Free Association with Brian Carpenter

Steven Bernstein is a trumpeter/composer/arranger who founded the band Sex Mob in the mid 1990s. Steven joins Free Association to talk about his new record with Sex Mob and his decades-long work with Scott Harding, Hal Willner, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, and John Lurie.

Michael Gira speaks with Brian on the subject of the new Swans record The Beggar, and on the cusp of a worldwide tour. Gira formed Swans in 1982 in New York City. After a long hiatus, the band reformed in 2010 with the record My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky. Since then the band has become known for their compelling live performances and as one of the most uncompromising bands in new m...

Composer J.G. Thirlwell is a man of many interests and talents, with wide-ranging projects including the decades-running Foetus, the large ensemble Steroid Maximus, chamber ensemble Manorexia, collaborations and compositions for Kronos Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, and Bang on a Can, and his scores for the TV series Venture Brothers and Archer. His new record Dystonia (Cantaloupe Music) features rive...

NYC-based guitarist Stephen Ulrich is best known for his work with the "guitar-noir" trio Big Lazy. His new record Music for This American Life chronicles his compositions for the show of the same name. Stephen joins Brian to talk about writing for radio and TV, the history of Big Lazy, and much more.

Guitarist/composer Brandon Seabrook joins the show to talk about his new record brutalovechamp in a wide-ranging conversation with long-time collaborator Brian Carpenter on composing, arranging, recording, and much more.

Naomi Yang (Galaxie 500, Damon and Naomi) stops by the show to discuss her new documentary film Never Be a Punching Bag For Nobody and the unique soundtrack she created for it.

This episode’s guest is David Harrington, founder of Kronos Quartet, the legendary string quartet at the vanguard of contemporary music for nearly 50 years. In this episode the subject is "Black Angels", the startling George Crumb composition which sparked the formation of Kronos in 1973, and the quartet’s recording of the piece nearly 15 years later. George Crumb (b. 1929) is an American modern c...

Alan Licht is a writer, musician, and curator based in NYC. He is known for his solo guitar work and long-time collaboration with guitarist Loren Connors and rock bands Run On and Love Child and the experimental group Text of Light. He is also the author of several books, including his new book Common Tones: Selected interviews with artists and musicians from 1995-2020. In this in-depth and wide-r...

Joan Wasser is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Brooklyn. She started out studying violin and playing in bands like The Dambuilders and Antony & the Johnsons before starting her own band Joan As Police Woman. Her new record is called The Solution Is Restless, a collaboration with legendary drummer Tony Allen and guitarist/bassist Dave Okumo of The Invisible. We talk abo...

Marissa Nadler returns to Free Association to talk about her new record The Path of the Clouds, her ninth record recorded with engineer Seth Manchester in Rhode Island. We talk about her relocation from Boston to Nashville, remote collaboration, harpist Mary Lattimore, writing lyrics, and our fascination with true crime and the TV show Unsolved Mysteries, which directly inspired at least one of th...

Judith Berkson is a composer, vocalist, and pianist based in Los Angeles. Her new record Liederkreis II explores the German lieder through beautiful and surreal processed voice. Judith joins Free Association to talk about her new record, how she arrived at the idea behind the record, her live shows, microtonal studies with Joe Maneri in Boston, her collaborations with guitarist Brandon Seabrook, a...

Damon and Naomi have been releasing records as far back as the 90s since the breakup of Galaxie 500. Their new record, A Sky Record, is accompanied by a lavish book of essays and photographs from friends and neighbors. They visit the show to talk about the making of the record and the various inspirations behind the music, in particular the German-based record label Sky Records.

John Vanderslice is one of the most talented and prolific songwriters of his generation, now based in the Los Angeles area with over 20 years of recorded history behind him and the founder of Tiny Telephone recording studios based in the Bay area. John visits Free Association to talk about his new EP, a new compilation of rarities from Tiny Telephone, his move to L.A., the music business, live sho...

E is Gavin McCarthy (Karate, Beat Circus), Jason Sanford (Neptune), and Thalia Zedek (Come, Live Skull, Uzi). All three members join Free Association to talk about their new record Complications and guest DJ on a few inspired tracks. E, "Acid Mantle", Complications (2020)   E, "Contagion Model", Complications (2020)   E, "Dead Drop", Complications (2020)   E, "Sunrise", Complications (2020)   E, "...

A three-hour retrospective co-hosted by Brian Carpenter and Alessandro De Rosa on the work of iconic composer Ennio Morricone, the Italian composer best known for his work on over 400 film scores, as well as over 100 classical works. His scores are considered some of the most influential and timeless in the history of film. In 2007 he received the Honorary Academy Award and was nominated for a fur...

A three-hour retrospective co-hosted by Brian Carpenter and Alessandro De Rosa on the work of iconic composer Ennio Morricone, the Italian composer best known for his work on over 400 film scores, as well as over 100 classical works. His scores are considered some of the most influential and timeless in the history of film. In 2007 he received the Honorary Academy Award and was nominated for a fur...

A three-hour retrospective co-hosted by Brian Carpenter and Alessandro De Rosa on the work of iconic composer Ennio Morricone, the Italian composer best known for his work on over 400 film scores, as well as over 100 classical works. His scores are considered some of the most influential and timeless in the history of film. In 2007 he received the Honorary Academy Award and was nominated for a fur...

Ryan H. Walsh is the author of Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968, an adventurous book chronicling the development of Van Morrison’s 1968 masterpiece Astral Weeks in Boston and many other interrelated Boston stories from the same year. Ryan joins Free Association to talk about some of the stories from 1968, including The Velvet Underground’s popularity in Boston, the so-called Boston Sound ban...

Songwriter/composer Alec K. Redfearn is the composer and songwriter behind The Eyesores, an adventurous ensemble based in Providence which features him singing and playing amplified and often distorted accordion. He has also led and been a collaborator in many other bands, including the Amoebic Ensemble, Barnacled, Beat Circus (with Brian Carpenter), Gutterhelmet (his duo with drummer Matt McLaren...

Marissa Nadler returns to Free Association with her fantastic new record  For My Crimes. The conversation includes thoughts on songwriting, lyrics, specificity, music videos, recording the voice, and collaborations. Original air date: WZBC-FM, September 28, 2018 Marissa Nadler “For My Crimes”For My Crimes Bella Union 2018 Marissa Nadler “Blue Vapor”For My Crimes Bella Union 2018 Marissa Nadler “Sa...

Thalia Zedek stops by Free Association with her new record  Fighting Season and talks about her long-time friendship with J. Mascis, solo work, her upcoming tour with Chris Brokaw, and more. Original air date: September 7, 2018 Thalia Zedek Band“Bend Again”, Fighting Season Thrill Jockey Records 2018 Conversation Thalia Zedek Band “Fighting Season”, Fighting Season Thrill Jockey Records 2018 Thali...

Thalia Zedek and Gavin McCarthy, two thirds of the band E with Jason Sanford, return to Free Association with a new record  Negative Work. The lively conversation ranges from recording and mixing to rehearsing and touring. Original air date: May 18, 2018

Engineer, producer, and musician Martin Bisi has been recording bands for over 35 years at B.C. Studios in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn and has a new collaborative record out called  BC 35: The 35 Year Anniversary of BC Studio with members of many of the bands he recorded in the 80s and 90s such as Swans, Cop Shoot Cop, Foetus, Alice Donut, and Live Skull. Martin called into Free Association to...

Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang visit Free Association to talk about Damon’s new book The New Analog, a fascinating look at the shift from analog to digital in music and other mediums. The conversation ranges from “thick listening” to records versus digital media, what happens when we listen with headphones, background conversations on Pet Sounds, credits and production on the new Taylor Swift sing...

Music from and inspired by Twin Peaks in advance of Season Three. An interview with composer Angelo Badamalenti, plus music from David Lynch, Julee Cruise, Jimmy Scott, Johnny Jewel, Fantomas, and Xiu Xiu.