For this installment of Diversions we caught up with Kevin Morby on the eve of his upcoming release, A Night At The Little Los Angeles (Sundowner 4-Track Demos). Comprised of ten tracks recorded at Morby’s home studio in Kansas, we asked the singer-songwriter to riff on some of his all-time favorite demos and/or home recordings. From Jandek to Aretha, and beyond.
Category: Diversions
Diversions :: Howlin Rain
Ahead of the release of The Dharma Wheel, Ethan Miller of Howlin Rain discusses the dark comedy of Ottessa Moshfegh, adventurous music by King Crimson and Stevie Wonder, Thomas Pynchon’s V, Capote, and the genre unto itself filmography of Almodovar.
Diversions :: Matthew Dear
Matthew Dear on the sub rosa influences behind his new album Preacher’s Sigh & Potion, including Depeche Mode, Herbie Hancock, MTV’s The Sifl and Ollie Show, mushrooms, and sobriety.
Diversions: Evan Cheadle / Beyond ‘Fault Line Serenade’
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.
Diversions: Joseph Shabason
Diversions, a recurring feature on Aquarium Drunkard, catches up with our favorite artists as they wax on subjects other than recording and performing.
Elskavon & John Hayes :: Du Nord
The collaborative debut of ambient-classical composers Elskavon & John Hayes, the pair’s intent was to frame the sonic strata of their home state of Minnesota’s overong winter months. They’ve succeeded.
This installment of Diversions catches up with Elskavon and Hayes as they run us though a sampling of the art (and atmosphere) that informs their debut.
Diversions: Hausu Mountain
Japanese filmmaker Nobuhiko Ôbayashi’s cult 1977 horror-comedy Hausu is an apt namesake for the Chicago experimental label Hausu Mountain. Fusing cartoonish imagery with absurdist humor and the occasional scare, the imprint’s prolific output since 2012 has connected an international subterranean network. Here, founders Doug Kaplan and Max Allison share 10 selections—ranging from Dead bootlegs to Bandcamp links to experimental movies—that inform their sideways approach.
Diversions: Jim Wallis, Beyond ‘Europa’
Ambient multi-instrumentalist Jim Wallis is set to release his debut full-length, Europa, at the end of the month via the London based Tip Top Recordings. An accompanying score to Rwandan director’s Kivu Ruhorahoza’s documentary film of the same name, we asked Wallis to walk us through some of the neo-classical, ambient and atmospheric works that bled into his sonic approach.
Modern Nature :: A Soundtrack/Score Companion
Constant readers will no doubt recognize the name Jack Cooper, whose former project (Ultimate Painting) remains an in-house favorite. Following a stripped back solo venture, 2017’s Sandgrown, Cooper returns with a group proper – Modern Nature – who have just released their debut full-length, How To Live. While anchored by Cooper, the record’s grooves find a formidable cast of players exploring myriad veins of Kosmische Musik, British folk traditions, and beyond – all underpinned with an oblique sense of otherness.
Badge Époque Ensemble :: Painting With Mood (A Mixtape)
Maximillain Turnbull walks us through the library music, jazz fusion, and progressive sounds that inform the self-titled debut of his Badge Époque Ensemble, which is driven by flute, Rhodes, clavinet, and strutting grooves.
Diversions :: Nathan Salsburg / Beyond ‘Third’
Diversions, a recurring feature on Aquarium Drunkard, catches up with our favorite artists as they wax on subjects other than recording and performing. The first time I heard “Impossible Air,” […]
Diversions :: Iceage / Beyond ‘Beyondless’
Diversions, a recurring feature on Aquarium Drunkard, catches up with our favorite artists as they wax on subjects other than recording and performing. Last month saw the Danish post-punk quartet […]
Khruangbin :: Beyond Con Todo El Mundo
The well from which Khruangbin drink is deep. And wide. While geographically based in Texas, sonically, the trio’s aesthetic is global. An atmospheric masala of funk and soul, strained through a […]
Diversions :: Wand / The Various And Sundry Brew Behind Plum
Diversions, a recurring feature on Aquarium Drunkard, catches up with our favorite artists as they wax on subjects other than recording and performing. Following the quick succession of a trio […]
Monsters of Rock: A History of RocknRoll’s Boogeymen Mascots
Diversions , a recurring feature on AD, catches up with our favorite artists as they wax on subjects other than recording and performing. For this installment (Halloween appropriate) we catch up […]