DRAM News

Using music from the past, present, and near future, DRAM, in conjunction with the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage present the Philadelphia Music Archive as a way of discovering a city's spirit through the music that it spawns. The first nineteen recordings are streaming now and represent a diverse collection of musical personalities that have worked in Philadelphia and have called it their home. The archive will span a vast history of Philadelphia's musical experience, from the early music of African-American composer Frances Johnson to the most recent avant-garde work of Nick Millevoi. Genres are crossed, as well, as equal weight is given to the cutting edge garage rock of Birds of Maya and the orchestral music of George Crumb.

As a supplement, Sound American's Issue #5 concentrates on the musicians of Philadelphia in their own words. Using interviews, podcasts, and essays it explores what it means to live and create music in one of America's unsung musical and cultural hotbeds. All of the interviewees have music that is featured in the Philadelphia Music Archive and their stories help to give meaning and depth to the music contained within the archive and helps to structure a new understanding of the soul of a city.