NYC Scene Report – Amsi, draigh, & Jamel Rocwell

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Amsi embracing everything that makes her unique, draigh spending time in the “orchids,” and Jamel Rocwell with some old school hip-hop flavor.

* NYC-based indie soul/pop artist Amsi has been featured here quite a bit over the years, and with her latest effort, “Jeete Raho,” she’s looking to give people a more encompassing view of who she is.

In a statement, she said of “Jeete Raho,” “Live long, live on, and prosper. I am so excited to begin this new chapter with you guys. A chapter of love, healing, and unity. Growing up, I always felt like I was living in two different worlds, and I didn’t fully belong in either of them. I was constantly being told that I wasn’t enough. But I am. And so are YOU.”

Amsi continued, adding, “Over the past few years, I have learned to embrace all my identities. A daughter of South Asian immigrants. A woman who is determined to change the world. An artist who dared to believe in herself. It took me a long time to be proud of who I am, and I am so happy to be able to represent a part of my culture in my art.”

Check out the gorgeous “Jeete Raho,” and continue to get to know Amsi.

* If you’re looking to vibe out a little, Brooklyn-based electronic artist draigh’s latest single, “orchids,” should do the trick.

draigh is a performance name of Graham Marsh, who is one half of the indie alt-pop duo CLAVVS. “orchids” is off his first EP as draigh, which is titled indigo.

Discussing the project in a statement, Marsh said, “I made these tracks with no intention of ever releasing them. This was just an outlet for me to create with no boundaries, and combine my influences of West African music, downtempo hip-hop, and pop music, but after I made a few tracks it started to feel like a cohesive thing, and became something I was really proud of.”

He continued, adding, “Most of the EP, including ‘orchids,’ was made last year during lockdown here in Brooklyn. Although I wasn’t aware of it at the time, looking back, making them was a meditation of sorts. It was a way for me to find some peace in the madness of 2020.”

Meditate with Marsh, and check out the visualizer for “Orchids,” which was filmed at Ridgewood Reservoir in Brooklyn.

* Jamel Rocwell came to bring the “Pain,” “Pain” being one minute of pure heat from the emcee formerly known as Sav Killz.

The track comes from the musical collective known as Quakers. Currently consisting of Supa K (Katalyst), 7STU7, and executive producer Fuzzface (Geoff Barrow of Portishead), the collective features a constantly expanding cast of emcees.

Rocwell appears as one half of his recently formed duo KraK Killz, for which he teamed up with CX Kidtronik, and if you love hip-hop from the boom bap era, you’re really going to enjoy this one minute of “Pain.”

For more of the best of NYC’s indie music scene, come back next Wednesday, and check out the archives for previous columns.