The music scene in Washington, D.C. as well as its surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia, is diverse with different grooves and experimental sounds blurring genre lines. Over the last several months, these sounds have been on display at numerous events and venues around the District. InTheRough has documented some of these experiences, like Frankliin's set at D.C. Funk Parade in early May or performances by Alex Vaughn and Meche Krorrect for the Glow End Theory Program at Black Cat. There are shows three and four days out of the week put on by art and music collectives within the creative community. Scroll through the Instagram feeds of Medium Rare, Bombay Knox, CMPVTR CLVB, and DCDIT to find show posters from 2014.
From Go-go and jazz to punk rock and indie-dance, the genres of the District have always been "amazing unto themselves," said Marcus Dowling, chronicler of capital culture for publications including the Washington City Paper, Vice and Complex. The Sounds of D.C. playlist captures a number of the contemporary sounds and artists that are influenced by the rich, musical heritage of Washington, D.C. Listeners will understand the collaborative element to much of the music that is produced in the DMV through tracks like "Devil's Red Dress"--a true rock ballad assembled by Dreamcast and Fat Kneel.
GoldLink and Fat Trel are DMV artists who have found commercial success. They continue to promote the budding talent and sounds with their respective tracks "Rough Soul," which features April George of April & Vista, and a Trel track, "IN MY BAG," that's anchored by forefather Wale. Of course the lineformation family is present in this playlist, especially Tedy Brewski who's purportedly working on new music. But pay attention to rappers Nappy Nappa and Sir E.U who are headed to London for the first time.
Listen to the playlist above and if you like what you hear, be sure to keep exploring new music by clicking on the artists' profiles.