Join us Thursday night for another episode of AmplifyTV, a benefit live-streamed concert series supporting Amplify Music! We'll hear from Kohinoorgasm, Jae Quisol, and mynameisblueskye.
The show is free, but if you're able, we accept donations here -- all gifts made during the performance will be in support of performers and Amplify Music!
Kohinoorgasm is the electronic pop music project of queer, South Indian and Irish American artist Josephine Shetty. Shetty uses minimal dance beats and susurrate vocals to create hypnotic environments in which she hopes listeners can reflect and replenish. Her released songs address topics including anti-capitalism, abuses of power, war, emotional exhaustion, and body autonomy.
As Kohinoorgasm, Shetty has performed at festivals, universities, museums, music venues, and art spaces across the US and Europe. Additionally, a strong commitment to community, collaboration, and cultural work has drawn Shetty to other roles, such as audio engineer, DJ, educator, organizer, and model. Shetty is born and based in Los Angeles, CA, and her music is available for stream or purchase almost everywhere, with an emphasis on the boycott of Amazon/Amazon Music. Check it out here or here.
Joseph Samuel Quisol, M.Ed. is an artist, educator, and organizer with roots in the Philippines and Puerto Rico. After getting onto the stage in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, Quisol began recording original music, producing DIY shows and building community through music wherever he went.
As a Gates Millennium Scholar, Quisol completed a double-major in Political Science & International Studies in 2016 from the Honors College at the College of Charleston. Then in 2018, he earned his Master's of Education in Arts in Education from Harvard University, where he engaged in Critical Race Theory in Education, Transformative Justice, and Pedagogy of The Oppressed. Quisol also cross-enrolled at the Harvard University Department of Music where he studied music activism with Esperanza Spalding and co-wrote with musicians across genres in Vijay Iyer's Creative Music Ensemble.
While in Boston, Quisol was awarded a $15,000 Live Arts Boston Grant from The Boston Foundation to produce live music events across the city and produce his debut album REVELATIONS (listen here) . The full length features an all-star lineup of queer and trans artists of color from Boston, Charlotte, and beyond. Released in March 2019 at the inaugural Arts Equity Summit opening celebration, co-produced with Arts Connect International.
Quisol continues touring and composing, and has crafted a facilitation practice drawing from creative exercises, DIY music culture, and organizing strategies learned from activist spaces in California and Southeast United States.
Our last performer of the night is singer/songwriter mynameisblueskye, who describes his music as "keyboard-laden psych/space pop music surrounded by being LGBT, black and having Asperger's Syndrome". Check him out on BandCamp and Spotify.