Before adopting the Badge Époque Ensemble banner and a palette of ’70s prog, jazz rock, and funk, Toronto’s Maximilian Turnbull recorded art rock under the alias Slim Twig. It’s fitting then that he reached for a third designation for Scroll, his new 90 minute audio collage under the Badge Epoch designation. Drawing from nearly a decade of recordings, sessions, snippets, and demos, the album documents Turnbull’s restless experimentation, drifting from minimalist tones to crisp beatwork, from jazzy washes to intense musique concrète freak outs.
Category: The AD Interview
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.
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.
Deep Listening With Lawrence English
Lawrence English is a composer, an artist, and a “philosopher of listening.” He joins us today to discuss a field recording trip to a remote Amazonian jungle that led to his latest album, A Mirror Holds the Sky.
I Lost Something In The Hills :: A Conversation With Greta Morgan
When we learn something bad has happened to someone who has dedicated their life to performing, there is an extra weight that accompanies the sadness that strikes our hearts. Singer-songwriter Greta Morgan was diagnosed with Spasmodic Dysphonia last fall, a disorder that affects the voice, and ever since, she has not been able to sing the way she used to — sometimes not at all.
Sam Evian :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Sam Evian on building the early ’70s inspired Time to Melt, which aspires to address the strife of the present and also sound good while making dinner.
Alan Dunham :: The AD Interview
“Hello!” Alan Dunham sings exuberantly at the beginning of his 1980 LP Flying Alone. “It’s nice to meet you!” Not too many people got the chance to connect with the teenaged singer-songwriter back then, though. The homemade album was released in minuscule quantities — a very private press, indeed. But in 2021, the ever-reliable crate diggers at Numero Group are giving Dunham a proper introduction: Flying Alone hits various digital platforms this week.
Mitch Easter :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
In R.E.M.’s earliest days, it fell to Mitch Easter to harness the raw power and jangly energy of the Athens, Georgia quartet. He joins us today to discuss his history working with the band.
Shintaro Sakamoto :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Fresh off the release of The Feeling of Love, Tokyo-based songwriter Shintaro Sakamoto joins us to discuss steel guitar, the influence of Allen Ginsberg, favorite record stores, and New York City music.
Sleaford Mods :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Few albums have captured the bleak, messy boredom of the pandemic better than the Sleaford Mods’ ‘Spare Ribs’, a collection of jaundiced rants about days at home, politically-motivated ignorance and, as usual, the posing incompetence of Jason Williamson’s musical peers.
We caught up with Willimanson at home to discuss the new record and more.
We’re Great: A Conversation With Nico Walker
In Iraq, Nico Walker received seven medals and commendations for valor. In Ohio, he robbed ten banks and shot heroin. In prison, he wrote a book, Cherry, and in Hollywood, it was turned into a major motion picture. None of this really matters though in the end times.
Sons of Raphael :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Sons of Raphael dive into the grandiose rock & roll mythicism of Full-Throated Messianic Homage, discussing getting art through customs and what it means to put God—whatever that means—back into rock & roll.
Kings of Convenience :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Peace or Love, the first new music from Kings of Convenience in over 11 years, picks up right where they left off with 2009’s Declaration of Dependence. The cozy harmonies and guitar melodies are still as lush and inviting as ever, and pleasantly augmented by touches of violin, keyboards, and a light smattering of percussion. We recently caught up with principals Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe in anticipation of the album’s release.
Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug) :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Kevin Richard Martin joins us for a discussion about his alter ego, The Bug, his methods of collaboration, the pandemic, and his new album, Return to Solaris.
The Goon Sax :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Three albums in, the band has made a bold, surprising statement in Mirror II, an album that showcases three very different songwriting sensibilities and significantly expands the scrappy, jittery aesthetic that the Goon Sax has presented up to now.