For his fourth and latest album, Good and Green Again, Fussell worked with James Elkington to bring rich, subtle shadings to these reconstructed songs, achieving a melancholy clarity and modern-day resonance in music first conceived centuries ago. We spoke earlier this year about how he finds personal meaning in old songs, why he respects but doesn’t emulate the note-for-note recreators, and how the way you hear traditional music can change as you change over time.
Category: The AD Interview
Julie Doiron :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
I Thought Of You marks Julie Doiron’s first official solo release in nine years. Throughout our conversation, Doiron explains what guides her collaborations and projects.
William Parker :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Music flows out of bassist, composer and bandleader William Parker like a river. There are few musical formations that the artist has not tried. From solo, to duo, to trio, to small ensembles, to large ensembles, Parker is constantly moving, evolving and changing, following the flow of the music. While Parker, who turns 70 on January 10, 2022, has recorded and performed with some legendary musicians (e.g. Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Peter Brötzmann) his own voluminous discography, and his manifold compositions, will be his lasting legacy.
Jennifer Castle :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Late last month, on the Winter Solstice, Jennifer Castle re-released a live recording from the Music Gallery in Toronto from 2006, the first recorded output of her now treasured career, and a document harkening back to the early days of when she recorded under the name Castlemusic and played with a wild and rambling sense of discovery and abandon, allowing the spirit of her own poetry to lead her fingers on guitar.
We recently caught up with Castle to discuss the re-release, her musical origins, the omnipresence of the personified world in her music, her connection between singing and water, the urge to wander, and where she goes from here.
Nils Lofgren :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
The latest Neil Young & Crazy Horse record, Barn, was indeed recorded in a barn, high in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Mostly captured live, it’s the band at its most elemental and warm, the sound of four old friends who still love making a racket together. Aquarium Drunkard hopped on Zoom with Lofgren recently to get his insight into what makes Young and the Horse tick, even after all these years.
Emil Amos :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
We recently caught up with Emil Amos to discuss Neil Young, Wu Tang, the upcoming season of Drifter’s Sympathy, the vinyl manufacturing crises and the shadowy history of his father’s friendship with David Crosby.
Hand Habits :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Meg Duffy talks about their process, the liberating effect of working with an out queer artist like Perfume Genius and the way that the meanings of songs shift over time. “One of my favorite things about making records is that I learn about what the meaning is, later, after it’s out,” they confide.
Phil Cook :: Finding The Purity In Music
We catch up with Phil Cook on the eve of the release of his beautiful new instrumental record, All These Years. Through an unwavering smile, he talked about the importance of a fertile cultural landscape, how the label he just started is anything but, and why he decided to release a solo piano album now.
Feast of Smoke :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Custom built for late night drives, Feast of Smoke finds Amber and Paul Oldham (Palace Brothers/Bonnie “Prince” Billy) mingling their voices over star blues, narcotized rock & roll, and swampy pop. They join us for a discussion about the record’s roots.
Highway Butterfly :: David Schools on Neal Casal
Neal Casal once sang “Don’t forget the old times my friend ’cause you know they were good times.” Today, Dave Schools of Widespread Panic and Hard Working Americans reflects on his late friend and a new tribute to him, Highway Butterfly.
The Bevis Frond :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond first began banging out psychedelic guitar riffs as a schoolboy, starting out on his instrument at age six and immersing himself in an exploding U.K. and American rock movement. His latest album, Little Eden, is his 30th full-length, a roaring, raging triumphant double album that Saloman recorded almost entirely by himself during the COVID lockdown. We caught up with Saloman to discuss early musical fascinations, the pros and cons of recording alone, the state of psychedelic music, his substantial collection of singles, and the ways in which ageing—he’s nearly 70—has and has not had an impact on his music.
John Andrews :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
A mellow conversation with John Andrews concerning his dreamy album Cookbook, which plays like an extension of his personality; the foot-tapping and head-swaying effect from his previous two albums is still there, but its more relaxed, more easy-going. A perfect soundtrack to the incoming fall weather.
Tim Story :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Dieter Moebius’ restless creative spirit is at the heart of a new project, overseen by his widow Irene and Story, his friend and frequent collaborator. Titled Moebius Strips, the work is an audio installation that uses a wealth of loops, noises, and recordings from the late artist, as well as adaptations of his work created by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, Eve Maret, Phew, Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh, and others—all fed into a multi-channel speaker system.
Marissa Nadler :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
The Path of the Clouds is a bit of a departure, coming after Nadler relocated from Boston to Nashville. Hemmed in by quarantine in an unfamiliar city, Nadler rekindled a childhood fascination for the stories in Unsolved Mysteries. She was transfixed, in particular, by the tales about people who disappeared suddenly and were never heard from again—the wilderness explorers Bessie and Glen Hyde, the hijacker D.B. Cooper, the prisoners who made the only successful escape from Alcatraz. She began obsessively rewatching episodes about these stories, taking notes and working the details into a collection of songs.
Bedouine :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
On the heels of two outstanding studio records, singer-songwriter Azniv Korkejian (Bedouine) has crafted an enviable trajectory sharing a creative space akin to the folk sphere of Karen Dalton or Nick Drake. Ahead of the forthcoming lp (out October 22), Bedouine joins us to discuss the nuances of the project, including the ability to truly focus on the recording and musicianship for the first time. Or, in her own words, “songs for the sake of songs”.