Crucial Listening

Weird industrial synths, rapping over alarm clocks, Kubrick with 2 bricks. The Zambian-Canadian rapper and producer discusses three important albums.Ashanti's picks:Janet Jackson – The Velvet RopeDeath Grips – The Money StoreDanny Brown – The Atrocity ExhibitionCheck out the BACKXWASH website here. She's also on Twitter and Bandcamp.Donate to Crucial Listening on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Ever-heavier tape trades, music for twenty radio stations, new urgencies. The composer, artist and improviser discusses three important albums.Raven's picks:Mr Bungle – Disco VolanteJosé Maceda – UgnayanMoor Mother – Fetish BonesThe latest record by Endlings – Raven's band with John Dieterich – is out now on Whited Sepulchre. Head over to Raven's website for more on his current and past projects. Be sure to check out Radio Coyote too, which Raven initiated along with the CCA Wattis Institute.

More mayonnaise, electrified tango, unapologetic folk. The musician, composer and multimedia artist discusses three important albums.Cecilia's picks:Charly Garcia – Clics ModernosVioleta Parra – Composiciones Para Guitarra Eduardo Rovira – SonicoThe audio documentation of RED(DB) is out now via Relative Pitch Records. Head over to Cecilia's website for the score and performance video too. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

Record warehouse paradise, lullabies finished in hell, destroying synchronicity. The musician and filmmaker discusses three important albums.Domingæ's picks:Jackson C. Frank – Blues Run The GameOneohtrix Point Never – ReplicaRyuichi Sakamoto – asyncDomingæ's new album Æ is out now via Sacred Bones. Her Linktree is here and you follow her on Instagram here. Donate to her Transition and Survival Fund over at Gofundme.

Lost souls in a fishbowl, lushness and harmony, sanza psychedelia. The Kenyan composer and performer discusses three important albums.Nyokabi's picks:Pink Floyd – Wish You Were HereKelsey Lu – BloodFrancis Bebey – Psychedelic Sanza 1982-1984Nyokabi's new single, Galu, is out now via SA Recordings. It's part of a forthcoming EP project called peace places: kenyan memories, also due on SA. Her website is here and here Instagram is here.

Cannonball of musicians being shot at a staircase, flying across the top of the mosh, sunlight in the white room. The Ireland-based, Australian-born artist discusses three important albums.Robert's picks:Naked City – Grand GuignolMinistry – In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing UpFolke Rabe – What??Robert's brand new three-album set, Beyond Enclosures, is out September 17th and available via Recorded Fields. Tailte Cré-Umha (Bronze Lands) is out now. Robert is also on Bandcamp and Twitter.

Resonating glass, the arsehole of Western music, shopping mall avant garde. The nomadic sound maker discusses three important albums.crys' picks: Annea Lockwood – The Glass World Of Anna LockwoodWalter Marchetti – AntibarbarusBernhard Günter – Univers Temporel Espoircrys' contribution to Boomkat's Documenting Sound series is called Other Meetings and it's wonderful. Check that out here. Also great is the new Ora Clementi record, Sylva Sylvarum – out now on Black Truffle. Head over here for crys' website, and follow her on Twitter here.

Out-of-time ska, home alone raves, smashing together American music. The live electronics improviser discusses three important albums.Lauren's picks:Lunachicks – Jerk Of All TradesAndy C – NightlifeVan Dyke Parks – Song CycleGive yourself a treat and listen to Lauren's record Embrace, released on SUPERPANG. There's also the equally fabulous Mini Savior Opt. put out via Unsilent Desert Press. Be sure to check out an excellent suite of articles about Lauren's work put out via HCMF. Her website is here, and she's also on Twitter and Instagram. 

Top string of the harp, transcendent worldbuilding, catharsis in composing. The LA-based artist and composer discusses three important albums.Geneva's picks:Ursula K. Le Guin + Todd Barton – Music And Poetry Of The KeshGrouper + Roy Montgomery – SplitSwans – The Great AnnihilatorGeneva's new longform work, Turning Of The Day, is out now on LINE – check it out here. Her website is here and her Bandcamp is here. She's also on Twitter and Instagram.

XXX alcohol, forgone resolutions, avalanches of brutality. The multidisciplinary artist and performer discusses three important albums.Jen's picks:Joseph Spence – Good Morning Mr. WalkerStephen Layton – Whitacre: Cloudburst And Other Choral WorksOpeth – Blackwater ParkGo spend a bunch of time on Jen's website and Instagram. Sonified Physiological Indicators Of Empathy is out on Cacophonous Revival Recordings.

Slipping into the bloodstream, navigating hell, addictive polyrhythms. The Honduran-American producer discusses three important albums.Pablo's picks:Muslimgauze – Hussein Mahmood Jeeb Tehar GassPaul Schütze – New Maps Of HellLos Roland's – Solo Exitos Vol. 2The new Dalibor Cruz album, Riddled With Absence, is out now via Natural Sciences – check it out here. Follow Dalibor Cruz on Instagram.

Jaw on the floor, zoning into spirituality, bastardised reggae basslines. The multidirectional musician and producer discusses three important albums.Kevin's picks:Gil Mellé – The Andromeda Strain OSTThe Necks – SexPublic Image Limited – Metal BoxKevin's soundtrack to Tarkovsky's Solaris comes out June 25th on Phantom Limb. Elsewhere, there's a Bandcamp for his music as Kevin Richard Martin and another for The Bug. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Going beyond the bandstand, simultaneous multidimensionality, searching for fire. The music research strategist and insurgent learning workshop co-ordinator discusses three important albums.Marshall's picks:Prokofiev – Peter and the Wolf (Disney animated version and accompanying reading)Earth Wind & Fire – All 'n AllOrnette Coleman – The Shape Of Jazz To ComeMarshall's record as MUSIC RESEARCH STRATEGIES, titled Eleven Postures, is out now on SIGE, who will also be releasing his collaborative album with John Dieterich and Raven Chacon titled White People Killed Them. Follow him on Instagram here.

Toilets on heads, high frequency feedback devastation, hot pink harsh noise. The New York-based vocalist from Sydney, Australia discusses three important albums.Charmaine's picks:Derek Bailey / George Lewis / John Zorn – YankeesYan Jun + Hsia Yu – 7 Poems And Some TinnitusMasonna – Noskl In Ana - Rare Tracks CollectionCharmaine's incredible new record, KNVF, is out now via Erratum Musical and is available on Bandcamp. Her website is here. During the conversation we talk about her article over on Wet Ink Archive, titled Reflections On Building A Personal Language.

Drumsticks into sawdust, ripping off Harvey Milk, going crazy for the Blind Owl. The BIG|BRAVE guitarist discusses three important albums.

Thrash at the rehearsal room, transcending cheap music, collapsing nature and artifice. The analog noise artist discusses three important albums.

The opposite of politeness, sucky sucky bloodsuckers, ego destruction on the subway. The two improvisatory collaborators discuss their important albums.

Snot-caked pants, wild banshee shit, the cadence and emphasis of Robert Ashley. The New York-based composer and multi-instrumentalist discusses three important albums.

12 seconds of Stockhausen, high-altitude Frank Ocean, the power of SOPHIE. The Vancouver-based composer and music educator discusses three important albums.

Sitting in a room, Hip Hop Connections, looking for a breadfruit tree. The Blackburn-based artist, radio DJ, podcast producer and lecturer discusses three important albums.