Fertilizer vs. Musikarbeiter
As the wise man said: "Take it to the limit." Compositional tomfoolery, acid jazz cosplay, romanticism giving way to factory vibes, and a 30-year path to Bowie are all revealed in this week's newsletter.
Claire Cope's 'Every Journey' and the Women Who Dared to Explore
The pianist-turned-composer discusses her philosophical views on improvisation, the challenges of writing for larger ensembles, and the inspiring tales of extraordinary female explorers.
A Time Machine Operating in Reverse
Don't take the brown acid, the brown acid's bad. Also: groovy academia, exploring the sonic waterways, how not to wrestle with a ghostly Bill Evans, and the usual spritely recommendations.
Golden Years — Red Snapper Keeps On Swinging
Red Snapper's Ali Friend reflects on three decades of creative restlessness, working with David Harrow, and why live performance has become more precious than promotional tool.
The Waterboys Channel America's Unruly Soul
Mike Scott's four-year obsession with Dennis Hopper has yielded a sprawling 25-track concept album that mirrors the actor's extraordinary life while chronicling America's countercultural transformations.
A Radical Faith in Permanence
Walking as an idea machine, allergy as accent, democracy with strings, and a bunch of friendly recommendations — this can only mean another installment of Talk Of The Tonearm.
Ripple Effects — Chaz Underriner's Immersive Water Music
The experimental composer draws from the landscape of the American South to create a multimedia experience. His five-year project. 'Moving,' transforms environmental field recordings and modular compositions into hypnotic soundscapes that document our fragile waterways.
Focused Technology—The Deliberate Practice of Craig Mod
Discussing his latest work, 'Things Become Other Things,' the writer and photographer reveals how walking thousands of kilometers across Japan generates the mental space where his ideas develop.
This Cloud of Lights All Blinking
Look! Up in the sky! It's Tamiko Thiel, The Vernon Spring, and Sam Sadigursky joining hands for this week's jam-packed newsletter.
The Virtual Gardens of Tamiko Thiel
By blending her mechanical engineering background with her father's theories on spatial perception, digital artist Tamiko Thiel creates immersive digital environments that communicate emotional truths about displacement and ecological crisis.
Pop Goes the Sonic Bubble
This week's topics du jour: The Ramones at City Gardens, Ukrainian hair styles, the history of the Walkman, and jazz's history of resistance. Spicy recommendations, too!
Electric Dreams Made Real — Tamiko Thiel on the Connection Machine
Before touchscreens dominated our technological imaginations, there was a mysterious black cube with pulsing lights that became the physical manifestation of artificial intelligence—and Thiel realized its visual story.