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Terry Riley :: Shri Camel (Holland Festival, 1977)

Terry RileyPosted on

The Netherlands, 1977. American iconoclast composer and musician Terry Riley touches down in Holland to appear on Dutch television. The near hour-long performance (buttressed by an introductory contextual primer) finds Riley performing "Shri Camel," a piece that would not appear in an official capacity until 1980 . . .

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Transmissions :: DM Hotep (Sun Ra Arkestra)

DM Hotep Marshall Allen Podcast Sun Ra Sun Ra ArkestraPosted on

This week on the show, we sit down with Sun Ra Arkestra guitarist DM Hotep, who, under the leadership of 101-year-old saxophonist Marshall Allen, continues the work of Ra . . .

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Posted on DM Hotep Marshall Allen Podcast Sun Ra Sun Ra Arkestra

Hüsker Dü :: 1985: The Miracle Year    

Hüsker DüPosted on

Hüsker Dü’s miracle year came at the mid-point of the 1980s when, in the span of 12 months, the band released three monumental albums: Zen Arcade in the summer of 1984, New Day Rising at the very beginning of 1985 and Flip Your Wig in September of the same year. This box set from Numero documents the power and fury of that pivotal period with 43 paint-stripping live performances, 24 from an album release show in Minneapolis on January 30, 1985, the remainder from various stops in America and overseas on their unrelenting tour . . .

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Pink Floyd at the LA Sports Arena (4.26.75): The Millard Master

Pink FloydPosted on

It’s taken a half century for a Mike Millard recording to be officially sanctioned and released, though fittingly, his professional debut is a jewel: Pink Floyd at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, 4.26.75. Included in the band’s forthcoming Wish You Were Here 50th Anniversary Deluxe Set, Millard’s tape captures Floyd at its most gigantic: included in its 2.5-hour runtime is a complete runthrough of Dark Side of the Moon, the then-unreleased Wish You Were Here previewed in full (oddly, minus its FM rock staple title cut), a healthy slice of the . . .

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SML :: How You Been

SMLPosted on

SML rattles and clatters, following slap-dash, stutter-and-roll rhythms through rave-glowing forests of incandescent synths. The personnel comes from jazz, more or less, but you can hear bits of ambient chill-out, early aughts EDM, hip hop, house and free improvisation. Slashing, bumping, “Take Out the Trash” runs on a noir-ish bassline, a bit of David Axelrod's cinematics or Death in Vegas’ ominous dance grooves in its cowbell clanging, horn-bursting swagger . . .

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Ram On LA: A Los Angeles Music Sampler (2009 Redux)

Aquarium Drunkard Presents Paul McCartneyPosted on

Originally released in 2009, the AD-curated Ram On LA compilation brought together a dozen Los Angeles artists paying homage to Paul & Linda McCartney's 1971 masterpiece Ram. Having recently witnessed retrospective publications and documentaries dissecting bgone '90s and 2000s-era music scenes in cities like NYC and Athens, Georgia, the comp represents a snapshot of a particular LA indie scene (one in which no defining sound represented the overall zeitgeist). Retrospectively, a look back on those halcyon days of both the music scene and that era's internet musical landscape make the compilation well worth a reappraisal and a . . .

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Sean Pratt :: Prairie Whistle Call

Sean PrattPosted on

The unbroken horizon of the American steppe reigns over Sean Pratt’s Prairie Whistle Call. Over the course of its nine cuts, the songwriter distills desolation and grandiose into a deeply personal and downright gorgeous ode to the golden roads and rolling fields he sings of. We’re presented with an Americana that stands on its own; a far cry from the derivative indie-folk that the moniker tends to carry today. In hushed tones imbued with hues of melancholy and self-discovery, Pratt brings us into his corner, commanding a restrained attention . . .

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The Aquarium Drunkard Show (The Halloween Edition)

Halloween SIRIUSPosted on

Trick or treat. Broadcasting from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery … The Aquarium Drunkard Show. The Halloween edition, Wednesday night / 7pm California time. SIRIUS/XM ~ Channel 35 . . .

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All Hallows’ Aquarium Drunkard II

HalloweenPosted on

Check your candy bars for razor blades, kids, it's once again time for All Hallows' Aquarium Drunkard. The damned souls around here are coming to take possession of your sound system and there aren't enough exorcisms in the world to get them out of your house. Might as well enjoy the monster mash dub, spectral free jazz, pagan folk, creature-feature punk, and cult TV soundtrack grooves they are spewing up for the spooky season. It's like Shakespeare said, Hell is empty and all the devils are here . . .

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Posted on Halloween

Transmissions :: Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris PodcastPosted on

Welcome back to Transmissions, a weekly interview podcast created and curated by Los Angeles online music magazine Aquarium Drunkard. This week on the show, host Jason P. Woodbury speaks with a living legend, and one of our all-time favorite vocalists and songsmiths: Emmylou Harris . . .

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Nicola Alesini & Pier Luigi Andreoni :: Marco Polo

Harold Budd Nicola Alesini Pier Luigi Andreoni Roger EnoPosted on

Nicola Alesini & Pier Luigi Andreoni's 1996 'ambient-word record' Marco Polo. Vine-like, lush and minimal, layered and discreet, with assists from Japan's David Sylvian (vocals), Pierrot Lunaire's Arturo Stalteri (bouzouki, harmonium), Roger Eno (keyboards, percussion, vocals), David Torn (guitar), and Harold Budd (percussion). Fourth world, indeed . . .

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Posted on Harold Budd Nicola Alesini Pier Luigi Andreoni Roger Eno

Makaya McCraven :: Off the Record

Jazz Makaya McCravenPosted on

On his first proper offering since 2022's career highlight In These Times, jazz drummer and composer Makaya McCraven compiles a set of four new EPs into one for Off the Record. Hence the package's namesake, each set of songs takes the organic improvisation from various previous live recordings. There's an aural alchemy in McCraven's post-production wizardry, the fervent compositions feeling like fresh studio iterations as much as previous live experiences culled from the archives; each set uniquely featuring a different live lineup with plenty of the musician's collaborators and International Anthem labelmates . . .

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Videodrome :: And Soon the Darkness (1970)

VideodromePosted on

An underappreciated British horror gem with a Hitchcockian flair, And Soon The Darkness (1970) ushers in the “tourist-paranoia” and “daylight-horror” subgenres in a lean 94 minutes of suspense and mystery. It’s a film ripe for rediscovery this Halloween season — or any season you may find it . . .

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Tortoise :: Touch

TortoisePosted on

It’s been nine years since the last full album of new music by Tortoise. 2016’s The Catastrophist feels like it came out a lifetime ago. But any doubt that time or distance has diminished the long-running outfit should be dismissed by a new album Touch, which demonstrates that, despite a nine year interval, Tortoise can be counted on for music which is unpredictable and exhilarating . . .

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Nala Sinephro :: The Smashing Machine Original Soundtrack

Nala SinephroPosted on

Nala Sinephro might not be the first name you’d think of when it comes to wrestling-movie soundtracks, but the emerging ambient jazz star’s work for Benny Safdie’s biopic has plenty of force. Her brief but evocative score uses her familiar tools – harp, synths, sax, occasional percussion – to create an atmosphere of tumultuous reflection and serenely ominous potential. In its tenderness and ambiguity, it traffics in a different sort of destruction . . .

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Posted on Nala Sinephro