Two alumni talents mix it up at Harper’s Ferry
By DAVID DAY | August 23, 2006
Danielle Scott |
Berklee College of Music has more than 3800 students, and their collaborations and talents populate Boston clubs citywide. Two of them meet up a week from Sunday, September 3, at Harper’s Ferry as alumnus BIG WILLIE GREEN throws a huge bash in honor of his Boston-based mixtape The Proof. The show is a massive event, with nine artists and one DJ, give-aways, and Big Willie himself. Also on the bill is fellow Berklee graduate DANIELLE SCOTT, the singer and MC who now works at the college and lives nearby on Haviland Street. “Willie is a musician,” she explains. “He was a drummer and he started making beats. He writes the old-school R&B, no samples. He’s like an old-school hip-hop cat in that respect, which I like.” Scott’s own compositions are decidedly old-school, based on quick verses, phat bass lines, and live sessions. “When I say old school hip-hop, I think visually,” she laughs. “Musically I think Tribe Called Quest and that really laid-back, slow beat, but, you know, I really think of shelltop Adidas!” The Harper’s Ferry party will be an old-school-style throwdown, with a mix of live bands and MCs alongside DJ SPECIAL BLENDS, AFRO DZ AK, PROJECT MOVE, HOOPLA, PASTENSE, TANK THE HEAVYWEIGHT, and Ms. Scott herself. Scott’s not your typical female rapper or R&B singer but a classically trained musician who can do a little of everything: saxophone, guitar, bass, piano. “I’m an MC and I sing, so I’m like 50-50.” Willie Green remixed her epic “Ghetto Wonderland,” and Scott’s “The System” appears on Green’s 22-track mixtape, which will be available at the Harper’s Ferry showcase as well as at hip spots like Underground Hip-Hop’s storefront at 234 Huntington Avenue. “The show is more like a celebration of Willie Green’s mix,” Scott says. “He’s going to be giving away CDs, and a limited amount of them will have bonus tracks and special remixes. What I appreciate is that you not only have the artists performing the songs off the CD but they are also able to perform their original songs off other projects.” Scott has been recording solo for only a year, but she already has an album out (The Price of Repression) and has been playing quite a few gigs around town. “I never thought things would happen so quickly. Every time I see somebody on the street and they say, ‘I really like the CD,’ or I receive an e-mail or something, it makes me smile. I celebrate with some ice cream!” Her full-length CD and individual MP3s are available at www.alldanielle.com.Former Circuits subject GRIZZLY BEAR have a long-awaited second CD dropping September 5. When last I heard from Watertown’s ED DROSTE and his merry band of fuzztronic folksters, they were shopping around for a new label. Their plan paid off: they’re now signed to the esteemed UK electronic label Warp, home of Boards of Canada, Broadcast, and Squarepusher. Their second release, Yellow House, is already garnering lavish praise from the likes of the All Music Guide . . . One of the finer electronic musicians in Boston is saying goodbye. MIKE UZZI, one part of the unlockedgroove DJ/production collective, is headed for — guess where — New York City. You can catch him tonight (Thursday August 24) making his bow at the weekly Make It New techno party at Middlesex Lounge, where he and I are both residents. Or, better yet, get with him and his crew as they throw one of their legendary underground parties at their private space. (You can sign up for the list at www.unlockedgroove.com.) Uzzi is a tremendous production talent and an NEC-trained percussion whiz. Boston will miss him, and rest assured that when he returns for a guest spot or with a new track, you’ll hear about it here.
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