Soundcheck

Hear the pedal steel fireworks in the gospel-rooted soul of Robert Randolph & The Family Band, taking the pedal steel where it has seldom been heard before - live in the studio.

The Reverend Osagyefo Sekou draws from a deep well of American music on his new album, called In Times Like These. He and The Sealbreakers play some of the tunes live in the studio.

Hear the playful strangeness and mystery of Mexico City's arena rockers Café Tacvba, with music from their first record in five years, Jei Beibi. They join us live in the studio. 

Grammy-winning Beninese diva Angélique Kidjo gives a preview of her reinterpretation of Talking Heads' classic 1980 album, Remain in Light, with an all-star band, live in the studio. 

Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi came to prominence through her protest songs. On Emel's new 'Ensen,' she pairs electronica & traditional instruments. She joins us in the studio. 

The film world is rightly mourning the loss of Jonathan Demme earlier today. But the music world will miss him, too. Most filmmakers are keenly attuned to music — it is, after all, such an important part of the overall experience of a movie. But Jonathan Demme was one of the most enthusiastic listeners I have ever known. And if his enthusiasm was aroused, so too were his cinematic skills. Most people know that he created one of the great live concert films in Stop Making Sense, with Talking Heads. And any Neil Young fan will know that Jonathan did no fewer than three films over the years about the mercurial singer and songwriter.

But he also did a documentary in Naples about the musician named Enzo Avitabile, simply because he heard some of Enzo’s strange, deeply rooted Neapolitan folk music on my nightly New Sounds program while driving to his upstate home and wanted to know more about it. (You can hear that interview above)

Jonathan liked lots of music — from the well-known to the obscure, from the sublime to the subterranean. Think of the extraordinary songs written by Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young for the film Philadelphia ... a film that featured a good helping of Mozart, as well. Then recall his brilliant, unsettling use of underground rock acts like Savage Republic and Colin Newman in Silence of the Lambs. You don’t need me to tell you how great these movies are. I’m just saying that his irrepressible, inexhaustible love of music helped make those films the landmarks they’ve become. And that there is a JD-sized hole in our music community today.

Musician, eco-activist, and actress Sheryl Crow is back with her ninth release, Be Myself, and she’s here to play some of them for us live in the WNYC studio.

The New Pornographers are a supergroup of sorts, with songwriter & vocalist Carl Newman as one of the constants. He & some of the band talk about the latest, Whiteout Conditions.

Swedish psychedelic rock outfit Dungen join us in the studio to play instrumentals from their recent score to the silent film The Adventures of Prince Achmed, and other tunes. 

Lookman Adekunle Salami goes by L.A. Salami and he’s a Londoner whose music blends folk, blues, and beat poetry. He joins us to play some of his old-timey songs, live in the studio.