My feature on Rob Mazurek, Chicago bandleader extraordinaire, the brains behind the Chicago Undergroun Duo/Trio and the Exploding Star Orchestra, was posted today at ALARM. It ran as part of their astonishingly beautiful Chromatic issue, which was published this past September. It was a pleasure to get to talk with Rob, and I think the article provides a really interesting look into the motivation and process of a great jazz/experimental artist. 11.07.11

Over at the ALARM Magazine website, they’ve posted my feature on San Francisco punk/funk/noise/groove group Mi Ami. This story originally appeared in issue 35, back in the summer of 2009. Though it’s a little old, I assure you that it’s still interesting. Coming soon (I hope), in the next issue of ALARM, you’ll find my big feature on Chicago Underground/Exploding Star Orchestra mastermind Rob Mazurek. [02.09.11]

My feature on experimental musicians Merzbow and Richard Pinhas is now available on the ALARM Magazine website. This originally appeared in ALARM #35 back in August of 2009, and the interview actually took place all the way back in December of 2008! We talked about their joint album, Keio Line! At the end they mention a future collaboration with Wolf Eyes—this album, Metal/Crystal, finally materialized a few months ago. [12.20.10]

My feature on M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel of Matmos is now available on the ALARM Magazine website. We talk about Simultaneous Quodlibet and their collaboration with So Percussion, Treasure State. Daniel also reveals some intriguing info about his dormant side project, The Soft Pink Truth. If you’re interested in checking out the performance mentioned in the feature, you can watch it at SnowGhost Music. [09.15.10]

The ALARM Magazine website continues to provide; my brief feature on Menomena, where I talk to drummer, vocalist, and songwriter Danny Seim about their new album, Mines is now available online. If you enjoy the article, you might also enjoy some of the audio clips from our discussion, which have some bonus material that didn’t make the piece but not because it wasn’t interesting, I assure you. [09.10.10]

Issue #38 of ALARM Magazine, “Invisible,” is out this week, and in it you’ll find my features on Liars and Matmos. The first is online now at the magazine’s attractive new website. The other should be soon. For now, you can enjoy the audio clips of Angus Andrew, M.C. Schmidt, and Drew Daniel behind the links provided above.

On deck for the December issue is a feature on Danny Seim of Menomena where we got to talk about their new record Mines [audio clips here], and a discussion with Rob Mazurek of the Chicago Underground and Exploding Star Orchestra about his innovative, color-based methods of conducting and composing music. He’s a very unique guy and I’ve been a big fan of his work for a long time. [09.09.10]

My feature on Liars is now live at ALARM Magazine for your perusal. I had an interesting discussion with their singer, Angus Andrew, who gave me some insight into the inspiration for the album’s dark, moody theme. You can find some audio clips from our conversation here. This feature will appear in ALARM #38 – Invisible, which is out on September 7th, and will also include my feature on Matmos. [09.01.10]

When I first met Menomena’s Danny Seim back in 2006, I thought he was an exceptionally nice guy. It was the first interview I was doing for ALARM Magazine; the only other interview I had done at that point had been three years earlier for another publication, and was such a bad experience (largely due to an uncooperative subject) that I’ve excised it from my portfolio and refuse to acknowledge it. But this time was a lot different, largely due to the friendliness of Danny and his bandmates, Justin Harris and Brent Knopf. I left that interview genuinely thrilled and feeling really great about Menomena.

Here we are almost four years later, and I’ve been lucky enough to get to speak with Seim again for ALARM about Menomena’s new record, Mines. The short profile will appear in print several months from now, but for the time being, enjoy these quick audio clips lifted from our phone conversation. In the first, Seim talks about what it’s like to be in his early thirties and performing for audiences much, much younger. In the second, he discusses the song “TAOS” and how his bandmate Justin Harris has grown as a singer and songwriter. The third is about discovering that Mines leaked to the internet two months prior to the release date.

On the perils of having an audience half your age

On bandmate Justin Harris and his song “TAOS”

On having your album leaked on the Internet

Mines comes out July 27th, and it’s truly excellent, a great follow up to Friend and Foe that demonstrates a lot of maturity and progress.

Update: The feature on Menomena is now live at ALARM Press.

Buy Menomena’s Mines at Amazon.com

My review of The Fall’s 28th album, Your Future Our Clutter, ran today in the Boston Phoenix.

There are few discographies as daunting as The Fall’s. Guided by Voices and Mountain Goats come to mind. Mark E. Smith’s prodigious output and penchant for switching band members and styles make it difficult to get a grasp of where to begin with The Fall, but the longer you put it off, the more you feel like you’re missing out. If you haven’t managed to get a foothold with the Fall, Your Future Our Clutter is a good enough place to start. It’s a very solid album thanks to the tightness of the backing band, who are carried over from the last Fall record, Imperial Wax Solvent. They know when to kick up a storm and when to let Smith rant and rave his way through the track. I highly recommend “Hot Cakes” as the standout from this album, a track that’s full of smug swagger and brashness that would fit in well on any of their classic albums.

Buy Your Future Our Clutter at Amazon.com

From Supreme Balloon (2008)

I had the privilege of talking with M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel of Matmos this weekend, for an upcoming feature in ALARM Magazine. I was not at all surprised to find that they’re very intelligent, thoughtful artists — their work is evidence enough of their depth and creativity — but I was happy to also discover that they’re genuinely nice guys who seem to enjoy talking about what they do. It makes my job a whole lot easier and more pleasant.

We discussed their upcoming albums Treasure State, which they recorded with the Brooklyn-based group So Percussion, and Simultaneous Quodlibet. From what I’ve heard of the new material, they’re a solid addition to an already daring experimental catalog. I’m inspired by Matmos’ ability to find inspiration and new sounds in the most mundane and unlikely objects. I learned a lot from my discussion with Schmidt and Daniel: how to play a cactus as a musical instrument, what it’s like to be publicly dressed down by your experimental music idols, and why an excess of black bile is preventing Daniel from releasing a new Soft Pink Truth record.

Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt on The Soft Pink Truth [50s]

On their unrequited desire for high school cheerleaders [57s]

On the Baltimore music scene, of which they are now a part [2m 12s]

I, for one, wouldn’t mind another set of Soft Pink Truth covers in the vein of Do You Want New Wave Or…, but the prospect of fresh, original material from Daniel is also pretty exciting. It’s nice to know, at least, that the side project isn’t defunct; it’s been almost six years since the last release.

So stay tuned to ALARM for what’s sure to be an enthralling feature; my piece on Liars and Sisterworld is still on deck, hopefully out soon. And pick up the new Matmos discs when they come out, support experimental art.

UPDATE: The feature is now online. Read it here!