Off the 405: Bartees Strange

Born in Ipswich, England to a military father and opera-singer mother, Bartees Leon Cox Jr. had a peripatetic early childhood before eventually settling in Mustang, Oklahoma. Later, Bartees cut his teeth playing in hardcore bands in Washington, DC and Brooklyn while working for the Barack Obama administration and eventually, the environmental movement. In his music, Bartees seamlessly weaves together hip-hop, R&B, and garage rock, for a sound Brooklyn Vegan called "strikingly original." He released two records in quick succession: an EP reimagining songs by The National (Say Goodbye To Pretty Boy, 2020) and his debut album proper, Live Forever (2020), and has shared the stage with Phoebe Bridgers, Mdou Moctar, and more.

DJ set by DJ Jocelyn Romo