Since starting on classical guitar around 2000, Diego has become a multi-instrumentalist at heart, but specializes in keyboards and electronic instruments. A sometimes member of various At the Drive-in-adjacent El Paso-based bands, Diego fell out with the scene/sound and does his own things now. He’s worked as a staff writer for the zZounds Blog and a product specialist at zZounds for well over 10 years. If you ask Diego’s significant other, his true talent is cooking.
New Gear Report: Dave Smith Instruments Tetra and Novation Launchpad Pro
— Dave Smith Tetra Desktop Synthesizer Dave Smith Instruments jokes that the Tetra is a sort of “mini Prophet.” Years ago, most people would say the idea of a device at this price coming close to recreating the Prophet’s unique polyphonic sound would be out of the question. The Mopho teased the idea of recreating the […]
Jazmine Sullivan – Reality Show
Here at zZounds we try to keep it 100. At least I do. Up top, or in the post, you’ll see an embedded link to audio for Philly-born Jazmine Sullivan’s album Reality Show released early this year. What you’re going to miss by hearing this clean version of her album is what makes it an unqualified success. It’s […]
Mark Barrott – Sketches from an Island
Mark Barrott is a very smart man. However, being smart doesn’t always mean you’ll make great music. In my opinion, sometimes the intellect gets in the way of the feeling. Not so with Mark. On his criminally unheralded album “Sketches from an Island” takes a much maligned style, the music of Ibiza, and reinvigorates it […]
Roots Music: The Berlin School of Electronic Music – Part 1
Roots Music is an ongoing series where we attempt to trace the influence of certain music genres and instruments. In this two-part opener, we’ll first trace how the Berlin School of Electronic Music began, and eventually (in the second part) how its innovations have left their mark on current electronic dance music. What exactly is the Berlin School […]
Clifford T. Ward – Mantle Pieces
Back in the early ’70s, there was a songwriter who penned some of the loveliest, smartest, and knowing odes to quotidian life and its people. He wrote forgotten hits like “Gaye” and “Home Thoughts from Abroad” that struck British audiences with their perfect memorable mixture of literate lyricism and timeless Orchestral Pop arrangements. Now, for sure, […]
The Musical Almanac: Ethiopian Jazz
The Musical Almanac is an ongoing series highlighting musical styles or genres from around the world. Today, we focus on a unique style from Ethiopia. What’s Ethiopian Jazz? Imagine the “free” sound of John Coltrane meeting the impressionistic music of Debussy. Then, imagine all of this accompanied by African and American soul polyrhythms…that’s a start, but it can also […]
