PRX: Echoes Interview Podcast

Chad Lawson's Ambient Piano

Pianist Chad Lawson is reinventing the acoustic piano for the electronic age. He came up through classical and jazz and garnered some renown with his album, The Chopin Variations,  turning the Polish composer into something acoustically ambient. But now he’s creating original ambient music, treating his piano with electronic processing to give him a more atmospheric sound. You can hear it on his serene new album, Re:Piano.  We talk to Chad Lawson about reinventing the piano in the Echoes Podcast. You can also catch Chad Lawson’s live Echoes performance streaming now.

William Tyler's Rural New Age in Echoes Podcast

William Tyler is a guitarist who has made it through to hipster circles and records on the highly regarded Merge label. But he’s not afraid to cite Windham Hill Records, astrology, and more as influences. He’s also making the most inventive music of any post-Windham Hill guitarist. His latest album is Goes West. We talk with William Tyler in the Echoes Podcast. After the podcast, go hear William Tyler playing live on Echoes, streaming now on demand.

Lamb's Secrets in Echoes Podcast

In the Echoes Podcast, The acclaimed English electronica band, Lamb, talks about their new album, The Secret of Letting Go. The title speaks to the duo’s sometimes contentious working relationship.

Andy Barlow: I think she’s got a version of the album with all of my lyrics removed.  You didn’t like that much, did you? The whole me writing lyrics thing?

LR: I didn’t like it, no.  It was a real tricky one, yeah, I think that was a big part of almost splitting up and “The Secret of Letting Go,” actually, was about lyric writing and stuff.

Through conflict comes the bliss of Lamb’s The Secret of Letting Go We counsel Andy Barlow and Lou Rhodes of Lamb in the Echoes Podcast.

Singer Rachel Eckroth Gets Weird in Echoes Podcast

In the Echoes Podcast, we discover the beautiful and edgy dream pop of  Rachel Eckroth. She started out as a jazz pianist but then came a transformation into singer-songwriter and then electronic dream pop which is where she’s at on her latest album. When It Falls.  Along the way, she’s also supported musicians like Rufus Wainwright and Chris Botti. Rachel thinks she’s bringing the “weird” notes into pop. We talk to Rachel Eckroth about getting weird on Echoes.

Alternative Electro-rocker UNKLE Walks Down The Road Trilogy

In the Echoes Podcast, UNKLE’s James Lavelle talks about a journey that started at the dawn of trip-hop. He is working on a trilogy of albums called The Road and has just released the second volume, The Road Part II: Lost Highway. It  explores dark themes of drugs, loss and rebirth, with some of his best music in years. We probe UNKLE in the Echoes Podcast.

Electronic Composer Kevin Keller Goes Retro-Space in Echoes Podcast

In the Echoes Podcast, ambient chamber music composer Kevin Keller talks about going back to his roots to compose the retro-electronic sound of his latest album, Ice Worlds. It was the Echoes CD of the Month in March. It’s a beautiful album of effervescent electronic music with retro-futurist sound design and beautiful, kinetic baroque melodies. We bundle up to talk with Kevin Keller about “Ice Worlds” on Echoes.

Echoes' Big Hits of Big Ears Festival 2019

Comet is Coming: Betamax-Danalogue-King Shabaka-Photo: Jeff Towne

Echoes’ John Diliberto spent four days in immersion of music from the edges at the Big Ears Festival 2019, taking place in Knoxville, TN the weekend of March 21-24.  He saw 24 concerts in four days, ranging from the ambient chamber music of Harold Budd, to the screaming electric guitar mutilations of David Torn, and the raucous space jazz of The Comet is Coming. In the Echoes Podcast, John takes an audio romp through some of his favorites. You can read a more extensive review here;

Podcast Discography

Matthias Eick – Family – Ravensburg

Primer Travels Back in Electro-Pop Time

In the Echoes Podcast, we trip in time with Primer and we remember Gert Van Santens of Wave World.

Primer is the prep coating of paint. It’s also a textbook. And it’s the name chosen by Alyssa Midcalf, a Detroit based artist for her stripped down electronic pop. It comes from an obscure but compelling movie about time travel. She explores dark terrain and a cover of a Beach Boys song on her debut album, Novelty.

Wave World at The Gatherings 2012

Then we remember Gert Van Santens of the Dutch electronic/multi-media trio Wave World. This group created their own sci-fi fantasy complete with its own language and turned it into roaring, sequencer forays. They performed on Echoes in 2001.  Gert Van Santens took his final ride to Wave World last week. We go back to a great interview with them from their 2001 American tour.

Saul Stokes Talks Electronic Expansion in Echoes Podcast

He used to make his own electronic instruments and when he plays live, he doesn’t use any computers. That’s a few of the things that make Saul Stokes a unique musician on the electronic scene. Kevin Keller, who has the March CD of the Month, said “I think he’s a total genius. I mean that guy is so amazing.” Saul Stokes comes in to talk with us about a different mode of electronic music making heard on his latest album, Expansion,  in the Echoes Podcast.

Yagull's Intimate Requiem in Echoes Podcast

Coming up on Echoes we talk to Yagull, the husband and wife duo of guitarist Sasha Markovic from Serbia and pianist Kana Kamitsubo from Japan. Together, they’ve created a beautiful requiem album of loss called Yuna. We talk to Yagull on Echoes.