boston progress radio

To date, most of our interviews have been recorded interviews for distribution via our podcast. We’re going to try posting some chat interviews as well. First up, is an interview by a guest contributor, Nate Bae Kupel. Nate Bae Kupel works at the Institute for Asian American Studies at UMass Boston, and WUMB Public Radio Network. He also runs a resource blog for transracial adoptees. For more information, visit his blog at http://www.kadnexus.wordpress.com.

Nate was able to catch Dawn Xiana Moon online for a chat interview recently. We’ve been playing a few of her tracks on the radio for a couple of weeks now. We hope you enjoy the interview.

NBK: Hi Dawn. How did you first get into music?

DXM: I first started playing the piano when I was five–I started taking lessons at the Yamaha studio in Singapore. When I was in fifth grade, I picked up the flute (though I nearly ended up on trumpet), and in college I started playing the guitar–that’s when I started writing songs.

NBK: Your bio says that you picked up classical piano at about the same time your family moved to the U.S. Did you continue lessons in the states after the move?

DXM: I did. For a few months in Singapore I took group lessons at the studio, and when I moved to the US, I studied privately with a couple of different teachers. The one I studied with for years started out as my elementary school music teacher. I’m not actually sure how I ended up taking lessons from her, but I took first piano and then added voice. Read more

Tags: Interview.

But some people can play it a lot better. Another week has passed and we’ve got more music from new artists. I know that BPR is pretty hip hop centric, so this week, I’ve tried to get music that isn’t of that genre.

We’ve got a couple of new tracks from Dawn Xiana Moon. She’s originally from Singapore where she developed her skills and talents as a classical musician. Shortly after coming to the United State for her college studies, she picked up the guitar and began to write her own music. She describes her own music as “melodic folk pop.” We’ve put up three tracks from her and soon, we might even have a chat interview.

Also new on the station is music from a New York City band called Misha. We’ve actually been playing tracks from their new album Teardrop Sweetheart which dropped on June 19. The best way to describe their music is indie electronica. Some of their tracks are pretty catchy, other tracks are just, well, different… It is definitely not hip hop though.

To balance out the experimental pop, I’ve dropped in some tracks from Miss Vintage, an indie rock band from Philly. They just released their debut album, Runways. I think their lead singer, Jason Min, sounds like a deeper voiced Thom Yorke. You indie rock heads go listen for yourself and tell me what you think.

We’ve also got some new music from the 6-piece SoCal band Thomas’ Apartment who just released their second album, Synchrony. They are currently touring up and down Northern and Southern California showcasing their “hard-driving riffs, euphoric melodies, and serious lyrical depth.”

That’s this week’s new music. Hopefully, we will continually bring new and exciting music from talented independent Asian American artists from our computer to yours.

Tags: News, Online Radio.