Charles Tolliver’s Music Inc. :: Live at Slugs’ Vol. 1 & 2

Charles Tolliver JazzPosted on

The resurrection of Strata-East is nothing short of monumental, and that’s a fact. While each album on the legendary jazz label is a masterpiece in its own right, there is perhaps no clearer line to the heart of the Strata-East psyche than Charles Tolliver and Music Inc.’s Live at Slugs’ Vol. 1 & 2. Originally issued in 1972 as two separate albums, Live at Slugs’ is finally presented in all its majesty as a proper double album, transferring the full impact of this tour-de-force scorcher that occupies the intersection of heady post-bop, modal elegance . . .

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Seke Molenga & Kalo Kawongolo

Kalo Kawongolo Lee Perry Reggae/Dub Seke MolengaPosted on

Recorded in 1977 at the hand of Lee “Scratch” Perry in the legendary Black Ark lies one of its most beguiling and misunderstood creations. Two talented Congolese musicians were brought to Jamaica to record an album only to be unceremoniously dumped by their promoter and fend for themselves. Found begging on the streets of Kingston by Perry himself, as the story is told, The Upsetter took it as a sign from Jah to take them in, and a serendipitous musical collaboration followed . . .

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Dubwise Summer: An Aquarium Drunkard Mixtape

Mixtapes Reggae/DubPosted on

Summer equals dub. It is the elemental music of the season. And not simply because it comes from a tropical island. Everything in dub feels suspended in the heat and humidity: a little slower, a little hazier—all the elements delayed in the muggy atmosphere. There is something about the laid back languor of dub that feels especially appropriate this time of year, when the sun is high and the stakes are low. In that spirit, we're serving up a couple hours of some of our favorite cuts from the golden age of dub . . .

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Nate Mercereau, Josh Johnson, Carlos Niño :: Openness Trio

Carlos Niño Jazz Josh Johnson Nate MercereauPosted on

Openness Trio marks the first major release for the small group of L.A. musicians Nate Mercereau, Josh Johnson and Carlos Niño, as well as a significant milepost for the drifty, electronics-infused style of jazz they favor, appearing on the storied Blue Note label, once a haven of the old guard. Meditative, vibrant and lush, Openness Trio reenvisions the crystalline perfume of West Coast New Age not as daffy escapism but as the transcendental successor to avant-garde spiritual jazz. Equal parts incense and neon, it’s a testament to a place and a sound that sees the . . .

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Mark Stewart :: The Fateful Symmetry

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The incendiary artist Mark Stewart, the main creative force behind the Pop Group, died suddenly and unexpectedly in April 2023, shortly after completing this eighth solo album. It’s a fitting cap to a career that spanned more than four decades and brought together the most uncompromising threads of post-punk, dub, funk, dance and agit-punk . . .

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Tim Barnes’ Lost Words and Noumena

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Tim Barnes’ Lost Words and Noumena are vital musical statements and, most of all, a testament to the deep-rooted values held by this corner of the experimental music world: community, connection, and, most of all, friendship . . .

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Brightblack Morning Light :: BBC Maida Vale Session (October, 2006)

Brightblack Morning LightPosted on

Before its candle was extinguished, Brightblack Morning Light burned languid, hot and, indeed, bright. Formed in northern California by Alabama natives Nathan Shineywater and Rachael Hughes, the group released several long-players and a pair of 7"s before ultimately disbanding in 2009. The following session finds the pair at Maida Vale studios in west London, augmented by additional players in the autumn of 2006. Cut several months following the release of their now-classic s/t debut, the set works up and elongates four of the album's tracks. Slip in, ease back and listen for the green flash . . .

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Barry Walker Jr. :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Barry Walker Jr. The AD InterviewPosted on

The Barry Walker Unit’s At the 13th Moon Gravity Well is very much a band effort, with Rose City bandmates Ripley Johnson (guitar) and John Jeffrey (drums) and Mouth Painter bassist Jason Wilmon joining Walker for a loose-limbed, thoroughly exploratory collection of live recordings taped last year at a local pub. With four instrumental tracks clocking in at over 40 minutes, this is deep, transportive stuff, giving Walker and co. a chance to stretch out and get loose, regularly finding moments of collective ecstasy. There’s groove mixed with freedom, melody crashing into dissonance. A total thrill from . . .

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Habibi Funk 031: A Selection Of Music From Libyan Tapes

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Habibi Funk’s latest compilation is a trip into the Libyan cassette scene of the 1990s. While the collected songs were crafted for clear commercial appeal, designed to soundtrack romantic singalongs during late-night ballads in pre-war Tripoli, the end result achieves something way more complex, accidentally or not, by folding African music back unto itself through a process of re-diasporization . . .

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All One Song :: Jeff Parker on “The Needle and the Damage Done”

All One Song Neil Young PodcastPosted on

Our guest this week is Jeff Parker, best known as the guitarist for the long-running Chicago post-rock group Tortoise. Now Jeff might not seem like the most obvious All One Song guest — his and Neil’s styles feel miles apart. At least at first! But as we get into in our conversation, Jeff has found some serious inspiration in Young’s unique approach to the acoustic guitar. And the acoustic guitar is central to the song he selected to talk about: “The Needle and the Damage Done.” This haunting solo number from 1972’s Harvest remains one of . . .

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The Reds, Pinks & Purples :: The Past Is A Garden I Never Fed

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It has become a futile exercise to attempt using any other synonyms for "prolific" when it comes to the output of songwriter Glenn Donaldson. From the DIY outset of excellent Reds, Pinks & Purples debut Anxiety Art in 2019, we have been gifted a dizzying number of proper albums, EPs and various assorted outtakes (for those counting, that's over 200 songs in the six year stretch). With The Past Is A Garden I Never Fed, Fire Records collects fourteen rarities and previously unreleased tracks from the sprawling RPP archival vault . . .

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Yesternow: Editor’s Note Volume Two

YesternowPosted on

Greetings from Todos Santos, Mexico. I'm back down here for a few days having first visited during the pandemic era in August of 2021. We've been listening to this massive, humid, playlist that I compiled just prior to that trip on repeat via the bluetooth speaker on the beach: Lust For Listening. All heaters, summer crate style. Think: 88°F, salt water, Mexican lagers and mezcal. In my bag I've been re-reading a tattered copy of Graham Greene's prophetic 1955 expatriate novel, The Quiet American. The more things change, the more they remain the same . . .

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The Lagniappe Sessions :: Aux Meadows

Aux Meadows Lagniappe SessionsPosted on

Aux Meadows, the Oakland-based trio of Steve Dawson (dobro, lap steel), Joe Imwalle (synths, piano) and Chris Royalty (guitar, bass), touch down for this latest installment of the Lagniappe Sessions. As noted in our Midyear Review, the group's latest LP, Draw Near, is one of our favorite records of 2025, a sentiment that is only reaffirmed by the following three covers. Here, the trio works up Another Green World era Eno, Sonic Youth's mid-90s high watermark "The Diamond Sea," and "the killer" himself -- Jerry Lee Lewis . . .

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Jeanines :: How Long Can It Last

JeaninesPosted on

How Long Can It Last continues to expound upon Jeanines' specialty: short bursts of sunshine pop driven by jangly guitars and earworm melodies. At times, How Long Can It Last sounds like lost singles from Dolly Mixture and Marine Girls, bursting with teen-verve giddiness, textured by a homespun fidelity that adds an immediate intimacy to the recordings. At other times, the album recalls something Johnny Marr would have recorded for The Smiths with a sped up tape machine. A thirteen-track record that clocks in at just over twenty minutes, Jeanines don't waste any time. They enter their . . .

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Transmissions :: Bureau of Lost Culture (Bonus Episode)

PodcastPosted on

We hope you've enjoyed Tyler Wilcox’s All One Song series so far but we're back with, well, something different: it’s a bonus Transmissions conversation between host Jason P. Woodbury and musician, writer, and podcaster Stephen Coates, host of the ⁠Bureau of Lost Culture . . .

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