Are we becoming artificial? Perhaps we are, and in more ways than one! That’s one of the topics I covered this week on MI Local, with in-studio guest Gwendolyn Dot. Her second solo LP, “Psyche”, comes out August 21 and she’s doing a show to celebrate next Saturday, August 30 at Leland City Club.

Gwendolyn Dot has been part of the Detroit music scene for seven years, now, having written and performed music for much of her life growing up in Indiana.

After relocating to Detroit, she began recording and performing as a duo with R. Solomon in Torus Eyes. In 2018 Dot wrote and recorded her debut solo LP, “Mystic Responsibility” which you can find on bandcamp.

Her new release “Psyche” is a stellar and ambitious work that ruminates on the struggle to attain a fully realized sense of self when many of us are stuck within repressive structures, both externally and internally. It’s not as simple as pondering what’s necessary to activate one’s full potential, but that’s at least a starting point.

The album blends techno, ambient-electronica, cyberpunk and darkwave,  sweetened with a strong sensibility for melody delivered through Dot’s dazzilng vocals that glide ghostily over her dynamic arrangements. “Psyche” is officially available this Thursday on bandcamp!

If you’re looking to listen to our interview while streaming the show, jump to the 40-minute mark. We spun the album’s debut single, “Becoming Artificial,” and gave WDET listeners a sneak preview of a yet-to-be-released track titled “Terraform.”

Along with interviewing, we looked ahead to the upcoming Hamtramck Labor Day Festival, sampling songs by artists you can catch performing live on Joseph Campau,  across that weekend-long event (Aug. 30-Sept. 1), including Mod Lang and Pretty Island.

Some of the very latest tracks released this week include new cuts from longtime prog-rockers Discipline, who just released a new full-length album, and a chamber-pop ballad from Pas/Cal’s Craig Benedict Valentine Badynee, titled “I Walked Away from the Firing Squad.”

The goth-tinged industrial trio known as Ritual Howls also have new music out this week; we heard “Follow The Sun,” the lead single from their forthcoming album Ruin. Ritual Howls will also be joining Gwendolyn Dot next Saturday at Leland City Club.

See the playlist below and listen to the episode on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above

MI Local Playlist for August 19, 2025

• “Without You” – Mod Lang
• “Bong Song” – Pretty Island
• “Exhausted” – B’Witches
• “Urnotalone” – Rebecca Goldberg
• “MOTORCYCLE” – FEN FEN
• “I Walked Away From the Firing Squad” – Craig Benedict Valentine Badynee
• “When The Night Calls to Day” – Discipline
• “Days of Falling” – The Microplastics
• “Follow The Sun” – Ritual Howls
• “Terraform” – Gwendolyn Dot
• “Becoming Artificial” – Gwendolyn Dot

It’s hard to find a more home-grown Detroit artist than Beth. You can tell the second she lays her silky-sultry vocals on the track that the singer-songwriter is a direct descendent of the Motown sound.

From touring around the world as a backup vocalist for legendary artists KEM and Anita Baker, to her time in the music competition show The Voice, it’s clear that Beth’s sound is widely sought after. 

Today, Beth joined The Metro and shed light on her experiences navigating the entertainment industry.  

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Activation: Music

Bryce Detroit is a poet, an artist, a social justice organizer and a musician. And with so many titles on his name, it’s hard to pinpoint what creative endeavor he may be working on at that particular moment, but it’s ALWAYS safe to say he’s doing it for the culture…he’s doing it for Detroit. 

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

CONTAINER On The Metro is a new WDET-produced storytelling series that brings Detroit’s creative heartbeat to the airwaves.

CONTAINER is a program created by The Love Building to showcase Detroit’s most promising creative talent across music, fashion, fine arts and food. Done in collaboration with WDET Public Radio with major support from the Gilbert Family Foundation. 

Tariq Gardner grew up in Detroit surrounded by music. His mother is renowned bassist Marion Hayden. Jazz was in the house and his hands from an early age.

He studied jazz and contemporary improvisation at the University of Michigan. Gardner has played everything from straight-ahead jazz to neo-soul, hip-hop, gospel, and Afro-Cuban. He’s performed at the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Cape May Jazz Festival, and with artists across the country.

He leads Evening Star, a band of longtime collaborators who blend Detroit’s jazz tradition with global rhythms and modern grooves.

The band is a featured artist in WDET’s 2025 Sounds Like Detroit Music Showcase.

Tariq Gardner joined the show to discuss his musical journey.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

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The LOVE Building’s monthly LOVE@Nite creative showcase series has helped to shine a light on some of the city’s top up-and-coming artists and creatives.

This summer, the organization launched CONTAINER, a homegrown creative residency platform that nurtures and spotlights Detroit-based artists across music, food, fashion, and visual art through performances, mentorship, and a citywide tour this fall.

The goal of the project is to retain creative talent in the city while giving local artists the tools and space to grow. 

The LOVE Building will host its fourth and final LOVE@Nite: CONTAINER Takeover event this Thursday, July 10, showcasing the 12 local artists in the 2025 CONTAINER cohort. The event will also be a part of the closing festivities for the Global Citizen NOW conference in Detroit.

Kwaku Osei, executive director of The LOVE Building, joined The Metro on Tuesday to talk about the final CONTAINER Takeover and what to expect.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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