A quick dive into Brian Long’s influential ‘Excursions in Ambience’ compilation CD series. In 1993, Brian Long, a New York-based music freak who’d recently left Los Angeles and […]
E. Little
An adventure of textures and patterns in a visual form. You’re at a rave in an English field. It’s 1992. Sorted for e’s, your pill just kicked in […]
Visit Alice Coltrane’s spiritual home in this gorgeous documentary by Luaka Bop, Boiler Room and Petite Planetes. “In 1983 Alice Coltrane Turiysanagitananda founded the Sai Anantam Ashram, in […]
When, in 1970, the free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler was found dead in the East River, a rumor started swirling that the Mafia had murdered him and disposed […]
Maximalist experimental jazz from four heroes of the genre. For eight years starting in 1986, the searing free jazz quartet of Sonny Sharrock (electric guitar), Peter Brötzmann (sax), […]
Revisit one of the all-time great late night music programs produced by Hal Willner. For two years starting at the end of the 1980s, the producer and musical […]
A timeless synth played by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Alessandro Cortini, and Wendy Carlos. Introduced by Bay Area synthesizer innovator Don Buchla’s company in 1973, the Buchla Music Easel […]
In 1994, MTV ran a documentary on the British label Too Pure, which had been founded four years earlier with early releases from Stereolab, PJ Harvey and Seefeel. […]
Ambient selections from the deep discography of influential Japanese electronic producer Susumu Yokota. Where to start with Susumu Yokota. When asked about his mission in making music, the […]
Classic advertisements and illustrations from the cassette age. When Lou Ottens, who invented the cassette tape, died in March, a host of stories celebrated the life of a […]
Capturing the 70’s hi-fidelity craze in illustrations. If you were lucky enough to be a music freak who could also illustrate, in the 1960s and ‘70s you could […]
Classic Marantz, Klipsch, JBL, and Garrard advertisements from the peak Hi-Fi era. Fifty years ago when magazines were the dominant source of information on listening and hi-fi culture, […]
Introducing Deep Listening Tips, a new series inspired by Pauline Oliveros’ deep listening guide. Shhh, listen. You hear that phrase a lot in life. Shut up, too. Be […]
Sublime deep listening works from the founder of seminal electronic label Kompakt. In the early 1990s, Germany was a country undergoing a profound transition. The wall that separated […]
Punk, disco, hip hop and experimental. A look into the seminal New York City ‘No Wave’ label. New York City in 1980 was at a musical crossroads: the […]
A primer on Japanese experimental masters EYE, Yoshimi, Seiichi Yamamoto and the hypnotic mess they’ve made. The Boredoms aren’t an easy group to nail down. One of the strangest-ever […]
Post-punk and dub selections from the originator of lovers rock. The British reggae and dub producer Dennis Bovell is best known for his work producing sweet, swinging post-roots-reggae […]
Jazz’s evolution over the decades has begat a series of subgenres: be-bop, post-bop, free-jazz, spiritual jazz and fusion, to name a few. But by the end of the […]
It would behoove every listener-collector — vinyl freaks and Hi-Fi heads included — to consider subscribing to a streaming service, politics be damned. Yes, royalty payments to your […]
One common language issue among serious listeners and the writers who pander to them has to do with the adjective heavy and the ways in which it is […]
It’s no secret that In Sheep’s Clothing focuses on active listening and the depths to be explored within the grooves of great records. We sell and recommend physical […]
In 1958, RCA Victor introduced to the world a new technology under the banner “Living Stereo.” Focused at first on standard repertoire classical music, the vinyl imprint went […]
Earlier in October the New York-based concern Oda unveiled a first-generation speaker and performance system that was years in the making. Though envisioned and prototyped long before the […]
Why “Silver Apples” is a deep listening classic Nestled in the back-cover liner notes of Silver Apples’ 1968 self-titled debut album is a simple instructive that will resonate […]
