The sonic sorceress we know as Matchess, whose album Sonescent comes out Feb. 25th, has crafted a demo for you, beloved reader.
 

Keeping the magic transparent, Whitney Johnson (of Matchess) says, "In this video, I build and distort an overtone series above the fundamental 64 Hz. I begin with sine waves in the 2nd to 5th harmonics in this order: 192 Hz, 256 Hz, 320 Hz, and 384 Hz. Each of these is coming from... (read more)

On Switched On Ra, the Bajas deep delve into the songbook of one of their soul-predecessors, Sun Ra. Utilizing nineteen different keyboards, their take on Ra's loose grooves and the Arkestra harmonies is as unique as it is intoxicating.

With a few Chicago performances under their belt, Bitchin Bajas are set to redistribute the radiation of Sun Ra's atmospheric gas across our terrestrial sphere; with European festival dates secured, Cooper Crain, Rob Frye and Dan Quinlivan are primed to transport their... (read more)

WE'LL BE STOCKING YOU FOR CHRISTMAS

Hey everybody! Allow us to blow your mind by suggesting that you foreplay/climax/denouement your shopping season with a trip through our most recent releases! They're just naturally the types of things which say, I love you and your sexy mind (mom/dad substitute) by offering up the kindsa sounds that can-open your brain, exposing it to the light, all the better to grow! What are we talking about? You buying these:

FOR YOUR INNER

Sonescent, the new album from Matchess, came to Whitney Johnson’s mind while she was at the Dhamma Vhadanna Meditation Center just north of Joshua Tree, during a course of Vipassana meditation. This is a ten day period that requires, among other codes of discipline, the practice of Noble Silence: silence of body, speech, and mind.
In the past decade, the music of Matchess has spanned outer and inner space, seeking the unseen world that exists behind the world that we see everyday.... (read more)

The Intimate Landscape has arrived, stretching from the far horizon into our very mind! This latest entry in the hallowed KPM music series is simply beautiful music, humbly drawing together essences of folk, ambient and soundtrack music (check the visualizer for "Second Moon" as proof!). The Intimate Landscape is Ben Chasny's first solo outing under his own name, but he's been releasing music under the moniker Six Organs of Admittance for nearly 25 years -it's his main jam, to say the least! Therefore, poised to... (read more)

Mess Esque was born, like so much of us, in the percussive impact of a big bang! In this case, it was a hoped-for collision of two musical comets - Helen Franzmann and Mick Turner - who've long cut individual paths through the empyrean sea that surrounds our worlds. Their courses were subtly altered when Mick sought a singer to collaborate with on new material. In this new combustion, Helen and Mick direct intuitions and meditations from the remote confines of their individual selves into a greater mass, one... (read more)

An artists’ book born of an ongoing collaboration between Friedrich Kunath and the late musician, writer, and friend David Berman. Published on the occasion of Kunath’s 2019 exhibition at Soccer Club Club, Chicago, IL, presented by Blum & Poe in partnership with Drag City. Designed by longtime mutual friend and collaborator Michael Schmelling.

Hardcover; 48 pages
Edition of 1000
Published by Blum & Poe and Drag City



Special edition of 50 with hand-painted paper-wrapped slipcases by Friedrich Kunath, $150, coming soon.

The Blind Date Party hosted by Bill Callahan and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and featuring AZITA, Matt Sweeney, Alasdair Roberts, Matt Kinsey, Sean O’Hagan, Bill MacKay, George Xylouris, Dead Rider, David Pajo, Mick Turner, Meg Baird, Ty Segall, Emmett Kelly, Cory Hanson, Six Organs of Admittance, David Grubbs, Cassie Berman, Cooper Crain and Sir Richard Bishop happened online in the fall and winter of ’20–’21 — but party planning began in... (read more)

Drag City is grieved to convey the news of Irwansyah Harahap’s passing; his long-running musical project, Suarasama, remains an inspiration to us all. When we heard his music for the first time (at the Bonnie ‘Prince’s enthused recommendation), we knew immediately that we wanted to be a part of bringing it to the world. Grounded in Southeast Asian music traditions, Suarasama’s delicatepan-nationalist fusion of styles to convey a ‘one-world’ quality that, lifted up by the band’s fervent, soulful playing and singing of, reminds us of the shared ground in all the music of the world.

        “Like some/many people, I heard Suarasama because of the inclusion... (read more)

As we've seen proven definitively here in 2021, Superwolves are "Not Fooling": they are real and among us. With the lifeblood of a new album coursing within them, Matt Sweeney & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy have dared believe in a live musical salve, playing shows through summer into fall where they could, whenever possible. In the chaos of these times, however, the scheduled sightings have been reported, retracted, rescheduled...it's insanity, but the 'wolves are determined to roam in the name of us all, and do it... (read more)