Indie 102.3 Sessions

Indie 102.3 Sessions features performances and interviews from national and Colorado musicians in the CPR Performance Studio. Listen to the most recent episode below, and subscribe to be notified when new episodes are posted.

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Latest Episodes

Benjamin Clementine Brings His Mercury Prize-Winning Music To OpenAir

Benjamin Clementine won the 2015 Mercury Prize for his debut “At Least For Now,” joining previous winners like PJ Harvey, Arctic Monkeys and alt-J. Clementine is a London-born self-taught musician who developed as a young street performer in Paris. His haunting and unique music blends classical music, rock and spoken word. At the center are Clementine’s bold tenor vocals and percussive piano arrangements. He stopped by the CPR Performance Studio before a headlining show at Denver’s Bluebird Theater. He played three songs from “At Least For Now” and spoke with Jeremy Petersen about his career since winning the Mercury Prize, his experience as a street performer and his love for early rock ‘n’ roll artists like Little Richard.

Mesita Takes A Break From Electronica For An Acoustic OpenAir Session

James Cooley has spent eight years making electronic beats and melodies in his Littleton bedroom. He has self-released five albums and three EPs under the name Mesita. Cooley rarely performs live, but he recently stopped into our studio for a unique Mesita performance: Instead of electronica, he performed solo with acoustic guitar. He performed three songs from his catalog including the recent single “All Out In The Open,” and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about his new album “Laniakea,” exploring new pop music directions and the possibility of a Mesita tour.

Peter Bjorn And John Dive Into The Pop Music World With ‘Breakin’ Point’

Peter Bjorn And John are now a decade removed from their breakthrough single, “Young Folks.” However, the Swedish trio has remained consistently busy since then, and this year they released their seventh studio album, “Breakin’ Point.” The band worked on the record for five years with several producers, including Adele and Paul McCartney collaborator Paul Epworth. The result is a more pop-centric album than previous releases. In addition to performing four new songs in our studio, the band spoke with Alisha Sweeney about approaching the new album as a series of unique singles, the logistics of working with many producers on the same record and running the new INGRID recording studio and label in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Outfit Releases Debut Album With Strong Colorado Ties

When The Outfit visited our performance studio in 2013, they were a fairly young Denver rock band with a few songs in their repertoire. The band has evolved quite a bit since then, and now has a debut full length out via the local Hot Congress label. We welcomed back The Outfit shortly before an album release show to preview four songs off the self-titled record. The band spoke with Alisha Sweeney about recording at Denver’s Black In Bluhm studios, how Hot Congress founder Lucas Johannes has propelled their career and a recent opening set for punk pioneers Buzzcocks.

SHEL Achieves Billboard Chart Success With ‘Just Crazy Enough’

SHEL returned this month to the CPR Performance Studio for the first time since 2014. The band features the four Holbrook sisters from Fort Collins, though sister Sarah was absent for this particular session. ​ The band recently released the album “Just Crazy Enough.” The Holbrooks worked with producer and former Eurythmics member Dave Stewart for the record, which hit #13 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart upon its release in May. SHEL performed three songs from “Just Crazy Enough” in our studio.

Inner Oceans Returns To OpenAir And Announces Plan For Debut Album

Inner Oceans has had a steady rise since forming three years ago. The Denver experimental pop group received the “Best New Artist” of 2014 award from Westword and performed on the Underground Music Showcase main stage in Denver last July. The band has released only a few singles, but plans to release a debut album, “I Don’t Mind,” on Sept. 16. It will feature material they wrote and recorded during a month of seclusion in a studio outside Bailey. Inner Oceans returned to the CPR Performance Studio to play three synth-driven songs and spoke with OpenAir’s Jeremy Petersen about how the band has developed its sound over the years and the details of their anticipated debut album.

Poet’s Row Shows Off Two Musical Sides On A Pair Of New EPs

Poet’s Row is set to release two new EPs this weekend — “The Artichoke” and “The Armadillo.” Both records showcase a different side of the Denver band: The former is solely the folk duets of founding members Mickey Bakas and Emily Hobbs, while the latter incorporates a full band. Poet’s Row celebrates the EP releases with a two-night stint at Syntax Physic Opera on Friday and Saturday. Before those shows, the band stopped into the CPR Performance Studio for the first time since 2013. They performed four songs and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about recruiting members of Clouds & Mountains and Chimney Choir for “The Armadillo” and how Bakas and Hobbs balance their marriage with their band duties.

Eye & The Arrow Explore Psychedelic ‘Ghost’ Sounds On Latest EP

Eye & The Arrow brings a different musical direction with each visit to OpenAir’s studio. The Denver trio, which features two members of folk-rock band Paper Bird, visited in 2012 and 2013, but neither performance was quite like the one they gave us earlier this month. They performed three songs from the forthcoming EP and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about the real-life “ghost” tapes that inspired the record and working with John Oates of Hall & Oates in Nashville. The band is set to release the new cassette EP “Ghost Tapes,” with a performance on May 27 at Globe Hall.

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