Julien Gasc :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

The music of French singer-songwriter, troubadour, and multi-instrumentalist Julien Gasc is a perennial gift. Shortly before the world locked down due to Covid-19, Gasc released his third LP, L’Appel de la Forêt. Both a stylistic break and continuation of his evolving muse, we asked our mutual friend Derek Wheeler James to catch up with Gasc, via phone at his home in Toulouse, to discuss the album’s aesthetic origins, and more.

Whit Dickey :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

On the surface, nothing about Whit Dickey’s decision to start his new record label, Tao Forms, makes much sense. It’s the drummer’s first time leading such a venture, and he’s doing so in his mid-60s, right around the time most impresarios are looking toward retirement. Too, he’s using Tao Forms as outlet for free jazz (his own as well as music by Mathew Shipp). Not the soundest of commercial moves—especially amid a global pandemic—but that has never seemed to be his concern.

Sonic Boom :: The AD Interview

Inspired in equal parts by some simple, monophonic jams on modular synths and his passion for living in harmony with the natural world, All Things Being Equal, is a brightly colored, buoyantly upbeat meditation on simplicity, tranquility and living lightly on the planet. Here Kember talks about his love of electronic instruments and ancient drones, his gorgeous natural surroundings in Sintra, Portugal, his long friendship with synthesizer pioneer Delia Darbyshire and his hopes for inspiring humanity for the steep climb ahead if we are to continue to live on a healthy planet earth.

Rose City Band :: The AD Interview

Ripley Johnson has carved out a niche in psychedelic drone and motorik repetition, helming Wooden Shjips, the long-running experiment in lysergic primitivism, and Moon Duo, likewise mind-expanding but slanted towards electronics. But a lifelong affection for classic rock and country and a newly reawakened appreciation for the seasons led him recently to form the new Rose City Band. A mostly solo endeavor despite the name, Rose City Band’s sophomore lp, Summerlong, employs lap steel and mandolin as well as the usual rock band instruments to create a warm, buoyant, sunny Saturday morning vibe.

Bill Nace :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

In May, Nace releases his first full-length studio album of solo material in Both, a riveting collection of long fractured drones, altered tones and insistent, nearly subliminal rhythms. Yet even though he’s the only player on the disc, the new record is still a collaboration. Bitchin Bajas’ Cooper Crain mixed and produced these tracks, playing an integral role in the way the finished product sounds.

Catching Up With Avey Tare

As the world seemingly draws to a stop, Portner finds himself quarantined at home in Western North Carolina amidst work on Animal Collective’s eleventh studio album, the first album since 2012 to feature all four original band members.

Caleb Landry Jones :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

The Mother Stone is a collection of fifteen tracks entirely out of step with whatever modern trends are currently gripping independent music. It feels peerless, out of time, from a different dimension. It isn’t a record you can play quietly in the background as you respond to emails. It requires headphones. Focus. Attention. Which isn’t to say it isn’t any fun. Because it is.

Markus Floats :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

On his new lp Third Album, Montreal’s Markus Floats rewards deep listens with emotive electronic melodies, granular textures, and mesmerizing arpeggios. It’s the culmination of Markus’s work so far, but like the hyper-prolific artists he cites as influences—Prince and Fennesz—also just one drop in his deep pool.