PRX: Echoes Interview Podcast

Poppy Ackroyd's Ne0-Classical Moods in Echoes Podcast In the Echoes Podcast, English composer Poppy Ackroyd.  Her album, Resolve was an Echoes CD of the Mont h two years ago. It’s finally out in the US. John Diliberto catches up with Poppy Ackroyd who talks about an approach to classical composition informed by punk rock and Radiohead . Poppy Ackroyd: I’m classically trained, but I think when I wa...

Eastern Fusion Past and future with Hans Christian and Ravi Shankar in Echoes Podcast. The Echoes Podcast explores Indian Fusion Past and Future with cellist Hans Christian and the 100th Birthday of Ravi Shankar. Cellist Hans Christian has been a fixture on Echoes for all its 30 years, both as a solo artist and with the duo, Rasa.    His music has ranged from electronic to solo cello to Hindi chan...

Ukulele Giant Jake Shimabukuro Goes Beyond in the Echoes Podcast. In the Echoes Podcast, Jake Shimabukuro, the virtuoso Hawaiian ukulele player, talks about revolutionizing an instrument often seen as a novelty into a tool of pyrotechnic fury and ambient expanses. His new album, The Jake Shimabukuro Trio is a stylistic shift into more contemplative, ambient terrain that includes a cover of a Pink...

Alex Somers and Gentle Giant in Echoes Podcast. ALEX SOMERS In the Echoes Podcast this week, Alex Somers and Gentle Giant. Alex Somers is a name you hear on the fringes. He’s produced people like singer Briana Marella and Julianna Barwick .  He worked on the last two albums from Icelandic Icons, Sigur Ros and then formed a duo with Jonsi from that band. Now he’s in Hollywood scoring major films li...

Lane 8's Chilled EDM & Ralph Towners 80th Birthday We talk to Daniel Goldstein, better known as the electronic artist, Lane 8 . He makes a chilled brand of EDM and recently released his album, Brightest Lights with guest vocalists that include Polica and Artic Lights . He calls his sound “dreamy back-rub house music” and bands cameras, including cell-phone cameras, at his concerts. Daniel Goldstei...

Agnes Obel Interview in Echoes Podcast: Myopic Beauty In the Echoes Podcast , Danish singer Agnes Obel.   She creates a haunting ambient chamber pop music and has  been a big part of the show since her 2010 debut, Philharmonics , an Echoes CD of the Month, as was her last album, Citizen of Glass .  She puts out a great album about every 3 years and her new one follows suit. It’s called Myopia . It...

Big Ears Festival 2020 Preview and Jon Christensen Remembered this Week in Echoes Podcast In the Echoes Podcast, we talk to Ashley Capps about his Big Ears 2020 Festival .  Then we remember drummer Jon Christensen , the ECM house drummer. The Big Ears Music Festival 2020 is upon us. We talk to founder Ashley Capps as well as Kronos and The Necks about this year’s collection of over 100 artists, wh...

Peter Kater's Hard Road to New Age Bliss & Lyle Mays Remembered Peter Kater & Lyle Mays We talk with 2020 Grammy winning pianist Peter Kater and we remember Lyle Mays of the Pat Metheny Group. In the Echoes Podcast , pianist Peter Kater.  When a musician wins a Grammy award, you often don’t know what they went through to get there. Take the case pianist Peter Kater, who took home this years gr...

Echoes Podcast: David Helpling's Oceanic Ambience: An Interview In the Echoes Podcast , guitarist David Helpling takes us into the runic and oceanic influences of his January CD of the Month , Rune . Helpling is a southern California musician who has been a favorite on the show for about 25 years. He’s recorded all his albums on the Spotted Peccary label, noted for their deep ambient music. His th...

All India Radio's Space Rock for the Chill Crowd in Echoes Podcast In the Echoes Podcast, All India Radio talks about his latest missive from Australia, Eternal , opens with a robot voice giving the exhortation, “Let’s Dance.” But this ain’t no party.  It’s a space music opus influenced by Pink Floyd and early electronic music. All India Radio’s Martin Kennedy use’s samples from a bad...

Steve Roach's Electronic Dig in the Echoes Podcast. In the Echoes Podcast we take a deep dive into the world of Steve Roach . The prolific electronic artist has been part of Echoes for all of its 30 years and more. We’ve chronicled his electronic evolution more than just about anyone. Steve released several albums in 2019 including Bloom Ascension and Trance Archeology . After several years...

Barrett Martin's Global Percussion and Darshan Ambient in Memoriam in Echoes Podcast. In the Echoes Podcast, Barrett Martin takes us on a Global percussion Trek and we Remember Darshan Ambient. First we talk to multi-instrumentalist, world fusionist, author, Zen monk and former drummer with Screaming Trees , Barrett Martin . He’s created a world fusion sound with his group in which he specializes...

Fink's Dream Blues In the Echoes Podcast we talk with Fink . He’s a British electronic musician turned ambient singer-songwriter, who creates deep ruminative songs sung in his mellifluous tenor.  He talks about his latest album, Bloom Innocent and finds links between blues, electronica and New Orleans.

The Best of Echoes 2019-A Select View with John Diliberto Last week we counted down The Best of Echoes 2019 , a list of our 25 favorite album. Now, Echoes’ John Diliberto takes a stroll through that list, giving some context and commentary and highlighting some of the lesser known recordings and artists on the album including Michael Gulezian , Theodore , Mark Dwane , Spatialize , Hugar , Ri...

Vonavi's Ukrainian Ambiences in Echoes Podcast In the Echoes Podcast we travel to Ukraine to talk with Andrei Ivanov , who records as Vonavi . Ukraine is something of a backwater when it comes to any international music scene, but Vonavi has found a way out, through the internet.  This young electronic composer has just released his impressive debut album, Reflections . He talks to us from his Ukr...

Future Forward with Neuland and a Flashback 50 with Fairport Convention in Echoes Podcast In the Echoes Podcast we talk with Neuland and take a Flashback 50 to Fairport Convention’s Liege and Lief . Neuland is the name of a project featuring two former members of Tangerine Dream , Peter Baumann and Paul Haslinger . Baumann was a member of the classic edition of the dream, appearing on albums...

Rise Ascends from Talitha Rise in Echoes Podcast In the Echoes Podcast , Rise emerges from the ashes of Talitha Rise . In 2018 our number one album of the year was An Abandoned Orchid House by Talitha Rise. We interviewed Jo Beth Young and Martyn Barker who made up that group. But now, we’ve gotten a new album by Young, and it’s released just under the name of Rise. It’s called Strangers and that...

We Celebrate Wendy Carlos' 80th Year in Echoes Podcast We look back at Wendy Carlos on her 80th Birthday. You know that a lot of time has passed when your references become dated. With its array of cords and cables crisscrossed in a patchbay, we used to compare it to a telephone switchboard gone crazy. Well, synthesizers don’t look like that anymore, the modular renaissance excepted, and mos...

In Echoes Podcast Voxfire Brings Medieval Chants to the 21st Century In the Echoes Podcast, we get all Medieval on you. Remember when Gothic chant was all the rage in the 1990s? Albums featuring Benedictine Monks and Abbess Hildegard von Bingen hymns were heard in all kinds of configurations by artists, like Sequentia , Richard Souther , Vox and Enigma . A band called Voxfire continues that tradit...

Oboist Jill Haley's Nature Soundscape in Echoes Podcast In the Echoes Podcast, we go out to the park with oboist and composer Jill Haley . Her parks have names like Yellowstone , Glacier , Zion, and Badlands . She takes up residence in National Parks, and composes music inspired by the landscapes and her photographs. Haley has played on numerous Will Ackerman productions and is a founding member o...

Vampires and Murder with Bat for Lashe's Natasha Khan in Echoes Podcast. In the Echoes Podcast , it’s vampires and dangerous love when we talk with Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes . She’s been making dreamy, electronically draped moody songs since her 2006 debut, Fur and Gold . The English singer moved from England to LA a few years ago, but her music is still pretty moody and Gothic. On her new al...

Hugar, King Crimson and Erik Scott in Echoes Podcast. It’s a 3-Part Echoes Podcast with Hugar, King Crimson’s 50th and a Remembrance of Erik Scott First we enter the chill of Iceland for an interview with Hugar . The ambient chamber music duo recently released their second album Varða . It was the Echoes CD of the Month in September. It’s music inspired by the landscapes of Iceland. Th...

Tycho Interview and Flashback 50 to Pentangle's Basket of Light in Echoes Podcast. Tycho & Pentangle In the Echoes Podcast this week: An interview with Tycho and a  Flashback 50   to Pentangle’s Basket of Light First we go inside the music of Tycho with Scott Hansen and singer Saint Sinner . For most of the last two decades there has been a strain of rock music that didn’t really rock ou...

Echoes Podcast Echoes John Diliberto and Jeff Towne Talk 30 Years of Echoes.   David Sylvian and John Diliberto circa 1992 in Echoes basement studio. In the Echoes Podcast , John Diliberto and Jeff Towne cast back through 30 years of incredible music, live performances, great interviews and some 7800 Echoes shows. Taking questions from listeners and musicians John and Jeff talk about the orig...

Rob Simonsen's Reveries: A Film Composer's Refuge in the Echoes Podcast Rob Simonsen is a veteran film composer who’s movies include Nerve , Love, Simon and  dozens of others. This year alone he’s scored The Friend , Fast Color and Captive State . Somehow, he found time to make his first solo recording, Reveries . He creates a nostalgic ambient chamber music album, seen through the fog of hi...