The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/electric-buffalo-records/)
The band Good Head performs their original songs in the latest Sun Session. In collaboration with Electric Buffalo Records, a student-run, not-for-profit record label, each Sun Session aims to spotlight the musical talents of Cornell students.
On August 25th, I found myself walking up to the porch of 604 East Buffalo Street for the 2018 Electric Buffalo Records Orientation Showcase. The house was quirky, with a humble charm that invited curiosity about the sound echoing from within it. With every creaking step on the wood porch came some overwhelming instrumentation. People meandered in and out of the rooms. Some danced on porch, and others watched the musicians rehearse
“Electric Buffalo Records is ready for takeoff this year and it starts here,” declared Adam Kanwal ’21, who is a Sun staff writer, co-president of the record label regarding the event. The night was EBR’s chance to ostend the talent that has sprouted from their ambitious, student-led record label.
The night of May 30, 2013, I sat in my kitchen holding a dirty quarter. The postmark deadline to claim my spot as a transfer student at Brown was the next day. If the coin landed on heads, I’d transfer; tails, I’d stay at Cornell — a place where I had been deeply unhappy the year before. I don’t remember what the coin actually landed on. While it was in the air I found myself hoping ever so slightly for tails, and I took it as a sign I should give Cornell another shot.
Desolation, betrayal, evil and, above all else, sacrificial love feature prominently in Kurt Riley’s 2016 release, Kismet. Riley — the musical alias of Industrial and Labor Relations student Kurt Fritjofson ’16 — crafted Kismet around a narrative that draws upon grand and utterly thrilling science fiction motifs. In brief, Kismet follows King Bandele, a character whom Fritjofson often sings as and portrays in his music videos, as he travels to Earth in pursuit of his Queen, Heaven Snow. Bandele lives in a civilization that, I would argue, seems to be a reimagining of the human race’s trajectory. In place of human greed and violence, Bandele’s society is selfless, thoughtful and compassionate; Bandele’s contemplations of the duality of human cruelty and kindness drive much of the album’s tension.
By MARINA CAITLIN WATTS
Avid musician, ILR senior and Sun Staff Writer Kurt Fritjofson ’16 has been working hard this semester. Aside from finishing up his degree to graduate this spring, Fritjofson is also in the process of recording an album, Kismet, under the stage name of Kurt Riley. He is collaborating with other students, and their combined talents make for an impressive result. The Sun sat down and spoke with him about his music, his aspirations and what we can expect from him in the future.
The Sun: What is your history as far as music production goes, and when did your interests spark? Kurt Fritjofson: I’ve been producing my own music since I was 14 years old, and I’ve had the great fortune of getting to work with many talented musicians and producers.