Alvaro del Campo // The Observer

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Kamasi Washington reaches for the stars on ‘Harmony of Difference’

Alvaro del Campo | Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Kamasi Washington’s “Harmony of Difference” EP is an ambitious journey through a number of broad concepts related to human nature. Track titles like “Humility” and “Perspective” give the project a grandiose framework that its experimental jazz attempts to encapsulate. Washington’s method for conveying these different concepts largely involves variations in instrumentation and rhythmic composition. The rhythm section

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A closer look at Season 3 of ‘Narcos’

Alvaro del Campo | Thursday, September 28, 2017

Season 3 of “Narcos” picks up where the last one left off, with DEA agent Javier Pena (played by Pedro Pascal) having been given the mission of taking down the Cali cartel, one of the biggest drug cartels in history. At its peak, the Cali cartel moved almost three times as much cocaine through America and Europe as Pablo Escobar’s

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Hip-hop on campus

Alvaro del Campo | Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Earlier this summer, hip-hop and R&B overtook Rock and Roll as the most popular music genre in America. The announcement was published in outlets like Forbes and Business Insider, and was to many a sign of the changing music industry landscape. This is true to an extent, because while Rock sells more physical copies annually,

Scene

Scene’s Selections

Adam Ramos, Mike Donovan, Grace Weissend, Brian Boylen, Alvaro del Campo and Carlos De Loera | Monday, September 18, 2017

Everyday, a seemingly endless amount of music is written, recorded and released. With this non-stop stream of new music, sometimes it can seem daunting to find the right song for you. Allow the music nerds of Scene to curate a list of some of our favorite new tracks, check out the songs below and pick your

Scene

Scene reviews “DAMN.”

Nora McGreevy, Trevor Canty, Owen Lane and Alvaro del Campo | Friday, April 21, 2017

Well, “DAMN.” Kendrick Lamar’s newest album has the Scene department buzzing for a whole variety of reasons — so much so that we couldn’t limit ourselves to just one article. Today, four of our writers give their short and sweet takes on various aspects of this multifaceted and undeniably important new project. If you still can’t get

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A$AP Mob delivers full-length album ‘Cozy Tapes’

Alvaro del Campo | Monday, November 14, 2016

“Cozy Tapes: Vol. 1 Friends” is the debut full-length album of A$AP Mob, the Harlem-based hip hop collective founded by the late A$AP Yams and brought into the mainstream consciousness by the success of A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg. With Yams gone, A$AP Rocky takes the helm of the group. “Cozy Tapes” represents a culmination

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‘Sonderlust’ doesn’t stray far

Alvaro del Campo | Monday, October 3, 2016

The latest project from singer and multi-instrumentalist Kaoru Ishibashi (Kishi Bashi) is “Sonderlust,” a smooth journey of love and loss that borrows conventions of genres from indie rock to ’80s synth pop. With lush string arrangements and groovy synth basslines throughout, the album has an ethereal flavor that is grounded by catchy melodies and solid

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‘The Sun’s Tirade’ album review

Alvaro del Campo | Monday, September 19, 2016

The latest release from Compton-based label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is Isaiah Rashad’s debut LP “The Sun’s Tirade,” a hazy and dense production addressing topics like fame, addiction and depression. Throughout the record, the slow hip hop instrumentals complement Rashad’s flow and knack for lyricism, with frequent shifts in vocal inflections and singing styles keeping the experience

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Moral ambiguity in ‘Narcos’ season 2

Alvaro del Campo | Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Season two of Netflix’s “Narcos” picks up where season one left off, with Pablo Escobar on the run from the Colombian government. The new season covers around 15 months of Escobar’s life, from 1992 to 1993 — a shorter time scale than the almost 15 years covered in season one. As a result, season two

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Weekly Watch: ‘Stranger Things’

Alvaro del Campo | Monday, September 5, 2016

Netflix’s latest addition to its catalog of original programming, “Stranger Things,” is a sci-fi/horror series set in 1980s Indiana. The idyllic suburb where the series is set is quickly disrupted by two events: the mysterious disappearance of local middle-schooler Will Byers and appearance of a girl in a hospital gown known only as Eleven. From