For the last seven years, Factory Portland, and, more recently, its Newz by The Nunz page, has been shining a digital spotlight on Maine’s sprawling music scene. The website offers musically inclined Mainers access to dozens of artist profiles, comprehensive weekly show listings from all over the state, and even a directory of musicians. Factory Portland seeks to bring well-deserved coverage, and lend legitimacy, to Maine bands trying to make it in the Pine Tree State and beyond.

“There’s been some parallels between the food scene in Portland and the music scene,” says Stephen Quirk, co-founder along with his wife Megan Quirk of Factory Portland,  “where everything felt underground for a little bit. Then everything started growing; other people jumped on the bandwagon and starting asking, ‘How can we cash in on these scenes?’ Obviously, it’s good for these things to get attention and high-quality coverage, but at the same time there tends to be burnout—almost like too much attention. I want to bring it back to those roots of documenting people who aren’t necessarily getting heard and profiled. That’s a part of why the site started: I felt like a lot of the same bands were getting attention all the time.”

Stephen Quirk and Factory Portland have a great track record of covering all sorts of now well-known, quintessentially Maine artists. Scroll through the 10Qs portion of the site and you’ll find interviews with Lady Lamb and Spose from 2013, and an interview with BRZOWSKI from 2012. The format of the 10Qs page on the site is refreshing: each time Quirk spoke with a group or ensemble, he made sure to honor the fact that he was talking to collaborators, not just a star. “I didn’t just want to to profile the leader of a band,” he explains. “I think that’s what happens with a lot of magazines and other press outlets. I wanted the drummer. I wanted the bass player.”

Covered In Bees | Photo by John A Macy Photography

Beyond artist profiles and the directory of Maine musicians, Factory Portland hosts Holly Nunan’s blog News by The Nunz, an extensive weekly list of the live music happenings in Maine.

After moving to Portland about ten years ago, Nunan fell in love with the city’s music scene and the broader scene in the region. “I kinda became the go-to girl in most of my friends’ circles whenever it came time to figure out a show to checkout,” says Nunan. “I was just going to tons and tons of shows. . .it kind of evolved from there.”

Her casual commitment to show hopping turned into a career of covering artists on Factory Portland, as well as on the radio and television every Friday morning at 6:30am, where she has precisely three minutes to offer her weekly rundown of upcoming shows spoken at John-Oliver speed. Nunan is dedicated to proving to Mainers that, at least in terms of local music, “There’s a lot more going on than what’s presented to you in your bubble.”

Weakened Friends and Dominic and The Lucid | Photo by Tom Couture Photography

In the same way that Quirk is committed to covering the less-talked-about acts across Maine, Nunan seeks to expose viewers, listeners, and readers to a broader range of artists. “Sometimes I’m telling people to go see a Queen or Beatles cover night,” she says, “but I also know that across the state, on any given night of the week, there are people putting out their original music—which is a huge, brave thing to do. So please go support it. I hope it makes these bands feel like people are paying attention to the original content that they’re creating.”

Factory Portland – Stephen Quirk and Holly Nunan, founders
Portland, Maine
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Top photo Renee Coolbrith | Photo by Dylan Verner Photography & Design

The post Maine’s Underground, Online appeared first on Take Magazine.

Jason Cornell, aka BRZOWSKI, has been a fixture of the New England rap scene for almost two decades, traveling all over the country and parts of Europe to perform his specific brand of thoughtful, progressive rap. BRZOWSKI and his labelmates at Milled Pavement create work that challenges industry norms related to genre, song length, and style, which they believe will be particularly in demand given our current political climate.

Cornell’s career as a rapper started in the Providence and Boston scene, when he found a way to parlay the skills he developed while earning his BFA in Painting to the craft of producing rap music. “I was attracted to the single, solitary creative figure, alone in the studio, who goes to teach college during the day to make a few bucks then goes back to the womb and creative isolation of a solo artist,” explains Cornell. “Rap provided that same womb-like, self-determination, studio environment.”

Though painting is still among Cornell’s creative practices, it is not his primary mode of creative expression. He prefers the thrill of live performance, and the way in which rap connects the audience and performer. “I think I shifted focus because it’s really hard to get 200 people to show up, drink beer, and yell at a painting on a Tuesday night in Missoula, Montana,” he quips. “But rap music can do that.”

32French had a very successful year with Milled Pavement | Photo courtesy Milled Pavement website

Instead of moving to Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles, or farther south to Atlanta, all places with historically vibrant rap scenes, Cornell chose to move to Portland, Maine to continue his rap career. For Cornell, this move made sense for a lot of reasons. “It was sort of a natural choice to gravitate towards a scene that was young, fertile, progressive, and was big enough to have everything in a city that you would want,” he says. “Like I could get a vegan pizza at one in the morning.” In addition to a lower cost of living, vibrant scene, and dairy-free, late-night za, living in New England is great for Cornell and other rappers due to the region’s many urban centers; adjacency to New York City and Philly makes touring fairly easy to plan.

Cornell’s rap as BRZOWSKI differs in a few key ways from most of the rap you’re likely to hear on the radio. BRZOWSKI as an individual isn’t a sleekly designed product of a multi million dollar record label like Drake or Action Bronson, though the production value is top notch. His raps are dense with meaning, intensely political, and more poetic than lyrical. Think Nas or Aesop Rock, telling stories while sharing a specific worldview that seems dim, yet realistic. His raps are cathartic and revealing, inviting listeners to face his demons alongside him. Some of his songs do have catchy moments and choruses, but most of his raps urgently fly fast past listeners and are always worth a read-along while listening.

Vinyl Cape’s 2016 release | Photo courtesy Milled Pavement website

BRZOWSKI’s label Milled Pavement features all kinds of artists who are challenging our notions of genre and song structure, while also looking to respond to our current political climate. “We range from people that could probably be called ‘commies’ all the way to center right,” says Cornell “There’s a lot of people all over the spectrum; but generally, the reaction [to the election results] was horror. Collectively the people who lean right feel like we failed a national IQ test, and a lot of our overseas friends have sent us messages and emails of condolences.”

Though Cornell and several of his labelmates share in the collective fear that many artists have about the upcoming administration, he remains confident in his ability, and the ability of other artists, to challenge the status quo and hold a mirror up to our sometimes sordid society. “It’s our duty as artists, with our creative mouthpiece, to speak truth to power whenever possible,” he says. “That’s why artists have always been considered subversive and dangerous: we’re always ready to tell the inconvenient truth.”

Jason Cornell is a painter and rapper living in Portland, Maine. Listen to one of his newest EPs here, follow him on Facebook and Twitter, and be on the lookout for a new album from BRZOWSKI this summer to be released through Milled Pavement.

Top photo Jason Cornell in Vienna, Austria | Photo by David Višnjić

The post Now, More than Ever appeared first on Take Magazine.