Pop group Human Host sets performance
BY ROBERT WIRSING
A band which once called
the Boogie Down Bronx its
home is set to give Bronxites a
mind-expanding experience.
Formed on December 2002,
Human Host is now based
throughout the northeast U.S.
and features an ever-changing
ensemble of multi-media artists
capturing fi gments of the
listener’s imagination.
The one constant at its creative
core is Mike Apichella
who performs keyboard and
harmonica.
HH’s latest album, ‘Special
Moments with Muckle Flugga
and The Cronk’ is available
worldwide via Spotify, iTunes,
Tidal, Bandcamp and other
major music streaming sites.
The Sara Laughs label release
is a seven track out-ofthis
world ambient musical
experience unlike any other.
The experimental pop
group brings the listener
along for a tranquil odyssey
through the deepest recesses
of imagination perfectly conveyed
through Apichella’s musicianship.
One notable example is the
album’s second track ‘Tahlgonga’
which makes creative
use of a coffee can played by
Devon Till to match Apichella’s
energetic melody.
Whether performing solo
or in a group as a keyboardist,
Apichella, a Maryland native,
credits Sun Ra as a major infl
uence.
He frequently plays the
harmonica, as showcased in
HH’s new record, and cites
Noah Lewis and Roky Erickson
as his muses.
Both Ra and Erickson, a
former member of The 13th
Floor Elevators, claimed to be
aliens and used their music
to teach people important lessons.
Ra, an Afrofuturism pioneer,
used his music to teach
people about the symbiotic
relationship between Earth,
religion, science, outer space
and other dimensions beyond
conventional reality.
Erickson, a psychedelic
rock pioneer, used his work
to make people see that Earth
and its concerns are all important,
but only tiny pieces of a
much bigger puzzle.
Lewis, a pre-WWII era blues
artist and member of various
jug bands, is renowned for his
propulsive and rhythmic playing
which never loses sight
of melody no matter how textured
and dissonant he could
get.
HH are no strangers to the
Bronx as the group recorded
the song ‘Hawaii Werewolf,’
featured on its 2016 ‘Ophiopogon’s
Blue Wonder’ album, at
the now defunct The Carl Sage
Inn formerly located in Hunts
Point.
Apichella said half of Ophiopogon’s
Blue Wonder was recorded
and produced while
HH resided in Fordham and
Hunts Point.
During HH’s live shows,
lighting is purposely kept dim
so that the audience focuses
more upon the music and the
feelings it inspires rather than
on the performer.
To listen to HH’s new album,
visit https://saralaughs.
bandcamp.com/album/special
moments-with-mucklefl
ugga-and-the-cronk.
HH will perform in support
of its new album and its side
Experimental pop group Human Host’s music makes listeners more openminded
about the world around them and the many mysteries inhabiting
it. Photo courtesy of Mike Apichella/Human Host
project T.E.A.M. (Together
Everyone Achieves More) on
Friday, July 26 at 7 p.m. at
Gasolina Lounge on 2525 Boston
Road.
The show also includes live
performances by Bronx rapper
ZALES ONE and indie alternative
rock bands The Living
Strange and Red Hunting
Cap.
Apichella thanks Statik
Vision’s bassist Jason McFarlane
for helping to set up the
show.
For additional information,
visit www.humanhost.
tumblr.com.
Edwin Reyes’ new fashion publication showcases the borough
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Hunts Point’s beloved and
youthful fashion designer
Edwin Reyes is back with a
brand new line. This one isn’t
of clothes, though.
He’s released a new, fashion
publication along with its
connected brand, Mejorr Publications.
Reyes unveiled the new
glossy magazine during a vi-
brant release party at El Barrio’s
Artspace at 215 E. 99th
Street on Saturday June 29.
Keeping true to an authentic
Bronx narrative, Reyes and
his crew shot the magazine’s
content at seven separate locations
throughout the borough
in Hunts Point, Third Avenue,
Fordham Road and Southern
Boulevard.
“We wanted to showcase
the Bronx through a fashion
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 30 ULY 12-18, 2019 BTR
lens by creating editorial
photo shoots in iconic sections
of the borough,” Reyes said
upon the release mentioning
that one his ambitions with
Mejorr to clear a wrongful
connotation that the Bronx is
“awful and unsafe.”
“The Bronx is fi lled with
people from various races and
backgrounds, and people come
from around the world to work
and hustle,” he proudly said.
Reyes continued to explain
that the term ‘hustle’ has a
vast meaning in the Bronx,
saying “whether it’s teaching,
designing a dress, selling
candy, or scrubbing fl oors, everyone
who lives in this borough
wants to create a better
life for their family, friends,
and themselves.”
He worked with two Bronx
social media infl uencers,
Kelly Augustine and Irania
Rivera to put out Mejorr’s inaugural
issue; Rivera is also
featured on the magazine’s
cover wearing a bright dress
with a veil.
To learn more about Mejorr
and upcoming issues,
visit its Instagram: mejorrpublications.
Irania Rivera with the fi rst volume of Mejorr at the release party.
Courtesy of Edwin Reyes Edwin Reyes. Finiezt Brand
/saralaughs
/www.humanhost
/saralaughs
/www.humanhost
/tumblr.com
