Crucial Listening

Very inviting thumbs, vanilla apologists, Monk's comeback. The Toronto-based experimental musician discusses three important albums.Mira's picks:Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane – At Carnegie HallOwen Pallett (released as Final Fantasy) – Has A Good HomeKoboku Senjû – Selektiv HogstMira's new album, Hen's Teeth, is out now on Rat-drifting. It's also on Mira's bandcamp. Her website is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

In love with a vampire, psychedelic songform subversion, composer visitations. Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix discusses three important albums.Haela's picks:pageninetynine – Document #8Robert Wyatt – Rock BottomAlice Coltrane – Lord Of LordsLiturgy's new album, 93696, is out now on Thrill Jockey. Check it out on Bandcamp here. Liturgy is on Instagram and Twitter.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Sleepless Lagos, echoes of heaven, beastly synths. The sound artist and violist discusses three important albums. Ibukun's picks:Black Brunswicker – Wilder PathsRyan J Raffa – GinkgoKMRU – as it still isIbukun's new album Mantra is out via Phantom Limb's "Spirituals" imprint – check it out here. Head over to Ibukun's personal Bandcamp for more. He's also on Instagram and Twitter.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Beauty in djent-adjacency, solo-Jeep-screamo-touring, "bad guy" music. The multi-genre multi-instrumentalist discusses three important albums.Angel's picks:The Contortionist – LanguageSuis La Lune – HeirRush – Hold Your FireThe new Fire-Toolz album, I am upset because I see something that is not there., is out now on Hausu Mountain. Check it out on Bandcamp. Fire-Toolz had a website and is also on Instagram and Twitter. Oh, and check this out – a video for "Above All Else I Want To See" by the guest of last episode, Babak Ahteshamipour.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Fishing the sound, math rock imposter syndrome, maximalist gratitude. The Athens-based sound and visual artist discusses three important albums.Babak's picks:Black Midi – SchlagenheimRyuichi Sakamoto – asyncMachine Girl – U-Void SynthesizerBabak's latest album, Mind Flaying Flavored Flails, is out now on Jollies. Check it out here. Go explore the accompanying virtual exhibition over on New Art City. Babak has a website and is on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Nostalgia rushes, unhurried solo guitar, Pharoah jumps in. The American trombonist and composer discusses three important albums.Kalia's picks:Grouper – Dragging A Dead DeerFloating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Contemporary Orchestra – PromisesJeff Parker – ForfolksKalia Vandever's new album, We Fell In Turn, is out 31st March on AKP Recordings. Kalia has a website here and is on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Uncomfortable DJ sets, sacred ratio songs, the "best band in the UK right now". The primary member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre discusses three important albums.Anton's picks:The 13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor ElevatorsAlice Coltrane – Turiya SingsThe Soundcarriers – EntropicaliaThe latest (and 20th!) BJM album, The Future Is Your Past, is out now. Their website is here. Follow Anton on Instagram and Twitter.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Communal grief, tapes from the Halal Meat Shop, time-space departures. The Hyderabadi Muslim American poet, musician, interdisciplinary artist discusses three important albums.Sham-e-Ali's picks:Alice Coltrane – A Monastic TrioNusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Live At The Royal Albert Hallvhvl – myrrhSham-e-Ali's new album, Moti Ka Sheher, is out now. Check it out here. She's got a website and is on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Ruinous beauty, hauling a bass sax up the stairs, Hendrix's face, worlds of breath. The saxophonist and composer discusses his important albums.Colin's picks:Hendrix – Band Of GypsysPeter Brötzmann / Bill Laswell – Low LifeEnya – Shepherd MoonsSam Cooke – Live At The Harlem Square Club, 1963Colin's new album Chimæra I is out now via ROOM40. You can also grab it on Colin's Bandcamp. Colin's website is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Intuitive resonance, cataclysmic dualities, bandleader grace. The UK-based saxophonist discusses three important albums.Xhosa's picks:Sonny Rollins – With The Modern Jazz QuartetShirley Horn Trio – SoftlyBalimaya Project – Wolo SoXhosa's latest album, Ibeji, is out now on Stoney Lane Records. Listen here. His website is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Heart wrung like a towel, Skullcandy bass, the magic of music boxes. The Beirut-based multi-instrumentalist, video artist and puppeteer discusses three important albums.Yara's picks:Aphex Twin – DrukqsColleen – Et Les Boîtes À MusiqueDaniel Johnston – Hi, How Are YouYara's debut album, Home Recordings 2018 - 2021, is out now via Hive Mind Records – check it out here. She's on Instagram – @microwave.blues.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Visions of hell/paradise, two G's in eggs, bizarre lemonade. The composer/multi-instrumentalist from Austin, Texas discusses three important albums.Mari's picks:Jim O'Rourke – EurekaRobert Ashley – Private PartsSOPHIE – ProductThe fabulous Strawberry Season by More Eaze is out now via Leaving Records. Check it out on Bandcamp or Boomkat. Mari is on Instagram and Twitter.

Vocal imitation games, aural cocktails, jazz-adjacent ingenuity. The New York-based composer and pianist discusses three important albums.Phillip's picks:Ensemble Organum & Marcel Peres – Guillaume de Machaut: Messe de Notre-DameRan Blake – Painted Rhythms: The Compleat Ran Blake Volume 1The Claudia Quintet – I, ClaudiaPhillip's debut solo album, Filters, is out now via Greyfade. His website is here and he's on Instagram @phillipgolub.

Too-short tracks, dying melodies, birds mimicking electronics, the highest organ note. The musicians and collaborators discuss their important albums.Julian's picks:J Dilla – DonutsJean C. Roché – Birds Of VenezuelaFeldermelder's picks: Autechre – LP5Pedro Santos – KrishnandaBonn Route is out now via -OUS. Check it out here. Also worth checking are Feldermelder's new solo album, Euphoric Attempts, and Julian Sartorius' recent record Mux.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Tim Hecker beneath the aurora borealis, nerdy icebreakers, blurs and beats. The Turkey-born, UK-based composer and guitarist discusses three important albums.Elif's picks: Tim Hecker – Haunt Me, Haunt Me Do It AgainTangerine Dream – RubyconBowery Electric – BeatElif's new album, Green Drift, is out now on Expert Sleepers. Her website is over here and she's also on Instagram. Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Harnessing ugliness, memories of Okinawa, Pärt in the snow. The Japanese vocal performer discusses three important albums.Hatis' picks:Meredith Monk – MercyYasukatsu Oshima with Geoffrey Keezer – S/TArvo Pärt – Tabula RasaHatis Noit's new album, Aura, is out now on Erased Tapes. Check it out on Bandcamp or on the Erased Tapes site.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Hours of jazz in the city, matching Spiderland tattoos, vertiginous rabbit holes. The guitarist and label curator discusses three important albums.Greg's picks:Miles Davis – Bitches BrewSlint – SpiderlandBernard Herrmann – Vertigo OSTHead over to The Lord Bandcamp to hear/buy the first album Forest Nocturne, and to preview/preorder the upcoming record Devotional with Petra Haden. Both are released on Southern Lord.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Sad tween car journeys, dismantled pop, pioneers of Baltimore Club. The South Asian-American vocalist, sitarist, composer and producer discusses three important albums.Ami's picks: Sardari Begum – OSTPortishead – ThirdK-Swift – Club Queen Vol. 3Ami's new album, The Living World's Demands, is out on November 4th via Phantom Limb and Leaving Records. Preview/pre-order on Bandcamp. Follow Ami on Instagram and check out her website.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Brazen electronic keys, odes to the rig, ripping everything out. The UK composer and performer discusses three important albums.Laurie's picks:"Blue" Gene Tyranny – Out Of The BlueImproved Sound Limited – Road TraxMica Levi – Blue AlibiLaurie released three new albums this Spring: Years Went By with Eliza McCarthy via Entr'acte, Fatty via 33-33 and Sharp Love Slow Faint on Hyperdelia. They're all on Laurie's Bandcamp too. His Instagram is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Raga of the spine, stretched like honey dripping, body-recalibration drones. The Mexico-born, Chicago-based visual and sound artist discusses three important albums.Rocio's picks:Weyes Bluhd – Strange Chalices Of SeeingCarl Stone – Mom'sDavid First – Privacy Issues (droneworks 1996 – 2009)Rocio's debut album, Invisible Miracles, is out now on Monastral. Check it out over here. Rocio has a website and is also on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening