Transmissions

This week on the show, we’re joined by Ade Blackburn of Clinic. The Liverpool-based duo of Blackburn and Jonathan Hartley released a great record last year called Fantasy Island, full of skittering drum machines, cavernous sounds, and fuzzed out melodies, and this week sees the 20th anniversary of their sophomore album, Walking With Thee. The band’s trademark strangeness draws the listener in, and our talk with Blackburn focuses a lot on the allure of leaving room for mystery in music. We also get into his countercultural inspirations, the blending of rock & roll and the avant-garde, discuss the dub-influenced side Clinic offshoot Higher Authorities, and chat about collaborating with Roky Erickson and John Cale. We had a great time speaking with him and think you’re going to enjoy this one. If you do, please consider doing us a favor: leave a rating and a review for the show, recommend it to your friends, and help us spread the word.

This week on the show, we're joined by world renowned whistler Molly Lewis. Last year, she released a great EP called The Forgotten Edge via Jagjaguwar. With its exotica and spaghetti western motifs, the EP is a supremely playful and lovely listen. And Lewis is a charming conversationalist too. We got into her roots in competitive whistling, being in the studio with Dr. Dre, working with John C. Reilly and whistling for the late, great Harry Dean Stanton.

"Transmissions is a lovely name; I think that's a very crucial name for this age." So says mystic musician Laraaji, our guest this week on the show. Sitting down with host Jason P. Woodbury, His Orangeness (AKA Edward Larry Gordon) discusses his new collaboration with NOUS and Arji OceAnanda, Circle of Celebration, plus his upbringing in the Baptist church, initial entry into meditation, the spiritual qualities of laughter, and much more. Introduced to the world by Brian Eno, who heard him playing electric zither and subsequently produced Ambient 3: Day of Radiance, Laraaji has created music constantly since, teaming up fellow artists like Carlos Niño, Bill Laswell, Blues Control, Shahzad Ismaily, and many more. "Metaphysical thought [has] influenced my music in that it prepared me for having an inner hearing experience, a paranormal hearing experience," he says. Join us today on Transmissions to explore his sound visions even deeper.

Today on Transmissions: Cate Le Bon, who, for the last decade plus, has made some of our favorite modern records, as well as producing great work for other artists, like Deerhunter and John Grant, who joined us last year on the podcast to talk about their collaboration The Boy From Michigan. Her new album is called Pompeii, an art pop gem out this week on Mexican Summer records. "I think the underlying theme of the record is we will forever be connected to everything," she says, joining host Jason P. Woodbury to discuss the album's genesis, the religious quality of the album's art, wood working, and much more.

Welcome back to our weekly podcast Transmissions. Today on the show, occult scholar Mitch Horowitz. He’s the author of a staggering number of metaphysical books and the tremendous historical project, Occult America, a deeply researched book that examines how America’s alternative spiritualities and esoteric scenes—from freemasonry to Spiritualism and beyond—have influenced the country’s politics, social movements, and general character. Traveling along the ins and outs of the Psychic Highway, Horowitz brings an even-handed and intellectually honest approach to topics concerning mysticism, parapsychology, New Thought, and the study of unidentified aerial phenomena or UFOs. Horowitz can currently be seen in Ronni Thomas’ The Kybalion, an adaptation of the 1908 occult manuscript which explores the seven principles of Hermetics, and his forthcoming book, Daydream Believer, is now available for pre-order. For this talk, Horowitz opens up about his musical roots, Bad Brains, his vast t-shirt collection, musical telepathy, and much more. You can find Mitch Horowitz on Medium, Twitter, Instagram and at his website.

Welcome to a bonus edition of Transmissions with David Bazan of Pedro The Lion joining host Jason P. Woodbury to discuss the release of the band's surprise album Havasu. Like 2019's Phoenix, the record focuses on Bazan's youth in Arizona. In this loose conversation, Bazan describes how he approached writing about his early teenage years, the enduring artistic influence of Fugazi, his initial relationship with Christian rock, and the work of Tom Petty.

Our guest today is Haley Fohr, better known as Circuit des Yeux and Jackie Lynn. Her latest is called iO, and it’s a stunning work of art rock bravado. In our 2021 Year in Review contributor Tyler Wilcox wrote: “On the new Circuit des Yeux album, Haley Fohr has pulled off quite a magic trick. She’s crafted her most accessible (occasionally even poppy) effort yet without sacrificing one iota of her strange, fearless musical vision. Fohr’s inimitable vocals here are bolstered at various times by ornate orchestral arrangements, minimal post-rock, and idiosyncratic electronics. ‘There’s an avalanche inside of me,’ she sings at one point. Prepare to be buried in it.” No one sounds like Fohr—she possesses a four octave voice—and few artists are pushing as intensely as she is these days. She joined us to discuss the evolution of Jackie Lynn, her label buying her a star, and of course, stunt work.

This week on Transmissions, the final episode of the season: Steve Berlin. Steve plays saxophone in Los Lobos, whose new album is called, Native Sons. It features Los Angeles-centric covers by the likes of WAR, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and Thee Midniters. But Steve’s a fascinating figure on his own. He came up in the punk scenes of LA, playing with The Blasters and the Flesh Eaters, but since then he’s gone on to work with everyone from Rickie Lee Jones to The Replacements, The Go-Gos to R.E.M. and many more. Transmissions will return in January 2022, until then, follow Aquarium Drunkard for more and dig into the archives. 

This week on Transmissions, our weekly series of strange conversations: Roberto Carlos Lange of Helado Negro. His new album of electronic bliss pop, psychedelic ambient, and soulful love songs is called Far In. Lange joined host Jason P. Woodbury for a talk about Marfa, his journey through the world of independent music, expansive views of consciousness, and the early days of his musical practice—as well as much more.

This week on Transmissions, our weekly series of strange conversations: Scott Hirsch. Perhaps you know his name from the credits of albums by William Tyler or Alice Gerrard. Or perhaps you're into his solo records: the nocturnally grooving Windless Day is the latest. He's a long time collaborator of M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger, and their relationship stretches back to the post-hardcore band Ex-Ignota. Hirsch joins host Jason Woodbury from his Ojai studio Echo Magic. On this episode, we discuss JJ Cale, the spiritual topography of California, and his punk rock immersion into the broader world of independent rock.