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KING VISION ULTRA ~ SHOOK WORLD (hosted by Algiers)
One of the motifs that unifies SHOOK WORLD, a collaborative album produced by GENG PTP aka KING VISION ULTRA, is the use of field-recordings of trains. This is partly a call back to beginning of Nas‘ Illmatic, cementing a connection with hip hop history. The title SHOOK WORLD also can’t help but recall Mobb Deep’s classic…
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ACL 2022: Sound Propositions
Every time I’ve tried to sit down and write my end of year column I’ve found myself trying to write a full review for each record on my list. And that’s basically what the following lists are; records I would have written about if I had the time (or if someone were paying me). But…
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COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
This episode features Giuseppe Esposito, a Neapolitan musician who runs the tape label Archivio Diafònico, an operation that mostly documents artists who are based in Napoli. The chaotic and bustling capital of the South of Italy undeservedly gets a bad reputation, and the city has a vibrant cultural scene and rich history that is sorely…
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Francesco Gregoretti ~ Solid Layers, Deafening Shapes
Many of my favorite artists trained as architects, while many of my favorite composers had their origins in the rhythm section. I can’t help but try to find some commonality in this. Architects must strike a balance between being practical and imaginative, understanding both business and art, responding to real-world limitations and concerns which make…
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Reverberations d’une crise / Sounding the housing crisis
While the social and economic impacts of the housing crisis are well documented, its many psychological, affective, relational, and existential impacts often remain in the blind spot of current research. The project Réverberations d’une crise: a sound inquiry on housing in Montreal postulates that paying attention to sound can make neglected dimensions of this issue…
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ATTUNEMENT
Susan Rothenberg, Tattoo (1979) Jessica Moss has just released Galaxy Heart, a surprising collection of ten songs that form a companion to last year’s Phosphenes. The Montréal-based composer, violinist, and vocalist recorded the material for both records (and more) during the peak of early pandemic lockdown, allowing her songcraft to take new forms, as well as welcoming collaborators into…
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LANE DISCIPLINE
Kranky co-founder Bruce Adams sits down to discuss his new book, You’re With Stupid: kranky, Chicago, and the Reinvention of Indie Music. (UTPress) Adams explains the unique conditions that put Chicago at the heart of the ‘90s indie rock scene, the emergence of the kranky aesthetic, and sings the praises of Labradford. Adams’ book is full of personal memories and reflections, including…
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IRREGARDS
The long-running electronic duo Matmos have just released a gorgeous new LP, Regards / Ukłony dla Bogusław Schaeffer. Whereas their previous album, 2020’s The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form, saw the couple collaging contributions from 99 friends recorded at 99 bpm, their latest is dedicated to the work of just one person: Polish…
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KAKAPHONY
Maria Chavez is a pioneer of Abstract Turntablism, a self-described practice she developed under the guidance of Pauline Oliveros‘ Deep Listening. Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Houston, she cut her teeth as a DJ spinning techno and drum & bass, but the male chauvinism of that scene roused her to experiment further with the materiality…
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HOMEWORK
Patrick Shiroishi is a Japanese-American multi-instrumentalist & composer based in Los Angeles, whose 2021 album Hidemi was one of our favorites of the year. A prolific collaborator, Shiroishi can also be heard in various duos, trios, and larger ensembles, including the quartet Fuubutsushi, another group that has been in steady rotation at ACL. In this episode, we reminisce about…
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SHUT UP AND LISTEN!
The second half of season 3 of the podcast is on the way, but this summer has been keeping me busy on all fronts. Coming up will be episodes with kranky, Jessica Moss, Archivio Diafonico, and a special episode celebrating 10 years of A CLOSER LISTEN. Until then, I thought it was past time to…
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Enrico Coniglio ~ Songs from Ruined Days
Enrico Coniglio is a Venetian sound artist, creating pieces out of washed-out drones and ambient guitar loops while integrating them into field recordings. With a background in urban planning, his work explores the aural identity of place in a very sophisticated, if subjective, manner. His latest work is Songs from Ruined Days, a long form recording that…
Sound Propositions 