Hometown Sounds

Columbia Heights venue The Dunes closes an epic run of live shows this Monday night with a Goodbye Party featuring AG/LG, Jonny Grave and out-of-towners Rain Tears, with DJing from Philip Goyette. The Dunes was an interesting hybrid of DIY and legit venue, serving alcohol and art installations with an incredibly varied calendar from a large number of local promoters. Other local clubs and venues present their identity with consistent booking quality, but The Dunes was known more as a space for others to fill, and its contribution to the development of DC’s current music scene was crucial and leaves big shoes to fill. Today’s music video from genre fusers The Urban Cartel was shot there earlier this year by Brook Bobbins and edited by Mosaic New York, set to the title track from UC’s 2013 EP The NITE, now available as a FREE download.

The Urban Cartel are another signpost on the trend of DC bands blending hip-hop and rock influences together to create a fresh sound, comparable to RDGLDGRN and The Cornel West Theory. “What She Wants”, a soulful song from their FREE 2011 collection Cassette Music, gets the music video treatment from footage of their recent show at the Fillmore Silver Spring. The UC is generous with the Bandcamp, so grab their newest release The N.I.T.E. as well!