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Talk Of The Tonearm

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Loula Yorke with hand obscuring face in dreamy double exposure against bare trees, warm orange-red and cool blue-green tones.
Featured post
1-Tier Loula Yorke Synthesis Experimental Ambient Electronic Britian
Mar 02, 2026
by Carolyn Zaldivar Snow

Wildflowers and Waveforms — Loula Yorke's Electric Commons

From squat parties to a cottage on a wildflower common, Loula Yorke has built a practice around beauty, ecological dread, and the feminist history that 'Hydrology' quietly carries forward.

Read Now Read Now
Patrick Smith holds saxophone against vibrant swirling backdrop in blue and teal tones.
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2-Tier Patrick Smith Dance Lowell Whitty Jazz Toronto Artists
Feb 26, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer

Shelf-Worthy — Patrick Smith and His Technicians of Tone

The Toronto saxophonist joins guitarist Dan Pitt and drummer Lowell Whitty on 'Words Underlined,' a live session cut in a beloved Toronto bookstore that became, almost accidentally, one of the year's most assured jazz records.

Read Now Read Now
Lala Lala sits on dark textured surface wearing overalls and white turtleneck, displaying visible tattoos on arms and legs. Photo by Ariel Fish.
2-Tier Lala Lala Indie Pop Los Angeles

More Will Be Revealed — Lala Lala's Long Way to Stillness

On 'Heaven 2,' Lala Lala traces the slow, unsentimental work of releasing control and learning to trust what gets left behind.

Feb 27, 2026
by Arina Korenyu
Patrick Smith holds saxophone against vibrant swirling backdrop in blue and teal tones.
Featured post
2-Tier Patrick Smith Dance Lowell Whitty Jazz Toronto Artists

Shelf-Worthy — Patrick Smith and His Technicians of Tone

The Toronto saxophonist joins guitarist Dan Pitt and drummer Lowell Whitty on 'Words Underlined,' a live session cut in a beloved Toronto bookstore that became, almost accidentally, one of the year's most assured jazz records.

Feb 26, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer
Marija Kovačević tunes a violin against white brick wall in black and white photograph, curly dark hair visible. Photo by Peter Gannushkin.
3-Tier Marija Kovačević Violinists Experimental Neoclassical

Singing Through Damage — Marija Kovačević's Broken Violin Series

The Serbian-born violinist discusses her 'Music for Broken Violins' series, her ongoing duo BUKA with Aimée Niemann, and the honesty of instruments that fall apart in one's hands.

Feb 26, 2026
by khagan aslanov
Six members of Winged Wheel pose together in casual attire, including hats and varied clothing, against a decorative prairie backdrop. Photo by Katy McElroy.
3-Tier Winged Wheel Kingston Indie Rock

From Default to Deliberate — Learning to Listen with Winged Wheel

On their third album, 'Desert So Green,' the six-piece collective reflects on the slow build of musical trust, the discipline of leaving space, and what it means to stop defaulting and start deciding.

Feb 25, 2026
by Jonah Evans
Graphical Jazz — The Unsung Canvas of Prestige Records Post feature image
4-Tier Prestige Records Authors Visual Artists Art and Design Jazz Music History

Graphical Jazz — The Unsung Canvas of Prestige Records

Bob Weinstock believed in treating music and album covers equally as serious art, and 'WAIL,' by Chris Entwistle and Mark Havens, reveals how that conviction produced a graphic legacy still being imitated today.

Feb 24, 2026
by Bill Kopp
Julia Steiner of Ratboys performs with white electric guitar, singing passionately on stage with warm orange lighting.Photo by Miles Kalchik.
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4-Tier Ratboys Chris Walla Julia Steiner Chicago Artists Indie Rock

A Chorus for the Complicated — Julia Steiner of Ratboys

Ratboys frontwoman Julia Steiner discusses how 'Singin' to an Empty Chair' grew from a grief practice into a collection of bright, aching songs that never settle for just one feeling at a time.

Feb 23, 2026
by Meredith Hobbs Coons
Justin Hicks in bright orange jacket with wooden bead necklace, arm extended against dark slatted wall background. Photo by Malik Well.
5-Tier Justin Hicks Singer/Songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello Indie Pop

Back to the Simple Thing — Justin Hicks Makes His Move

Recorded over two days with longtime collaborators Meshell Ndegeocello and Chris Bruce, 'Man of Style' finds Justin Hicks reclaiming the singer-songwriter identity that persisted through decades of noise rock, sound art, and theatrical performance.

Feb 20, 2026
by Arina Korenyu
Stephen Vitiello at performance rehearsal with suspended glass bell instruments, holding a mallet against dark backdrop. Photo by Kevin Gafford, courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art, 2013.
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5-Tier Stephen Vitiello Lawrence English Experimental Richmond Virginia Ambient Visual Artists

All Inputs as Collaborators — Stephen Vitiello and the Art of Hearing

The veteran sound artist discusses 'Trinity,' his trio-format album with Lawrence English, and why every input in his practice—a space, a field recording, a late friend's unreleased tape—warrants the same respect as a living collaborator.

Feb 19, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer
Winter protest march in Minneapolis with demonstrators in heavy coats holding anti-ICE signs amid urban buildings. Photo by Fibonacci Blue, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
5-Tier Joni Mitchell Minneapolis Protest Music

Writing in Blood — From Laurel Canyon to the Streets of Minneapolis

Andrea Mazzariello moves between Joni Mitchell's elusive vocal lines in "A Case of You" and protesters singing outside Minneapolis ICE headquarters, where the distance between marching and dancing collapses in a single frame.

Feb 19, 2026
by Andrea Mazzariello
The Fair and the Fury — On the Lilith Fair Documentary and Feminist History Worth Keeping Post feature image
5-Tier Music History Music Documentaries Lilith Fair

The Fair and the Fury — On the Lilith Fair Documentary and Feminist History Worth Keeping

Meredith Hobbs Coons and Carolyn Zaldivar Snow of The Tonearm compare notes on 'Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery,' the documentary film that turns feminist music history into something closer to evidence.

Feb 18, 2026
by Meredith Hobbs Coons
Ludo Hunter-Tilney poses in front of an Oasis "live '25" banner, wearing dark clothing with short gray hair.
5-Tier Ludo Hunter-Tilney Authors Music Journalism London Artists

Ludo Hunter-Tilney — A Five-Star Pop Critic in a Three-Star World

The music journalist reflects on his two-decade tenure at the Financial Times, the tension between covering superstars and unknown artists, and his conviction that transcribing interviews by hand remains a moral compulsion in an age of automated everything.

Feb 17, 2026
by Damien Joyce
KMRU and Joseph Kamaru pose together outdoors in black and white, with lush foliage behind them. Photo courtesy of Estate of Joseph Kamaru.
5-Tier KMRU Joseph Kamaru Africa Kenya Cross-Cultural Music History

Digitizing Benga's King — KMRU on the Archival Weight of Joseph Kamaru

For 'Heavy Combination (1966–2007)', KMRU digitized five decades of his grandfather's music, discovering how Joseph Kamaru's political songs diagnose today's Kenya and how the archive became a grounding for an artist constantly in motion.

Feb 13, 2026
by Elsa Monteith
Lawrence English stands in an agricultural field with recording equipment and headphones, a plume of smoke rising in the distance at sunset. Photo by S Simpson.
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5-Tier Lawrence English Australia Brisbane Ambient Experimental

Between the Microphone and the Mind — The Surprising Work of Lawrence English

Lawrence English reflects on the impossible trios of 'Trinity,' acid nostalgia as a weapon against possible futures, and how the tension between the microphone and the psychological ear shapes his field recording practice.

Feb 12, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer
Five members of French band wavepool stand together under dramatic red and white lighting, creating a hazy, overexposed aesthetic. Photo by Charlotte Romer.
5-Tier wavepool France Indie Rock Shoegaze

Drifting Through the Normandy Haze with wavepool

The French band discusses 'Crayola,' their latest EP of shoegaze-inflected dream pop that transforms fleeting observations and unreliable memories into songs as gray and intimate as their Normandy hometown.

Feb 12, 2026
by Jonah Evans
The Voyage Down — Fausto Romitelli Descends Into Repertoire Post feature image
5-Tier Fausto Romitelli Neoclassical Italy

The Voyage Down — Fausto Romitelli Descends Into Repertoire

Romitelli embraced psychedelic rock for its destabilizing potential rather than its commercial appeal, and a new recording of 'An Index of Metals' marks his passage from avant-garde specialist to repertoire composer two decades after cancer took him at forty-one in 2004.

Feb 11, 2026
by George Grella
Liam Kazar holds a microphone, wearing a dark blazer. His backlit curly hair creates a halo effect. Soft gradient background, composed gaze. Photo by Alexa Viscius.
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5-Tier Liam Kazar Indie Rock Wilco Jeff Tweedy Singer/Songwriter

Liam Kazar and the Long Search for Home

After three years of touring more than 200 days annually, the guitarist and Jeff Tweedy sideman recorded 'Pilot Light' to recreate, musically, what constant travel had taken away.

Feb 09, 2026
by Meredith Hobbs Coons
Chris Hoffman seated on a couch with a cello on his lap - Photo by Kenneth Jimenez
5-Tier Christopher Hoffman Cellists Bassists Brooklyn

The Last American Elegance — Christopher Hoffman's 'REX'

The acclaimed cellist discusses his move from Manhattan to Rex Brasher's Wassaic farm, where he recorded his first solo album, 'REX,' finding the space between pristine composition and unpredictable improvisation.

Feb 06, 2026
by khagan aslanov
The Amram family - Photo by Snake Garcia
5-Tier David Amram Alana Amram Adam Amram Roots Music

Red Roses and Open Roads — The Amram Siblings Step Out

Alana incorporates her father David's beatnik wisdom into the EP 'Movies' while brother Adam channels Dylan-esque wanderlust on 'To The End', each forging distinct identities that occasionally converge for powerful family performances.

Feb 05, 2026
by Chaim O’Brien-Blumenthal
A profile photo of Noah Franche-Nolan - Photo by Leya Russell
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5-Tier Noah Franche-Nolan Vancouver Piano Organists Jazz

From Sacred Space to Silent Film — Noah Franche-Nolan Serves the Music

On 'Rose-Anna,' the Vancouver pianist honors his great-grandmother's church-organ tradition through compositions that move between meditative prayer, silent-film themes, and post-bop propulsion.

Feb 05, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Photo by Tom Copi
5-Tier Rahsaan Roland Kirk Saxophonists Jazz Music History

Rahsaan Roland Kirk's Bright Moments — Shining New Light on the Multi-Horn Prophet

Through the archival efforts of Zev Feldman, two lost recordings surface: 'Vibrations in the Village', taped at New York's Village Gate in 1963, and 'Seek & Listen', captured at Seattle's Penthouse four years later, both documenting Kirk's ability to loop jazz history into one great sphere.

Feb 04, 2026
by Andrew Hamlin
Drinking from Tradition — Fabiano do Nascimento's Quiet Guitar Post feature image
5-Tier Fabiano do Nascimento Brazil Artists Brazilian Music Cross-Cultural Guitarists

Drinking from Tradition — Fabiano do Nascimento's Quiet Guitar

'Cavejaz' finds the Brazilian guitarist collaborating with UAKTI percussionist Paulo Santos, Japanese tabla master U-zhaan, and Los Angeles percussionist Tiki Pasillas on an album that privileges listening and space over the virtuosity his tradition demands.

Feb 03, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer
Leilani Patao Bites Back — Pet Love and the Choice Against Streaming Post feature image
5-Tier Leilani Patao New York City Indie Pop

Leilani Patao Bites Back — Pet Love and the Choice Against Streaming

The fiercely independent songwriter's EP 'daisy' honors their late childhood dog while exploring patterns of loyalty and mistreatment across romantic, familial, and pet relationships—all released exclusively on Bandcamp as an act of self-determination.

Feb 03, 2026
by Meredith Hobbs Coons
The five members of SML seated at an outdoor dining area somewhere. Photo by Sam Lee.
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5-Tier SML Jazz Jazz + Electronics Los Angeles Josh Johnson

Whose Sound Is Whose? The Collective Method of SML

The LA quintet's second album, 'How You Been', unfolds through the distillation of live improvisations into moments where individual voices dissolve into collective sound.

Feb 02, 2026
by Mariam Abdel-Razek
The Warm Fuzz and Cold Honesty of Wormy's 'Shark River' Post feature image
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5-Tier Wormy Brooklyn Indie Rock

The Warm Fuzz and Cold Honesty of Wormy's 'Shark River'

As Wormy, Noah Rauchwerk, the touring drummer for Samia, turns his van life into ten songs about anxiety, imposter syndrome, and "this sense of impending doom" that often shadows the good moments.

Jan 31, 2026
by Sam Bradley
Better Living Through Imperfection — Michael Hallsworth on the Hypocrisy Trap Post feature image
5-Tier Michael Hallsworth Authors Psychology

Better Living Through Imperfection — Michael Hallsworth on the Hypocrisy Trap

Drawing on behavioral science research, Hallsworth's 'The Hypocrisy Trap' examines how false signals of consistency drive our contempt for hypocrites and what happens when accusations of hypocrisy spiral out of control.

Jan 29, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer
Life Among the Vowels —  Kathy Kennedy and the Sounds We Share Post feature image
5-Tier Kathy Kennedy Vocalists Experimental Montreal Canada

Life Among the Vowels — Kathy Kennedy and the Sounds We Share

The Montreal electroacoustic artist spent three decades distributing sound through pirate radio and public space performances before releasing 'Vowel Jams', an album that spotlights her personal vision over public appeal.

Jan 27, 2026
by Meredith Hobbs Coons
Elujay outside next to a wall, hand on his head, his shadow mimicking him from behind. Photo by Nori Rasmussen-Martinez.
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5-Tier Elujay R&B/Soul Los Angeles Oakland

I Advance Masked — Into the Deep With Elujay

Elujay explains how 'A Constant Charade' channels his graffiti roots, his friendship with Angus Cloud, and his belief that R&B thrives when artists keep surprising themselves and their listeners.

Jan 23, 2026
by Mariam Abdel-Razek
John Mlynczak Brings Classroom Philosophy to NAMM's Showfloor Post feature image
5-Tier John Mlynczak NAMM Music Business Education

John Mlynczak Brings Classroom Philosophy to NAMM's Showfloor

NAMM's president shares strategies for turning students into advocates, building passion before theory, and preparing the next generation to thrive in a world that doesn't yet exist.

Jan 22, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer
Westerman wearing devil horns and light a newspaper on fire. Photo by Eric Scaggiante.
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5-Tier Westerman Greece Indie Pop

Exiled in Hydra — Inside Westerman's Greek Island Sessions

Producer Marta Salogni and a rotating cast of musicians joined Westerman at an 18th-century mansion on Hydra to record 'A Jackal's Wedding,' an album where high ceilings and creative limitation were as vital as the songs themselves.

Jan 21, 2026
by Jonah Evans
The three members of Zu in a room. Photo by Marco Franzoni.
5-Tier Zu Italy Heavy Music

The Lightning Bolt Sound and Diamond Nature of Zu

Three decades into their existence, Italy's experimental metal/rock/jazz trio release 'Ferrum Sidereum,' a double-album that draws on meteoric iron symbolism, Tibetan philosophy, and the practice of creating inner silence amid external chaos.

Jan 20, 2026
by Michael Centrone
Louis Gardner portrait photo super-impossed in front of piano keys. Photo by Sophia Liv Maguire.
5-Tier Louis Gardner London Artists Piano Ambient Neoclassical

The Cold Comfort of Louis Gardner's Solo Piano

The London pianist's 'Emotionally Suited To Be A Solo Pianist' began as a three-hour improvisation that captured winter's quieter truths about distance, solitude, and the strange calm that arrives when the world slows down.

Jan 20, 2026
by Arina Korenyu
Gimme Danger — Ian Brennan Among the Snake Handlers Post feature image
5-Tier Ian Brennan West Virginia Music History

Gimme Danger — Ian Brennan Among the Snake Handlers

'They Shall Take Up Serpents' marks Sublime Frequencies' first American release, with Ian Brennan documenting a West Virginia church where drumming grandmas and flatpicking guitarists enter trance states that put decades of rock posturing to shame.

Jan 16, 2026
by Steven Garnett
Patricia Brennan standing on a city street at night. Photo by Werner Siebert
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5-Tier Patricia Brennan Vibraphone Jazz

Astronomy Harmonie — Patricia Brennan's Celestial Chamber Jazz

The vibraphonist's 'Of The Near And Far' superimposes constellations over the circle of fifths to generate pitch collections for a ten-piece ensemble while signaling her background in orchestral percussion, alternative rock, and the chamber works of Glass and Xenakis.

Jan 15, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer
Silvia Ryder of My Violence walks in front of a heavily graffiti-ed wall - Photo by Dylan Luster
5-Tier My Violence Los Angeles Indie Rock Shoegaze

Poetry Kills — My Violence's Chapbook of Sound

Silvia Ryder discusses her album 'Monday's Child', the unconventional instruments that define her music, and how leaving Sugar Plum Fairies led her to build a new identity from Omnichords and archival film.

Jan 14, 2026
by Meredith Hobbs Coons
Jeremy Rose and the Open Sound of Australian Improvisation Post feature image
5-Tier Jeremy Rose Australia Sydney Jazz Jazz + Electronics

Jeremy Rose and the Open Sound of Australian Improvisation

The Sydney saxophonist's album 'Infinity II' emerges from fully improvised sessions with no charts, no discussion, and no overdubs—what Rose describes as humanist minimalism, where four musicians function like a living system.

Jan 13, 2026
by Sam Bradley
Don't Fear the Reverb — A Conversation with Kramer Post feature image
Featured post
5-Tier Kramer North Carolina Ambient Music Producer

Don't Fear the Reverb — A Conversation with Kramer

From producing Galaxie 500 and Low to his new ambient masterwork '...and the crimson moon whispers goodbye,' the musician and Shimmy-Disc founder reflects on spontaneous composition, the spiritual dimensions of reverb, and finally achieving his personal 'Rothko Chapel.'

Jan 12, 2026
by George Grella
Sessa Finds São Paulo's Rhythm in the Cosmic Ordinary Post feature image
5-Tier Sessa São Paulo Brazil Artists Singer/Songwriter Cross-Cultural Indie Pop

Sessa Finds São Paulo's Rhythm in the Cosmic Ordinary

Three years of sessions in São Paulo yielded 'Pequena Vertigem de Amor,' an album born from the submarine days of early fatherhood and the vertigo between extraordinary love and ordinary routine.

Jan 09, 2026
by Jonah Evans
Phil Haynes - behind the hi-hat - Photo by René Pierre Allain
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5-Tier Phil Haynes Roots Music Free Country

Phil Haynes, Free Country, and the Sound of Political Urgency

Jazz drummer Phil Haynes's string band Free Country reconvened after a decade to record original compositions, but hours before the first session, trumpeter Herb Robertson died, and the 2024 election delivered its verdict—the double album 'Liberty Now!' carries both griefs.

Jan 08, 2026
by Lawrence Peryer

Talk Of The Tonearm

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Lala Lala sits on dark textured surface wearing overalls and white turtleneck, displaying visible tattoos on arms and legs. Photo by Ariel Fish.
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More Will Be Revealed — Lala Lala's Long Way to Stillness
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