NOT 97

Today's show is like never before, with Cady Drell hosting a table full of accomplished women representing all angles of the music industry who you might remember from past episodes. We have illustrious freelance writer Rae Witte, Bronx-bred hip-hop artist Flo Kennedy, and Genesis Garcia from Def Jam Recordings publicity team.  We introduce Cincinnati art-rock four piece The Ophelias and play a lo...

  On our Season Three finale, we welcome up-and-coming Queens-bred soul songstress Duendita to the shop. She introduces DC duo April & VISTA and their delicate, bold neo soul sound on "How To Get By." As well as an afropop bop from Nerika titled "Runnin."  London new comer Haich commands attention on the intricately crafted, genre-bending delivery "Peak." We hear towers from forward thinking folk...

Today we're blessed to be joined by the one and only bassist Mark Kelley of The Roots. Kelley comes to the table with Scottish Producer Sam Gallaitry's mesmerizing groove "Hibernation" and a HOV-ready instrumetnal by Detroit beat maker Seige Monstrocity.  We dance through Black Grapefruit's genre-bending bop "Mind." Bounce along with Dublin-based Jafaris's otherworldly "Found My Feet." We find sol...

Today we have the former music editor at Okayplayer at the table — Michael Gonik, aka Zo. Gonik breaks in with Brooklyn electro pop trio The Visions and their genre defying track "Balance." And hits us with the unapologetic, future-facing sounds of Jachary and his stunning "Just Adjusting." Amber Simone crafts a cantagious groove on "I Think About Girls Sometime." Julian Skiboat contemplates love...

Today we’re joined by Lyndsey Havens, Billboard Magazine’s associate editor. We introduce Diani Eshe (Ay-Shay) — a sharp Brooklyn lyricist with a hidden lineage. Knees go weak at Moss Kena’s falsetto on “Square One.” Dutch wonder kid Bülow makes it clear not to cross her on the unapologetic alt pop track “Lines.” And we spin “Watch” from Tokyo’s CIRRRCLE—an electric new collective that consists of...

Today we welcome to the table Genesis Garcia, a publicist at Def Jam Recordings with years of experience in finding and promoting budding young artists. With a Def Jam representative on the show we came prepared with a batch of rappers, all from drastically different environments. Slowthai, a sharp-tongued 23-year-old from Northhamton, England starts us off. Genesis introduces the raw and menacing...

With RaShaad still running around Europe, we reach back to season one and welcome back one of our first guests ever, Newsweek's senior writer and Matt's flesh and blood, Zach Schonfeld. Joining the table alongside Zach is Paula Mejia, an associate editor at Atlas Obscura and the author of the 33 1/3rd book on The Jesus & Mary Chain's debut "Psychocandy."   We start off bold with a young Toronto pr...

This is Not 97 like never before featuring our first official guest host Cady Drell (Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Glamour, etc.) alongside her close friend Stacey Anderson, who is a senior editor at Pitchfork and has years of experience writing for the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and more.  Stacey introduces "The River," a menacing, bold stand-out from London-based Lolina's debut project "The Smoke...

Corey Cambridge is a man of many endeavors—a writer, rapper, and podcaster. He introduces the New York born-and-bred vocalist Synead and talks us through his writing process on "Lost In The Wild," her infectious ode to feeling free. We play through "Miles Song," a beautiful stand out from budding UK songstress Cleo Sol's debut project "Winter Songs"  Virginia rapper Gim Dave reintroduces himself o...

Hailing from London, England, Davina O'Garro represents for her hometown stronger than any guest before. The former BBC Radio 1xtra programmer has lived stateside for five years, currently working as an account manager at the music company Epidemic Sound. O'Garro introduces Cherri V's unapologetic ode to independence "Leave Me Be" and the forceful, all-female remix to Lioness's "DBT."    The Londo...

This is season three's premiere, featuring one of Not 97's strongest roster of artists ever. With Ian Servantes at the table—Highsnobiety's current Social Media Editor, a former writer for Complex Media, and an illustrious freelance—we discuss a wide range of sounds coming from London to Toronto, Illinois, Japan, and more.  The season kicks off heavy with "Everglade," an enchanting new delivery fr...

This is season two's bonus episode — one like we've never done before. Today's episode features an entire EP of covers recorded by LA-based singer/songwriter C.S. Armstrong. Across a low key but illustrious career Armstrong has developed a sound that is ruthlessly soulful, one that calls back to decades past while charging forward and defying boundaries.  This is an EP of covers, composed of timel...

Season Two comes full circle with our final guest, Brooklyn's own Faith Harding aka Novelty Daughter, whose song "U Want What I Want" was featured on this season's debut episode. Faith introduces the off-kilter pop stylings of Ryan Powers, as well as Suzi Analogue, an ambitious electronic producer and DJ with a wholly unique sound landing in the lineage of footwork djs & experiemental instrumental...

NOT 97 wouldn't exist without Pigeons & Planes. The influential new music blog has served as a constant authority in the world of music discovery for the better part of the last decade. For season two's penultimate episode we welcome Pigeons & Plane's Founder and Editor-in-Chief Jacob Moore and Managing Editor Alex Gardner to the shop.    Through a wide range of hip-hop artists we explore the genr...

Charlie Adelman is the ideal guest for Not 97. He has years of experience working in digital marketing and management at the major label level, and currently handles product management for Crush Music. But really that’s the least of it, because he lives a floor above Only NY, the home of this show.  On today’s episode Charlie introduces “Ready Yet,” a contagious creeper of a single from LA’s Sasha...

Full disclosure: today's episode is sad, but beautifully so. With writer, social media editor, and radio dj @raewitte at the table we introduce a round of weighty songs powered by lost love, sacrifice, self-pity, and redemption. Rae brings in a smooth, utterly sinister break up ballad by singer, songwriter, and producer Chaisley Lussier. We break down "Evergreen," Yebba's devastating and yet someh...

Music supervisor and licensing director Emilee Morgan stopped by the shop for today's episode, introducing nostalgic rock from the husband and wife duo behind Seattle's Smokey Brights, as well as a pop perfect track from Atlanta's The Shadowboxers. We discuss a cathartic and contagious standout from Stella Donnelly's debut record "Thrush Metal," unearth a lost song from a shadowy North Carolina fo...

On today's episode we welcome industry veteran Dan Solomito to the Only NY store. Solomito has over 15 years of experience in the music industry with an impressive resume that ranges from work in artist management, A&R, and even as an assistant to Damon Dash. These days you can catch him slinging coffee beans at his own S,T Coffee in Bedstuy.    Featuring one of the strongest tracklists yet, today...

With Daniel Schultz—RCA Records' rap-focused A&R—at the shop for today's episode, hip hop comes to the forefront. We explore New York rap's vast spectrum of classic sounds from sharp-lipped Brooklyn lyricist Latasha Alcindor to the effortless flows and intricate stories of Gabe 'Nandez. The tight and dynamic Vancouver five-piece Peach Pit offers "Alrighty Aphrodite" and a mesmerizing single from D...

Stro Elliot — prolific producer, multi-instrumentalist and the newest member of The Legendary Roots Crew — shares the table for Season Two's second episode. Digging deep into London's rich, ever-evolving music scene, we introduce Hak Baker's street-worn stories, the jazz sensibilities of producer Eric Lau, and Puma Blue: a shadowy, lovelorn young crooner. Northampton's Mal Devisa plays a raw, mena...

Welcome back to NOT 97—this is Season Two’s premier episode featuring the one and only Cady Drell (@hella_drella), Glamour Magazine's current Sex & Relationships Editor. Cady brings strong, indie rock stalwarts to the table—two bands with passionate local followings that have managed to stay under-the-radar for years: Boston’s Bad History Month & Brooklyn’s Charly Bliss. “Big One,” a stand out fro...

Van Common—the Amsterdam-based singer-songwriter featured on episode two—was in town and had time to drop by the Only NY shop. This is season one’s bonus episode. The recent conservatory graduate came equipped with two picks from his alma mater: Midas and Bungalow. We reach to Melbourne once again, and as a testament to the scene’s diversity, feature wildly different sounds (and takes on a break u...

On Season One's finale of NOT 97 Bronx-born hip hop artist Flo Kennedy visits Only NY and introduces the team to new sounds from past collaborators like Duvv, a cross-cultural alt-soul artist born in Long Island based in Seoul, South Korea. They discuss a stand out from "Bone Music," Portland, Oregon's genre-jostling MC The Last Artful, Dodgr's debut record, as well as the contagious sounds of mid...

Episode four of NOT 97 proved to be the most wide-reaching installment of season one thus far. Select songs this week span from starry-eyed Finnish dream-pop outfit Pole Siblings to London's Dayo Bello, a mesmerizing 19-year-old crooner. DC's Swan Lingo offers his modern take on New Wave and Melbourne's Kaiit delivers powerful and necessary self-loving bars. Alexa Shouneyia—a writer and social med...

On episode three of NOT 97 Newsweek Senior Writer and freelance music critic Zach Schonfeld (@zzzzaaaacccchhh) visits the shop. We listen and consider new offerings from artists like Sneaks—Eva Moolchan's stark and sharp genre-defying project—, Seattle's psych-inclined garage rock trio Naked Giants, and Yellow Days: a fresh-faced Londoner with a rugged, relentless voice. Tracklist: 01 "That's Easy...