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On The Turntable

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    Okonski

    Okonski :: Magnolia

    Via Asheville, NC, the pensive piano jazz stylings of Steve Okonski. File under nocturne. All improvised and recorded live to a Tascam 388, the trio’s (pianist Okonski, double bassist Michael Isvara Montgomery and drummer Aaron Frazer) interplay feels both intuitive and effortless.

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    Ebo Taylor

    Ebo Taylor :: Life Stories

    Summer crate staple. Let it sweat.

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    Old & In The Way

    Old & In The Way :: Old & In The Way

    Released in 1975, Old & In The Way was the San Francisco based collaborative bluegrass project of Peter Rowan (guitar, vocals), Vassar Clements (fiddle), Jerry Garcia (banjo, vocals), David Grisman (mandolin, vocals), and John Kahn (string bass). Instant good times.

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    Emergency Group

    Emergency Group :: Inspection of Cruelty

    A massive slab of Electric Miles-inspired jams from this new NYC band. Kraut-y rhythms, seething guitar/keyboard duels, rock-solid bass — the good stuff, spread out over the course of two epic-length tracks. Sometimes blown-out and blasted, other times moody and meditative, Inspection of Cruelty is a very bitchin brew.

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    Azymuth

    Azymuth :: Demos 1973-75 1 & 2

    Unearthed in 2019, via Far Out Recordings, raw early Azymuth. Two LP set of organic fusion-funk.

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    V/A

    V/A :: Jesus People Music, Volume 2: The Reckoning

    On May 26, Aquarium Drunkard and Org Music present Jesus People Music Vol. 2. Culled from the BlackForrestry’s AD mixtapes of obscure ’60s and ’70s Jesus People psych, rock, folk, and country. In advance of this collection’s release, we’re presenting its liner notes, written by Jason P. Woodbury.

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    Miles Davis

    Miles Davis :: Turnaround (Rare Miles From The Complete On The Corner Sessions)

    Blown out electric Miles, two sides culled from the complete On The Corner Sessions….

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    Prince Far I

    Prince Far I :: Under Heavy Manners

    Ital and vital. Produced by Joe Gibbs and engineered by Errol Thompson, Prince Far I, aka the Voice Of Thunder, dropped this slab of essential roots reggae in 1976. His grizzled ropeadope delivery scorching the LP’s ten tracks, Far I’s epic toasting (or chanting, as he preferred) is on full display riding a wave of rumbling bass, subtle dub effects, percussion and organ.

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Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra: Space Is The Place (Music From The Original Soundtrack)

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This month marked the 109th anniversary of Sun Ra’s arrival on earth. As such, it’s a fine time to revisit the soundtrack to the iconoclast’s 1974 Afrofuturist science fiction film, Space Is The Place. The Sundazed label has it covered via their new boxed set, Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra: Space Is The Place (Music From The Original Soundtrack).

Joshua Abrams :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

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On April 19 of this year Abrams sat for a Zoom call in the Chicago home he shares with his partner Alvarado, backed by one of her signature glowing artworks. Abrams expressed his life’s work with the same reflective purpose and dedication he brings to his art. He discussed his Jewish upbringing, working with The Roots, jamming with Chicago’s finest improvisers and his unparalleled Eremite albums.

Ndikho Xaba And the Natives

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Reissued last year via Mississippi Records, slip into this long out-of-print South African spiritual jazz LP from 1971. A songwriter, bandleader and pianist, Ndikho Xaba relocated from South Africa for San Francisco in 1964, falling in with the likes of Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Sun Ra.

Aquarium Drunkard :: Mailbag, Vol. V

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Long time reader, first time caller? Welcome to Mailbag, our monthly column in which we dig in and respond to your questions. Got a query? Hit us up at aqdmailbag@gmail.com. In this month’s bag: out-of-print albums, new versus ‘old’ music, a Bicycle Day query from New Zealand, record store strategies and more …

The Aquarium Drunkard Picture Show

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Weird times, strange signals. Reverberating from the hills of Glassell Park, California, welcome to episode twelve of the Aquarium Drunkard Picture Show.

Feat: Cass McCombs | Jon McKiel | Quilt | Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears | Triptides | Hollow Hand | Amen Dunes

Jess Williamson :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

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… the result is Williamson’s lovely Time Ain’t Accidental, an album that balances the lilting heartbreak of classic country with the fresh, modern sound of pop. The songs are restless and yearning, powered by the ache for change and movement. They are gorgeously simple sounding but subtly sophisticated, showcasing Williamson’s clear, pure, vibrato laced voice.

Adam Halliwell :: Freedom Lapse

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Recorded over four weeks in Adam Halliwell’s home of Melbourne, Freedom Lapse is inspired by a trip Halliwell made to Mexico shortly before the pandemic. In the liners, Halliwell describes his travels “winding through villages” of the mountains of Mexico, “drenched in color,” a place where “the past, present and future stretch out in one place.” This pliability of time and place is central to the magnetic pace of the album’s six tracks.

Keith Jarrett / Jack Dejohnette :: Ruta and Daitya

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Recorded in 1971, and released two years later via ECM, Keith Jarrett’s collaboration with drummer Jack DeJohnette marks one of the last times the keyboardist would flex electric. Fresh off his two year stint behind the boards in Miles Davis’s electric band, Ruta and Daitya features seven duets produced by label head Manfred Eicher. With a palette skirting between sinuous electric funk and acoustic washes of percussion, flute and piano, the forty-one minute runtime does well to maintain a cohesive identity without feeling aesthetically schizophrenic.

RF Shannon :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

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RF Shannon’s new album Red Swan in Palmetto, out May 26th on Keeled Scales, finds the band exploring swampier parts of their native Texas. Gone is the wide open, desert-tinged sound of past albums; what has emerged is knottier and more enigmatic. Songwriter Shane Renfro talks to us about the long process of recording the new album and how he uses songwriting to explore and get closer to his natural surroundings.

Subtle Vibrations: Assorted Beach Boys Cover Oddities

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Signifying a momentum shift in the influence of Brian Wilson, the nineties to early aughts saw a handful of curious, if not downright mysterious Beach Boys/Brian Wilson tribute compilations. With eclectic, avant-garde artists and names like Smiles, Vibes & Harmony, these comps began to emerge intermittently. Spurred by interest in the legendary abandoned Smile project reaching a fever pitch, these hidden relics provide fascinating insights frozen in time. All these decades later, artists of all varieties continue to look at that specific era’s creative burst and beyond for endless inspiration. To quote the promotional description for the Japanese compilation Smiling Pets: “Sure, there’s a little schlock, but not that much”.

Jesus People Music, Volume 2: The Reckoning

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On May 26, Aquarium Drunkard and Org Music present Jesus People Music Vol. 2. Culled from the BlackForrestry’s AD mixtapes of obscure ’60s and ’70s Jesus People psych, rock, folk, and country. In advance of this collection’s release, we’re presenting its liner notes, written by Jason P. Woodbury.