Posts

Jarbas Mariz :: Transas Do Futuro

Jarbas Mariz was underground even in his ‘rediscovery’ as a Brazilian gem: when a first reissue of the 1977 7″ Transas do Futuro came out in 2012, it was in a limited edition of numbered copies. Now, Mr. Bongo shines a belated light on Mariz’s solo debut, a delight of lo-fi psych folk, mystic poetry, and free experiments with the musical traditions of Brazil’s Northeast . . .

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Glue and Nails :: Elvis Costello & Marc Ribot on “Chewing Gum”

Though it's not among his best known songs, Elvis Costello's "Chewing Gum" features one of guitarist Marc Ribot's strangest and most captivating solos. Its creators reflect here . . .

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Brigitte Fontaine :: Comme a la Radio

In the zone where idiosyncrasies collide, intuition is key. Everything is ripe for failure, but if navigated correctly even the most unsuspecting of unions can bear fruit. This happens to be the exact frontier explored by Brigitte Fontaine with Comme a la Radio. Notably, Fontaine is not subjected to the rigid and precise studio ensembles known to most chanson connoisseurs, but rather walks among free jazz titans—the Art Ensemble of Chicago. On top of this, Fontaine has teamed up with Areski Belkacem on this maiden voyage of a collaboration which endures to this day . . .

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Further Cosmic Pedal Steel Situations :: Winter 2024

The cosmic pedal steel scene continues to expand — and we’re here for it. Daniel Lanois, one of the godfathers of this movement, once called the pedal steel “my little church in a suitcase.” And if anything ties these various musicians together, it’s a certain kind of earthy spirituality, an openness to the myriad possibilities that the instrument offers. Check out a few recent favorites, via the following roundup, featuring Gary Peters, Rich Hinman, Luke Schneider and Dave Easley . . .

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Greg Foat & Ayo Salawu :: Interstellar Fantasy

Like his American counterpart John Carroll Kirby, Foat stands at the vanguard of what we might call pulp jazz, a sound comprised of softcore jazz-funk and B-movie library music grooves, heady prog interludes and new age zone-outs—but designed, above all, for pleasure. This isn’t the insurrectionary transcendentalism of spiritual jazz. It is erogenous music, intended to move human bodies. Here, Foat and Salawu take what might have been a paperback sci-fi goof and come up with an album of simmering come-ons. That they happen to be floating in space doesn’t make them . . .

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Felbm :: Cycli Infini

One of the most unashamedly beautiful records out now; it is, at times, so gorgeous that it breaks your heart. cycli infini spirals in and out of genres—minimalism, gagaku, new age, ambient, jazz, fourth world—all while remaining completely intact. One pattern flows effortlessly out of the last and into whatever comes next. The adventure of the album is listening as forms decompose and are reconstituted. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that the album invites you to be attentive to its changes and indifferent to them at the same time . . .

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Robert Pollard :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

2023 was a fantastic year for Guided by Voices. The trio of records that came out – La La Land, Welshpool Frillies, and the late-year Nowhere to Go But Up – are some of the best the band has put out in the seven years its most recent incarnation has been together. Founding member Robert Pollard seems just as chaotically creative as ever, whether it’s the pure volume of songs or the developing shape they take. Over the holiday break, Pollard caught up with Aquarium Drunkard via email about the latest trio of albums, how the writing process works for . . .

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The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PST, Channel 35)

Jazz grip. 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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Bandcamping :: Winter 2024

New tunes for a new year! While the status / coolness of Bandcamp as a corporate entity is in flux, the platform itself remains in fine form for the time being — even Bandcamp Fridays seem to be rolling forward in 2024 (the next one hits on Feb. 2). Wherever you get your music and however you choose to support artists, dig in here for some recent / recommended zones . . .

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The Secret Hemisphere: New Age, Fusion and Fourth World, 1970-2002

Fourth world music belongs to an occult geography. This is by design. When the late trumpeter and composer Jon Hassell coined the term, he conceived of it as “an attempt to create a kind of musical scenery which is not entirely ‘primitive,’ not entirely ‘future’ but someplace impossible to locate either chronologically or geographically.” 

There is no atlas to the fourth world. The best that we can offer is something like a star chart. You may have to draw the constellations yourselves, out of lines connecting ECM jazz to phase music, woolly hippie cult rock to a thousand forgotten new . . .

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Diamonds From the Deepest Ocean :: Bob Dylan | Highway 49 Revisited

Diamonds From the Deepest Ocean is a recurring series exploring classic Bob Dylan bootlegs from the CD era. Before broadband internet, YouTube, and bottomless hard drives overflowing with FLACs, many Dylan fans relied on the grey market to gain entry into the world of unreleased Dylan. This series celebrates those tangible treasures and wonders: “What’s lost when you can have it all?”

Now playing: Highway 49 Revisited (1976 . . .

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House Band :: Aventurine

Evoking electric era Miles and krauty minimalism, House Band unites players known for their work with Cat Power, Tim Heidecker, and Grateful Shred with Brian Harding of Philm for a stalwart, funk and dub obsessed psych odyssey—improvised in the moment and preserved for your zoned-out listening pleasure . . .

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The Kate Bush Christmas Special feat. Peter Gabriel (1979)

Amongst the plethora of classic televised Christmas specials are lesser-known outliers that haven't become ubiquitous holiday viewing. Case in point: The Kate Bush Christmas Special (1979 . . .

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The Aquarium Drunkard Radio Holiday Nog Spectacular

Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.

Tonight, suit up, it’s Aquarium Drunkard’s annual seasonal spectacular . . .

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Videodrome :: Metropolitan (1990)

In Metropolitan, The Ghost of Christmas Past and The Ghost of Christmas Future are the same, and the characters are so caught up in their bubble of affluence that they fail to reckon with The Ghost of Christmas Present . . .

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