Swamp Dogg is one of the best soul singers most Americans have never heard of. The aging vocalist is a little like those quaint little diners you discover on a road trip: someplace that smells like bacon and coffee, with waitresses who call you “sweetie.” The native Virginian (born…

Minneapolis’ Poliça garnered acclaim from influential critics at its outset with albums like 2012’s Give You the Ghost and follow-up Shulamith. The group’s disappearance from the limelight in recent years was not the result of banal follow-up projects or selling out into trite poptimism. For Poliça, what was initially a brief break…

R&B’s ever-increasing popularity stems partly from the movement’s rejection of its past. The likes of Frank Ocean and Blood Orange have pushed far beyond what anyone could have expected during previous decades. Such generational disparities contextualize Jerry Williams, Jr.’s 22nd LP under his Swamp Dogg moniker. Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune Swamp…

Spurred by the success of their initial collaboration back in 2016 and their 2017 rendition of Steve Riche’s “Music for Pieces of Wood,” Minneapolis indietronica experimenters Poliça and Berlin contemporary ensemble Stargaze have furthered their joint efforts. As both groups discovered how naturally their respective approaches could synthesize, the resulting…

Photo: Paige K. Parsons BERKELEY — Earlier this year, Minneapolis electronic pop band Poliça celebrated its fifth anniversary with a show at the city’s venerable First Avenue concert hall. Last week, vocalist-songwriter Channy Leaneagh, bassist Chris Bierden and drummers Ben Ivascu and Drew Christopherson began an amphitheater tour opening…

St. Lucia Looking back on my interviews over the past 12 months, the first thing that surprised me was just how busy I stayed: nearly 50 interviews of 10 minutes or longer, about a dozen more than 2015, which had seemed much busier. Interviewing artists is just one part…

Courtesy: Jonathan Weiner At first, Channy Leaneagh, vocal and creative leader of electronic rock and pop quartet Poliça, wavers on the thought. Does the Minneapolis native now officially write for electronic music? Or is she still the folky singer-songwriter she was when she was younger? “I don’t know. I…

Click to view the full map The 72 music performers at the 9th annual Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival next month represent at least 10 countries and 16 of the United States. Despite the absence of Asian and South American artists, as well as the classical penguin stylings…

Ra Ra Riot and Poliça were among the biggest names announced Tuesday for late shows related to next month’s Outside Lands Music Festival. The gigs take place from Aug. 4 to 7 at various venues within San Francisco. The shows announced Tuesday include: • Lapsley, Aug. 4, at California Academy…