With the start of the new year, let’s pause for a moment and reflect on time-shifting nature of music. A record is both fixed in time and yet immortal. It records a particular feeling of the moment yet it is listened to from generation to generation — knowing no time or space limitations. Nothing can highlight this phenomenon better than the 2 artists being showcased in this month’s Artists to Watch program.

 This month we feature a box-set compilation from the Old Town School in Chicago. This venerable stage has hosted the who’s who of folk music throughout the world for over 55 years. From Joan Baez and Donovan, Big Bill Broonzy and Ella Jenkins, Pete Seeger and Taj Mahal, Martin Carthy and Steve Earle, Doc Watson and Mahalia Jackson to Jeff Tweedy of Wilco — everyone has performed at the Old Town School. But their performances were one-night events; impromptu jam sessions and musical dialogs between artists and crowds.  They were never intended to be part of a record. But thanks to archivists Colby Maddox and Paul Tyler, history becomes our present and listening to this amazing compilation is an adventure in time and space travel. Are we, the listeners, transported back to Chicago in the 60’s or are the artists forwarded to us?

 The same blur happens when we look at our second feature, Goapele’s Play Remixed By Josh One. Both Goapele and Josh One are individual artists who are renown in their own spheres. Goapele recorded Play for her Break of Dawn album and then asked Josh One with Boomnote to re-envision what it could sound like. Josh turned her song into his and brought both of their pasts and futures together into a fusion of time and space. Once again, art seems to know no limits.

 Until next month…This month, the Ultimate Ears Artists to Watch program is featuring new music from dance sensation Emma Hewitt and indie superstars Portugal. The Man. While their styles are completely different, their philosophy on music and growing their careers is very similar. They both realize that music is about the fans.

Rich Holtzman, manager of Portugal. The Man once said about the bands’ growing popularity “Our belief is not that they were “fans” but rather they were people who just had the same taste in music as we did.” This is a radical departure from some industry notions. The band chose to grow slowly and to cultivate real relationships with their audience members. This made each fan feel special and part of a certain club. This intimacy made it more fun to listen to the music and to be a supporter of the music. And they are obviously doing something right. Portugal. The Man has an engagement rate with their fans via social media that most multinational corporations would kill for. How did they do it? One person at a time.

Same goes for Emma Hewitt. She broke onto the scene as a backup vocalist for Chris Lake in 2007 and quickly became involved with many top charting dance tracks. But instead of rushing into fame, she took her time to cultivate solid relationships with all the relevant DJ’s and producers. She’s been working behind the scenes for 5 years, slowly building up her fan base one by one as well in anticipation of her debut solo album. And what happened? Within 24 hours of the single’s prerelease on YouTube, she racked up over 30,000 views. This doesn’t just happen. It all takes an inordinate amount of work and relationships.

So what’s that take home lesson from all of this? That music is more that just an arrangement of notes and sounds. It is a dialog that connects people through time and space and it is something to be shared between friends. That is the heart of it all. The artists who best understand this are the ones that are succeeding in the industry now.

Until next month…