Soundadvice

Get Out!

Center Stage Promotions continues its Lyrically Fit Hip-Hop series with a slew of local MCs like Curly Castro, JawnZap7 and Kane. The artists and their crews take over the Troc's Balcony in a night full of performances and freestyle ciphers. It's also a platform to get your network on, so new artists are encouraged to swing on by.

—Deesha Dyer

Thu., March 12, 9:30 p.m., $10, with Ask?, Sick Six, El Chavo, Weatherproof and more, Balcony at the Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-5483, thetroc.com.

The iPod shuffle has introduced the element of randomness into the way so many of us hear music, so why shouldn't modern composers adopt the aesthetic to the way they write it? For their Blocks Tour, the six composers/performers of NYC-based Ensemble Pamplemousse have each created a set of "prefab modules" that will be reconfigured and rearranged each night. Their Philly stop is on a Bowerbird bill labeled "Size Matters," also featuring Ensemble Nomos, a new eight-piece group of locals under the direction of Bowerbird honcho Dustin Hurt.

—Shaun Brady

Tue., March 17, 8 p.m., $10, Plays and Players Theater, 1714 Delancey St., bowerbird.org.

With a voice refreshing as soda pop on a summer day, singer-producer Muhsinah has hit the ground running with her fusion of hip-hop, soul and nu-jazz. This D.C. native was featured on Common's latest project and tour, and was the sole producer on her official debut day.break 2.0 (Rxlngr). She comes to Philly for the first installment of Eavesdrop sessions, a live extension of the radio show run by DJs Junior and Lil' Dave.

—Deesha Dyer

Wed., March 18, 8 p.m, $10, with DJ Junior, DJ Lil' Dave, Silk City, 435 Spring Garden St., 215-592-8838, recordbreakin.com.

The Berlin-based trio Grid Mesh approximates the sound of live wires dangling from a hole punched through a wall — a constant flow of electricity, at times throwing off sparks and threatening to ignite. Guitarist Andreas Willers, saxophonist Frank Paul Schubert and drummer Rudi Fischerlehner occasionally gel into a jazz-like flow or veer off into the ragged velocity of punk rock, but are mostly concerned with creating a collective aggression, a rusty-nail harshness evident even in their sparsest moments.

—Shaun Brady

Sun., March 15, 8 p.m., $5, with Sonic Liberation Front and Hirlinger/Gerstein Duo, Gojjo, 4540 Baltimore Ave., scifiphilly.com.

Handpicked by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah as tour mates back when the band was still on an upward trajectory, Takka Takka's songs take a similar approach — building slowly and subtly, winding intricate African-influenced guitar picking around soothing synths and murmured vocals for a hypnotic style that's akin to the Notwist covering the National.

—Kevin Pearson

Mon., March 16, 8 p.m., $8, with Sister Suvi and Boy with Robot, Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St., 215-291-4945, kungfunecktie.com.

The band is back, following a rare midseason overseas tour. Charles Dutoit conducts the jazzy "Creation of the World" by Milhaud, and an even more famous nod to American musical culture, the deathless Dvorák symphony "From the New World." But the treat here will be a performance of the luscious "Songs of a Wayfarer," by Mahler, with Philly-trained Eric Owens, whose career is exploding, as the vocal soloist.

—Peter Burwasser

Thu. and Sat., March 12 and 14, 8 p.m.; Fri., March 13, 2 p.m.; $10-$113, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, philorch.org.