Episodes
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Clarity and self-indulgence, the end of history, awakening the ear. The philosopher and artist discusses three important albums.
Miguel's picks:
Nico – Nico's Last Concert "Fata Morgana"
Scott Walker – Tilt
Maryanne Amacher – Sound Characters (Making The Third Ear)The new Nzʉmbe album, "Ardor or Entropy", is out now on Drowned By Locals. Check it out here. Miguel is on Instagram here.
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Nothing but blancmange, beautiful death-adjacency, laughing through the discomfort. The vocalist of Buñuel and the late Oxbow discusses three important albums.
Eugene's picks:
Johnny Hartman – The Voice That Is!
Billie Holiday – Lady In Satin
Arthur Prysock – Compact JazzThe new Buñuel album, Mansuetude, is out now on Overdrive/Skingraft. Check it out here. Eugene has a Substack, an Instagram and is on X. Buñuel's Instagram is here.
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Missing episodes?
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Small music, the lazy way of listening, the motor of collaboration. The Tokyo-born, Düsseldorf-based musician discusses three important albums.
Miki's picks:
Rolf Julius – Music For A Distance
Eliane Radigue – Vice Versa, etc.
Jean-Yves Bosseur – Musique VertesMiki's new album, As If, is out now on Hallow Ground. Check it out on Bandcamp. Miki's website is here and she's also on Instagram.
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No kick drum, three sounds and humour, the power of multidirectional expression. The Hungarian electronic producer discusses three important albums.
Gábor's picks:
Nicron – Transfer Completed (Youtube link)
Errorsmith – 2
AGF – Westernization CompletedGábor's new album is called Reflex, and it's out now on Raster. Check it out on Bandcamp or over on the Raster site. Gábor's website is here and he's also on Instagram.
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Perfect trumpet voice, music as prayer, Ben Monder's right hand. The improviser and songwriter discusses three important albums.
Wendy's picks:
Mary Lou Williams – Black Christ Of The Andes
Robert Wyatt – Old Rottenhat
Theo Bleckmann And Ben Monder – No BoatWendy's new album, Viewfinder, is out now on American Dreams. Check it out on Wendy's Bandcamp. They're also on Instagram and X, and their website is here.
Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening
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Noisy artefact discovery, spilling soft toys at the parade, heartbroken AI minds. The Swiss-Philippine composer and musician discusses three important albums.
Annie's picks:
Eliane Radigue – Trilogie de la Mort
Charlemagne Palestine – Jamaica Heinekens In Brooklyn
Holly Herndon – PROTOAnnie's debut solo album, It's Not Quiet In The Void, is out now on Everest Records. Check it out on Bandcamp. Annie's website is here and she's also on Instagram.
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IBM 7090 hypnosis, black jeans on the beach, music for crying and driving. The Venezuelan experimental musician and writer discusses three important albums.
Carlos' picks:
Horacio Vaggione – La Maquina De Cantar
Pita – Get Out
Low – Double NegativeCarlos' new album, Dream Walker, is out now on Ideologic Organ. Check it out on the Ideologic website or on Bandcamp. Carlos is on Instagram, where you can also find his upcoming European tour dates (September - October 2024).
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Isolation and electroacoustics, listening and openness, putting rock into the coffin. The artist, musician and theorist discusses three important albums.
Mattin's picks:
Roberta Settels – Isolation! Meinhof In Memoriam
AMM – The Crypt
Lou Reed & Metallica – LuluMattin's new album, Expanding Concert (Lisboa 2019-2023), is out now. Check it out here. Mattin's website is here and he's also on Instagram.
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Proto-disco black hole disintegration, leaving in the flubs, "Shake Your Hips" at number 3. The American bassist discusses three important albums.
Brian's picks:
Can – Soon Over Babaluma
His Hero Is Gone – Fifteen Counts Of Arson
The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main St.The new Sumac album is called The Healer, and it's out now on Thrill Jockey. Check it out here or on Bandcamp. Find Brian on X and Instagram.
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Life partner collaborations, Alice Coltrane signature bends, nomadic explorations in tuning. The Los Angeles-based musician discusses three important albums.
Tashi's picks:
Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show – Revenge: The Bigger The Love The Greater The Hate
Alice Coltrane – Live at the Berkeley Community Theater 1972
Laurie Spiegel – Obsolete SystemsTashi's new album, What Is Not Strange?, is out now on RVNG Intl. Check it out here. Tashi is also on Instagram and X.
Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening
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Making work out of bones, Bach in intergalactic excess, pre-admin ABC karaoke. The composer and improviser discusses three important albums.
Jennifer's picks:
Meredith Monk – Our Lady Of Late
Voyager – The Golden Record
ABC – The Lexicon Of LoveJennifer's collaboration with Tony Conrad, In The Merry Month Of May, is out now on Drag City affiliate label Blue Chopsticks. Check it out on Bandcamp. Jennifer's website is here and she's on X as @JenniferWalshe.
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Fountains of ideas, mind blown in Rap City, candy wrapper responses. The New Brunswick-based trumpet player, improviser and composer discusses three important albums.
Nicole's picks:
Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil
A Tribe Called Quest – Low End Theory
Steve Lacy – Snips: Live at EnvironNicole's album Saudade is out on Ansible Editions. Check it out on Bandcamp. Find all of Nicole's other links (socials, website) right here.
Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening
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Dizzy rhythms, slippery transitions, sincerity and playfulness. The Oakland-based composer and performer discusses three important albums.
Michelle's picks:
Zeena Parkins – Zeena Parkins and The Adorables
Duke Ellington – The Best Of Duke Ellington And His Famous Orchestra
Caetano Veloso – TransaMichelle's new record, Late Morning, is out now on AKP Recordings. Check it out on Bandcamp. Her website is here and she's also on Instagram.
Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening
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Obstetric ambient, sullen atmospheres, episodic engulfment. The classical ambient composer discusses three important albums.
Adam's picks:
Environments (Irv Teibel) – Environments 2
Talk Talk – Spirit Of Eden
Main – HzAdam's new album, Eleven Fugues For Sodium Pentothal, is out now on Kranky. Check it out on his Bandcamp. Adam's website is here.
Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening
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Train breakdown Feldman epiphanies, radical flatness in the primeval forest, the Gary Numan barracks theft. The New York-based composer discusses three important albums.
Kenneth's picks:
Gary Numan – The Pleasure Principle
Morton Feldman (Kronos Quartet with Aki Takahashi) – Piano And String Quartet
Glenn Gould – Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1955)Kenneth's new album, Three Cellos, is the first instalment in Greyfade's FOLIO series: a hardcover book and a high resolution download. Check it out here or over on Bandcamp. Kenneth's website is over here.
Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening
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Aggressive pianos, bursting arpeggios, music for the cool kids. The Australian composer and producer discusses three important albums.
Madeleine's picks:
Philip Glass – Glassworks
Dirty Three – Whatever You Love, You Are
Tim Hecker – VirginsMadeleine's new album, Bodies, is out now on Room40. Check it out on her Bandcamp. Her website is here and she's also Instagram.
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Black metal for midwest drives, post-apocalyptic collage, ragas for John. The Manchester, UK-based ambient folk artist discusses three important albums.
Ethan's picks:
Wolves In The Throne Room – Two Hunters
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – F# A# ∞
Pelt – AyahuascaThe new Black Brunswicker EP, A Moment Of Clarity, is out April 26th on Nettwerk. You can hear several tracks over on the Black Brunswicker bandcamp, and also see a couple of official videos over on Youtube. Ethan is also on Instagram.
Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening
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Cathartic tragedies, dog-eating opera, guitar improviser spirit animals. The vocalist, lyricist and composer from 9T Antiope discusses three important albums.
Sara and Nima's picks:
Scott Walker & Sunn O))) – Soused
Ben Frost – The Wasp Factory
Sidsel Endresen & Stian Westerhus – BonitaThe new 9T Antiope album, Horror Vacui, is out 12th April on American Dreams. Check it out here. 9T Antiope is on Twitter. Sara is on Twitter and Instagram.
Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening
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Voice drips like milk, rays of soprano sunlight, filthy metal bass face. Producer, vocalist and DJ Felicia Chen discusses three important albums.
Felicia's picks:
Arvo Pärt – Te Deum
Portishead – Dummy
Goth-Trad – PsionicsThe collaborative record between Dis Fig and The Body is out now via Thrill Jockey. Check it out here. Dis Fig is on Instagram and Soundcloud.
The Body and Dis Fig will debut the collaboration at this year's Supersonic Festival in Birmingham UK, which runs 30th August – 1st September. More info here.
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Driving in fury, letting the endings be real, slow and lonely. The free improvisation percussionist discusses three important albums.
Mark's picks:
Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell – Old And New Dreams (1979)
Evan Parker – Monoceros
Rebecca Saunders – Fury IIAs always, Mark has a bunch of upcoming live dates. These include Evan Parker's 80th birthday residency at Cafe Oto, for which Mark has prepared a four-part percussion group. Mark's website is here.
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