Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features alt-country by Ani Mari, an improvisation by T. Greens, drum 'n' bass by Rainforest, electronica by Elevator Raider, and jams from Chirp.

Ani Mari, girlfriend
Ani Mari's girlfriend is the Ann Arbor singer-songwriter's debut solo album, but she isn't new to the recording industry. Mari's been playing in a duo with Kora Melia—her fellow Houghton, Michigan native—since the age of 12, releasing two albums and an EP together. Now a University of Michigan student, Mari recorded girlfriend last summer in Cleveland—with Kora on backing vocals and fiddle—and released it in December 2023. The 10 strong songs extend the country-folk pop style heard on the Ani & Kora albums, but there's a touch more rock 'n' roll on girlfriend, too. RIYL Waxahatchee, Ratboys, and going to see shows at The Ark.

T. Greens, "Portal - Opening/Closing"
Taylor Greenshields is the main person behind Fundamental Sound Co. and Fun Fest, but he's also a drummer (and keyboardist) who planned to make his own T. Greens record this winter. "Portal - Opening/Closing" is an album-length jam featuring Jordan Smith (keyboards), Jacob Lachance (sax), and Dylan Risinger (bass) that traverses prog-rock, smooth jazz, funk, and psychedelia. These 35 minutes of music were carved out of a six-hour improvisation. 

Rainforest, Intelligence EP
Ypsilanti's AGN7 label continues to find excellent modern-day drum 'n' bass / jungle producers from around the world. Mexico's Rainforest returns to AGN7 with this three-track banger.

Elevator Raider, Reflections EP
This debut recording by Ann Arbor's Elevator Raider manages to traverse multiple electronica subgenres—from techno and industrial to retrowave and glitch—over its four songs. 

Chirp, Tempermill Studio Live Sessions EP
Ypsilanti's Chirp have released numerous studio recordings, but it's no surprise that this way-tight prog-funk-jazz jam quartet is perfectly comfortable releasing new music via live sessions—even if those live sessions were made inside a studio as these three songs were. (Chirp's Bandcamp page has plenty of concert recordings available, too.)

Christopher Porter is a library technician and the editor of Pulp.