Richard Swift was no stranger to singing about death. “Everyone knows when they’re gonna die,” he crooned, nearly a decade ago. Though absurdist comedy often obscured the fact, death loomed over many of Swift’s best songs. In them, tombs were sealed up, ages came to an end, and people were left behind to cry in the […]

For the past fifty or so years, Haruomi “Harry” Hosono has let his mind wander. That wandering has led him to any number of strange places. He’s made records that sound like Shotgun Willie, and he’s made synthesized raga so intense it’d make Terry Riley blush. He’s collaborated with Levon Helm and Bobby Charles, and […]

On its debut album, Everything’s Better, rock & roll combo One Eleven Heavy weave together various threads of choogling psychedelia —some Dead here, some Neil Young there, more than a little NRBQ and Little Feat — into a thoroughly joyful statement. A transatlantic affair, the group features songwriters James Toth (Wooden Wand) and Nick Mitchell […]

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can now be heard every Wednesday at 7pm PST with encore broadcasts on-demand via the SIRIUS/XM app. SIRIUS 536: Jean Michel Bernard – Générique Stephane ++ Ryo Kawasaki – Hawaiian Caravan  ++ Kuroda Bushi – 黒田節 ++ Kosuke Ichiara & 3L – 市原宏祐と ++ Zerosen – […]

Prior to finally landing a physical copy last year, Japanese guitarist Ryo Kawasaki’s 1982 cosmic funk lp, Ryo: Concierto De Aranjuez, lived solely in my car and on my headphones – effectively and perfectly soundtracking all manner of nocturnal Los Angeles activity. A sonic missive from the future, the set proved itself wayyy ahead of […]

Welcome to the third installment of our quarterly Bandcamping roundup. As a digital institution it’s hard to beat Bandcamp. It’s ridiculously easy to use, it puts money directly into artists’ (and labels’) pockets and there’s a seemingly endless amount of music to discover there — new, old and in-between. Of course, that endlessness can be […]

Lagniappe (la·gniappe) noun ˈlan-ˌyap,’ – 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus. It’s been a busy year for harpist Mary Lattimore so far. She released the immersive Hundreds of Days LP in May. She’s criss-crossed the country several times, sharing bills with Iceage, Dylan […]