This week on Transmissions, the return of Leah Toth, aka Amelia Courthouse. She was last here on the podcast in its earlier, more feral incarnation—and by feral we mean “updated with elss regularity”—but back in 2018 she reviewed Shinya Fukumori Trio’s incredible ECM release For 2 Akis. We’ve wanted to have Leah back on ever since, and this now we’ve got a great excuse to do so: the release of her incredible new album under the Amelia Courthouse name, broken things. Blending Protestant solemnity with dream pop bliss with extended, meditative ambient music and skeletal folk, she’s created a work of gentle and imperfect holiness.
Category: Podcast
Transmissions :: Six Organs of Admittance (2024)
Ben Chasny’s Six Organs of Admittance project has never settled into an easy, definable zone. But 2024 sees the Six Organs sonic universe expanding kaleidoscopically, even by his prodigious standards. For this return visit to Transmissions, Chasny discusses his trio of 2024 releases, working with ambient dub master Shackleton and noise experimenter Twig Harper, his experiences playing with David Tibet’s apocalyptic avant-garde collective Current 93, and cultivating online community through the Six Organs Patreon. Plus: Mark Neeley on Pure Animation for Now People, a collaboration with Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo.
Transmissions :: Rich Ruth
Welcome back to Transmissions, our weekly conversational offering. On today’s show? Nashville’s own Rich Ruth, who joins us to discuss his jazz rock opus for Third Man Records, Water Still Flows
Transmissions :: Starflyer 59
This week, we have an exceedingly rare interview with Jason Martin, of California dream pop band Starflyer 59. Fermented in the nascent Riverside dream pop underground alongside his brother Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric in the early ’90s, Martin’s band SF59 released its debut album, Silver, 30 years ago in 1994 on the fledgling Tooth & Nail label. His latest, Lust for Gold, finds him winking knowingly at the title of his 1995 album Gold, a record routinely cited as one of the best shoegaze albums of all-time.
Transmissions :: Yasmin Williams
This week on Transmissions, return guest Yasmin Williams. On October 4th, she releases Acadia via Nonesuch Records. It’s her long awaited follow up to 2021’s Urban Driftwood, and like that record, it’s beautiful—a showcase for a one-of-a-kind artist. Williams first came back on the show way back in the lockdown days, but life has changed greatly for her since then. She discusses some of those changes, and opens up about her desire to create with Acadia something of a refuge from the chaos of the world. Ahead of its release, she joins Jason P. Woodbury for a rousing conversation.
Transmissions :: La Lom
Sometimes, background music moves to the foreground. That’s the case with today’s guests, guitarist Zac Sokolow, bassist Jake Faulkner, and drummer Nicholas Baker. Together, they form La Lom—short for the Los Angeles League of Musicians. In 2019, they were hired to bring suitably vibey music to the lobby of the historic Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. Now, they’ve got a new album coming out on Verve. They join us to discuss.
Transmissions :: The Lemon Twigs
The Lemon Twigs on Todd Rundgren, Sean Lennon, Jonathan Rado of Foxygen and their latest album, A Dream Is All We Know.
Transmissions :: Daniel Bachman
This week on a far-ranging episode of Transmissions: guitarist, folklorist, and all-around-top-notch thinker Daniel Bachman. A songwriter and composer from Fredericksburg, Virginia, Bachman first began releasing records under the name Sacred Harp, before adopting his own name for a series of finger-picked classics. In the years since, Bachman’s music has grown more and more experimental, and also, it’s become more directly informed by climate change. He joins us to discuss.
Transmissions :: Chris Cohen
In this wide-ranging chat, guest host Zara Hedderman and Chris Cohen discuss Paint a Room, working record stores, Transcendental Meditation, the Grateful Dead, and much more. It’s an open and tender conversation, full of funny moments and deep insight.
Transmissions :: Mark Lightcap (Acetone/Dick Slessig Combo)
This week, we welcome one of our favorite musicians to the show: Mark Lightcap of Acetone and the Dick Slessig Combo. Last year, New West Records reissued Acetone’s discography, featuring illuminating liner notes by J. Spaceman of Spiritualized/Spaceman 3 and Drew Daniel of Matmos/The Soft Pink Truth. The occasion prompted a great conversation with Mark that we published in written form last year. This week on the show, he joins us for a loose talk from his backyard in LA. From “beautiful music” to his run-ins with Oasis, this conversation takes plenty of fascinating turns.
Transmissions :: The Dirty Three
There are heavy hitters, and then there’s The Dirty Three. A trio comprising violinist Warren Ellis, guitarist Mick Turner, and drummer Jim White, these Australian independent rock legends recently returned with their first album in 12 year, the aptly titled Love Changes Everything. This week on Transmissions, The Dirty Three explore their history, reflect on the life and work of Steve Albini, and recall their days opening for The Beastie Boys.
Transmissions :: Joe Pernice
Welcome back to Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions. This week on the show, Joe Pernice of The Pernice Brothers, Scud Mountain Boys, and Chappaquiddick Skyline—as well as books, records, and other projects under his own name. The Bros are back with Who Will You Believe. Pernice joins us to discuss.
Transmissions :: Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music)
This week on Transmissions, guitarist Phil Manzanera, who joins us to discuss his latest project, a memoir called Revolución to Roxy. Writing about his childhood in revolutionary Cuba, his lifelong fascination with music, and his collaborations and run-ins with people like Brian Eno, David Gilmour, Robert Wyatt, and more, Manzera reveals his Zelig-like status as one of art-rock’s most creatively pivotal figures. He joins us to discuss it all.
Transmissions :: Jeff Tweedy of Wilco
2024 marks 20 years of Wilco’s current lineup, and the band is celebrating with another installment of their Solid Sound Festival and a new EP, Hot Sun Cool Shroud. Band leader Jeff Tweedy joins host Jason P. Woodbury this week to discuss the fest and the absurdities of life in a band.
Transmissions :: Julian Lage
Welcome back to Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions, our weekly series of illuminating interviews and contextual conversations. This week on the show, guitarist and composer Julian Lage. On his latest album, the Blue Note release Speak To Me, Lage often presents himself as something of a singer/songwriter—minus the singing, that is. Joined by a five-piece band and producer Joe Henry, Lage careens from jittery free jazz to classic West Coast pop, maintaining a careful flow that feels generous but considered, diverse but not haphazard.