With his new album, Year Of The Living Dead, out today, February 26, 2021 on Kompakt, Vienna-born and LA-based producer John Tejada finds a blissful extended moment of balance between the new and the familiar. Anyone who’s followed his career to date, which has included four previous albums for Kompakt, outings for storied labels like Plug Research, Playhouse and Cocoon, and numerous remixes and collaborations–most recently, his Wajatta duo with comedian and musician Reggie Watts–will immediately sense the warmth and eloquence that Tejada brings to his gilded, pliant techno and electro hybrids. But there’s more here, too; an explorer’s glimmer in the producer’s eye, as he gets to grips with new ways of working and being, while offering a reflective opening for the listener, something echoed in artwork by graphic designer and ‘contemplative artist’ David Grey.

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Adult Karate (the musical moniker for versatile artist K.C. Maloney) is poised to release his second album, My Friends Are Internet And I Want To Break You Open, on July 31, 2020, on tastemaker label Plug Research. More than a year and a half in the making, this new album is a true expression of the artist’s musical evolution, a culmination of both his personal life journey and the integration of his various musical influences. This dynamic, boundary-crossing release defies genre pigeonholing and seamlessly glides between musical styles while Maloney’s candid, sometimes confessional lyrics and reverbed-out vocals hold the whole picture together. Read the rest of this entry »

John Tejada, a frequent guest on Touched Music compilations, hatched the idea of turning the final project for his CalArts “Advanced Electronic Music Production” class into a compilation album for the established label. John Tejada Presents Future Stars features 15 of Tejada’s students at their best, as well as an exclusive original track by Tejada himself called “NYC83,” which imagines an alternative of a classic b-boy breakin’ tune. Established as a non-profit, the record label benefits Macmillan Cancer Support in the UK among others. Touched Music will release Future Stars digitally on Friday, May 15, 2020, with 100-limited edition CDs to follow shortly after. The best way to support the charity—and the only way to procure the beautiful physical CD—is to purchase from Bandcamp. The release will also be available on Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, Bleep and many other platforms.

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The latest project of the Rebel Babel Ensemble is a universal tribute to hip hop pioneer DJ Premier. The transcultural international big band, perhaps the world’s largest (currently boasting over 11,000 members from sixteen countries), unleashed “Tribute to DJ Premier,” its herculean video “gift” to Preemo and the world, on the legend’s birthday, March 21, 2020. For this particular orchestration and video project, Rebel Babel and its conductor and co-founder Łukasz “L.U.C.” Rostkowski arranged samples from DJ Premier’s work for a jazz big band collaboration that was recorded in eight European and U.S. cities with just under 100 musicians involved. Read the rest of this entry »

Wajatta—the musical duo of Reggie Watts and John Tejada—kicks off the Natural History Museum’s season opener of its popularFirst Fridays series on Friday, March 6, 2020 with a performance celebrating the release of the duo’s sophomore album, Don’t Let Get You Down. Wajatta and a host of other performers and lecturers, including Ologies podcast host Alie Ward and KCRW’s Novena Carmel, will appear at the “after-hours” event that runs from 5:00 to 10:00pm.

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Wajatta — the musical duo of Reggie Watts and John Tejada — return with their second album, Don’t Let Get You Down, due out on the groundbreaking Brainfeeder label on February 28, 2020. Coming from different worlds, but sharing a passion for the rich history of electronic music, beat-boxer/comedian/musician Watts and electronic music artist/DJ/producer Tejada brings out the best in each other’s formidable skill sets. Where the duo’s debut album, Casual High Technology, hinted at the broad stylistic possibilities inherent in the marriage of Watts’ elastic, soul-stirring vocals and Tejada’s layered, melodically inventive productions, Don’t Let Get You Down makes good on that promise.

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On Friday, July 19, 2019, Mount Wilson Observatory inaugurates its Cosmic Sounds series, combining sound installation art with observing of the night sky. Sound artist Jeff Talman creates work at the intersection of art and science. Mt. Wilson Observatory premieres his latest work, Of Sound Before the Stars, in 8-channel surround sound inside the magnificent dome of the 100-inch telescope with its singular acoustics. Of Sound was made in collaboration with astrophysicists Daniel Huber and Mark Whittle. Talman will make a presentation at the opening of the evening. The event runs from 7:30pm until midnight. As dark falls, the piece will play in its entirety. And on into the night tuning the sonic with the visual experience as the audience observes celestial objects through the same telescope that determined the expansion of the universe, an epochal moment in science. Read the rest of this entry »

The Montalbán is proud to partner with Infinity Grove Entertainment to present Los Angeles audiences with a special opportunity to experience an enhanced workshop production of Accidental Joy: A New Musical, coming to the theatre for one-night-only on Saturday, June 29, 2019. Book by Marcus Terrell Smith, music by Robbie McDonald, and lyrics by both, Accidental Joy is a dark comedy musical about one woman’s incredible journey to find the guru within, and the four or five hilarious murders that follow her along the way. Doors will open at 7:00pm and the performance will begin at 8:00pm on the Montalbán’s main stage Read the rest of this entry »

Mount Wilson Observatory—the scientific marvel above Pasadena, atop Mount Wilson—is pleased to announce the third date in its Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome six-month series, to take place on Sunday, July 7, 2019. The performances are presented inside the iconic vaulted dome of the 100-inch telescope. A season of musical adventures thoughtfully curated by Artistic Director Cécilia Tsan are offered on the first Sunday of each month through October with two shows per date. The July concert program, entitled Songs of The Spheres, feature all vocal compositions, each one a World Premiere, by composers Bruce Babcock, Anthony Constantino, Todd Mason, Mark McEncroe and Danaë Vlasse. Performers for the two vocal concert include Hila Plitmann, soprano, Sangeeta Kaur, soprano, Marcia Dickstein, harp, Reina Inui, violin,  Rachel Mellis, flute, and Shea Welsh, guitar. Also performing is a special guest chamber choir, the Sterling Ensemble, directed by Michelle Jensen. Read the rest of this entry »

Mount Wilson Observatory – the scientific marvel above Pasadena, atop Mount Wilson – is pleased to announce the second date in its Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome six-month series, to take place on Sunday, June 2, 2019. The performances are presented inside the iconic vaulted dome of the 100-inch telescope. A season of musical adventures thoughtfully curated by Artistic Director Cécilia Tsan are offered on the first Sunday of each month through October. The June concert program will feature oboe quartets by Mozart and Britten plus a string trio by Beethoven with Leslie Reed on oboe, Roger Wilkie on violin, Alma Fernandez on viola, and Ms. Tsan on cello. Read the rest of this entry »