Interview Podcast – Echoes

The name Time for Three is a little awkward, but their music is anything but. This young string trio, playing violins and bass talk about their eclectic backgrounds and a music that goes from Arvo Part to Orange Blossom Special.

Balmorhea is a quartet of musicians that should probably be playing rock and roll, and in their own fashion, they might be. Using acoustic guitars, piano, violin and cello, they orchestrate a haunting, pastoral sound tinged by country and born out of the landscapes of Texas.

Ryuichi Sakamoto is the Academy Award winning, critically acclaimed, and willfully eclectic Japanese composer and pianist who has worked with David Bowie, David Byrne and many others. He also founded the pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra and has released a string of solo albums ranging in style from the romantic to the noisy. We talk about concepts of the noise of music with this innovative artist.

Prompted by the release a couple of new recordings, we take a look back at our 2009 interview with Karda Estra, the recording persona of English composer Richard Wileman. He started out as a rocker but veered into composing classical works for chamber ensembles and electric guitar. His imagery tends to be gothic and his music dramatic. We'll talk to him about a sound that falls between progressive rock and classical cracks.

Atomic Skunk's name may stink but the music is pure immersive exotic ambience. Musician Rich Brodsky's latest release is an intoxicating and melodic excursion through electronic modes, ambient moods and gamelan grooves. It's the Echoes CD of the Month for August, so we'll take a look back at an interview we did with Atomic Skunk.

Iconic guitarist Pat Metheny goes pop on a CD of 1960s cover tunes called What's It All About. The title comes from the lyrics to Alfie and that's one of the pop tunes Metheny covers, along with songs by Paul Simon, Carly Simon, and The Carpenters. Pat Metheny talks about his pop improvisations.

It's a name that's out of season for most of the year, but the music fits in all seasons. Winterlight is the recording persona of England's Tim Ingham who creates dreamy, shoegazer-influenced soundscapes topped by epic melodies. He talks about his album, Hope Dies Last, which was the Echoes CD of the Month in June.

They actually want to be referred to as Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret and Samuel Rohrer. That's not very concise but it does speak to the collaborative nature of this piano trio, which explores intuitive improvisations and prepared piano. We talk about their latest ECM album, Rruga and the art of free improvisation.

Vic Hennegan is something of an anomaly, a black electronic space musician. Growing up in Philly, instead of Michael Jackson, he dialed up the sounds of Tangerine Dream and now makes his own space music. He talks about his new - and best - CD, Field of Worlds and Mirrors.

Fionnuala Sherry is half of the Irish - Norwegian duo, Secret Garden. She steps out on her own with a surprisingly textural, deeply ambient album called Songs from Before. From her home in Dublin, the violinist talks about spinning traditional tunes through an ethereal landscape.