Yura Yura Teikoku :: Hollow Me Prior to founding Zelone Records and becoming the emperor of mellow groove, Shintaro Sakamoto fronted Yura Yura Teikoku. A scrappy psych trio with humble origins in the Tokyo’s DIY underground, the band cut a unique trail guided by an eclecticism that pushed their sound ever further to new heights. … Continue reading Yura Yura Teikoku :: Hollow Me
Primal Scream :: Carry Me Home (Dennis Wilson Cover) On the heels of this lost Dennis Wilson gem finally seeing a proper release, dig into this remarkable cover. Arguably Bobby Gillespie’s most soulful delivery, the piano-driven track delivers a shimmering, almost spiritual ambiance before crashing into a haunting, slow burn of an outro. The narrative penned through … Continue reading Primal Scream :: Carry Me Home (Dennis Wilson Cover)
Dezo Ursiny :: Modry Vrch (1981) Slovak prog legend Dezo Ursiny is still to find the recognition he deserves outside of his homeland. A successful composer of documentary soundtracks in the socialist 1970s, and later a filmmaker in his own right, Ursiny passed away prematurely but left a significant oeuvre. Perhaps the persistent association of … Continue reading Dezo Ursiny :: Modry Vrch (1981)
Celtic Guru :: Van Morrison In The 80s | Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart Picking up exactly where Beautiful Vision’s “Scandinavia” left off, “Higher than the World” unfolds amid a cascade of synthesizer, choppy R&B guitar, and the saccharine acknowledgment of higher consciousness that defined Van Morrison’s sonic pilgrimage of the 1980s. The third installment … Continue reading Celtic Guru :: Van Morrison In The 80s | Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart
The Ecstasy of Gold :: Volume One Quietly released in October last year, Volume One from instrumental group The Ecstasy of Gold draws from “hundreds of hours of material recorded over the last ten years” by Mark Lightcap and Steve Hadley of Acetone, Jason Yates, and Senon Williams of Dengue Fever. Their debut set spans … Continue reading The Ecstasy of Gold :: Volume One
Spiral Stairs (Pavement) :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview Pavement’s celebratory reunion tour last year may have grabbed most of the attention, but the band’s co-founder Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg quietly released what might be his very best solo effort in 2022, too. Medley Attack, available on Kannberg’s own Amazing Grease label, is a killer collection … Continue reading Spiral Stairs (Pavement) :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
The Woods Band :: S/T (1971) After a brief stint contributing to Steeleye Span’s remarkable debut, the husband and wife duo of Gay and Terry Woods set forth to Ireland in search of a sound not quite attained with their English cohort. Slightly more rockin’ than the ensemble they had just left – and definitely … Continue reading The Woods Band :: S/T (1971)
Zelda :: 真暗闇 - ある日の光景 Japan’s Zelda first emerged as a punk-rock/new-wave quartet in 1980 with a pair of 7” singles, followed by their 1982 self-titled debut—a boisterous affair that balances a healthy diet of glossy, hard-charging rock, playful power-pop, and avant-garde art rock leanings, like the album closing “Sonata 815.” Stranger, somewhat outlier moments … Continue reading Zelda :: 真暗闇 - ある日の光景
Grey On Gray :: A December Mixtape All vinyl hour long slide to close out another weird year. Fireside GORP-jazz, new age, and beyond. 1969-2022. Grey On Gray :: A December Mixtape Rich Ruth – Taken BackEzra Feinberg – OvationKim Åge Furuhaug – Haraldsvik Camping >> AstagjolNico Georis – Hot Slots (excerpt)Joys Union Group – … Continue reading Grey On Gray :: A December Mixtape
Arve Henriksen :: Chiaroscuro Here’s one for the season. Recently, while listening to Arve Henriksen’s second solo album, 2004’s Chiaroscuro, I thought “well, if this isn’t some of the most ECM sounding non-ECM shit ever.” High praise. But following a quick wiki check, it turns out the trumpeter did indeed record for Manfred Eicher’s label … Continue reading Arve Henriksen :: Chiaroscuro
First & Last: Japanese Private Press, Vol. 7 The seventh installment of First & Last is brought to you by guest curator, Johan Nilsson. Johan and I became friends through our shared loved of collecting rare and unheard 70s records from Japan. Earlier this year we started our own record label together under the same … Continue reading First & Last: Japanese Private Press, Vol. 7
Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: December 2022 Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard, every third Sunday on dublab. Up first on our four-hour broadcast, The New Happy Gathering Holiday Party: An hour of samba, lounge, jazz, funk, soul & abstract music. Then Range and Basin, an hour of mostly instrumental tunes selected by Jason P. Woodbury. A … Continue reading Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: December 2022
Videodrome :: Less Than Zero (1987) (Welcome to Videodrome. A recurring column plumbing the depths of vintage and contemporary cinema – from cult, exploitation, trash and grindhouse to sci-fi, horror, noir, documentary and beyond.) During the holiday season, Los Angeles averages high temperatures in the seventies. The skies are blue, the sun is bright, and the … Continue reading Videodrome :: Less Than Zero (1987)
Aquarium Drunkard :: 2022 Year in Review Looking back to look ahead. It’s our Year In Review 2022. As always, our list is unranked and unruly. Let it blurb. As we enter 2023, here’s a survey of AD’s recurring cultural offerings: Each Wednesday night on Sirius/XMU channel 35, a new episode of Justin Gage’s long-running … Continue reading Aquarium Drunkard :: 2022 Year in Review
Babylon (1980) :: Streaming In Full Anchored by an incendiary score by Dennis Bovell, 1980’s Babylon is an essential watch for those interested in the diasporic tendrils of Jamaican roots reggae as witnessed in the UK during the late ’70s and early ’80s. Come for the sound system, stay for the story. Streaming in full, … Continue reading Babylon (1980) :: Streaming In Full
Richard Dawson :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview Richard Dawson of Newcastle Upon Tyne. This is how the songwriter credits himself on the cover of his new record The Ruby Cord—the third part of a possible trilogy (beginning with medieval Peasant, and modern times in 2020) which finds him delving into the different timelines of communities … Continue reading Richard Dawson :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Automne Six :: S/T Automne Six was the one-time collaboration of Phillippe Poirier and Stefan Schneider. Poirier, most notably in Kat Onoma, and Schneider, a member of To Rococo Rot, have churned out intriguing post-punk and avant-pop music under various guises since the mid-eighties. Twenty years after its initial release, Schneider’s label TAL has reissued … Continue reading Automne Six :: S/T
Bob Dylan :: Christmas In The Heart In 1975, the New Musical Express (NME) published a report on Bob Dylan’s Christmas album. Even then, the story was a decade old. It went like this: In the fall of 1965, after releasing Highway 61 Revisited, but before beginning Blonde on Blonde, Bob Dylan recorded a Christmas … Continue reading Bob Dylan :: Christmas In The Heart
Aquarium Drunkard Book Club :: Chapter 20 Warren Zevon once said “We love to buy books because we believe we’re buying the time to read them.” But even if your towering “too read” pile can’t guarantee immortality, those pages can make life feel even more worth living. In this month’s stack: a comprehensive look at … Continue reading Aquarium Drunkard Book Club :: Chapter 20
Mythic Sunship :: Light/Flux When asked how the original Copenhagen garage trio Mythic Sunship brought bassist Rasmus Cleve Christensen into the group around 2015, drummer Frederik Denning confesses that they knew Christensen through a “Magic the Gathering and jazz” group. This, frankly, tells you much of what you need to know about the Sunship. And … Continue reading Mythic Sunship :: Light/Flux
Aquarium Drunkard :: Mailbag, Vol. III Long time reader, first time caller? Welcome to Mailbag, our new monthly column in which we dig in and respond to your questions. Got a query? Hit us up at aqdmailbag@gmail.com. In this month’s bag: Holiday music recommendations, the art of the music documentary, Lee “Scratch” Perry lost treasure, … Continue reading Aquarium Drunkard :: Mailbag, Vol. III
The Transfiguration of Blind Owl Wilson On the album cover, John Lee Hooker is surrounded by the 1971 version of Canned Heat. No one looks like they feel too good. Alan Wilson, the band’s main arranger, rhythm guitarist, and harmonica player is missing, though his portrait hangs on the back wall. This album, 1971’s Hooker … Continue reading The Transfiguration of Blind Owl Wilson
No Salt, No Lint, No Cassettes: AD Interviews Author And kranky Co-Founder Bruce Adams If you are a regular reader of Aquarium Drunkard, when you hear names like ECM, Kompakt, or 4AD, you probably immediately associate those labels with their visionary founders: Manfred Eicher, Wolfgang Voigt, and Ivo-Watts Russell, respectively. Though Chicago’s kranky Records shares … Continue reading No Salt, No Lint, No Cassettes: AD Interviews Author And kranky Co-Founder Bruce Adams
Sylvie :: Up On The Wind Shot in the southern California mountain range surrounding Big Bear lake, “Up On The Wind” serves as a teaser of what’s to come next year on the Sylvie front. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by our patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support … Continue reading Sylvie :: Up On The Wind
The Gospel Of Fahey’s Christmas Soli As the Turkey-fare winds down and the boxes of Christmas decor make their way from the basement, a transition is needed. Ringing in the holiday season in subtlety requires a look no further than America’s finest composer and most innovative maestro of steel string. With a discography expanding beyond … Continue reading The Gospel Of Fahey’s Christmas Soli
Loner Folks :: Robert Lester Folsom, John Fizer, Trevor Beales The so-called “loner folk” genre has become a bit of a record collector cliché over the past decade or so. The danger of hyperbole when it comes to this music is always near; you know, “unknown genius singer-songwriter makes a masterpiece, only 30 copies ever made!” … Continue reading Loner Folks :: Robert Lester Folsom, John Fizer, Trevor Beales