Crucial Listening

Driving in fury, letting the endings be real, slow and lonely. The free improvisation percussionist discusses three important albums.Mark's picks:Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell – Old And New Dreams (1979)Evan Parker – MonocerosRebecca Saunders – Fury IIAs always, Mark has a bunch of upcoming live dates. These include Evan Parker's 80th birthday residency at Cafe Oto, for which Mark has prepared a four-part percussion group. Mark's website is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Caught by howling, three people at the 2pm concert, vivid colour changes. The Berlin-based singer and artist discusses three important albums.Rosa's picks: Julia Shortreed – Violet SunLow – Double NegativeTear Garden – To Be An Angel Blind, The Cripple Soul DivideRosa's new album Interior is out 23rd February on KLANGBAD. Check out her music on Bandcamp. Rosa's website is here. She's also on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Post-apocalyptic industrial environments, pseudo-music, twisted proto-typicalities. The sound artist and experimental musician discusses three important albums.Francisco's picks:David Lynch + Alan Splet – Eraserhead (OST)Mnemonists – HordeMeshuggah – ChaosphereFrancisco's work is available on Bandcamp, including the recent Conveyor Belts [USA]. His website is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

The dirt aesthetic, non-relinquishable frequencies, opening up that filter. The London-based sound artist and "mutant dancehall" practitioner discusses three important albums.Aniruddha's picks:Miles Davies – Dark MagusRobert Hood – Minimal NationHallucinator – LandlockedCheck out Dhangsha's music on Bandcamp here. His Hard Return EP "Aberrant" is over here. Dhangsha plays London's Cafe Oto on 24th January, and Electric Spring festival in Huddersfield on 17th February.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Slowing everything down, emotionally devastating lines, the snare on Faucet. The Portland-based producer discusses three important albums.hyacinth.'s picks:DJ Screw – Bigtyme Vol II All Screwed UpEarl Sweatshirt – I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go OutsideMIKE – War In My PenCheck out hyacinth.'s music over on the peradam tapes. label. They're on Twitter – @hyacinthindecay.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Mellow ingenuity, drowned in reverb, London at its most gloomy and miserable. London-based multidisciplinary artist Sam Ashton discusses three important albums.Sam's picks:Explosions In The Sky – The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead PlaceGrouper – Dragging A Dead Deer Up A HillBurial – S/TYou can check out Sam's music over at the Fortresses Bandcamp or over at Dragon's Eye Recordings. He's also on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Weird symphony, no crazy vibrato, Terry Riley on the discman. The violist and composer discusses three important albums.Jessica's picks:Beethoven - André Cluytens, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – Symphony No. 9John Cage, Arditti String Quartet – String Quartet In Four PartsTerry Riley – You're NogoodJessica's new album Clamor is out now via Out Of Your Head Records. Her website is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

High-altitude Bryars, trash on the walls, desperate shamans. The Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary artist discusses three important albums.Dorian's picks:Gavin Bryars – The Sinking Of The Titanic / Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me YetNearly God – S/TGeorge Michael – Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1Dorian's new album, Excesiva, is out now on Dragon's Eye Recordings. Check it out on Bandcamp. Dorian's website is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Emotional rollercoasters, impossible Neo Tokyo, perfect snares. The London-based Swedish producer/sound designer discusses three important albums.Julia's picks:Esbjörn Svensson Trio – LeucocyteAkira Yamaoka – Silent Hill 2 OSTPinecone Moonshine (label) – [PCMS 2020​.​1] Vector SpaceThe new aircode album, titled Surface Tension, is out now via Gin&Platonic. Check it out on Bandcamp. Aircode is on Bandcamp and Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Architectural sound, understandings of freedom, and how do we end? The composer, improviser and performer discusses three important albums.Lucie's picks:Iannis Xenakis – La L​é​gende d'EerPauline Oliveros – The Tuning MeditationChristian Wolff – Changing The SystemLucie's recent solo album, Cave Acoustics, is out now via the labels mappa and Skupina. Lucie's website is here. Follow them on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Light in the ocean depths, doors to other worlds, respiratory cycling. The Tehran-based composer discusses three important albums.Ava's picks:William Basinski – WatermusicRadiohead – In RainbowsHarold Budd / Akira Rabelais – As Long As I Can Hold My Breath (By Night)Ava's new album Ginestra is out now on Flaming Pines. Check it out here. She's also on Instagram and X.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

(Almost) falling into the water, post-dumb-house-party-bike-rides, wildness and mastery. The musician and member of Xiu Xiu discusses three important albums.Hyunhye's picks:Chris Watson – El Tren FantasmaPJ Harvey – To Bring You My LoveCecil Taylor – Solo (1973)Hyunhye's new album, Eel, is out now on Room40. Check out her website and Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

The science of baffling unpredictability, nuclear plants leaking beauty, the moments before the apocalypse. The São Paulo-based artist discusses three important albums.Claudio's picks: KRAAN – FlydayHatfield And The North – The Rotters' ClubGuruh Gipsy – Guruh GipsyThe new Babe, Terror album is titled Teghnojoyg and it's out now. Check it out on the Babe, Terror Bandcamp. Head over to the Babe, Terror Youtube to see videos for each track on the new record. Check out the Babe, Terror Tumblr and also the Patreon.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Digging in near the bridge, one old woman, acting like the Rolling Stones. The American media artist and composer discusses three important albums.Arnold's picks:Tony Conrad With Faust – Outside The Dream SyndicateSacred Guitar and Violin Music of the Modern Aztecs (Smithsonian Folkways)Robert Ashley – Automatic WritingThe new album by Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings, titled Resolve, is out now on Drag City. Check it out here. Here's Arnold's website and Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Music for sleep, radical electronics, biospheric amorphous spaces. The sound artist and 12k label founder discusses three important albums.Taylor's picks: Brian Eno – Thursday AfternoonRyoji Ikeda – +/-Microstoria – Model 3, Step 2Taylor's new EP, Eev, is out August 18th via Nettwerk. Preorder and preview it on Taylor's Bandcamp. Taylor is also on Instagram and X.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

The joy of UK pirate radio, intoxicating production, Streets Of Rage DJ set. Montréal-based French-British producer Jean Néant discusses three important albums.Jean's picks:Death Is Not The End – The Letter Tape Series / Bristol PiratesYuka Honda – Memories Are My Only Witness / EucademixYuzo Koshiro – Bare Knuckle II OST / Bare Knuckle I OSTThe new Joni Void album, Everyday Is The Song, is out now on Constellation. Check it out here. Joni Void is on Instagram and Twitter.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Phytoplankton microsound, sketched-out dead ends, perfect warbles. The North Carolina-based electronic music producer discusses three important albums.Bana's picks: Jana Winderen – The WandererAutechre – AmberBoards Of Canada – Tomorrow's HarvestBana Haffar's new album, intimaa' إ​ن​ت​م​ا​ء, is out now on Touch. You can also listen/buy via Bana's bandcamp here. Bana's website is actually a Google sheet, and you check that out here. She's also on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Sunday puppet show routine, childhood anime memories, Brazilian cutlery jams. The electronic producer and performer from Taiwan discusses three important albums.Sabiwa's picks: Pili Puppet Drama – Soundtrack / Sound DesignJoe Hisaishi – Princess Mononoke OSTHermeto Pascoal – Zabumbê-bum-áSabiwa's new album, Island no.16 – Memories Of Future Landscapes, is out now on Phantom Limb. Sabiwa is on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Scared of the wolf, emotionally-resonant Eno, the 90s Louisville scene. Modern composer Matthew Cooper (aka Eluvium) discusses three important albums.Matthew's picks:Prokofiev (New Philharmonia Orchestra) – Peter And The Wolf (narrated by Richard Baker)Eno – Another Green World / Brian Eno – Discreet MusicRachel's – Music For Egon Schiele / Rachel's – The Sea And The BellsThe new Eluvium album, (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality, is available now. Eluvium also has a website and a Bandcamp. Matthew is on Instagram and Twitter.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Oxfam treasures, panic-stricken falling, wordless stories. The multidisciplinary artist discusses three important albums.Rachel's picks:The Art Of Noise – In Visible SilenceDelia Derbyshire + Barry Bermange – Inventions For Radio No. 1: The DreamsJean-Michel Jarre – EquinoxeRachel's new album, Stories Came to Us, is out now via My Own Imaginary World. Check it out here. Rachel is also on Instagram as @rachellynmademedoit.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening