Akasha is a first year in the Whittier Scholars program who is combining Environmental Policy and Performing Arts for her major. Akasha loves singing, acting, painting, and going to concerts. She’s been in around 25 different plays and musicals and has been to about 20 concerts. Her music taste is a combo of indie alternative rock, pop, and some hip hop and rock with a sprinkle of heavy metal. She loves finding new innovative artists to listen to such as Poppy.
Author: admin
Sky Houston (DJ Sky-So- Fly)
Sky Houston is a first year at Whittier College. She is undeclared as of now but she is in the Whittier Scholars Program to create her own major that combines social work, music, and business. A fun fact about Sky is that she loves Jesus. Her musical tastes vary from old school R&B, funk, hip-hop, and gospel to alternative rock and metal.
maria flores – dj mars
Maria Flores is a 2nd year majoring in Math/Physics. She goes to concerts and the beach on the daily. Her music taste is very fluid but finds herself listening to bedroom pop and oldies the most.
Jonathan Siordia (Tech Manager)
Howdy! My name is Jonathan Siordia. I’m the tech manager at KPOET College Radio in sunny Whittier, CA. I grew up in Whittier, so you could call me the local boy who grew up and went to college in his hometown.
I live off of a steady diet of garage rock and alternative, supplemented also by jazz, ambient, and classical.
As Technical Manager I aim to keep KPOET well connected, help entertain the Whittier College campus, shed light onto new and upcoming talent, and keep KPOET constantly playing the best music in the world.
Abigail Padilla
Abigail Padilla attends Whittier College as a Creative Writing major. She loves all things rock-‘n’-roll, Halloween, Goth, and poetic. She hopes to make it as a writer for TV and movies, and to be a published author.
Mykel Bertulano
Name: Mykel Bertulano
Year: First Year, ‘23
Major: Biology
Music Taste: Big Sean, Travis Scott, Justin Bieber & Shoreline Mafia
Fun Fact: I’m into cars and underground rappers
Why work at KPOET: Express my musical taste and show others how I really think about it.
Edward Zarate
My name is Edward Zarate and I am currently a sophomore at Whittier College. I am majoring in Digital Art & Design and minoring in Psychology. My music taste is a blend of pop, alternative rock, Latin, and indie. Some artists I listen to include Billie, Eilish, Ariana Grande, Jenni Rivera, and Three Days Grace. A fun fact about me is that I am an artist, I love to draw and paint, creating has always been a passion of mine. I chose to work at KPOET Radio as an album reviewer because I wanted an opportunity to expand my taste in music and to have a chance to analyze different artists’ work and expand my knowledge of music.
Self Portrait by Sasha Sloan
Artist: Sasha Sloan
Album: Self Portrait
Record Label: RCA Records
Recommended Tracks: Track 2- “Keep On”, Track 7- “smiling when i die”
Sasha Sloan released her album titled Self Portrait on October 18, 2019. It’s a pretty short album, only consisting of seven songs and a duration of twenty-two minutes. The album is on the softer side in terms of sound and it has a simple approach when it comes to production. At times, she seems to be leaning more toward a pop-sound and other times she leans toward an indie/alt sound, but it’s interesting to hear the blending of genres and sound throughout the album. It seems that Sasha focused mostly on her songwriting and aimed for it to be at the forefront of Self Portrait. Her lyrics are autobiographical and very transparent as she sings about mental health, fears, and life experiences. In its entirety, it’s a good album especially if you enjoy indie-pop music. I rate it a 3.5 out of 5.
Out of this collection of songs, two that stand out are the third and seventh track, “Keep On” and “smiling when i die.” I think these two songs are the strongest out of the seven on the album and showcase the best instrumentation, vocals, and production. “Keep On” has a hopeful undertone; she sings about trying her best to stay strong when she finds herself struggling with her mental health. The song has a positive message and has a nice beat, especially during the chorus. Lyrically it’s repetitive but it seems to be intentional to serve as a constant reminder of her internally telling herself that she’ll be okay even when things feel overwhelming at times. Instrumentally, there’s an electronic beat underneath the vocals and it adds a nice layer pulling from elements of pop music.
The seventh track, “smiling when i die” is the last song on the album. I think if people listen to only one song on the album it should be this one. Instrumentally, the song opens with short guitar plucks that are later joined by electronic drum beats. Production-wise, this is the best song on Self Portrait because of how well the song flows. It’s a cohesive ending to the album considering what Sasha is singing about. Lyrically, the song is referring to her making a conscious effort to live in a way that she will be proud of what she has accomplished and who she has become so that when she dies, she feels content instead of feeling regretful. Overall, Self Portrait is a nice album to listen to. While it has darker tones and is at a slower and soft pace, it has its uplifting moments and positive messages.
In Retrospect by Duskus
Album: In Retrospect EP
Artist: Duskus
Genre: Dance/Electronic
Record label: Foreign Family Collective
Recommended Tracks: Track 1- Be There For You and Track 4- Can’t Stand the Feeling
The release date for this album, In Retrospect EP, was on October 11, 2019. The genre for this album is dance and electric. This album is Duskus’s first complete album with multiple songs, he has many singles that are well known. Duskus put five songs on this album. In an interview, Duskus said that the album “In Retrospect is a journey to find myself as an artist and as a person. It is discovering how fragile and delicate this world is, comparing how people choose to live, and the different pathways that they take. I believe that life doesn’t have a guideline, and there’s no right or wrong way to live, each decision we have made in the past, has shaped our power and knowledge now. In Retrospect showcases my existential mind drifting in and out of different life stages, to create a journey of wonder and mystery.” I am going to give this album a 2 out of 5 rating. I will explain why at the end.
Be There For You is a song about being there for someone. Throughout the song, he keeps asking why the person is acting the way they are and keeps saying that he wants to be there for them. This song is slow and soothing. It reminds me of a song that would be in a dance club to calm people down. The mellow tone even calmed me down from a very busy week. This song is also the only song that I find would be perfect music when studying for midterms or finals. It will not distract you because it is not very upbeat and the talking is sporadic, so you would not be able to sing along.
Unlike Be There For You, Can’t Stand The Feeling is very upbeat. The song is about feeling alone and not being able to stand that feeling. However, with the topic being depressing the background music does not allow you to feel sad with its upbeat rhythm. I cannot picture this song in a dance club because of the lyrics. I can see this song in a movie to represent a scene where the actor feels alone and the music is the only thing giving them comfort. This song would not be a good song to study to because of the beats and the lyrics. After only hearing the song for the first time when writing this review, I started singing along to it.
The reason why I gave this album such a low rating is because I personally am not a huge fan of electronic music. This album is one of the better electronic music albums I’ve heard in awhile. To me, however, it still could’ve been better. The album had mellow songs that you could only kick back to. Even the one “upbeat” song in the album was still pretty mellow. Setting aside my viewpoints, if you like electronic mellow music then this album is perfect for you. It really does soothe you over after a very long week.
Christopher J. Greenwood (Adviser)
I am the Technical Coordinator at Poet Entertainment and help out KPOET as IT. My favorite type of music is Punk Rock. Preferably from the 90’s but I’m not that picky, A fun fact about myself is that I am still currently in a punk band, Music never leaves you. My favorite part about KPOET radio is the passion that everyone has there. They all are obsessed with music and genuinely love their work. Loving what you do is always a gift.
