Very rad conversation with all around excellent dude and main man of The Modern Folk, Josh Moss. Remarkably prolific, immeasurably active in the scene, and a seriously deep thinker without the veil of pretentiousness, it's certainly a conversation that is worth your time to check out.

We talk about musical exploration, and the constant evolution and experimentation of the Modern Folk and its numerous iterations, as well as Josh's musical history with roots in Appalachia, and now as a well established mainstay of the Portland, OR underground. This musical voyage is inextricably tied to Josh's love of recording, starting with recording his teenage punk band (which, amazingly, is available on bandcamp - link in episode description), and the undeniable magic of creating a physical object which holds the music you have created. I mean, that's a feeling I struggle to explain, but Josh articulates it beautifully here.

One of my favourite topics is also touched upon, which is the question of what is folk music? Josh has some really solid thoughts in this respect, and also checks me back into gear (in the most kind and diplomatic way possible, with some cold hard insights) when I start my slandering off the folk purists.

Again, the conversation lands on themes of participation and building a community around, and ultimately transcending, the music itself, and Josh is a real example to those of us who find ourselves becoming too insular and focusing on our own creative output. The man has run blogs, written for various websites, recorded countless shows and other artists' music on their behalf, coordinated compilations, put together shows, played on other peoples' songs and albums, and is constantly contributing to something bigger than his own personal musical explorations. And then on top of that there is the Modern Folk's insanely prolific output!

We are lucky to live in a world with J Moss <3

Enjoy the episode!