Crucial Listening

Fountains of ideas, mind blown in Rap City, candy wrapper responses. The New Brunswick-based trumpet player, improviser and composer discusses three important albums.Nicole's picks:Wayne Shorter – Speak No EvilA Tribe Called Quest – Low End TheorySteve Lacy – Snips: Live at EnvironNicole's album Saudade is out on Ansible Editions. Check it out on Bandcamp. Find all of Nicole's other links (socials, website) right here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Dizzy rhythms, slippery transitions, sincerity and playfulness. The Oakland-based composer and performer discusses three important albums.Michelle's picks:Zeena Parkins – Zeena Parkins and The Adorables Duke Ellington – The Best Of Duke Ellington And His Famous OrchestraCaetano Veloso – TransaMichelle's new record, Late Morning, is out now on AKP Recordings. Check it out on Bandcamp. Her website is here and she's also on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Obstetric ambient, sullen atmospheres, episodic engulfment. The classical ambient composer discusses three important albums.Adam's picks: Environments (Irv Teibel) – Environments 2Talk Talk – Spirit Of EdenMain – HzAdam's new album, Eleven Fugues For Sodium Pentothal, is out now on Kranky. Check it out on his Bandcamp. Adam's website is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Train breakdown Feldman epiphanies, radical flatness in the primeval forest, the Gary Numan barracks theft. The New York-based composer discusses three important albums.Kenneth's picks:Gary Numan – The Pleasure PrincipleMorton Feldman (Kronos Quartet with Aki Takahashi) – Piano And String QuartetGlenn Gould – Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1955)Kenneth's new album, Three Cellos, is the first instalment in Greyfade's FOLIO series: a hardcover book and a high resolution download. Check it out here or over on Bandcamp. Kenneth's website is over here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Aggressive pianos, bursting arpeggios, music for the cool kids. The Australian composer and producer discusses three important albums.Madeleine's picks:Philip Glass – GlassworksDirty Three – Whatever You Love, You AreTim Hecker – VirginsMadeleine's new album, Bodies, is out now on Room40. Check it out on her Bandcamp. Her website is here and she's also Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Black metal for midwest drives, post-apocalyptic collage, ragas for John. The Manchester, UK-based ambient folk artist discusses three important albums.Ethan's picks:Wolves In The Throne Room – Two HuntersGodspeed You! Black Emperor – F# A# ∞Pelt – AyahuascaThe new Black Brunswicker EP, A Moment Of Clarity, is out April 26th on Nettwerk. You can hear several tracks over on the Black Brunswicker bandcamp, and also see a couple of official videos over on Youtube. Ethan is also on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Cathartic tragedies, dog-eating opera, guitar improviser spirit animals. The vocalist, lyricist and composer from 9T Antiope discusses three important albums.Sara and Nima's picks:Scott Walker & Sunn O))) – SousedBen Frost – The Wasp FactorySidsel Endresen & Stian Westerhus – BonitaThe new 9T Antiope album, Horror Vacui, is out 12th April on American Dreams. Check it out here. 9T Antiope is on Twitter. Sara is on Twitter and Instagram. Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Voice drips like milk, rays of soprano sunlight, filthy metal bass face. Producer, vocalist and DJ Felicia Chen discusses three important albums.Felicia's picks: Arvo Pärt – Te DeumPortishead – DummyGoth-Trad – PsionicsThe collaborative record between Dis Fig and The Body is out now via Thrill Jockey. Check it out here. Dis Fig is on Instagram and Soundcloud.The Body and Dis Fig will debut the collaboration at this year's Supersonic Festival in Birmingham UK, which runs 30th August – 1st September. More info here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Driving in fury, letting the endings be real, slow and lonely. The free improvisation percussionist discusses three important albums.Mark's picks:Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell – Old And New Dreams (1979)Evan Parker – MonocerosRebecca Saunders – Fury IIAs always, Mark has a bunch of upcoming live dates. These include Evan Parker's 80th birthday residency at Cafe Oto, for which Mark has prepared a four-part percussion group. Mark's website is here.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening

Caught by howling, three people at the 2pm concert, vivid colour changes. The Berlin-based singer and artist discusses three important albums.Rosa's picks: Julia Shortreed – Violet SunLow – Double NegativeTear Garden – To Be An Angel Blind, The Cripple Soul DivideRosa's new album Interior is out 23rd February on KLANGBAD. Check out her music on Bandcamp. Rosa's website is here. She's also on Instagram.Donate to Crucial Listening on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cruciallistening