Actress's Statik!

Hi everyone,

New album, composed in an extensive "flow state," pushes into all sorts of strange, delightful spaces. Oh what fun!

PeaceNstarZ,

V

Shpongle's Live at The Roundhouse London 2008!

Hi everyone,

16 years on SpiritPlants Radio! Wowee-zowee again! As a fun treat, & calling back to my first show as I like to do, here is this brilliant live set from this wonderful group! Give Shpongle a try! You won't go back :)

Happy anniversary, SPR!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

John Zorn's Ballades & Lamentations!

Hi everyone,

John Zorn's 2024 Ballades & Lamentations are the last two of wonderful run of Zorn brilliance I've been featuring on this show recently. Mr. Zorn is 71 years old & brilliant as ever. Find the deep comfort here, if you need it . . . 

PeaceNstarZ,

V

John. Zorn's Nothing Is As Real As Nothing!

Hi everyone,

Free Jazz Collective writes: "Composed by, arranged by, and produced by John Zorn, the music on Nothing Is As Real As Nothing continues Zorn’s exploration of music for guitar. Zorn brings together three guitarists, Bill Frisell, Gyan Riley, and Julian Lage, all outstanding musicians on their own right, to perform compositions that blend their contributions together in gentle undulating lines - lines that bring to mind sea journeys and distant shorelines."

This music calmed me this week, when nothing else could. Where there's life, there's hope.

PeaceNstarZ,

V

John Zorn's New Masada Quartet, Volume Three!

Hi everyone,

This record was recorded live on May 24, 2024 at Roulette in Brooklyn, New York. Crazy but playful. Master jazz players at work. Wish I'd been there!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

John Zorn's New Masada Quartet, Volumes One & Two!

Hi everyone,

In 2019, Zorn formed the New Masada Quartet with Julian Lage (guitar), Jorge Roeder (bass), and Kenny Wollesen (drums). They rework tunes from the original Masada from the 1990s. Honestly, though, I don't think you need to know any of that to enjoy this wild, wonderful music!

PeaceNstarZ,

V

John Zorn & Bill Laswell's Memoria!

Hi everyone,

John Zorn & Bill Laswell are two of my favorite human beings & Artists, & I LOVE that they are friends & collaborators. Last year they released the beautiful tribute Memoria, dedicated to Pharoah Sanders, Milford Graves, & Wayne Shorter, & my heart will filled new. Above is a shot of them in 2022 arriving to perform TURBINES at Sessions | Gagosian Premieres (bonus track on show, plus a couple of other treats). Shabby coolness was never so cool ;)

PeaceNstarZ,
V

John Zorn's Suite for Piano & The Fourth Way!

 Hi everyone,

I love the comments from Tzadik (tzadik.com) about these amazing Zorn records:

Inspired in part by the Goldberg Variations and Schoenberg’s solo piano music, “Suite For Piano” is Zorn’s very personal take on some of the oldest traditional classical forms. It is performed here by one of the most dedicated, virtuosic, and passionate interpreters in the Zorn universe, Brian Marsella, whose educational experience (too “jazz” for the classical world and too “classical” for the jazz world) makes him the perfect interpreter of Zorn’s cross-pollinating musical poetics. Accompanied by the telepathic rhythm section of Jorge Roeder and Ches Smith (Heaven and Earth Magick) this is a beautiful and soulful program of music for the classic instrumentation of piano, bass, and drums.

Zorn’s latest book of music [The Fourth Way] for piano trio is inspired by the writings and thought of the elusive, mystical figure Georges Gurdjieff. The music is expansive, ranging from heartfelt lyricism to textural madness and is brilliantly performed by a tight trio of musical masters—treasured members of Zorn’s innermost circle. Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith form a fiery, soulful unit capable of jumping from a whisper to a scream at the drop of a hat. Following up on their acclaimed debut “Suite for Piano,” they continue their exploration of Zorn’s challenging compositions in this stunning collection of music that transports you to a beautiful new world of spirituality and emotional depth. 

PeaceNstarZ,

V

John Zorn's Incerto (Existentialism, Psychoanalysis, and the Uncertainty Principle)!

Hi everyone,

Read this online about this great new album: "Inspired by Sartre, Freud, and the Uncertainty Principle, the music explores possibilities, probabilities, inevitabilities, and impossibilities."

Sure and all that, but Zorn is wonderful no matter how much or little you know. Just listen! :)

PeaceNstarZ,

V

John Zorn's A Garden Of Forking Paths!

Hi everyone,

Zorn's brilliant crew of Bill Frisell, Julian Lage and Gyan Riley render beautiful, mysterious music from Argentine philosopher / writer Jorge Luis Borges. Cool & wow.

PeaceNstarZ,
V

 

Four Tet's Parallel & Three!

Hi everyone,

Four Tet's second 2020 release, Parallel, is what someone called "ambient house sorcery"! Good call! His 2024 release Three is new magick of many kinds, & brings my review of his wonderful work to a close, for now!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

Four Tet's Sixteen Oceans!

Hi everyone,

Four Tet's 2020 release was a peaceful deep trip as the world tumbled into the pandemic abyss. The world is still in this abyss, but this record still is here too. Hope!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

Four Tet's New Energy!

 Hi everyone,

2017's New Energy is just a wonderful music experience. For those like me, who love electronic music deeply, & also for those curious to listen to more. So much fun!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

Four Tet's Beautiful Rewind, Morning/Evening, & Beautiful Rewind (Remixes)!

Hi everyone,

2013's Beautiful Rewind is a deep, sometimes melancholy record, Morning/Evening from 2015 consists of the two side-long title tracks, deeper still. Then, for fun, Beautiful Rewind (Remixes) lets some friends take a crack at the tunes. Two hours of long, long bliss . . .

PeaceNstarZ,
V

Four Tet's Pink!

 Hi everyone,

Four Tet's 2012 release starts out hard hitting, then smooths, bounces, smooths . . . really cool . . .

PeaceNstarZ,
V

Four Tet's There is Love in You!

Hi everyone,

Four Tet's 2010 release finds him reaching back to an earlier, warmer sound, & it works beautifully. This is a chill classic but rewards deep listening. Try it!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

Four Tet's Everything Ecstatic Parts 1 & 2, & Ringer!

Hi everyone,

Four Tet's Everything Ecstatic came out in 2005, & its Part 2 EP also in 2005.  Ringer came out in 2008. I also included a nice Beth Orton remix by Four Tet. His music keeps evolving strangely & beautifully.

PeaceNstarZ,
V

Four Tet's Pause & Rounds!

Hi everyone,

Four Tet's Pause came out in 2001 & Rounds in 2003. I included some live tracks too. We take good green walks in my mind, his music & me . . . 

PeaceNstarZ,
V

Four Tet's Dialogue!

Hi everyone,

Dialogue is British electronic musician Four Tet's 1999 debut studio album. Like many beautiful things in this world, it is new to the ears & yet familiar to the heart. Love it! More coming!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

John Zorn's Perchance to Dream!

Hi everyone,

2022 album by my favorite brilliant genius jazz-man. Working this time with four of his favorite folks: 

• Bill Frisell: Guitar
• John Medeski: Organ 
• Brian Marsalla - Piano, Fender Rhodes Piano 
• Kenny Wollenson: Drums 

Wonderful!

PeaceNstarZ,

V

Super Show #300!

Hi everyone,

300 shows since 11/22/2008! Wow!

So I dug into my show's archives, & put together 3 hours of the best of the best! Shpongle, John Zorn, Chemical Brothers, Dead Can Dance, & SO MUCH MORE! :)

PeaceNstarZ,

V

múm's Summer Make Good!

Hi everyone,

múm's 2004 record . . . good dreams . . . really good . . .

PeaceNstarZ,

V

DJ Shadow's Action Adventure!

Hi everyone,

DJ Shadow's most recent release, just terrific! Has the magick, ever on!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

DJ Shadow's The Mountain Will Fall!

Hi everyone,

DJ Shadow's 2016 release gets him closer to the brilliant patchwork of sound & noise he pursued on his earlier records. Not the same, but of a nice piece with them!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

DJ Shadow's The Private Press!

Hi everyone,

This is DJ Shadow's second album from 2002, another great record. I remember hearing it long ago, & losing a happy hour of time inside it. Current revisit just as nice!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

DJ Shadow's Endtroducing.....!

Hi everyone,

Here's a great Wikipedia summary of this wonderful 1996 record:

Endtroducing..... is the debut studio album by American music producer DJ Shadow, released on September 16, 1996, by Mo' Wax. It is an instrumental hip hop work composed almost entirely of samples from vinyl records. DJ Shadow produced Endtroducing over two years, using an Akai MPC60 sampler and little other equipment. He edited and layered samples to create new tracks of varying moods and tempos.

Just brilliant, timeless &. brilliant!

PeaceNstarZ,
V

múm's Finally We Are No One!

Hi everyone,

More Dreamland music from this Iceandic group. Drift in, stay awhile....

PeaceNstarZ,
V

Prins Emanuel!

 Hi everyone,

Prins Emanuel is a brilliant English composer & musician. This epic show features his first four albums: Arbete-Fritid (2016), Diagonal Musik (2018), Vhassal (2021), & Diagonal Music II (2023). Give this music a moment, you won't come back soon!

PeaceNstarZ,
V