Tag: experimental

503. Bongwater

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(6/14/23) Episode 503 is BONGWATER. Some bands are so off-the-wall that part of the appeal is listening and wondering “how could anyone think of such a thing?”  Such is Bongwater: part band, part performance art project of the duo of Mark Kramer and Ann Magnuson (who you will recognize as an actor from various TV shows and movies).  There are sound collages, bizarre stories spoken over trippy psychedelics, shock lyrics, and lots of far-out cover songs. They had a brief and unique run in the late 80s/early 90s.  I am drawn by the audacity.

Favorite album: The Power of Pussy

Favorite song: Folk Song

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: Try it if you like bizarre stuff

502. Faust

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(June 2023) Episode 502 is FAUST. Unlike most of the other German outfits listed as Krautrock, they never ventured beyond their experimental roots.  Their approach eschewed conventional structure and form, but in doing so they influenced the development of ambient and industrial music. Their discography lacks an iconic album (such as Can’s Tago Mago or Kraftwerk’s Autobahn) that identifies the band, but that also means it will require me to return to the recordings several times to appreciate it more. After a 70s heyday, they reunited in the 90s for a long string of eclectic albums.

Favorite album: Faust IV

Favorite song: Krautrock

Favorite late-period song: Fresh Air

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: Maybe too esoteric for most, but try Faust IV, Ravvivando or Fresh Air to see if it appeals.

492. Harry Partch

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(May 2023) Episode 492 is HARRY PARTCH.  A composer, music theorist and inventor, he broke ground in the field of just intonation – the tuning of instruments to intervals between the 12 standard tones in Western music.  He composed in a scale of 43 unequal tones and created unique instruments to play such works. To the uninitiated ear, it sounds like a bunch of out-of-tune instruments. It’s not music to chill by.  But spend a little time getting to know the theory and the labor behind it, and it can be fascinating.

Favorite piece: And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: The album “The World of Harry Partch” is a good introduction, as it includes Partch describing what, how and why he is doing on various pieces.

446. Earth

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(October 2022) Episode 446 is EARTH.  They are considered a pioneer in drone metal (called ‘ambient metal’ by its constant member Dylan Carlson). The first album (Earth 2) achieves precisely that, with a glacial flow of distorted guitar buzz.  Love it!  But their reinvented sound in the early 2000s is more like slowed down rock music (is this slowcore?), which bores me. Granted, there is a fine line between hypnotic drone and slow boring, but I know what I like. 

Favorite album: Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version

Favorite song: Like Gold and Faceted

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: just the first album

411. Crass

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(May 2022) Episode 411 is CRASS. An idiosyncratic first-wave UK punk group that was the musical arm of an anarchist art collective.  They deliver their political message with a punch in the face, deliberately avoiding any possibility of popular acceptance. There is also a lot of avant-punk experimentation incorporating collages, poetry, spoken word and free-form noise-making, which may be my favorite part of their sound.

Favourite album: Stations of the Crass

Favourite song: Burying the Hatchet

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: it is an acquired taste

360. Mica Levi

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(September 2021) Episode 360 is MICA LEVI, who usually performs under the name Micachu.  A genre-defying artist who does things you wouldn’t think of.  Their work falls into three categories: quirky, rhythmic pop (with the Shapes), experimental collages (at times merged with hip hop), and unconventional film scores.

Favourite album: Jewellery

Favourite song: Golden Phone

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: if you’re in the mood for something completely different

330. Sunn O)))

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(April 2021) Episode 330 is SUNN O))). If you prefer melody and beat in your music, avoid this band.  But if you like beautiful noise like I do, I strongly recommend Sunn O))).  It’s drone metal: slow, loud, deep, distorted guitars repeatedly being slow, loud, deep and distorted.  They sometimes add experimental elements, like monk-like chants, percussion, electronics, and are big on collaborations.

Favorite album: Flight of the Behemoth

Favorite song: Black Wedding

Compared to expectations: ↑

326. Laurie Spiegel

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(March 2021) Episode 326 is LAURIE SPIEGEL. Combining a music education with computer engineering, she helped design computerized sounds and composed electronic music with them, as well as created a popular algorithmic computer software program.

Favorite album: The Expanding Universe

Favorite song: Patchwork

Compared to expectations: same

310. Éliane Radigue

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(January 2021) Episode 310 is ÉLIANE RADIGUE, a French composer of drone music featuring long sustained notes and harmonics. She was an experimental pioneer in tape, feedback and early synthesizers in the 1960s. She converted to Tibetan Buddhism in the 1970s, which influenced the tone and topic of her works. In the 21st Century she switched to composing for acoustic instruments exploring a variety of harmonic resonances.

Favorite piece: Kailasha

Favorite series: Adnos I-II-III

Compared to expectations: same

308. Amon Düül

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Episode 308 of the “opus project” is AMON DÜÜL. Core Krautrock, and I love it.  They started as a German art commune experimental drug circle, but then spun off into a more musically proficient unit, known as Amon Düül II, which made the essential early 70s Krautrock recordings. Another spin-off was called Amon Düül UK in the 80s. It’s hard to describe this music; it’s within the bounds of rock music but is thoroughly unconventional. 

Favorite album: Yeti

Favorite song: Phallus Dei

Best Amon Düül I album: Disaster

Best Amon Düül UK album: Hawk Meets Penguin

Compared to expectations: ↑