Transmissions

Welcome to the March edition of the Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions podcast, our monthly collection of audio esoterica and conversations—superbloom edition. We’ve got a pretty interesting collection of talks this month.

First up, actor, writer, and covert ethnomusicologist Jason Mantzoukas joins co-host Jason P. Woodbury at Gold Diggers Sound in East Hollywood to discuss the ways improv comedy and jazz inform his work on shows like The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Big Mouth, and Parks and Recreation.

Then, an audio version of the postscript Josh Neas wrote for the late Sara Romweber, who passed away earlier this month at 55. As a member of Let’s Active, Romweber was a pivotal part of the Chapel Hill indie rock scene—as a North Carolinian, Josh brought his ground-level view to her legacy and impact on the world of independent rock & roll.

And finally, we join Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker of Low at the Valley Bar in downtown Phoenix, to discuss the band’s 12th album, Double Negative, a noisy, some times claustrophobic look at our present moment. Perhaps no record has more accurately captured the confusion and tension of the current digital and societal moment.

Greetings from the rainy west. Welcome to the February episode of the Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions podcast. This episode, we’ve got a duo of musicians whose art blurs the lines between minimalism, the avant-garde, and Americana (whatever that word means in this fractured age). This episode, we’re joined by guitarist William Tyler. You might recognize him from our podcast’s theme song, “Four Corners,” or the essay he recently penned for Aquarium Drunkard, “Cosmic Pastoral,” which drew lines connecting the tranquil sounds of Windham Hill to cosmic new age, the modern jazz and classical sounds of ECM, and William’s own music. Your host Justin Gage sat down with him at Gold Diggers in East Hollywood as part of our recurring Talk Show series, to discuss and hear live selections from his most new record, Goes West.

But first, we head to Wickenburg, Arizona where Jason P. Woodbury sat down with Bruce Hornsby to discuss his brand new, just announced album, Absolute Zero. It’s out April 12th, and like everything he does, it’s hard to put it in a box. Self-produced, the record features collaborations with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Brad Cook, ECM veteran Jack DeJohnette, guitarist Blake Mills, yMusic, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, and others. There are moments inspired by jazz, others inspired by classical, some which draw on Hornsby’s folk and roots influences.

The owls are not what they seem. In fact, maybe nothing is exactly what it seems. Welcome to the January 2019 edition of Aquarium Drunkard’s Transmissions podcast, our monthly audio digest of the strange, fascinating, and out there. In this episode— the first of the new year—your hosts Justin Gage and Jason P. Woodbury pay a visit to the Washington town of Twin Peaks, with a conversation about the cult TV show, its many mysteries, and its 2017 revival. Then, a talk with guitarist North Carolina-based guitarist Sarah Louise, whose beguiling new record, Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars, will see release this week via Thrill Jockey Records. To close, Desert Oracle creator and editor Ken Layne joins us to discuss the cosmic vastness of the desert, and of course, Oumuamua, the first interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System. Does it signal the arrival of some faraway intelligence? What does it say about the unknown? And more pressingly, what does it say about our collective imagination?

When David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks premiered on CBS in 1990, there was nothing like it. The saga, which veered from comedy to psychic drama to cosmic horror, sometimes within the same episode, hailed the beginning of an era during which television would become a format fit for auteurs. While it only ran two seasons—plus a film, Fire Walk With Me, released in 1992—the mythology it established proved an enduring one, the subject of spinoff books, audio tapes, and discussion in secretive corners of the newly established World Wide Web. In 2017, Lynch and Frost finally made another trip with Twin Peaks: The Return, a meditation on age, trauma, and possibilities. Here, co-hosts Justin Gage and Jason P. Woodbury discuss the show’s influence and impact, on the world of television, fiction, and music.

On January 25, guitarist Sarah Louise returns with Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars, a spectral collection of electronically-treated guitar music. Louise is rooted in Appalachian roots music, but her approach is not restrained, folding in elements of spiritual jazz and new age. Most of all, her music is situated in the concept of wilderness. These are ecological compositions, born from the soil and inspired by the flora and fauna of North Carolina. Nature is really the one continuous thread in my life,” Louise says, and with this record, “[I’ve realized] this is my life’s purpose: I want to share the possibility of connection with the Earth with other people.”

Just as 2018 ended, author Ken Layne published an article on Popula titled “Happy Year of the Alien Invasion!” Layne is the host of Desert Oracle, a weekly radio show and podcast as well as a pocket-sized field guide to the American Southwest. He’s interested in the idea of extraterrestrial life. We hooked up with him to discuss Oumuamua, the subject of his article as well as the idea of the desert as sort of a spiritual beacon for seekers and people interested in the unknown. “Lawrence of Arabia had this great answer for the inevitable question you’d get in England, you know: ‘Why do you love the desert so much?’ His answer was, ‘Because it’s clean.’ It’s a very heavy answer,” Layne says. “It’s this kind of stark landscape that you can project yourself upon…”

Episode Playlist: William Tyler – Four Corners ++ Angelo Badalamenti  – Dance of the Dream Man ++ Angelo Badalamenti – Montage from Fire Walk With Me ++ Angelo Badalamenti – Freshly Squeezed ++ Julee Cruise – Floating ++ Julee Cruise – Mysteries of Love ++ Angelo Badalamenti – Night Life in Twin Peaks (excerpt) ++ Angelo Badalamenti – The Pink Room ++ Julee Cruise -Into the Night ++ Angelo Badalamenti – Audrey’s Dance ++ Angelo Badalamenti – Don’t Do Anything I Wouldn’t Do ++ Angelo Badalamenti — Love Theme From Twin Peaks ++ Angelo Badalamenti – Laura Palmer’s Theme ++ Thought Gang – The Black Dog Runs at Night ++ Sarah Louise – Daybreak ++ Sarah Louise -Journey in Satchidananda (Alice Coltrane) ++ Sarah Louise – Floating Rhododendron ++ Sarah Louise – Late Night Healing Choir ++ Alice Coltrane – Hara Sira ++ Sarah Louise – R Mountain ++ Mary Lattimore – Remember When Your Mom Wore Big Glasses and Played Her Harp

Dip into this nog. Welcome to the December edition of the Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions podcast. We just published our massive and overstuffed Year in Review feature, and to celebrate, members of the AD crew —including your hosts, Justin Gage and Jason P. Woodbury, plus Tyler Wilcox and Marty Sartini Garner, to discuss the year in music. Touched on: some of our favorite albums, essential reissues and archival sets, and what music the AD team is planning on spending time with in the new year.

Then, Aquarium Drunkard veteran Joe Crosby cozies up by the proverbial hearth to discuss A Charlie Brown Christmas, a 1965 special based on Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts characters. Featuring the music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio, it’s not only a hallmark of the season, but a truly radical exploration of spiritual authenticity. In a world of cheap glitz, it remains a work of genuine, heartfelt art.

Welcome to the November edition of the Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions podcast. It's nearly the end of the year, and we're looking back on 2018's Lagniappe Sessions. Launched in 2011, the Lagniappe Sessions is an audio series that features artists covering songs that mean something to them.

Hailed as "an amazing deep cut creation factory" by Jesse Jarnow, author of  Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America and Wasn’t That A Time: The Weavers, the Blacklist, and the Battle for the Soul of America, the series is one of the most popular elements of Aquarium Drunkard. This episode, we discuss sessions by the Mountain Goats, Kevin Morby, the Raccoonists (Jeff, Spencer, and Sammy Tweedy), Mountain Man, Sarah Louise, and many more. Then, Aquarium Drunkard's Jason P. Woodbury speaks with Lola Kirke. The Mozart in the Jungle and Gemini star just released a new Christmas single, "Cross You Off My List/Little Drummer Girl."

And rounding things out: an interview with CAN founder ç. A pivotal figure in the world of experimental music, Schmidt recently co-authored a book with Rob Young, All Gates Open: The Story of CAN, and he's got a new album out of minimalist piano pieces, 5 Klavierstücke. Aquarium Drunkard contributor Kyle MacKinnel brings us a talk that finds Schmidt reflecting on his creative process and modern sounds by the Wu-Tang Clan. 

Happy Halloween and welcome to the October edition of the Transmissions podcast. Hope you enjoyed our bonus podcast episode, featuring AD’s Halloween mix. If you haven’t heard it, check your feed or MixCloud. It’s essential listening. Our topics today aren’t quite as spooky, but they’re good nonetheless. First, Kurt Vile. Earlier this month he released his seventh lp, the beatific Bottle It In via Matador Records. He swung by the AD HQ to sit down with Justin and discuss the new record, recording with Dean Ween of Ween, the influence of Sonic Youth, working with Kim Gordon, and how collaborating with his “sister” Courtney Barnett helped shape the new album. The edited version of our talk is up now, but here’s the full spiel, uncut and undiluted. Then, we’re dive into the ECM Records vaults to discuss the first installment of the AD guide to the long-running jazz, classical, and experimental music label. And finally, we sit down with Aquarium Drunkard contributor Jay Steel of General General to discuss his label and Vinyl Me Please’s recent reissue of New Orleans pianist James Booker’s Lost Paramount Tapes.

We’re back. The weather is beginning to turn. We’re almost there. Welcome to the September edition of the Transmissions podcast. On this episode, we sit down with three legends of independent music: psychedelic singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, Giant Sand leader Howe Gelb, and Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate. Since emerging in the ‘80s, they’ve amassed incredible catalogs, and they’re all still making vital and poetic records. We spoke earlier this month at HOCO Fest, a multi-day festival in Tucson, Arizona. Sitting down at the KXCI studio at Hotel Congress, the three riffed on their years making music, how their sounds have evolved over the years, and what a lifelong commitment to making art looks like. But first, our conversation with Matt Sullivan of Light in the Attic Records, one of our longtime favorite reissue labels. We spoke live at Gold Diggers in East Hollywood as part of our Talk Show series – a set of live conversations centered around the worlds of music, art, film and beyond. LITA has released records by Rodriguez, Betty Davis, Lee Hazlewood, Jim Sullivan, Serge Gainsbourg, and has launched expansive archives like the Native North America and Japan Archival projects. How did Light in the Attic get started? Live on stage at Gold Diggers, Sullivan explained it all.

Welcome to the August edition of the Transmissions podcast, just under the wire. We’ve got a great episode this month. First, Aquarium Drunkard’s Mary Sartini Garner sits down with Nate Chinen, author of a new book, Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century. A longtime New York Times critic and scholar, Chinen’s new book explores the shape of modern jazz, examining how the art form has incorporated new genres, how jazz education has shaped a new generation of players, and where jazz is headed.

Then, hosts Jason P. Woodbury and Justin Gage discuss Justin’s experiences in Japan’s kissa bars — small, intimate bars/coffeehouses where the music selection isn’t just incidental — it’s essential to the identity of the place. The concept is gaining traction in the US as well, so we ponder what makes such a dedicated listening space so appealing. Then, Jason sits down with visual artist and musician Kyle Field. For 20 years, he’s played under the Little Wings banner. He’s got a new split 12” out now with Maher Shalal Hash Baz, which we discussed, along with a look at his history and what life on the road looks like for a DIY artist in 2018.

Humid funk out there, but we’re keeping cool. You are tuned into the July edition of the Aquarium Drunkard transmissions podcast, our monthly series of features interviews, and audio esoterica. On this episode, Justin Gage sits down with crate digger and producer Yosuke Kitazawa, to discuss Light in the Attic Records’ Japan Archival reissue series, which kicked off last year with the essential rock/folk/and pop compilation Even a Tree Can Shed Tears, picks up next month with a grip of Haruomi Honsono reissues, and will eventually feature Japanese new age, AOR, ambient, and electronic music.

Then, we crack the spine on author Jason Heller’s new book, Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded. Focusing on the 1970s, Heller explores the myriad ways science fiction influenced music across genre lines, from the rock of Bowie to the cosmic jazz of Sun Ra, and examines the changing ways we continue to conceive ideas about “the future.” But first, Gage and co-host Jason P. Woodbury sit down to reflect on the passing of Richard Swift. A prolific producer and sideman—known for his work with Damien Jurado, the Shins, the Black Keys/Dan Auerbach, Laetitia Sadier, Foxygen, David Bazan, the Pretenders, Starflyer 59, Kevin Morby, and countless more—Swift also proved himself one of the most idiosyncratic voices in indie rock on his own solo LPs. Recorded at the beginning of the month, just after the news had broken, the talk focuses on his legacy, history, of course, his songs.

Last year, Los Angeles-based label Light in the Attic issued the first installment in its sprawling Japan Archive series, Even a Tree Can Shed Tears: Japanese Folk & Rock 1969-1973. “In compiling these artists, the compilation shares the output of a national scene and time, as well as the struggles and triumphs of a generation that forged its own identity and opened their collective minds, and culture, to new forms of expression,” wrote our own Ben Kramer, reviewing the set. The compilation signaled the start of an ambitious project spanning the music of Japan, featuring everything from Japanese rock & roll to new age. For this episode of the podcast, Justin sat down with producer Yosuke Kitazawa to discuss what’s to come.

Early in July, word broke that Richard Swift had passed. A beloved musician and artist, Swift’s history with Aquarium Drunkard is extensive. In addition to posting his collection of covers with Damien Jurado, Other People’s Songs, here on the site, Swift was responsible for one of our all-time favorite mixes, Playing Dumb, sourced from 45s at his National Freedom studios. Swift was an American original, and we’re deeply saddened by his loss. On the off-chance you’re unfamiliar, we put together a playlist featuring some of our favorite cuts from his solo work, Richard Swift: Try To Write a Book Each Time I Speak. In addition to this talk, it’s our tribute to Swift. Godspeed, Dickie.

Author Jason Heller exists with one foot in science fiction, one in the world of music. In his new book, Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded, he unites them. Focusing on the 1970s and featuring a wide cast of characters including David Bowie, Samuel Delany, Sun Ra, George Clinton, Hawkwind, Michael Moorcock, Michael Jackson, and dozens and dozens more, the book posits that science fiction helped give musicians a framework for some of their most forward ideas. The stars looked very different, and the continue to shine in fascinating ways.

If you enjoyed our show, please feel free rate and review on Apple Podcasts. Even better? You can personally tell a friend to check it out — by sharing the show via Spotify, Stitcher, MixCloud, or the TuneIn app. As always, tune into the weekly two-hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, which can now be heard every Wednesday at 7pm PST with encore broadcasts on-demand via the SIRIUS/XM app. Follow AD on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.

Collage image by Michael J. Hentz.

Dig into the podcast archives, which include in-depth looks at the Voyager Golden Record and the Jesus People psychedelia movement, Laraaji’s new age public access show Celestrana, how Numero Group revitalized the natural sound series Environments for the app age, and how Art Bell’s late night conspiracy theories on Coast to Coast AM influenced broadcasters all over the world.

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And we’re back. Welcome to the May edition of the Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions podcast, our recurring series of conversations and audio esoterica. On this program, we’re joined by singer/songwriter Gillian Welch. Along with her partner David Rawlings, Welch has tapped into the wellspring of American vernacular music. Her albums — including 2001’s Time (The Revelator) and 2011’s The Harrow & the Harvest — are part of one of the strongest bodies of work in modern folk music. Welch is about to hit the road with Rawlings, embarking on a series of “An Evening With” dates June through October, and this summer sees the vinyl reissue of her 2003 LP Soul Journey. We spoke to Welch via phone about her attention to the long player, album-length statement.

Then, we have a review of the release by the Shinya Fukumori Trio, For 2 Akis by writer and head of Footfalls Records Leah Toth; released by the stalwart ECM label, the new release unites players from France, Germany, and Japan for a quiet, but subtly immersive new album, produced by ECM head Manfred Eicher.

And we close out this month’s episode with a conversation recorded live backstage with Marisa Anderson. She’s one of the most engaging solo guitarists in the field today, blending blues, folk, and country forms into political and personal statements. On June 15, she releases her debut for Thrill Jockey Records, Cloud Corner. A meditative and peaceful record, the record serves as a respite from the constant noise of our modern times. We spoke with Anderson about the need for those kinds of musical spaces, the influence of science fiction on her work, and her subversive reinterpretation of traditional and public domain music.