The first time I heard Michael Chapman’s music, it felt like a new yet familiar friend. I’ve learned so much from him–his work ethic, his sense of camaraderie during our times together on […]
Month: September 2021
Tropical Fuck Storm :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Tropical Fuck Storm emerged out of the remnants of the furiously articulate, punk rock outfit, Drones. If anything, an even more unhinged vehicle for the scathing rants of frontman Gareth Liddiard, the band has grown, over three albums, into a messy, hyperverbal, supremely danceable monolith.
We recently caught up with Liddiard to discuss the frustrations of isolation, the unlikely persistence of creativity during lockdown, why conflict and contradiction make for the best songs, and what the band hopes for in the future.
Aquarium Drunkard Book Club :: Chapter Nine
Back to the stacks. It’s Aquarium Drunkard Book Club: Chapter Nine, featuring poetic music writing by Hanif Abdurraqib, Dead insider Steve Parrish, the lyrics of Robyn Hitchcock, John Higgs on William Blake, and the underground comix of Gary Panter.
Stick Figures :: Archeology
Tampa, Florida’s Stick Figures revered the Delta 5, opened for the Fall and caught the attention of John Peel in their short first run, churning out a clatter and rattle, jittering post-punk more in line with London or Manchester scenes than their native South Florida. The band made only one recording in its heyday, a four-song self-titled EP. That EP plus six additional unreleased studio tracks, two live cuts and a modern day reworking of their most chaotic song “Ellis Otivator Dub” make up the new Archeology compilation.
Videodrome :: Catching Up With Filmmaker Craig Zobel
‘Journeyman-auteur,’ Craig Zobel, sits down with us for a career-spanning interview to discuss everything from Great World of Sound to Mare of Easttown and everything in-between.
The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)
Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W
Spiritualized :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
In the late 1980s, after a split with his Spacemen 3 partner, Peter Kember, Jason Pierce set out to make a new kind of music, less guitar-driven, more orchestral, founded on hauntingly simple melodies, but blown out with lush arrangements, blistering noise and free-wheeling instrumental improvisation.
This year, Fat Possum has begun reissuing the first four Spiritualized albums on vinyl. We talked to Pierce about his extraordinary 1990s run, his creative process, his influences and the way that music, when done well, can transport you into different times and different places.
Chris Swanson :: Transmissions
Welcome to Transmissions. Today on the show: Chris Swanson, co-founder of Secretly Group. This year marks 25 years of two of the flagship labels in the group, Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar, and to celebrate they’ve got tons going on—including SC25 Editions, which features titles by Damien Jurado, Anohni, Richard Swift, and more, as well as Merch, with net proceeds benefiting Bloomington’s New Hope For Families. Also of note: Jagjaguwar’s Join the Ritual, a Dungeons and Dragons-inspired release featuring Angel Olsen, Bruce Hornsby, Cut Worms, Jamila Woods, and many more. Swanson joined us to discuss the labels’ roots, artists like Anohni, Richard Swift, Jason Molina, Bon Iver, and much more.
Corntuth :: The Desert Is Paper Thin
A bucolic atmosphere abounds on Corntuth’s newest album, The Desert Is Paper Thin. For this set of warm, unhurried instrumentals, the Brooklyn-based producer is joined by Nashville’s Pete Finney on pedal steel. The sounds gathered here suggest musical accompaniment to positive aimlessness and open ended rumination.
Ritual de lo Habitual :: Timber Rattle And The Value of Not Knowing
After wandering deep into the “devotional” tag results on Bandcamp, Daniel Chamberlin brings forth a look at the music of Timber Rattle, and the value of letting go what you’re thinking.
Manasseh Meets The Equaliser :: Dub The Millennium
Dub The Millennium. First released in 1993, Manasseh’s swirling medley of dub, reggae, electronic, ambient and UK indie. The original vinyl edition of the lp is home to ten tracks, the CD twelve. This matters as the eleventh track, “Souljah”, is a high watermark of the album-long exercise in disparate fusion.
Swallow Cave :: I’m Glad (Captain Beefheart Cover)
A low-key highlight off 1967’s
Bill MacKay on New York Tendaberry
As a guitarist and improviser, Bill MacKay specializes in collaboration and openness. He’s that way as a listener too. Today he joins us for an essay about Laura Nyro’s third album, 1969’s New York Tendaberry.
New Chance :: Real Time
Released last month via We Are Time, the Toronto vocalist and producer is surfing the crest of her own sonic waters, crafting hypnotic, self-echoed spoken word and r&b tone poems across polyrhythms of industrial dub, playful synths, atmospheric house, and, at times, almost brutalist noise.
Marisa Anderson & William Tyler :: Lost Futures / William Tyler & Luke Schneider :: Understand
On Lost Futures, Marisa Anderson and William Tyler arrive on the scene with resplendent “News About Heaven.” On the more ambient Understand, Tyler teams with pedal steeliest Luke Schneider to offer a brief sonic storybook.