Back in 2022, songwriter Lincoln Barr got in touch, writing a personal note in which he expressed an appreciation for what we do here at Aquarium Drunkard. "Listening to the topics that come up in your conversations, I can't help but recognize a kindred spirit out there in the desert.” Since then, Barr and Transmissions host Jason P. Woodbury have gone back and forth via email, discussing spirituality, art, poetry, Ireland, Sinéad O'Connor, NRBQ, psychedelia, personal work, and much more. And no...
Aug 09, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 8Ep. 29
Sunburned Hand of the Man is a long-running, free-form band from Massachusetts. They record everything, and their discography has over 200 entries. Membership is fluid, at times determined simply by whoever joins in the jam. One time they started to design a deck of cards where each card had a band member… but there were so many people they would have ended up with a full hand of jokers. There are no rules other than the unspoken rule that nobody tells anyone else what to do. Despite this swirli...
Aug 07, 2023•3 min
Hataaliinez Wheeler grew up in Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the Navajo Nation. And though he’s just recently released his Dangerbird Records debut, Singing Into Darkness , he’s spent the last few years creating as much art as he can—recording music, making lo-fi videos, and writing poetry. Sunbaked and sly, the new album is full of strange grooves and quixotic lyrics, and a sound that borrows from country, surf, indie rock, and shoegaze. We first heard Hataałii through Michael Klausman, ...
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 8Ep. 28
Welcome back to another episode of Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions, so glad to have you with us. A major inspiration for us in the podcast zone is media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, host of the Team Human podcast. As our digital age gets stranger, more fractured, and harder to parse, we find his humanist, consciousness-centered approach very helpful. One of the things he’s known for saying is “Look for the others”—the others who grok your worldview, whose enthusiasms and obsessions mirror your own...
Jul 26, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Season 8Ep. 27
It's the thick of the summer, which means your Transmissions correspondents are spending as much time in cool dark spaces as possible. One record that particularly suits the mood in our summer bunker hideaway is Gia Margaret's Romantic Piano . Though Margaret's 2018 debut, There’s Always Glimmer , was the striking work of a singer/songwriter, when medical issues put a strain on her voice, she turned to instrumental music, first with her ambient leaning self-titled 2020 album, and now Romantic Pi...
Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 8Ep. 26
In “Lies and Distortion,” the opening essay of his book Unstrung: Rants And Stories Of a Noise Guitarist , Marc Ribot writes: “We seem to love broken voices in general: vocal cords eroded by whiskey and screaming, the junked-out weakness of certain horn players, distortion which signifies surpassing the capabilities of a tube or a speaker—voices that damage, but (at least in performance) don’t actually die…Was this always true? I don’t know.” In a way, that speaks to Ribot’s own playing, on his ...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 8Ep. 25
While Black Lips have matured and grown since forming in 1999, the Atlanta-based garage band haven’t "settled down." Case in point is Apocalypse Love , the group’s 10th album, released last year on Fire Records. Incorporating gospel and country influences, it’s as strange and exciting as the band’s early work, but it also showcases a new depth to the band. Today on Transmissions, Black Lip Jared Swilley joins us to discuss his pentecostal roots, his minister father coming out of the closet, the ...
Jul 05, 2023•53 min•Season 8Ep. 24
This week on the show, we’re joined by London-based singer/songwriter David John Morris. Perhaps you know him for his work with folk rock band Red River Dialect , but for this talk, we mostly speak about his latest two solo albums, 2021’s Monastic Love Songs and 2022’s Wyld Love Songs , on which, to quote Aquarium Drunkard's Tyler Wilcox, balances "sacred and profane concerns, finding moments of welcome humor amidst more spiritual matters." He joined us to discuss his time in a Buddhist monaster...
Jun 28, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Season 8Ep. 24
Writing about The Modern Folk’s Modern Folk One in our AD 2022 Year in Review , we called it, “A blend of field recordings, astral zones, freak outs, leisurely jams, and rustique concrète from the ever-prolific Josh Moss.” That gives you a little sense of the kind of music Moss creates with his ultra-prolific recording project. Head over to his Bandcamp and you'll find dozens and dozens of releases. Moss is such an inspiring creator, completely beholden to doing his own thing explicitly, so natu...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 8Ep. 23
Welcome to Transmissions. The name Bruce Licher commands respect in the underground world of independent rock. As musician and letterpress artist with Independent Project Press , he’s created art and bespoke album packaging for artists like R.E.M., Stereolab, Camper Van Beethoven, and more, and created music with post-punk combo Savage Republic, instrumental rock pioneers Scenic, and other projects. In 2020, he reactivated his Independent Project label, which he originally founded in 1980. On th...
Jun 14, 2023•56 min•Season 8Ep. 22
This week on Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions: ambient country trio Suss. On their own, Suss members Jonathan Gregg, Bob Holmes, and Pat Irwin have been involved in musical projects, with artists like k.d. Lang, the B-52s, John Cale, David Bowie, Norah Jones, the War on Drugs and Wilco—Irwin even contributed music to Nickelodeon's Rocko’s Modern Life. Since 2018, they—along with the their departed bandmate, the late cartoonist and musician Gary Lieb—have created spectral, moody soundscapes they’v...
Jun 07, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 8Ep. 21
Today on the show, we’re joined by Allyson McCabe, author of the new book: Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters. McCabe is a writer, broadcaster and producer, whose work has appeared in the New York Times, BBC Culture, Wired and on NPR. Writing about the book for an installment of Aquarium Drunkard Book Club , JJ Toth of Wooden Wand states, “Though McCabe’s impassioned defense of O’Connor in the wake of her many controversies is both heartfelt and persuasive, Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters is no hagiography...
May 31, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 8Ep. 20
We're pleased to welcome Alex Pappademas and artist Joan LeMay on today's episode. Together, they have created a tremendous and deeply entertaining new book about one of Aquarium Drunkard's favorite bands: Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors From The Songs of Steely Dan. The Danaissance is in full swing, and in Quantum Criminals , Pappademas writes that Steely Dan is the most 2020s of ‘70s bands. But what makes the book so great is its sidewise angle into the sit...
May 24, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 8Ep. 19
Our guest this week is mystic poet, writer, publisher, and performance artist Janaka Stucky, who’s been hailed as “extraordinary" and "riveting” by no less an occult authority than Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. We were first introduced to Stucky through his work with Third Man Books, the literary division of Jack White’s Third Man empire, which released his 2015 collection The Truth is We Are Perfect and 2019’s epic poem, Ascend, Ascend . Rooted in horrific imagery and Kabbalistic prose and writte...
May 17, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 8Ep. 18
Today on Transmissions: Vashti Bunyan. Though her 1970 Joy Boyd-produced Just Another Diamond Day album was barely heard upon original release, its rediscovery by key members of the burgeoning freak folk scene in the mid-2000s helped make it a cult classic, a tender work of imagination and melody. Recently, Bunyan published her first book, Wayward: Just Another Life . It charts her youth in the orbit of the Rolling Stones, her musical and mental struggles, and details the horse-drawn cart journe...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 8Ep. 17
This week on Transmissions, Jesse Sheppard and Drew Gardner, the psychedelic folk duo Elkhorn. Their new album, On the Universe In All Directions , finds Jesse once again at his familiar 12-string acoustic guitar, but instead of Drew joining with his trademark Telecaster, he’s moved over to vibraphone and drums for this outing. Have no fear: the familiar Elkhorn magic is here in spades, but in brand new ways. The songs were born out of collaboration with New York consciousness group Psychedelic ...
May 03, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 8Ep. 16
This week on Transmissions, we’re joined by writer and musician Jana Horn. Her new album The Window is the Dream is out now on No Quarter Records. Writing about it, Andy French at Raven Sings The Blues calls it a “delicate exfoliation of dream and reality.” When she’s not penning oracular folk rock songs, Horn teaches fiction at the University of Virginia and writes short fiction. The Window is the Dream is a gem. It follows Optimism , which contains a song called “Jordan." Sometimes a song sugg...
Apr 26, 2023•51 min•Season 8Ep. 15
This week on Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions: spiritual avant-garde jazz keyboardist Surya Botofasina. His new album is called Everyone’s Children and it was created in collaboration with previous Transmissions guest Carlos Niño , members of Botofasina's family, and other collaborators. Listening to his blissful synth meditations, listeners are treated to an open, cosmically vulnerable sound. This spiritual approach comes naturally to Botofasina. He grew up at Alice Coltrane’s Sai Anantam Ashram...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Season 8Ep. 14
In 1992, Eddie Chacon broke out as one-half of Charles & Eddie, his soul music duo with Charles Pettigrew. Their single "Would I Lie to You?” was a major international hit. Chacon was just a kid growing up in Castro Valley, California, when he decided he would be a music star. Before meeting Pettigrew, Eddie had played in a teenage band with Cliff Burton and Mike Bordin, later of Metallica and Faith No More. He had an alliance with Luther Campbell of the infamous 2 Live Crew, worked with the...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 8Ep. 13
Of all the ways to discover a song, there are few more inviting and experiential than driving down a desert highway and hearing something come in over the radio—a real life transmission. That was the case for host Jason P. Woodbury driving to Tucson, Arizona, in 2022, when “Puedas Decir De Mi,” by Adrian Quesada featuring Gaby Moreno came over the airwaves of KCXI Tucson community radio. Quesada is best known as one-half of The Black Pumas, his duo with singer/songwriter Eric Burton. But Quesada...
Apr 05, 2023•59 min•Season 8Ep. 12
This week on Transmissions, we’re talking past selves with Sharon Van Etten, who’s recently released an anniversary edition of her landmark 2012 album Tramp . Raw, personal, and born from personal upheaval, it's a gleaming example of what makes her songcraft so resonant. Something kind of unexpected happened when Transmissions host Jason P. Woodbury revisited Tramp , which was produced by future Taylor Swift producer and National member Aaron Dessner and signaled a breakout moment for Van Etten....
Mar 29, 2023•52 min•Season 8Ep. 11
Today on the show—two British Invasion legends: Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of The Zombies. The band formed in the early ‘60s in St Albans, and remarkably, they are still out on the road and making new music. The band’s new album is called Different Game , and it’s out on Cooking Vinyl Records on March 31st. The album is being released in advance of a new feature documentary as well, called Hung Up On A Dream , directed by musician and filmmaker Robert Schwartzman in collaboration with Tom Ha...
Mar 22, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 10
Today on Transmissions, we’re joined by Saskatchewan-born songwriter Andy Shauf to discuss getting sober, God, and how these big topics relate to his latest album of introspective folk pop, Norm . Fans of his ‘70s-styled songcraft will still find lots to love here, but as we discuss, the production is deeply rooted in modern experimentation and the anything goes sonic possibilities of digital recording: “I like the way that records transport you. It doesn’t mean you have to listen to a record an...
Mar 15, 2023•58 min•Season 8Ep. 9
To quote album art master and AD visual guru D. Norsen : “Dorothy Moskowitz might not be a household name but was a musician on two of the headiest albums I know: 1967's Vocal And Instrumental Ragas From South India on Folkways and 1968's United States of America on CBS.” Moskowitz is our guest this week on Transmissions. She joins us to discuss not only the pioneering psychedelia she made in the past with collaborators like Joe Byrd and Country Joe, but also her brand new album, coming out soon...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 8Ep. 8
This week on the show, a conversation with Philip Selway. You might know him best as the drummer of Radiohead, but he’s moved deeper and deeper in the last 13 years. His latest is called Strange Dance , and it’s out now on Bella Union. It’s a sweeping and textural listen, envisioned by its creator as something like a "Carole King record meets Daphne Oram." We caught up with Phil to dig in. Along the way, we discuss his songwriting approach, explore why he decided to not play drums on this new ou...
Mar 01, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 8Ep. 7
This week on Transmissions, we’re settling in for a tremendous conversation with Jason Stern and Don Fleming of the Lou Reed Archive . A decade on from his passing in 2013, Lou Reed's work remains as vital as ever, thanks in no small part to the efforts of people like Jason and Don. Working together with Laurie Anderson, they’ve helped bring a number of projects into existence, including the New York Public Library’s Caught Between the Twisted Stars exhibit, which runs through March 4th, and las...
Feb 22, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 8Ep. 6
We’re hanging out with Mac DeMarco this week on Transmissions. For the last decade plus, he’s been a reliable source for laid back DIY music—a post-indie sleaze crooner with a warped sense of humor and charm. His latest album forgoes lyrics in favor of instrumentals. It’s called Five Easy Hot Dogs and it came about as the result of series of recording sessions Mac underwent while on a road trip. Cruising around with a fan full of gear and a head full of ideas, DeMarco let the songs flow and name...
Feb 15, 2023•57 min•Season 8Ep. 5
This week on Transmissions, a revelatory talk with Max Turnbull of Badge Époque Ensemble. Last year, BEE released two great projects: the remix album Clouds of Joy: Chance of Reign , a collaboration with producer Lammping and rappers like Boldy James, THE03, and others, and the magisterial Clouds of Joy , which landed on the Aquarium Drunkard Year in Review best of the year list. A stirring blend of jazz, choral music, prog, funk, R&B, and indie rock, it’s a layered and dynamic creation. Whe...
Feb 08, 2023•1 hr•Season 8Ep. 4
This week on Transmissions: Nina Persson and James Yorkston join host Jason P. Woodbury to discuss The Great White Sea Eagle , their low key and homey collection of folk rock. Created in collaboration with the Second Hand Orchestra, it’s saturated with soul and kind wit. Calling in from their respective places in Sweden and Scotland, Persson and Yorkston joined us to discuss how the improvisatory album came together, and from there, we explore a bevy of interesting topics, including run-ins with...
Feb 01, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 8Ep. 3
We're joined this week by James McNew of Yo La Tengo and Dump. For decades now, he’s been a prolific source of engaged independent rock music—the kind we like here at Aquarium Drunkard. As past work like I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass proves, YLT are masters of a great sardonic album title, and on February 10th, the band continues that tradition with its 16th album, This Stupid World. When McNew and host Jason P. Woodbury connected, Yo La Tengo had recently finished its annual H...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 8Ep. 2
