INTERVIEWS AND CONCERT HIGHLIGHTS
MAY 2008
THIS MONTH ON ECHOES
Ahn Trio, Nik Bartsch’s Ronin, James Blackshaw, DJ Spooky, Brian Eno,Hammock, Ottmar Liebert, Jack Rose, Gustavo Santaolalla, Jamshied Sharifi, Jami Sieber
SPECIAL ECHOES PROGRAMS THIS MONTH
Weeklong Celebration of Brian Eno on His 60th Birthday: May 12th - 16th
(Do you hear Echoes on the weekend?)
Thursday 05/01
 AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AHN TRIO
Classical darlings head for the serene side
The Ahn Trio are the only musicians selected in People Magazine’s 50 most beautiful people list who have ever been played on Echoes. But in between photo shoots, the Ahn Trio have been creating a modern chamber music that draws from contemporary classical composers like Kenji Bunch to canny covers of songs by Astor Piazzolla, David Bowie and Michael Nyman. We talk to this trio of Seoul sisters about their impeccable music and the dreamy atmospheres of their latest CD, Lullaby for My Favorite Insomniac.  
Friday 05/02
 A LIVING ROOM CONCERT WITH JAMES BLACKSHAW
An excursion into post-John Fahey raga guitar
James Blackshaw is a young English finger-style guitar who may have roots in the rustic avant-garde Americana of John Fahey, but he's finding his own sound that looks to Indian and new classical music as much as folk. He recently released the CD, The Cloud of Unknowing. James Blackshaw whips out his guitar in the Echoes Living Room.
Monday 05/05
 ECHOES MAY CD OF THE MONTH
JAMI SIEBER: UNSPOKEN
An electric cellist goes global
Jami Sieber has been putting out great albums for years now and her latest continues her electric cello extrapolations with world music touches. Sieber isn't just a fine cellist, but an evocative composer whose music always contains a quiet joy even when exploring melancholy terrain. Unspoken started out as a poetry and music project. But for this release, Sieber has dropped the spoken poetry and let the innate poetry of her music speak, hence the album title, Unspoken. Buy from CDBaby Join the CD of the Month Club! Listen to a review
Tuesday 05/06
 AN INTERVIEW WITH DJ SPOOKY
New York sampling savant talks about his new book, Sound Unbound
DJ Spooky is one of the leading conceptualists of sampling culture. He doesn't play a conventional instrument, but mixes matches, slices and distorts sounds from other recordings into his own elaborate soundscapes. In his new book, Sound Unbound, DJ Spooky, a.k.a. Paul D. Miller, assembles essays from Steve Reich, Brian Eno, Jaron Lanier and more, revealing the sonic contours of digital culture.
Wednesday 05/07
 A LIVING ROOM CONCERT WITH JAMSHIED SHARIFI
Persian Fusion in a New York Apartment
Jamshied Sharifi has released two perfectly honed albums in ten years, A Prayer for the Soul of Layla in 1997 and One in 2008. They both merged vocal traditions from around the world with lush, pan-global instrumentation. Sharifi gathers an all-star cast of musicians in the living room of his New York City apartment, including Iranian singer Mamak Khadem and Moroccan singer Hassan Hakmoun along with a clarinetist, percussionists, and oud player to reveal his music live, on Echoes. Buy from CDBaby
Friday 05/09
 AN INTERVIEW WITH JACK ROSE
Jack Rose takes us to the outer edges of the acoustic guitar
Rose played in the avant-garde rock group Pelt before setting off on a solo guitar path that's part John Fahey and part something you've never heard before. We'll hear this idiosyncratic musician talk about his journey on Echoes.
A WEEK-LONG CELEBRATION OF BRIAN ENO ON HIS 60th BIRTHDAY
Monday 05/12
 AN INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN ENO: ZELIG IN THE MACHINE
Look in any corner of contemporary music, and Brian Eno is there
Brian Eno celebrates his 60th birthday this week. Rarely has an artist made such a monumental impact on modern music with such subtlety. As part of a week long celebration of Eno's music, we look back at his career with interviews from Eno, Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera, and members of Bang on A Can.
Tuesday 05/13
 AN INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN ENO: ON AN AMBIENT JOURNEY
The avatar of ambient music tells us the joys of quiet
Ambient music is all around us. Mark Prendergast even wrote a book called The Ambient Century. All of that comes down to Brian Eno, who coined the term "ambient music" in the 1970s, and released his sonic manifesto, Music for Airports. Eno talks about his concepts for ambient music.
Wednesday 05/14
 THE WIT & WISDOM OF BRIAN ENO
We hear thoughts and musings from the thinking person's musician
Brian Eno is one of the most profound minds of modern music. He's a conceptualist who applies avant-garde principles to pop music by U2 and Paul Simon, and pop principles to the avant-garde. In this wide-ranging meditation, one of the provocateurs of electronic music talks about the virtues of live performance as well as Abba and heavy metal.
Thursday 05/15
 TOUCHED BY ENO
For some musicians, being touched by Eno is like being touched by God
Musicians who weren't even born when Brian Eno recorded his seminal albums have been touched by his music. Artists from across genres, from pop to avant-garde, African to Asian, have found their music shaped by Eno, sometimes directly, often as a life-changing influence. On Brian Eno's 60th birthday, we hear from some of them including Harold Budd, Loop Guru's Dave Muddyman, David Toop, BT and Bluetech.
3 Degrees of Separation from Brian Eno
Friday 05/16
 THE WORLD OF BRIAN ENO
A two-hour soundscape of Brian Eno's music
In this special edition of Echoes, we hear an Echoes soundscape of Brian Eno's music, from his ambient works, pop songs, collaborations and productions.
Monday 05/19
 OTTMAR LIEBERT ENTERS THE ECHOES CHAMBER
Nouveau Flamenco pioneer tests his finger picking ears
In 1990 Ottmar Liebert created the genre called Nouveau Flamenco music with his debut album of the same name. He's continued to explore the parameters of this style ever since. We sit Ottmar down with a set of headphones and an iPod of tunes to hear his sight-unseen impressions of music that has influenced his style.
Tuesday 05/20
 A LIVING ROOM CONCERT WITH HAMMOCK
Ambient Duo stretches shoegazing time
Hammock put out one of our favorite albums last year, Raising Your Voice...Trying to Stop An Echo. It was our CD of the Month in January 2007. The Nashville duo of Andrew Thompson and Marc Byrd took their shoegazer affections and stretched them out over ambient time. On a new CD called Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow, they elongate it further in an ambient dreamscape. Hammock swing into the Echoes Living Room, where they play live.
Friday 05/23
 A LIVING ROOM CONCERT WITH NIK BÄRTSCH'S RONIN
Swiss pianist leads heady group of conceptual improvisors
Nik Bärtsch's Ronin is a quintet that's forging a highly structured chamber jazz full of minimalist cycles and nearly funk rhythms. He describes his music as an architectural design. Nik Bärtsch's Ronin plays live on Echoes.
Monday 05/26
 A LIVING ROOM CONCERT WITH THE AHN TRIO
Three virtuosi float on a stream of new Music live
The Ahn Trio are three sisters from Korea who have become darlings of the classical world for their bold interpretations and new music. Their latest album, Lullaby for My Favorite Insomniac, slides towards ambient chamber music with new compositions from Kenji Bunch, Michael Nyman and some clever covers. In an intimate performance, we hear The Ahn Trio playing live, on Echoes.
Friday 05/30
 AN INTERVIEW WITH GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA: BREAKING THE HOLLYWOOD SOUNDTRACK FORMULA
A Two Time Academy Award winner goes against the Hollywood grain
In his Los Angeles homes, Argentine born composer Gustavo Santaolalla talks about his film scores for movies like Brokeback Mountain, Babel and Amores Perros.
THE END
Note: Keep in mind that some stations run ECHOES on a different schedule than our distribution schedule above. Find a station that airs Echoes. Do you hear Echoes on the weekend?
©2008 Pennsylvania Public Radio Associates, Inc.
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