Posts

Michael Hurley :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

With a career that stretches back to his 1964 glistening debut on Folkways, Michael Hurley has continued to churn out wholly singular albums of interstellar country blues, scattered across decades and labels. Released in December just prior to his 80th birthday, his latest The Time Of The Foxgloves finds a reinvigorated Hurley in a studio for the first time in a while. We recently had a lengthy phone call with Hurley to discuss his new album, the pleasures of listening to the CBC, inspiration and collaboration, what he learned from listening to Duke Ellington, the book he’s working on . . .

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PJ Harvey :: Let England Shake Demos

Eleven years after its release, a complete collection of demos comprising PJ Harvey's seminal 2011 record, Let England Shake. Part of a sweeping reissue campaign, this collection fittingly precedes the upcoming release of Orlam, the musician's narrative poetry and visual art publication. Peeling back the endless layers of Let England Shake is not only intriguing for the brilliant autoharp and brass arrangements, but of Harvey's singular poetic lyrical themes: haunting reflections of wartime conflicts (past and present) and poignant imagery of old country England . . .

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Cosmic Pedal (And Lap) Steel Situations :: Winter 2022

We’re back in that cosmic pedal steel zone, still finding new possibilities and unexplored territories. Come and join the party with these recent / recommended sweet steel jams from Dave Easley, Old Saw, Lake Mary, SUSS, Mouth Painter, and Chuck Johnson . . .

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Eiko Ishibashi :: For McCoy / Drive My Car OST

With both the soundtrack to Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car and the recently reissued For McCoy, Eiko Ishibashi highlights the intimate bonds formed through repetition. Recorded with Jim O'Rourke, the two albums feature soft drums, clicking cassettes, noir-jazz, and bass grooves . . .

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Bob Dylan :: Pretty Good Stuff | Ep. 14

Welcome back to Pretty Good Stuff: Dylan historian James Adams’ semi-regular hour-long program diving deep into the depths of all things Dwarf Music. Today's episode is dedicated to Valentine's Day performances . . .

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James Ilgenfritz, Brian Chase, Robbie Lee :: Loss and Gain

Contrabassist James Iggenfritz joins with drummer Brian Chase and saxophonist/flutist Robbie Lee on Loss and Gain. The players mine the chaos of free jazz and the subtlety of minimalism to produce an album of shifting outlines, a fluid thing as likely to vaporize as it is to harden . . .

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Robert Stillman :: What Does It Mean To Be American?

On his latest album of piano, reeds, and percussion, expat composer Robert Stillman probes the notion of American identity. What Does It Mean To Be American? is Stillman's eighth studio album, and like the ones that came before it, it's a beautifully rendered work, laced with pastoral jazz-inspired piano, cooing saxophone and clarinet melodies, and clattering percussion. But it's threaded through with conflict, too. Aquarium Drunkard contributors Chad DePasquale and Jason P. Woodbury recently huddled together to share their thoughts on the album . . .

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Aquarium Drunkard Book Club :: Chapter 13

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, poetic prose, historical fiction, a workplace novel, and a vivid travelogue . . .

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Cate Le Bon :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Now at Aquarium Drunkard, we catch up with Cate Le Bon to discuss her new album, Pompeii, the COVID pandemic, the Tim Presley painting that came to embody her record but which she couldn’t bear to put on the cover, and the way that the artistic process remains instinctual and mysterious, even to Le Bon herself . . .

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Laraaji :: Transmissions

"Transmissions is a lovely name; I think that's a very crucial name for this age." So says mystic musician Laraaji, our guest this week on the show. His Orangeness (AKA Edward Larry Gordon) joins us to discuss his upbringing in the Baptist church, initial entry into meditation, the spiritual qualities of laughter, and much more . . .

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Nora Guthrie :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Nora Guthrie joins us for a rambling conversation just after Thanksgiving about Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art, Words and Wisdom, the current that carries Woody’s work forward, and the power of being impulsive for a good cause . . .

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Tyler Mitchell featuring Marshall Allen :: Dancing Shadows

Dancing Shadows finds Tyler Mitchell and Marshall Allen of the Sun Ra Arkestra exploring sounds from the spaceways, covering Thelonious Monk, and unfolding a set of stunning original compositions . . .

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Videodrome :: The Last Tycoon (1976)

The Last Tycoon seems to view the fabled “hero’s journey” of Hollywood storytelling as a pandering lie; a disingenuous roadmap to regurgitate while navigating narratives, as phony to the audience as it is to the real life of the people who make the kinds of films that propagate it. It presents a contrarian disposition to the cinematic tradition of happy endings that works on a meta-level, unapologetically concluding itself in sorrow and confusion . . .

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AD Presents: Off-Piste | A Mixtape

From the confines of a snowed in cabin, Aquarium Drunkard presents Off-Piste, a 90 minute TDK mixtape. Expect a taut embrace of ice cold synths, nascent drum machines, reverb, echo, ornithology infused Danish funk, and two tracks referencing penguins. Duck the rope . . .

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Brigitte Fontaine :: Patriarcat

Want to hear Brigitte Fontaine spit absolute fire in 1977? Us too. Proto-hip hop, slithering funk, via the synths & drum machine laden, Vous et Nous . . .

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