Over the past several years, founder Chris Schlarb has made Big Ego into a community-driven, artist-centric (and remarkably affordable) hub, the likes of which are lamentably few and far between. The label’s output is packed with gems, many of which bring together a murderer’s row of Los Angeles-area musicians to create records that are deeply imaginative, carefully crafted and utterly unique. Here, we’ve gathered a baker’s dozen of recommended listens — just a small sampling of what the Big Ego universe has in store.
Category: Psychic Temple
Psychic Temple :: Plays Planet Caravan
Black Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan” is one of those songs that feels like you can move in like an apartment, rearrange the furniture, and make it your own. Expanding upon his 2016 Eno project, Plays Music For Airports, guitarist Chris Schlarb assembled an improvising ensemble to reconstruct a canonized song and write an original piece for its b-side.
Transmissions :: Psychic Temple
This week, we’re joined by returning guest Chris Schlarb of Psychic Temple and Big Ego, his studio in Long Beach. His latest is called Houses of the Holy, a four-sided double-album, featuring a different band on each side: Cherry Glazerr with garage pop, the Chicago Underground Trio with their jazz inflection, psych warriors the Dream Syndicate, and rapper and producer Xololanxinxo. Schlarb took some time out of his holiday season to speak with us about the creative ethos driving his work.
Psychic Temple :: Houses of the Holy
On the sprawling Houses of the Holy, Chris Schlarb assembles a four-pronged augmented Psychic Temple, recruiting rockers Cherry Glazerr, legendary jazz combo the Chicago Underground Trio, the psychedelic Dream Synidcate and rapper Xololanxinxo for a journey of moods and styles.
Transmissions Podcast :: Psychic Temple / Hiss Golden Messenger on Bright Phoebus
Welcome to latest installment of Aquarium Drunkard’s Transmissions podcast, a recurring series of discussions with the creators responsible for some of our favorite art. On this episode, we sit down […]
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Psychic Temple
Lagniappe (la ·gniappe) noun ‘lan-ˌyap,’ — 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus. On its new record IV, Chris Schlarb’s Psychic Temple expands and […]
Psychic Temple :: Plays Music For Airports
It’s a great idea to cover Brian Eno’s deathless “Music For Airports 1/1” in the style of Miles Davis’ electric jazz masterpiece In A Silent Way. But does the Long Beach, CA-based collective […]
Psychic Temple :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Psychic Temple is on a tear: In the last couple weeks, the group, led by composer/songwriter Chris Schlarb, has released not one but two excellent records, the loose-limbed Psychic Temple III and a […]