Strange and wonderful things can happen when three talented artists from completely different musical backgrounds join creative forces. One of these "things" is Levitating (streaming below), a mostly hip hop track that merges Sammus' rhymes with Olga Bell's European flavored electronic production and Xenia Rubinos Hispanic music influences. Born from an instrumental penned by Bell, the track is a perfect example of what NYC is (and has been for awhile): an irreversible melting pot of races and culture, where positive collaboration trumps any difference and distrust. The message here is that (hard) work and curiosity are the best antidotes to intolerance, and these prolific ladies know something about it. Check out the track below, and catch Xenia Rubinos at the Ecstatic Music Fest at the Kaufman Center on January 27th. 

 Love standard fare indie rock, but wish there was something more?  Enter Olive Tiger, a prolific songwriting trio, featuring non-standard instrumentation of orchestral strings, electronics, and more.  Their debut album Until My Body Breaks expands on indie/pop sensibilities to create something new.  At times heavily orchestrated, while keeping at its core a simple and compelling singer/songwriter feel, Olive Tiger keeps you on your toes, throughout.  Check them out at Cafe Nine in New Haven on 2/17 with Xenia Rubinos. -Brian Varneke

It was 2011 when, browsing through the submissions we received for our Best of NYC 2010 Year End Poll, we stumbled upon a track by Xenia Rubinos and couldn't help but write immediately about it. Two years later, Pitchfork said this about her debut album. Sadly, as you can see from the link to our old post, that track is not available for streaming anymore, but we can console ourselves with Xenia's new video for 'Lonely Lover,' which once again shows us an artist that defies categorizations within the traditional pop song structure, which isn't something easy to do.  Xenia will celebrate the release of her new album 'Black Terry Cat' with a show at Baby's All Right tomorrow, June 4th - do not miss!

Union Pool on September 5th will host a perfect show to indulge your musical ADHD. With tribal sounding percussion, reminiscent of earlier Local Natives or Wild Beasts, Friend Roulette (pictured) mixes a plethora of genres, from pop to psych to folk, without ever sounding like a forced fusion. The band just released a new single entitled ViVa ZyPreXa (streaming below), belonging to the sparser and more experimental side of their repertoir. They’re playing with Xenia Rubinos, an eccentric and sultry vocalist who crafts jagged jumpy rhythms into danceable avant-pop tracks. Obscure post punk group Blanche Blanche Blanche will be joining the set as well, adding a dark flavor to this eclectic show. All bands are based in Brooklyn! - Paul Jordan Talbot

After two solid years, Music Frees All will return to NYC for it’s third time with some great and diverse sounding locals, including Deli favorites EMEFE (pictured and streaming), Cuddle Magic and Xenia Rubinos amongst the 21 artists performing. This year's festival will span 3 days and 4 venues - including The Bell House, Bowery Electric and Rockwood Music Hall - kicking off on Friday July 19 until the following Sunday. The festival’s proceeds will go in part to the Scotty Hard Trust, which raises funds for legendary producer Scott Harding. Festival founder Miles Arntzen of Antibalas – also performing - says Scotty, “is the center of an important and warm community of musicians that we are happy to know and work with. This concert is our chance to say thank you!” - Ed Guardaro