Download - The Deli

Best
NYC
EmErging
Artists
2012
oF
F rom
#8 Ava Luna
Led by ex-Deli aspiring intern Carlos
Hernandez (he showed up one day!) avantsoul
six-piece Ava Luna, after their first
full-length release in March 2012, found
themselves literally “pasted” on the cover of
The Deli’s winter 2012 issue. Often described
as “nervous soul,” the band’s music brings
together opposites from the sonic spectrum:
gritty sounds, distorted parts and menacing
arrangements keep things tense and edgy,
while pitch perfect three-part harmonies from
their stellar backing singers sooth your ears.
Call them a NYC paradox. (Paolo De Gregorio)
#27 Zambri
“Crash, bang, thud” go experimental pop
outfit Zambri’s loud arrangements. The sisters
Cristi Jo and Jessica Zambri surely spent
many a rainy afternoon as children drumming
incessantly on anything around them as their
music is partially defined by their large scale
percussion sections. Underneath the punishingly
thumped drums lie dark, sinister synth
arpeggios and wicked pop melodies, which
blend together beautifully on their debut album
House of Baasa, an accomplished and truly
original piece among the recent flood of New
York electronic records. (Dean Van Nguyen)
#32 Illumntr
Illumntr exists (mentally and audibly) on a different
planet. Like a tripped out sonic loom,
their combination of sounds and ideas produces
a multicolored patchwork where vocals
weave in and out, mingling with echoes, bells
and jangles, timpani and synths. These are not
songs with hooks, meant to be easily digested
and regurgitated. Instead, they are carefully
constructed suites – pieces melding into one
another with orchestral grace. (allison levin)
#69 Xenia Rubinos
Studio magic was not necessary to reveal
Xenia Rubinos’ talent on her debut album
Magic Trix. The record is charmingly do-it-yourself,
and Rubinos proficiently and seamlessly
bounds from genres and styles as she does
from English to Spanish – sampling soul, funk,
hip hop, rock, pop and Spanish folk. The eclectic
songs effectively display the range of her
pliant voice as she sweetly croons one moment
and spits out blasting rhymes the next over
minimalistic instrumentation. (Nancy Chow)
#77 Cuddle Magic
Composed entirely by classically trained musi-
the deli_32 Spring 2012
avant indie
+ noise rock
The Velvet Underground to Sonic Youth to Dirty Projectors, the
NYC scene has always been known for its forward-looking tendencies.
These two genres group the more experimental NYC artists.
In One Wind
XeNia Rubinos
cians (6 of them) Cuddle Magic has been
spreading their fascinating music through the
world since 2008. Their latest release, Info
Nymph, is a piece of art full of stories, literature
and artwork, wrapped into an unusual
take on traditional songwriting. The band is
both intense and soft, wrapping you snuggly
with their mellow vocals while keeping you
interested and connected through their quirky
orchestrations. (Christina Morelli)
#84 In One Wind
Blending and often juxtaposing elements of
pretty much any genre out there, from pop
to doo-wop jazz, from Americana to math
rock, and using all sorts of instruments
to do so, Brooklyn’s In One Wind can be
described as a big musical carousel. This
is obviously a group of musicians, who are
trying to find new sonic paths within the pop
realm, and their compositions succeed in
being at once entertaining and interesting,
which both pop and experimental music
often fail to achieve. (Mike Levine)
Photo: Shervin Lainez
#97 YVETTE
Marrying the rediscovery of ritual music with
noise rock, industrial duo YVETTE carves
out their tribal energy with religious devotion
and knife-stabbing intensity. Their debut selftitled
EP is a primal meditation without all the
psychedelic trappings. Making no apologies
to analog originalists, their construction of
LOUD, grinding, sawtooth synths is all digital.
However, I doubt anyone will mind how
they’ve built their saturated, washy textures. In
a town blanketed in beach bands, YVETTE is
a much-needed wake-up call. (Mike Levine)
#100 Happy New Year
Happy New Year doesn’t worry about making
a noisy mess; things will work themselves out
eventually. In the opener to her two-track EP
Twins, singer/songwriter/noise-maker Eleanor
Logan allows a deep bed of noise to envelope
her airy vocals entirely for a good minute and
a half prior to the drums kicking in. But once
things get going, her works take on a life all
their own. (Mike Levine)
illumntr
Photo: Chris Becker
Avant Indie
/Noise Rock Top 20
The Deli’s
Web Buzz Charts
1. Animal Collective
2. Black Dice
3. Sonic Youth
4. Grizzly Bear
5. Dirty Projectors
6. Yeasayer
7. Yo La Tengo
8. Department of Eagles
9. Gang Gang Dance
10. A Place to Bury Strangers
11. Thurston Moore
12. Kaki King
13. The Fiery Furnaces
14. Rasputina
15. Avey Tare
16. Son Lux
17. Mice Parade
18. Zs
19. Rubblebucket
20. Marnie Stern
Check out our
self-generating online charts:
thedelimagazine.com/charts