Neda Kellogg sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and talked all things Project DIVA International: an organization that has been helping Black girls on their path towards self-discovery for 17 years now.


Neda Kellogg sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and talked all things Project DIVA International: an organization that has been helping Black girls on their path towards self-discovery for 17 years now.

The Message - Neda Kellogg

Neda Kellogg poses for her polaroid photo

John Kueppers

Neda Kellogg and Sanni Brown posing for a photo 

Project DIVA International Fuels Confidence & Success with Young Black Women & Girls

Project DIVA International gives girls support for their dreams

I'm Done Chasing (Spoken Word) by S'sence Adams (RIH)

Voices for Change: Twin Cities-based Project Diva International expands its reach

Interview: Neda Kellogg on The Message

Gerardo Morado, AKA El Niño Indigo, is a DJ and event producer based in Minneapolis. He is the founder of 

, a brand and party series that brings diverse national talent to the Twin Cities.  

We chatted with El Niño Indigo about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

My name is Gerardo Morado. I go by El Niño Indigo.

I started listening to electronic music when I was 17, and then I got to go to a rave in Reynosa, Mexico, and that just kind of sealed the deal for me.

How did you get started doing your own events?

I got my first experience in curating and hosting events in 2011. I had already been DJing for four years, and then hosting an event kind of fell into my lap. I’ve just been doing it ever since.

What have been some of your favorites so far?

Some of the favorite ones that I've hosted here in Minneapolis have been the first time I brought CCL or when I brought Kush Jones. It's kind of hard to pick because I feel like there's been multiple favorite events that I've had.

ACME Collective is a brand, label, and party series. I originally started doing it in Mexico in 2013. It was same concept of bringing together different cultures with visual art and electronic music. I did that in Mexico for like, two years, and then rebranded when I came up to Minneapolis in 2018 

I wanted it to be a gateway into visual art and dance music. Give people an opportunity to discover something that they might have not stumbled across if it wasn't a multi-faceted event.

I have some ambient, breaky left field rhythms. That's about it.

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.

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


Julian Green

The Minneapolis DJ and event organizer blends left-field electronica with Latin influences.


El Niño Indigo blends left-field electronica with Latin influences.

El Niño Indigo (10/2/24)

Electro, Breaks, and more from El Niño Indigo | Carbon Sound

Every 1st of the month, we’re creating a roundup of our favorite tracks, projects, and music videos that were released by Minnesota artists from that previous month. 

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.

Northside Minneapolis hip-hop artist KelsTheGawd shakes our brains with “Motion Man” – his latest single that came out in early September. Kels’ melodic cadence is hypnotizing and the buttery instrumental on this track smoothly bounces around his vocals – it’s fun, it’s easy to listen to, it’s just so dope. - Nikhil Kumaran

Obi Original, The Black Atlantics - Egwu Amala

Obi Original’s newest track “Egwu Amala” drives home a fundamental idea within his artistry: culture is the center of one’s identity. Whether through the bassline at the very beginning of the song, the beautiful arpeggiated guitar riffs throughout, or the percussive elements that quite literally tickle your ear, Obi pays homage to Nigerian greats like Osita Osadebe all while creating his own path within Igbo highlife music. - John Kueppers

"Do You Know )" doesn't waste any time. You're floating effortlessly, surrounded by wispy colors right after pressing play. RIYL: yearning, dreamy vocals, the ether. - Julian Green

Minneapolis rapper and member of the collective Basement Gang $aiku recently released his latest track “Sailboat (we Groovin)”, which comes after his most recent release “Southside in 95” last month. Backed by a mellow beat reminiscent of the 90’s (produced by Quasi Uno), “Sailboat” takes you on a journey through his city, through deep self-reflection and highlights $aiku’s powerful storytelling. - Natalia Toledo 

Craishon - I Thought There’d Be More…

Bruised - KayCyy & Sign Crushes Motorist (Visualizer)

L.A. Buckner & BiG HOMiE’s "Fireflies" Performance Video

L.A. Buckner & BiG HOMiE- "Fireflies" Performance Video

L¡ya - Healthy | 610 In The Loop Performance 🎙️

Cashinova’s song “Flawless” in Wingstop Commercial

Cashinova's song "Flawless" in Wingstop commercial

M.anifest, award-winning Ghanaian rapper and musician with MN ties, featured in new Ezra Collective song

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Author

Natalia Toledo

Nikhil Kumaran

Highlighting Carbon Sound’s Favorite Minnesota made tracks, projects, and music videos released over the month of September, 2024.


Best minnesota music from september 2024 graphic

Carbon Sound's 1st of the Month

Ebony Remembrance

I Thought There'd Be More...

Zodiak  - Tolerance (dir. by @heartmarko)

Motion Man

Deja Miquel - Sneaky (Official Video)

Jesirae - Rise (Official Music Video)

Juice Lord- #traponamic |Playlist:(1)"Diamonds in the Rough",(2)"Change Clothes",(3)"Towns Favorite"

Lewiee Blaze - #traponamic | Songs (mini set)"Growing Pains" (1) "The Great Flood"(2)"Sacrifices"(3)

Wingstop Flawless Commercial 2024 (USA)

Streets is Calling - Single Edit feat. M.anifest & Moonchild Sanelly

Minnesota Music Releases to check out from September 2024

Timothy Wilson stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about the origins of Urban Lights, the importance of physical media, the music industry in Minnesota and beyond over the years, and a whole lot more.


The Message - Timothy Wilson

Timothy Wilson Interview: Urban Lights Music, Minnesota music scene history and insight, and more

Timothy Wilson of Urban Lights Music talks about how to take care of your records

Destiny's Child - No, No, No Part 2 (Official Music Video) ft. Wyclef Jean

Redman - I'll Bee Dat

Interview: Timothy Wilson on The Message

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.

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of Sep. 23, 2024.


Image for New on Carbon Sound Spotify playlist

New on Carbon Sound

Old on Carbon Sound

New Music on Carbon Sound - Weeks of September 9 and 23, 2024

Carlos Zuñiga, AKA PRØGRAMM⁶¹², is a DJ and event producer based in Minneapolis. His events, Program and Club Nowhere, keep the spirit of 90’s raves alive. Dark and tucked away in hidden corners of Minneapolis, they’ve become known for their freeing atmosphere and diverse lineups. As a DJ himself, PRØGRAMM⁶¹² dives deep into the psychedelic nature of techno and house.

We chatted with PRØGRAMM⁶¹² about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

I've always been drawn to dancing and whatnot, just expression through movement. Towards the end of the pandemic, I wanted to start reaching out and seeing if there was scene within Minneapolis. I got involved going to different events and  fell in love with the spaces and the music that was being played. Now I'm throwing events and also I'm a DJ.

How would you describe the Minneapolis scene for somebody that's not from here?

I's multifaceted. We’re in the electronic side of things, but there's all sorts of different scenes here. Compared to other cities, people don't really walk around with a chip on their shoulders. People are pretty humble here.

I run two party series. Program, which focuses on more techno music, and Club Nowhere, which is a more house music focused series. 

What have been the most gratifying parts of throwing your events?

Building a reputation and being taken seriously on a different kind of level. It's really nice, you know?

Today we're gonna start off a little ambient, and then gonna go into some techno and some house. See what happens.

The Minneapolis DJ and event organizer highlights the cutting edge of electronic music.


Trippy techno and house from a Minneapolis stalwart.

PRØGRAMM⁶¹² (9/18/24)

Man with goatee and glasses smiles in polaroid

Minimal House, Dub Techno, and more from PRØGRAMM⁶¹² | Carbon Sound

musclecars, the NYC-based DJ/producer duo comprised of Brandon Weems and Craig Handfield, has been having a busy year. They released their debut album, 

The duo met each other as teenagers, sharing a love for sneakers and and dance music. In 2018, they launched Coloring Lessons, a party series in New York City intended to bring nightlife back to its golden era while highlighting musical contributions of their black and brown ancestors.

I first learned about them by accident, catching their closing set for 2023’s Dweller Festival at Bossa Nova Civic Club in Brooklyn. Dancing through the daze of surviving the weekend in the foggy, sweaty room, I was struck by their skill and clear reverence for the power of house music. Their full-length debut, 

 feels organic and rich, imbued with soul and driving energy.

In between a recent run of shows, we chatted over Zoom about their new album and their practice as DJs.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

It's been good. We've been away for about a month now, which we've done before. We went to Lisbon, Portugal for the first time. That was really nice. We played in Liverpool, our first gig outside of London in the UK, which was super nice as well.

You guys have been at it for a while. How's the journey been going from local, to national, and now international?

It's definitely been very fruitful and rewarding trajectory. We started in 2012, 2013, so it's been nice to to see that people are listening to the music and are enjoying coming to our parties. But yeah, it takes time, which is my favorite thing about it. I feel like a lot of the kids today, or not even kids, adults as well, expect this instant gratification thing. You just start DJing and you expect to play these huge clubs and festivals. Or you just start making music and you're waiting for your Grammy. I think that we really enjoy the time that it takes to do the things that we want to do.

How has the New York City scene changed since things have reopened after the pandemic lockdowns?

A lot more people are into the music now. It feels like there are a lot more DJs now as well. I feel like during the pandemic, people were kind of forced to really engage and listen. Pre-pandemic, music came out and someone may listen to it or see it in passing, but they have to go to work, or go to this event, or just have something to do, right? But during the pandemic, people were really forced to dive in.

I feel like the dance music scene in New York is a lot richer now. Since the pandemic, we have a lot more clubs that just focus on underground music, which I feel like is a rare thing in other states in the country.

I feel like so many people took advantage of being able to go out anytime, any place in New York. When that was taken away from us for, like, a year and a half, people really took advantage when it came back. I think that a part of that energy never really left. There are still so many people like coming out to clubs. A whole new generation, too. There are people who turned 21 in that time frame that have never experienced what nightlife is about. So, yeah, I would say that the city and the scene are definitely blooming. 

As DJs, are you focusing on the album or on other tracks for this tour?

We're not doing that so much. To be totally honest, I think that the medium of making music and the DJing medium are so different. We kind of have to separate them for ourselves as artists. Of course we’re playing the tracks in the DJ sets from time at a time, but it's not so much about trying to promote the album in that way… We want the album to live in its own world, rather than trying to mold it into these different spaces.

I think that's fair… Theoretically, in our hypothetical dream world, if you could bring the album to a live experience, how would you want to?

With a band. Ideally us and some of the players and vocalists on the album. In a perfect world, we'd be able to play at the Apollo or Red Rocks. One of those really nice venues that have some kind of historical context for us. I think we'd probably incorporate elements of our different productions as well. It's always exciting to watch live performances that do more than just play the song as it's arranged on the album. 

We saw Andre 3000 at this festival we played at this past weekend and his whole performance was improvised. There were elements of the stuff that you heard on his album, but most of it was just what you see on stage. I think that kind of thing is super special.

You brought up an interesting point earlier. Yes, DJing and producing are much different, but do you feel like one helps the other or do you feel like it's completely separate?

They can, but I do find it to be very separate. There are some producers that I love as producers, but as DJs, they're just okay. And then vice versa, some really amazing DJs where their production work is… Yeah. Maybe not as exciting.

I'm sure at some level, there is maybe a subconscious connection. I think they influence each other in some way, but not so much.

How did you connect with Louie Vega for the remix project? How has the process has been finding different collaborators to work on what's already a collaborative project?

We've been fans of Louie since we were younger. We actually met him through our late mentor, Carlos Sanchez. Louie was doing an in-store at this record shop in New York called Cosmic Arts. Carlos knew Louie from back in the day, so he introduced us and we had a very brief interaction with Louie. He gave us his email or number and connected on Facebook. We would send him stuff every now and again, but we always had in mind that we wanted to do something with him; whether that be a collaborative track together or having him do a remix for us. When we made “Tonight,” we were on the same page that Louie would definitely be the perfect person for the remix. So, we spoke to the label, BBE. Pete from BBE has a long-standing leadership with Louie and has put out a lot of his music as well.

I feel like Louie has been someone that's looking out for us. It doesn't feel like a transactional relationship. He gives us advice, he shouts us out. He wanted us to play on stage with him during his set at a festival we were all at, but we didn't have any connection, so we couldn't make it. But yeah, definitely very happy and grateful to have Louie be a part of the project and to form the relationship that we have with him.

I feel like what you said is definitely an intention that we have. The result isn't always something that we're thinking about. We feel like we have this album that people really like, but we're still considering ourselves as students and still always learning and discovering. I think it's the same thing with the intentions that we have around our party and our community. I think it's about being grateful that people are there to experience this thing that we're so impacted by. But yeah, also intending to put these people on, intending to share knowledge. Sorry for the long-winded response, but I think that's a big part of it. 

I think the other things that come to mind outside of the dance music community, either in New York or as a whole around the globe, is just the sound. It's really important to us to preserve this sound. We'll run into some of our big brothers, like, Louie or Ron, and they all kind of say the same things. They're not going to be around forever and there has to be a younger generation that is preserving the sound that we all play, adding the historical context to it. Letting people know where it comes from. I think that's definitely one of the bigger passions of us.

Yeah, just staying true to us and l doing what feels right to us. I think we're at a moment now where it would be easy to compromise and do certain things for other reasons, right? Like to get the Ibiza residency or something like that. But, yeah, I think it's important to just stay true to who we are and do what feels right.

The NYC-based DJ/producer duo reflect on life since releasing their debut album “Sugar Honey Iced Tea!”


Jeff Higgins

musclecars stay inspired and keep House alive

Awa Mally sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and talked about her start in photography and community curation, learning to center her creative ideas and needs, and more.


The Message - Awa Mally

Awa Mally Interview: Untold truths about photography, centering her creative ideas, and more

Wizkid - Essence (Official Video) ft. Tems

What Gordon Parks Saw

Interview: Awa Mally on The Message

Natalia Toledo, AKA TaliaKnight, is a DJ and producer with a history of producing events that celebrate global music here in the Twin Cities. A true music lover, she has hosted 

 on KRSM 98.9 FM for over five years. She is also a digital producer for The Current and has done graphic design work for Carbon Sound.

We chatted with TaliaKnight about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity, below:

My DJ name is TaliaKnight and I'm from Chile. I make beats sometimes and I've been DJing since for about eight years. I also work in radio. 

I didn't, actually. I kind of fell into it. I was doing beat shows at first, and then people wanted me to DJ. So, I taught myself.

How do you know when you're having a good set?

I know I'm having a good set when I'm not so deeply focused. I loosen up a little bit and have more fun.

What are some of the events you produce in the Twin Cities?

The one that's coming up is Noche Chingona with Queen Duin. It’s centered around Latin American music and celebrating our culture. There's also Take Flight with Chico Chi, which is for global music. Otherwise, I DJ at MIA and sometimes at the airport. It’s really laid back. I get to play whatever I want.

Kind of similar to Take Flight. I have music from South America and a lot of global house music.

The veteran DJ and producer brought her appreciation for global sounds to the studio.


Global sounds from Minneapolis DJ TaliaKnight.

TaliaKnight (9/4/24)

Woman with brown hair smiles wide in Polaroid

Latin House, Afrobeats, and more from TaliaKnight | Carbon Sound

Two worlds come together as producer MediumZach and Fanaka Nation share their single “Divine Mama”, a fun and catchy summer jam. MediumZach has been in the scene for many years, first as one half of Big Quarters alongside his brother Brandon Allday, in the early 2000’s. But he has never stopped mixing, producing and engineering, especially after opening his own studio, Woodgrain. His longevity is reflected in the countless artists he’s worked with over the years, including I Self Devine, Lady Midnight, 26! Bats – on top of continuing to release his own music. Fanaka Nation has been establishing himself in the Twin Cities music scene in recent years, fusing hip-hop with African and other world sounds. He has been on Soulja Boy’s US tour and done countless shows around the Twin Cities, which always bring a refreshing new energy to the scene. “Divine Mama” is an ode to a beautiful, magical woman and the perfect end-of-summer song. - Natalia Toledo

Smooth, confident, and full of personality. EuphoriasRoom was a standout from our producer beat battle last year and she's just as talented as a rapper — which is to say, very! - Julian Green

Sir Lucius’ newest track “WHAT THEY WANTED” feels like crip walking on a cloud. The contrast of airy keys floating on top of an absolutely bumping beat is just so infectious. Sir Lucius is showing us why he’s THAT guy in this song – his confidence in his craft is shining through, brighter than ever. I don’t know about you guys, but after I listened to this song, I got exactly “what I wanted” from Sir Lucius. - Nihil Kumaran

West Dayton, Jayso Creative - Don’t Play

Not 1, but 2 Minnesota artists showing off their versatility on a Jersey Club beat? That alone makes me forget all about summer almost being over. This song is a rush of dopamine and feels impossible not to dance to. - John Kueppers

Mati - chicken noodle soup (Official Video)

Dua Saleh - time & time again (feat. Sid Sriram) [Official Music Video]

Tailor Briann - Money, Power, Respect (Freestyle)

Carbon Sound’s Minnesota Music Month Performances

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

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

Highlighting Carbon Sound’s Favorite Minnesota made tracks, projects, and music videos released over the month of August, 2024.


Stories

Interview: Neda Kellogg on The Message

El Niño Indigo (10/2/24)

Minnesota Music Releases to check out from September 2024

Get the Carbon Sound app

Interview: Timothy Wilson on The Message

New Music on Carbon Sound - Weeks of September 9 and 23, 2024

PRØGRAMM⁶¹² (9/18/24)

musclecars stay inspired and keep House alive

Connect with Carbon Sound

Interview: Awa Mally on The Message

TaliaKnight (9/4/24)

Minnesota Music Releases to check out from August 2024

See more stories →