We Speak Music

Devin James Fry releases his post-pandemic masterpiece ‘Retrellion’

Published

4 years ago

May 2, 2023

Don Reed

Devin James Fry is pleased to announce the release of his new album ‘Retrellion’ this April, 2023. ‘Retrellion’ is a departure from his previous sound, which typically featured him fingerpicking a guitar, either alone or in the context of Name Sayers, the adventurous psychedelic rock band he fronts. The new album, which was produced, recorded, and mixed by Fry, features punchy, hip hop-influenced songs that are difficult to classify into a single genre, with otherworldly synths and glitchy electronics throughout.

Early reviews have noted the shift. “Is this post-punk hip hop? We hope so,” wrote reviewer Layla Merino of yourEDM.com, noting that with Retrellion, “Fry might even be creating new genres.”

The album’s title reflects that it is the product of a time (the Covid-19 pandemic) when societal norms broke down and expectations could be set aside.

“I wanted a word that felt like both retreat and rebellion,” says Fry.

Thus, ‘Retrellion’ was born. Some songs, like lead single ‘Black Rainbow’, feature collaborations with rappers like Brooklyn’s Chris Conde and Denver-based rapper and circuit bender Otem Rellik, while others are solo explorations. All were created using a bank of synthesizers and noisemakers including ‘The Jitter Getter’, an analogue sound effects engine Fry designed and built himself, and which is featured in the video for previous single ‘Purple Glue’.

One song, ‘Ash Ode Variation’, is an adaptation of the poem ‘Ash Ode’ by Fry’s friend and hero, poet Dean Young. Fry enlisted the help of another of his mentors, Chicago flutist Lloyd Brodnax King, to create the song and sent it to Young, who replied to say that he was looking forward to listening to it.

Unbeknownst to Fry, Young lay on his deathbed at the time, and Fry is unsure whether the poet heard the song before he died.

The ‘Retrellion’ merchandise is as offbeat and finely crafted as the music, and includes a 180-gram LP, colouring books, incense, lathe cut 7” singles, soap, and matchbooks. Yes, anything seems possible in the world of Devin James Fry.

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We Speak Jazz

Zahili Zamora Wins Two Global Music Awards and Brings Her Afro-Cuban Jazz Quartet to Regattabar

Published

20 minutes ago

November 2, 2026

We Speak Media

Zahili Zamora seated in a burgundy dress, her braided hair styled in a top bun

Zahili González Zamora. Photo by Robert Torres.

Afro Cuban jazz pianist Zahili Zamora brings her Afro Cuban Jazz Quartet to The Regattabar at The Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, Cambridge, on Friday, November 6 at 7 pm, with special guest Yosvany Terry on saxophone. The quartet features Gerson Lazo Quiroga on bass and Zack O’Farrill on drums. Tickets are $35 and $25 plus fees and are on sale now.

Zamora returns this week from a week in Seoul, Korea, where she was performing and auditioning students for Berklee. She has won two Global Music Awards for her recent album Overcoming, taking Silver Medals for Latin Jazz and Afro Cuban music and for album art and graphics. She is also nominated for the Boston Music Awards 2026 Latin Artist of the Year, with winners announced at Big Night Live on Wednesday, December 16, and WBUR has saluted her as one of its 2026 Makers, its annual series highlighting creatives of color making an impact in the local arts scene. Earlier this year she also won the InterContinental Music Award 2026 for Best of Latin America for her composition “Negra.”

The run of dates continues overseas and back in New York. The Zahili Zamora Afro Cuban Jazz Trio, with Gerson Lazo Quiroga on bass and Julien Miltenberger on drums, plays Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London on Sunday, November 15, with shows at 2 pm and 8 pm. Zamora then plays duo sets with clarinetist Juan Fer Ruiz at So & So’s in New York on Saturday, November 28, Five Spot Jazz in New York on Sunday, November 29, Fat Swami’s Jazz Bar & Lounge in Guttenberg, New Jersey on Thursday, December 3, and The Delancey on Thursday, December 10.

About special guest Yosvany Terry, The New York Times has written that the Cuban saxophonist, percussionist and composer “has helped redefine Latin jazz as a complex new idiom.” Bassist Gerson Lazo Quiroga, a Chilean born Berklee Presidential Scholar, has performed at Carnegie Hall, SFJAZZ and the Montreal, Monterey, San Jose and Panama Jazz Festivals. Drummer Zack O’Farrill, son of pianist Arturo O’Farrill and grandson of composer Chico O’Farrill, performs regularly across the United States and the globe.