"An open discussion on vinyl and creativity at The Vinyl Factory pressing plant."
The art of pressing and the future of vinyl: https://thevinylfactory.com/features/the-art-of-pressing-and-the-future-of-vinyl/
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The Tonearm
@thetonearm@social.lol
mastodon 4.7.3+glitch✨ putting a needle on the cultural wax ✨
The Tonearm is an online music, culture, and arts magazine focusing on independent artists making the world a better place through the cool things they do. 🚀
It's also the home of the award-winning The Tonearm podcast.
posts by @qburns@mas.to + @lawrenceperyer@mas.to
🎸🥁🎹🎤 → we also use this feed to curate and boost links to music news + articles we find interesting from other sources
700 Followers
248 Following
50 Posts
Joined November 09, 2024
The Tonearm:
The Tonearm Podcast:
“Popular music from the 1960s blended the Khmer heritage of courtly performing arts with French cabaret songs, brass music, and bossa nova introduced by way of the Philippines.”
How Cambodian Pop Music Survived the Khmer Rouge:
https://daily.jstor.org/how-cambodian-pop-music-survived-the-khmer-rouge/?ref=thetonearm.com
“In those nine months, Fela and some of us were exposed to things that were being kept from us in Africa. I’m talking about history books not available in Nigeria. When we got back home from that tour, Fela said he couldn’t be a great man when people in his country were poor.”
Fela Kuti – the rise of an Afrobeat revolutionary:
https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/fela-kuti-the-rise-of-an-afrobeat-revolutionary-they-threw-tear-gas-and-beat-the-shit-outta-us/?ref=thetonearm.com
“If listeners are revisiting King Crimson or Joni Mitchell, why not the music of Terry Riley, Pharoah Sanders, Julius Eastman, Maryanne Amacher, Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Lucier, or any number of avant-garde or experimental touchstones?”
Against The Grain — Collective listening events:
https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/collateral-damage/against-the-grain-collective-listening-events?ref=thetonearm.com
"I was telling someone that as much as it's improvisation, it's also spontaneous composition. If I improvise something, you call it improvising. If I take that same improvisation and write it down, it's called a composition. What's the difference? It's the exact same thing."
Don't miss Lawrence Peryer's interview with Steven Bernstein on The Tonearm:
https://www.thetonearm.com/steven-bernstein-no-permission-required-sexmob-trumpet/
"If you happened to be gazing idly from a window of New York City’s J train crossing the East River on the Williamsburg Bridge, most days between the summer of 1959 and the autumn of 1961, you might have glimpsed a lone saxophonist huddled into a cranny of the gigantic steel skeleton …"
Sonny Rollins on jazz landmark The Bridge:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/21/i-was-so-close-to-the-sky-it-was-spiritual-sonny-rollins-on-jazz-landmark-the-bridge-at-60?ref=thetonearm.com
"It’s tempting to assume that Hendrix was just messing around when he sat behind Mitch Mitchell’s kit and picked up a pair of his sticks. But the photo is the evidence that he knew what he was doing."
And on drums, Jimi Hendrix:
https://thebluemoment.com/2024/07/30/and-on-drums-jimi-hendrix/
“I really wanted to be different, I wanted to be myself, I wanted to be Mulatu. . . . Then once I created Ethio-jazz, I became myself.”
Mulatu Astatke on pioneering Ethio-jazz and honouring his roots:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jul/30/ethio-jazz-mulatu-astatke-interview-music-mulatu-plays-mulatu-album?ref=thetonearm.com
"The degree to which Waits was feeling his oats can be measured by the fact that he asked Keith Richards to play on his record, and the living legend agreed—after years of telling guitarists he was looking for a Stonesy feel, Waits had the self-assurance to ask the man himself."
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tom-waits-rain-dogs/
“It’s this new album that’s made me want to do my own music again. Alan my manager, he’s the one who heard it and said it was a Tricky record. … He says it’s my best work since ‘Maxinquaye’.”
There’s Nothing Like It — Tricky’s Favourite Songs:
https://thequietus.com/interviews/bakers-dozen/tricky-bakers-dozen-interview-favourite-songs-green-man/?ref=thetonearm.com
"A clip of the neo-Italo disco duo standing behind a pair of decks on a balcony in a Mediterranean city, casually pouring themselves big glasses of Campari and blowing luscious smoke rings, has become a widely shared meme … Its message feels like an inversion of the 'This is fine' cartoon dog…"
Mind Enterprises, the Campari-necking Italo disco revivalists who became a meme:
“We had to make an album at that time [and] because they had to move around for tax reasons, our concept was to make albums all over the world. We decided, let’s see if we can make a deal and record in Jamaica.”
Why The Rolling Stones escaped to Jamaica to save their career:
https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/we-started-to-feel-the-pressure-why-the-rolling-stones-escaped-to-jamaica-to-save-their-career-155354/?ref=thetonearm.com
"Jazz has always been microtonal. But it’s only in recent decades that jazz composers have consciously engaged with alternative tuning systems to Western Equal Temperament, leading to 'an efflorescence of microtonal music,' as drummer-composer Will Mason puts it."
The Warped, Wondrous World of Microtonal Jazz:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/microtonal-jazz-album-guide?ref=thetonearm.com
"Raw oscillators, filters and amplifiers intended for not musical but industrial purposes. At some point, experimental musicians realised that if you amplified the electric signals they put out, you could generate, process, and control audio signals."
We meet the people using test equipment to make music:
https://www.musicradar.com/music-tech/synths/these-are-better-sine-waves-they-just-are-we-meet-the-people-using-test-equipment-to-make-music?ref=thetonearm.com
"It’s hard to think of two albums as perfectly and appositely named as 'The Colour Of Spring' and 'Spirit Of Eden'. The album titles, clearly, were a carefully considered matter. 'Laughing Stock' feels ominously loaded."
Read an extract from 'In Another World — The Four Seasons Of Talk Talk':
"Stevie Wonder’s four-album run in the early ‘70s is widely considered to be one of the greatest in music history, but he didn’t create these records in isolation. Working alongside Wonder were Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil, who brought their now legendary Tonto synth to the party, a huge composite instrument that featured parts from multiple manufacturers."
Stevie Wonder’s '70s synth guru Robert Margouleff interviewed:
"Founded in 1980, 4AD had become the paradigm of an indie label by decade’s end: highly curated, creatively autonomous and successful enough to operate on its own terms. And while that success continued (and expanded) into the ‘90s and beyond, its vision in the ‘80s was at its purest and strongest."
4AD — The First Five Years:
https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/magazine/story/2024/07/19/4ad-the-first-five-years/
"Nigel Blackwell's lyrics are as sharp, surreal, and wonderfully obtuse as ever, in a world that is more sharp, surreal, and obtuse than it's ever been."
Half Man Half Biscuit return with All Asimov and No Fresh Air, their sixteenth album of sharp pop punk and surrealist commentary on a world gone mad.
The Fantastic Voyage of Half Man Half Biscuit:
https://www.thetonearm.com/the-fantastic-voyage-of-half-man-half-biscuit/
"There are a lot of pieces where I just said, 'Hey, let's start with this.' And [Conrad] said, 'Oh, yeah, that's great. Now let me destroy it.'"
The former Tangerine Dream keyboardist discusses his friendship with Conrad Schnitzler, a man who proudly announced, "I'm not a musician, I just make noise," the serendipitous origins of 'Romance 76', and a Berlin underground he considers irretrievable. The Tonearm's Bill Kopp listens for the racket.
Peter Baumann, Conrad Schnitzler, and the Fun of Destruction:
https://www.thetonearm.com/peter-baumann-conrad-schnitzler-and-the-fun-of-destruction/
"All the gear had to be lowered into the cave with a crane boom. Incredible feeling to be immersed in this womb-like space and the music being held and hovering within the space and audience …"
Three Questions With Steve Roach:
https://www.synthhistory.com/post/three-questions-with-steve-roach?ref=thetonearm.com
"Occasionally [Brian Eno will] say, 'Would you come down? Just play.' And I'd play. And then a year later, he'd say, 'Oh, by the way, you're on the new David Byrne album. That time you came down here, I recycled it and put it on.' And I'm thrilled."
Don't miss Bill Kopp's conversation with Phil Mazanera in The Tonearm:
https://www.thetonearm.com/latin-roots-in-the-art-rock-canopy-phil-manzaneras-revolucion-to-roxy/
"Amidst streaming's dominance, musicians and labels are looking for unique ways to put out physical releases that stand out from the crowd. Joe Roberts speaks to label owners, designers and artists about why listeners still want something 'real' — and why it’s happening now."
Got to be real — the changing face of physical music releases:
https://djmag.com/features/got-be-real-changing-face-physical-music-releases
"'Enola Gay' is an anti-war song, of that there is no doubt, and the fact that it hit number one in peace-loving Spain perhaps backs up these credentials. Yet its writer, Andy McCluskey, has often been as conflicted about the song as his poignant lyrics are with the joyful music."
How OMD recorded one of the best anti-war songs ever made:
In this excerpt from The Tonearm Podcast, Nick Fraser reflects on the relationship between his composed structures and the undetermined spaces within them, describing the moment a performance might "devolve" not as failure but as the dramatic engine of the music.
Be sure not to miss the latest episode of The Tonearm Podcast: https://podcast.thetonearm.com/nick-fraser/
“Nearly every release feels like a world unto itself, united less by a house sound than by a spirit of independence.”
Inside Strata-East, the Artist-Owned Label That Changed Jazz:
https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/inside-strata-east-the-artist-owned-label-that-changed-jazz/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=inside-strata-east-the-artist-owned-label-that-changed-jazz&ref=thetonearm.com
"Sanaya Ardeshir is an Indian producer and composer, with a parallel practice in electronic music under the moniker – Sandunes. Like her naturally occurring namesake, her world of sound is in constant evolution …"
ListN Up Playlist — Sanaya Ardeshir:
"For Bill Orcutt, the guitar is a tool, not a totem. Often, though, the instrument fights back, with feedback, string rattle, and string buzz. A prolific composer, Orcutt’s unconventional take on blues, free jazz, and experimental music has featured on some 100 albums since the early 1990s. He is not your common or garden-variety guitarist."
Guitars That Fight Back — An Intro to Bill Orcutt:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/bill-orcutt-albums-list
"The duo has described their initial meeting in the ‘70s as being “like magic.” Since then, the combination of Dunbar’s nimble drumming and Shakespeare’s driving and melodic bass has melded to create one of the most distinct sounds in recorded music."
Six Essential Sly & Robbie Releases on Bandcamp:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/sly-and-robbie-discography-list?ref=thetonearm.com
"On May 22nd, 1959, Ornette Coleman recorded 'Lonely Woman', after 67 years still one of the most beautiful pieces ever composed, … today, the tune itself is not the subject, but the many albums on which female horn-players (sax and trumpet) give a solitary performance, also in a variety of styles."
Lonely Woman ... female artists and solo horn performances:
https://www.freejazzblog.org/2026/05/lonely-woman-female-artists-and-solo.html?ref=thetonearm.com
"I love that we made this record out of skin, bone, and electronics, but when we sat around looking at the tracks and summing up what they meant to us, it was based on folk storytelling and what happens in a season."
Beibei Wang's grounding in Beijing opera, Hannah Peel's synthesizer instincts, and their shared Taoist faith in following the flow converge in a series of improvised sessions tracing the full arc of the Chinese solar calendar. The Tonearm's Bill Cooper reads the signs.
Skin, Bone, and Electronics — Beibei Wang and Hannah Peel on 'The Endless Dance':
"It's all there right now, but very soon it will all be dust or ash or both. And it came out of somebody who is now themselves dust and ash. How incredibly strange to exist. My songs have long been about the shock of existence."
Robyn Hitchcock Is Still Learning From the Beatles, 25 Albums In:
https://www.spinmagazine.com/2026/07/robyn-hitchcock-interview/?ref=thetonearm.com
“I had no intentions for the album at all. It’s simply wanting there to be a space, or maybe culturally finding a space, for the shittier things. The things that are not very easy to be capitalist about. Or sell a load of merch for.”
Liz Lawrence on making a new kind of grief album:
"The underground rock community brought together decades ago by the message board of Steve Albini’s studio continues to build on his ethos of independence, generosity, and hard work."
The PRF BBQ sustains the heart of DIY:
https://chicagoreader.com/music/prf-bbq-diy-electrical-albini-fallen-log/
"Someone with this perspective looks not solely at honoring the past for the mere sake of doing so. They look to what gave the gayageum its power to begin with; the 'natural' and human-like quality of its sound and how the power of such continues to endure."
Opening Your Heart — A Conversation with DoYeon Kim:
https://postgenre.org/heart-wellspring-doyeon-kim/?ref=thetonearm.com
"Rubin may not have introduced the underground to sex and drugs, but as the movement’s resident baby boomer she added a measure of rock ’n’ roll."
Barbara Rubin, Teenage Filmmaker at the Heart of New York’s Underground (gift link): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/obituaries/barbara-rubin-overlooked.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0VA.7tfA.KPDOifMNCX0O&smid=nytcore-android-share
"A self-taught, charismatic frontman with a burly physique and a snarling, bluesy tenor, he stood out in a nine-member ensemble filled with jazz- and conservatory-trained musicians."
David Clayton-Thomas, Lead Singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears, Dies at 84 (gift link): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/arts/music/david-clayton-thomas-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.s1A.rpl_.kpxHGSlZxRs7&smid=url-share
"There's always a tether that runs between the instrumentalists, whether it's through having played together for a long time, coming up in the same way, or studying the same kind of music: a shared language, a shared understanding."
Saxophonist and composer Alden Hellmuth discusses growing up in Hartford's Jackie McLean tradition, her mentorship under Herbie Hancock, and the double-bass lineup behind her new album, 'Tether.' The Tonearm's Lawrence Peryer takes it to the bridge.
Inside Alden Hellmuth's Tethered Galaxy:
https://www.thetonearm.com/inside-alden-hellmuth-tether-galaxy-jazz-saxophone/
"Reconnecting with the environment and culture they’d grown up in, Monk found themselves increasingly weaving elements of Irish traditional music into this greyscale palette, recontextualising instrumental and stylistic ingredients in ways that resonated with their own practice."
An interview with Olan Monk:
https://anoisosard.substack.com/p/an-interview-with-olan-monk?ref=thetonearm.com
"OK, the on-purpose train-wreck is not for everyone – you gotta play by the rules before you can break them, after all. But this week’s guest is living proof that doing things wrong, backward, upside-down, or simply not at all can reap creative dividends. We speak, of course, about Djrum."
Djrum or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Clang:
https://notagspodcast.substack.com/p/68-djrum?ref=thetonearm.com
"I knew then it was a great year for music, but looking back – from Tallinn to Warsaw, from Amsterdam to New York – there really was something in the air."
From Steve Reich to rock — why 1976 was a big year for minimal music:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/07/from-steve-reich-to-rock-1976-minimal-music
"Maybe I shouldn't try so hard to make something experimental because there will always be something that I do which, you know, makes it me, instead of a bland thing."
On 'Good Effort!', Youniss turns the city into subject matter, drawing on Burial's London, a shuttered Antwerp venue, and a revolving cast of collaborators to make the most outward-looking record of his career. The Tonearm's Mariam Abdel-Razek consults a map.
From Antwerp, With Reservations — Youniss's 'Good Effort!':
https://www.thetonearm.com/from-antwerp-with-reservations-youniss-good-effort/
“The discovery that a member’s grandfather had been recorded by Alan Lomax led to a deep dive into the island’s traditional worksongs, from which they’ve drawn a record of ferocious power and remarkable sonic scope.”
Root and Branch — An Interview with Nuhara:
https://thequietus.com/interviews/nuhara-band-rama-interview-sicily-folk-music/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nuhara-band-rama-interview-sicily-folk-music&ref=thetonearm.com
“On one of his business trips to Cleveland, Capehart had met Thomas Small, the inventor of an electrical machine that would play twenty-eight records on both sides continuously; that is, until someone turned it off. Recognizing the market possibilities, Capehart set up a company to manufacture and market his jukeboxes."
Juke in the Box:
“The Western world is going through a serious period of reaction, and I’m not afraid for the future. … I believe in the capacity of the human spirit to triumph over oppression.”
Linton Kwesi Johnson interviewed:
https://newmusicoldmusic.substack.com/p/interview-linton-kwesi-johnson?ref=thetonearm.com
"More than a concept album, [Johnathan Blake's 'My Life Matters'] unfolds as a deeply human suite in which rhythm, texture and improvisation become vehicles for an urgent meditation on grief, dignity, resilience, and community."
Genesis of a Small Masterpiece:
“Fleming has stepped into surprising places, including a Super Bowl performance, recording a moody rock album … singing Broadway and jazz, and now, with Fleck, performing old Appalachian folk songs behind an office desk. What will she do next?”
Renée Fleming & Béla Fleck — Tiny Desk Concert:
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/30/g-s1-132179/renee-fleming-bela-fleck-tiny-desk-concert
“When I asked Denardo for a score, he said that Ornette didn’t write a score, just parts, which is a miracle given the scale of the work and the incredible design and architecture of the work, both horizontally and vertically, done without a score! This is a musical mind on another level.”
Jeff Lederer Interview: Bringing Dolphy, Ornette Coleman and Oliver Nelson Into the Present on His Latest Release:
https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2026/06/jeff-lederer-interview.html?ref=thetonearm.com