and record this first EP of mine. I learned a lot from JC—I learned about recording musicians and how to be in sessions. He also produced vocals and did initial production mixes on some of the songs.”

Photo by Ally Wei.

Pick a distinctive sound from one of your songs—something that you feel makes it unique. How did you achieve this in the studio?

ERIKA: “I believe that the unique sounds I have on this EP are always a result of collaboration. ‘Imaginary Man’ is a song I co-produced with my precious friend Samvel Krajian. There are so many sounds that Samvel contributed that made it really unique—the metallic drums, synth warbles…it’s difficult to describe, I think you just have to listen to it! I have no idea how he does it so I couldn’t tell you how these sounds were made. I also want to know…”

Describe a key collaborative moment in the making of your debut EP.

ERIKA: “On ‘like u,’ I collaborated with Frank Wendelin and David Hernandez. They both played classical guitar on the track which is the backbone of the entire song. I knew I wanted a soft, gentle guitar sound and both Frank and David were so open to improvising and devising the guitar voicing, harmonies and melodies with only a basic guideline/chart from me. This is what really transformed the sound and made it the track that it is today.”

ERIKA POH performs at CASA. (Photo by Vincent Leo)

What challenges did you overcome making Teens In My Twenties? What did you learn about yourself in the process?

ERIKA: “I think this EP helped me overcome my fear of producing. For a long time, I’ve only worked in acoustic mediums or in notation. Before writing this piece of work, I had limited experience in recording or making electronic music…or even working in DAWs. Making this EP was a process, and it gave me more experience in processing raw audio, but also conceiving music in MIDI and samples instead of notation.”

How have these songs developed the more you've played them live?

ERIKA: “I think I’m trying to find new ways of presenting the pieces, trying to find new arrangements to play. I’m playing with new people all the time, so that always changes the sound.”

What are you looking forward to in your evolution as a composer & songwriter?

ERIKA: “I’m looking forward to a more direct, bold sound in my next few works. It’s such a vague idea—while Teens In My Twenties is more of a coming-of-age album, the next body of work will be an emergence, a kind of coming-of-self. I also look forward to exploring more classical music techniques in pop music writing: notating synth line/notating electronic samples, creating orchestral textures and playing them all together within a song.”

ERIKA POH. (Photo by Sean David Christensen)

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Teens In My Twenties was released on May 12th, 2023 and is now available across all major digital streaming platforms. For all upcoming shows & releases, stay connected with ERIKA POH on Instagram at @pohsterika

Joe Berry - Motions

Designed titles & lettering for Joe Berry’s two-volume debut album "Motions," to be released later this year.

Dolphin Hyperspace at ETA: June 17th, 2022

Dolphin Hyperspace performs at ETA in Highland Park (Los Angeles) as part of their “Tiny Marine Life” residency in June. It was incredible witnessing the prodigious musical talents of Jon Hatamiya on trombone, Logan Kane on bass & synth programming and saxophonist/multireedist Nicole McCabe.

Dolphin Hyperspace is a sonically adventurous jazz ensemble that blends electronic music and bebop influences into frenetic songs that crackle with mischief and joy. I’ll definitely be seeing more of them in the future, any and every chance I get!

Christian Lee Hutson - Yellow House Sessions

A handful of songs from one of my favorite albums of 2020, Beginners, is given an intimate presentation in Yellow House Sessions with guest artist Christian Lee Hutson. His delicate craft of melody paired with scalpel sharp lyrics always cuts through.

Photo by Daniel Prakopcyk.

Andy Shauf ~ "Things I Do"

Pristine songwriting from Andy Shauf, a keen observer of life’s tiny sadnesses. “Things I Do,” from his latest full-length release, The Neon Skyline.

"Purple Clown Music" by Nathan Hartley Maas

Unease looms over Purple Clown Music. Composer, visual artist and raconteur Nathan Hartley Maas unravels a collection of instrumentals that fracture in disquieting spells, giving way to eerie harmonies and haunting melodies. Echoing like a rouge parade abandoned by its grand marshal, Maas's compositions are enveloped in soundscapes laced with his trademark caustic wit, as we hear the frenzy of toy robots imploding, circuits frying, and the internal mechanisms of an imaginary town sabotaging themselves in protest.

To borrow a phrase from author Larry L. King's 1968 review of Kurt Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House for The New York Times, [Nathan Hartley Maas] “...is a laughing prophet of doom.” Like Vonnegut, Maas is a weary observer of troubled times who uses language as a means to reconcile or accuse, whichever comes first. One gets the feeling listening to Purple Clown Music that Maas already knows something that we don't—perhaps a punchline to a cruel joke. There is a sense of encroaching darkness on this record, but each of its songs are like the album cover's bulbous clown heads that float above the purple smog, sentries who don't fear what's coming.

Purple Clown Music is vibrant and defiant with Maas's endlessly surprising song-craft. “Milxor E.” throbs with the stadium-sized intensity of a sporting event, while “Dutgoff Sqonnot” ripples with undulating square synthesizers reminiscent of soundtracks to early-90s CD-ROM point-and-click adventures. “Animotem Eyelif” chirps in patterns similar to electronic artists Richard D. James and Luke Vibert, resembling the warble of a warning siren you might hear in the hours just before a hurricane.

Underneath oppressive sheets of purple fog, a gravel-voiced narrator leads the listener through derelict dreams with a smile, mocking the impermanence of life. Nathan Hartley Maas has provided the indelible musical landscape for this journey—one well worth taking, if you don't mind laughing at the gathering storm.

Purple Clown Music is available to stream on nearly all digital music platforms and available for purchase through Apple Music. *Album artwork by Nathan Hartley Maas.

Nicolas Godin - The Foundation ft. Cola Boyy (Official Music Video)

Lovely hearing Matthew Urango (Cola Boyy) on Nicolas Godin’s latest single. I grew up listening to AIR’s frosty, ethereal oh-so-French pop, and listening to a familiar voice swimming alongside Godin’s keyboards in this video by Greg Barnes is inspiring. I had the pleasure of discovering Cola Boyy’s music after working with him on his “Penny Girl” music video, directed by my oh-so-French friend, photographer David Luraschi. I’m elated to see great things happen for great people.

CREDITS

Director: Greg Barnes / Production Company: Black Dog Films / Producer: Holly Wolfers / Executive Producer: Martin Roker / Production Assistant: Harry Morgan / Runners: Isabelle Ramsden, Ollie McCoy- Page / Director of Photography: David Wright / Focus Puller: Jerry Pradon / Loader: Juan Minotta / Gaffer: Leon Psyzora / Art Director: Will Olds / Costume Designer: George Oxby / Editor: Greg Barnes / VFX: Rav Matharu / Colourist: Jonny Tully @ Big Buoy / Cast: Anna Sari, Rick Kiesewetter

Bella Porter

Photo by Bella Porter. Listen to her music on SoundCloud and Spotify. “Influenza,” a favorite track of mine, is a great place to start - along with Luck of the Draw, her captivating 2017 release brimming with cavernous pop symphonies and subtle harmonies.

Maggie Dave - Mean Like Monsters (Concept art)

As Maggie Dave continues to record its upcoming full-length album, Mean Like Monsters, concept art for the cover is beginning to take shape. Here’s a glimpse of what’s forming, from illustrator Kadie Cook.

Maggie Dave in the studio

June 8th, 2019: Underneath the warm acoustic rafters of Voltiv Sound in Los Angeles, Maggie Dave rolled up its sleeves and got down to work on its first single. It was invigorating to hear musicians like Brian breath life into our demos, what once were tidy attempts to simulate a “live” band, now pulsed with rhythm and soul. It’s been a blessing to involve so many of our friends and fellow artists we admire on this project, and with so much album left to go, we can’t wait to share these experiences together, again!

Cola Boyy

Cola @ Coachella

Symphonic illustrations for the LA Phil

It was an honor to illustrate for the LA Phil as 2018 came to a symphonic close. Seeing my work animated (by Daniel Anderson) was a real treat, as my drawings transformed in imaginative ways along with Olivier Messiaen’s vibrant Turangalîla Symphony. I’ve gathered additional illustrations for this piece, as seen below, to give you a more complete appreciation for the evolution of the video:

Susanna Mälkki, conductor.

A pair of hands play the ondes martenot, an early electronic instrument. It has an eerie, yet sincere phrasing, similar to that of a theremin.

A keyless piano, whose keys were to be animated on a separate layer.

Tristan and Isolde, whose tragic love inspired, in part, Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony.

"The Magnificent Seven" at USC Thornton

Working as a graphic artist for the USC Thornton School of Music has given me the opportunity to help visualize some incredible stories about its students & faculty. One of my favorites from last year was “The Magnificent Seven,” about a group of seven legendary drummers brought together to honor the legacy of professor Leon "Ndugu" Chancler. Faced with the challenge of completing her friend and colleague’s remaining weeks of instruction after his untimely passing last February, Patrice Rushen, Chair of the Popular Music Program, “…called seven legendary drummers, asking each to fill in for one week. They all said yes.” Having grown up listening to Chancler’s work with artists such as Michael Jackson, Tina Turner and Lionel Richie, it was a honor to express how much his impact on the music communities, both at USC and around the world, will be cherished and missed.

Story by Julie Riggott / Illustrated and Animated by Sean David Christensen / Music by Ricky Berger

The legendary drummers of “The Magnificent Seven” join forces at the USC Thornton School of Music.

The 178's

Named for the highway suspended between Bakersfield and the Kern River Valley, The 178’s reimagines classics from Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson through cloaks of electronic flourishes and dreamlike arrangements. I had the pleasure to visualize this connection from one city to the next, one genre to another, by deconstructing a familiar roadside landmark with an abstract approach that speaks to the album’s quirky sensibilities. On their rendition of “Crazy,” the vocals scatter like broken radio frequencies, the type you’d expect to find in-between AM stations, chirping through the gaps. With elegant instrumentation and production, The 178’s handful of new classics illuminate the connections between the past, the present and every side road along the way.

Album personnel:

Evan Calbi: Nylon-string guitar, electric & double bass, pedal steel, vocals

Pat Dietz: Electric guitar

John McClung: Pedal steel arrangement on “Silver Wings”

Bill Severance: Drums

Rich Wenzel: Hammond B3 organ, keyboard

Win_go: Backing vocals

Recorded at Ardent Audio Productions, October 2018

Mixed by Rich Wenzel

Produced by Evan Calbi & Rich Wenzel

Released November 18th, 2018 on Bandcamp and other streaming platforms.

"Penny Girl" by Cola Boyy; Directed by David Luraschi

It was a joy to help out my good friend David Luraschi film his music video for "Penny Girl," the debut single from Cola Boyy's debut EP, Black Boogie Neon. I spent a whirlwind weekend driving around Oxnard helping gather bits and pieces of sunshine that Luraschi spun into gold. As Matthew (Cola Boyy) himself said best: "This is not just my world, but a part of me that's so vulnerable. All my differences are on the table, and my song plays in the background. Oxnard has so many bright colors and faces, it shows in the video. Isn't it nice?" More than just nice, it was truly inspiring to see his community come together to support this gifted young man and our heartfelt romp through their neighborhood. I can't wait to see what funky magic Matthew conjures for us next, as well as myself, his newest fan. 

CREDITS

Director: David Luraschi  / Production company: SlowDance / Executive producer: Valentine Suc / Director of Photography: David Luraschi / Line Producer: Mike Medoway / 1st Assistant  Camera: Riley Keeton / Set Designer: Sean David Christensen / Production Coordinator: Jocelyn Rummler / Production Assistant: Jocelyn Cortez / Editor: Kenza Meunier & Wyatt Earp Color Grading: Marjolaine Mispelaere / Post Production Company: Motion Partners

Special thanks to: Oxnard, CA, Adrian Pillado, Nic Hessler, Corentin Kerdraon, Marc Teissier du Cros, Cesar Wogue, Record Makers, Juniper Carrasco, Luis Franco, Jun Porte, E-scan, Fotokem, Motions Partners, Panavision, Reel Good Films & Daniela Garcia

READ ABOUT THE VIDEO via The FADER

AmirSaysNothing

I had the good fortune to catch AmirSaysNothing at a concert showcase organized by the prolific Charlie Scovill, held at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles earlier last month. Amir's blistering set featured selections from his most recent collaboration with Scovill, Love Always, Mr. Right, which promptly made me an instant fan; Hence, this fan art. For more music from this electric pair and many more artists produced under Scovill's unique vision, please visit www.charliescovill.com to catch just a glimpse of this wunderkind's prodigious output.

AmirSaysNothing performs with producer Charlie Scovill at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles; June 10th, 2018.

AmirSaysNothing closes out a rollicking evening of music organized & produced Charlie Scovill.

"Everytime" by Boy Pablo

I've been experimenting with making cut-and-paste collages from my own illustrations, scrambling them in order to find new shapes or meanings. Music usually keeps me company while I do this, and one of the most delightful songs to do so last year was Boy Pablo's "Everytime." The music video is a delight, sun-dappled friends playing together on a dock in Norway. As the guitars swell and ring, you can almost feel the brisk of the afternoon by the water and the joy shared by all the musicians. Unexpected and effervescent, I highly recommend giving it a listen.

Haven't Been The Same

I recently gave my musical project a name, standing atop a mound of eviscerated ideas at the hands of Google search: "Behold, I am become Google search, the destroyer of first drafts of band names." Nevertheless, Maggie Dave is here, and in the meantime - while I desperately try to banish the creeping suspicion that there's somebody out there waiting to pounce on that unreserved domain name...I'll choose to breathe instead. 

I'll be performing new songs during the holiday months ahead, so check back here during Decembertime for concert dates, live performances & more. Until then, enjoy this kitchen-recorded demo of "Haven't Been The Same," a cover of one of my favorite songs by the magnetically gifted singer/songwriter Uni and her Ukelele, aka Heather Marie-Ellison.