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Tashi Dorji :: We Will Be Wherever The Fires Are Lit

Tashi DorjiPosted on

“Strumming in opposition to the towers.” Tashi Dorji strums his guitar with raw, primal abandon and absolute intention. The strings may clang and buzz but the notes are given room to linger, pausing for reflection, space, and understanding. On We Will Be Wherever The Fires Are Lit, the latest album from the Asheville-based Bhutanese guitarist, Dorji renders ten improvised acoustic pieces, his winding and mesmerizing works played with a conviction that feels weighted and true, even as they wander into swathes of uncertainty . . .

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Sun Ra :: Lights On A Satellite: Live At The Left Bank

Sun Ra Sun Ra ArkestraPosted on

In late July of 1978, the Sun Ra Arkestra rolled into Baltimore’s Famous Ballroom in a concert put on by Left Bank Jazz Society. A long running institution, the Left Bank normally hired acoustic bop musicians like Sonny Stitt, Freddie Hubbard, and Joe Henderson. So bringing on Sun Ra was something of a risky move: not only was he electric, he was a bit of an outside musician too. Would the bluebloods of Baltimore enjoy it . . .

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Bandcamping :: Winter 2024

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As 2024 draws to a close, the darkness encroaches … in more ways than one! Some welcome light can be found in the following recommended records. Bandcamp Friday hits again on December 6, but wherever you get your music, make sure your cash is making its way to the artists — we need their work now more than ever . . .

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The Ladybug Transistor :: Cienfuegos

The Ladybug TransistorPosted on

The Ladybug Transistor released The Albemarle Sound in the spring of 1999, but it sounded pretty much timeless upon arrival. A quarter-century later, the LP’s glow remains undimmed — it’s a jewel-box of lush strings, classic pop melodies and delicious rainy-day melancholy, a Wes Anderson soundtrack in search of a film . . .

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Unbroken Chains: A Tribute to Phil Lesh with Dave Schools

Dave Schools Phil LeshPosted on

Dave Schools of Widespread Panic joins us to discuss the legend of Phil Lesh, helping us understand just how profound of an influence he has had on not just contemporary music culture, but the evolution of human consciousness and sound as a whole . . .

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James Blackshaw :: Unraveling In Your Hands

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A formidable player then and now, James Blackshaw was considered a fitting heir to first wave Takoma artists like John Fahey and Robbie Basho. Following an extended break from performance in 2016, Blackshaw returns this month with a new album, Unraveling in Your Hands. It includes just two tracks. The title cut is one nearly half-hour composition for solo guitar, while “Dexter,” much shorter, includes string and wind arrangements by Charlotte Glasson, an in-demand session player, film soundtrack contributor and member of the Lost and Found Orchestra . . .

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CAN :: Live In Keele 1977

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The last installment in the Can live archival series continues to explore the unfairly maligned late period of the pioneering German band. Recorded at Keele University in 1977, it finds former bassist Holger Czukay settling into his new role as effects wizard, with replacement bassist Rosko Gee, also of Traffic, upping the funk quotient for long, elaborate improvisations and sometimes surprisingly industrial pieces. As with the other entries in the series, it shows a group committed to exploding their sound, exploring the outer limits and creating new worlds, for as long and as far as they could go . . .

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Ayo Ke Disco: Boogie, Pop & Funk from the South China Sea (1974-88)

CompilationPosted on

A vibrant fusion of sounds comes blasting off the grooves of Ayo Ke Disco: Boogie, Pop & Funk from the South China Sea (1974-88), the recently released compilation from the inimitable Soundway Records. Curated by the label’s own longtime general manager Alice Whittington (aka DJ Norsicaa) and informed by her Malaysian heritage and collection of Asian records, the disc surveys the 70s and 80s discotheque scenes of South-East Asia, boasting disco, synth, and psychedelic-infused funk from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines . . .

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Tomo Katsurada :: Dream of the Egg

Kikagaku Moyo Tomo KatsuradaPosted on

When Kikagaku Moyo surprisingly called it quits a few years back, one naturally anticipated that we'd eventually see new projects (solo or otherwise) trickle out from the uber-talented five piece. Described as a "unique fusion of music and visual art", the first offering arrives as the debut EP from lead vocalist Tomo Katsurada . . .

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Posted on Kikagaku Moyo Tomo Katsurada

Sentridoh :: Really Insane – A Lou Barlow Compendium

Lou Barlow SebadohPosted on

Of all of Lou Barlow’s many projects, Sentridoh is the most misunderstood. The new compilation, Really Insane - A Lou Barlow Compendium, invites us to return to (or discover) Sentridoh with fresh ears – not as an alternative to hardcore but a continuation of it. With Sentridoh, Barlow built his own, solipsistic world, colored by persistent tape hiss, thumping guitar downstrokes, and the psychosexual hassles of an extended adolescence . . .

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Chatuye :: Ahmuti

ChatuyePosted on

Chatuye is a group composed of musicians from Dangriga, Belize, who only got together in Los Angeles in 1981. There, they quickly became major exponents of the newly-formed afrobeat scene, garnering attention from world music enthusiasts that were emerging in the US in the 1980s. As such, it was one of the first— though certainly not the last—bands to be described as “afrobeat” without being from Africa . . .

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Happy Thanksgiving :: Doug Sahm And Friends – Austin, TX 1972

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Tradition runs rampant around Thanksgiving: generations of old recipes, football, Alice’s Restaurant, and, of course, a parade of balloons shutting down NYC. What else do you need? If you thought you were covered in the Thanksgiving tradition department, we did too…until a few years ago, when someone blew the dust off a long lost tape — Doug Sahm’s Thanksgiving Jam . . .

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Dylan Tupper Rupert & Jessica Hopper on Groupies :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Dylan Tupper Rupert Jessica Hopper The AD InterviewPosted on

It opens with an abduction—and only gets crazier from there. Groupies is the latest series from KCRW's Lost Notes music podcast. Written and hosted by Dylan Tupper Rupert and producer Jessica Hopper, the show's eight episodes span the end of the '60s, the birth of the '70s Sunset Strip culture, and the dawn of punk rock, illuminating the lives of women often written out of the story or viewed as mere accessories to their rock star companions . . .

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The Things :: Coloured Heaven

The ThingsPosted on

Prior to this fortieth anniversary reissue, you likely never saw The Things or 1984 debut record Coloured Heaven included on canonical Paisley Underground lists. Wearing its influences on its sleeve, the album is emblematic of their Los Angeles roots from Love to their Paisley peers in Rain Parade. Similar to Emergency Third Rail Power Trip, it's a relic of woozy, melodic neo-psychedelia that stands out across any era or movement . . .

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Quartet :: Live at Gold Diggers (2024)

Dave Harrington Quartet Robert Walter's 20th Congress Spencer ZahnPosted on

I first caught wind of Robert Walter around 1998 at a late night show at the Maple Leaf in New Orleans during jazz fest. Now fast forward 26 years. Two months ago Walter joined forces with Dave Harrington, Spencer Zahn and Kosta Galanopoulos for a heady Tuesday night of free improv space jazz/funk at Gold Diggers in East Hollywood, Los Angeles. Spread over the course of two sets, shit got real as the audience played witness to something new, something primal. Thankfully there was a taper in the house . . .

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Posted on Dave Harrington Quartet Robert Walter's 20th Congress Spencer Zahn