Lambchop's Choir Answers Back
Kurt Wagner discusses Lambchop's 17th album, 'Punching the Clown,' in a conversation running from untrained singers and lined-out gospel to the difference between spiritualism and religion.
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Josh Mason, Better Punk Through Circuitry
The Florida sound artist walks through his greyfade debut 'Kicking A Dark Horse,' the punk shows that taught him to build things himself, and the modular practice that, 15 years in, no longer surprises him.
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Amateur Hour — Takashi Murakami and the Uses of Failure
Bad filmmaking and Superflat theory turn out to be remarkably difficult to tell apart.
All Shall Be Well — Jason Calhoun's 'revelations of divine love'
The Philadelphia sound artist talks about the windowless clean room where he prepares chemotherapy for patients he never meets, the Trappist retreats that showed him what silence is for, and his growing conviction that irony is a poor use of anyone's energy.
Jolly Mare Among the Maestro's Machines
Working with Umiliani's daughters and the analog machines their father left behind, Fabrizio Martina describes 'La luce dell'alba' as "less a tribute than a conversation across time."
Ancient Sounds, Forward Motion — David Norland's Religion of One
Back in London after years of scoring films and documentaries in Los Angeles, David Norland discusses 'La Source,' the free hand he was given on the wordless black-and-white 'Carousel,' the monastery basement he intends to record in next, and the composer's right to a full night's sleep.
The Whole Greater Than Its Parts — Bondo on 'Bondo'
Years of playing in the same converted room have left Bondo convinced the band is a thing separate from the four people in it.
A Beat of His Own Making — Chris Molanphy, Chart Analyst and Pop Critic
The host of Slate's 'Hit Parade' joins The Tonearm Podcast to discuss the two pools of data that keep the Billboard Hot 100 honest, the bundling schemes that turned the album chart into a promotional shell game, and the cultural rules that decide who country radio will play.
hackedepicciotto Find Their Clearing in Lichtenrade
Settled in the Berlin district of Lichtenrade after more than a decade of constant movement, hackedepicciotto discuss the making of 'Lichtung' — the German lyrics, the piano de Picciotto avoided, Hacke's return to teenage experiments, and "Draussen," a storm song with a home at its center.
Half Chance, Half Sculpture—arc rae on 'Bow and Arrow'
The Berlin-based French producer discusses 'Bow and Arrow,' a record assembled from improvised cello and randomized sample slices, and the working life behind it, in which every day at the computer is a straw pulled blind and most of them come up short.
The Tune Isn't Fragile — Sophie Wellington on a Living Tradition
Raised in the Shenandoah Valley and jazz-trained at Berklee, Wellington discusses old-time repertoire, the constant calibration between dancing and playing, and the making of the solo album 'Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still.'
The Company of Others — M. Geddes Gengras and 'Guest List'
On his fourth album for Hausu Mountain, and his first on vinyl, the restless synthesist talks improvisation, the burden of the solo record, and the surprises that arrived in the mail.
Danalogue Leaves Gravity Behind
Best known for his work in The Comet Is Coming and Soccer96, Danalogue steps out on his own with 'Teleportations,' a record built on vintage synthesizers that turns grief and upheaval into a voyage through deep space.
Listening to the Land — The Mystical Turn of St. Silva
The Vermont musician behind 'Forager' talks foraged field recordings, a boyhood spent in Indiana megachurches, and why he wants no part of the wellness playlist.
Illegal Art, Myth Math, and the End of Anonymity
Nearly three decades after 'Deconstructing Beck', Matthew S sheds the pseudonyms to release the 'Tongues' EP as Myth Math, discussing his return to sampling, a collaboration with a former student, and the ethical quandaries AI poses to a career built on borrowed sound.
Curió Curió Turns Distance into a Collage of Voices
Luiza Monteiro sings in Portuguese to find her way back to Brazil, slipping between the characters a theatre stage taught her to inhabit.
Manifesting Mixol
Beijing-based artist Mixol discusses manifestation and tarot, the self-doubt that once made her quit songwriting, and the eight-bit narrative game she built to play alongside her debut EP, 'The Fool.'
Speaking the Word of the Buchla — Suzanne Ciani's Orchestral Wave
On the occasion of CIANI/ORKEST, Suzanne Ciani discusses handing her solitary Buchla music to a 50-piece orchestra, the ocean and the wave beneath her compositions, and the young players bringing analog modular synthesis back.
Shana Falana, the Goddess Party, and a Cult Worth Joining
The Hudson Valley musician and Goddess Party founder on self-marriage, Bulgarian choral music, and running a benevolent hierarchy, ahead of 'The Wedding,' a two-night rite of borrowed gowns and mirror-held vows.
The Euphoric and Exuberant Noise of Nolan Hildebrand
After the release of 'Noise Trip Explosion,' the Toronto composer and Black Galaxie noise artist talks doctoral research, acoustic startle experiments, and why it's worth keeping his wildest studio accidents.
I Still Miss Someone — The Boys of Nirosta Steel
Guitar in hand and Arthur Russell forever at his shoulder, Steven Hall turns half a century of desire into harmony he mostly sings to himself.
Katsumasa Kusunose Photographs the Vanishing World of Japan's Jazz Kissa
The Japanese writer and photographer has visited roughly four hundred jazz kissa over fifty years; his book 'Jazz Kissa' is a record of what remains, assembled from dim rooms, Altec A7 speakers, and the silences between tracks.
Steven Bernstein, No Permission Required
The New York trumpeter, composer, and bandleader behind Sexmob and the Millennial Territory Orchestra returns with a pair of linked albums, 'ResoNation Trio' and 'Ultra Resonance,' and talks trumpet trios, dub reinvention, Levon Helm's Rambles, and the downtown scene that formed him.
Cento Threeo — Always Halfway There
Don Cento of the Austin trio Cento Threeo discusses the band's debut album 'Halfway to Mellowtown' and its jazz and Americana roots, the Ahmad Jamal influence, and a creative process built on long friendships rather than deliberate genre strategy.
Scrimshire's Light in the Woodside
Founder of Albert's Favourites and Wah Wah 45s veteran Adam Scrimshire talks through 'Bring Our Light to Every Corner,' his new album built on four years of looking for personal peace, the grimness of the UK political moment, and the music community he named for his granddad's cassettes.
Trusting the Band Chaos with Hen Ogledd
Hen Ogledd's four members trace how a shared songwriting chaos, competing disciplines, and vocals in Welsh and Scots came together on their latest album, 'Discombobulated.'
The Long Nostalgia of sundayclub's Manitoban Dream Pop
Courtney Carmichael and Nikki St. Pierre discuss signing to Paper Bag Records, moving from rural Manitoba to Winnipeg, and turning pandemic isolation into sundayclub's self-titled debut album.
Inside Alden Hellmuth's Tethered Galaxy
Saxophonist and composer Alden Hellmuth discusses growing up in Hartford's Jackie McLean tradition, her mentorship under Herbie Hancock, and the double-bass lineup behind her new album, 'Tether.'
Chasm's Sense — Diles Que No Me Maten's Borrowed Light
On their fourth album, 'Escrito en agua,' the Mexico City band Diles que no me maten build songs from Mahmoud Darwish's poetry, funerary music from Oaxaca, and their own festival organizing, all filtered through loose, unresolved improvisation.
Through a Glass Dimly — Matt Hinton Returns 'Awake, My Soul' to the Screen
Filmmaker Matt Hinton speaks about the technical resurrection of 'Awake, My Soul', the expanding world of Sacred Harp singing, and the difference between hearing this music on a recording, hearing it in a room, and standing in the middle of the square.
Wild Up Conjures the Holy Presence of Julius Eastman
On the occasion of 'Julius Eastman Vol. 5: Gay Guerrilla', Wild Up conductor Chris Rountree discusses the hybrid written-and-oral tradition of Eastman's scores, the ensemble's rehearsal practice of triangulating meaning, and the Black, gay minimalist's enduring claim on the present.
Nocturnal Animals — Inside Bill Nace and David Watson's 'On Bats'
Bill Nace and David Watson discuss improvising 'On Bats' on taishōgoto and Highland bagpipes, their shared fascination with Lou Reed's 'Metal Machine Music,' and why neither of them enjoys naming a finished piece.
Dave Douglas — The Sacred and the Unfinished
On 'Transcend,' his second record with the GIFTS quintet, Dave Douglas reflects on Ellington's Sacred Concerts, the slab paintings of Jack Whitten, and the moment Booker Little broke the dam for a generation of trumpeter-composers.
Silly by Design — Chinese American Bear's Accidental Path to Indie Pop
The Seattle-based duo of Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten speak about their new album 'Dim Sum & Then Some,' the band that began as a Mandarin lesson, their DIY aesthetic, and the unexpected resonance their music carries for Chinese American audiences.