Bandcamping :: Juneteenth Edition

Bandcamp is stepping up once again on June 19 in honor of Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. For 24 hours, the platform will donate all of its our share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, a national organization dedicated to effectively enacting racial justice and change through litigation, advocacy, and public education. In other words, it’s another good day to spend some money on Bandcamp. Here are a few suggestions to get you started . . .

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The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)

Riding the liminal yeti. Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays . . .

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Sonic Boom :: All Things Being Equal

The first Sonic Boom album in thirty years finds Peter Kember reemerging, paradoxically, at the height of his influence. While the grandiose space-rock frontsmanship of his erstwhile Spacemen 3 partner Jason Pierce has faded somewhat into the safety of the adult contemporary rotation, the seeds Kember has scattered as experimenter, heteronymous collaborator, and champion of analog synthesizers seem finally to be bearing their full fruit . . .

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Transmissions :: Lisa E. Harris on EarthSeed

Our guest this week is Lisa E. Harris, whose new album with Nicole Mitchell is called EarthSeed. Inspired by the works of science fiction author Octavia Butler, it was recorded live at Fullerton Hall at the Art Institute of Chicago and features the Black Earth Ensemble—an all-star collection of Chicago improvisers and free jazz artists—including Julian Otis, Zara Zaharieva, Ben LaMar Gay, Tomeka Reid, and Avreeayl Ra—backing up the two composers . . .

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Rayborn Live Archive :: Volume Two

Here's another batch of recordings from my close to quarter century (!?) as a recreational live audio taper, primarily based in central North Carolina. Recent email conversations with Justin Gage, discussing the depth and breadth of my live archive, sowed the idea for what you will find below - a group of tunes conceptualized as if each were a block of radio station programming. Some thoughts / recollections of the specific shows these tracks were culled from are as follows . . .

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The Lagniappe Sessions :: Sessa

Atenção! An outsize portion of our 2019 listening was dominated by Grandeza, the debut album from São Paulo–born artist Sessa. As such, the follow lagniappe session is something akin to the sound of the inevitably. This, the first installment of a two-part session, begins with Sessa's delicate rendering of Helene Smith's soulful "I'm Controlled By Your Love", a cover deftly employed to audiences while in LA earlier this year. Next, the artist pays tribute to fellow countryman, and Tropicália pioneer, Jorge Mautner -- taking on 1976's “Samba Jambo”, before closing out with . . .

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The Lingering Question Marks of Neil Young’s Long Lost Homegrown

Neil Young's long lost Homegrown is a worthy addition to the songwriter’s famed “Ditch” period, sharing with those other lps a heavy sense of loneliness, loss and heartache (as well as some of the boozy joy). But it’s a distinct effort, too, filled with its own melancholy and mystery . . .

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Wyatt Waddell :: FIGHT!

23-year-old Wyatt Waddell wrote, performed and recorded “FIGHT!” in 24 hours after witnessing the protests sparked by the brutal killing of George Floyd. That urgency presents itself both lyrically; “There’s already so much pain / And there ain’t nothin else we can do / But to fight,“ and musically; sparse church rhythms keep a fierce pace as the Chicago native’s gritty tenor transforms into a sea of otherworldly voices. Wonderful funk breakdowns help release (or it increase?) the tension, while Waddell’s vocals climb higher and grow more exasperated with each passing verse. By the end of . . .

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Thank You For The Sunshine :: On the Spiritual Brightness of Brother Theotis Taylor

Mississippi Records' new compilation Brother Theotis Taylor, mines the private archives of the Georgia minister and singer. These solitary songs of praise and contemplation extend an offer to join Taylor in spiritual reverie . . .

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Apple Scruffs :: 50 Years of All Things Must Pass & Plastic Ono Band

By 1970, each exhausted member of the Fab Four was in the process of splitting off to explore new sonic worlds. Two of the greatest ex-Beatle solo records, All Things Must Pass and Plastic Ono Band, turn the ripe old age of fifty this year. It’s instructive to see how the records emerge and then diverge from the same traumatic starting point, exhibiting the weight of disappointment, exhaustion, and disillusionment they’ve been carrying so long . . .

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The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)

Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.

34.1090° N, 118.2334° W . . .

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Asher Gamedze :: Siyabulela

The gorgeous "Siyabulela," from drummer and bandleader Asher Gamedze's double lp Dialectic Soul, is spiritual jazz at its most literal, an ode to the tradition of "homegoing," rooted in gospel and grace . . .

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Transmissions :: A Conversation With David Crosby

This week on Transmissions: counter culture icon David Crosby. Anyone familiar with his Twitter feed knows Croz is a fount of opinions and insight, capable of immense warmth and good humor, but never one to pull punches. On July 31st, he's reissuing the catalog of CPR, his cheekily named late '90s and early 2000s supergroup with guitarist Jeff Pevar and Crosby's son, keyboardist James Raymond, offering an overview of the group that set Crosby off on a late career renaissance that continues with recent albums like 2018's Here If You Listen . . .

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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 . . .

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Transmissions :: A Conversation With Ami Dang

This week on Transmissions: a conversation with sitarist and ambient composer Ami Dang, whose new ep of sacred music is called Meditations Mixtape, Vol. 1. We reached her in Baltimore to discuss her particular fusion of sounds and the way she explores the middle ground between what’s considered sacred—and what isn’t . . .

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