AP’s Local Faves of 2021

This collection of 30 albums from Boston, Massachusetts and New England not only displayed the wide eclecticism of sounds present in the area, but also didn’t shy away from branching out into the unknown. These projects are beautiful, vulnerable, angry, sexy, curious, melancholic, dark, uplifting, unhinged, heartbreaking, rejoicing, and bombastic. The common thread is that they all embrace their uniqueness in the fullest.

AP’s Local Faves of 2020

Read through our picks for best local albums of 2020 from breakthroughs like Anjimile’s Giver Taker to locally-loved favorites like Kira McSpice.

INTERVIEW: Creating Space with Japanese Breakfast

Looking at my pieces on this site, there’s a lot of local flavor but there is also an abandoned pet project I wrote entitled, ‘Creating Space.’ I wrote this as an introduction, an exploration of myself and an invitation to other Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) creators in Boston for discussion. It felt necessary; I was looking at my own identity in a critical, academic manner and trying to situate my race and ethnicity within the other facets of my identity. I was looking for my community during a time I was uncertain of the future of my own community, while knowing I wanted to have a hand in shaping it. This was before the explosion of Crazy Rich Asians opened the floodgates but well after a single concert changed my entire viewpoint on what was possible for my community – all of my communities.