Foxy Digitalis
Marisa Anderson and William Tyler as a collaborative duo simply makes sense. Their album, Lost Futures, is a heavy yet hopeful listening experience created in the ashes of yesterday. Talking to them in mid-September, their thoughtfulness and humor stand at the forefront. The idea of ‘lost futures,’ at least as written by Mark Fisher, isn’t […]
Joel St. Julien is a Haitian-American multidisciplinary artist based out of San Francisco and his excellent new album, Empathy, is a light against the darkness. St. Julien creates vast worlds with sound, transporting listeners who give themselves over to his sonic concoctions and offering spaces to escape and explore. With Empathy, I was continually struck by how […]
Michael Anderson was an important figure for me in the early days of Digitalis (I talk a bit about that in Episode #2 of The Electric Rubicon). I interviewed him for the first time in 2005 (and again a few years later along with Rivulets as they were preparing for a European tour) and while so […]
Jordan Reyes is in constant motion. Not only does he run one of the most exciting labels around, American Dreams (not to mention all its sub-labels), he also finds space for his own work and projects. Until recently, Threshing Spirit was anonymous, ripping through dismal atmospherics and black metal landscapes with force. Now, with Reyes […]
Though she was born and raised in Iran, Taranoya’s music combines a wide array of surprising and disparate ideas to create something singular and captivating. The aural landscapes she builds are like dreams of other worlds, places where anything seems possible. Deep listening reveals trenchant emotions and a thirst for uncovering hard truths through sonic […]
By creating sonic landscapes built around isolated communities and environments, Norman W. Long challenges listeners to consider the relationships between people and nature that exist in post-industrial urban environments where many Black and Brown communities live. Long’s earlier piece this year, Black Space in Winter, and his latest album, Black Brown Gray Green, especially configure these environmental […]
Lexagon, the music moniker of artist Alexa Burrell, has delivered one of the rawest, most powerful sonic statements of 2021 with Feminine Care. A beguiling mix of visceral bangers, experimental soundscapes, contemplative drones, downtempo hauntings, and everything in between, Burrell put all of herself into this record. The vulnerability shown is intense, sometimes difficult to listen […]
It’s always interesting to me when someone steps away from a project or moniker, especially if it’s got a decent-sized following and a fair bit of history. I might be alone in this, but whatever immediately follows that decision is something I want to investigate. Nick Zanca dropped his Mister Lies moniker and comes in […]
It may not be destiny exactly, but the trio of bassist James Ilgenfritz, drummer Brian Chase, and woodwinds specialist Robbie Lee coming together for an album of improvised excursions. Loss and Gain, out November 5 on Infrequent Seams, digs through free jazz-infused vestiges to find a trail of contemplation, vulnerability, and even moments of lighthearted expression. This […]