Soundcheck

Hear the eerie, arresting, co-composed electro-orchestral pop from Minneapolis electro band POLIÇA and Berlin new-music outfit stargaze, led by conductor André de Ridder. The two groups have worked together since the 2015-2016 season, in a “virtual residence,” commissioned by Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music series. They have arranged and adapted Steve Reich’s Music for Pieces of Wood as well as co-creating their latest, a long-form work inspired by ideas and themes in James Kunstler's book The Long Emergency. On their new record called, Music For the Long Emergency, sweeps of strings, French horn, flute and oboe, along with synth bass, industrial electro-percussion, and jarring electronic textures are arrayed in support of often electronically-altered vocal lines. Hear some of this music, in-studio, which Poliça frontwoman Channy Leaneagh describes in National Sawdust Log as “not a pill to swallow that calms us down.” Read more about the long-distance collaborative romance via this interview in the National Sawdust Log. Watch the session live:

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.  

New Zealand singer/songwriter Marlon Williams has a voice like butter which can be charming and flirty as in the timeless crooner soon-to-be-classic, “Vampire Again,” or which can convey despair and longing, see his duet with Aldous Harding - "Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore." After his recent breakup from musician Aldous Harding, complicated torrents of feeling poured out in song, all delivered in a honey-smooth voice that accepts heartbreak and cultivates its beauty. Williams new record, Make Way For Love is out now, and he’s here to play songs from it for us, in-studio.   

African-American string band tradition meets Cajun/Creole and Appalachian music in a collaboration between singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, actor and MacArthur Fellow Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell, a multi-instrumentalist, singer, arranger, songwriter, and actor himself. Together, with banjos and fiddles, they play each other's original songs, music that takes on the slave condition of pre-Civil War times, and chat about their new project, songs tied to the Reconstruction era culture of the Wilmington, North Carolina Massacre of 1898. Set list:  I’m Gonna Write Me A Letter  Say Old Playmate  At the Purchaser’s Option  Watch the session here:

Somewhere on the spectrum of art music and prog rock, is the band Palm. Underneath airy vocal melodies, they build out an architecturally precise combination of guitars and percussion, plus extra electronic triggered effects like steel drums, backwards samples, and other hard-to-identify noises. With strange and unusual combinations of ever-shifting meter (fives, thirteens, threes, and many other grooves that are really hard to dance to), the Bard-College born, Philadelphia-based outfit trips gaily through fun, smart, and weird pop experiments. Their intriguing oasis of these creations, Rock Island, is nearly out, and it brings the band to perform in our studio.  Set list: "Parly" "Composite" "Dog Milk"  

Norwegian band Wardruna creates music born of Nordic history, Norse runes and nature - and is led by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Einar Selvik, who currently composes music for the TV series Vikings. (He was formerly the drummer in the black metal band Gorgoroth under stage name Kvitrafn, for those keeping track.)  Hear a captivating combination of old and recreated Norse historical instruments: Tagelharpa (bowed harp-lyre), birchbark lure (a trumpet), goat horns), Kraviklyra, instruments from nature: stones, bones, trees, fire and ice, along with sounds captured in nature, vocal techniques of many kinds, and ancient poetry. The latest record, Runaljod – Ragnarok, is the third of a trilogy of musical interpretations of each of the twenty-four old Nordic runes (the word rune can also mean magical song). Wardruna performs some of their unusual, spiritual, ancient sounding-modern ritual music in the studio.  Set list:  Wunjo Isa Helvegen

The singer and songwriter known as Sirintip lives here in New York, but like many musicians who are here in New York, she came from somewhere else. She was raised in Thailand, and spent her teenage years in her mother’s homeland of Sweden, before making her way to the city. Her debut LP called Tribus (due out Feb. 9) also seems to come from several places at once. There are jazz harmonies, Thai drums, electronics and singable pop all mixed together to often startling effect. Sirintip and her band play some of these songs live. Sirintip's record release show is at Joe's Pub on Wednesday, March 7.aww Watch her complete in-studio session: Set list: In My Garden Nothing in the Room/Pretend Shut it Up

Hear some straight-up rock 'n' roll with big crunchy guitars and solid grooves from the decidedly un-noodley Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Not content to rest on their laurels, they're still shaking things up, embracing their blues roots, but adding a little bit of funk, a dash a punk, and a pinch of country from time to time. The band plays songs from their latest, New World Arisin', along with a surprise classic, in studio.  Set list:  "Damaged One" "Bittersweet" "New World Arisin'" Watch the complete session:

Muscle Shoals, Alabama, singer-songwriter John Paul White (Ex-Civil Wars) brings his lyrical Southern gothic songs of heartbreak to the studio. Expect ethereal, sophisticated guitar-based Americana and dark, modern country from the four-time Grammy Award-winning singer.  Set list:  "Black Leaf" "The Once and Future Queen" "I Wish I Could Write You A Song" (Co-written with Bill Anderson) Watch the complete session:

New York-based band The Shacks play catchy music that has strong echoes of '60s pop and psychedelia, and touches of '70s soul too. Their nod to vintage sounds has ties to the storied production out of Daptone Records (home of the late Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings), where guitarist Max Shrager learned a few production tricks while touring with Charles Bradley and working with Naomi Shelton. The Shacks bring their psychedelic-vibed, timeless, dreamy pop in studio. Set List: Orchids Birds Sand Song Watch their complete performance:

The band Umphrey’s McGee spans a wide range of rock, prog, and pop, yet sometimes dips into jazz and/or improvisation by way of Zappa-inspired hand signals. But it’s also their constantly evolving live experience that has converted a loyal grassroots fanbase over the past two decades. Now Chicago-based, they’re celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band by touring. Umphrey’s McGee performs new material from their record, it’s not us, in-studio.  Set List: Half Delayed Looks Speak Up Watch the full session:

For the better part of two decades, the Tuscon-based desert-noir band Calexico has been making Mariachi- and Cumbia-laced expansive Americana. For their latest record (their ninth), "The Thread That Keeps Us," they explore the dual nature of anxiety and hope in these volatile times with some romance and gritty dread. The band joins us to play some of these songs in our studio.  Set List: The End of the World With You Voices in the Field Under the Wheels Watch the complete session below:

The Liverpool-born trio known as The Wombats make catchy, guitar-saturated pop with riffs on twisted love songs, or detail-rich bad choices. With all members, Dan, Tord, & Murph now residing in three different locations: London, Oslo and Los Angeles, their latest record,  Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, due out on February 9, was largely written in that modern-day long-distance fashion, with in-person sessions in Oslo. Fittingly, the band will be supporting The Pixies and Weezer on arena shows this summer, but before they do, they're here to entice us to "Dance To Joy Division" with their explosive guitar-pop. Set List: Lemon to a Knife Fight Turn Watch the complete in-studio session:

Since their inception over a decade ago, the string quintet Sybarite5 has built a global audience, from Lincoln Center to The Cutting Room and the Museum of Sex; from the Apple Store to the Library of Congress, and a music salon-like residency at NYC’s the cell, along with multiple international and national tours, residencies, and festivals. The five players (Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins; Angela Pickett, viola; Laura Metcalf, cello; and Louis Levitt, bass) have made it their quest to champion new music by American composers along with other tunes that excite them: arrangements of Radiohead, Taraf de Haidouks, Led Zeppelin, and Astor Piazzolla. Their latest record, OUTLIERS, is a collection of new works composed just for them, and it brings the quintet to our studio. Set List: Black Bend by Dan Visconti Yann's Light by Shawn Conley Getting Home (I must be...) by Jessica Meyer Watch the complete studio session below:

Dreamy slow-core folk duo Lean Year is Virginia-based singer Emilie Rex and filmmaker/musician Rick Alverson, along with contributions from Chicago musician/engineer Erik Hall and guest artists. Their musical palette is one of soft-spoken but direct vocals, a Telecaster guitar dredging through peaceful waters, baritone saxophone and clarinet parts, Rhodes, tape-warps, and waves of strings. Lean Year joins us in-studio to play some of these cutting and quiet minimalist folk tunes.  Watch their session: