music-festival

At the beginning of the short film “Oleander,” the spirited teenager Oleander Jones kisses her boyfriend in the back of his pickup truck, proudly declaring, “I believe in the power of love. And by love, I mean sex, and by sex, I mean that sexual fulfillment is a fundamental right.” In a country where sexual education—particularly the continued emphasis on abstinence-only sexual education—is an increasingly contentious subject, Oleander’s unabashedly pro-sex attitude shatters norms of female sexuality.

What started as a group of disparate songs in voice memos and dog-eared notebook pages collecting dust was masterfully strung together by Christina Li, CC ’24, culminating in her debut EP, “Strings,” released on August 22. Li was originally inspired by the pressures of the college application process. However, as the pandemic set in and brought with it the abrupt end to her senior year, Li needed to change course.

A hammock swinging in the wind. Slides from a computer science lecture. A pair of mangoes. All are scenes that Gloria Hui, CC ’23, features in her bite-size Instagram music videos, as she layers footage of daily life on top of her singing, both covers and original songs.

As a child, writer and director Channing Godfrey Peoples attended the Miss Juneteenth pageant held each year in Fort Worth, Texas. Seeing beautiful black women celebrated on stage, on the holiday that commemorates when slaves in Texas learned that they had been freed in 1865, left a lasting impression on her.

A small piece of Astroturf was all it took for Richard Agudelo to transform Terremoto Coffee into a jazz venue. By moving tables to the sidewalk, he was able to open up space for a drum set, other instruments, and a camera setup. Inspired by other eateries, Agudelo wanted to give back to the New York City music community, which has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From examining metaphysical questions of human nature to surveying the universe and spilling her secrets, singer-songwriter Maude Latour, CC ’22, is on a mission to tell stories, reach transcendence, and start a consciousness revolution.

With his baritone saxophone still in New York, Riley Swain, CC ’21, started to learn guitar during quarantine. Playing guitar allowed him to experiment musically, and in a loud household of five, it was a quieter alternative to the alto saxophone he had at home. Still, stuck inside without any opportunities to get onstage, the part-time jazz musician found it difficult to feel creative.

I lied on my first day of Music Humanities class. Our ice breaker included sharing the music we’d been listening to lately or music that we enjoy.

Although Columbia students can no longer hear their floormates blasting music after quiet hours have begun, our community has not stopped creating music from the various places it calls home. To highlight the exciting variety of music being created on and off Columbia’s campus, Spectator introduces the Community Playlist, a monthly roundup of new music by Columbia undergraduates handpicked by Spectator’s music reporters. Check back every month to hear what’s caught our ear!