“The Top 10 Songs Spinning at KCSU” is written by the KCSU music directors and describes the top artists that your local 90.5 FM DJs are playing this week. The article is updated weekly on Sundays and discussed on their show, “KCSU’s Weekly Gem Countdown,” which airs every Monday from 11 a.m.-noon. Here, you can learn more about each musician or band before tuning in to the top 10 countdown on Mondays, in which the music directors present to you the latest songs topping the charts and break down each song’s sound and feeling.
1.Black Mushroom Cult (Local) — Alternative — (Seven spins on “A Cult Following.”) Black Mushroom Cult is a mysterious band with very little information online, though we know it’s local to Fort Collins. This is a special track you’ll just have to catch listening Mondays 11 a.m. to noon and 11 p.m. to midnight on the “Weekly Gem Countdown” on 90.5 KCSU!
2. Brentney — R&B/Soul — (Six spins on “Go Ahead” off 2021’s “Blue Sky No. 9.”) Brentney is a Louisville-based singer/songwriter “hoping to spark inner dialogue through the medium of meaningful, pop-infused R&B- and jazz-influenced melodies.” She says she is inspired by disco, funk and “the sheer feeling of bliss when you’re roller skating on a sunny day and looking up at the fluffy clouds.” With her music she intends to inspire people to deal with the struggles they go through and eventually release them.
3. Deep Sea Diver — Rock — (Five spins on “New Day” off 2016’s “Secrets”). The moving pop rock band Deep Sea Diver from Seattle, Washington, began with lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Jessica Dobson in 2009. She recorded her first EP, “New Caves”, accompanied by her husband, Peter Mansen, on drums, and then her first full-length album, “History Speaks,” in 2012 while she was a touring member of The Shins. Her sophomore album, “Secrets,” was released in 2016, and most recently she released 2020’s “Impossible Weight” EP.
4. DJ Seinfeld — Electronic — (Five spins on “U Already Know” off 2021’s “Mirrors.”) Armand Darius Anders Jakobsson, also known as DJ Seinfeld, was born in Malmö, Sweden and is now based out of Spain, according to discogs.com. He’s released two full-length albums, the most recent being 2021’s “Mirrors.” In a press release, he says of “Mirrors,” “I wanted to retain a lot of the raw emotionality that brought people to my music in the first place. It’s been an arduous process, but it’s a real statement of where I’m at as a producer and person right now.”
5. Empty Hollow — Rock — (Five spins on “Light Me Up” off 2021’s “Firestorm.”) With heavy guitar riffs and buzzing vocals, Empty Hollow is the garage band you’ve been missing. Its only release, 2021’s “Firestorm,” seemed inspired by the likes of alternative rock bands like Nirvana or The Smashing Pumpkins, who brought out the genre of grunge in the early 90’s.
6. Hippo Campus — Alt/Indie — (Five spins on “Sex Tape” off 2021’s “Good Dog, Bad Dreams.”) Hippo Campus is an indie rock band from St. Paul, Minnesota. Of their latest release, “Good Dog, Bad Dreams,” they say it was made with “a genuine sense of freedom and enjoyment … translated here via a lot of screaming.” They sum the album up as “tragic, but it’s funny. It’s intense and honest, confident and vulnerable and strange.”
7. Roi (Local) — Electronic — (Five spins on the 2021 single “RainDrops.”) In their own words, “ROI is the moniker for Matt Schrader and Barnaby Gickel, two Brisbane musicians (who) have been the driving rhythm section for numerous artists (for) a combined total of over 25 years.” Their top played song is a wry singer/songwriter track called “Maths and Engineering,” which is much different from the electronic lofi track “RainDrops.”
8. Tennis (local) — Rock — (Four spins on “Timothy” off 2013’s “Small Sound” EP.) Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley are the duo that make up indie pop-rock band TENNIS. As stated on their Spotify, “Moore and Riley met while students in Colorado, and after graduating college they bought a sailboat and spent seven months sailing along the Eastern Seaboard. Post-adventure, they moved back to Colorado, and after getting settled began recording tracks that had a modern lo-fi feel but a sweet ’50s pop heart.” Their most recent release is the 2021 single “Borrowed Time,” which was featured on the TV show “Rick and Morty” in season 5.
9. Tyler, the Creator — Hip Hop/Rap — (Four spins on “MASSA” off 2021’s “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST.”) Once a founding member of alternative rap group Odd Future, rapper and producer Tyler Okonma started as a solo artist in 2011 under the name Tyler, the Creator. Since then, the Los Angeles-based artist has released a total of seven full-length albums. He is one of Spotify’s most popular artists, with listeners amounting to over 15 million every month.
10. Violet Visionaries (local) — Alt/Indie — (Four spins on the 2020 single, “Rollercoaster.”) First started in 2019, Violet Visionaries is an indie rock band from Greeley, Colorado. Band members include vocalist and guitarist Austin Joseph; the brothers Jayden Yackey on guitar and Garrett Yackey on bass; and Andrew (last name unknown) on drums. They’ve released only two singles: “Rollercoaster.” and 2021’s “Camper Story.”
The music director can be reached at music@kcsufm.com.