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Essential Tremors A show in which musicians and other creators talk about the songs that shaped who they are.
Essential Tremors

Podcast Directory
Essential Tremors

Essential Tremors

From WYPR - 88.1 FM Baltimore

A show in which musicians and other creators talk about the songs that shaped who they are.

Most Recent Episodes

William Parker (Live at Big Ears Festival)

Bassist William Parker has spent 50 years at the heart of jazz, as a collaborator with many of the music's greats and as a composer and bandleader in his own right. In this episode, recorded live at the Big Ears Festival in 2023, he discusses how Duke Ellington, Don Cherry and Cecil Taylor 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.

Green Gartside (Scritti Politti)

Under the name Scritti Politti, Green Gartside has been making smart, cutting-edge pop for decades, on his own terms and his own schedule. On this episode, he discusses how tracks by the Paragons, Robert Wyatt, and the Albion Country Band 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.

Bill Orcutt (Big Ears Festival Performer)

Guitarist Bill Orcutt has gone from noise artist to an iconoclastic solo guitarist who redefined his own relationship with the instrument, deconstructs American standards, and now composes music for larger groups. In this episode, he discusses how music by Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland, and Joseph Spence 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.

James Brandon Lewis (Big Ears Festival Performer)

Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has carved out a career as an instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and collaborator who has played with a spread of artists within and beyond the jazz world, including instrumental power trio Messthetics. In this episode, he discusses how tunes by Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp and Abdullah Ibrahim, and Sonny Rollins influenced his playing. Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mary Halvorson (Big Ears Festival Performer)

Mary Halvorson is often classified as a jazz guitarist, but her work — fluid, soulful and inventive — pushes boundaries, having been described as "the most future-seeking guitarist working right now" by NPR and "an unflinching original who has revealed new possibilities within the music" by The New York Times. Hear how songs by Jimi Hendrix, Yusef Lateef and Robert Wyatt guided her musical development. Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

caroline (Big Ears Festival Performers)

Outsized British group caroline has grabbed attention with an expansive sound that mixes elements of folk, postpunk, and choral music to create a surging, emotional effect. In this episode, members Jasper Llewellyn and Mike O'Malley discuss the music that shaped the band's sound. Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Billy Bragg

Even after over four decades-long career, English songwriter and working class provocateur Billy Bragg still stands as one of the most influential artists of the era of U.K. punk. Hear how songs by Smokey Robinson, Little Feat, and The Who have played significant roles in his life. Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kali Malone (Big Ears Festival Performer)

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)

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)

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.

Essential Tremors

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