Bex Burch :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

On her International Anthem debut There is only love and fear, xylophonist Bex Burch creates a world of sound that jumps between jazz loops, found sound, ambient soundscapes, and propulsive, rhythmic “messy minimalism.” But those individual components equal something more than the sum of their parts. Burch joins us to discuss the choice between love and fear, her “messy minimalism,” and welcoming the sounds of nature into her record—and realizing that her record was in and of itself a natural sound: “I am part of nature singing my song.”

Beirut :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

For Zach Condon, the music is a record of the transformative period he spent near the Arctic circle. He explains, “The whole album was supposed to sound like that place. The drums sounding like the outside elements and then the organ in the middle being like the warm fireplace that you get to sit by that keeps you warm through these harsh moments.”

Daniel Villarreal :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

We recently caught up with Daniel Villarreal backstage before his show at Yoshi’s in Oakland. His new album, Lados B, came out last month on International Anthem — its nine tracks drawn from sessions from his first album, Panama ‘77, a tribute to his homeland. A truly epic trio of Villarreal, guitarist Jeff Parker, and bassist Anna Butterss improvise around compositions originated by Villarreal, mostly live with minimal overdubbing.

PAINT :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Pedrum Siadatian has been on a tear in 2023, creating and releasing two albums that speak to his continued artistic stretching: Zuma 85, which finds Allah-Las, the California rock band he founded with his collaborators in 2008. exploring shambolic and rhythmically dynamic art rock; and Loss For Words, a mostly instrumental jammer by his solo project PAINT. He joins us to discuss kosmische sounds, musical production, and the perils of DIY.

Bill Million (The Feelies) on The Velvet Underground

Cut live at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City in October 2018, The Feelies Some Kinda Love: Performing the Music of the Velvet Underground, is a full-throated homage to one of the indie pioneers’ foundational influences. Founding Feelie Bill Million joins us for an all-things-Velvets chat, with digressions into The Beatles, The Willies, future plans, and more.

Morton Subotnick :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick has achieved more in his 90 years than could be covered in days of conversation — from the San Francisco Tape Music Center to the Buchla synthesizer to his groundbreaking electronic albums to his works for theater and dance. He shared an hour of his time and the conversation dove in the deep end, straight away. Still far ahead of his time, Subotnick is currently on his final run of performances – the “As I Live and Breathe Tour.”

Modern Nature :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

“It’s a lot to take in… It’s impossible to see,” Jack Cooper sings on Modern Nature’s No Fixed Point In Space. The limits of language fascinate Cooper, who spends much of the album guiding his collaborators, including members of The Necks, This Is Not This Heat, and Julie Tipppets, to a place where words aren’t required. But sometimes language does come in handy, which is why we rang Cooper up at his space near Cambridge, UK, to discuss the album, how the natural world informs his creative process, and the nebulous zone between composition and improvisation.

Video Age :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

New Orleans duo Video Age are associated with rhythmic, dream pop pallette, but with their latest album Away from the Castle, songwriters Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli augment new wave gloss with a heavy dose of tuneful, guitar-based pop—think Real Estate in a particularly sunny mood or Whitney on a heavy Beatles kick. With all that jangle and strum comes a rededication to their core friendship, complete with “Better Than Ever,” a number that works like a platonic love song.

Joseph Shabason :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

If you’ve ever stepped foot on a skateboard, you’re in the club for life. For Toronto-based saxophonist Joseph Shabason, this revelation provided the inspiration for his latest project: a new album-length score for the classic 1996 skate video, Toy Machine’s Welcome To Hell. With the blessing of company founder, pro skater, and visual artist Ed Templeton (who also provided album art), Shabason’s Welcome To Hell is a passion project dating back to his formative childhood memories.

Mark Mothersbaugh :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

On the eve of the new 4-LP Devo retrospective, Mothersbaugh caught up with us from his Los Angeles studio. We discuss the experimental beginnings and future of Devo, the group working with Brian Eno and David Bowie, his fascination with early animation soundtracks, auditioning for Mick Jagger, the NYC scene that brought the band’s breakthrough, the death of the album format and much more…

Allegra Krieger :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

New York’s Allegra Krieger has had quite the year. The cosmic folk artist released her fourth studio album, I Keep My Feet On The Fragile Plane, in July via Double Double Whammy. Across its 10 tracks, Krieger sings measured soliloquies recounting her memories, observations, and curiosities straddling the mortal and divine. Finger-picked guitars float like sunlight, illuminating forgotten corners of the universe where Krieger finds inspiration.

“To Actually Tell A Story, It Feels Very Risky.” An Interview With John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats

Mountain Goats latest album, Jenny from Thebes, draws on that love of theater, as well as a cast of characters first brought to life two decades ago. It builds a rock opera out of the story of Jenny from All Hail West Texas, continuing her trajectory from safe house proprietor to murderer on the loose. The album is also loosely based on the Greek tragedy Seven from Thebes and sonically overstuffed enough to keep your average Broadway pit orchestra challenged and happy.

Van Dyke Parks :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Ahead of planning an upcoming concert at the Getty Museum, Van Dyke Parks caught up with AD from his home in Los Angeles. In addition to his philosophies on arranging and composition, we discuss some of the more understated (yet fascinating) parts of his prolific career: the audio/visual unit he created at Warner Brothers, relationship with Haruomi Hosono, fascination with steel drums and tuneful percussion, the moment he was embraced by psychedelia, and much more.