What’s up good people?? I’ve been living in NYC for about a month and am already in a deliriously fun honeymoon phase with this city. I’ve been having a blast, not getting enough sleep, and seeing some incredible live music. In the past week, I’ve seen Porridge Radio (highlighted here last month) play one of the best shows I've seen in a long time, watched Waxahatchee (a favorite of mine, who is putting out an album in October ) headline a festival in the mountains upstate NY, and on Wednesday I got to be in the crowd while my friend Jeremy Schmetterer was onstage at a sweet venue, called Baby's All Right, in Brooklyn. New York is delivering the goods. On top of all of that, y’all have sent me some fantastic music that’s soundtracked my settling in to a new home. I’m grateful to be surrounded by all of this good music and energy, and am excited to share some of it back with y’all. One of the people who I’ve been swapping a bunch of music with is my friend Nicole Andrzejewski. While we were each at separate music festivals last weekend, we were trading notes. She was really into a folk trio she saw early in the day, and I invited her to write about them here. To go along with that, I'm sharing three artists I was loving this month below. Here’s The Collective Record playlist for September It's a bunch of awesome music from my September, this time in a specific order, highly recommend a listen as such My friend Ciara, a true playlist guru, has confirmed that it slaps It’s collaborative as always, Nicole added some great stuff, and if you want to, you should too Happy Friday y’all, hope you find something that moves you, Matt P.S. When you get to 100 gecs on the playlist please send me your reactions. That shit is.... different

Nicole goes to a festival and comes home with new music for us

When Everything is Better, I'll Let You Know Trousdale I was lucky enough to spend my weekend at the Sound on Sound music festival, and with The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll headline, I didn’t expect a never-before heard, pop-folk group to be the highlight. But they were. Trousdale (“troooz-dale”), is an LA-based, self-produced group of three B-A-Bs. Their lyrics hit on the fragility of love, the desire to be heard, the fear of words and their many interpretations, and the sometimes unfortunate realization that growth and loss are deeply intertwined. They speak to the struggles of finding connection, but they offer hope through their breathtaking sound - only made possible with their three-way chemistry (they’ve described it as a sort of “magic [they] feel with one another”.) Their harmonies engulf the listener with a gentle empathy, acknowledging the difficulties of being “closer to who we are”; but their crescendos challenge us by reminding us that vulnerability is the root to overwhelming beauty and the pinnacle of connection. The trio invites us to dig through the dirt - to listen to the “color of [each other’s] voices” and to “live every moment to live” - all while sounding angelic and looking like badass queens. They’re deep, they’re hot, and they’re about to be big. Listen to: “Always, Joni” (for Joni Mitchell, who is also a #queen), their NPR live session. - Nicole Andrzejewski

3 Artists I was stuck on in September

jaimie branch Genre: Jazz By all accounts, jaimie branch was a force to be reckoned with. Sadly, this past month the prolific trumpeter, composer, and producer passed away at the age of 39. It was in the ensuing outpouring of sadness, disbelief, and celebration of her life that I learned of her music. Tributes to her life show branch to be revered by those who knew her, both as a musician and a person, for the ferocity, conviction, and joy that she wore on her sleeve. Listening to her play trumpet, especially on live recordings, these characteristics are palpable. Having trained at the New England Conservatory, she has a fascinating set of technical abilities, but it’s clear those chops are there to serve at the whim of what she aims to express. Whether she’s playing slow and contemplative, or fast and chaotic, her horn lines are filled with life. This coupled with intricate, at times catchy, rhythm section (she composes alongside her trumpet playing) made her music surprisingly easy to approach for me, as someone who doesn’t listen to a ton of contemporary jazz records. All of this creates truly unique and inspiring music. I recommend anyone, including people who don’t typically like jazz, listen to her music. Her sound is that powerful. Listen to: The album "Fly or Die" straight through, this live performance of "Theme 001" from that album - Matt Kollada

Nilüfer Yanya Genre: Pop-Rock Nilüfer Yanya’s voice is fascinating. Its chilly depth and fullness doesn’t need to strain to be powerful. The London born artist’s delivery can be incredibly varied, switching between smooth falsetto, cool spoken word, and snappy vocal inflections without losing an ounce of effectiveness. This allows her an ease, a sense of control that makes her performances captivating, as she matches the shifting atmospheres that the band around her creates. Luscious guitar rhythms and smooth horns are familiar figures in music that is centered around rock, but never quite fits comfortably in that mold. I simply can't get enough of the song "Melt" off of her 2019 album, Miss Universe - the lines "I bet your brain cells won't last / I bet they cling to the trash" have been stuck in my head for about a month. Nilufer’s sound is completely singular and I'm excited to watch it continue to develop over the coming years. Listen to: Miss Universe, songs: "stabilise" and "The Unordained" - Matt Kollada

Alex G Genre: Indie Rock/Folk Currently, there are very few artists whose music I can get as lost in, that I have such a visceral, sometimes unexplainable connection to, like Alex G. His 2011 song Pretend, which wasn't released on streaming, will likely be the song I've played most this year. This project of Philly-based artist, Alexander Giannascoli, can feel enigmatic. His lyrics, often more poetry than prose, can seem cryptic and vague. His willingness to experiment with different instruments, song structure, vocal processing, and even a bit of nails-on-the-chalk-board dissonance keeps him from fitting into a clean category. But what has me hooked is the way Giannascoli is able to bring all of this together cohesively, with what feels like a very personal, if abstract, sense of creativity and storytelling. The sense of mystery is more a reflection of depth to be unraveled, than something he is trying to build for its own sake. It may take a few listens, but once his music hits for me, it's positively infectious. Though for me, Alex G's music requires a little patience, the payoff at the end is well worth it. Listen to: This playlist I made of Alex G songs I like, his new album God Save the Animals - Matt Kollada