The Tonearm
@thetonearm.com
celebrating music journalism
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putting a needle on the cultural wax
an online journal of unexpected music + culture → thetonearm.com
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putting a needle on the cultural wax
an online journal of unexpected music + culture → thetonearm.com
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The Tonearm
@thetonearm.com
· Mar 20
The Tonearm is an online journal of unexpected music and culture, a shared exploration of what it's like to create cool + meaningful things.
Check out our latest articles + podcasts: www.thetonearm.com/linkinbio/
and don't forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Talk Of The Tonearm ✨
Check out our latest articles + podcasts: www.thetonearm.com/linkinbio/
and don't forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Talk Of The Tonearm ✨
In this clip from the new episode of The Tonearm Podcast, legendary record producer Bob Ezrin explains how he's very direct in the studio—someone who would rather say "that one's not working" than spend days beating around the bush.
Tune in to the full chat: podcast.thetonearm.com/bob-ezrin-ho...
Tune in to the full chat: podcast.thetonearm.com/bob-ezrin-ho...
September 22, 2026 at 4:45 PM
In this clip from the new episode of The Tonearm Podcast, legendary record producer Bob Ezrin explains how he's very direct in the studio—someone who would rather say "that one's not working" than spend days beating around the bush.
Tune in to the full chat: podcast.thetonearm.com/bob-ezrin-ho...
Tune in to the full chat: podcast.thetonearm.com/bob-ezrin-ho...
“The idea is that one composition runs throughout the entire festival. It is performed by different musicians: from Germany, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries. Each musician creates their own interpretation.”
Jasur Khalilov — From Falak to Fusion:
Jasur Khalilov — From Falak to Fusion:
Jasur Khalilov: From Falak to Fusion – Jasur Khalilov | Interview | All About Jazz
Read Jasur Khalilov: From Falak to Fusion by Anastasia Bogomolets on All About Jazz. Discover in-depth jazz Interview coverage, artist features, and expert writing since 1995.
www.allaboutjazz.com
September 22, 2026 at 4:15 PM
“The idea is that one composition runs throughout the entire festival. It is performed by different musicians: from Germany, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries. Each musician creates their own interpretation.”
Jasur Khalilov — From Falak to Fusion:
Jasur Khalilov — From Falak to Fusion:
“These purists, they’re the bane of music. They think they know what music is and all they do is have certain fixations about what they like, and they want everybody to like what they like. They have problems accepting new concepts and innovation.”
John McLaughlin’s career outside the lines:
John McLaughlin’s career outside the lines:
John McLaughlin’s life outside the lines
The Mahivshnu Orchestra mastermind learned quickly about ignoring critics – but never stops reminding himself of his own incapabilities and ignorance
www.loudersound.com
September 22, 2026 at 3:00 PM
“These purists, they’re the bane of music. They think they know what music is and all they do is have certain fixations about what they like, and they want everybody to like what they like. They have problems accepting new concepts and innovation.”
John McLaughlin’s career outside the lines:
John McLaughlin’s career outside the lines:
The guitarist and bouzouki player discusses 'Brooklyn Stories 1–5', his five-CD set of duos and small groups for Infrequent Seams, the years of wordless playing alongside Bern Nix, and what harmolodics can mean on a nylon-string classical guitar.
The Long Silence Behind Ayman Fanous's Guitar:
The Long Silence Behind Ayman Fanous's Guitar:
The Long Silence Behind Ayman Fanous’s Guitar
The guitarist and bouzouki player discusses 'Brooklyn Stories 1–5', his five-CD set of duos and small groups for Infrequent Seams, the years of wordless playing alongside Bern Nix that shaped his ear, and what harmolodics can mean on a nylon-string classical guitar.
www.thetonearm.com
September 22, 2026 at 2:15 PM
The guitarist and bouzouki player discusses 'Brooklyn Stories 1–5', his five-CD set of duos and small groups for Infrequent Seams, the years of wordless playing alongside Bern Nix, and what harmolodics can mean on a nylon-string classical guitar.
The Long Silence Behind Ayman Fanous's Guitar:
The Long Silence Behind Ayman Fanous's Guitar:
“Julius was at the forefront of this quasi-rubato, collective melodic improvisation. That is where I got everything I have ever done … from people improvising melodically together with no one soloing.”
Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne remember Julius Hemphill:
Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne remember Julius Hemphill:
Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a Musical Visionary – Julius Hemphill | Jazz Raconteurs | All About Jazz
Read Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a Musical Visionary by Dave Kaufman on All About Jazz. Discover in-depth jazz Jazz Raconteurs coverage, artist features, and expert writing since 1995.
www.allaboutjazz.com
September 22, 2026 at 1:45 PM
“Julius was at the forefront of this quasi-rubato, collective melodic improvisation. That is where I got everything I have ever done … from people improvising melodically together with no one soloing.”
Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne remember Julius Hemphill:
Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne remember Julius Hemphill:
“The band’s name, Akokán, is from Africa; it’s a Yoruba word meaning ‘from the heart.’ And this group’s collective heart beats to the rhythms of Havana (and Miami, and Brooklyn), which means salsa, rumba, and soul in addition to mambo.”
From the Soundcheck Podcast — Orquesta Akokán, Ivan Llanes:
From the Soundcheck Podcast — Orquesta Akokán, Ivan Llanes:
#4929, From the Soundcheck Podcast: Orquesta Akokán, Ivan Llanes | WNYC
Hear music by Cuban dance band Orquesta Akokán and Cuban singer, percussionist, and bandleader Ivan Llanes, from the Soundcheck Podcast series.
www.wnyc.org
September 22, 2026 at 12:31 PM
“The band’s name, Akokán, is from Africa; it’s a Yoruba word meaning ‘from the heart.’ And this group’s collective heart beats to the rhythms of Havana (and Miami, and Brooklyn), which means salsa, rumba, and soul in addition to mambo.”
From the Soundcheck Podcast — Orquesta Akokán, Ivan Llanes:
From the Soundcheck Podcast — Orquesta Akokán, Ivan Llanes:
Legendary guitarist John McLaughlin explores Shakti's synthesis of Western harmony and Indian improvisation, from their groundbreaking early albums to their poignant final statement honoring Zakir Hussain's musical genius.
John McLaughlin's Shakti Legacy — From Zakir Hussain to 'Mind Explosion':
John McLaughlin's Shakti Legacy — From Zakir Hussain to 'Mind Explosion':
John Mclaughlin Honors Shakti's Legacy with Mind Explosion
The legendary guitarist explores Shakti's unique synthesis of Western harmony and Indian improvisation, from their groundbreaking early albums to their poignant final statement honoring Zakir Hussain's musical genius.
www.thetonearm.com
September 22, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Legendary guitarist John McLaughlin explores Shakti's synthesis of Western harmony and Indian improvisation, from their groundbreaking early albums to their poignant final statement honoring Zakir Hussain's musical genius.
John McLaughlin's Shakti Legacy — From Zakir Hussain to 'Mind Explosion':
John McLaughlin's Shakti Legacy — From Zakir Hussain to 'Mind Explosion':
"Featuring contemporary fiction, nonfiction, illustrations, and comics, Black Punk Now aims to document a lesser-known area of the community and to give punks—especially Black ones—a wider frame of reference for their shared tradition."
Black Punk Means Liberation:
Black Punk Means Liberation:
Black Punk Means Liberation
The present and future of Black punk culture.
www.thenation.com
September 22, 2026 at 7:30 AM
"Featuring contemporary fiction, nonfiction, illustrations, and comics, Black Punk Now aims to document a lesser-known area of the community and to give punks—especially Black ones—a wider frame of reference for their shared tradition."
Black Punk Means Liberation:
Black Punk Means Liberation:
Zeena Parkins discusses the hand-built electric harp at the center of her practice, the spatial approach to composition developed via her work with choreographers, and the grief behind 'Lament for the Maker,' her first solo record since Mills College closed.
Zeena Parkins, Under Constant Revision:
Zeena Parkins, Under Constant Revision:
Zeena Parkins, Under Constant Revision | The Tonearm
The experimental harpist discusses the hand-built electric instrument at the center of her practice, the spatial approach to composition she developed through decades of work with choreographers, and the grief behind 'Lament for the Maker,' her first solo record since Mills College closed.
www.thetonearm.com
September 22, 2026 at 6:15 AM
Zeena Parkins discusses the hand-built electric harp at the center of her practice, the spatial approach to composition developed via her work with choreographers, and the grief behind 'Lament for the Maker,' her first solo record since Mills College closed.
Zeena Parkins, Under Constant Revision:
Zeena Parkins, Under Constant Revision:
"This was the freak, the circus showman, the vamping diva, the Holy Ghost. He sounds breathless and fierce, a little unhinged. He sounds like the last man on earth singing the first song ever written."
Prayers for Richard:
Prayers for Richard:
Prayers for Richard
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oxfordamerican.org
September 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM
"This was the freak, the circus showman, the vamping diva, the Holy Ghost. He sounds breathless and fierce, a little unhinged. He sounds like the last man on earth singing the first song ever written."
Prayers for Richard:
Prayers for Richard:
"We initially connected through our shared interest in the Armenian duduk, which became central to our music and friendship."
Two Greek woodwind players build haunting soundscapes, channeling an abandoned mountain village through Armenian melodies + modern electronics.
Meet Greece's Kolida Babo:
Two Greek woodwind players build haunting soundscapes, channeling an abandoned mountain village through Armenian melodies + modern electronics.
Meet Greece's Kolida Babo:
Ancient Fires Light a New Path for Greece's Kolida Babo
Two Greek woodwind players build haunting soundscapes, channeling an abandoned mountain village's voice through ancient ritual, Armenian melodies, and modern electronics.
www.thetonearm.com
September 22, 2026 at 1:15 AM
"We initially connected through our shared interest in the Armenian duduk, which became central to our music and friendship."
Two Greek woodwind players build haunting soundscapes, channeling an abandoned mountain village through Armenian melodies + modern electronics.
Meet Greece's Kolida Babo:
Two Greek woodwind players build haunting soundscapes, channeling an abandoned mountain village through Armenian melodies + modern electronics.
Meet Greece's Kolida Babo:
“My initial demos are 10 to 20 minutes long, and I’ll listen back, I’ll write out phrases, and I’ll try to analyze what it was I was trying to feel. But it’s a very vulnerable process”
Sharon Van Etten — A Very Vulnerable Process:
Sharon Van Etten — A Very Vulnerable Process:
Sharon Van Etten
Since early in her career, Sharon Van Etten has been refreshingly open about her recording process and the lifelong learning aspect of it. This generosity
tapeop.com
September 22, 2026 at 12:00 AM
“My initial demos are 10 to 20 minutes long, and I’ll listen back, I’ll write out phrases, and I’ll try to analyze what it was I was trying to feel. But it’s a very vulnerable process”
Sharon Van Etten — A Very Vulnerable Process:
Sharon Van Etten — A Very Vulnerable Process:
“I strolled with my date Teresa on a fog-kissed evening in North Beach and strode into the Peppermint a Go Go where Jim, bearded and hirsute, held court at the bar … He tossed back his cocktail and enquired if I had anything stronger.”
McClure & Morrison — Beat poet, rock poet:
McClure & Morrison — Beat poet, rock poet:
McClure & Morrison: Beat poet, rock poet
Plus the heaven and hell of Hollywood
simonwarner.substack.com
September 21, 2026 at 10:45 PM
“I strolled with my date Teresa on a fog-kissed evening in North Beach and strode into the Peppermint a Go Go where Jim, bearded and hirsute, held court at the bar … He tossed back his cocktail and enquired if I had anything stronger.”
McClure & Morrison — Beat poet, rock poet:
McClure & Morrison — Beat poet, rock poet:
“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:
How Cambodian Pop Music Survived the Khmer Rouge:
How Cambodian Pop Music Survived the Khmer Rouge - JSTOR Daily
After genocide decimated the country’s musicians, old recordings helped a new generation reconnect with Cambodia’s musical past.
daily.jstor.org
September 21, 2026 at 9:30 PM
“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:
How Cambodian Pop Music Survived the Khmer Rouge:
“There’s nothing so satisfyingly anti-algorithm as grabbing a handful of 45s by artists you’ve never heard of from an unsorted cardboard box shoved into the corner of a local record store.”
Eric Blake’s “Sin City” and the Anti-Algorithm:
Eric Blake’s “Sin City” and the Anti-Algorithm:
Eric Blake's Sin City and the Anti-Algorithm
Within a month I owned dozens of records, and not even losing a job in the spring and unemployment this summer could keep that number from climbing into the hundreds. I always knew it would come to this, and now it has, so I turned into the skid. Now, I’m a full-throated evangelist for physical media and a grubby-fingered treasure hunter for used records.
ihavethatonvinyl.com
September 21, 2026 at 8:15 PM
“There’s nothing so satisfyingly anti-algorithm as grabbing a handful of 45s by artists you’ve never heard of from an unsorted cardboard box shoved into the corner of a local record store.”
Eric Blake’s “Sin City” and the Anti-Algorithm:
Eric Blake’s “Sin City” and the Anti-Algorithm:
"It's also tied up with identity, memory, and transformation. So, in its own way, dub is also fighting back against colonialism and these post-colonial hangovers."
Don't miss Lawrence Peryer's conversation with author and reggae historian David Katz on The Tonearm:
Don't miss Lawrence Peryer's conversation with author and reggae historian David Katz on The Tonearm:
David Katz Cuts a New Version of Dub's History
Five years in the writing and forty in the gathering, 'Dub Revolution' rebuilds dub's beginnings out of the engineers who were there, the political map they worked inside, and the studios that doubled as shelter.
www.thetonearm.com
September 21, 2026 at 7:30 PM
"It's also tied up with identity, memory, and transformation. So, in its own way, dub is also fighting back against colonialism and these post-colonial hangovers."
Don't miss Lawrence Peryer's conversation with author and reggae historian David Katz on The Tonearm:
Don't miss Lawrence Peryer's conversation with author and reggae historian David Katz on The Tonearm:
“The thing I loved about the caves was that you see the imperfection. You can see the first people who lived there carved this place with their soul. Their emotions are carved in the walls. It’s so beautiful, in part because it’s so human.”
Laurentius the Profit Found Heaven in a Cave:
Laurentius the Profit Found Heaven in a Cave:
Laurentius the Profit Found Heaven in a Cave
The Berlin artist traveled to a cave church in Turkey to record an album where mistakes, echoes, and rough edges are essential to the story.
daily.bandcamp.com
September 21, 2026 at 7:00 PM
“The thing I loved about the caves was that you see the imperfection. You can see the first people who lived there carved this place with their soul. Their emotions are carved in the walls. It’s so beautiful, in part because it’s so human.”
Laurentius the Profit Found Heaven in a Cave:
Laurentius the Profit Found Heaven in a Cave:
“Today, anyone can easily hijack a real artist’s Spotify page and flood it with AI-generated music. When someone clicks one of those tracks expecting to hear music from their favorite artists, the scammer will collect whatever royalties those streams generate.”
I Hijacked a Real Artist's Spotify with AI Music. It Was Disturbingly Easy
A glaring loophole in digital music distribution makes it very easy to piggyback on the talent of real artists with AI generated music.
www.404media.co
September 21, 2026 at 5:45 PM
“Today, anyone can easily hijack a real artist’s Spotify page and flood it with AI-generated music. When someone clicks one of those tracks expecting to hear music from their favorite artists, the scammer will collect whatever royalties those streams generate.”
The Royal Trux cofounder on 'Bad Bunch,' the first Black Bananas album in twelve years, plus her new newsletter, heirloom tomatoes, what's so special about a bloody T-shirt, and her 35-year clothing archive bound for a Tokyo installation.
Black Bananas’ Jennifer Herrema Keeps the Seams Showing:
Black Bananas’ Jennifer Herrema Keeps the Seams Showing:
Black Bananas’ Jennifer Herrema Keeps the Seams Showing
The Royal Trux cofounder discusses 'Bad Bunch,' the first Black Bananas album in twelve years, along with her new email newsletter, heirloom tomatoes, what's so special about a bloody T-shirt, and her thirty-five-year clothing archive bound for a Tokyo installation.
www.thetonearm.com
September 21, 2026 at 5:00 PM
The Royal Trux cofounder on 'Bad Bunch,' the first Black Bananas album in twelve years, plus her new newsletter, heirloom tomatoes, what's so special about a bloody T-shirt, and her 35-year clothing archive bound for a Tokyo installation.
Black Bananas’ Jennifer Herrema Keeps the Seams Showing:
Black Bananas’ Jennifer Herrema Keeps the Seams Showing:
“[Gigi] Masin has been making music since the mid-’80s without ever quite settling into any one sound, bobbing between ambient, new age and dreamy Balearic pop. Until recently, he’d barely been heard outside of Italy, and even there his music was never met with much fanfare.”
In the Fried Archives: Gigi Masin
From 2017, a chat with the Italian ambient maestro
andybeta.substack.com
September 21, 2026 at 4:30 PM
“[Gigi] Masin has been making music since the mid-’80s without ever quite settling into any one sound, bobbing between ambient, new age and dreamy Balearic pop. Until recently, he’d barely been heard outside of Italy, and even there his music was never met with much fanfare.”
“We can do what a lot of bands won’t do, and just improvise everything onstage, from start to finish — the whole show … If the musicians are great — like Markus and Pat — it’s glorious. If not, it’s torturous.”
The Thrak-Attack Post-Jazz of Stick Men:
The Thrak-Attack Post-Jazz of Stick Men:
The Thrak-Attack Post-Jazz of Stick Men: Inventive String Sounds from Tony Levin and Markus Reuter - JazzTimes
N either bassist Tony Levin nor guitarist Markus Reuter needs me to credit their jazz chops beyond their more populist day jobs with the likes … Read More "The Thrak-Attack Post-Jazz of Stick Men: Inventive String Sounds from Tony Levin and Markus Reuter"
www.jazztimes.com
September 21, 2026 at 3:15 PM
“We can do what a lot of bands won’t do, and just improvise everything onstage, from start to finish — the whole show … If the musicians are great — like Markus and Pat — it’s glorious. If not, it’s torturous.”
The Thrak-Attack Post-Jazz of Stick Men:
The Thrak-Attack Post-Jazz of Stick Men:
“Canada’s four Atlantic provinces are more than double the size of the United Kingdom. Among 188,000 square miles of craggy coastline, postcard lighthouses, and glacier-carved fjords lives 2.5 million people—the population of Baltimore.”
A Brief History of Atlantic Canada’s Guitar Pop Explosions:
A Brief History of Atlantic Canada’s Guitar Pop Explosions:
A Brief History of Atlantic Canada’s Guitar Pop Explosions
Canada’s four Atlantic provinces punch above their weight when it comes to producing guitar pop.
daily.bandcamp.com
September 21, 2026 at 2:00 PM
“Canada’s four Atlantic provinces are more than double the size of the United Kingdom. Among 188,000 square miles of craggy coastline, postcard lighthouses, and glacier-carved fjords lives 2.5 million people—the population of Baltimore.”
A Brief History of Atlantic Canada’s Guitar Pop Explosions:
A Brief History of Atlantic Canada’s Guitar Pop Explosions:
Reposted by The Tonearm
On today's new episode of The Tonearm Podcast, we welcome legendary producer Bob Ezrin, back with the Jayhawks on 'Sanctuary Park,' twenty-six years after 'Smile.' The reunion began with an offhand remark from Gary Louris and ended in a Toronto studio, both men having left the US for Canada …
Bob Ezrin on Producing The Jayhawks' Sanctuary Park
Producer Bob Ezrin talks The Jayhawks' Sanctuary Park, recording live in Toronto, leaving the US, and holding artists to their best work.
podcast.thetonearm.com
September 20, 2026 at 1:30 PM
On today's new episode of The Tonearm Podcast, we welcome legendary producer Bob Ezrin, back with the Jayhawks on 'Sanctuary Park,' twenty-six years after 'Smile.' The reunion began with an offhand remark from Gary Louris and ended in a Toronto studio, both men having left the US for Canada …
“There’s a crucial difference between ‘Sacred Songs’ and the blockbusters it spawned: it’s pop music in form but not intent … When Hall and Fripp completed the album in 1977, RCA refused to release the record.”
Running with the Devil — Daryl Hall and the Occult:
Running with the Devil — Daryl Hall and the Occult:
Running with the Devil: Daryl Hall and the Occult
“Mind over matter, the beauty is there, but a beast is in the heart”
sterlewine.substack.com
September 21, 2026 at 12:45 PM
“There’s a crucial difference between ‘Sacred Songs’ and the blockbusters it spawned: it’s pop music in form but not intent … When Hall and Fripp completed the album in 1977, RCA refused to release the record.”
Running with the Devil — Daryl Hall and the Occult:
Running with the Devil — Daryl Hall and the Occult:
“STEFA* is a classically-trained vocalist who combines punk, experimental rage-pop, loops, and somatic jazz as they channel their ancestors … LA LOM, a trio of LA natives who play an instrumental blend of twangy guitar melodies over Latin rhythms”
New Sounds #4928 — STEFA*, LA LOM:
New Sounds #4928 — STEFA*, LA LOM:
#4928, From the Soundcheck Podcast: STEFA*, LA LOM | WNYC
Hear Queens-based Colombian-influenced artist STEFA*, and the Latin twang of instrumental trio LA LOM, recorded for the Soundcheck podcast.
wnyc.org
September 21, 2026 at 11:31 AM
“STEFA* is a classically-trained vocalist who combines punk, experimental rage-pop, loops, and somatic jazz as they channel their ancestors … LA LOM, a trio of LA natives who play an instrumental blend of twangy guitar melodies over Latin rhythms”
New Sounds #4928 — STEFA*, LA LOM:
New Sounds #4928 — STEFA*, LA LOM: