Profiles
Asleep at the Wheel, ‘Still the King’
Beloved Texas swing group Asleep at the Wheel have been carrying the torch for the late Bob Wills’ legacy almost as long as Wills...
Sessions & Studio News
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Producer Roy Thomas Baker tracked and overdubbed Split Shift’s latest release (NoName/Elektra) in Glenwood Place‘s (Burbank) Studio 1 with engineer Daniel Kresco. Ziggy Marley and producer/engineer Ross Hogarth had Studio 2...
Ben Lee, ‘Love Is the Great Rebellion’
Ben Lee has released 11 solo albums, in addition to his band work with Noise Addict. The newest, Love Is the Great Rebellion, is...
Leon Bridges, ‘Coming Home’
“The clothes make the man,” the saying goes. In the case of 25-year-old Forth Worth, Texas native Leon Bridges, clothes kicked off his career....
Cool Spin: Penguin Prison, ‘Lost in New York’
In the four years since Penguin Prison’s self-titled debut, New York-sprung dance-pop has become all the more established by the likes of MGMT and...
Jillian Speer’s ‘Daggers & Suede’
The urban-meets-singer/songwriter sound of Jillian Speer’s wonderful new EP gives the singer’s soulful songs just the right edge, and it all starts with her...
Calexico’s ‘Edge of the Sun’
When people know your band particularly for mixing musical styles from myriad decades and cultures, and you’re about to start your ninth studio album...
Mix Regional News: A Note From Memphis—David Porter’s ‘The Classics’ at Stonebridge Mastering
Memphis-based mastering engineer Gebre Waddell recently mastered producer/songwriter David Porter’s project The Classics at his Stonebridge Mastering studio. Porter is best known for songwriting...
Composer Shota Nakama and His Video Game Orchestra
It may seem hard to believe, but the videogame industry is in a graying stage. You can set the time it reached maturity anywhere...
William Elliott Whitmore, ‘Radium Death’
On his own with a banjo, or fronting a rock ’n’ roll band, singer/songwriter William Elliott Whitmore sings about trouble—in love, from the government,...
Cool Spin: Hot Chip, ‘Why Make Sense?’
With each passing year, the public’s collective ears are better prepped for sounds like the experimental ones of Hot Chip. In turn, Hot Chip...
Built to Spill, ‘Untethered Moon’
Built to Spill’s first album release in five years, Untethered Moon, features a couple of new bandmembers; since the group’s previous release, There Is...
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Designed by architect Frank Gehry and featuring an acoustical design by Dr. Yasuhisa Toyota, the Walt Disney Concert Hall opened on October 23, 2003,...
Boxed In Debut
Oli Bayston works well amongst clutter. For his latest one-man project, Boxed In, clutter helped streamline his entire recording process, and his sound. Bayston...
Avid Dancer, ‘1st Bath’
For Jacob Summers, the solo artist behind the entity Avid Dancer, it always comes back to drums. Picking up the drums as a high...
The Very Best, ‘Makes A King’
While many producers might toy with the romantic notion of setting up a portable studio in the African bush, few actually do it. To...
Cool Spin: Turbo Fruits, ‘No Control’
Turbo Fruits’ fourth album, No Control (Melvin Records/Thirty Tigers), starts in a psychedelic haze with the sweet-smelling ’60s West Coast throwback, “Show Me Something...
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, ‘The Third’
For their latest album, The Third, Durham siblings Kitty, Daisy & Lewis moved their home studio from the two tiny back rooms of their...
Cool Spin: Noel Gallagher, ‘Chasing Yesterday’
On his second solo album, Chasing Yesterday (Sour Mash Records), one time Oasis main man Noel Gallagher has progressed more than he did over...
A Place to Bury Strangers, ‘Transfixiation’
You would be well advised to bring your most effective earplugs to a A Place to Bury Strangers show. The New York-based nu-gazer trio,...
Tuxedo’s Debut
A few years prior to Mayer Hawthorne breaking hearts and taking names with his debut, he and hip-hop producer Jake One were trading mixtapes....
Mix Regional Florida: Trevor Fletcher, Hit Factory Criteria
It’s always good, when talking about south Florida, to check in with Hit Factory Criteria VP and general manager Trevor Fletcher. After 30 years,...
Kate Pierson Visits Werewolf
Fabulous B-52 Kate Pierson releases her first solo album, Guitars and Microphones, this month. The legendary vocal powerhouse recorded in Werewolf Heart, the personal...
Amen Dunes Have ‘Cowboy Worship’
The Cowboy Worship EP from psychedelic-ambient-folk project Amen Dunes—led by Damon McMahon—is being released as a sort of “companion” piece to the Amen Dunes...
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors’ ‘Medicine’
“I feel like an old soul,” Drew Holcomb sings in “Tightrope,” off his latest album, Medicine. The song suggests a degree of world-weariness, but...
Beethoven’s Ninth in 5.1
Leslie Ann Jones, Wolfgang Fraissinet, Mike Pappas and a Lot of Digital Mics
Cool Spin: Pink Floyd, ‘The Endless River’ (Columbia)
This first CD of “new” Pink Floyd music in 20 years (still without Roger Waters) was largely put together by David Gilmour, co-producer Phil...
Happy Fangs, ‘Capricorn’
Happy Fangs is an apt name for this energetic punk trio from San Francisco. They’ve got a major edge, but a joyful sound, too,...
Lee Ann Womack, ‘The Way I’m Livin’’
This lovely country album—recorded almost three years ago with producer Frank Liddell (Womack’s husband), producer/musician Glenn Worf and producer/engineer Chuck Ainlay—finally found a label...