Hi, Julie, and thanks for taking the time to connect! So you’ve dropped two stellar songs this year from your upcoming EP, tell me more! 

Yes! This year I released a jazzy neo-soul song called, “Lights” and also a funk synth pop track called “Wavy” off my EP. 

“Lights” was released this summer and is really a display of my jazz guitar background. Since quarantine started, I’ve started beefing up my home recording situation. This is the first song in years I’ve recorded myself. Back in college I used to record my own music by running back and forth between the booth and the control station. “Lights” is the first time I recorded a song entirely in my house and it was so refreshing to be able to produce that way.

Love all of them, and I know, it's a really tough question to answer!

Here's another one: name three books or songs or movies that changed the way you think about things.

As a filmmaker and someone who went to film school, I pay very close attention to the cinematography of films. I’d go old school and say some movies that affected me the most are The Matrix, Requiem for a Dream, and as newer one Parasite. Currently, I’m watching Lovecraft Country and I’m amazed at every aspect of their production. That show is really bringing film production to new levels. The story itself blows me away. 

After hearing what you're making, I think we all will benefit from any collaboration involving you!

Thank you so much for taking the time to connect with me. This has been such an eye-opening interview and I'm so glad to get to know you and your music better. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to connect with me, and for listening to and supporting the music and the city. 

To learn more about Julie Outrage, check out all of her digital platforms:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Spotify
• Link to Julie's music on all streaming platforms

I was introduced to Matt SwampGuinee after a show at Black Cat by a mutual music friend who said, "you HAVE to listen to what this guy is working on." He was so right.

Matt and I chatted for a bit before he handed me a copy of the CD "Born Again" by his group Crank LuKongo. On my ride home through the city, I gave it a listen. 

And damn, this album hit me hard in the best of ways, it's one of those albums I keep in my constant rotation. It is Go-Go heart with consciousness raising lyrics. Infused with so much DC soul, its message reaches deep into this city's roots, yet its themes reach far beyond this city.  Although created in 2018, it is a very fitting soundtrack what's going on in the entire country right now.

I had a chance to catch up with Matt, finally, after over a year since our introduction to find out more about this phenomenal album and what his music collective Crank LuKongo is all about. 

Hello Matt, it's so great to finally connect with you!  I know you have a ton of projects. Tell me more about what bands you play in and your musical projects of late.

Thanks so much, Nina, so happy to connect with you, too!

As a freelance percussionist and drummer, I currently play, perform and record with a number of groups and artists in a wide variety of music styles. They are Bambu Station, The Legendary Wailers featuring Junior Marvin, The Archives, Thievery Corporation, Charles Road, The Harold Little Quintet, Lazy K, and my very own production, Crank LuKongo. 

That's one thing I really love about "Born Again." It feels SO quintessential DC, you can hear the city's voice in this album. And it's so relevant for right now. 

The whole concept came from my years of touring the globe with Virgin Island Roots Reggae group, Bambu Station. Being in a group of majority Virgin Islanders and other parts of the Caribbean, I was constantly asked by fans about my place of birth once they heard me speak.  They always seemed to be in shock when I told them that I was born in Washington, DC. People typically have no idea that people of color are native to the region they know as the nation’s capital of the United States as well as having our own distinct culture, mannerisms, vernacular, music and dance, etcetera.

Because the people were so interested and intrigued, I found myself in a position of sharing. As a music educator and aspiring ethnomusicologist, it was very easy for me to share our unique indigenous form of music called Go-Go and it’s history.

Shortly after, I envisioned a concept to create an all original musical voice using Go-Go that would and could share as much about our culture, it’s history and current issues to the global community all while instilling pride within our own communities back home in the DC area. 

It's a phenomenal album and there is so much heart in it. What was the reaction when you released this in 2018 and where did you go from there?

So many things to say. First and foremost, gratitude. The outpouring of appreciation and validation from many on social media and radio was so appreciated. I am so grateful for that and the consistency in rotation of airplay on local and other regional radio programs. The fans are the best. 

We were able to shoot and release two official music videos,  “After the Revolution” which was shot on location at historic Fort Stevens Civil War Battleground and  “Ghosts of Anacostia” which was shot in entirety on location in historic Anacostia. (Cool side note — we served as a contributor with the name changing of the Washington Football Team’s former name. This can be noted through reference in  “Ghosts of Anacostia.”) 

And we played some incredible shows. First our sold out Crank LuKongo album release party at The Eaton Hotel — we were the first Go-Go group to perform there — featuring the legendary Junior Marvin of Bob Marley & The Wailers (guitar), and the legendary Juju House of Experience Unlimited (EU) and Chuck Brown (drums). This was the first and only time the two legends performed together.

We had some other great shows. We headlined the first annual Down In The Reeds Music & Healing Festival at Walter Reed Park, shared the stage with the legendary Boukman Eksperyans (Haitian Roots Music), performed at the prestigious Carnegie Institute for Science for the Institute for Policy Studies and at the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards which was amazing. 

Finally, we were nominated for two WAMMIE Awards in 2019 for Best Go-Go Album and Best Go-Go Group/Artists, which was a huge honor. 

That is wonderful, and man, does it make me miss the pre-pandemic days and live shows. 

Tell me about the myriad of people you collaborate with, it sounds like you have a community of artists you like to work with. 

As a freelance musician, I have the benefit of working with and collaborating with some amazing musicians that I envisioned them being a part of the Crank LuKongo collective. This made the formation of the concept much easier because I knew that I wanted each song to be distinct while allowing each musician or artist bring their spirit and character to the production. I wanted a family vibe of people with good energy and on board with making this music positive and for the people. It took almost five years to complete the album but we executed very professionally. It was my first project wearing a producer’s hat and having the personnel that we had, I was very satisfied with the results. 

And who are the players in the group?

Although the core of Crank LuKongo is not as large as the actual number of contributors on the album, all people involved are connected as a family. Some of the most noticeable contributors are Junior Marvin (lead guitarist for Bob Marley & the Wailers), Georges Kuakou (keyboardist and producer for Alpha Blondy), Mighty Moe Hagans (percussionist for EU, Chuck Brown Band), Ron Winters (lead guitarist for Branch Manager), Nala Shabam (keyboardist/pianist for Jackie McClean, New Soil Ship), Tuff Lion (lead guitarist and vocalist for Bambu Station, Lion Charge), Frankie Addison (saxophonist for The Addison Bros Quintet, The Blues Alley Big Band and more), Lazy K Lofton (guitarist and vocalist for Lazy K, Bassehead and more), Dave Blackwell (vocalist, guitarist and bassist for Pure Light Seed, Charles Road, Muscles and Jackbone and more).

Other contributors are Warren Pedersen (bass and engineer),  Brian Clark (percussion), Andre LaSalle (guitar), Philippe LeMaire (keyboards), I’la Vibez (vocals), Head Roc (vocals), Tom Workman (vocals), Sebi Medina-Tayac (vocals), Izabella Sparrow (backing vocals), Samadhi Miller (backing vocals), Kelvin Montgomery (trombone), and Donald Tillery (trumpet). 

You mentioned other hybrid Go-Go groups, who else is out there doing this kind of thing? 

There are so many great hybrid bands out there, top of mind are:

• Black Alley - Hood Rock (a hybrid of Go-Go with rock and hip-hop)
• Harold Little - Pocket Jazz (a hybrid of Go-Go and straight ahead jazz)
• Ras Lidj & The Deep Band - Regg’go (a hybrid of Go-Go and roots and dancehall reggae)
• The League Music Group - Go-Go Nu-Wave (a hybrid of Go-Go with rock, r&b, and gospel)

It's worth mentioning that all of these aforementioned groups have been diligent in using their platforms to address social change and protest in their music even before the recent wave of social protests and uprisings.  

I will definitely check them out, no doubt they will make me feel proud to be part of this amazing city.

So tell me more about you, your background, how you got into music. 

I sang in church and in the glee club all throughout my youth.  When I was twelve, my mom bought me a guitar and my brother a drum set for Christmas and we formed a Go-Go band called Eternal Funk. We would play local neighborhood concerts on the streets and alleys of the Trinidad neighborhood in N.E.

During my early high school days at the Duke Ellington School of Arts, I absorbed so much quality music even as a theatre student, that I just wanted to hang with the musicians. It was then that I truly discovered my love for percussion because of what I heard coming from boomboxes everywhere. We used to start revolutions in our classrooms by beating on our desks with heavy Go-Go rhythms. I finally saw the power in rhythm and music and have been committed to it ever since. 

Being a young adult and a new resident of the Adams Morgan/Columbia Heights area, I took advantage of the weekly African drum circles at Malcom X Park aka Meridian Hill Park. That whole experience really set me on my path as an aspiring drummer.

As a self taught percussionist and drummer, I only saw it fitting to reach out to some of DC’s well known master drummers in order to solidify my skill set. I was led to master drummer Abasi Johnson who later became my teacher and mentor. Both Abasi and the late Baba Ngoma who actually started the African drum circle in the park over fifty years ago, would accept me as they’re student and teach me all that I wanted and needed to learn about the wide world of African drumming and it’s extensions. The rest is history. 

I love that. You had mentors who have deep roots in the pulse of this city. Tell me about some other people who have had an influence on your music. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to my late great uncle Charles Miller for sitting us down at the piano as young children in Rock Hill, South Carolina and teaching us the melody and the words to a spiritual called, “We come this far by faith.”

Other influences include Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Mandrill, New Birth, The Neville Brothers, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Gilberto Gil, Fela Kuti, Celia Cruz & the Fania All-Stars, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Peter Tosh, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Ike & Tina Turner, Bad Brains, Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, Angelique Kidjo, The Average White Band, Carlos Nkai and many more. 

That right there (smiles). What about locally, can you name three local DMV artists that you are listening to these days or that you admire.

Other than those Go-Go hybrid groups that I mentioned before, I really like the music of Unswayed, Desi Hyson, and The Archives Reggae Band. I could go on but you only asked me to name three (laughs). 

Tell me about how the pandemic has affected your music and your life. What are you doing to take care of yourself these days?

As a freelance musician, the pandemic has hindered me from earning wages for performances and recordings that I’ve been accustomed to for many years. Crank LuKongo was scheduled to perform at three major festivals this past spring and summer that were all cancelled: The Anacostia River Festival in April, The New World Passover Festival in Damona, Israel in May, and the RootzFest in Ocean City in June.

Because everything got cancelled and shut down, that limited us from any progressive movements that we were looking forward to as a fairly new group. We have since been using this time wisely by creating and recording new music for upcoming projects. I have been taking advantage of the extra time doing things that I love like hiking, camping, working out and spending more time with family and closest friends. Being mindful of complete health and wellness is how we have been able to stay safe and maintain our focus throughout it all.

Absolutely. And how do you think the music scene will change once things get back to a “new normal”?

I’m not really sure how the music scene will change or shift once the smoke clears but I do know that there will definitely need to be some policies in place to secure the health and safety of the artists and the patrons. I have seen venues that have already opened back up for business although I’m not really sure of their policy. I’m going to play it safe until I feel comfortable and assured to go back out. I recently did a virtual performance with The Harold Little Quintet at the Public Playhouse Theatre. It was a filmed performance for the PG County Department of Parks and Recreation with no audience. I loved it. It kind of felt like being in the NBA bubble.

Awesome. Thank you so much, Matt, for taking the time to connect with me! This has been such an eye-opening interview for me and I'm so glad to get to know you and your music better. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to connect with me, and for listening to and supporting the music and the city. 

To learn more about Matt and Crank LuKongo, check out all of his digital platforms (where the full albums is available):

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Bandcamp
• Email

DeSanguashington (Day-San-gwa-sheen-ton) is a DC-based Colombian American band that is masterful at fusing traditional Colombian folk music with music you might hear when driving down 18th Street or at an impromptu porch jam, creating something so fresh and satisfying to put your ears on as well as move your body to. If you've been lucky enough to see them perform live in the DC area, you know to show up ready to dance, smile, and feel like you're at a party among good friends.

Their newest EP, Viajero, (translates to "traveler" in English), is a testament to the emotion they can elicit through their music.  It came out in early March of this year, just before the reality of the pandemic became evident in the states. 

I put Viajero in my earbuds right around that time, on March 15 to be exact, when I went for a walk outside. The world felt eerie, like it was on the precipice of a nightmare, my pace lumbering with existential dread.

I pressed play and everything changed. Hearing the music did something to my spirit. It reminded me of the beauty and buoyancy of life, and before I knew it, that album became my soundtrack of the spring, and then summer, and now autumn. That first song, "La Mochila," I play it every time I walk now to remind me that I am capable of feeling that joy in a world that is so uncertain.  (Go ahead,  check out "La Mochila" and walk down the street with purpose, report back on how good that feels.)

DeSanguashington have just released the latest video from their EP for the song "Yo Viajo Sola," which talks about the right for women to travel alone without being harassed or abused. I had the chance to catch up with the band to talk about the EP, how they've kept momentum up with their music this year, and what they think the future of music will look like in the District.  

And tell me, who is in the band and what does each person play?

Current members of DeSanguashington include Velu Ochoa on vocals, Danny Ramirez on the accordion, Richard Benjumea on guitar, Gunnar PY on bass, and Hugo Moreno, Diego Castañeda, Hermanzo Moreno and Jaime Barreto on percussion. 

As artists, it sounds like you have made the most out of this challenging situation. Tell me more about some of the positives and negatives that the pandemic has had on you as a band. 

The negatives is that we unfortunately haven’t been able to rehearse or perform. We truly miss playing on stage and getting together. We still stay in touch via chat but we hope to be able to play together again soon. 

With the pandemia we have had to rediscover ourselves and improvise so that we can still connect with our fans. We started a live series where every month we invited artist friends who shared with us their experience as we deal with the current situation of our lives. With every interview we also release a video of one of our songs. So between video editing and promoting our songs we have been quite busy! We have also had the opportunity to be interviewed by several media outlets here and in Colombia so right now the goal is the get the word out about our music as much as we can.

That is wonderful! I have really enjoyed watching your videos as they are released, it's been a nice thing to look forward to during these months without live shows. So, how do you think the music scene will change once things get back to a “new normal”?

We honestly do not know but we do worry about the fate of the local Latin music in the DC. To be honest, the places where our community performs are already limited. We are trying to push that boundary and hope that the music industry in DC and beyond sees the value in unity to bring a stronger DMV music scene once the pandemia is over. 

Who have been the greatest influences on your music? 

With so many of us in the band it is hard to choose. But some of our influences as a band are Carlos Vives, Fonseca, and Toto La Momposina.

Oooh, I will definitely check that out, I would love to wear a DeSanguashington tee especially when concerts come back again hopefully next year.

Thank you so much for taking the time to connect with me! Your music has been such a gift to me, always, and the new EP has been especially helpful in bringing me joy and reflection this year. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to connect with us, and for listening to and supporting our music. We really appreciate it and all that DC Music Review is doing for the community!

For more information on DeSanguashington's new album and social media pages, see below!

To learn more about DeSanguashington, check out:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Spotify
• Bandcamp
• CD Baby
• PayPal

Baby photo by Daena Brown

All other photos by Samori Swygert

Dior, I am so excited to catch up with you!

Nina, it is so good to connect with you during this time.

I am so glad you listened to Empress and kept on sharing. You mentioned Nas, who were some of your other early influences?

There are so many, my father played jazz, raised us on it. I loved R&B, I used to sing Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross at the top of my lungs. Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson were the type of performers I wanted to be, they were the bar for excellence in the space of captivating the crowd. Hip Hop was really always a part of my backdrop, I was introduced to it in so many ways, Kriss Kross, Tevin Campbell’s album I'm Ready had some conscious raps that spoke to my spirit. My mother owned Queen Latifah’s album Nature of Sista', and we listened to Heavy D. When I picked up music of my own I was grabbing the The Fugees, TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, OutKast, Mobb Deep, Tupac, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, Method Man, Redman, Busta Rhymes, Naughty by Nature, Twista, DMX, I could go on. 

I feel you on all those names. Now more about you, you have this video "Delivery" dropping. Tell me about it. 

So this is a video release on a song "Delivery" I started writing a few months ago. I hadn’t planned to drop it this soon, but with all that is happening with the Black Lives Matter movement, the spirit led me this way. I knew I wanted to help direct the energy coming out of the movement. 

So I watched the video last night when it dropped, and was incredibly moved by the words of empowerment and strength, as well as the incredible visuals. Tell me more about the message of this song. 

"Delivery" really speaks from my grind, from me and my experiences. And more than just me, "Delivery" is challenging the system to change, to open up to new ideas. It’s there to instill confidence in women, especially women of color who feel outcast, the way I felt for a long time. 

It took me some time to embrace all the things that make Dior Ashley Brown.  I had so much adversity being a young Black girl, full-figured with a voice and something to say. But I also was so blessed to be a young Black girl, full-figured, with a voice and something to say, and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I speak to the warrior. I am a living and breathing amazon, I am rare.

I want people, and especially my people, to feel that. I really, truly want people to feel beautiful, strong, and abundant with who they are where they are.  I think that what the spirit is leading me to do. I’m not going to stand for anyone devaluing anyone, their persona, sexuality, who they love. Be the best version of yourself, it’s not a destination, it's a journey. 

That is powerful and incredibly beautiful, Dior, and absolutely resonates in this song. And because you are a leader and activist in the DMV music community, I imagine this will move and inspire a lot of people. 

You talked about the Black Lives Matter movement, tell me more about how you think the DMV music community should be involved?  

The Black Lives Matter movement is a necessary conversation and action on so many levels. We have to preserve Black lives, Black culture, Black entrepreneurship, Black creativity, Black opportunity, Black love. We have to pay attention to where Black Lives Matter in all sectors and be intentional in understanding that Black people must heal and create intentional spaces for diversity from social to economic. 

The DMV music community has to be involved because Black creators here absolutely experience racism; I have witnessed it for years living in this city. It trickles into our community whether covert or overt, opportunities are not shared or promoted equally. I have seen and experienced the undervaluing of Black events, art, industry professionals. 

What needs to happen now and moving forward to make meaningful change?

We have to acknowledge oppression, systemic racism, and not be a part of the problem.  We need to open our lens to see all as multi-dimensional, unique human beings, not discriminate and make prejudice of skin tone, but allow a person to prove their character. 

And music is a big part of that. Music is universal and connects to the soul. We need to acknowledge that Black people have been forerunners and innovators in many music genres and have had a great influence on the art form. Celebrating that, recognizing how music connects us cross-culturally, that helps us all. Unfortunately, America has made race so pinnacle we forget what the mission of music is supposed to do, bring us together, not divide us. 

Who are a few local DMV musicians you are listening to these days or you admire?

Top of mind: Christylez Bacon, Jenna Camile, Champion Sound, Julie Outrage, Kromanauts, and Cecily. And there are a lot more, again, I could go on! 

No doubt he is moved by #MusicForTheMovement and will be by this amazing video "Delivery." 

I hope he is!

Well, this has been an immense pleasure, Dior. Thank you so much for taking the time and connecting with me. I am so excited for what's to come from you!  

Thank you so much, Nina. Always love connecting with you, boo. And next time we'll do this in person when things open up again.

You got it, Dior!

(And she does, she really does.)

To learn more about Dior Ashley Brown below, check out all of the links below.