Posts

Santaka :: No Rivers Here

No Rivers Here exists in constant motion, pulling together jazz phrasings, fourth world tones, and Sextant-fusion rhythms. It's three tracks rope you in with its aqueous grooves and perpetual motion. Small figures link together creating both a sense of repetition and continual movement. It’s generative and sentient, a kinetic energy slightly too sinister for the fourth world . . .

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Diversions :: Erik Hall On Simeon ten Holt And Steve Reich

In 2020 Erik Hall released his version of Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich--the first in a planned trilogy of classical minimalist interpretations by the Chicago musician. This month sees the release of the second installment in the series, Hall's take on Canto Ostinato by the late Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt, an intimate, hour-long solo performance consisting of multitracked grand pianos, electric piano, and organ. For this edition of Diversions, Hall digs into the inspirations behind the series thus far . . .

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Numün :: Book of Beyond

On numün’s excellent new album Book of Beyond, the synthesis of earth and space seems more complete. Indeed, the entire album exudes a kind of gravity, decidedly reminiscent of the wide-open melancholy of Bruce Langhorne’s Hired Hand. numün have perfected something like a space-age cowboy music here, plaintive and freighted. Even its sci-fi sonic filigree, the theremin trills and Mellotron moans, seem like signifiers of a future that has already been foreclosed . . .

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Pärson Sound

With a rallying call of “We, Here and Now!,” and an abiding faith in minimalism, collective improvisation, and amplification, Pärson Sound were the primordial sonic maelstrom from which much of Sweden’s underground ‘progg’ scene emerged . . .

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Lisa O’Neill :: All Of This Is Chance

On her latest, All Of This is Chance, Irish singer/songwriter Lisa O'Neill leads listeners down a foggy, meandering path. It opens with a telling lyrical invocation: “Clay is the word and clay is the flesh, where the potato gatherers like mechanized scarecrows move along the side-fall of the hill.” O’Neill’s hunger is for a more far-reaching connection; to nature, to creativity, and to an unseen spirit . . .

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The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PST, 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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Steve Tilston :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Unsung Britfolk hero Steve Tilston joins us to discuss his sparse early '70s gem An Acoustic Confusion, the influence of Bert Jansch, and that time John Lennon wrote him a letter...which he never received . . .

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Transmissions :: Badge Époque Ensemble

Max Turnbull of Badge Époque Ensemble on Transmissions, our weekly podcast. Last year, BEE released the magisterial Clouds of Joy, which landed on the Aquarium Drunkard Year in Review best of the year list. A stirring blend of jazz, choral music, prog, funk, R&B, and indie rock, it’s a layered and dynamic creation. We discussed that record, Max’s work with his wife, Meg Remy of U.S. Girls, his lifelong hip-hop influence, and the myriad and mysterious ways music connects to listeners . . .

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Guiding Light :: A Tom Verlaine Appreciation

Heartfelt tributes to Tom Verlaine have been pouring in since news broke of his death late last month. A famously enigmatic character, the Television co-founder never went out of his way to make himself lovable — but he was loved all the same. As you’ll see below, Verlaine provided a guiding light for a wide array of artists through the decades. His deeply original approach (to the guitar, to songwriting, to life) went beyond mere influence and inspiration; it seeped inextricably into the DNA of generations of musicians and writers. As a result, this case will likely never be . . .

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Frank Zappa :: The Hot Rats Sessions

When Hot Rats came out in October 1969, it showed a new side of Zappa’s music. It wasn’t poking fun at trends or mixing genres in a blender. It highlights his compositions and skill in both writing memorable songs and as a guitar hero. The lengthy guitar solos showed him emerging as more than just the scruffy leader of the Mothers of Invention, while the musicians he surrounded himself with - from session players to heavyweights like Jean-Luc Ponty - pointed to his ambitions as a musician. But when compared to the material within this box, it also shows . . .

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Aquarium Drunkard :: Mailbag, Vol. IV

Long time reader, first time caller? Welcome to Mailbag, our monthly column in which we dig in and respond to your questions. Got a query? Hit us up at aqdmailbag@gmail.com. In this month’s bag: Steely Dan haters, scratching that Van Morrison itch, music from the Sonoran desert, bandcamp reccs . . .

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Amon Düül: A Young Person’s Guide 003

Launching the listener into the aural assault of “Soap Shop Rock”, Yeti wastes no time getting started. The wandering, acid-drenched psychedelia of Phallus Dei is noticeably absent. The Mothers-esque eccentrics traded in favor of tectonic heaviness. As the four-part suite arrives at its second movement, Amon Düül clears a path for denim-clad stoner rockers to follow for the next half century . . .

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Rubinho E Mauro Assumpção :: Perfeitamente, Justamente Quando Cheguei

In line with the late records of Jovem Guarda, such as Erasmo Carlos' 1970-1972 trilogy of later-revered proto-indie, as well as with Os Mutantes' flavorful Brazilian psychedelia, Rubinho & Mauro Assumpção's only ever release wanders through daring and often humorous experimentations. With bare instrumentation and lo-fi timbres blowing against the grain of the recording, it soon came to be a coveted rarity among collectors. Mr. Bongo's recent reissue offers a great chance to reexamine this piece of soft-noise MPB . . .

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Videodrome :: In Conversation With Matthew Specktor On Shoot The Moon

For the latest installment of Aquarium Drunkard’s VIDEODROME column, we sat down with writer and cinephile, Matthew Specktor, to discuss Shoot The Moon (1982), the Hollywood cycle of divorce films from the eighties, and his upcoming book . . .

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Aquarium Drunkard Book Club :: Chapter 21

We're back in the stacks with creative guides from Rick Rubin and Chris Schlarb, looks at the music of The Byrds and Sonny Rollins, and Amiri Baraka's groundbreaking Black Music . . .

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