April, 2nd: New Music from Bruce Mack and Kelsey Warren (Blak Emoji)

Two of my longtime friends Bruce Mack and Kelsey Warren have recently released new projects that I’ve been meaning to write about for a minute. Both of these talented cats I’ve known for years, having met Bruce in college at Long Island University (more on that later); my man Kelsey and I met in 2009 when he was still working at Piano’s, a popular East Village club. If I’m not mistaken, he might’ve been playing with Apollo Heights (The Veldt) that night, but, as with most things concerning hang-out with the Apollo Twins, it’s all a blur. However, what has always been clear is that these dudes are talented musicians, conceptualists and songwriters who are always presenting their future funk rock pop music loving best whether on stage or in the studio. 

A multi-instrumentalist, Kelsey’s latest project is Black Emoji, a band that is inspired by ‘70s pop, ‘80s new wave (& Prince) and the blare of guitars. They recently released the sizzling EP Intro, which received a rave review in the February issue of Bust. https://soundcloud.com/blakemoji 

 

Meanwhile, keyboardist Bruce Mack has reunited musically with his friend guitarist Kenneth A. Edmonds, a dope-ass player who I’ve also known since the early 80s when both he and Bruce was schooling me on so many different artists and musical genres that I hadn’t been exposed to. Which, in 1982, was a lot. A few weeks back, Mack sent me a taste of their most recent collaborations which includes the Afro-ambient wonderfulness of “Transparent Matter” and laidback island vibe of “Karma Can Be Long.” I urge you to check out both of these projects. https://soundcloud.com/buddhabug/3-karma-can-be-long-by-bruce-mack