Copper


Pura Fé: Her Ever-Evolving Artistry

Issue 197And Indie for All

No artist springs fully formed into the world. Being creative is a kinetic state, shifting constantly, and not always in linear development. Few singer-songwriters reveal this inner prism more clearly...

Sunflower Bean: Veterans of the Brooklyn DIY Scene

Issue 196And Indie for All

Fat Possum Records, the small label that the band Sunflower Bean records for, refers to the threesome as “veterans of the Brooklyn DIY scene.” DIY. That’s Brooklynese for indie. Cute. (Full disclosure:...

Alice Phoebe Lou

Issue 195And Indie for All

At the ripe old age of 17, Alice Phoebe Lou decided she’d had enough of life in her native South Africa. She slung her guitar across her back and headed...

Electric Guest

Issue 59AND INDIE FOR ALL

When I first added Electric Guest to my schedule for this column, the duo was an indie band, and had been since forming in 2011. In the intervening weeks, the two musicians...

The Sea and Cake

Issue 57AND INDIE FOR ALL

Misheard lyrics are an age-old, unavoidable problem in rock music (and the inspiration for some great YouTube satires), but one band took advantage of the phenomenon. While listening to fellow...

The F16s

Issue 55AND INDIE FOR ALL

Chennai, capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu on India’s southeastern coastline, is home to the five men who make up The F16s. Billing themselves as a “Madras/Bangalore-based Dance/Punk...

Be Steadwell

Issue 54AND INDIE FOR ALL

Every time she opens her mouth to sing, Washington, DC-based singer/songwriter Be Steadwell exudes calm and strength. As devoted to political activism as she is to music, she has a growing...

Piano Club

Issue 53AND INDIE FOR ALL

Their lead singer and songwriter goes by the cool-cat name of Anthony Sinatra, so you know they take pop vocal music seriously. Still, Piano Club, which has been recording and performing...

Yellow Light Machine

Issue 50AND INDIE FOR ALL

When you hear the word “indie,” you probably think of New York. Or Toronto. Maybe Seattle. Even Reykjavik. But what about Nairobi, Kenya? There’s a burgeoning indie music scene there,...

Matthew and the Atlas

Issue 48AND INDIE FOR ALL

In the 1960s, the folk music revival opened up a place for artists who loved traditional British song as much as they loved creating new material. Chief among those trad-influenced...

Leopold and his Fiction

Issue 45AND INDIE FOR ALL

With eyes like big brown marbles and his dyed blond hair slicked back, Daniel James Leopold looks like a man whose songs would teeter at the edge of madness. And...

Mashrou’ Leila

Issue 43AND INDIE FOR ALL

The name of this Lebanese band, Mashrou’ Leila, means “The Night Project.” Their sound is a blend of Arab pop and western electronica. But what really matters is what they are...

Celisse Henderson

Issue 44AND INDIE FOR ALL

Sometimes indie songwriters also write theater pieces. Much rarer are those whose talents are so wide-ranging that they perform in Broadway shows and hit TV sitcoms. Celisse Henderson is in...

Alice Phoebe Lou

Issue 42AND INDIE FOR ALL

At the ripe old age of 17, Alice Phoebe Lou decided she’d had enough of life in her native South Africa. She slung her guitar across her back and headed...

Sunflower Bean

Issue 39AND INDIE FOR ALL

Fat Possum Records, the small label that the band Sunflower Bean records for, refers to the threesome as “veterans of the Brooklyn DIY scene.” DIY. That’s Brooklynese for indie. Cute. (Full disclosure:...

Adrian Crowley

Issue 37AND INDIE FOR ALL

Adrian Crowley might as well be the love child of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen. The Dublin-based songwriter has the intense introspection, cracking baritone voice, and distaste for sentimentality that...

Little Simz

Issue 36AND INDIE FOR ALL

The male stars (read: practically all the stars) of rap music have not done much to encourage women’s equality. How’s that for an understatement? That’s why the world needs Simbi...

Andy Suzuki & The Method

Issue 34AND INDIE FOR ALL

Labels don’t attach easily to the music of Andy Suzuki & The Method. You might call it pop leaning toward R&B, with some country-tinged folk music thrown in. Then again, New...