When Juliana Concepcion and Jared Daley start making a beat, it's hard for them to stop. The glow of the laptop catches the intensity and excitement on their faces when the beat starts coming together. The young Philadelphia-area producers, whose respective stage names are Jewelssea and Jjared, sat down together on Dec. 2 and ended their impromptu beat making session by exporting a rough version of their newest creation. Concepcion and Daley's process includes a lot of back and forth. They routinely pass each other the keyboard controller and laptop, which houses Ableton, a beat making software, to whoever has an idea flowing. The rhythm and tune of the music is their primary focus. The pair met in January 2018 at Buffalo Exchange, a used clothing store in Center City, Philadelphia. Their mutual friend, James "Beautifulmvn" Saint-Fort introduced them and they all made a beat that day in Daley's basement, and then continued to make ...
It’s a race against the deep fryer in the small kitchen at Puyero. Gil Arends stuffs arepas with chunks of chorizo, plantain wedges, slices of avocado, spoonfuls of black beans and a mountain of white cheese. The cornmeal buns are so packed, it’s a wonder they don’t burst at the seams. After Gil hands dishes off to his wife Manuela Villasmil, he’s on to the next order, buzzing back and forth between dropping sticks of yuca and smashed plantains into bubbling oil and scooping meats and drizzling sauces onto food at the prep station. He times each batch of fried goods and hurries back to yank them up when they’re crispy and golden brown. Puyero Venezuelan Flavor is one of only two restaurants in Philadelphia specializing in Venezuelan cuisine. The BYOB offers some of the country’s favorite street foods, serving arepas, patacónes and cachapas. The wall in the dining area is filled with Venezuelan colloquialisms and multi-colored menus for customers to browse when they wa...