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.’

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.

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.

Cellist Kirin McElwain’s exploratory album ‘Youth’ turns toward crystalline feedback, chaotic oscillators, and intentionally harsh tones to express the feelings of desire and shame occupying the same cognitive space.

Faetooth’s Ari May, Jenna Garcia, and Rah Kanan reflect on the three-year writing process behind ‘Labyrinthine’, a bold album that pushes doom metal toward greater abstraction without sacrificing ethereality.

Vibraphonist Patricia Brennan discusses her constellation-based compositional system, blending jazz, classical, and alt-rock on Of The Near And Far.

Phil Haynes: Banging the Drum for Liberty Now page for The Tonearm

Bryan Senti: Strings, Migration, and Finding Home page for The Tonearm

Cultural anthropologist Graham St. John discusses his biography of psychedelic philosopher Terence McKenna, exploring DMT, rave culture, and the archaic revival.

Guitarist Nels Cline discusses Trio of Bloom with Craig Taborn and Marcus Gilmore, creative insecurity, Wilco, and navigating jazz and rock worlds.