This SEPTA Sounds performance was a little different. For the first time - the musicians performed for an audience of SEPTA customers waiting for their train at Jefferson Station. Listen now to the music of Brian Fitzy, Sophie Coran, Laurin Talese, and Zeek Burse.
Brian Fitzy
Blending elements from a variety of genres and decades, Brian Fitzy falls somewhere between Daryl Hall and Jamiroquai by way of A Tribe Called Quest. A vocalist, electric violinist, guitarist, keyboardist, and beat-boxer, he brings these elements together live with looping technology. The result is soul-pop with undertones from the golden age of hip hop.
Brian's post-college career began with a bang when he performed with the Foo Fighters at the Grammy Awards as a Top 3 finalist in the "My Grammy Moment" competition. That performance garnered him support and features from TV stations such as 6ABC, NBC10, and CBS3 in Philadelphia, as well as prime regional radio coverage. Since then, Brian's career has blossomed as a solo artist and a sideman. He's performed everywhere from dives to Madison Square Garden. He's also earned endorsements from Fishman Transducers, Wood Violins, and Westone.
Brian Fitzy's latest full-length album, "Hard Times For Dreamers" has been described by Paste Magazine as "a record that acts as a breath of fresh air for anyone tired of generic Top 40 radio singles. Hard Time for Dreamers shows an impressive range and an extraordinary amount of potential. It's a wild, diverse ride and well worth a listen."
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Sophie Coran
Sophie Coran’s sonic world is crafted with firm intentionality, effortless poignancy, and imagistic seduction. The genre she feels the most at home in, her signature Noir & B style, is a blend of R&B, jazz, and classical composition, tied together with a ribbon of hyper-sentimentality. Her debut album, S P A C E, details the struggle of unrequited love, and learning to balance the imperative nature of self-worth with desire. Inspired by high-profile artists like Fiona Apple, Nick Hakim, and Amy Winehouse, she pulls contemporary swells from pop music and overlays them with intimate string and piano arrangements. Pair that with her affinity for classic films, vintage landscapes, and the romanticism of Europe, and you have a uniquely visceral experience that only she can so masterfully deliver.
She is joined by longtime producer and engineer Michael Cumming of Treacle Mine Recording in Philadelphia, PA, and is backed by her band, Logan Roth (keys), Arjun Dube (drums), Mike Morrongiello (bass) and Rob Pallett (guitar, vocals). Tipped as one of 10 Artists You Should Know from Philadelphia on NPR music, “Singer-songwriter Sophie Coran fancies her aesthetic Noir & B, which is a clever way of packaging an artist who boasts both a faux-fur coat vintage Hollywood look, and a smoky-voiced after-hours lounge sound. Below the surface, though, Coran's songs are complex studies of human connection — between lovers, between parents and their children, between strangers.”
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“Sophie Coran truly deserves a lane of her own” - Ones To Watch
“Philadelphia songwriter Sophie Coran flexes her classical music training, seamlessly melding jazz and R&B into something truly fun and unique” — Uproxx
“Coran explores the landscape of modern nostalgia that has been difficult to capture in present music” — The Alternative
“‘Permission’ feels like a tune from a bygone era, sepia-toned and laden with sparse, yet impactful instrumentation – silken strings, haunting piano, and yearning vocals. Coran's delivery is delicate yet powerful, the subject matter deeply personal.” — EARMILK
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Laurin Talese
Laurin Talese has been captivating audiences with her pure tone and poignant lyrics since childhood. A Cleveland, Ohio native, Laurin was classically trained at the Cleveland Institute of Music, The Cleveland School of the Arts, and later received a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the University of the Arts in Pholadelphia. Her debut album, Gorgeous Chaos, produced by Adam Blackstone and released in 2016, features a stellar line up of musicians and was met with wide acclaim. Talese's talents have allowed her to travel around the globe, performing in a host of internationally renowned venues including the Newport Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in 2018 when Laurin won the seventh annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Laurin Talese is proud to represent the United States as a cultural ambassador with American Music Abroad - an initiative of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by the Association of American Voices. Following in the footsteps of former Ambassadors Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Dave Brubeck, Laurin Talese performs for international audiences and leads educational workshops to bring jazz to new populations. In 2021, Ms. Talese made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut performing repertoire including her original composition, “This Love” conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. Laurin Talese enjoys serving as Vice President of the Recording Academy’s Philadelphia Chapter and on the boards of Jazz Philadelphia, and the University of the Arts’ Alumni Council. In 2022, Laurin premiered her newest work, Museum Of Living Stories, commissioned by Chamber Music America.
Zeek Burse
Singer, songwriter, producer, artist. a very interesting human being. Multi-genre artist. Like water, Zeek believes equality is an essential component to life. He strives to be authentically human which means allowing himself to explore life, creation, and art in a way that is not hindered by labels, musical genres, social norms, or any other marginalizing stereotype. Building momentum steadily from 2018 when he played SXSW & Firefly. Firefly came calling again in 2019 as well as WXPN inviting him to their signature event; the XPoNential music festival, 2021 was a great year, Zeek was an artist in residence for the four seasons hotel and featured the first Friday of every month. He was also the recipient of the prestigious black music city grant, which allowed him to create a 3-part, multimedia project, honoring women of color; entitled "Soul Sista (Reimagined)", a collaboration with between Philadelphia public music radio stations WXPN-FM and WRTI-FM and Rec Philly. He also was extremely honored to be selected by LIFEWTR as one of just a handful of artists to be chosen to participate in their life unseen project, curated by Issa Rae. He wrote an original song for their campaign, the song was entitled Missing Files and he produced an accompanying music video as well.
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