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People of Earth (particularly Bandcampers) please take note: I contributed some guitar to this PolyheDren project and any/all proceeds go to funding education in California’s Bay Area. So cough up some coin for a good cause (and for some cool music) won’t you? XO
This today on the gradually expanding Cryptogramophone Bandcamp site. Research , listen, and get back to me. XO
Here’s some bright old music with cherished comrades: “Mask” by my dear friend (violinist) Jeff Gauthier and his “Goatette”. Today (March 4), sales will be donated to the International Rescue Committee. Great music with your dollars going to a great cause. And Happy Birthday, Jeff! XO
Released today for listening as well as on an ultra-deluxe 7” single is my collaboration with my pals known as mssv: Mike Baggetta, Mike Watt, & Stephen Hodges. The single is part of a series of collaborations done back in the time we call “lockdown”, each with an A-side by the great Mr Baggetta and a B-side by the guest. So here you go: Mike B’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Social Justice” b/w my “Loose Stone, Fresh Oil”. Please listen!
Could it really have been 20 years ago that this recording - the debut of my second trio with the name The Nels Cline Singers - was released?!? Yep. It’s true. Scott Amendola on drums & electronics and Devin Hoff on acoustic bass joined me as a trio for 10 years (and Scott is still rocking with me 21 years later!), and now our first effort called “Instrumentals” is re-emerging on the new Cryptogramophone Bandcamp site. Call me insane, but it still sounds good to me! My heartfelt thanks to Jeff Gauthier for his friendship, vision, and support (for way over 20 years!), and congrats to him on his marvelous new musical endeavor: The Smudges! And of course, my thanks to Scott and Devin. Please listen….
I am proud to be a member of percussionist/composer Adam Rudolph Music's Go: Organic Guitar Orchestra and a delightful document of a concert we did at Roulette drops TODAY, Dec. 3rd! It’s called “Resonant Bodies”. You need to hear this! Other guitarists/bassists are Miles Okazaki, David Gilmore, Liberty Ellman, Jerome Harris, Joel Harrison, Marco Cappelli, Damon Banks, Kenny Wessel. Dig THAT!….
I am so happy and proud to be part of the Kill Rock Stars 30th anniversary THING! When asked to select something from their vast and crucially important catalog, Deerhoof seemed (as I wrote to Slim) “too obvious”, as they have been not only a source of inspiration for me the last 20+ years, but also beloved pals with whom I have shared stages big and small, and most of whom I have played with/collaborated with in some way or another. But as I scoured the highly idiosyncratic KRS catalog, I landed back at my dear Deerhoof. I consider the song I chose, “Jagged Fruit”, to be not only a marvelous composition but one of the greatest closing tracks ever (from Offend Maggie). I enlisted Ches Smith, another friend with deep Hoof connections, to (remotely) play drums, vibraphone, and glockenspiel as I knew he would know just what to do, and for synth vibrations, a female voice + sonic expertise, I needed my savvy and sensitive partner Yuka C Honda. VOILÁ! Three friends united in reverent celebration, playing my only slightly re-imagined rendition of “Jagged Fruit”. I hope you dig it, along with the other killer tracks in this “Deerhoof sandwich”. Love & thanks to all..... XO
- Nels
Purchase the digital compilation and receive an alert when each new cover in the series is released.
Do you like good music? Sweet songs? A sweet voice? Flexi discs?!?! Then please check out this new record by my good friend Yohei Shikano. I played lap steel and did some looping (natch) on one song called “Edge Of My Dream”, and there’s even a video for it...
I did a pretty hefty amount of guitar work on Joan Osborne’s brand new record “Trouble & Strife”, her first record in years and released on her own label (go Joan!). I hope you will check it out!
Available for pre-order! Recorded 10 years ago today (apparently)! No wine before its time.....
Check out Chris Root. I’m on a rather amusing song called “Wonder” playing some lap steel. My good friend Michael Leonhart added some brass here and there, and the whole thing was mixed by pal Scott Hollingsworth.
In the midst of the current mountain of mayhem and dismay, of death and dysfunction, it can be easy to forget about certain things, or to find oneself shunting the timeless significance of maverick and inclusive artistic endeavor into the corners of one’s consciousness. I daresay that one look at the trailer to Daniel Weintraub’s nearly-completed documentary on the life and work of Pauline Oliveros, “Deep Listening”, will likely reset your mind and heart and make you wonder how and why creativity, innovation, and communal energy strayed from your coronavirus-inundated consciousness. Is this important? YES IT IS. And YOU can, should you feel like attempting to absorb a heapin’ helpin of improvised music that I have done with the multifaceted keyboard wizard Thollem McDonas, help Mr Weintraub finish this important film! The proceeds from it will all go toward providing funds to get this film finished and out in the world - a world which can always use reminding about the universal significance of the beautiful, wondrous things and how we are all connected to them, by them.
An ensemble/performance from a few years ago with John Dieterich, Ben Goldberg, Trevor Dunn, Scott Amendola, and yours truly - can be heard on Bandcamp and we are donating all proceeds to the New York Food Bank. Please enjoy!..
I’ll bet you are wondering right now what music of the 21st century is/could be, right? Wonder no more! It’s the title of a new ‘live’ trio recording by Bobby Previte (drums), Jamie Saft (keys) and yours truly (guitar) on RareNoise!
People of Earth: Today sees the official release of “Gowanus Sessions II”, further documenting the improvisational confluence of yours truly with Thollem McDonas (piano) and William Parker (bass). This one contains two rather subtle, extended pieces. Check it out, won’t you? While it may not solve the ever-present and ongoing ills of this world, it may be able to transport you to a different one; one that, while possessing certain mysteries, is kind...