Summer Agents, the latest musical salvo from Kowtow Popof, is like a cold beer (or two) on a hot summer day — a refreshing draught to temper the withering climate while promising gradual inebriation. The four-song instrumental EP, originally released to insiders on Bandcamp in late summer, is now available for global consumption. The...

Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store, but it’s hard to imagine otherwise in 2017, Year of the Imperious Huckster (or is that the Iron-Handed Hoaxer?). Not that it matters. You can go about your business and luxuriate in the holidays, but no one would blame you if your heart’s not in it. Don’t...

If you’re a musician, you probably get asked whether you do original songs or covers. And as unassuming as that question sounds, it’s actually a hornet’s nest buzzing with speculation on your intent, ambition, and talent. Do you have your own thoughts? Do you have something engaging and identifiable to say? Or do you just...

The first CD Wampus ever released, Songs from the Pointless Forest, was the debut of Rockville, Maryland-based singer-songwriter Kowtow Popof. A veteran of Washington, D.C. mainstays The Senses Bureau and Bellyland, Kowtow liked Gary Numan and Genesis and Cat Stevens, and trafficked in an acoustic-electronic mix framed by a keen observational eye. Shot through with allusion,...

As a contemporary songwriter, are you focused on making albums? Or just singles? Or are you emphasizing your live show, where you can reach your audience more regularly, with greater immediacy? Is creating “proper” albums still a part of your artistic plan? While the album has undergone dramatic change in recent years — the “devaluation”...