The German-born, New York-based singer and actress Ute Lemper's career has spanned a century of songs from the worlds of cabaret jazz, avant-garde pop, musical theater, even contemporary classical music. But when she sings the music of Kurt Weill, a much earlier German-born, NY-based artist, she has few equals. So when Carnegie Hall decided to launch its series exploring the music of the Weimar Republic, Ute Lemper had to have a featured role to play. On Friday, Feb. 9, she’ll be performing her tribute to Weimar Berlin at Zankel Hall, and she’s in the studio to give us a preview of what that’ll sound like. Ticket info for Ute Lemper at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall in the round on Feb. 9. Set list: 1. Solomon Song/Pirate Jenny 2. Cabaret Songs (Medley of Sexual Liberation) 3. En Brecht/ Die Moritat von Mackie Messer

London-based country-folk-pop outfit The Wandering Hearts are known for their deft fingerpicking, rousing choruses, dark-hued lyrics, and sweet, close vocal harmonies. Their music is a blend of Laurel Canyon and British folk sensibilities, heartfelt songwriting and storytelling, and was a great fit at the recent official Americana Fest showcase in Nashville, TN. The Wandering Hearts play new songs from their latest release, ‘Mother’, in-studio. Set list: 1. River to Cry 2. Not Misunderstood 3. About America  

The singer Britti is from Louisiana, and her debut LP, winningly titled Hello, I’m Britti, is like being introduced to someone who somehow already feels familiar. Britti’s songs are full of the classic sounds of vintage soul, New Orleans funk, blues, and even country/heartland rock. Her sultry croon, ranging from Sade-meets-second line to shimmering country-pop (like her childhood favorite Dolly Parton), on her Dan Auerbach-produced debut album, lounges atop a hazy retro vibe with both country twang and a horn section. Britti plays some of these new songs in a stripped-down setting with just voice and guitar, in-studio. Set list: 1. So Tired 2. Nothing Compares to You 3. Keep Running

Sudanese-American bandleader Sinkane, aka Ahmed Gallab, weaves the sounds of Afrobeat, disco, soul, even krautrock into his irresistible, dance-ready songs. With his latest, We Belong, due out in April, Sinkane found inspiration in Black Arts, Music and Culture and sought out collaborations across a New York community of artists, musicians, poets, and authors. Those full gospel harmonies, a deeper understanding of composition, and connecting with people all generate a message of hope and belonging, and of shaking it. As Sinkane has quoted of late in some interviews, “Free your mind and your ass will follow!”   Set list: 1. Everything is Everything 2. How Sweet Is Your Love 3. We Belong

American pianist Lara Downes has been redefining what it means to be a classical musician, often by expanding our definition of classical music. She’s championed the works of women and Black composers; she’s been a cultural activist and a broadcaster. Now, she’s commissioned a radical new arrangement of Gerswin's "Rhapsody In Blue" by Puerto Rican composer Edmar Colón, to mark the 100th anniversary of Gershwin’s iconic piece. Lara Downes and Edmar Colón play some of "Rhapsody in Blue, Reimagined", in-studio.  Set List: 1. Love Will Find A Way (Eubie Blake) 2. My Lord What A Mornin’ (trad/arr. H.T. Burleigh) /  On Bended Knees (Burleigh arr of Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen) 3. Study in Blue (Gerswhin/Edmar Colón)

Canadian-based Afro-Cuban duo OKAN takes their name from the word for heart/soul in the Afro Cuban religion Santeria. Both co-leaders, composers and multi- instrumentalists Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne are classically-trained musicians (violin and percussion and orchestration); and their music combines the traditional chants and rhythms of the Afro-Cuban tradition with jazz, electronica, and pop. The Juno-Award winning OKAN plays compositions from their latest record, Okantomi, in-studio. Set list: 1. Oriki Oshun 2. Okantomi 3. La Reina del Norte

Self-described “lifelong hustler,” Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, is better known by his stage name Fantastic Negrito, and makes “black roots music for everyone” - blues with a giant undercurrent of punkass. Fantastic Negrito’s songs tell of a hard life with some complete do-overs and a few near-death experiences. Coming from a crossroads with optional deals, his music might be informed just as much by California funk-punk (Bad Brains and Fishbone), hip hop, thrash metal, punk, Prince and his self-taught ways - specifically Dirty Mind (according to this Guardian interview) and the blues records he’d heard as a kid, visiting family in southern Virginia. Lately, his tunes have been placed and licensed for TV and film series (Empire, Hand of God, and in the case of his song “Working Poor,” Bernie Sanders’ political campaign.) But back in the early 2000's he had co-founded a record label, which grew into Oakland-based multimedia creative collective, the Blackball Universe cooperative, fed and financed with the publishing royalties of his own musical alter egos Chocolate Butterfly, Me and This Japanese Guy and Blood Sugar X.  Fantastic Negrito's 2018 record, Please Don’t Be Dead, references his own near-fatal car crash, and is driven in part by political and social issues in these broken and fractured times. The record is full of heavy riffs, cheeky songwriting, playful musicianship, and a whole lot of surviving. It brings Fantastic Negrito to the studio to play some of these tunes. -by Caryn Havlik Watch the individual songs below:    

The singer and guitarist Lau Noah is based here in New York, but she’s originally from Catalonia in Spain, and her guitar playing reflects the sounds of Spanish classical and flamenco music. But there are also elements of Latin American music, jazz, pop, even bluegrass on her latest album. That’s because that record, called A Dos, is (as the title implies) a series of duets with people like jazz singer Cecile McLorin Salvant, mandolinist Chris Thile, and pop star Jacob Collier. Lau Noah with fellow singer Elliott Skinner, plays some of these duets, in-studio.  Set list: 1. Wooden Chair 2. Siete Lágrimas 3. If a Tree Falls in Love with a River Lau Noah's album release show for A Dos is on January 23rd at Joe's Pub

Nashville-based Brooklyn-born The Lone Bellow blends passionate, acoustic-based blues, country, and roots music into folky Americana with three-part vocal harmonies. They first brought their ever-shifting blend of American folk music and heartland rock to our studio before that first album even came out, and they’ve joined us at various points during their 10 year journey. The Lone Bellow plays songs built around warm, twangy guitar riffs, and a single old-timey microphone, in-studio, to celebrate their tenth anniversary.   Set list: 1. Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold 2. Cost of Living 3. Honey

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Louis Michot won a Grammy with his band the Lost Bayou Ramblers, a group that takes the Cajun tradition and adds a healthy dose of punk energy and occasional electronics. Now, he’s released a solo album called R​ê​ve du Troubadour – the troubadour’s dream – and it’s full of traditional Cajun sounds married to contemporary beats, whistled choruses, and guest musicians like Bombino, the Tuareg guitarist from Niger, and the cellist Layla McCalla. Louis Michot and his trio play some of these old melodies, enhanced with field recordings and danceable beats, in-studio.  Set list: 1. Amourette 2. R​ê​ve du Troubadour 3. Chanquaillie/Acadiana Culture Backstep

Hear favorite live performances from the WNYC studios this year: music by Indigenous two-spirit song carrier and activist Jeremy Dutcher; electronically-enhanced piano-based work by German-Swiss duo Grandbrothers; and Irish garage-punk band Sprints. Also, there's the quiet thrill and expressive song-play of Argentinian vocalist Sofía Rei and Peruvian bass player Jorge Roeder. Plus, listen to partly composed, and partly improvised music from Serbian quartet EYOT. ARTIST: Jeremy DutcherWORK: Honor Song [4:29]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Oct. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. INFO: jeremydutcher.com ARTIST: GrandbrothersWORK:  Blood Flow [5:55]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Sept. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. INFO: grandbrothersmusic.com ARTIST: SprintsWORK: Up and Comer [3:44]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Dec. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. The song appears on the album, Letter to SelfINFO: https://www.sprintsmusic.com/ ARTIST: Sofía Rei and Jorge RoederWORK:  Días de Sitio [2:54]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Aug. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. The song appears on the album, Coplas EscondidasINFO: https://jorgeroeder.bandcamp.com/album/coplas-escondidas ARTIST: EYOTWORK: 557799 [5:57]RECORDING: Recorded for the Soundcheck Podcast, May 2023SOURCE: This performance is not commercially availableINFO: A version appears on 557799

Hear favorite live performances from the WNYC studios this year: including Mercury Prize-winning London Afrobeat-jazz-hip hop quintet Ezra Collective; drummer Allison Miller’s chamber jazz band (with tap dance!); and beatmaker/bandleader Kassa Overall’s jazz meets rap and sound design. Plus, the furiously exhilarating post-punk of Atlanta-born quartet Algiers; and Mexican singer Magos Herrera with members of Brooklyn’s own The Knights. Playlist: ARTIST: Ezra CollectiveWORK: No Confusion [5:01]RECORDING: Live on the Soundcheck PodcastSOURCE:  This performance not commercially available. The song appears on the album, Where I'm Meant To BeINFO: https://ezracollective.bandcamp.com/album/where-im-meant-to-be ARTIST: Allison MillerWORK: Hudson [5:12]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Nov. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. INFO: allisonmiller.com ARTIST: Magos Herrera, Members of The KnightsWORK: Aire [5:02]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, August 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.INFO: https://magosherrera.bandcamp.com/album/aire ARTIST: Kassa OverallWORK: Make My Way Back Home [4:57]RECORDING: Recorded for the Soundcheck Podcast, July 2023SOURCE: This performance is not commercially available. A version appears on AnimalsINFO: https://www.kassaoverall.com/ ARTIST: AlgiersWORK: Irreversible Damage [5:04]RECORDING: Recorded for the Soundcheck Podcast, April 2023SOURCE: This performance is not commercially available. A version appears on ShookINFO: https://www.algierstheband.com

The phenomenal pianist Stewart Goodyear, known as both an improviser and composer, famously played all 32 of Beethoven's sonatas in one sitting, when he turned 32 years old. In predictably jaw-dropping fashion, Stewart then turned his electrifying powers to Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker,' with his own transcription of the complete ballet. (The album, released in October 2015, was chosen by the New York Times as one of the best classical music recordings of 2015.) He has since recorded Ravel piano works, his own "Callaloo" Suite and Piano Sonata, and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. He was supposed to have toured with Chineke! Orchestra, playing his "Callaloo" Suite this past year, but well. Yeah. 2020. Instead, we'll revisit this 2015 in-studio performance of pieces from Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker.' 

JJJJJerome Ellis describes himself as “a stuttering, Afro-Caribbean composer, poet, and performer.” His last album, The Clearing, was a brilliant mix of sax, electronic music, and storytelling, featuring his own, stuttering voice. But his new project doesn’t involve speech – though it is inspired by prayer. It’s called Compline, named after the old evening prayers of Western Christianity, and it’s a series of contemplative works for solo piano. JJJJJerome Ellis plays improvisations on Compline, his new set of piano works, in-studio. Set list: Compline Improvisation No. 4, Compline Improvisation No. 2, Compline Improvisation No. 3 Compline in Nine Movements by JJJJJerome Ellis

Nefesh Mountain has established itself over the past ten years as an unusual sort of bluegrass band, playing progressive, Jewish-themed music. The band is led by the husband and wife team of Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff and they’ve played with bluegrass legends like Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush. What is different about Nefesh Mountain is the way they incorporate Jewish themes and sometimes even Hebrew lyrics into a style of music that has its roots, in part at least, in Christian gospel music. Nefesh Mountain plays a live set in The Greene Space.   Set list: Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning, The Narrow Bridge, A Sparrow’s Song, A Mighty Roar

Singer and guitarist Anjimile made a striking impression with his 2020 album Giver Taker, a buoyant collection of indie folk pop. Now, he’s returned with a new record called The King, a much darker record that wrestles with Anjimile’s journey as a Black trans person in a divided America. The album draws on a wider range of sounds, including elements of metal and contemporary classical music. Anjimile plays solo, unplugged versions of some of these new songs. Set list: "Animal" "Anybody" "The King"

Pianist, bandleader and composer Joey Alexander was born in Indonesia and in 2013 at the age of 10, was invited by Wynton Marsalis to perform at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. He spent his teenage years as an interpreter of many jazz classics, playing with Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding, and at major festivals and night clubs, worldwide. In 2022, he released an album of originals rich in melodic and harmonic interplay called Origin. His latest album, a second record of (mostly) his own music, called Continuance, is just out, and it brings Joey Alexander to our piano, to play some of these tunes in a solo setting. Set list: 1. Blue 2. Aliceanna 3. Why Don't We  

Braxton Cook first made a name for himself as a teenager gigging on the Washington DC jazz scene; toured extensively alongside Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott), and worked in New York where he’s played sax with Jon Batiste (as part of the Soul soundtrack), Christian McBride, and others. But all the time, there was another side of Braxton Cook: the smooth R&B crooner. His latest solo album, Who Are You When No One Is Watching mixes jazz, soul, R&B, and some elements of hip hop production. The material also addresses current issues around injustices and racism, while giving a journaling spin to personal experiences. Braxton Cook and his band play in-studio some of these new songs and a tune from his 2018 record, No Doubt. Set list: 1. No Doubt 2. The Same 3. MB

Sprints is a garage-punk band from Dublin where they’re known for take-no-prisoners live shows and claim among their influences the likes of early Pixies, Bahaus, Siouxsie Sioux, King Gizzard, Savages and LCD Soundsystem. Their first full-length album is called Letter To Self, and amidst the crashing, searing, seething guitars, there is “an exploration of pain, passion and perseverance”, (dedication for the album), and some inward-looking lyrics. Sprints throws down a mix of deadpan delivery and explosive emotion, playing new songs in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: 1. Adore Adore Adore 2. Up and Comer 3. Literary Mind

Johan Lenox has one of the more unusual resumes in the music world. He’s probably best known as a producer, working with hip hop stars like Travis Scott and Big Sean. But he’s also a singer, pianist, and a composer of contemporary classical music. He’ll produce uncategorizable work with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid, write music for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and cover a Nirvana song, all as part of his omnivorous musical diet. Lenox’s 2023 release is called Johan's Childhood Chamber Nostalgia Album, which leans toward ambient music with an unfocused childlike spirit. Johan Lenox and a small chamber music trio play in-studio.  Set list: "Hopes and Dreams", "Boy With Blurry Eyes", "When I Was Your Age"

The Minneapolis trio Barbaro grows out of the American bluegrass tradition, but the key words there might be “out of”, as Barbaro doesn’t race through banjo breakdowns and flashy fiddle solos, although they can do those things. The band is something of progressive version of bluegrass – using traditional instrumentation like fiddle and banjo, but drawing inspiration from electronic music and writing songs that may sound pastoral and folky but which often carry a bit of a bite. Barbaro plays new songs from their rootsy chamber music album, About The Winter, and chats about horse racing, in-studio. Set list: "Subtle Hints", "Gardens", "All My Friends"

Mountain Man, the Appalachian a cappella trio, features the timeless sound of three voices singing in harmony, with an occasional strum of the guitar. They released an album in 2010, a trio of college friends who’d gotten used to singing together, but then went their separate ways after college. All three of them toured for a long time as Feist’s backup singers, and lately Amelia Meath, one third of the trio, has been keeping busy as half of Sylvan Esso. Meath, along with Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Molly Sarle are back, with their first album in eight years, Magic Ship.  As our colleague Justin Sergi writes, "their immaculate precision of timing and tuning and phrasing, comes from love and friendship and the elemental, historic 'fun' of singing three-part harmony with your friends." "It is a precision that can, perhaps, only be born from family. Which is what they are: family." The family of Mountain Man joins us to perform songs, chat about community in North Carolina, the internet, peace and joy, and Molly's cat, Magic Ship.  Set list: Boat Underwear AGT Watch "AGT":   

The musician known as No-No Boy is a Vietnamese-American singer and songwriter, real name Julian Saporiti, whose music incorporates the sounds of American folk but adds various Asian instruments and scales, as well as field recordings and found sound. Saporiti took the name No-No Boy from a post-war novel about the treatment of Japanese-Americans after the notorious internment camps set up during the second World War. And his songs often tell stories of marginalized Asian communities that are wrestling with their place in the American melting pot. No-No Boy’s latest album is Empire Electric, and it brings Julian and his band to our studio. Set list: 1. Jakarta 2. Little Monk 3. Two Candles In the Dark

New York-based drummer, composer, and educator Allison Miller has played with singer/songwriters like Brandi Carlile, Ani DiFranco, or Natalie Merchant, but she’s best known for her own bands, and her own music, which is usually labeled jazz, but you’ll hear elements of rock, funk and folk in there too. She’s the bandleader of the chamber jazz band Boom Tic Boom, and is part of the all-star jazz group Artemis along with many other collaborations. Allison Miller’s latest album, Rivers In Our Veins, features a new band, including several members of Boom Tic Boom but with tap dancers as well.  Allison Miller presents the full multimedia Rivers In Our Veins on Nov. 25 at Roulette.  Commissioned by Mid Atlantic Arts Organization and Lake Placid Center for the Arts, Rivers In Our Veins is inspired by five major rivers of the Northeast United States  – the James, Delaware, Potomac, Hudson and Susquehanna – their history, how they serve the communities around them, and how those communities need to better upkeep them. Allison Miller goes deep with research about rivers and social movement — migratory movement — along rivers, as well as what she learned from the River Keepers. [Much more about Rivers In Our Veins.] Her top-shelf band, with violinist Jenny Scheinman, bassist Todd Sickafoose, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, trumpeter Jason Palmer, and pianist Carmen Staaf, along with two phenomenally talented tap dancers, perform selections from Rivers In Our Veins, in-studio. Set list: 1. Hudson 2. Of Two Rivers (Part 2) 3. Fierce

Icelandic singer and songwriter Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, known by the mononym Laufey (pronounced Lay-vay), is having a breakout year. Now based in L.A., the young singer with the timeless-sounding voice crafts songs which look to the great American songbook and the jazz-inflected pop of the mid-20th century. Her roots are in both classical music (she’s a trained cellist) and in jazz and her mission is connecting multiple generations, especially her own, to both jazz and classical music. She plays modern torch songs from her latest album, Bewitched, in-studio.  [P.S. Check out Laufey’s online book club.] Set list: “Promise”, “California and Me”, “From the Start”

The songwriter, pianist, vocalist, and producer Raia Was has become known for her dark art- and alt-pop. She was raised here in New York, and some of the city’s darkness, risk-taking, and energy flow through her songs which may oscillate between brooding intensity and cathartic euphoria. [“You Are" was featured in HBO’s Euphoria.] Raia Was has just released her second record, called Captain Obvious, on a new cooperative record label called Switch Hit Records, and it brings her and her dream band of collaborators play in-studio.   Set list: “What It Feels Like” “Any Evil” “So Close” "Easy To Force It” Watch "What It Feels Like":   Watch "Any Evil": Watch "So Close": Watch "Easy to Force It":

The 2018 release from American pop band Speedy Ortiz, Twerp Verse, speaks smartly to political and social situations of the present from a feminist perspective of truth-telling and is designed, on purpose, to make us uncomfortable lyrically and musically. With songs that airdrop aggressive, unpredictable chord progressions and disorienting rhythms behind enemy lines, this record is music for popping out from the cover of safety, armed with teeth and claws. Speedy Ortiz plays some of these tunes, in-studio. (From the Archives, 2018.)  

Son Rompe Pera started as a street band in Mexico City, but the marimba-playing cumbia punks have spent the past six years honing an electrifying and buzzy mix of modern cumbia, tropical dance beats, hard-hitting punk, psychedelic guitars, traditional Mexican and Colombian rhythms, horns, and a pinch of dub and hip hop, (Kennedy Center program notes.) Their 2020 record Batuco, named after the band’s marimba player father, leaned more toward a folkloric, traditional sound by way of nine covers. However, their 2023 record, Chimborazo, delivers 12 originals that really bring the marimba to the mosh pit, including a song where the title is a Chilean expletive and is based on a dream about an alien abduction. Son Rompe Pera slays, in-studio. (-Caryn Havlik) Set list: "Selva Negra", "La Muerte del Amor", "Chucha" Watch "Selva Negra":

Singer, rapper, and writer Dessa is a member of the long-running hip hop collective known as Doomtree, though hip hop is just one part of what she does. She has also performed concerts of her songs with the Minnesota Orchestra, published well-received books of essays and audio plays, and hosts the podcast Deeply Human. Dessa, along with harpist Aviva Jaye and saxophonist/keyboardist Joshua Holmgren, play new songs from her 2023 album, called Bury The Lede, in-studio.  Set list: "Hurricane Party", "Blush", "Tell Me Again"

Pianist Pascal Le Boeuf’s background is in both jazz and electronic music, and he has established himself as a sought-after composer of contemporary classical music. His work communicates tension and release, leaves space for improvisation, and explores the limits of a continuous high-energy work lasting as long as possible. There’s also a lot of trust and collaboration built into the process. Le Boeuf performs in what might otherwise look like a classic jazz trio – piano, bass and drums – if it weren’t for the additional strings playing with them. Then, he also manipulates the strings inside our piano, and beats the outsides of the piano as well. Pascal Le Boeuf and his band play music from his 2023 album, Ritual Being, in-studio.   Set list: “Transition Behavior”, “Wanderlust”, “Obliquely Wrecked”

Pachyman is a one-man dub band; that one man is Pachy Garcia, and though he’s based in LA, he grew up in Puerto Rico, at a time when Jamaican music – especially dub reggae - was having a big impact on the island’s music scene. Pachyman’s new album is called Switched On, and is an homage to the era when musicians first began manipulating synthesizers to emit gloriously off-kilter bleeps, bloops, and whooshes - think Switched On Boleros and Switched On Bach. The new record brings Pachy and his dub-drenched sound system from another dimension to our studio. Switched-On by PACHYMAN

German singer and actress Ute Lemper’s career defies easy description. She’s a musical theater legend – starring in the original Paris production of Cabaret and adorning the sides of NYC buses when she starred in the Broadway run of Chicago. But she’s also a singer who has recreated the songs of Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, and Kurt Weill, and sung contemporary songs by Elvis Costello, Nick Cave, and Philip Glass. And in recent years, she’s been writing songs as well, taking inspiration from Hiatus Kaiyote, John Legend, Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan, Annie Lennox, Erykah Badu and/or Robert Glasper. Ute Lemper’s new album, Time Traveler, is a collection of her original works and she’s brought her band in to our studio to play some of them.  Set list: "Time Traveler", "Envie d’Amour"/"Magical Stone", "The Gift"

CMAT might look like one of those specialized tests you have to take to get into a post-graduate program, but this stage name is actually the initials of Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, a Dublin pop singer whose cleverly-titled debut LP If My Wife New I’d Be Dead was a hit in Ireland last year. With cultural references that range from Belgian football manager Vincent Kompany to Gilmore Girls, (she also loves Patsy Cline), CMAT knows how to take a deep dive down a topical rabbit hole and make it into relatable pop. She distills her maximalist tendencies down to an unplugged, intimate setting, playing songs from her brand-new record, Crazymad, For Me, in-studio.  Set list: “Where Are Your Kids Tonight?”, “Rent”, “I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby” I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby! by CMAT

Milwaukee-based blues singer and guitarist Buffalo Nichols, on his self-titled 2021 debut, showed how timeless the blues can be, both musically and emotionally. On his latest album, called The Fatalist, Nichols uses contemporary 21st century sounds and techniques to remind us that the blues have been and are always with us, intimately tied to present-day 2023. Buffalo Nichols plays some of these new songs, in-studio. Set list; “Turn Another Stone”, “The Long Journey Home”, “The Difference”

Jeremy Dutcher, the classically trained Two-Spirit song carrier, composer, activist, and member of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) in Eastern Canada burst upon the music scene in Canada in 2018, winning the prestigious Polaris Music Prize for his debut LP, which saw him performing with archival recordings of his Wolastoq ancestors. His latest, just released on October 6, is called Motewolonuwok (People of great spiritual power), and it continues Dutcher’s exploration of his First Nations roots: celebrating the culture, addressing the endangered language and land rights, and correcting the record. Jeremy and his trio play in-studio.  - Caryn Havlik Set list: "Skicinuwihkuk" (Indian Land), "Pomawsuwinuwok Wonakiyawolotuwok" (The People Are Rising), "Qonute" ( Honor Song)

Growing up in a Jamaican family in Florida, June McDoom was surrounded by reggae; but she found herself drawn to the sounds of 1960's and 1970's folk. Now based in New York, she has released her debut EP, which surrounds those songs with touches of psychedelia, and arrangements that in their own homespun way seem to echo another sound of the 60s – Phil Spector’s so-called "wall of sound". In her intimate acoustic musings, June McDoom’s voice rarely rises above a breathy croon, following its own melody regardless of the kaleidoscope of sounds behind her. McDoom and her band play in-studio. Set list: "On My Way", "Stone After Stone", "By June"     June McDoom by June McDoom

The London-based electronic music composer and producer Ryan Lee West records under the name Rival Consoles, and he’s always been concerned with creating an organic, living quality to his experimental electronic music. He draws on both the arena-sized grooves of EDM – electronic dance music – and the more intimate sounds of ambient music without ever settling on one or the other. Rival Consoles plays in-studio. Set list: “Pulses of Information”, “Articulation”, “Quiet Home”

Ballard is the name of the new album credited to LANZ & Kris Allen. Lanz is Benjamin Lanz, the trombonist and composer who plays with The National and Beirut and numerous other bands. Kris Allen is a sax player, bandleader and educator. But when you put them together, it's like Brian Eno and Sun Ra went to a My Bloody Valentine show, through perhaps a krautrock or post-rock filter. The result is a trippy batch of instrumentals built from highly processed electroacoustic sounds, sometimes maddeningly catchy and other times ambient and cool. LANZ & Kris Allen, along with drummer Robin Baytas, play some of this music, in-studio. Ballard by LANZ & Kris Allen

Bass player and songwriter Michael Olatuja has a career that spans continents and styles. He grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, spent his teenage years playing on the London jazz scene, and has spent much of his career here in New York, playing with everyone from Diana Ross to Shakira to the band for the Broadway hit Frozen. His latest album, called Lagos Pepper Soup, is a tribute to those three cities, and his cinematic Afrobeat sound contains jazz roots of Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, but also perhaps a bit of orchestration from his work with Broadway and Angelique Kidjo. Michael and his band play songs from the new album in-studio.   Michael Olatuja plays at Joe's Pub on Sept. 27.  Michael teaches you the recipe for pepper soup here:   Set list: “Brighter Day”, “The Hero’s Journey”, “Lagos Pepper Soup” Watch “The Hero’s Journey”:

The German-Swiss duo with the unlikely name of Grandbrothers draws on electronic dance music, ambient music, and minimalism. Their tag line is “messing around with grand pianos since 2012,” which captures the essence of their play: they use ALL parts of the piano to generate raw sounds –the notes of the keyboard but also striking the wooden case; or flossing, well, bowing the strings; and E-Bow-like contraptions that oscillate the strings – which are sampled, processed, and assembled in real time. The results are striking creations that are not out of place in either a cathedral or a dance club. Their latest record is Late Reflections, and it brings Grandbrothers, who are the Swiss engineer/mechanic/software designer Lukas Vogel and German-Turkish pianist Erol Sarp, to play in the studio on the occasion of their first U.S. tour. Set list: “Bloodflow”, “What We See”, “Bloom”

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Atlanta, Carlos Simon has become one of classical music’s most eloquent and visible chroniclers of the Black American experience. Although it’s not just classical music – Carlos draws on jazz, R&B, and especially gospel music, as Simon is the son of a preacher. Music is his pulpit, and he says he uses music as therapy and to make sense of it all. He's toured from the back of a flatbed truck, done street-busking, and played cocktail piano music in bars, with an ever-optimistic outlook of "You never know who’s listening”. He’s currently Composer-In-Residence at the Kennedy Center, and his 2022 LP called Requiem For The Enslaved was nominated for a Grammy. Now, he’s released two recordings in quick succession – first Breadth, an orchestral response to the killing of George Floyd, and just one week later, Together, a collection that features Carlos Simon performing solo piano works and a few small ensemble pieces. He plays some of these solo works at our piano, and a rendition of a well-known hymn, with special guest cellist Seth Parker-Woods. Watch Amazing Grace with Seth Parker-Woods, cello: Watch Memory of Summer: Watch Traveling Song:

Singer Nellie McKay’s songs  hearken to pre-Elvis pop and maybe even Tin Pan Alley, and are offered with charm and intimacy. She has also released a whole album of Doris Day songs and a record of 60s covers, in addition to her 2004 splash debut, Get Away From Me and appearances in Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. And while she still sounds like a singer from another time, she’s back with an album of originals called Hey Guys, Watch This. Nellie McKay plays new songs on both piano and ukulele, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: The Drinking Song, Driftin’, Did I Catch You Dreaming

Brooklyn-based Pathos Trio consists of percussionists Marcelina Suchocka and Felix Reyes with keyboardist/composer Will Healy- all of whom are equally capable of playing acoustic chamber music or darker-hued electronically-altered sounds. The trio’s new album is called Polarity, and it’s a collection of works specifically written for the Pathos Trio by several composers - drummer/composer Ian Chang of Son Lux; percussionist and member of the International Contemporary Ensemble Clara Warnaar; and digital and electronic composer Phong Tran among them - with nods to alternative rock, progressive/black metal, minimalism, and electronic synthwave. The trio performs some of these newly-commissioned works, in-studio. Set list: "Mega Cicada" by Ian Chang; "Home/Gone" by Clara Warnaar; "Split" by Phong Tran

Listen to a set from contemporary jazz guitar legend guitarist Bill Frisell, together with guitarist, bassist, and vocalist Luke Bergman. Frisell is a singular player in the jazz world, consistently sticking to his roots and American folk, while trying out any other thing that may move him. Bergman is, in Frisell’s words, “a master harmonizer, organizer, orchestrator, imaginator” (Program notes, Grace Cathedral). Together they swapped musical ideas remotely during the pandemic and composed a number of pieces. Listen to some of those tunes, including “Waltz for Hal Wilner” from his 2022 album, Four (Blue Note), and other works. - Caryn Havlik Set list: 1. "Claude Utley" 2. "Let Them Ring" 3. "Fathers Day" 4. "Canon" 5. "Waltz for Hal Wilner"

English singer-songwriter and folk-rocker Mike Rosenberg, formerly of the band Passenger, might be best known for his song “Let Her Go.” Originally from Brighton & Hove, Rosenberg busked his way through England and Australia in the early 2000’s and worked with a five-piece band until 2009, when he decided to continue under that name as a solo artist. He’s played giant stages and summer festivals in Europe, opening for old friend Ed Sheeran. Mike Rosenberg, aka Passenger, plays songs from his 2018 record, Runaway, in-studio. (From the Archives.) Watch the individual songs below:

Brooklyn singer-songwriter Kendra Morris draws on 60s pop, 70s funk, the indie rock of the 2000’s, and the timeless sounds of soul and R&B on her latest record I Am What I’m Waiting For.  She’s also a visual artist who’s done videos for her own songs in the past as well as those by the hip hop supergroup Czarface and the producer MF Doom. Notably absent are “love songs” – instead, the record dives into her fears of flying, the mundane conflicts of domesticity and cohabitation, and a valiant attempt to expand the birthday song canon. Kendra Morris and her band play some of these songs, in-studio. Set list: 1. Still Spinning 2. Dominoes 3. What Are You Waiting For? I Am What I’m Waiting For by Kendra Morris

Bassist Jorge Roeder is from Peru; vocalist Sofía Rei is originally from Argentina. Both of them are based here in New York, and have worked with a broad range of New York musicians (John Zorn, Bobby McFerrin, Julian Lage, and many others); and that experience is reflected in the ease with which they move between Latin, jazz, and experimental music. (Between them they’ve worked in classical music, jazz, avant-garde, Latin music, metal, and electronics.) Their brand new album together, called Coplas Escondidas, is just the two of them – voice and bass – and it's a collection of songs with a variety of quietly thrilling textures and dramatic melodies. Sofía Rei and Jorge Roeder play in-studio.  Set list: 1. Días de Sitio 2. Prestados 3. Negro Sobre Blanco

Cellist Issei Herr, classically trained at Juilliard, creates expansive waves of sound through the processing and layering of her instrument. Her debut record, Distant Intervals, includes ambient soundscapes that explore openness, vulnerability, and a sense of wonder, and is full of titles that hint at transformation, both musical and personal. There also seems to be a Zen element in her layers; they’re contemplative, yet quite ordered as they build delicate crystalline structures. Issei Herr plays some of those pieces, as well as a brand new work where her acoustic cello interacts with forest sounds, in-studio. Issei Herr shares a bill with percussionist Matt Evans at the Noguchi Museum on Sunday. Aug. 27.  Set list: Prelude & Aubade, Flutter, Aveu (The Beginning Is a Farewell) feat. Maria BC Watch "Prelude & Aubade": Watch "Flutter": Watch "Aveu (The Beginning Is a Farewell)" feat. Maria BC:

Junun is a musical collaboration between India-based Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, a group of Indian musicians called The Rajasthan Express, and composer (and Radiohead’s guitarist) Jonny Greenwood. The music is in the ecstatic Sufi music style known as qawwali (made famous by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan), and it's devotional music—sometimes in Urdu, Hebrew, and Hindi, and is built on a percussion-dense and brass enriched groove with everything to love. In 2018, the band was opening for Radiohead on tour, but they joined us to perform some of these ecstatic tunes, in-studio. (From the Archives, 2018.) -Caryn Havlik Watch the individual songs below:

The sounds of American roots music – folk ballads, fiddle tunes, early blues, New Orleans second line grooves  – may seem like they belong to another century. But the NY-based collective called Too Sad For The Public takes those old songs and remakes them, often in surprising ways. Too Sad For The Public’s arranger and producer Dick Connette, along with a sextet version of the band featuring vocalist Ana Egge, play some of the tunes from the latest album, Vol. 2, Yet And Still, in-studio. Set list: 1. Railroad Bill 2. Old Forty  Watch "Railroad Bill": Watch "Old Forty":

From Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, comes the band known as Jupiter & Okwess, led by the charismatic singer Jupiter Bokondji. When we last met the band, in 2018, they had just released their second album, a star-studded collection called Kin Sonic. Jupiter & Okwess are touring around to support their latest record, Na Kozonga, which offers a striking mix of high-energy dance, funk, and Afropop, while mixing samba, New Orleans, and soul influences in different languages. Set list: 1. Solobombe 2. Mieux que ca 3. Muba Watch "Solobombe": Watch "Mieux que ca": Watch "Muba": Na Kozonga by Jupiter Okwess

Brazilian singer/songwriter Sessa (born Sergio Sayeg in Sao Paolo) is heir to the great tradition of MPB – Brazilian popular music, in the vein of Gilberto Gil or Caetano Veloso. But he favors a stripped down approach that reflects his own love of the German minimalist group Cluster, and his lyrics – often about love, heartbreak, and the power of music – echo themes in Leonard Cohen’s songs and Sun Ra’s cosmic jazz. He plays songs from his latest, Estrela Acesa, or “Burning Star” at the 2023 New York Guitar Festival in the Greene Space.  Set list: Grandeza, Ponto de Faca, Pele de Estera, Sereia Sentimental, Flor do Real Watch "Grandeza":  Watch "Ponto de Faca": Watch "Pele de Estera": Watch "Sereia Sentimental": Watch "Flor do Real":

The Mexican singer Magos Herrera has a distinctive, elegant, and expressive voice, and while she’s usually thought of as a jazz singer, she’s also done a lot of collaborating with artists from the worlds of pop and classical music. Largely based here in New York, Herrera has recently put out a new album, called Aire, which features her own sextet and a full orchestra – a kind of communal response to the isolation of the pandemic, when most of the songs were written. Her own band and members of the Brooklyn-based orchestra called The Knights present some of these jazz-fluid songs, rich with drama and feeling, in-studio. Set list: 1.Aire 2. The Calling 3. Choro de Lua Watch "Aire": Watch "The Calling": Watch "Choro de Lua":

Classical Korean guitarist and improviser Jiji has a penchant for blowing minds with her playing, improvising, and stage banter. She adapts the stunning and acrobatic Caprice No. 24 by 19th century virtuoso violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini. Plus, she plays a work by the Icelandic composer, guitarist and professor of electronic composition, Gulli Bjornsson. Both performances were recorded live at the 2023 New York Guitar Festival in the Greene Space.   Set list: Claudia Sessa (arr. Jiji): "Occhi Io Vissi Di Voi"; Gulli Björnsson: "Dynjandi"; Niccolò Paganini (arr. Jiji)- "Caprice No. 24" Watch "Occhi Io Vissi Di Voi": Watch "Dynjandi": Watch "Caprice No. 24":

Black Belt Eagle Scout is the work of the singer and guitarist Katherine Paul, KP for short, whose music is deeply rooted in the culture of the Swinomish community on the coast of Washington. Black Belt Eagle Scout’s latest album is called The Land, The Water, The Sky, and it often pairs Katherine Paul’s quiet musings on land, love, and community with roaring guitars and pounding drums. Black Belt Eagle Scout plays some of these new songs, in-studio.  Set list: 1. Nobody 2. Don't Give Up 3. My Blood Runs Through This Land Watch "Nobody": Watch "Don't Give Up": Watch "My Blood Runs Through This Land": The Land, The Water, The Sky by Black Belt Eagle Scout

The band Altin Gün is based in the Netherlands but they’ve gained global attention – and a Grammy nomination – for their psychedelic, glam rock and disco-tinged versions of songs from Turkey in the 1970s. So, in the 70s the folk rock movement racing through the British Isles made its way to Anatolia, inspiring young Turkish musicians to recast old Turkish folk songs with electric guitars, synthesisers and the like. Forty years later,  Altin Gun has been resurrecting the creativity and the energy of this corner of the music world, with their own hi-octane, dance-ready arrangements. Their latest album is called Ask, and they play new tunes, in-studio. AND they play at Brooklyn Steel on Monday, July 31.  Set list: 1. Su Sızıyor 2. Canim Oy 3. Doktor Civanim Watch "Su Sızıyor": Watch "Canim Oy": Watch "Doktor Civanim":

The chamber pop duo known as Gracie and Rachel have always had a kind of yin and yang quality to them: Gracie Coates, the pop songwriter at the piano; Rachel Ruggles, the classically trained violinist. "Blending baroque elements, ethereal soundscapes, and penetrating vulnerability, the duo creates an emotionally haunting sound" with an electric energy, (Righteous Babe Records.) The high school friends from Berkeley, California were operating out of Brooklyn, where the duo made its reputation, but Gracie has moved to upstate New York. Rather than signaling an end, though, Gracie’s move has spawned a new collection of songs, called Nowhere Now Here, which focuses on the continued connection between the two. Gracie and Rachel play some of these new songs, in-studio.  Gracie and Rachel play at Public Records on July 21. Set list: "Middle Ground", "Sidelines", "Call Away" Watch "Middle Ground": Watch "Sidelines": Watch "Call Away":

Goldfeather is the work of vocalist and composer Sarah Goldfeather and guitarist/producer Mike Tierney. Sarah Goldfeather is also a founding member of the ensemble Excpetet, a group modeled on the instrumentation of Stravinksy's "L'Histoire du Soldat" and created to commission new works by living composers. In fact, all of the band members are classically trained, with experience and interests from bluegrass to experimental pop. Goldfeather’s new album, Change, is a head-spinning blend of hyperpop filtered through the lens of contemporary classical and electronic music. With its processed voices, sudden shifts in rhythm and harmony, and catchy pop hooks, the new songs are off-kilter fun, even as they tell a serious tale of "uncomfortable self-reflection" The band plays some of these tunes in-studio.   Set list: "Who Am I When I Am All Alone", "The Animal", "Beautiful Tree" Watch "Who Am I When I Am All Alone": Watch "Animal": Watch "Beautiful Tree":

Singer and songwriter Ondara's story is that of a young person in Kenya falling in love with Bob Dylan songs and winning a green card lottery that let him follow his dream of moving to America. Now Ondara has released his third LP, Spanish Villager #3, and while it has a more produced, electric sound, he’s touring around doing solo acoustic performances. He plays solo acoustic songs in-studio.   Set list: "A Shakedown in Berlin", "A Nocturnal Heresy", "A Seminar in Tokyo" Watch "A Shakedown in Berlin": Watch "A Nocturnal Heresy": Watch "A Seminar in Tokyo":

Sax player, composer and author Phillip Johnston lives in Sydney, Australia, but for many years he was a familiar figure on New York’s downtown jazz and new music scene. He cofounded the Microscopic Septet – the band that did the theme song for the NPR show Fresh Air, led the bands Big Trouble, and the Transparent Quartet, and was an early pioneer in writing new music for old silent films. In fact, his book Silent Films/Loud Music, has just come out in paperback, and it brings Phillip and his New York gang to the studio to play some special trio arrangements of his film music.  Set list: "The Unknown. Part 1: 'Men’s Hands'", "The Mermaid", "Hydrothérapie Fantastique"

Producer, songwriter, and eclectic multi-instrumentalist Louis Cato is the bandleader for the newly renamed “The Late Show Band.” He has worked with has worked with many artists, including Bobby McFerrin, Snarky Puppy, Jon Batiste, Q-Tip and A Tribe Called Quest. Together with drummer Joe Saylor, he plays original and traditional tunes that draw on gospel, pop, rock, and FUN, from his headlining set at the 2023 New York Guitar Festival in The Greene Space. - Caryn Havlik Set list: Down in the River to Pray In My Reach Look Within Anymore You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley Back and Forth Watch "In My Reach": Watch "Back and Forth":

Steve Gunn’s solo far-out fingerstyle acoustic work may be influenced by the drones of Eastern music and the Western avant-garde; or his work with psych- and traditional folk artists, and/or collaborations with Mdou Moctar and Joshua Abrams’ Natural Information Society. Then, there’s the unbridled improvising freedom of his duo work with drummer John Truscinski; or his work with psych-folk band Hiss Golden Messenger or indie rocker Kurt Vile. Steve Gunn’s appearance at the 2023 Big Ears Festival playing trad folk songs with Jake Xerxes Fussell was just one side of this multifaceted guitarslinger. His most recent record is with David Moore, who records as Bing & Ruth. Steve Gunn plays original songs in The Greene Space, as part of the 2023 New York Guitar Festival. Set list: "Way Out Weather", "On The Way", "Morning Is Mended" Watch "On the Way": 

Songwriter and musician Crys Matthews uses the sounds of folk, gospel, folk rock, and country, to tackle some of the thorniest social justice issues facing our country today:  migrant rights, LGBTQ rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, and more.  She’s based in Nashville, but New York’s been a good place for her: in 2017 she was the grand prize winner at the New Song Music and Performance Competition in Lincoln Center. More recently, her song “Changemakers” was named Song Of The Year by the International Folk Music Awards for 2021. She plays some of her songs, with bonus foot percussion, in our New York studio. Set list: "Cancel Culture", "Like Jesus Would", "Written in the Stars" Watch "Cancel Culture": Watch "Like Jesus Would": Watch "Written in the Stars":

The band called Bayonne is basically the work of American minimalist composer and electronic musician Roger Sellers, who is from Austin TX, not Bayonne NJ. Along with guitars and keyboards, his looping station, which can give hints of both Steve Reich and Owen Pallett, is a treasure trove of tiny melodies that stretch and expand over time. His latest album as Bayonne, is called Temporary Time, and it might be his most personal record yet - perhaps almost "emo", coming as it did after the death of Sellers’ dad. Roger Sellers with drummer Matt Toman play these new songs in-studio. Set list: "Right Thing", "Perfect", "Words" Watch "Right Thing": Watch "Perfect": Watch "Words":

With influences from Bob Marley to Blind Willie Johnson to Bob Dylan, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Ben Harper sees songs in colors and can taste them when they’re ready. His Grammy wins have come in the categories of Blues, Traditional Soul/Gospel, and Instrumental Pop. His musical range is indeed that varied, one can expect anything from alt-folk to reggae to indie rock to an operatic tenor hidden in a cabaret song. His latest, Wide Open Light, is a spare, largely acoustic set of songs, raw, and mostly solo. Ben Harper plays some of these pieces in-studio. Set list: "Masterpiece", "Giving Ghosts", "Love After Love", "Trying Not To Fall In Love With You" Watch "Masterpiece": Watch "Giving Ghosts": Watch "Love After Love": Watch "Trying Not To Fall In Love With You":

NYC-raised songwriter, musician, and arranger Emily King makes sophisticated pop with strong elements of R&B, funk, and soul. But her discography also includes songs with a more electronic texture and a whole project with the chamber ensemble known as yMusic. Her latest album is called Special Occasion and it might contain some heartbreak and complicated feelings, a few shoo-be-doos coupled with synth string sounds a la Paisley Park, and a country waltz dressed up as a pop ballad. Emily King plays some of these new songs in-studio as an intimate trio. Set list: “False Start”, “Medal”, “Special Occasion” Watch "False Start": Watch "Medal": Watch "Special Occasion":

The singer and multi-instrumentalist Ani Cordero is a Puerto Rican musician living here in New York.  She is bilingual, singing in both English and Spanish, as is her latest record, Anamores, a concept album rooted in many kinds of love – Platonic Love, Love of a Child, Love for our Ancestors.) Her music draws on her years of playing rock with bands like Pistolera, new wave synth influences, and the rhythms of the Caribbean – Clave and Bomba patterns. AND COWBELL. Ani Cordero and her band play some of these new songs, in-studio. Set list: 1. One Hundred Years (de un siglo a aquí) 2. No Me Da La Coquí Gana 3. Se Acabó Watch "One Hundred Years (de un siglo a aquí)": Watch "No Me Da La Coquí Gana": Watch "Se Acabó":

Venezuelan legend of Llanera music Larry Bellorín and GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass and oldtime musician Joe Troop play as Larry & Joe.  Larry was forced into exile and is an asylum seeker in North Carolina, and worked construction to make ends meet, although he has been a musician and educator all his life. Troop, a socially conscious “Latingrass” musician with Che Apalache, has written songs about migration, and works with asylum seekers; he relocated to North Carolina to be in this duo with Larry. Venezuelan and Appalachian folk music come together on Larry’s custom-built Joropo folk harp and Joe’s fiddle and banjo, as they blend their musical inheritances and traditions as well as storytelling on their record, Nuevo South Train. The duo performs remotely from the 2023 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN. The duo plays at 6PM on June 15 at Rockwood Music Hall.  Set list: “Gabanjo”, “Caballo Viejo” Watch "Gabanjo": Watch "Caballo Viejo":

Dominican guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer Yasser Tejeda explores the African roots of Dominican music, and combines the folkloric with jazz, rock and Caribbean influences. Lately, he has turned to Congolese guitar, and Haitian rhythms (Hispaniola), New Orleans and Afrobeaty funk to highlight the way that music has crisscrossed the Atlantic. Tejada and his band tear it up in the studio with music from his latest, La Madruga, (Dawn/Dusk). Yasser Tejeda plays at TV Eye on June 15. Set list: 1. "El Sol De La Madruga" 2. "En El Naranjo" 3. "Todo Va A Marchar" Watch "El Sol De La Madruga":

Atlanta-based indie rock band Manchester Orchestra has long had a decidedly cinematic approach to songwriting, with tunes that grow in the telling and explode into grand, almost orchestral choruses. Now, they’ve released The Valley Of Vision, a stirring, emotional journey of healing inspired by a 1975 book of old Puritan prayers found in a suitcase. In these six songs and a VR film, Manchester Orchestra digs deep to find the peaceful floating zen of resolve and try on what it might mean to feel all right again. Songwriter Andy Hull and guitarist Robert McDowell play some of these tunes remotely in intimate arrangements. Set list: “Capital Karma”, “Quietly”, “Rear View” Watch "Quietly":

Since 1981, Welsh musician Mike Peters has been the voice of the hit-making British band The Alarm. After the band split up in 1991, Peters wrote and released solo work, before reconstituting The Alarm in 2000, (Wikipedia.) Since being diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in 2005 (he is also co-founder of the Love Hope Strength Foundation), Mike Peter’s career has been largely determined by the cycle of remission and relapse. But to listen to The Alarm’s upcoming album, pointedly called Forwards, and you’ll hear a man whose songwriting is as anthemic as ever, and, yes, determinedly forward looking. Mike Peters plays some of these new songs, as well as one of the band’s old hits, on acoustic baritone guitar, in-studio. (-John Schaefer) Set list: "Forwards", "Next", "The Stand" Watch "Forwards": Watch "Next": Watch "The Stand":

Orquesta Akokán bursts and flows with the spirit of dance orchestras of the 1940’s and 1950’s of Havana on their debut record of nine tunes - all sparkling, blazing, soulful, and meticulously arranged and composed mambo originals. Together, singer José "Pepito" Gómez, producer Jacob Plasse, and arranger Michael Eckroth, along with Cuba’s finest players, young and old, recorded the record live to tape in a three-day session at the legendary and revered Estudios Areito in Cuba – where percussion and piano absolutely pop, and the brilliance of brass is magnified. The recording is the first Spanish-language venture for Daptone Records, (the folks who brought you Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Charles Bradley, and other timeless artists) whose old-school techniques and attention to sonic detail ensure a living, breathing warmth. The big band collective Orquesta Akokán joins us to play some of these Cuban Mambo (and rumba, cha-cha and jazzy) tunes in-studio.  -Caryn Havlik

Dom Flemons is a Grammy-winning singer, guitarist, banjo player, and all-around scholar of old Americana who was part of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Flemons has dubbed himself “The American Songster,” and has performed songs rooted in blues, early gospel, ragtime, proto-country, and other forms of old-time folk music. His new album, Traveling Wildfire, includes a couple of his unerring arrangements of older tunes, but it’s largely comprised of original songs. Dom Flemons, the preservationist, storyteller, and instrumentalist, brings his one-man Americana road show to the live studio.  Set list: "Traveling Wildfire", "Slow Dance With You", "It's Cold Inside" Watch "Traveling Wildfire": Watch "Slow Dance With You" : Watch "It's Cold Inside":

Curtis Stewart is a violinist, composer and arranger, and the current Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra. He is also the son of two professional jazz musicians, and when, at some point, he was offered the choice between composition and improvisation, he said “yes please” and took both. So on his own and with the improvising string quartet known as PubliQuartet, along with The Mighty Third Rail, Curtis Stewart plays a huge variety of music. Stewart and several musical friends: (Aaron Diehl, Eleanor Oppenheim, students from the Kaufman Music Center, Special Music School, and PubliQuartet) give just a hint of his range, performing in-studio. (-John Schaefer) Set list: Trad.: "Thalassaki Mou" Stewart: "Call, Response" with PubliQuartetTrad.: "Deep River", with PubliQuartet, with Eleanor Oppenheim, students from the Kaufman Music Center, Special Music School of Love. by Curtis Stewart

This is the Kit is the alias of British singer and guitarist Kate Stables, as well as the band she fronts. Her early albums were rooted in the long British folk/rock tradition, with later work perhaps more under the influence of indie rock.  In June, she releases a new album called Careful of Your Keepers produced by Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), full of big ideas and big arrangements, but it’s also a very intimate, honest, and introspective set of songs. Kate plays some of them in a solo performance, in-studio. - John Schaefer Set list: “More Change”, “Stuck in a Room”, “Inside Outside” Watch “More Change”: Watch “Stuck in a Room”: Watch “Inside Outside”:

The Heavy is a band from Bath, England – an unlikely place for a group whose sound has been rooted in the kind of swampy, sweaty mix of gospel, R&B, funk and rock that we associate with the American south. Their latest, Amen, is "an exhilarating maelstrom of ‘60s R&B riffs, horns, and gospel harmonies" (Bandcamp), which "writhes with seditious blues drama, soul and gospel passion, the crunch of prime hip-hop and garage punk’s visceral electricity", (ShoreFire.) The full band joins us in-studio on a rare day off on their American tour. Set list: "Hurricane Coming", "I Feel the Love", "Feels Like Rain", "Bad Muthafucker" Watch: "Hurricane Coming":  Watch "I Feel the Love": Watch "Feels Like Rain": Watch "Bad Muthafucker":

Gotopo is a Venezuelan singer and musician currently based in Berlin. Her music explores her own Afro-Indigenous roots through a mix of ancient folkloric sounds and modern electronic dance music. She is a "digger", and has thrown herself into researching source material, as in an Afro-Venezuelan hymn intended for slaves to give a spiritual farewell to their relatives who died at the hands of the enslaver which informed her song, "Malembe". Her debut release, called Sacudete, comes out on May 19, and Gotopo performs her indigenous and ancestral futurism, in-studio.  Set list: "Piña Pa La Niña", "Cucu", "Sacudete"  Watch "Piña Pa La Niña": Watch "Cucu": Watch "Sacudete":

Serbian quartet EYOT draws on traditional Balkan folk music, jazz, classical piano, punk, and art-rock, and fits neatly into none of these categories. Their music - partly composed, and partly improvised - never loses its groove, even as it frequently makes use of the odd rhythm patterns (5/8, 7/8, 9/8) that are part of the turbulent history of the region. EYOT celebrates their 15th anniversary of making music together by playing some of the tunes from their most recent album, 557799, (yep, because of said odd meters contained therein), in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: "557799", "Linen", "Horizon" Watch "557799": Watch "Linen": Watch "Horizon":

This year marks the centennial of legendary North Carolina folk musician Doc Watson, one of the giants of the folk revival of the 50s and 60s. There’s a new album paying homage to pays homage to Watson's lasting legacy and influence on American music, which features a stellar cast of contemporary musicians playing some of the songs Watson had championed; it’s called I Am A Pilgrim – Doc Watson at 100. The producer of the collection is Grammy Award winning guitarist, songwriter, and producer Matthew Stevens, who gathered a few of the album’s featured musicians and collaborators - singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Valerie June, Brooklyn-born teen banjo wunderkind Nora Brown, fiddler Stephanie Coleman, and musician James Shipp - to play some of these songs in-studio. Plus, hear a bonus original tune, "Man Done Wrong", by Valerie June. -Caryn Havlik Watch Valerie June and Matthew Stevens play "Handsome Molly": Watch Nora Brown, Stephanie Coleman, James Shipp: "Am I Born to Die": Watch Nora Brown, Stephanie Coleman, James Shipp: "Your Long Journey":  Watch Matthew Stevens play "Alberta": Watch Valerie June play "Man Done Wrong":

Catalan folk duo Tarta Relena's vocal-based music limns centuries and borders, ranges from the sacred to the secular, and often uses electronics. Their body of work so far reimagines Mediterranean folk, Georgian laments, and the 12th century mystic Hildegard von Bingen. Then, there's their setting of verse from Afghan Pashto women singing about “controversial subjects such as envy, broken hearts, hatred or lust”, and adapted sacred music (they met as members of a religious music choir), (Songlines, 2022). Singing in Catalan, Spanish, Greek, Latin, English and Ladino, they treat each language as a tool, a color to bring up an emotion. Tarta Relena’s arrangements and performances traffic in the intense spirituality and human connection of the music, which lands with joy and poignancy, enhanced by dramatic use of electronics: percussion, drone, some bass synth, and vocal effects. For this edition of the Soundcheck Podcast, Tarta Relena sings a cappella, just like they started the duo back in 2016. They perform on location from the 2023 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN. - Caryn Havlik P.S. “Tarta relena” means “stuffed pie” in Spanish. Set list: "Esta Montagne d’enfrente", "Tuta Pulchra"   Watch "Esta Montagne d’enfrente": Watch "Tuta Pulchra":

Louisiana-based Lost Bayou Ramblers are a swinging punkass party band who mix Cajun melodies on fiddle, accordion, guitars, and some electric sounds. They've won a regional roots Grammy for their record, Kalenda, but they’ve also done an original score for ROUS, a film about Nutria Rats and Louisiana’s coastal land loss, and contributed to the score for Beasts of the Southern Wild. Fresh off the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans, the Lost Bayou Ramblers join us in the studio (from the Archives, 2018.)

The Atlanta-born quartet Algiers mixes post-punk guitars, gospel vocal harmonies, hip hop sampling, chopped and screwed production techniques, and pointed social commentary in a revolutionary way that is dark, urgent, angry, and utterly exhilarating. Their most recent record, Shook, has Algiers’ signature fury and weight, features a multiplicity of voices, and is the result of the creative energy released into the space and time generated by the enforced pause on touring. As Frankie Fisher says in a Bandcamp interview, "Algiers’s ethos, philosophy, and politics are about inclusivity and people generally on the margins", and in keeping with that, multiple guest artists from within the community contributed to this rich and complex sound, and the collaborative conversation even took on a new New York feel after the Shook stems were shared and manipulated into a separate companion soundworld. Algiers plays music from Shook, as a trio, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: “Irreversible Damage”, “Bite Back”, “Green Iris” Watch “Irreversible Damage”: Watch “Bite Back": Watch “Green Iris”:

The London quintet known as Ezra Collective looks like a jazz band, with their dueling horns, keys, bass and drums.  But their music reflects the lively artistic ferment happening now in South London, where the sounds of Caribbean music, hip hop, and especially the Nigerian style known as Afrobeat have all become part of the scene. Ezra Collective’s drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso studied with the late, great Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, and with his brother TJ on bass, the two Koleosos form a propulsive rhythm section, but one that’s full of surprises. Add in keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison, and the quintet brings audiences a hybrid jazz with killah beats for dancing. - John Schaefer Set list: "Ego Killah", "No Confusion", "Belonging" Watch "Ego Killah": Watch "No Confusion":  Watch "Belonging":

Harpist, collaborator, bandleader, educator, and improviser, Brandee Younger, has mastered the language of Debussy, Ravel, Alice Coltrane, R&B, hip hop, mid 20th century pop, funk, reggae, the blues, and hymns, to name merely a few genres. In her work, she weaves in ALL the sounds of the day- and is not locked into any one genre, just like the great pioneering harpist Dorothy Ashby – who was “way ahead of her time”. Younger’s latest effort, Brand New Life, covers and re-imagines some of Dorothy Ashby’s unreleased music, recruiting players like bassist/vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello, singer/songwriter/MC Mumu Fresh, guitarist Jeff Parker, drummer Makaya McCraven, vibraphonist Joel Ross, and the great hip hop producer Pete Rock. Brandee Younger brings the killer bass lines, hang time, wide expressive range, and the delicate chords, trills, and sweeps - and demonstrates  different extended harp techniques (pedal slide, prepared harp, playing near the board) - playing solo, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, “Essence of Ruby”, “Unrest I” Watch "Lift Every Voice and Sing": Watch "Essence of Ruby": Watch "Unrest I":

Fenne Lily is an English singer, guitarist and songwriter now based here in New York. The songs on her new album, Big Picture, were written as some kind of way to bring order to some of the most vulnerable points of 2020. She explores her ever-changing view of love as a process, brightly framing worry, doubt, closeness, and letting go. Fenne Lily and her band play in-studio. Set list: "Pick", "Lights Light Up", "Dawncolored Horse" Watch "Pick": Watch "Lights Light Up": Watch "Dawncolored Horse":

Brooklyn-based trombonist, composer, and bandleader Kalia Vandever weaves beautifully layered musical tapestries using layers of her horn, electronics, and occasional wordless vocals, creating works that sound dramatically different from the music she plays with her jazz quartet, or the work she’s done with Harry Stiles, Lizzo, indie rock’s Japanese Breakfast, and many others. Kalia Vandever's latest, We Fell In Turn, is inspired by Hawaiian mythology, dreamscapes, and ancestry. She plays some of these compositions for solo trombone and electronics, in-studio.  Set list: "Held In / Stillness In Hand", "Recollections From Shore" Watch "Held In / Stillness In Hand": Watch "Recollections From Shore": We Fell In Turn by Kalia Vandever

Alexandra Stréliski is a French-Canadian pianist who creates minimalist and cinematic music in the vein of composers Frédéric Chopin and Erik Satie as well as film music composers like Zimmer, Glass and Nyman - heavy on romance and with enough space to linger on the emotions in her work. Stréliski’s music was heard in HBO’s Sharp Objects and Big Little Lies Season 2 round-table, and in the Jean-Marc Vallée’s film Dallas Buyers Club (2013). Her latest release, Néo-Romance, conjures longing and hope, dream and imagination - inspired by the great themes of the romantic era, nostalgia, nature and spontaneity. Alexandra Stréliski performs some of these melancholic and beautiful tunes, in-studio. Set list: "In the Air / The Hills", "The Breach", "Borders" Watch "In the Air / The Hills": Watch "The Breach": Watch "Borders":

The New Pornographers reliably bring the power pop; one can always count on big hooks, anthemic choruses, and impeccably arranged orchestrations. Then there are the sweet vocal harmonies, a few additional beats to make things far from simple, and unexpected lyrical twists like a plan for “a long fade out,” "we burst through the Overton window”, and "You made this hell yourself?/Well, it's real nice". Songwriter & vocalist Carl Newman has never settled for a simple narrative or a beautiful landscape in song lyrics that seem halfway in the real world, but not quite right; or sometimes in images that are non-representational, maybe like modern art. From glittering arpeggiators to a well-placed sampled yelp, along with saxophones and meaty synths, the songs seem to be born of a playful approach – “trying out ideas as if no one is listening”, describes Newman, and perhaps hinting that he also uses another delicate method in his songcraft of ‘mess around and find out’. Some of the members of The New Pornographers play stripped-down arrangements of songs from their latest, Continue as a Guest, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: “Really Really Light”, “Angelcover”, “Firework in the Falling Snow” Watch "Really Really Light": Watch "Angelcover": Watch "Firework in the Falling Snow":

Mary Halvorson has established herself as one of the finest guitarists of her generation; Robbie Lee has established himself as a versatile flutist, sax player, and keyboardist. Their 2018 album together sports such oddities as a 19th-century harp guitar with 18 strings, the world’s smallest saxophone, and a Renaissance reed instrument called the chalumeau. The music of edited improvisations covers a lot of sonic ground, floating between folk and jazz and world music. Robbie Lee and Mary Halvorson are in the studio for an improvised set of "mutant chamber jazz" (via @robbielee.) [From the Archives, 2018.]

Pianist, collaborator, and mentor Eunbi Kim presents sonic memoirs and meditations on life experiences through her latest batch of collaborative commissioned works. The dreamy soundworld features new pieces by living composers, plus electronics, strings, taped voices and found sounds. Eunbi Kim plays works by Pauchi Sasaki, Angélica Negrón, and Sophia Jani, in-studio. Set list: "Mother's Hand, Healing Hand (엄마손은 약손)" by Pauchi Sasaki (2021), "Saturn Years" by Sophia Jani (2021), "Disco giratorio de palabras" (Rotating Record of Words) by Angélica Negrón (2020) Kim holds a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where she also held a fellowship in the institution’s Center for Music Entrepreneurship. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for New York Foundation for the Arts and is co-founder of bespoken, a mentorship program for women in music. Watch "Mother's Hand, Healing Hand (엄마손은 약손)" by Pauchi Sasaki: Watch "Saturn Years" by Sophia Jani: Watch "Disco giratorio de palabras" by Angélica Negrón:

Composer and sound artist Nyokabi Kariuki makes music that somehow draws on experimental electronics, contemporary classical music, pop, and sound art without settling into any one of them. She divides her time between New York, Maryland and Nairobi, Kenya and works with piano, voice, electronics, and several instruments from the African continent, including the kalimba and djembe, and sometimes arranges her work for strings, and/or percussion. Her new LP is called Feeling Body, and it sort of tells the story of Kariuki’s experience living with long COVID, although not in a conventional narrative way. Nyokabi Kariũki performs music from both her EP peace places: kenyan memories and the LP, Feeling Body, in-studio. Set list: “Folds”, “Galu”, “Nazama” Watch "Folds": Watch "Galu": Watch "Nazama":

New York-based composer, pianist, and coder Dan Tepfer, who has previously improvised a companion to the J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, has returned to using the animating idea in music by Bach as a starting point for his riffing, on his latest album, called Inventions/Reinventions. On this record, Tepfer takes Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions as written (which he describes as “something deep happening under this simple surface”), and taps into what J.S. Bach was most famous for – his improvising genius, but in music that sounds like Dan Tepfer, in the remaining 9 keys of the complete cycle. Tepfer feels that the idea of joy is omnipresent in Bach’s music, and in his own play as he riffs on Bach, he finds a visceral joy in creation. In doing so, Tepfer tells his own story - his love of Bach from childhood, his appreciation of Brazilian music, his admiration of Lee Konitz, - and not only improvises within a framework, but also creates an entirely new structure for the frame. He also sings what he plays to make sure that he means it, which brings to mind another improviser, American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. Dan Tepfer performs both J.S. Bach’s Two-Part Inventions, and his own unique reinventions, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: “J.S. Bach: Invention in C major / Tepfer: Improvisation in Db major”, “J.S. Bach: Invention in Eb major / Tepfer: Improvisation in Eb minor”, “J.S. Bach: Invention in A minor / Tepfer: Improvisation in Bb minor” Watch “J.S. Bach: Invention in A minor / Tepfer: Improvisation in Bb minor”:  

Taking as a starting point Renaissance and Medieval music, Lisel (aka Eliza Bagg – a member of vocal group Roomful of Teeth), creates hybrid music that blends her classical vocal training with electronic production techniques found in hyperpop (like the ‘bass drop’ and frequent use of Auto-Tune.) Lisel has absorbed the capabilities of technology into her own music through experiments with Ableton, adding ambient electric sounds and aesthetics, and goes for maximalist sound on Patterns for Auto-Tuned Voices and Delay. Running Ableton, and a Novation Launch Pad for the processing effects, Eliza Bagg, as Lisel, performs some of these studio creations, live on New Sounds. - Caryn Havlik

Hear new music for silent film by composer David Cieri with his music for Carl Th. Dreyer’s 1928 silent film La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc. Joan of Arc is said to have heard voices – strange, unearthly voices. So Cieri’s score, by turns visceral and transcendent, includes Sardinian vocal quartet Tenores de Aterúe in the ensemble of musicians. Best known for his music for various Ken Burns films, among his many film scores, Cieri recently completed a major new work for carillon bells. The podcast was recorded remotely at Brookfield Place in early 2023.

The singer, guitarist, and songwriter Ruthie Foster recently released her ninth studio album, called Healing Time, and it is a rich musical stew with flavors from gospel, soul, folk, and of course, the blues. Growing up in Texas, Foster was surrounded by southern blues and gospel, and she also grooves toward  Motown-influenced soul and R&B, as she continues to avoid categorization, despite having earned multiple Blues Awards. “You can’t put me in a box, and I think that says a lot about not just who I am, but who we all are,” as she was quoted on Bluegrass Situation. She's also been an enthusiastic collaborator with the Allman Brothers, the Blind Boys of Alabama, pedal steel master Robert Randolph, and others. Ruthie Foster and her longtime bandmates play some of their feel-good and hopeful blues in-studio.   Set list: "Healing Time", "Feels Like Freedom", "Phenomenal Woman" Watch "Healing Time": Watch "Feels Like Freedom": Watch "Phenomenal Woman":

English singer and songwriter Charlie Cunningham makes music that references earlier English singers like Nick Drake, as well as classic jazz, and even flamenco, which he studied in Spain. He has written a body of intimate, largely acoustic songs, quiet and melodic, which carve out space in time. Add in his intricate finger-picked guitar, and the results are arresting. Cunningham plays in-studio. Set list: “Downpour”, “Bird’s Eye View”, “Don’t Go Far” Watch “Downpour”: Watch “Bird’s Eye View”: Watch “Don’t Go Far”:

When Yasmin Williams plays guitar, it looks like she’s trying to play something else. With the instrument laying on her lap, she attacks it from above with both hands, producing a kaleidoscopic array of sounds. Williams is also a fan of Earth Wind & Fire, and inspired by them she’s added the kalimba, or thumb piano, to her music. By taping the kalimba to the body of her guitar, she’s able to play both instruments at once; her distinct style also leaves her tap shoe-wearing feet available for her to make beats. Yasmin Williams performs her new soundtrack to Charlie Chaplin’s silent film The Kid remotely, for the Soundcheck Podcast, from Brookfield Place. 

Pearla (Brooklyn-based artist Nicole Rodriguez) makes off-kilter folk-pop that mixes reality and the surreal; in her songs, she builds a sound world through play and exploration. She's written a record about noticing things in the world and questioning her place in it, turning to music to attempt to figure it out. She and her band play new music from their strange and lovely record, 'Oh Glistening Onion, the Nighttime Is Coming', in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: "Ming the Clam", "Unglow The", "Effort" Watch "Ming the Clam": Watch "Unglow The": Watch "Effort":

Grammy-winning trumpeter, composer, collaborator, and producer Nabaté Isles seeks to bring the groove and movement back to jazz, in order to get people to dance, just like at a block party. Isles, who was born and raised in New York City (Queens), takes an eclectic approach in his music which might incorporate funk, disco, Latin, and R&B, but also reflects the sounds he grew up with: new jack swing, hip hop, and Caribbean music - all in sophisticated arrangements and with improvisation. Nabaté Isles plays new music from his latest record, En Motion, in-studio, with a sweet nod to his talented young person. Additionally, Nabaté Isles is also a producer and sports talk show host who has coveted sports trivia titles to his credit. Follow @NabateIslesSMTA. (Dear Citi Field, it would be magic to have Nabaté Isles play "Narco," as the relief pitcher Edwin Díaz walks on the field for the Mets in the late innings.) Set list: "The Jump Off", "Perfect Cadence", "Harlem Shake" Watch "The Jump Off": Watch "Perfect Cadence": Watch "Harlem Shake":  En Motion on Bandcamp: En Motion by Nabaté Isles

The contemporary silent film, Electric Appalachia, is a surprising, and surprisingly poignant look at how the coming of electricity changed Tennessee. Using archival footage, the film was put together by Eric Dawson, the director at TAMIS (the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound) and offers “a meditation on electricity and modernity in East Tennessee”. This silent film was created with two musicians in mind – guitarist William Tyler and harpist and synthesist Mary Lattimore, who add a moving, occasionally cosmic score. Listen to selections from their collaborative live soundtrack to Electric Appalachia, recorded at Brookfield Place.

Somebody that we used to know, Wally de Backer, Belgian-born Australian multi-instrumentalist, self-admitted “tinkerer,” and singer-songwriter (aka GOTYE), digs unusual instruments – like the rare French electronic musical instrument, the ondioline (invented in 1941.) He’ll perform tunes from the 1960's ondioline repertoire, created by the late Jean-Jacques Perrey, the instrument’s first and only virtuoso.  

Brooklyn-based via San Juan band Balún came from DIY electrified bedroom pop that embraced punk on the island of Puerto Rico. Now, with an even wider range of influences, (please see their ethnomusicological, technological, punk, hardcore, and New York Philharmonic credentials) their "dreambow" tropical electronica harnesses Caribbean rhythms, grime/jungle/IDM, Puerto Rican folk music, shoegaze and is a playfully-informed take on global pop music. Balún joins us in the studio to play music from their 2018 record, Prisma Tropical. (From the Archives.)Balún contributed music to the first season of La Brega, and to the new season of La Brega.  Watch the individual songs below: Watch the full session here:

The Irish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anna Mieke spent much of her youth traveling the world – from Spain to Bangladesh, Bulgaria to New Zealand.  Her songs can conjure an expansive sense of place, and of moving through those places - touching on change, age, death, dreaming, memory, family, and perhaps an alternate reality on her latest album Theatre. Anna Mieke’s enveloping acoustic chamber-folk can start with her borrowed 1936 Epiphone guitar, and may also involve improvisation with her core band. She’s also a bouzouki player, pianist, and a cellist who played with HEX, a Cork-based experimental outfit, and was a vocalist with the singing group, Rufous Nightjar. She’s collaborated with Irish artists Crash Ensemble, Adrian Crowley, and Linda Buckley and with New York-based artists Charlotte Greve, Grey McMurray, and Anna Roberts Gevalt; in March, Mieke will play shows with Iron & Wine. Anna Mieke and her band stopped by on their current tour to play these recent songs, in-studio. Set list: “Seraphim”, “Twin”, “Coralline” Watch “Seraphim”: Watch “Twin”: Watch “Coralline”:

The Sudanese-American rapper Oddisee – born Amir Elkhalifa – has been making socially conscious hip hop since 2008, and in live performance he’s known for playing not with a DJ or recorded samples but with a live band, called Good Company. Oddisee has just released the 2023 album called To What End, tackling big ideas of home, race, family, and human ambition. Oddisee, and the high-caliber musicians of the band Good Company, play these tunes in-studio. Set list: “Race”, “Already Knew”, “How Far” Watch "Race": Watch "Already Knew":  Watch "How Far":

New York -based UNI and The Urchins was started by “bassist/director/engineer/probably wizard” Charlotte Kemp Muhl (Bust Magazine), and in lead singer Jack James Busa, they have an androgynous alien who brings a glorious glam rock sensibility to the band’s mix of psychedelia and post punk.  The band has just released their debut LP, called Simulator, full of catchy, dance-y, sometimes cheeky songs about a world made dizzy by media and technology.  The conversation ranges from using AI – a neural network to generate lyrics, a love of David Bowie, their favorite Japanese food (the sticky, slimy kind), high school Latin, ASMR, waiting rooms, observations about the disappearing middle class, the New York music scene, growing up in the South, to tuba sound effects and more. Also, the band plays live in-studio. They play at Elsewhere in New York on March 3, and will be in Austin at South by Southwest. Set list: “Subhuman Suburbia”, “Popstar Supernova”, “Simulator” Watch "Subhuman Suburbia": Watch "Simulator":

The 8-piece multicultural gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello is based here in New York, but its founder, the vocalist, songwriter and all-around ringleader Eugene Hutz, was born in Ukraine. At the best of times, Gogol Bordello wants you to dance, and party, but also to think. Now, for Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora, these are not the best of times, so Gogol Bordello still wants you to dance and party and think, but also to act. Hutz and company have done several benefit shows, and he even did a secret show for the troops at the front line last summer. Members of Gogol Bordello play scaled-down punk from their most recent LP Solidaritine, in-studio. - John Schaefer Set list: "Focus Coin", "My Companjera", "Fire on Ice Floe" Watch "Focus Coin": Watch "My Companjera": Watch "Fire on Ice Floe":

New Zealand pop star Kimbra plays within the confines of pop music, bending and skewing and tone painting, according to her needs. Now based here in New York, Kimbra first made waves in 2011 when she teamed up with Gotye on his international hit “Somebody That I Used to Know.”  We know her now as a Grammy winning creator of arty and experimental pop, unafraid to take risks and address macro issues from the world around, as well as more introspective internal reckonings. On how she crafts this skewed pop, Kimbra says that “Improvisation is crucial to my process. It keeps me on the ledge. If I feel danger, if I feel a sense of the possible stumble, there’s something really powerful in that. Then watching yourself triumph.” Using her voice and a voice modulator, Kimbra wrestles with her inner demons over piano lines and carefully-chosen chords, as she plays some new songs from 'A Reckoning', in intimate arrangements, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: "Save Me", "Foolish Thinking", "The Way We Were" Watch "Save Me": Watch "Foolish Thinking": Watch "The Way We Were":

Meridian Brothers, founded by musician Eblis Álvarez, fuses a love of classic salsa with cumbia, vallenato, spacey psychedelia, and wacky samples for a playful dance party. With a body of songs containing some poignant social commentary about our obsession with technology, fear of war, police brutality, and other issues, the music hearkens to the salsa dura era (think Fania All-Stars); even the legendary Ansonia label took note and invited Meridian Brothers to be their first new signing in more than 30 years. With an interplay of sax, guitar, plenty of percussion, spoken/sung cartoon vocals (pitch-shifted and processed), and sound effects, Meridian Brothers plays their fantasy salsa-cumbia fusion, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: “Salsa Caliente” “Puya Del Emprasario”, “Metamorfosis”  Watch "Salsa Caliente": Watch "Puya Del Emprasari": Watch "Metamorfosis":

The duo of Rachael & Vilray courtesy of Rachael Price, lead singer of the popular band Lake Street Dive, and the New York-based singer and guitarist Vilray may sound like classic guitar jazz right out of the 1920s-1940s; Vilray’s guitar chops dip into the style of the great “gypsy-jazz” guitarist Django Reinhardt; and Rachael Price croons into an old RCA ribbon mic, up close, warm and intimate, with no reverb. Rachael & Vilray’s new originals are equal helpings of literate and populist, with cutting observations and character studies that might be operatic and humorous, allowing for the way that people contain multitudes. Their latest record, I Love A Love Song, continues to draw on, and in their own sly way, extends the tradition of the Great American Songbook.  The duo joins us in-studio to play some of their new, old-sounding songs (with one even featuring a lyric about narwhals.) - Caryn Havlik Set list: “Is A Good Man Real?” “Hate Is The Basis (of Love)” “Join Me In A Dream” Watch “Is A Good Man Real?”: Watch “Hate Is The Basis (of Love)”: Watch “Join Me In A Dream”:

The band called Ranky Tanky won the Grammy for best Regional Roots Album back in 2020.  The group is based in Charleston, SC, and their regional roots are in the Gullah music of the coastal southeastern states, the Sea Island music; their name comes from a Gullah phrase for “get funky”.  Gullah culture comes from the descendants of Africans captured along Africa’s rice coast [in West Africa], and while Gullah people today speak English, traditionally they’ve also spoken an African-American creole also called Gullah. Ranky Tanky’s music is a kind of creole – a mix of jazz, American gospel, and soul, all with the through line of the original Gullah rhythms, game songs, praise songs, ring shouts, and songs of gratitude kept alive from slavery into the present day. Ranky Tanky has been nominated for another Grammy for their latest album, Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. They play in-studio for us, with all the joy they can bring.    Set list: "Down in my Heart", "Beat 'Em Down", "Lift Me Up" Watch "Down in my Heart": Watch "Beat 'Em Down": Watch "Lift Me Up":

Sax player Marcus Strickland has worked with many notable jazzers, including Roy Haynes, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Dave Douglas, and Keyon Harrold. He also leads his own band Twi-Life, which inhabits an Afro-futuristic space at the crossroads of Hip Hop, Soul, and Jazz. Twi-Life's album, The Universe's Wildest Dream, conceptualized into being during the lockdown times, urges an awareness of how precious and miraculous and random and delicate our existence is here on Planet Earth, the vast universe, (and everything.) On the album, Marcus Strickland & Charles Haynes stretch out into beat-makers and producers, fleshing out layered studio creations with found sound, guest artists, overdubs and electronics, and ultimately extend the Afro-Futurist tradition to far-out places. Strickland and Twi-Life bring a Hammond B-3 organ with hypnotic Leslie speakers into the studio to play some of the tunes, ahead of the record release, and shows in New York at the Blue Note on Jan. 17 & 18. Set list: “Dust Ball Fantasy” “Bird Call” “You and I, an Anomaly”

Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever blends 60's Cambodian pop and psychedelic rock with danceable grooves and ghostly noir romanticism. Cambodian Chhom Nimol fronts the band and sings mostly in her native language, she's basically from "a family best considered as a Cambodia pop music dynasty-- a not unlike a Cambodian version of the Jacksons", (Bandcamp.) She's backed by American rockers who play guitar, farfisa (a small, Italian-made organ), bass, drums, and saxophone. Dengue Fever joins us remotely, as they are about to play globalFest 2023 on Jan. 15 at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Set list: “Silver Fish”, “Uku”, ”One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula”

Hear unpredictable and graceful melodic lines traded by sax and strings, as tenor sax superstar Joshua Redman and string quartet Brooklyn Rider, along with all-star rhythm section of Scott Colley (bass) and Satoshi Takeishi (percussion) take over the studio. It's chamber music with swoops, dives, groove and bite in original and newly-arranged music with one foot in the jazz world where sharps are optional. (This session is from the Archives, 2018.)  -Caryn Havlik Watch the full session here:

Turkish-German singer and composer Alev Lenz, who splits time between London and Germany, has had something of a hit tune with “Fall Into Me”, a song used in the series Black Mirror. That song has had a few versions, including one recorded by vocal octet Roomful of Teeth, and another as a work called “Splendid Soldiers.” Her dark (only sometimes) and thoughtful compositions and collaborations are often finding their places in films and limited series, as in the films Im Nachtlicht and Downhill, and the series Dark. Alev Lenz has been something of a serial collaborator, working with sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar, Lisel (Eliza Bagg), Sand Dunes, synthesist and producer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, French-Cuban vocal duo Ibeyi, and the aforementioned Roomful of Teeth, to name a few. During the interview, Lenz describes her creative process, and when the words might come in, and shares her experiences in the world of “sync”, when composers license their music to film and streaming series. Plus, hear Alev Lenz and pianist Vana Gierig, recorded in the studio. Set list: "Cigarettes and Blow", "Fall Into Me", "Ivory Tower" Watch "Ivory Tower": Watch "Fall Into Me":

Listen to more highlights from this off-again-on-again year of live performances from the Soundcheck Podcast. These bright spots come by way of Mexican singer-songwriter and arranger Silvana Estrada, London-based tuba player Theon Cross, and the psychedelic cumbia of Combo Chimbita, recorded live at Brooklyn Bowl. Also, listen to music by Cuban-born pianist Omar Sosa and sax player Peter Apfelbaum, of the band Quarteto Americanos. Plus, playful and surreal British musician and songwriter Robyn Hitchcock riffs on an unrealized Raymond Chandler title. ARTIST: Theon Cross WORK: We Go Again [5:49] RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Mar. 2022 SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.  INFO: A version appears on Theon Cross’ album, Intra I ARTIST: Omar Sosa and Peter Apfelbaum WORK: umbo kondo  [5:47] RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Sept. 2022 SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.  INFO: https://omarsosa.com/ ARTIST: Robyn Hitchcock WORK: The Man Who Loves the Rain  [3:58] RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Nov. 2022 SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.  INFO: The song appears on his 2022 record, Shufflemania! ARTIST: Silvana Estrada WORK: Marchita  [4:35] RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Jan. 2022 SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.  INFO: The tune appears on her 2022 album, Marchita ARTIST: Combo Chimbita WORK: La Perla [4:35] RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Sept. 2022 SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.  INFO: The song appears on the 2022 release, Ire.

Montréal’s Black Ox Orkestar has been making 'music of the Jewish diaspora not tied to any state' since the early 2000’s. Orkestar is a name you’ll see a lot in Balkan music; it’s simply Serbo-Croatian for orchestra or ensemble. But the musicians were also in much-admired post-rock bands like Silver Mt Zion, and Godspeed You Black Emperor, so after a while they went their separate ways, but came back together in 2021. Their new album, called Everything Returns, "connects key current issues—from refugees forced to leave their homes, to the return of fascism and exclusionary nationalism—with the legacy of modernist Yiddish poetry and song", (Bandcamp liner notes.) The songs are a melancholic twist on traditional Jewish klezmer music, with vocals mainly sung in Yiddish – with piano, violin, upright bass, clarinet and cymbalom (a stringed instrument of the dulcimer family) – taking on hues of indie rock, experimental folk and avant-jazz. Black Ox Orkestar plays both traditional and original songs for us, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: “Tish Nign” “Body Keeps the Score”, “Mizrakh Mi Ma’arav” Watch "Tish Nign": Watch "Body Keeps the Score": Watch “Mizrakh Mi Ma’arav”:

One of the marks of a dedicated and accomplished artist is that they continue to level up, testing their own limits and working to break out of habits and patterns. New York-based guitarist, singer/songwriter, and collaborator Steve Gunn is such a one; he can tap into Indian classical modes, inhabit the drone of minimalist founding father La Monte Young, pick like fingerstyle players Jack Rose and John Fahey, and coax the reclusive Japanese folk legend, guitarist and songwriter Sachiko Kanenobu, back to playing (NY Times.) In Gunn’s songs -which float between the worlds of Philadelphia soul, British folk, DC punk, and the cosmic jazz of Sun Ra with ease- one finds unexpected chromatic lyricism, and keen lyric observations. He’s also done several challenging collaborations with a head-spinningly wide range of musical colleagues (Mary Lattimore, John Trusinski, Bridget St John, Mdou Moctar, Bing &Ruth, Kim Gordon, Kurt Vile) and continues to step outside of music into the worlds of film, line drawings, sculpture, or podcasts, in order to prevent tunnel vision (gathered from ToneGlow.substack.com.) The ace guitarist and fingerstyle folk rocker Steve Gunn plays recent songs from Other You and its companion EP, Nakama, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Set list: “Fulton”, “Morning River”, “On the Way” Watch "Fulton":  Watch "Morning River":  Watch "On The Way": 

The four members of Combo Chimbita are from Colombia. But they met and formed their band here in New York. From their home base in Queens, Combo Chimbita plays a kind of tropical futurist pop that combines elements of Afro-Colombian spirituality, razor-sharp social commentary, and booty-shaking dance rhythms. Hear their set, live from the New Sounds 40th Anniversary Party from Brooklyn Bowl, and an interview with bass/synth player Prince of Queens.  Set list: Candela Esto Es Real Babalawo Download or Listen to Part 1: IRE by Combo Chimbita

The Brazilian singer and guitarist named Rogê made his mark playing his own brand of samba and samba funk in the clubs of Rio de Janeiro. [Samba in Brazil is rather like the Blues in America, a statement and sound born of the forced migration of Africans, and in both styles, these musical roots grew up and out into many more kinds of popular music.] Now, L.A.-based, Rogê is preparing to release his first album outside Brazil in early 2023, in partnership with producer/guitarist Thomas Brenneck (Menahan Street Band, producer/guitarist for Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones and The Budos Band.) It’ll be called Curyman, (his given name is Roger José Cury), and even though the record has a big, almost orchestral sound at time, thanks to string arrangements by fellow Brazilian Arthur Verocai, it all starts with the voice and guitar. Samba star Rogê performs these new tunes with percussionist Stephane San Juan, in-studio. Set list: “A Voz Que Não Se Cala”- (by Stephane San Juan), “Existe Uma Voz”, “Pra Vida” Watch “A Voz Que Não Se Cala” - (by Stephane San Juan): Watch  “Existe Uma Voz": Watch "Pra Vida":

Nashville-based Appalachian Road Show are veterans of the bluegrass, folk, and roots music scenes who polish the raw emotion in tunes inspired by the Civil War and America’s barn dance eras. The American roots music supergroup features Todd Phillips (bass, bowed bass, vibraslap, vocals), Zeb Snyder (guitars, slide guitar, vocals), Jim VanCleve (fiddle, vocals) and Darrell Webb (mandolin, octave mandolin, banjo, vocals.) They play for us remotely from Blackbird Studios in Nashville, and banjo player, vocalist, and whistler Barry Abernathy chats about their spirit-lifting 2022 release, Jubilation. Set list: Gallows Pole, The Ballad of Kidder Cole Watch "Gallows Pole": Watch "The Ballad of Kidder Cole":

Songwriter Jesse Harris has been a standout musical figure since the 1990s in New York, as a singer and guitarist, and lately as a producer. When his friend Norah Jones swept up all the Grammys back in 2003, it was for an album featuring five of Jesse’s songs, including his Grammy winning song of the year “Don’t Know Why”; other interpreters of his songs include Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, and Emmylou Harris. Jesse Harris and percussionist/producer Kenny Wolleson have just birthed an unusual collection of songs called Silver Balloon, where they aimed to experiment with (and subvert) song form, play with an imaginative sound world, and maybe bend time to suit their play as they embrace unexpected chaos. Jesse Harris and percussionist Kenny Wolleson, along with the band, play some of these new songs in-studio, and tease the forthcoming instrumental record, Cosmo, of songs without words. Set list: “The Hanged Man” “Hummingbird” “New Year’s Day” Watch "The Hanged Man": Watch "Hummingbird": Watch "New Year's Day":

Thee Sacred Souls is a group of 20-somethings who blend the sounds of Chicano soul with its Philadelphia, Memphis, and even Panama counterparts. Their debut self-titled LP, on Daptone Records, is a smooth and sultry type of timeless soul, featuring Josh Lane’s effortless crooning vocals. Their 'retro' sound is inspired by everything from trailblazing East LA Chicano band Thee Midniters to Italian library music. The band plays in-studio. Set list: "Future Lover", "Easier Said Than Done", "Can I Call You Rose" Thee Sacred Souls by Thee Sacred Souls

New York singer/songwriter Nick Hakim has been producing records of gently psychedelic soul here for almost a decade.  Occasionally, he drops the gentle psychedelia in favor of something more obviously trippy – it happens several times on his newest album, Cometa. (The title is Spanish for “kite,” although the American-born Hakim sings in English.) He is one of those singers whose voice rarely seems to rise above a whisper – and though he’s probably sick of being compared to the ill-starred but still-mythic English folkie Nick Drake, Hakim’s songs can sound a little like Nick Drake fronting a psychedelic soul band from the early 70s. Nick Hakim and his band perform these songs in-studio.  (-John Schaefer) Set list: Vertigo, Happen, Feeling Myself