Welcome back to the stacks. It’s Aquarium Drunkard’s Book Club, our monthly gathering of recent (or not so recent) recommended reading. This month: underground venues, psychedelic comics, jazz, border towns, and U2 . . .
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Blending modular synth, piano and viola with richly textured field recordings, Chiu and Honer have crafted something exceptional — an immersive sonic environment that harkens back at times to the work of Brian Eno and Terry Riley without bowing at those particular altars. You could call it ambient music, but that genre tag doesn’t quite fit. This is human music — it lives and breathes, filling the air with strangely slanting light and luminous improv . . .
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Floating in the ether. 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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Welcome to the second installment of First & Last, a series of mixes providing a glimpse into the world of Japanese private press, or 自主盤, pronounced “jishuban”, which loosely translates to “independent board.” This second entry picks up where volume one left off, including a live recording from a concert compilation (track one), and music from the incredibly rare First Album, by Elf, of which only fifteen copies were manufactured . . .
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Ahead of the release of the instrumental freak out collection In/Out/In, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth join us to discuss The Simpsons, the Geffen years, stolen (and recovered) guitars, the science fiction of William Gibson and Philip K. Dick, and much more on this episode of Transmissions, Aquarium Drunkard's weekly podcast . . .
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On the heels of his sophomore lp, Thorpe's session comes off like an extension of that collection via a pair of seemingly disparate covers. First up is an aching take on George Michael's 1996 pop ballad, "Jesus To A Child", buttressed by a minimalist reinterpretation of Bill Withers' 1972 folk-funk anthem, "Use Me . . .
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Bernard Estardy: musician, arranger, producer and co-founder of CBE studio, Paris. When not flexing behind the boards for Françoise Hardy, Nino Ferrer, and Gérard Manset, Estardy was subtly laying down his own brand of cool, recording 100+ instrumentals, including a lone LP--1971's La Formule Du Baron. It's from here that we find the slightly twisted "Cha Tatch Ka", a two and half minute sample-ready mashup of percussive funk, playful whimsy, and scat-damaged vox . . .
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Aside from an assist from Trinidadian bassist Luther Coffey, and American guitarist David T. Walker, 1974’s Lumumba was entirely recorded in Los Angeles by a grip of Ghanaian players, including (funky) drummer Rim Kwaku Obeng . . .
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A love-struck slice of mid-tempo soul, Betty & Roy’s “I’ll Be There” is a timeless, off-the-beaten-path B-side that’s too much of a treasure to be lost. Originally released in 1964 via Eddie Floyd’s Safice imprint, the duo step in line with processional horns, shuffling piano, and twinkling, islandic guitar before getting swept up in a crescendo of their steadfast vow. It’s the kind of rare gem that, even if you’re hearing it for the first time, sounds like it’s been with you your whole life . . .
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Masses is an album of composed and improvised violin solos recorded in the hollows of an old church, and it vibrates with a sense of hallowed unknowing. Deftly interlacing strands of chamber music, ambient minimalism, and Appalachian fiddle, Connor Armbruster conjures a music that feels simultaneously ancient and new, poised between instant and eternity . . .
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It was a tough sell to get greenlit. Following a slew of canceled meetings, Harry Nilsson managed to secure an airplane seat next to an ABC executive to finally pitch his idea for an all-ages animated film. Like a true passion project, Nilsson feverishly sold his concept of an unconventional children's fable based around fictitious characters with pointed heads (and an archetypal “outsider” protagonist). Fifty years on, it's hard to imagine the musician's legacy without it . . .
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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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French musical saw virtuoso, Emmanuel Brun. Released in 1975 (via the lp, Magie de la scie musicale), Brun's supernatural singing saw takes a backseat on "La Voix Psychédélique", allowing guitarist Geny Detto to work up a nice, frothy choogle. Dig it . . .
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Likely a precursor to the 2004 ECM double-duo-album Which Way Is East, which was Higgins’ final recording, the '93 duet contains a familiar acoustic ambience—beautiful, ragged, scruffy—and sounds imprecise but locked in: theme and un-variation that could only be crafted by these two Americans . . .
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Matthew E. White joins us on Transmissions to discuss K Bay as well as his duo recording with former guest Lonnie Holley, Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection. Along the way, he touches on his communal approach, Miles Davis, his youth in the Philippines, and the transcendent qualities of The Flamingo's "I Only Have Eyes For You . . .
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