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Wadada Leo Smith :: Fire Illuminations

Late last year Wadada Leo Smith turned 81. The trumpeter and composer has been making records since the late 1960s when he was part of Chicago’s AACM, and he’s recorded for everyone from ECM to Tzadik, doing everything from solo trumpet records to string quartets. But as he gets to an age when most slow down, Smith’s been even more prolific than ever. Last year saw seven discs of string quartets, plus another five of duos between him and musicians like Jack DeJohnette and Andrew Cyrille. And now there’s another set: Fire Illuminations, a digital only . . .

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

Courtesy of rain soaked LA. 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 :: The Zombies

Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone of The Zombies join us on the Transmissions podcast to discuss new music, their classic single “Tell Her No” and landmark LP Odessey and Oracle, their relationship to super fan Tom Petty, and of course, we had to ask them about the fake Zombies that toured in the wake of the band’s late ‘60s breakup . . .

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Joel Vandroogenbroeck :: Far View

With a career spanning six decades, Joel Vandroogenbroeck witnessed nearly the entire development of western pop music’s lesser-known backrooms—from the early days of jazz singers in smoky bars to soul crooners to kosmische-inflected Fusion and the rise of New Age soundscapes. Rising to recognition in the 21st century as sonically adventurous listeners began deep dives into the cosmic landscape of European jazz-rock, the Vandroogenbroeck-led Brainticket existed on the same plane as Between, Bob Downes, and Xhol Caravan . . .

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Jesus People Music, Vol 2: The Reckoning

On May 26, Aquarium Drunkard and Org Music present Jesus People Music Vol. 2. Culled from the BlackForrestry’s AD mixtapes of obscure ’60s and ’70s Jesus People psych, rock, folk, and country. In advance of this collection’s release, we’re presenting its liner notes, written by Jason P. Woodbury . . .

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The Lagniappe Sessions :: Tim Hill

The inaugural Lagniappe Session from songwriter Tim Hill arrives on the heels of his sophomore effort Giant, a cozy collection of songs rooted in the traditions of LA troubadours like Warren Zevon and Neil Young. Also a Whittier, California-based ranch worker and known as the touring keyboardist for Allah-Lahs, Hill continues to brew his own craft of cowboy originals rooted in worn and dusty standards . . .

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Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: March 2023

Coming through the haze, it's Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard on dublab. Up first, New Happy Gathering offers an overcast hour of South African jazz, Japanese surf guitar psych, Hungarian pop, and outsider Americana. Then Range and Basin drops in with spoken word sci-fi mysticism, jazz, funk, and live recordings. Then, Doom and Gloom from the Tomb brings a mid-'60s Blue Note extravaganza of moody post-hard-bop. And to close, SUSS brings us a special hour-plus broadcast of influences, icons, and outliers from the Ambient Country scene. Tune in Sunday, March 19 from 4-8 PM . . .

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Doug Paisley :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

We caught up with Doug Paisley on a foggy January night at his home in Toronto. His new album Say What You Like, out March 17th on Outside Music, was recorded over the past few years, with selections pulled from his huge trove of songs in progress. “For me it’s all about recording these little ideas and then they just keep coming back,” Paisley said. “And there's a question in them and then the answer is somewhere way down the road . . .

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Turner Williams Jr. :: Briars On A Dewdrop

Turner Williams’s instrument of choice is the shahi baaja— a kind of amplified typewriter zither, which uses metal keys to alter the pitches of its strings, already a collision of east and west, archaic and industrial. Run through a vast arsenal of effects pedals, the entire rig gets downright cybernetic . . .

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Yves Simon :: Au Pays Des Merveilles De Juliet

It's 1973 and with Au pays des merveilles de Juliet French singer-songwriter Yves Simon decides to change things up. Syncopated, the title track finds Simon's sing-speak vocal floating above two and half minutes of folk-funk. Listen up, tout suite . . .

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Transmissions :: Andy Shauf

Today on Transmissions, we're joined by Saskatchewan-born songwriter Andy Shauf to discuss getting sober, God, and how these big topics relate to his latest album of introspective folk pop, Norm. Fans of his ‘70s-styled songcraft will still find lots to love here, but as we discuss, the production is deeply rooted in modern experimentation and the anything goes sonic possibilities of digital recording . . .

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Aquarium Drunkard :: SXSW 2023

We're heading back to Austin this week, presenting not one, but two showcases. First up is Friday night's AD x Gold Diggers shindig at Lucille (on Rainey Street) with Orions Belte, Fruit Bats, Bonny Doon, Pearl & The Oysters, Aoife Nessa Frances and The Golden Dregs. Still upright? If so, come by our unofficial day party on Saturday with Hippie Scum at Lolo Wine (E. 6th Street) at noon and catch Peter One, Cactus Lee, Sean Thompson's Weird Ears, Rogé, Peel Dream Magazine, Future Museums and Skyway Man . . .

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Floating Action :: I Knew I Felt It

The return of Floating Action. “I Knew I Felt It” — the first taste from the forthcoming lp, Glacial Speed, due out in June . . .

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Gabriel da Rosa :: É O Que A Casa Oferece

Gabriel da Rosa’s debut album, É o que a casa oferece, arrives at an auspicious time as Brazilian music is becoming more ubiquitous, cresting a wave of popularity that has been building over the better part of a century. The last 90 years have seen Carmen Miranda’s polyrhythmic schtick in the thirties and forties, the smooth and sophisticated bossa nova craze of the early sixties, and in the seventies Flora Purim, Airto Moreira, and Milton Nascimento championed an adventurous style of Brazilian jazz. Now, a new Brazilian tide is rising, building off the previous waves’ continued relevance, and it . . .

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First & Last: Japanese Private Press, Vol. 8

Welcome to the eighth installment of First & Last, a series of mixes providing a glimpse into the world of Japanese private press, or 自主盤, pronounced “jishuban”, which loosely translates to “independent board . . .

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