The Magic Organ

Episode 82 kicks off with some minimalist instrumental funk, segues into medium laidback African music out of Senegal, dips into some dark indie from Big Brave, and on and on it goes for 13 minutes. The episode concludes with some electronic metal out of Kenya and nothing signifies where The Magic Organ is at more than a tune by an African metal musician that is distorted and aggro but surely is n...

There was music before the internet and a lot of it was really good. This week we feature tracks from Portugal, Russia, America, Israel, and Sweden. All bangers but the opening track is especially hot. Thanks for listening and stay safe out there. Excerpts from this episode: Shegundo Galarza: O Pezinho Ivan Rebreff: Cossacks Must Ride Lionel Hampton: Flying Home Lev Ran Choir: N/A (record face is...

A response to our last episode focusing on the sad ass music department picks at the New York Times. This by no means exhaustive set of bangers is part of The Magic Organ's continuing mission to present music that moves people, both asses and minds. We kick off with some delightfully funky dumpster electronic, pop out a nugget for all the rockers out there, head into some pumped up dancefloor mela...

Imagine if the New York Times recommended passionate music, extreme music, and music reflecting the human condition. But alas it is not to be. Today we cruise through the 8 of the NY Times' best tracks of the first half of 2024. If you disagree with my assessment of this bag of tracks, I will invite you on the podcast to discuss it if you make sense. Part of what makes being a sports fan great is...

There's the good heat from bangin' new music and there's the bad heat that will f*cking kill you and sometimes we have both. Let's hope for more heat between the musical humans and the listening humans and less heat from the planet (which is our fault, the fossil fuel humans). Stay safe out there. Summer 2023 was full of world music hot rocks and we can only hope for a repeat of that in 2024. We k...

Welcome back and we are on the threshhold of the summer of '24. The new music is heating up not quite as fast as the climate but we're just pretending climate change isn't happening because it's a #sadface bummer. Another 13 minute music bomb from all over -- hip hop from Shabazz Palaces, traditional Mexican music from Cana Dulce y Cana Brava, onto some guitar driven world music/rock from Somalila...

Episode 76! Could be a soft launch for summer '24 as we kick this episode off with the UK/Caribbean dancehall stylings of Flowdan with the track Do My Ting. He does his ting, I do my ting here at The Magic Organ, and hopefully you get in the ring and do your ting out there wherever you are. For the 80th gabillionth time, we are committed to quality and not genre, I would play more new indie rock a...

As I initially was constructing this episode I noticed the excellent space rock on offer from Okavango African Orchestra in track 3, and how the Brazilian MCs take American sounds and make them their own in the final track. All these various sounds and sonic subcultures slurping around the interwebz, picked up and checked out by other folks in other places and thereby changed even a wee bit as the...

The Magic Organ returns and if you don't grok the whole 13 minutes (I estimate that to be 1 and one half to 2 toilet sittings depending on diet) make sure you peep the opener by Ahmed Ben Ali as I've been listening to this Liberian reggae dancehall gent do his thing and it is stylish. As usual lots of world music, but not exclusively world music and as we say at the Magic Organ it's not about genr...

Last week 90+ indie artists pulled out of South By Southwest (SXSW) as it's sponsored this year by defense contractor Raytheon and the U.S. Army. This episode features 6 of those indie artists. I understand my podcast has a small audience but anybody who hears these artists should support them and spread the word about them because they did something good and should be supported for it. Passing up...

Greetings Magic Organ devotees!! Regular listeners know this is the part where I ramble in an entertaining manner, apologize for mistakes made in the recording of this fine podcast, and talk about how awesome this podcasts is. I believe I put the emphasis on the wrong syllable in the second track Basilisk, quality and transparency matter here at the Magic Organ (unlike Boeing!) and maybe I misprou...

Episode 71, you can't stop the underground bangers -- it's a tidal wave!!! I can barely contain these 13 minute podcasts as they are bursting with farm fresh musical flavors and creativity. We kick it off with some outstanding guitar work out of the Congo, head into to some dub from a Puerto Rican musician, onto some ambient shitkicking out of Virginia, more reggae-dub flavors out of the UK, indie...

America hates everything that doesn't make a ton of money, music maybe most of all. Who cares if 'Merka hates underground music, maybe deep down they realize what an utter crock of shit corporate music really is? Worse and less satisfying than a McDonald's burger, flatter too. We do what we do during every episode, we kick it without regard for genre, location, race or class. Starting with some fe...

We continue with the celebration of all the great music that came out in 2023. Billy Woods continued with his sizzling string of hot records, the Kara Jackson record is beautiful, Homeboy Sandman is completely underrated and The Coral, so far into their career, released a great The Coral record. I'm a finicky fckr so for me to go on and on about how much great music came out in 2023 is a sign of h...

Part 3 of The Magic Organ's end of year roundup is here and now. Be careful and don't shit your pants in complete and total amazement. Summer 2023 was an avalanche of incredible African music but other genres, most notably electronic music, were bumping along as well. And don't sleep on the Liturgy album, it's a banger. I say unto ye focus on quality and not on genre and that will produce much hap...

I am a finicky ass mofo and yet there will be many more rounds of The Magic Organ Roundup as 2023 was an incredible year for new music. This episode does the usual Magic Organ thing, lots of energy, lots of genres and feelings. The whole point is not to make money but to feel something. Enjoy your holidays and find some new music! Excerpts from this episode: Alex Figueira: Blowing Up Gates Angel B...

Let it begin! The Magic Organ Best of 2023 Part 1. I picked all the records for this episode but especially rocked the Son Rompe Pera record and the Liv.e record in early 2023. Just so you know. Excerpts from this episode: Son Rompe Pera: Chucha Blak Flower: Magma Liv.e: Heart Break Escape Horse Lords: Comradely Objects Mizmor & Thou: Myopia schroothoop: Cheval Orange Feel free to follow me on...

The episode title says it all, the Year End Roundup comes after this episode but do not sleep on this episode as a couple of the tracks here are from records that will make the year end list, the James Holden recording and the Justin Walter ambient solo synth record. In addition we got a little slinky hip hop, some cumbia (that record could make the list too!), a tasty track from PJ Harvey -- oy,...

Inspired by ongoing events in the world The Magic Organ is opposed to all warring and violence. We approve only of dropping the bomb on one's own self and moving towards being a better person with better values and less violence inside you. Of course, by this we mean killing as there are many among us who could use a good dirtnap/adjustment. We kick it off with a track from the new Dengue Fever re...

First off the mistakes. I say in this episode that the Nihiloxica tune is off a remix album and it's not, it's off their new record called Source of Denial which just came out on Crammed Discs and you should check that record out. That's how it works with the mistakes, those folks who get victimized get some added mentions in the show notes. The Hella record is called Hold Your Horse Is and that j...

Released Monday September 4, 2023 -- Labor Day!!! So let's honor the labor of musicians who in our current music business regime often labor for fractions of pennies. Oh no politics! I freeball all my commentary and alas I make mistakes. I mistakenly say in this episode that the second group Teke::Teke is from Japan because they have a female singer with a Japanese accent. This outfit is from Cana...

Oh man, late summer 2023!!! Hot enough for you? The sheer volume of insanely great music out of Africa has been the listening highlight of this summer for me, but let's be honest most folks are not that sophisticated or adventurous enough to listen outside of the various lanes and channels created for them by the music industry. I urge you not to stay in your lane, it's boring, and you create a bo...

I got the idea for this episode in the middle of a global heat wave and though the scorching temps seem to be dying down a bit, the music out of Africa this summer has been hot hot hot. With the exception of the third excerpt from BKO the rest of these records were released this summer and that's pretty damned impressive. I can't say I've heard five rock records out of the U.S. or the U.K. that co...

Have you ever hung out with an investment banker? I have had that great misfortune and it does indeed make you appreciate musicians because bankers are boring af. So if you can get your head arount that comparison and manage to get around the stereotype that musicians are lazy do nothings, try to appreciate musicians who do something to make the world more tolerable. This week we do what we do, we...

It's been a bit, I was out going to multiple Taylor Swift shows as part of her gigantic, man what an artiste!!!! We are back in the saddle for the summer and bringing the flavors. We got some South Asian ambient music kicking us off and then we just shred, shred away into some African into the metal in and out of some this and that, it's action packed you shitheads! Excerpts from this episode: Ruh...