Best Michael Scheffer Podcasts (2024)

1
Geordie Greep (of black midi) Shocks and Delights, In-Studio 44:28

2d ago44:28

44:28

Geordie Greep was the lead singer and guitarist for the celebrated British rock band black midi. With that band on indefinite hiatus, Greep is now focused on his own songs, which range freely across the musical landscape, encompassing jazz-rock and blues, but also country and Brazilian music. Hold on tight, for there are "stop-starts, blasts and ba…

1
Lollise Creates Danceable Afrofuturist Pop, In-Studio 42:14

5d ago42:14

42:14

Lollise is a musician, fashion designer, and visual artist from Botwana in southern Africa, now based here in New York. After many years of recording and touring with Underground System and the FELA! band, Lollise steps forward with her own bold Afro-futurist pop, rich with layers of kinetic, danceable percussion and gentle waves of ambient noise. …

1
Brighton's Vintage-Pop Band The Heavy Heavy, In-Studio 31:25

9d ago31:25

31:25

The Heavy Heavy is a band out of Brighton, England – but they sound like a band that’s been time-shifted straight out of 1975. Led by lifelong musicians Will Turner and Georgie Fuller, they breathe an incandescent new energy into sounds from decades ago, "transcending eras with a hypnotic ease" (Bandcamp.) Their sound might be a sweet and starry-ey…

1
Song Collector Moira Smiley Digs Deep and Celebrates Connection 37:23

12d ago37:23

37:23

Moira Smiley refers to herself as a song collector; she's also a singer, multi-instrumentalist (banjo, accordion, piano, and hand & body percussion), and songwriter. Smiley has sung in arenas, cathedrals, kitchens, back porches, sound stages, and on glaciers with the likes of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tune-Yards, Tim O’Brien, Eric Whitacre, Los Ange…

1
Joan As Police Woman Celebrates Joy and Love, In-Studio 42:11

16d ago42:11

42:11

The singer, songwriter, and multi instrumentalist Joan Wasser is "not a cop" and has been recording for the past twenty years under the name Joan As Police Woman – a saucy reference to the 1970s cop show that starred Angie Dickinson. She’s also collaborated with a huge range of musicians, from the worlds of rock, funk, folk, and experimental music.…

1
Yemen Blues Connects The Traditional And Modern With Swagger and Groove 44:23

19d ago44:23

44:23

Yemen Blues is a band led by Israeli singer and songwriter Ravid Kahalani. For more than a decade now, the group has incorporated the sounds of Moroccan trance, Arab and Bedouin folk, and Western funk and rock into a high energy, groove-filled dance party. But behind that sound is a social conscience, and the band’s latest album is pointedly called…

1
Cellist Mabe Fratti's Playful Approach to Electrified Chamber-Pop, In-Studio 32:55

23d ago32:55

32:55

Born in Guatemala but active in Mexico City’s bustling music scene, cellist, electronic music producer, and singer Mabe Fratti has been making music for several years that could lean toward the experimental and the avant-garde on the one hand, and what seems to be a flair for pop melodies on the other. She writes songs that encompass chamber music,…

1
Midwestern Indie-Chamber Rock Band Cloud Cult, In-Studio 39:09

26d ago39:09

39:09

The Midwest band Cloud Cult is more than a band – it’s a creative collective who continually celebrates life and love, and catharsis through music and multimedia performances (CloudCult.com.) They’re also known for their ecofriendly ways of making and touring their music. Recently in 2022, their orchestral-folk-rock sound was expanded as they were …

1
Musical Polymath Conner Youngblood's Dreamy Bedroom-Pop 35:51

30d ago35:51

35:51

Nashville-based artist Conner Youngblood is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer; his new record, called Cascades, Cascading, Cascadingly, is full of richly textured songs – in multiple languages (Spanish, Japanese, and Danish, in addition to his native English.) The music employs a wide array of effects without ever losing that organic, in…

1
Meredith Monk's 'Cellular Songs', In-Studio (Archives) 39:27

1M ago39:27

39:27

Vocalist and composer Meredith Monk is a multi-disciplinary artist, whose work involves music, dance, film, theatre, and now: biology meets anthropology. In her recent large-scale work, Cellular Songs, musical forms evoke biological processes as layering, replication, division, and mutation in a “deeply affecting meditation on the nature of the bio…

1
New York-Based Crumb Delivers Moody Psych-Pop, In-Studio 34:21

1M ago34:21

34:21

The New York band Crumb creates playful and brooding swirls of sounds, somewhere at a crossroads of psychedelia, pop, jazz, and rock. Their latest album AMAMA (Grandmother) [self-released via their own label Crumb Records], experiments with textures and synthscapes: glitchy pitch-shifted vocals, cell phone recordings, nautical blips, sax mouthpiece…

1
Pianist Christopher O'Riley on the Life-Changing Music of J.S. Bach 36:27

1M ago36:27

36:27

American classical pianist and educator Christopher O’Riley has spent his career gleefully ignoring musical boundaries and playing whatever turned him on. In addition to playing Beethoven, Busoni, Ravel, Scriabin, and Liszt, he’s also arranged music by Nick Drake, Nirvana, Elliot Smith, and Radiohead; he leads masterclasses covering nearly every as…

1
Mehrnam Rastegari Traditional Persian Band, In-Studio 28:43

1M ago28:43

28:43

Mehrnam Rastegari is a New York-based master of the traditional Persian spike fiddle, the kamancheh. She is also a composer, writing film scores and ensemble works that draw on both Eastern and Western musical traditions. She moved here from Iran in 2022 and formed the Mehrnam Rastegari Traditional Persian Band, a group of New York locals which fea…

1
Guitarist and Educator Benjamin Verdery Plays Solo, In-Studio 39:13

2M ago39:13

39:13

Guitarist, composer, and teacher Benjamin Verdery seems to know everybody who’s ever picked up the instrument. Ben is a classical guitarist himself, but his musical friends include Andy Summers of the Police, the fingerpicking virtuoso Leo Kottke, flamenco legend Paco Pena, guitarist Bryce Dessner of the indie rock band The National – the list goes…

1
Christopher Rountree Designs a Musical Framework for Electro-Chamber Players 44:15

2M ago44:15

44:15

Christopher Rountree is probably best known as the conductor of the LA-based new music ensemble known as Wild Up. Over the last 14 years he and that band have played with Bjork, done live film scores to movie screenings, and embarked on a multiyear recording project of the long forgotten and now rediscovered music of Julius Eastman. But Christopher…

1
Bette Smith Marries Gospel Fervor With Soul Moxie, In-Studio 28:49

2M ago28:49

28:49

Brooklyn native Bette Smith reconnects with her Memphis and Mississippi roots on her latest, "Goodthing", full of songs that show off her voice -rich and raspy- and her band’s vintage soul and blues-rock sound. But the album also speaks to Smith’s spiritual side, embracing the gospel music she heard in church and around the house every weekend – li…

1
LA LOM Reflects the Diverse Musical Diaspora of Angelenos 27:11

2M ago27:11

27:11

The band called LA LOM is a trio of LA natives who play an instrumental blend of twangy guitar melodies over Latin rhythms like the cumbia and bolero, drawing on the sounds of their city. The band got their start as a hotel band playing soul covers, and morphed into warm, vibe-heavy rock that blends Mexican, Cuban, and Peruvian traditions alongside…

1
Angélica Garcia Delivers Borderless Clublike Bangers, In-Studio 32:54

2M ago32:54

32:54

Angélica Garcia has been on a journey – a musical journey – from “gothic storytelling, and swampy, blues-inflected rock” (Schaefer, 2016) to dance-floor Latin pop bangers with moody electronics, sung mostly in Spanish on her latest release, Gemelo. It’s a record that “untangles the Mexican and Salvadoran roots of the Californian-born artist, disman…

1
The Experimental "Doom Folk" of Cinder Well, In-Studio 36:53

2M ago36:53

36:53

Cinder Well is the musical project of singer and songwriter Amelia Baker, who is from California but who fell under the spell of Irish folk music and eventually moved to County Clare on Ireland’s west coast. Cinder Well’s music often has a haunted, nocturnal quality – her 2020 album No Summer was widely referred to as “doom folk” - where the drone,…

1
STEFA* Reconsiders Origin Stories and Channels Their Ancestors 31:10

2M ago31:10

31:10

The artist STEFA* is a classically-trained vocalist who combines punk, experimental rage-pop, loops, and somatic jazz as they channel their ancestors. Based in Queens and born to Colombian immigrant parents, STEFA*’s latest is an album called Born With An Extra Rib, which was released alongside a ritual performance film that they created as Artist-…

1
The Musical Ambition and Sharp Wit of Songwriter John Grant 46:19

2M ago46:19

46:19

Although he’s based in Iceland, singer/songwriter John Grant is American, and his experience growing up gay in a conservative religious family in Colorado has colored his music since he began releasing solo records in 2010. A former member of the Denver-based alternative rock band The Czars, he’s recorded with the Texan folk rock group Midlake, col…

1
From the 2024 New York Guitar Festival: Marc Ribot and Leyla McCalla 42:07

3M ago42:07

42:07

The duo of Marc Ribot, the New York guitarist, and Leyla McCalla, the New Orleans cellist and banjo player, may seem unlikely at first. Ribot is known for his work with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, his own avant-noise trio Ceramic Dog, and much more; McCalla writes songs that draw on the African-American string band tradition, Cajun music, and her ow…

1
Pulsing, Percussive, Layered Minimalism By Akusmi, In-Studio 36:09

3M ago36:09

36:09

Akusmi is the name of the recent project by the French-born London-based producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Pascal Bideau. His work blends the churning rhythms of minimalism with the sounds of jazz and, occasionally, the gamelan music of Indonesia. Mostly he plays sax and piano, but in a pinch he’ll play bass guitar, flute, synthesizer o…

1
Deep and Fiery Cuban Mambo, Salsa, and Soul by Orquesta Akokán, In-Studio 30:29

3M ago30:29

30:29

The vintage sounds and energy of Cuban dance music of the mid-20th century live on in the music of Orquesta Akokán, a group of Cuban and American musicians who made a big splash with their debut record just six years ago. The band’s name, Akokán, is from Africa; it’s a Yoruba word meaning “from the heart.” And this group’s collective heart beats to…

1
Road-Tested Songs by Sō Percussion and Caroline Shaw, In-Studio 33:44

3M ago33:44

33:44

Sample collaborative music by Pulitzer Prize-winning vocalist/composer Caroline Shaw and the versatile quartet Sō Percussion from their latest release, Rectangles and Circumstance, as played in-studio. Composer/vocalist/violinist Caroline Shaw, who has produced for Kanye West and Nas, won a Pulitzer Prize in 2013 for her Partita for 8 Voices, which…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Michael Scheffer Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Soundcheck

WNYC Studios

1
Geordie Greep (of black midi) Shocks and Delights, In-Studio 44:28

1
Lollise Creates Danceable Afrofuturist Pop, In-Studio 42:14

1
Brighton's Vintage-Pop Band The Heavy Heavy, In-Studio 31:25

1
Song Collector Moira Smiley Digs Deep and Celebrates Connection 37:23

1
Joan As Police Woman Celebrates Joy and Love, In-Studio 42:11

1
Yemen Blues Connects The Traditional And Modern With Swagger and Groove 44:23

1
Cellist Mabe Fratti's Playful Approach to Electrified Chamber-Pop, In-Studio 32:55

1
Midwestern Indie-Chamber Rock Band Cloud Cult, In-Studio 39:09

1
Musical Polymath Conner Youngblood's Dreamy Bedroom-Pop 35:51

1
Meredith Monk's 'Cellular Songs', In-Studio (Archives) 39:27

1
New York-Based Crumb Delivers Moody Psych-Pop, In-Studio 34:21

1
Pianist Christopher O'Riley on the Life-Changing Music of J.S. Bach 36:27

1
Mehrnam Rastegari Traditional Persian Band, In-Studio 28:43

1
Guitarist and Educator Benjamin Verdery Plays Solo, In-Studio 39:13

1
Christopher Rountree Designs a Musical Framework for Electro-Chamber Players 44:15

1
Bette Smith Marries Gospel Fervor With Soul Moxie, In-Studio 28:49

1
LA LOM Reflects the Diverse Musical Diaspora of Angelenos 27:11

1
Angélica Garcia Delivers Borderless Clublike Bangers, In-Studio 32:54

1
The Experimental "Doom Folk" of Cinder Well, In-Studio 36:53

1
STEFA* Reconsiders Origin Stories and Channels Their Ancestors 31:10

1
The Musical Ambition and Sharp Wit of Songwriter John Grant 46:19

1
From the 2024 New York Guitar Festival: Marc Ribot and Leyla McCalla 42:07

1
Pulsing, Percussive, Layered Minimalism By Akusmi, In-Studio 36:09

1
Deep and Fiery Cuban Mambo, Salsa, and Soul by Orquesta Akokán, In-Studio 30:29

1
Road-Tested Songs by Sō Percussion and Caroline Shaw, In-Studio 33:44

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