Atlanta-born Cody ChesnuTT creates music that skirts the line from neo-soul and R&B, to hip hop and even rock. It's been a decade since his killer solo debut The Headphone Masterpiece and his work with The Roots, but his new album, Landing On A Hundred, was well worth the wait. Hear (and see) Cody perform solo versions of some of the new tunes, during this Studio A session.
Few expected the reunion of Dinosaur Jr. to stick, but almost 7 years later, a new album called I Bet On Sky finds the band more assured and nuanced than ever before. Distortion and feedback are still prime ingredients, so even though it's 2013, it's nice to know some things never change. Hear J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph run through a mix of songs—new, old, and all live—in their Studio A visit, and check out the performances in video too.
As one of New York's best kept indie-pop secrets, Paul Hammer and Deidre Muro spin yarns of love and longing, against a body-moving backdrop of sleek dance beats. With their confident sophomore album, Our Nature, they artfully bridge worlds, splashing smart, irrefutably catchy melodies with Brit-pop flourishes. You heard them at our CMJ showcase, now hear Savoir Adore in Studio A.
When The White House invited Catie Curtis to come play Christmas songs in 2012, she wanted to make it special. Apparently it worked, and she's been invited back every Christmas since. Now she captures that spirit perfectly on her new album, A Catie Curtis Christmas, and she brought that spirit to FUV's Studio A too. Grab some eggnog and enjoy.
If you've ever heard tunes from the "Golden Age" of Ethiopian music in the '60s and '70s, you'll understand why Debo Band holds that hypnotic sound at their core. But they also top it off with a dose of American funk. This 11-piece act from Boston is one of those bands you've got to hear to believe. One option is their self-titled debut album, which came out this summer. Another is to check out what they can do live, in this amazing Studio A performance.
The guys from Lord Huron now call LA home, but frontman Ben Schneider keeps his Michigan and modern prairie roots alive on the band's beautiful debut album, Lonesome Dreams. It includes one of my favorite songs of the year, called "Time To Run," and the band performed it (and a few more tunes) during a recent visit to Studio A.
It's no secret that John Darnielle—the man behind The Mountain Goats—has been one of the most impressive and consistent songwriters over the last decade and a half. JD also happens to be a tremendous conversationalist and an engaging interview. When John returned to FUV for a solo session, I asked him about the somewhat quick, 18-month turnaround between All Eternals Deck and the new album, Transcendental Youth. In his mind, writing a song a month isn't asking a lot and if he can't do that, maybe he needs to do something else. Thankfully, he keeps going.
It's hard to imagine pop music history without songs like "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Reelin' In The Years," and of course, Steely Dan couldn't exist without singer and keyboardist Donald Fagen. Outside the band, his solo records have been few and far between but worth the wait, and this year he released a new one called Sunken Condos. Hear about the new album's songs and characters, and the influence of Levon Helm, Isaac Hayes and more, in my recent conversation with Donald.
What do you get when you take Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament, his Three Fish bandmate Richard Stuverud on drums, and toss in the prolific Joseph Arthur? It's an accidental match, but a great band, called RNDM. The guys' debut album, Acts, was created in only four days, and its release recently brought the trio to New York City where I caught up with them at Electric Lady Studios.
You'd think Benjamin Gibbard would have enough on his plate fronting Death Cab for Cutie, but beyond his additional side projects, he's also had a solo career simmering away for awhile. This year, he released his first full-length album purely under his own name, and it's called Former Lives. Check out a couple of the songs performed live during my conversation with Benjamin—which included some baseball talk too.
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