Essential Tremors

Electronic musician Jon Hopkins is well-known in certain circles as the creator of numerous thoughtful, yet in many cases danceable, records. He's also had his hand in some enormously commercially successful records, however, as a producer and guest musician, such as Coldplay's "Viva la Vida," as well as in several co-productions with Brian Eno. In this episode, he discusses the effect songs by En...

Brooklyn-based jazz trumpeter Jaimie Branch has established a significant following and accumulated many critical accolades, both here in America and abroad.  In this episode, she talks about how songs by Nirvana, Sun Ra, and Eric Dolphy made her the artist she is today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As frontman for Sleaford Mods, Jason Williamson has brought working-class anger and surly wit to the duo's bumping minimalist tracks. On this episode, he talks about how second-wave UK punk, Raekwon, and Two Lone Swordsmen shaped his music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guitarist Steve Gunn has carved out a career as both a singer/songwriter and a six-string explorer. In this episode, he discusses the impact music by Richard Thompson, Mary Margaret O’Hara, and Solange has had on his work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer is one of the most respected musicians of his generation, as borne out by the accolades he’s received to date, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2013, a Doris Duke Performing Artists Award, and a lifetime appointment as a Professor of the Arts at Harvard University.  His work is far from coldly academic, however: soulful, delicate, nuanced, and mesmerizing, it...

Alan Sparhawk, along with his spouse (and previous Essential Tremors guest) Mimi Parker), have, as Low, managed to not only maintain a collaborative and marital union for the better part of thirty years, but to constantly forge ahead artistically over the course of their 13 studio albums. Somehow managing to sound familiar but also intriguingly new with each release, the band has consistently...

Composer Ellen Fullman has spent the past 40 years developing and exploring the Long String Instrument, a sui generis room-sized installation capable of creating a galaxy of tones and overtones. In this episode, she discusses the influence of traditional Ainu music, Central African polyphony, and com poser Pauline Oliveros. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/li...

Richard Thompson is an English singer-songwriter whose work spans over five decades and who has likely influenced many of your favorite bands and musicians with his distinct, virtuosic guitar-playing. Thompson could also be credited with bringing Celtic and other traditional folk influences to bear on mainstream rock music through his work with his first band, Fairport Convention, in the 1960&rsqu...

Washington, DC-based singer/guitarist Mary Timony has built a deeply respected career through a series of bands like Autoclave, Helium, Wild Flag, and Ex Hex, as well as solo music. In this episode, she talks about how the music of Jimi Hendrix, the Velvet Underground, and Moondog shaped her own work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

Suzanne Vega has spanned four decades with her deceptively cool singing voice and urbane songwriting. On this episode, she discusses how the music of Bob Dylan, Philip Glass, and Lou Reed guided her path. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stephen Morris drove the shift from punk to postpunk as the drummer for Joy Division and New Order, and helped further open postpunk to new sounds. On this episode, he discusses how the music of Can, Terry Riley, and Grandmaster Flash shaped his course. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tricky has created his own sound world over the past 25 years, built from broken hip-hop beats, forlorn chanteuses, and shadowy mutters. In this episode, he talks about the impact of Nirvana, Billie Holiday, and T. Rex on his life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singer/guitarist Mdou Moctar has blazed a trail for electrified Tuareg music from his native Niger through the music venues of Europe and the U.S. In this episode, he talks about how Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, and Tinariwen shaped his own music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kristin Hersh has built a devoted following with her one-of-a-kind singing and songwriting, as a solo artist and as leader of the bands Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave. On this episode, she discusses how traditional ballads, Nick Drake, and Vic Chesnutt impacted her own work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brandon Soderberg has worked as a music critic, an altweekly editor, and a reporter on the frontlines of protest. He’s now the co-author of I Got a Monster , a book about the Baltimore Police Department’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force. On this episode, he discusses how music from OutKast, Fabio Frizzi, and Jason Isbell shaped his work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

Amanda Shires has made her mark on American music as a singer, songwriter, and fiddle player, both solo and a member of Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit. On this episode, she discusses how songs by Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen, and Richard Buckner shaped her work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thurston Moore's name and work have been ever-present in the last 40 years of underground culture, from his years in Sonic Youth and his solo career, his many musical collaborations, his record-label and book-publishing activities, and his unofficial boosterism. In this episode, he talks about how the Kingsmen, Patti Smith, and Public Image Ltd. shaped him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Bob Mould has turned out decades worth of impassioned singing and songwriting as leader of Husker Du and Sugar and a longstanding solo artist. In this episode, he talks about how songs from the Beatles, the Ramones, and My Bloody Valentine shaped his work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Music critic Marcus Moore became an author with his new book The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America. On this episode, he discusses what songs by Roberta Flack, Common, and Stevie Wonder have meant to him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Drummer Chris Frantz provided the rhythms for two seminal groups, Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club, a career he discusses in his memoir, Remain in Love. In this episode, he discusses how Jimmy Dean, the Beatles, and James Brown shaped his life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MC Schmidt and Drew Daniel of the electronic duo Matmos have built their body of work from manipulating unusual sounds. On this episode, recorded live at Fadensonnen in Baltimore, they talk the music that influenced their own. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flying Lotus's music has consistently overflowed the barriers that separate electronic music, hip-hop, jazz, and other genres over the course of five albums and many side projects and collaborations. In this episode, he discusses how his work was shaped by Stravinsky, Slum Village, and Queen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UK guitarist Gwenifer Raymond has adapted the sounds of the American South for her own intricate, and sometimes riotous, acoustic compositions. In this episode, she discusses how tunes from the Pixies, Roscoe Holcomb, and John Fahey guided her work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Composer/multi-instrumentalist Jeff Parker is a prolific solo artist and a member of esteemed post-rock quintet Tortoise. Here he explains how songs by a jazz drummer, a master sampler, and a legendary jazz trumpeter shaped his musical vision. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Baltimore-based musician Dan Deacon has evolved substantially in both the scope and ambition of his artistic endeavors since his breakout 2007 album Spiderman of the Rings. In this episode, he talks about how Pee-Wee Herman helped indirectly cultivate his interest in being a performer, Lightning Bolt changing how he thought about music, and the technical influence Daft Punk had on his vocal style....