New releases by a diverse group of Michigan acts all made their Local Spins Hot Top 5 Chart debut in August, captivating listeners and radio programmers at WYCE (88.1 FM). View the chart, listen to the music.
Top Dogs: Djangophonique performing earlier this summer at downtown Grand Rapids’ Studio Park. (Photo/Local Spins)
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Local Spins’ August Hot Top 5 Chart representing the new Michigan releases that racked up the most radio airplay at Grand Rapids’ WYCE (88.1 FM) last month is a true hodge-podge of musical delights.
Not only that, but all five releases made their chart debut in August, creating an all-new Top 5 compared to the previous month when Chain of Lakes topped all other albums.
Leading the charge at No. 1 was Ann Arbor’s Djangophonique, led by jazz manouche guitar devotee Andrew Brown. The virtuosic band recently released its second album (and first studio effort) titled “Introducing Djangophonique” and has been zipping across the region this summer playing festivals and outdoor concert. The band plays the prestigious Wheatland Music Festival’s Centennial Stage at 8:20 p.m. Friday and again at 11 p.m. Saturday (with Kelly Kimball).
“We just got off stage this past weekend at the Detroit Jazz Fest, which is a big deal for us, and we looked at each other and said, ‘Man, I had no idea this project was gonna work out so well,’ ” Brown told Local Spins.
“We didn’t know the album and the live show would come together so well, and we surely didn’t know that we would have such a good reception. I won’t lie: All that, plus our success at WYCE is honestly really exciting for me and it just inspires me to want to make the next batch of tunes into a record, some of which are going to be original.”
Interestingly, the band’s debut live recording released two years ago also topped the Local Spins Hot Top 5 Chart back in March 2020.
“Our debut release was a live EP that captured our initial energy during our inception, but this album really captures the spirit of our arrangement ideas and musical humor,” Brown said of the new project engineered by Glenn Brown. “It’s a sprawling modern jazz manouche album that goes from uniquely arranged standards, to turn of the 20th century French Musette, to obscure Django tunes re-imagined as funk, to a bossa version of Willie Nelson’s ‘On the Road Again.’ ”
Andrew Brown (Photo/Local Spins)
Brown, who’s also a member of the Appleseed Collective which plays Ann Arbor’s The Ark on Oct. 11, added that he’s “honored to be given a platform and to bring so much joy to folks. … It’s been confirming that this project (Djangophonique) has resonated with both the acoustic roots and the jazz music world.”
Making an impressive debut at No. 2 on the August Hot Top 5 Chart is the highly respected indie-folk artist Jetty Rae of Charlevoix (an Oregon native who first launched her career in Hawaii) with her latest album, “Time Traveler.”
Following on Jetty Rae’s heels is versatile Grand Rapids musician Samil, whose new mostly instrumental solo album, “A Summer Night,” came in at No. 3. Samil, by the way, is a frequent accompanist to West Michigan hip-hop artist Wuzee.
“I honestly wasn’t expecting the amount of support it has received,” Samil told Local Spins. “I was really just sitting on a lot of music and I decided to put something together that to me felt like I was cruising through the city on a summer night listening to music. All of these were recorded in my home studio.”
Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Cameron Blake’s latest compelling collection, “Mercy for the Gentle Kind,” rolled in at No. 4, followed by Lansing-area indie-folk/pop artist Rachel Curtis’ new self-titled album.
Listen to tracks from all of the Hot Top 5 artists here.
LOCAL SPINS HOT TOP 5 ON SPOTIFY & BANDCAMP: August 2022
Cameron Blake, “Mercy For the Gentle Kind”
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