On Its Confident Debut, Phox Puts A Reluctant Voice Front And Center
Phox frontwoman Monica Martin has an impeccable voice. But if it weren’t for bandmate Matt Holmen and the rest of the Wisconsin band, it might have stayed hidden.
Category: Music Interviews
A Young Man’s Loneliness, And His Soulful Falsetto
The 22-year-old British singer Sam Smith broke through as the high-note voice snaking through an international club anthem. Now, he’s written and recorded a debut album about love and loss.
After Learning To Loosen Up, Spoon Readies Its Return: The All Songs Interview
On All Songs Considered, Spoon’s Britt Daniel and Jim Eno reveal details of the band’s first new album in four years. They Want My Soul is due out Aug. 5.
Bob Mould’s Beautiful, Ruinous Life In Punk
With Hüsker Dü, Mould helped invent alt-rock, and he’s kept innovating ever since. “For so many years, I ran away from my own sound,” he says. At 53, he’s caught up to himself.
The Silence And Awe Of Arvo Pärt
The Estonian composer’s contemplative yet powerful music has found popularity beyond the borders of classical music. He’s making a rare appearance in the U.S. to attend a festival of his music.
Mannie Fresh Live: ‘Real Talk’
The legendary producer and DJ flew in from New Orleans to regale a Washington D.C. crowd with stories about Cash Money Records, Lil Wayne’s career plan, Mantronix and working with Mos Def.
Candi Staton: This Album Is ‘An Anthology Of My Life’
Staton has been a child gospel singer, a ’70s Southern soul hit-maker and then a disco queen. She’s just released her 27th album, Life Happens.
‘Welcome To Deathfest’ Goes Behind The Scenes At Baltimore’s Annual Metal Festival
Metalheads love rituals, and Maryland Deathfest is the best one this side of goat sacrifice. Held in Baltimore every Memorial…
Fighting Back: A Conversation With The Makers Of ‘Rock, Rage, And Self-Defense’
When Gits singer Mia Zapata was raped and murdered while walking home from Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood in 1993, the…
It’s Good To Gather Moss: A Young Artist On Missing ‘Home’
Singer-songwriter Dan Croll talks about “Home,” a track off his debut album, Sweet Disarray, as well as the real-life home that helped inspire it.
The Kronos Quartet: Still Daring After All These Years
Four decades after its first performance, the San Francisco-based string quartet still nudges composers and audiences in new directions.
Tycho: Music By A Visual Imagineer
On the new album Awake, Scott Hansen has taken his passion for design and merged it with his interest in ambient music.
The Education Of Christylez Bacon
The rapper, singer, beatboxer and multi-instrumentalist is a product of Southeast Washington, D.C., an area hit hard by crime and drugs in the 1980s.
Gazelle Amber Valentine: ‘Gender Is Not A Genre’
The righteously outspoken guitarist from doom metal duo Jucifer speaks about women in hard rock, her almost-acoustic side project and her never-ending life on the road.
The Legend Of Linda Perhacs, ‘A Most Unlikely Rock Star’
A California dental hygienist who never quit her day job, Perhacs released one album in 1970 that failed to find an audience — or so she thought.
A Rational Conversation: What’s With All The Drummers Leading Late-Night Bands?
Robin DiMaggio, who leads The Arsenio Hall Show band, says drummers, who have to be ambidextrous to play their instrument, can drive the music and multitask like champions.
Beck’s Long Balancing Act
Reflecting on a career that has long synthesized old and new forms, the versatile musician says engaging with everything may be the only way left to innovate.
Megaband Formed On Craigslist Becomes The Family Crest
There are big bands and then there are really big bands, like The Family Crest, which features around 300 players. NPR’s Rachel Martin speaks with lead vocalist Liam McCormick about the band.
Fred Armisen’s Fake Bands (And Their Real Songs)
The Saturday Night Live alum’s sketches about fictional musicians strike a believable chord. Fitting, then, that the original songs he wrote for them are now getting a proper release.
Brazil’s Maria Rita Rediscovers Her Mother Through Music
Maria Rita may be the daughter of Ellis Regina, one of Brazil’s greatest singers, but she’s also a star in her own right. Host Michel Martin speaks to Rita about finding her own voice in the music world.