Transmissions Podcast :: Kurt Vile / ECM Records / James Booker

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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 Steele of General General to discuss his label and Vinyl Me Please’s recent reissue of New Orleans pianist James Booker’s Lost Paramount Tapes.

Transmissions Podcast :: Kurt Vile/ECM Records/James Booker: The Lost Paramount Tapes

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Akofa Akoussah / Sonafric Records

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Via 1976, dig the smoldering and slow-burning nocturnal blues of Akofa Akoussah’s “I Tcho Tchass,” a humid noir groove that closes out her sole, self-titled, long player. Hailing from the West African nation of Togo, Akoussah blurred sounds, traditions, and styles from her neighboring Ghana, fusing psychedelic rock, soul, jazz, funk, and, here, a unique and unclassifiable downtempo diamond. A low-tempo voodoo vamp some might find seasonally appropriate.

Akofa Akoussah :: I Tcho Tchass

Her record soon sees reissue via Mr. Bongo. If this track is any indication, we’re in for yet another unearthed delight. With its late-night jazz club intro, Akoussah’s slow and soulful serenade, the guitar’s sweltering cool, and a propulsive ritualistic crescendo, “I Tcho Tchass” imbues the very magic of the region’s singular and holistic sounds.

Originally released on Sonafric Records – a short-but-well-lived Paris-based / Africa-focused label from the mid 70s / early 80s – Akoussah was one of many possessing near supernatural talent to have passed through the doors of this special enterprise. With that in mind, we thought we’d dig in on a sampling of the label’s catalog…

Ali Farka Toure :: Ali Farka Toure (1976, vinyl rip)

A singular legend in his own right, Ali Farka Toure’s first five records were released by Sonafric, finding the great alchemist of Malian blues having materialized fully formed; an artist whose transporting, hypnotic style was masterfully sculpted decades before he would find worldwide recognition with the likes of Ry Cooder and Toumani Diabaté.

Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako :: M'bouram Mousso

A big band approach, sporting something of a Malian all-star team, Les Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako ease between laidback highlife jams and more psychedelic approaches – locking in and stretching out in breathless funk fusions of jazz organ solos and saxophone grooves. Dig the above ’76 B-side from the ensemble.

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Pedro the Lion :: Yellow Bike

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There's a strange healing that comes from a long ride by yourself. Something about the sensation of continual forward movement, the openness of the road contributing to the openness of your head. Even when it gets lonely — and it does get lonely, it has to — there's a magic to it. Wherever you are, you're going there. That's what David Bazan is singing about in "Yellow Bike," the first single released from Pedro the Lion's forthcoming Phoenix. Out January 18 via Polyvinyl, it's the first Pedro the Lion record since 2004's short-stories-as-songs collection Achilles Heel. Though he hasn’t utilized the name since 2005's God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, David Bazan is Pedro the Lion, and as a result, Phoenix picks up the threads connecting his late ‘90s and early 2000s albums under the Pedro banner to the remarkable string of albums he’s recorded under his own name: difficult lessons learned by children, squandered inheritance, the messes of others, and the ones you make yourself. "Yellow Bike" is about motion, on a childhood bike or over highways carved across our nation, about the first steps one takes away from home. It's about how far life takes you from the places you’re from, and all the numerous ways you never really leave them. Inspired by Bazan's childhood in Arizona, "Yellow Bike" offers a beautiful meditation the need for interpersonal connection and a deep inner life, and about how the needs so often feel at odds. "Some folks are loners and you learn from them/If you've always been a joiner on the move again," Bazan sings, his words thematically tied to Sean Lane's drums. "But if you keep your legs pumping despite everything/Well you can take that sting, you can make it swing." Pedro the Lion is back, but "Yellow Bike" is a testament to how David Bazan never went away. words/j woodbury

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Meg Baird & Mary Lattimore :: Ghost Forests

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A few years ago, singer-songwriter Meg Baird and harpist Mary Lattimore showed up at Three Lobed Records’ annual Hopscotch Festival day show for a gorgeously spectral collaborative set that left anyone either physically present or tuning in via the World Wide Web wanting more. Finally, the duo’s partnership has been made it to wax – and it was worth the wait. Ghost Forests

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Bob Dylan :: More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14

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It’s a golden age for Dylan fanatics – and a gluttonous age as well. For the past few years, like clockwork, we’ve been gifted with massive boxed sets that unravel – and somehow deepen – the mystery and magic behind the songwriter’s storied career. Have any of us truly absorbed the 18 discs of 1965-1966 studio recordings that make up The Cutting Edge? Or the hours upon hours of fiery Dylan and the Hawks tapes found on The Live 1966 Recordings? Or the revelatory sounds of last year’s Trouble No More? Even the most die-hard Dylanologist among us may be feeling overwhelmed at this point (and I haven’t even mentioned the so-called “copyright dumps” of recent years). But these archival releases are still vital pieces of the Dylan puzzle – whether you get to them today, tomorrow or five years from now.

So: Have I managed to absorb the new (hilariously titled) More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14? Hell no. But I have listened to it and can share some impressions.

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David Crosby :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview (2018)

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Nearly five-and-a-half decades into his career, David Crosby might finally be hitting fourth gear. A new record, Here If You Listen, his second in collaboration with vocalists Michelle Willis and Becca Stevens, along with Mike League of Snarky Puppy, is sweeping and gorgeous. To hear Crosby tell it, and to hear the record, is to know that the pairing of musicians has been exhilarating to him. Catching up from his home in California, Crosby spoke about the formation of his latest venture and the freeing feeling it's given him.

Aquarium Drunkard: To start, can you tell us a bit about the band, how this project came to be. It seems like a unique grouping.

David Crosby: I can tell you how it happened. A friend of mine turned me onto Mike League’s group, Snarky Puppy, and I loved it. I thought that the writing, in particular, was really impressive. I got a hold of him, told him how much I really liked his music. He ended up being an all-around, incredible guy. He had produced with Becca Stevens and Michelle Willis, who are two of the most talented people I’ve ever met. I asked him to produce a record for me, and he said we should invite them to sing on it. And we did! And we had an unbelievably good chemistry. You learn to spot these things over the years, working as a musician, you look for it — but you don’t often find it. And when I worked with these people, it was just a natural, really good chemistry. So for this record, the next time around, I said I don’t want to do another David Crosby record, I want to do a group record — write it together, sing it together. And they asked, “Are you sure?” And I was absolutely sure. So we did it! We went into Michael’s studio, in Brooklyn, and we two songs: “Janet,” a song that Michelle had written, and we had “Your Own Ride” which I wrote with Bill Laurence, who is Snarky Puppy’s classically trained pianist, really, really good musician. We had those two songs and that’s it. We went into his studio and wrote the entire record in 8 days! We recorded it and mixed it in the rest of the month; in one month, we created, from scratch, a brand new record.

That’s a chemistry I’ve never seen the like of anywhere. I’ve never been able to write with four people, are you kidding? You’re lucky if you can write with one other person. Writing with four others is impossible! We did it — we wrote a whole record together and it’s really good. The most lasting impression I have is that I’m the luckiest guy you know. That’s the only thing I can figure: I’m just the luckiest son-of-a-bitch on the planet, cause this stuff just keeps happening to me.

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Tony Joe White :: 1943-2018

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When news broke of Tony Joe White’s death, nearly all the obituaries led with some mention of his hit single “Polk Salad Annie.” Of course, that will likely remain his signature song, covered by everybody from Elvis to the blues band currently playing down the street. But still, White was, at his best, a lot more than just a one-hit wonder.

First on his Monument records, and later on his run at Warner Brothers, White’s music drips with energy. Horns pop out of the corners, the guitar tone bangs off the walls, and White sings he’s telling a short story. He usually was. “Roosevelt and Ira Lee” is about two guys who go looking for bullfrogs and step on a water moccasin; “A Night in the Life of A Swamp Fox” is a swaggering, slyly funny look at the touring life. But my favorite is “They Caught the Devil and Put Him in Jail in Eudora, Arkansas,” a fun spin on Faustian bargains, where White goes out to borrow some cornmeal and ends up trying to sneak a peek at Satan.

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Maston ‎:: Darkland (Sessions from ‘Tulips’)

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Those of you who caught our 2017 Year In Review may remember the inclusion of Maston’s cinematic lp, Tulips -- a record we described as "a ‘70s film score on a hit of acid, Elmer Bernstein sweating through a bad trip only to arrive at an ecstatic come up." And then some.

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Aquarium Drunkard Presents :: ECM Listening Party

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In anticipation of the second installment of our Guide to ECM Records, join the Aquarium Drunkard crew and our friends Zach Cowie and Third Place this Sunday, October 28th, in Los Angeles at hi-fi bar and cafe In Sheep's Clothing (710 E. 4th Place), from 4-10 PM. We'll be spinning records from the second forthcoming guide, which follows

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SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show (7pm PST, Channel 35)

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Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can now be heard every Wednesday at 7pm PST with encore broadcasts on-demand via the SIRIUS/XM app. You can download the Aquarium Drunkard Mountain Man session, heard during hour two, HERE.

SIRIUS 541: The Astral Army – Interstellar Shortwave ++ Amon Düül II – Halluzination . . .

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Steve Gunn :: New Moon

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"Off-key dreams that you're living in/Smiling skulls, ghosts are grinning/Power lines, spark their singing/Drone song blues, makes me want to go."

Steve Gunn's back, and he's got spirts on his mind. On January 18th, the singer/songwriter returns with his fourth album, The Unseen In Between, and today the first taste of the album made its way into the world. A classic slice of folk rock, "New Moon" sounds like a conjuring, a spectral, hauntingly eerie jam for . . .

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Loudon Wainwright :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Loudon Wainwright III The AD InterviewPosted on

Loudon Wainwright III can't help but look back lately. Last year, the 72-year-old songwriter released a memoir, Liner Notes: On Parents & Children, Exes & Excess, Death & Decay & a Few of My Other Favorite Things, and in 2018, he's followed it up with Years in the Making, a comprehensive boxset pairing live recordings, bootlegs, demos, covers, and live tracks with detailed notes, drawings, and ephemera from his personal archive. With characteristically grim wit, Wainwright sums up his recent retrospective work: "I have been looking over my shoulder for a long time, but the reality is that we are getting close to the big finish here." There's a laugh, but it's a knowing one.

As a new notch in his vast discography, Years in the Making is a testament to Wainwright's particular breed of fearlessness. Few songwriters can match his candid approach to writing about life, love, and generally wrecking things. But what makes his sardonic songs click — aside from the abundant humor coursing through them — is Wainwright's always apparent heart, which shines through his tenderest songs, especially those about his highly musical family, including his ex-wife Kate McGarrigle, their children Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright, his former partner Suzzy Roche and their daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche. It's been "fun to go back and look at my life, my childhood, my parents, my romantic misadventures, my kids," Wainwright says.

Family guides Wainwright, and his new project, a theater piece titled Surviving Twin, which debuts on Netflix next month, finds him connecting to the work of his father, Loudon Wainwright Jr., a renowned writer known for his "The View from Here" column in Life Magazine, produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Christopher Guest. Sitting down with Aquarium Drunkard, he touched on how his personal life has informed his work, the process of digging into his "man cave" archives, and the terrifying time he got stoned with his mother. Surviving Twin will be available to stream on Netflix November 13th.

AD: Years in the Making pulls from a lot of very different sources. You’ve got home recordings, radio gigs, live recordings, and bootlegs. Did all this material come from your own archive?

Loudon Wainwright: A lot of it did. I had this little man cave thing in my house where I go down and try to work. There are boxes and boxes of cassettes, reel to reel stuff from the 70’s, old hard drives [down there]. So most of it came from my archive, as it were. It took three years to put it together, and I worked very closely with [producer] Dick Connette. He and I listened to a lot of stuff, and we made a list of winners, maybes, and no fucking ways, [guaging the] quality of the stuff.

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The Lagniappe Sessions :: Mountain Man

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Lagniappe (la·gniappe) noun ˈlan-ˌyap,’ – 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus.

It's been eight years since we've written about Mountain Man, the last occasion being the release of their debut album, Made . . .

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Blondie :: Heart of Glass EP

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As the 1970s came to a close, Blondie released its third album, Parallel Lines. Helmed by producer Mike Chapman, the record streamlined the arty punk of the band's previous efforts into a cohesive pop sound, with chiming, melodic songs like "Sunday Girl," "One Way or Another," and the band's Nerves cover "Hanging on the Telephone" serving as sleek vehicles for Debbie Harry's vocals and Chris Stein's hooks. But it was "Heart of Glass," a song included deep on the lp's second side, that would take Blondie from NYC's art-punk underground to . . .

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Transmissions Podcast: The Halloween Edition

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Broadcasting from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery . . .

The Aquarium Drunkard Show: The Halloween Edition

AD Halloween Intro ++ Eartha Kitt - I Want To Be Evil (AD Halloween Version) ++ The Munsters - Munster Creep ++ Bob McFadden & Dor - The Mummy ++ Danny Ware - The Zombie Stomp ++ The Sound Offs - The Angry Desert ++ The Blue Echoes – It’s Witchcraft ++ The Tomko’s – The Spook ++ Scotty Macgregor And His Spooks - I'm A Monster ++ Screaming Lord Sutch – She’s Fallen In Love With A Monster Man ++ The Gories - Casting My Spell ++ Baron Daemon & Vampires - Ghost Guitars ++ Elvira - End of Side One ++ The Five Blobs - The Blob ++ Vincent Price - A Hornbook For Witches (AD Halloween Version) ++ The One Way Streets – Jack The Ripper ++ The Swamp Rats – Louie Louie ++ Oma Liddie - J. J. Jackson and the Jackals ++ Bill Buchanan - Beware ++ Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads – Goo Goo Muck ++ Frankenstein – This Is The Fiend ++ Donovan - Wild Witch Lady ++ The Frantics – Werewolf ++ Radio Spot – I Was A Teenage Werewolf ++ The Cramps - I Was A Teenage Werewolf ++ Donovan – Hurdy Gurdy Man ++ Evariste – Connais Tu L’animal Qui Inventa Le Calcul Intégral ++ The Frantics - The Whip ++ Charles Bernstein – Jail Cell ++ The Vault of Horror ++ Lee Kristofferson – Night of The Werewolf ++ Steve King – Satan Is Her Name ++ Kip Tyler – She’s My Witch ++ The Madmen – Haunted ++ Don Hinson & The Rigamorticians - Riboflavin-Flavored, Non-Carbonated, Polyunsaturated Blood ++ Bobby “Boris” Pickett - Monster Mash (AD edit) ++ Billy Lee Riley - Nightmare Mash ++ Wade Denning & Kay Lande - Halloween ++ Los Holys - Campo de Vampiros ++ Otis Redding - Trick or Treat ++ Monsters Crash The Pajama Party ++ Bobby Bare - Vampira ++ The Sonics - Strychnine ++ Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages - All Black & Hairy ++ Chance Halladay - Deep Sleep ++ The Weirdos - E.S.P. ++ Leroy Bowman - Graveyard ++ The Frantics - Werewolf ++ The Dynamic Kapers - Alligator Wine ++ The Surfmen - Ghost Hop ++ The Connoisseurs - Count Macabre ++ The Poets - Dead

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