Foxy Digitalis
Something about the music Norm Chambers composes connects directly to my occipital lobe. I’ve been listening to his work for over ten years now and few artists’ work connects with me on as many levels. Chambers finds soft edges for angular music, using an array of machines to create lush soundworlds that are simultaneously futuristic […]
Intensity is a common theme that permeates Chicago saxophonist Mai Sugimoto’s work. Her debut solo album, Monologue, is one of the year’s most memorable sonic statements with its ferocious physicality and melodic sensibility. For music that might be difficult, I find it surprisingly approachable and engaging. Sugimoto’s skill is boundless as she can jump between different […]
It’s been a banner year for Byron Westbrook. Hands in the Dark released his evocative album, Distortion Hue, to start the year and it set the standard. His most recent album, Mirror View, comes via Ash International and is a surprise departure that pays off. Utilizing field recordings, sound installation works, and other sonic elements, Westbrook offers […]
Emma Palm’s No Translation project first came across my radar thanks to Matthew Sage’s fantastic longform streaming series last summer. Her performance was captivating in its gentleness and vulnerability. After that, I began digging into her work on Bandcamp and immediately purchased her first Music For Postcards release. The visual element to her work is striking in […]
On the inaugural episode of Foxy Digitalis Radio on Radio Coyote, I focused on the work of Washington D.C. artist, Imka, and his plant-based music. His full-length, Manyara, used an incredible array of plants to collect the bio-electrical signals that his compositions are built around. Imka’s work continues to evolve with his monthly HEALTH live […]
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on so many artists the past 18 months, but when everything began shutting down, Thollem McDonas was at the front of my mind. McDonas is the traveling musician, having crossed the country (and world!) countless times to perform, speak, record, collaborate, and everything else in between. Sidelined since March 2020, […]
Norah Lorway composes music in ways that are totally foreign and completely fascinating to me. She’s equal parts artist, architect, and coder, using different applications and languages to build soundworlds from scratch. She regularly participates in live coding shows and algoraves, two events I was unfamiliar with before digging into her work and her label, Xylem. […]
Lawrence English is a one-person force of nature. Between his label, Room 40, various solo and collaborative projects, his own writing, and so much more it’s a wonder he finds time to breathe. Truthfully, this unerring, forward-pushing nature is something I deeply relate to, and seeing and hearing all that English has accomplished this year […]
The last show I saw before the pandemic was Steve Gunn at the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa. He was nearing the end of a long year of touring, and even though we’d never met face-to-face before that evening, our conversation was that of old friends with a shared history. Gunn is a thoughtful songwriter […]