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Music News: Kiiara performs tribute to Linkin Park's Chester Bennington

Kiiara performs onstage at the Parlor during the 2017 Panorama Music Festival - Day 3 at Randall's Island on July 30, 2017 in New York City.
Kiiara performs onstage at the Parlor during the 2017 Panorama Music Festival - Day 3 at Randall's Island on July 30, 2017 in New York City.(Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Panorama)

by Cecilia Johnson

August 01, 2017

Kiiara performs tribute to Chester Bennington


Performing at Panorama Festival in New York City last weekend, pop artist Kiiara dedicated two songs to recently-passed Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington. First, she sat aside while Linkin Park's "Battle Symphony" played; then, she stepped up and sang her duet with Bennington, "Heavy." Both songs came from Linkin Park's 2017 album One More Light.

After breaking big with her single "Gold" in 2016, Kiiara did an interview with Zane Lowe and told him about her love for Linkin Park. Soon after, Lowe reached out to the band and recommended they meet; in a letter she wrote for Chester this month, Kiiara is effusive about the fun she had recording "Heavy," the lead single from One More Light. (Billboard)

Bandcamp to donate to Transgender Law Center on Friday


On Aug. 4, Bandcamp will donate 100 percent of its share of music sales to the Transgender Law Center, answering Donald Trump's ban on transgender people in the military with a gesture of trans support and a heartfelt blog post. Back in February, the service launched a similar plan to benefit the ACLU, responding to Trump's travel ban against citizens of several predominantly Muslim countries. (Billboard)

SZA on losing Ctrl


Talking with The Guardian, SZA said someone took her hard drive from a safe weeks ago, and they (presumably, Top Dawg Entertainment, the label she's signed to) curated the final Ctrl tracklist. After releasing mixtapes for years, the R&B/neo-soul artist agonized over her debut album, writing more than 150 songs for contention. "Any longer and I probably wouldn't..." she said. "Give me another month and it would have been something completely different." (The Guardian)

SZA's "Supermodel" video came out July 31.

To Pimp A Butterfly saxophonist to release new music, tour

Kamasi Washington, saxophonist and noted player on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly (2015), has set a release date for his new EP. Harmony of Difference will come out September 29 and feature six tracks, each named after an attribute Washington considers an "element of TRUTH": "Knowledge," "Humility," and "Perspective" among them.

He's also announced a U.S. tour that will hit Minneapolis's First Avenue on Nov. 9.

Harmony of Difference was first heard by the public in March at the Whitney Biennial in New York, paired with an A.G. Rojas film and artwork by his sister Amani Washington. (The FADER; Pitchfork)

Jack White, Dev Hynes among others working on new music


Some other big names are talking about their next projects, including rocker Jack White (who's recording a new solo album), rapper Open Mike Eagle (who'll release Brick Body Kids Still Daydream on Sept. 15), indie-rocker Mirah (whose October 4 EP will be called Sundial), and multi-genre artist Dev Hynes (who's writing his fourth album as Blood Orange).