Daniel Mescher

Kiltro captivated us at last year’s Underground Music Showcase when the band played one of our porch sessions. Led by Chilean-American artist Chris Bowers-Castillo, the Denver band makes loop-based songs influenced by folk, Latin, rock and electronic music. Kiltro will release its debut album, “Creatures of Habit,” next month and play an album release show July 6 at Denver’s Larimer Lounge. Kiltro visited our studio last month to play four songs. The band members also spoke with Jeremy Petersen about how the band grew from Bowers-Castillo’s solo project to a trio, the dozens of effect pedals they use in their music and the growing diversity of Denver’s music scene.

Instant Empire took a unique approach to putting out new music last year. The Denver indie rock band wrote, recorded and released one new song each month of 2018. Now, the band members have compiled those tracks into the new album “Cathedrals.” Instant Empire made its fourth visit to the CPR Performance Studio last month. The band members played four songs and spoke with Jeremy Petersen about the rationale behind their strategy last year, the challenges of writing to meet a deadline and how their lyrics became more personal.

Flaural last visited us in 2017 with ambitions for a debut album. The Denver rock quartet’s plan took a bit longer than anticipated, but after multiple U.S. tours and recording sessions, it released the aptly-titled “Postponement” last month. The album features the layered guitar and synth sound that has won the band praise from publications like Stereogum. Flaural returned to play three songs from “Postponement” in our studio. The band members also spoke with Jeremy Petersen about recording the album in Oakland and Denver, how fans like to listen to their music while running and why they love touring the West Coast.

Extra Gold released its debut album, “High & Lonesome,” late last year. Evan Holm fronts the Denver country-western band and draws on his experiences living in Kansas City and across Colorado on the record’s eight tracks. Extra Gold stopped into the CPR Performance Studio to play four songs from “High & Lonesome.” Holm also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about how the band came together from a weekly residence at Denver’s Syntax Physic Opera, working with producer and former Paper Bird member Mark Anderson, and the band’s busy summer schedule.

Heavy Diamond Ring is a new project from Sarah Anderson and Paul DeHaven, founders of the Colorado folk band Paper Bird. The band finds the musicians continuing their 12 year collaboration after Paper Bird’s split in 2017. Heavy Diamond Ring celebrates the release of its debut album with a June 7 show at Denver’s Larimer Lounge, presented by OpenAir. Heavy Diamond Ring stopped into the CPR Performance Studio to play three songs from the album. The band members also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about why they love writing songs together, filming a music video in Ohio and recording with producer Mark Anderson, Sarah’s brother and a former Paper Bird member.

Knuckle Pups haven’t been around long, but the band is already making waves beyond the Colorado music scene. Featuring former members of Denver band Mega Gem, the indie pop quintet released its debut EP “San Panino,” last year. A gig at the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho, followed a few months later. Knuckle Pups stopped into our studio last week to play four songs. The members also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about how the band came together, their love for punk rock and their experience at Treefort.

Black Belt Eagle Scout’s “Mother of My Children” is the remarkable indie rock debut album from the Portland, Ore., band. At the time of its recording, Black Belt Eagle Scout was just one person: singer-songwriter Katherine Paul, who played every instrument on the album. She originally released it in 2017, and it soon caught the attention of renowned indie label Saddle Creek, who re-released it last year. Since then, the band has expanded to a quartet. Black Belt Eagle Scout visited the CPR Performance Studio before a show at Denver’s Larimer Lounge with Julia Jacklin. The band played four songs, including a couple new tracks, and Paul spoke with Bruce Trujillo about why she started the project after playing drums in several Portland bands, the Pacific Northwest music scene and recording the album on the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community reservation in Washington where she grew up.

Denver band iZCALLi recently released its fifth studio album, “Casa de Papel.” Shortly before the album’s release show, the Latin psych-rock band made its third appearance in our performance studio. iZCALLi played four songs from the new record. The members also spoke with Bruce Trujillo about consistently writing new music to “stay fresh,” working with producer Tyler Imbrogno of Denver band Eldren and performing at a Colorado Rockies game last year.

Roger Sellers has made electronic music for several years, first under his own name and currently as Bayonne. The Austin, Texas, musician released his sophomore Bayonne album, “Drastic Measures,” earlier this year. The record finds Sellers singing about life on the road as a touring musician while adding pop-inspired choruses into his loop-based music. Bayonne stopped into the CPR Performance Studio before a show at Denver’s Lost Lake. Sellers played four songs from “Drastic Measures” with drummer Ryan Heath and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about his love for musical repetition, his upcoming summer music festival gigs and creating his own hot sauce brand.