Posts

Catching Up With Devendra Banhart

We caught up with Devendra Banhart to discuss his 11th album, Flying Wig, his artistic partnership with Cate Le Bon, his 20-year-delayed concert in Caracas, and the music that, now as ever, he is bubbling over with enthusiasm for. We also explore “Charger” perhaps the most Devendra Banhart song ever, which starts out wide-eyed to the point of parody about the most mundane of things, then touches profundity as the lens widens to cosmic revelation . . .

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Celtic Guru :: Van Morrison In The 80s | Poetic Champions Compose

In a run of overlooked records, there is one absolute sleeper in Van Morrison’s catalog. Coming in at the end of an era – a string of releases that showcased an artist in constant transition, attaining pinnacle after pinnacle, and pushing his craft into a realm that, while never expected, certainly doesn’t surprise the close observer of Van’s arc – is a release that only the most adherent of followers seem to dare give a spin. As if perfected, Van leans in on the methods established on No Guru, No Method, No Teacher and Sense of Wonder, trading spiritual . . .

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The Lagniappe Sessions :: Prairiewolf

Listen and you'll hear it...the howl of the Prairiewolf. On their self-titled debut, guitarist Stefan Beck (Golden Brown), keyboardist and synthesist Jeremy Erwin (The Heat Warps), and bassist Tyler Wilcox (who Aquarium Drunkard and Doom and Gloom from the Tomb readers know well) explore kosmische drifts, nocturnal guitar tangles, and expressively jazzy passages. For their first-ever Lagniappe Session, they dive into selections by Yo La Tengo, Melvin Jackson and Eddie Harris . . .

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

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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Transmissions Live at PRS September 30 :: The Esoteric Sounds of Arthur Russell with Matt Marble

Los Angeles, we are pleased to share word of Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions live at the storied Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz on Saturday, September 30th with Matt Marble, author of Buddhist Bubblegum: Esotericism in the Creative Process of Arthur Russell . . .

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A. Savage :: Several Songs About Fire

Several Songs About Fire, the second solo release from Parquet Courts frontman A. Savage, is an LP in the truest sense. There are 10 tracks across two sides, forty-five minutes and change. There is a picture of the artist on the cover. The songs are strong and solid, at once distinct and of a piece, shot through with themes and ideas that recur and refract from one moment to the next. These are tried-and-true strategies, the hallmarks of one of the very finest mediums ever conceived: the album. Don’t fix what ain’t broke . . .

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Sarah Webster Fabio :: If We Come As Soft Rain

Circa Folkways Records, 1976 — Sarah Webster Fabio’s “If We Come as Soft Rain” is a gentle, timeless gem from her album Jujus/Alchemy of the Blues: Poems by Sarah Webster Fabio, one of four poetic recording albums released by the Oakland-based educator, poet, and literary critic . . .

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Transmissions :: Colleen

This week on Transmissions, we welcome returning guest Cécile Schott, aka Colleen. Her latest, Le Jour Et La Nuit Du Reel, was tracked using a minimalistic setup, a Moog Grandmother and two delays: a Roland RE-201 Space Echo and a Moogerfooger Analog Delay.
But for Schott, this assemblage allows for near infinite synthesis, and a genuine multitude of expression. As the world gets stranger and more difficult to understand, the record wordlessly questions what is real—and the times of day and night when the line between real and imaginary blurs . . .

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Diversions :: Grails

Grails’ history stretches back to the late 1990s, with the Portland, OR-based collective fearlessly exploring various galaxies over the course of several absorbing LPs. Their latest masterpiece, Anches En Maat, suggests that they’re nowhere near finished with those explorations. Here, Grails dive headlong into a sleek, neon-lit zone — one you can imagine providing the awesome soundtrack for a prime-era Michael Mann flick, with a welcome dose of David Axelrod drama tossed in for good measure.

With a European tour looming, Grails shared some inspirations and influences with Aquarium Drunkard. Heady times await . . .

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Equipment Pointed Ankh :: From Inside The House

Blasting out of Louisville, Kentucky, is the mutated and industrial avant-pop of Equipment Pointed Ankh. Released at the top of the year from Bruit Direct Disques, From inside the house, the third album from the band—currently billed as a quintet comprising improvisers Jim Marlowe, Christopher Bush, Dan Davis, Ryan Davis, and Shutaro Noguchi—is an envelope-pushing statement of sonic adventure . . .

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Catching Up With Teenage Fanclub

Recently, the venerable power pop juggernaut known as Teenage Fanclub released its 11th studio album, Nothing Lasts Forever, some 34 years after bursting on the scene. The new disc marries the roar of noisy guitars with the sweetest sorts of melodies, and like those earlier albums, it represents a band doing exactly what they like. We took the opportunity to talk to Ray McGinley and Norman Blake about their career so far, their early albums, their partnership with Alan McGee of Creation Records and their fixation with loud, feedback riddled bands like Sonic Youth and the Stooges, as well as . . .

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No Way Out: An Oral History of Sunburned Hand of the Man: Flex

In this week’s episode, we try to wrap our brains around how Sunburned Hand of the Man actually makes their freeform music. Through the episode, we consider the semantics of improvisation and practice in the context of this free form entity. In that context, we learn how the open nature of the band manifests in unspoken rules of not telling each other what to do. This, in turn, allows the band members to enter and commit to the jam in a way that is more authentically connected and elevated . . .

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Modern Nature :: No Fixed Point In Space

Space is the operative word for Modern Nature. Since his days leading bands like Mazes and Ultimate Painting, Jack Cooper’s music has gone panoramic, leaving ample room for softly uttered vocal melodies and semi-improvised instrumentation. On the loose ensemble’s latest album – now including members of The Necks, This Is Not This Heat, and the legendary Julie Tipppets (FKA Driscoll) – Cooper’s poetic lyrics are delivered patiently, leaving pregnant pauses between each line as the instruments swell and contract. Songs begin with the melancholy, drifting post-rock sound pioneered by Talk Talk, before bristling strings, eerie horns, and . . .

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Holding Court :: Ryan Walsh on Morphine

With Light in the Attic's release of The Night and Like Swimming, the story of Morphine unfolds deeper thanks so new liner notes by Ryan H. Walsh. He joins us to discuss the Boston trio's singular sound . . .

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

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 . . .

Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.

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