Essential Tremors

Latest Episodes:

Kali Malone (Big Ears Festival Performer) Nov 23, 2022

Show notes

Composer Kali Malone transforms the spartan musical language of minimalism through unusual tunings and reframing sacred sounds like pipe organ and choir.

In this episode, she discusses how My Bloody Valentine, Hindustani classical music, and Josquin des Prez shaped her art.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carl Stone (Big Ears Festival Performer) Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

Composer/performer Carl Stone has built a body of work out of reimagining a world of existing sounds and music into sometimes witty, often beautiful electronic music of his own.

In this episode, he discusses how music by Thomas Tallis, Captain Beefheart, and Sheik Chinna Moulana influenced his work.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ashley Capps (Big Ears Festival Founder) Sep 29, 2022

Show notes

Ashley Capps helped reinvent the music festival with Bonnaroo, then did it again with Big Ears, the eclectic annual celebration of jazz, folk, electronic music, and other flavors of music he mounts each spring in Knoxville, TN.

In this episode, he discusses how encounters with the music of Steve Reich, Julius Hemphill, and the Ramones shaped his course.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daniel Kessler of Interpol Sep 13, 2022

Show notes

As a founding member of New York City's Interpol, guitarist Daniel Kessler has been integral in the shaping of their sound. Hear how songs by Fugazi, Tappa Zukie, and Aphex Twin helped put him on his creative path.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brendan Canty Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

Drummer Brendan Canty powered the seminal D.C. post-punk band Fugazi and continues to blaze a trail in the instrumental trio The Messthetics.

In this episode, he discusses how songs by Parliament, Scritti Politti, and King Crimson shaped his music.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claire Rousay Jun 30, 2022

Show notes

Claire Rousay's music combines field recordings, Auto-Tuned vocals, conventional instruments, spoken word, and other elements with a subtlety that both attracts and subverts terms like "ambient" and "sound art." In this episode, she discusses how tracks by Ryu Hankil, Elliott Smith, and K. Mulhern shaped her work.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

the RZA May 26, 2022

Show notes

Producer, MC, actor, director—the RZA has expanded his leadership of hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan into a decade-spanning, multi-hyphenate creative career. On this episode, the RZA discusses how Isaac Hayes, the theme from Love Story, and a famous hip-hop break shaped his work.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy) Apr 28, 2022

Show notes

Singer/songwriter Will Oldham has created a vast and beguiling body of work under his own name, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, and Palace and its variations, as well as through numerous collaborations. In this episode, he discusses how songs by Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, Al Jarreau, and the Mekons influenced his music.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Geordie Greep Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

Geordie Greep's guitar and idiosyncratic vocals have helped make uncategorizable London band Black Midi into an international sensation. In this episode, he discusses how songs by Warren Zevon, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and Frank Zappa influenced his music.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jon Hopkins Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

Electronic musician Jon Hopkins is well-known in certain circles as the creator of numerous thoughtful, yet in many cases danceable, records. He's also had his hand in some enormously commercially successful records, however, as a producer and guest musician, such as Coldplay's "Viva la Vida," as well as in several co-productions with Brian Eno. In this episode, he discusses the effect songs by Eno and Harold Budd, Ozric Tentacles, and Orbital had on him.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.