Each week, we add new music, older tracks, which are known as “Gold adds”, and tracks that might not fit our general format, but still deserve a place in rotation because they serve our mission of showing the depth, breadth, and influence of Black musical expression - These are known as “Variety adds.”

. If you make music and want it considered for rotation, 

 If you want to give feedback directly, reach out to me at jgreen@mpr.org.

Tune in to hear our host Sanni B. live on The Message from 10 AM to 1 PM Monday through Thursday!

Keep all these tracks in one place with the 

 Spotify playlist. This playlist is updated weekly with all the new adds. When that playlist is cycled with new tracks, the tracks live forever on the 

 playlist. That playlist contains all of the music that we've added since the week of July 11, 2022 in chronological order of when it was added. All of the tracks available on Spotify, at least.

Milton Nascimento & Esperanza Spalding - 

Julian Green built and manages the music library for Carbon Sound and oversees content creation.  


Julian Green

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of August 12, 2024.


Image for New on Carbon Sound Spotify playlist

Natalia Toledo

New on Carbon Sound

Old on Carbon Sound

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of August 12, 2024

Andrea Swensson sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and talked all things Prince — from being personally summoned by The Purple One to Paisley Park 10 years ago, to her new book “Prince and Purple Rain: 40 Years,” and a whole lot more.


The Message - Andrea Swensson

Andrea Swensson Interview: Meeting and getting to know Prince, her latest book, and more

Prince | Official Podcast

John Kueppers

Interview: Andrea Swensson on The Message

Ronnie Loko is a DJ and producer from South London. He was in Minneapolis back in July for a show at the Hideout in downtown Minneapolis with Unbothered. We chatted with Ronnie about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

I'm out here with Yasmeenah and Kwey. We had a gig at The Hideout in downtown Minneapolis, for my first time here. The show went really well. Sold out. Vibes were good. Was able to showcase some overseas sounds, and I played a lot with the crowd as well.

My music production. I've always made music, but I had to find a way of being able to perform the music that I made. Early on in my music career, I got invited onto radio, and I was asked to DJ live and play my tracks together. And I couldn't do it. The DJ  actually had to run my tunes for me. So, after that, I learned how to DJ so I don't want to be in that position again, where someone else has to play my tunes.

It's been 10 years. Properly now DJing, about 20 plus years of production.

Are there big differences between playing here and in the UK?

Yes. I think because I'm coming from an international sort of standpoint as a musician, there's an expectation that I'm going to come and bring something new. So, the crowd's more open to hearing what I'm going to deliver, as opposed to knowing the crowd and what they like. I'm able to bring something new. 

I feel like today's going to be a big freestyle. I'm going to slip in a few exclusive productions from myself and some of my friends there in the UK. A lot of UK funky tribal and amapiano sort of sounds. Yeah, man, just good electronic vibes.

Stay tuned for new mixes on Carbon Sound every other Wednesday. If you’re a DJ and want to be considered for the series, email a mix of yours to jgreen@mpr.org.

A fresh new set South London Afrobeats maestro.


Ronnie Loko (8/7/24)

Philli Irvin stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about leading and building the alternative creative institution that is Intro To Success (@itsfactory), his vision and artistic process behind Intro To Success events, as well as upcoming projects like Jambridge: a cultural event that revisits eras of historically Black gatherings through sound and installation.


The Message - Philli Irvin

Philli Irvin Interview: Intro To Success, designing events, and more

A Kid Named Cudi

KND Promo video

ITS PROM

ITS FEST RECAP EXPERIENCE 2018

ITS TOPIA event recap

JAMBRIDGE INSTALLATION OVERVIEW 2023

Interview: Philli Irvin on The Message

Every 1st of the month, we’re creating an all-encompassing roundup of tracks, projects, and music videos that were released by Minnesota artists from that previous month. 

If we missed something Minnesota made that dropped in July, DM us on 

Keep our favorite tracks in one place with “Carbon Sound’s 1st of the Month” Spotify playlist. Expect an updated 1st of the Month Playlist on……every 1st of the Month.  Mark your calendars accordingly.

 is a short and sweet project that's perfect for the dog days of summer. No Pun intended. The project sees Sumer trying out new sounds like on the dance-influenced "Luv U" and belting out her signature vocals throughout. RIYL: Yearning - Julian Green

GLAMKAMA, Glam Toyota, Gonkama - GLAMKAMA

14HunnitVon - Before I tell you how I feel

Reeves Junya - The Art Of Three Stripes (Volume 1)

The incredible Dua Saleh released a new single called “want” from their upcoming debut album, 

, out October 11 via ghostly. As Dua approaches their career with a new intention of creating more vulnerable music, “want” is about a romance that is probably not a good idea, and going against that better judgement anyway. - Natalia Toledo

Basement Gang, JuneThaKid, Craishon, $aiku -

GARBAGE CO., meda, smoketoby, killbeverly, møses, Yata - 

Minneapolis-based artist Mati recently released “poetic flashbacks” – a new single that feels like looking at your past. In the opening of the song, we get a taste of beautiful r&b piano, emphasizing a sense of nostalgia. As the song progresses, however, that remembrance turns into deep contemplation. Airing out his frustrations of dating and trying to move forward, Mati is vulnerably “looking for some clarity.” - Nikhil Kumaran

Producer Dammntc has been releasing a slew of singles ahead of his debut album 

, including “Last Time,” a song that features fellow Minnesota artist and frequent collaborator xF3bruaryx. The album — which will have notable features from the likes of Yeat (

), SSGKobe, Yung Fazo and more, “encapsulates the essence of fleeting yet profound friendships, inspired by a poignant lesson learned from a close friend who recently passed away” (

). Keeping this in mind, “Last Time” feels dreamy and nostalgic in essence, conjuring a fondness for the relationship between where you’ve come from and where you’re headed. - John Kueppers

MMYYKK performs at Carbon Sound Presents: Minnesota Music Month showcase (full performance)

Tailor Briann - What's Your Fantasy ft. EssJay TheAfrocentricRatchet (Official Video)

Taylor Ngiri Seaberg "Silence" | Pardon the Noise (S6, E1)

Dizzy Fae "TRY" Live On The Radar Performance

Essjay~TheAfroCentricRachet #trapOnaMic | Song; Pretty-er

Lady Midnight | Echo Love | UNDER THE MIC SESSIONS

Rambo WDM - Beretta (Official Music Video)

Tailor Brian | 7MinuteDrill2 | UNDER THE MIC SESSIONS

{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"text":"","type":"text"}]}]}

Author

Nikhil Kumaran

Highlighting Minnesota made tracks, projects, and music videos released over the month of July, 2024.


Graphic for Carbon Sound's 1st of the Month Playlist

Good Grief

PLACE AD HERE

GLAMKAMA

Before I tell you how I feel

WAY TOO SERIOUS

THE TRENCHES NEED ME

Members Only

The Art Of Three Stripes (Volume 1)

Carbon Sound's 1st of the Month

papa mbye - CANNONBALL (Official Video)

MMYYKK - U Got Me (Official Music Video)

Ka Lia Universe - Ib Txhis (Forever)

Aytijay & 14HunnitVon - Cloud9 (Official Music Video)

Minnesota Music Releases to check out from July 2024

Jeff Swiff is a DJ, producer, and party promoter with decades of experience. The joy and passion he has for the music radiates through his work. We chatted with Jeff about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

Well, I'm Jeff. I'm a lifelong house head. I’ve been DJing for 24 years now. I throw some parties and I put some music on a record label. Minneapolis is my home, and I like to bring people together. Whether that's people DJing, or people dancing, that's just something that I enjoy doing. 

It was big box CDs at Best Buy. I would bike to Best Buy and I would find house music CDs, their Ministry of Sound CDs, and I was like, “This is great.” Music just got a hold of me. I was like, “How do I get this music?” I could buy more CDs, then I figured it was records. So I had my dad take me to a record store when I was 15. He’d drive me to Let It Be Records and Vital Vinyl. That's kind of how I got started.

What is House Proud? How did that get started?

House proud was actually created by Brian Gerard and Nicole Johnson. I believe Nicole Johnson had a birthday party that Brian DJ’d back in 2011. At the time, the landscape of house music sounded different in Minneapolis. It was more poppy, and all the clubs that still existed at that time really wanted that more mainstream leaning sound. So, it was hard to get soulful cuts in a room to work out. 

[Brian and Nicole] did that at Honey, I believe. They enjoyed it so much, they were like, “Should we do it again?” So, they talked to John Provenzano at Honey and they asked, “Can we get a night?” and it started off with that night in July of 2011. I was I was working at Social House in Uptown and he was my resident DJ. So they had kind of scheme the party up there and just asked me to play the first one and then I was an enthusiast and occasional DJ and I started doing flyers for them. Then, Nicole had to exit the party because she had a child. She's wanted to change her lifestyle asked me to step in for her. That was in 2014. I've been promoting House Proud since 2014, but I've been fanboying the party since it started.

What have been some of your favorite moments during House Proud events?

When you feel the unbridled energy in the room. Everyone’s in unison. It's not anything that you're seeing, exactly, you know? The DJ and the people are interacting, selecting tunes to get them hotter, whipped up more and having them react. Watching that synergy is dope. It's unbeatable. It gives me goosebumps thinking about it.

I selected cuts that I listen to at home on repeat. Stuff that influenced the some of the music that I make. It kind of takes a lot of my musical history and influences and chunks them together to hopefully sound like how music feels to me, I guess. You know, swung out house beats, R&B fusion, melodies, some vocals, musicality. Not mixing by key, just going by feel. Seeing what happens, just letting the music do whatever it needs to do. Hopefully, it'll be kind of sultry, sassy, cool. Funky.

House Proud takes place every first Friday at Beast Barbecue in Minneapolis. Follow them 

House music in all its glory from a Minnesota veteran.


Jeff Swiff (7-24-24)

Sassy, sultry House Mix from Jeff Swiff | Carbon Sound

Jeff Swiff (7/24/24)

For four decades now, the cinematic masterpiece 

 — starring Minnesota’s finest export, Prince — has held a unique treasured place in the pantheon of film. Hitting theaters at the peak of the initial MTV phenomenon, it successfully wove a style only seen in short-form music videos into the fiber of the silver screen. Prince, playing “The Kid,” essentially plays himself — unlike any protagonist before or since as a special effect no studio could duplicate.  

The 40th anniversary of the film’s theatrical release is Saturday, July 27. 

 is seen now to be just as beloved for its outstanding technical prowess as it is for the slices of ‘80s cheese baked into its crust. But while both perspectives today emit something of a warm fondness, those two trains of thought made for a much more polarizing reception upon the film’s release. In 

 managed to land both in the critic-voted Top 5 Best 

 Top 5 Worst movies list. It’s with this in mind that we look back at what critics said about the film upon release. 

Television’s two most trusted critics were among the most vocal champions of the film. While those close to Prince reported that  he very specifically had literal nightmares of Gene Siskel tearing the film apart leading up to the film’s release, reality landed much sweeter for The Purple One. Not content with just giving the film one glowing review, the two revisited the film multiple times throughout 1984, including a special “X-ray” feature going deep on why the film worked so well. 

, he went even further saying the film had “a freshness and maturity that most Hollywood films lack.”  

While in 1982 Prince sang “All The Critics Love U In New York,” there was one glaring exception. Somewhere in a Manhattan cineplex sat someone who really didn’t seem to get “it.” Yes, 

 movie critic Vincent Canby missed the mark quite a bit with 

. It’s one thing to not like the film. Taste is subjective and Prince isn’t necessarily for everybody. But Canby calls the film “completely without humor” and claims “the offstage stuff is utter nonsense.” Canby also makes unflattering comparisons of Prince to Liza Minelli and Kermit the Frog, both after coming out the gate by calling the film “an album cover released as a movie.” 

Elsewhere in the Big Apple, veteran critic Pauline Kael rained down 

 to be critical of the film. Here, while she admits early on to being a fan of Prince’s music — even naming specific song titles — her main issue is that “the moviemakers aren’t skillful enough to use” Prince’s performance. She also, while praising Morris Day, chastises the film as a whole for coming off “commissioned” and even takes digs at the 

 album, which she also was surprisingly not fond of.  

“Dramatically, this film is an incredible pile of slop.” Maltin really did not like this movie, particularly citing the treatment of women “like punching bags.” While he does call the concert footage “vibrant” and “Well shot,” his take is among the most brutal. 

 David Sterritt, The Christian Science Monitor

For those unfamiliar with this particular publication’s approach to movie reviews at the time, it was as much about knowing the movie you’re getting into as it was whether it was a good movie or not. Since it’s brief, here’s the entirety — “The pop-music star Prince makes his movie debut in this bizarre drama about a rock singer with a troubled career and a miserable home life. Directed by Albert Magnoli as if he were shooting ‘Mourning Becomes Electra’ for MTV. (Rated R; contains vulgar language, violence, and a nasty attitude toward women.)” 

The hills of Hollywood embraced Prince’s film with open arms, with 

 capturing the West Coast approach to Prince at the time. Kirk calls it “a rousing contemporary addition to the classic backstage musical genre.” I will say, as someone who has seen this film dozens of times and has written thousands of words and given hours of lectures about it over the years, Kirk points out two things I’ve never otherwise seen a critic point out. First, and this is a minor thing, but when you compare Prince’s lyrics in the film to the rest of his discography up to that point, it is “Relatively tame.” Sure there’s “Darling Nikki,” but it does make one wonder what “Nikki” would have been doing in that hotel lobby had this been 

-era Prince. But the biggest revelation from reading her review is that the film contains no blood. Yes, there’s violence from the slapstick to the harrowing, but not a drop of blood is seen on-screen, even in the SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT scene where his father attempts suicide. Makes one wonder if that was a deliberate choice either in a futile attempt to land a PG-13 rating or maybe in such a hyper-stylized film, blood doesn’t exist in Prince’s world.

Finally, the West Coast warmth proves the perfect temperature for Purple Rain as 

 in a way that holds up as the best description as to why fans today like the film – “Hot, jagged, garish, ‘Purple Rain’ uses an old story, works it over with a blowtorch, and succeeds beyond even its own audacious dreams.” Behold further proof that Shelias know how to back-up Prince better than anyone. 

Purple Rain will be screened on Saturday, July 27, at Target Center as part of their Purple Rain 40th Anniversary Live Showcase. 

Visit Target Center’s website for more information.

Chaz Kangas

Although celebrated today, Prince’s seminal film polarized critics upon release 40 years ago. Take a look back at contemporary reviews of Prince’s film opus.


Warner Brothers Pictures

Fuqua, Ellie

Siskel & Ebert - "Purple Rain" (1984)

Revisiting How Purple Rain Hit Movie Critics 40 Years Ago

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of July 15, 2024.


New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of July 15, 2024

Awa Mally

Check out photos from Carbon Sound x Unbothered’s event at Red Sea celebrating Juneteenth and two years of Carbon Sound.


Awa Mally for MPR

Photos: Celebrating two years of Carbon Sound

Nola Rave is a DJ, producer, and party promoter with deep roots in Minnesota. She stopped by the studio to record a mix with old favorites and funky deep cuts. We chatted with Nola about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

I actually was a DJ at the radio station in Duluth, for the university when I was in college a long time ago. That's when raving was kind of big and I discovered house music. I was playing hard rock music  on the radio station, and then my friends were like, “listen to this music.” So, I started getting into Mark Farina and house music. Then I just was like, I need to play the music because nobody's playing funky enough.

What is Freak of the Week and how did it get started?

It’s our party, second Fridays of the month at Beast Barbecue. We’re from Duluth, so 12 years ago, we started throwing parties there, just small ones. But Duluth isn't really like a DJ scene, so it was very small. But then when we moved down here, like nine years ago, we just started doing different parties around town and kind of like barhopping, moving Freak of the Week around. 

When we moved here is when the “Freak of the Week” name stuck, because it was a really fun name for a party. We did it at Kitty Kat Club, Pimento, and some other places. Eventually, John from Beast BBQ called me after COVID was done and asked if I wanted to just do a show there, and the rest is history. We've been doing it for a few years there and it's a really good fit. All the staff is awesome and people know where to go now instead of having to figure out what bar we're at and stuff.

What have been some of your favorite memories from hosting the Freak of the Week events?

Oh my god, there are so many. I feel like every one is just my favorite. I'm like, “this was my favorite.” And then the next one happens and it’s like, “no, this is my favorite!” Having DJ T-1000 was really special. Making friends from Detroit who come and play. It's been really special. Just making friends has been the best part, playing music with people who understand that we're not just like playing one style. We're kind of going all over the place and having fun, and it's just about having a good time. Let loose. 

All kinds of stuff. I'm gonna see how far I can get. A lot of slow, funk  builds, and then some actual funk, and then some disco. Hopefully I'll get to house and techno, but I don't know how far I can get in an hour!

You can also catch Nola Rave at The Great Beyond Festival later this month. Nola says she’s thinking of doing a drum n’ bass set. You won’t wanna miss it. Find more information about The Great Beyond 

Funk and disco from a Minnesota veteran.


Nola Rave (7/10/24)

Woman with blond bangs smiles in polaroid

Stories