Indie 102.3 Sessions

When Flaural visited our studio in 2015, the Denver psych-rock band had just formed a few months beforehand and played only one show. But the band members had established specific goals: release some EPs, go on tour and play some festival dates. Flaural has since accomplished each of those goals and established themselves in the Denver music scene. The band members returned to CPR’s OpenAir to play some new music and speak with Jeremy Petersen about staying busy during their first full year as a band, their recent recording sessions in California and their ambitions for the new year.

Yasman Azimi — who performs as YaSi — may be young, but she’s got years of experience in Denver’s hip-hop scene under her belt. She performed with H*Wood since 2013 before recently launching her solo career. YaSi released last summer the EP “Stranded Feelings,” and she followed that up with the single “Pink Caddy,” co-written with fellow Denver artist Sur Ellz. In December, she performed a couple of songs in our CPR Performance Studio. She also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about getting attention via online blogs, her love-hate relationship with music growing up and how a Frank Ocean cover kickstarted her music career.

Just in time for the holidays, Kissing Party stopped into the CPR Performance Studio. And rather than the same old Christmas jingles, the Denver band played four original songs in the holiday spirit. Kissing Party just released “Winter In The Pub,” a compilation of the holiday singles dating back to 2010. The band — minus singer Deirdre Sage — also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about Christmas pastimes and plans for a new non-holiday album in 2017.

The founding members of Wild Child met while touring as backup singers for the band The Migrant. That encounter has proven to be a happy accident, as the two singers — Kelsey Wilson and Alexander Beggins — hit it off as songwriting partners. The Austin, Texas, band has since grown into a septet with a varied and energetic indie pop sound. Wild Child’s latest full-length is “Fools.” The band performed two tracks from the LP as well as a brand new song in our CPR Performance Studio before a headlining show at Denver’s Bluebird Theater. They also spoke with Jeremy Petersen about the band’s origin story, how touring is essential to the band’s livelihood and how “Fools” is a breakup album.

The husband-and-wife team between Denver band Lost Walks originally set out to create a Disney-style musical. But — as singer-songwriter Andy Thomas and singer and accordion player Jen GaNun recently told CPR News — a visit to the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center in Divide, Colo., shifted the band’s direction toward rock. The band’s recent debut album, “Wolf, Woman, Man,” tells the story of a couple that moves into a remote mountain location and encounters a lone, injured wolf. Lost Walks joined us in the CPR Performance Studio to perform four songs from the new record. The members also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about the inspiration for the characters on “Wolf, Woman, Man,” raising awareness for wildlife rescue and how the band developed the visual aspect of its live shows with local artists.

Denver’s FaceMan has a reputation for a wild live show. Westword gave the band’s 2014 Lost Lake Lounge concert the “Best Stage Art” award for its shark-shaped stage. The trio — which recently incorporated a horn section — also organizes festival-sized events like the recent “100 Year Storm” at Denver’s Oriental Theater, which brought together 100 Colorado acts to perform over two days. FaceMan recently released the album “Wild And Hunting.” The band returned to the CPR Performance Studio for the first time since 2013 to play four songs from the album. They also spoke with Alicia ‘Bruce’ Mitchell about how they do more with less for live shows, collaborating with a horn section and working with local artists for their album cover art.

Two members of the Colorado band Elephant Revival joined us last week for an unusual session in the CPR Performance Studio. Violinist Bridget Law and singer-percussionist Bonnie Paine played with members of the Colorado Symphony for a special performance that featured music from the band’s latest album, “Petals,” as well as some older material. Elephant Revival will share the stage with the Symphony Saturday night at Denver’s Boettcher Concert Hall.

The members of Chimney Choir have defied genres and labels with their music since they got together in 2011. The Denver band blends folk, electronica, rock and even ballet music on last year’s “Boomtown.” Chimney Choir will release the album “(dream)” with an interactive live show at the Mercury Cafe on Saturday. The band stopped into the CPR Performance Studio beforehand to preview some music from the new LP. They talked with Alisha Sweeney about composing “sound collages,” collaborating with the Denver dance troupe Wonderbound and what they have in store for their concert this weekend.