Stereo Embers: The Podcast

Stereo Embers The Podcast 0499: Patrick Wolf

"Crying The Neck" With seven marvelous albums under his musical belt, including 2003's Lycanthropy, 2005's Wind In The Wires and his latest album Crying The Neck, which broke a nearly fifteen-year hiatus from recorded music, Patrick Wolf is a wondrous talent. The London-born musician is one of the most arresting artists on the planet--his songs effortlessly meld trip-hop, electronica and indie rock into some of the most compelling, dramatic and altogether moving compositions you're likely to hear. Wolf's music is literary, emotionally precise and sonically arresting. I know a lot of people say his music is baroque and that's not too far off the mark, but an easier way to think of it is Tricky by way of Scott Walker. A multi-instrumentalist, a model, a producer, a playwright a label owner, a poet, and a student at Trinity College, Wolf has played with Arcade Fire, Patti Smith and The Hidden Cameras. He's the recipient of The Edmund Burke Medal from Trinity College Historical Society, Dublin for his Outstanding Contribution to Discourse through the Arts and he's on tour this summer. www.patrickwolf.com www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers: IG + THREADS + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com Patrick Wolf Tour Dates: June 5 in Washington, DC at DC9 June 7 in Raleigh, NC at The Pour House Music Hall & Record Shop June 10 in Nashville, TN at 3rd & Lindsley June 11 in Atlanta, GA at Smith’s Olde Bar June 13 in Miami, FL at Churchills Pub June 18 in New Orleans, LA at Gasa Gasa June 20 in Houston, TX at The Secret Group June 21 in Denton, TX at Rubber Gloves June 23 in Austin, TX at Long Center For The Performing Arts June 26 in Tucson, AZ at Hotel Congress June 28 in Phoenix, AZ at Valley Bar June 30 in Los Angeles, CA at Lodge Room

Stereo Embers The Podcast 0498: Brad Merritt (5440)

Porto" Over their nearly twenty-album history, the Canadian outfit 5440 have proven themselves to be one of the most enduring rock and roll bands of all time. Their career highlights are numerous, so bear with this partial list of their achievements. They've been nominated for 8 Juno Awards, have had #1 singles and Gold albums in Canada, had their song "I Go Blind" covered by Hootie and the Blowfish and have toured all over the world. The band's new album Porto is the perfect addition to their fabulous discography. Filled with melodic crunch, introspective lyrics and some of the catchiest songs of the year, Porto reinforces the power and enduring quality of this legendary band. The partnership and friendship of singer Neil Osborne and bassist Brad Merrit is the secret to what makes 5440 tick and this chat addresses that and a lot more. This is a great chat and Brad couldn't be a nicer guy, so enjoy this conversation. www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Stereo Embers: IG + THREADS + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

Stereo Embers The Podcast 0497: Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire)

"But What Time Is It Really?" Because their legacy is so vast, their musical output so singular and their influence so far-reaching, telling you a little bit about Cabaret Voltaire is like telling you a little bit about outer space. A long tine ago, say 1973, in a galaxy far, far away, say Sheffield, England, Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson got together to, in their words, make music without musical instruments. What did that mean? Well, it meant innovation because this was not a three-piece banging away in a garage, it was three guys experimenting with tape loops, custom-built kit oscillators, keyboards and wind instruments. Although traditional instruments were included, Cabaret Voltaire were anything but a traditional band. Falling somewhere between performance art and industrial music, Cabaret Voltaire remain one of the most innovative, idiosyncratic and unique bands of all time. Incorporating elements of techno, house, funk, synthpop, electronica and dub, the band's striking soundscapes were massively influential to bands like Depeche Mode, New Order, Skinny Puppy, David J. and Nine Inch Nails. Watson left the band in 1981 but Mallinder and Kirk soldiered on, keeping up Cabaret Voltaire's unbelievable working pace. The band put out fifteen albums in as many years, including classics like Mix-Up, Red Mecca, The Crackdown and Micro-Phonies. Kirk died in 2021 at 65 and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band, Mallinder and Watson started touring, put out a live album and will be on the road until year's end, taking their valedictory bow. A journalist, an academic, a studio owner, a producer and a filmmaker whose videos have been exhibited at MOMA in New York, Mallinder remains a busy man and I'll let him tell you all about that. But let me say this: if you listen to Cabaret Voltaire, it's like listening to the future before it happened. Their work is an astounding blend of multi-media and post-punk that eludes the timeline--their records aren't fixed to any point on the map and instead sound like they come from a universe that is at once both distant and familiar. www.cabaretvoltaire.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers: IG + THREADS + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

Stereo Embers The Podcast 0496: Tom Paxton and John McCutcheon

"Together Again" When it comes to the Wisconsin-born John McCutcheon and the Chicago-born Tom Paxton, there's no way to condense their amazing careers into a three-minute introduction, but that's the challenge I have before me, so I'm going to do the best I can. Putting it simply, McCutcheon and Paxton are two of the most towering figures in the history of folk music. Let's start with McCutcheon. He's recorded close to fifty albums, he's got six Grammy nominations, he's written three children's books and he's played shows all over the world. McCutcheon is a master of the hammered dulcimer and he also plays banjo, jaw harp, and the fiddle. As for Mr. Paxton, he's recorded close to seventy albums, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, authored close to 20 books, had one of his songs used in a Monty Python episode and toured around the world. He even played a show with Black Sabbath. More on that in a minute. McCutcheon and Paxton's friendship is a glorious thing and their musical partnership has yielded two albums, including their latest effort, the absolutely marvelous Together Again. I think of Paxton and McCutcheon as the Steve Martin and Martin Short of folk music and here's why. Their creative partnership has ignited them both in new and rejuvenating ways. And Together Again offers great evidence of this--filled with lyrical economy and precision as well as musical finesse played with dexterity and grace, this is an album of tremendous depth and sensitivity. And this conversation is one of my recent favorites--it goes everywhere and yet it comes right back. This was so much fun- www.tompaxton.com (http://www.tompaxton.com) https://tompaxton.bandcamp.com/album/together-again https://www.folkmusic.com/store/p492/Together_Again_-_Digital.html www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.cm) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers: IG + BLUESKY + THREADS: @emberspodcast EMAIL: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

Stereo Embers The Podcast 0495: Mark Crozer (Jesus and Mary Chain)

"Homecoming" Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “I regarded home as a place I left behind in order to come back to it afterward.” That is exactly the sentiment that has fueled Mark Crozer's marvelous new album Homecoming. The Oxford-bred Crozer left home as a young man and in many ways he never looked back because he was always moving forward. And that forward thing worked pretty well. The singer/songwriter and guitarist had been in several bands as a teenager, but his two solo albums 1999's Shining Down On Me and 2002's Unnatural World really put hin on the map. He joined the Jesus and Mary Chain back in 2007 and he's been a member of the band ever since. And he's quietly been packing his CV with other highlights like collaborating with Consequence, working with Mitch Easter playing in Mark Crozer and the Rels and the International Jetsetters with Loz Colbert of Ride and his song "Broken out in Love" was bought the WWE, renamed "Live In Fear" and used as an entrance theme. His new album, the aformentioned Homecoming, is a stirring and deeply atmospheric song cycle that confronts getting older, the quality of love, the devastation of loss and the definition of what home really is. Filled with undulating rhythms, sneaky grooves and ghostly jangle, Homecoming is a subtle and moving melodic wonder. www.markcrozer.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com (www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers The Podcast: Threads + BLUESKY + IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com)