A 10 track set compiling psychedelic tinged folk and soul. Culled from American 45s from the ’70s, its a languid ride highlighting a set of underknown artists at work, ranging from homegrown recordings to full studio treatments.
Late 70s dub platter with riddims courtesy of the Revolutionaries and Channel One house band. Produced by G.G. Ranglin. Pick up a copy, or smash that read more link, below. Press play, let the dub abide.
A heavy dose of California chill beaming out from New Hampshire, John Andrews and his “band” The Yawns return with Cookbook, their follow-up to 2017’s Bad Posture, and an airy collection of laid-back country rock, gentle AM ballads, and breezy cantina instrumentals with more than a dose of Guaraldi-imbued jazz.
Over the course of 91 minutes, Can emerges as the ultimate jam band—forget whatever negative connotations you may have with the term. Here, jamming isn’t about technical flash or aimless noodling; rather, it’s about the quest for collective ecstasy, for both the musicians and the audience.
Funky: the last descriptor one would ever reach for while describing an ECM record…but that’s exactly what this is! Come for “Blues For Your Mama”, stick around for the rest.
Released in 1974, an elastic set comprised of material spanning 1969-72. Vibe on lock. Hypnotic, haunting and cosmic.
An organic affair employing minimal production, the record is buoyed by Manduka’s sympathetic vocal, acoustic guitar, and occasional accompaniment by vocalist Soledad Bravo. Abetted by light flutes, harmonica and congas, as a piece, Manduka excels in its low-key blend of provincial folk, tastefully draped in the ubiquitous psychedelia of the zeitgeist.
Abdou El Omari: keyboardist, composer, bandleader, record store owner and hairdresser. Since we last wrote about the Moroccan musician back in 2016, his music has been reissued and gone out of print. But now it’s back, courtesy of Belgium’s Radio Martiko Records, compiled on three separate lps. Hypnotic, sinister funk. Snaking organ lines. Polyrhythms. Untethered vocals.
Joe O’Connell of Elephant Micah on the folkloric myths of Vague Tidings and how a DIY communal tour of Alaska, complete with run-ins with a black bear, inspired the album.
Never-ending summer Sunday on Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard on dublab. June 20th from 4—8 PM Pacific. Hour one belongs to D. Norsen, bringing us an all-new episode of RFAD favorite Cadence. In hour two, Range and Basin with Jason P. Woodbury, with hard rock and out-there pop. In hour three, Tyler Wilcox’s Doom and Gloom from the Tomb, with an hour of summer solstice jazz. And to close things out, Aquarium Drunkard brings an hour of dub reggae.
Musician and writer Jeffrey Silverstein. His new EP of gently cosmic guitar music is called Torii Gates, and he’s the head behind the wonderful It’s So Easy (When You Know What You’re Doing), a tribute to the late cult folk musician Ted Lucas, featuring AD favorites like John Andrews & the Yawns, Julianna Barwick and William Tyler, Barry Walker Jr., Amelia Courthouse, and more. He’s also a teacher and a runner. We get into it all on this special bonus episode of Transmissions.
Powerful sounds from Pakistan. Here emerges JAUBI, a largely instrumental sextet based in Lahore, with their debut album Nafs at Peace. A captivating range of ideas gleaned from recording sessions where “nothing whatsoever was written down…no sheet music and no song titles, which allowed the six musicians to forget about their worldly issues.”
With Spiritualized’s Lazer Guided Melodies, recently reissued by Fat Possum, Jason Pierce imbued the songs with an overwhelming sense of freedom and relief. It not only pointed a way forward, it laid out a path Pierce has followed ever since.
“Wild At Heart is a love story that barrels down a strange highway through the twisted modern world,” David Lynch said of his 1990 film. “There are very tender moments, and there are very violent moments. And then there’s confusion and despair, and then suddenly – you’re in love. There’s got to be room for all of these things…film, in my mind, should have contrast to it. It should have many different kinds of feelings all weaving their way throughout.”
Houses in motion. The Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. Wednesdays. 7pm California time, and on-demand. No static at all.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W
Originally released in 1982, INTERIOR’s debut blends fluttering loops of melody with punched-up percussion and heaps of moody echo. The whole album finds synthetic and acoustic sounds working in symbiosis. Sopranino sax and 808 snares share space alongside trance-like acoustic piano progressions and finger snaps. Warping bass lines commingle with Linndrum kicks. To this day it still sounds somewhat revelatory.
John Grant on his synth-dappled Boy From Michigan, produced by Cate Le Bon, full of Blade Runner synths pulsing underneath incredible melodies and vocal performances.
This is folk-jazz straight from the source, folks. Shimmering, harplike chords swirl around Mitchell’s sylvan-siren-meets-full-throated-thrush descants, while Blade’s thundering percussion and cymbal splashes push it into those poignant uppers.
Evan Cheadle’s debut full-length is a staggering collection of hazy and fragile songs, adorned with the finest of baroque and psychedelic flourishes. Written between several years of touring as a member of Canadian stalwarts The Deep Dark Woods, Fault Line Serenade builds upon Cheadle’s 2018 EP, and recalls greats like Bill Fay or Gene Clark and more contemporary earthy travellers like Josephine Foster or Jacco Gardner.
Next Thursday, June 24, we are hosting our third night of dedicated listening to the perennial ECM Records catalog. Free to attend with RSVP , the event is in conjunction with In […]
A good thing: in celebration of Juneteenth this year, Bandcamp is donating 100 percent of their fee share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on Friday, June 18. So, you’ll get some new music, support artists, and help a great cause. A win-win-win. In need of a few recommendations? Here are a few recent releases that are worth your time and money…
