avant-garde

Cocteau Twins and Harold Budd Visit ‘The Moon and the Melodies’

Cocteau Twins and Harold Budd Visit ‘The Moon and the Melodies’

The collaboration between ethereal pop trio Cocteau Twins and avant-gardist Harold Budd, The Moon and the Melodies, hits vinyl for the first time since 1986.

Max Jaffe Takes Experimentalism to Another Level

Max Jaffe Takes Experimentalism to Another Level

Percussionist Max Jaffe chronicles his years in New York City with the twitchy, unsettling, experimental jazz of Reduction of Man.

Musical Experimentalist Jessica Ackerley Is Blazing Trails

Musical Experimentalist Jessica Ackerley Is Blazing Trails

Ever-evolving experimental guitarist and composer Jessica Ackerley talks about – among other things – their eclectic and ambitious new solo album.

Frank Zappa’s ‘Whisky a Go Go 1968’ Appears in Deluxe Edition

Frank Zappa’s ‘Whisky a Go Go 1968’ Appears in Deluxe Edition

Released this month in a Super Deluxe Edition, Whisky a Go Go 1968 recovers a legendary “lost” performance by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.

Brian Eno, Holger Czukay, and J. Peter Schwalm Provide Food for Thought

Brian Eno, Holger Czukay, and J. Peter Schwalm Provide Food for Thought

After more than 25 years, Brian Eno’s Sushi! Roti! Reibekuchen!—a once-in-a-lifetime gig by three experimental giants—finally sees the light of day.

‘Ghosted II’ Continues Enigmatic Project Led by Oren Ambarchi

‘Ghosted II’ Continues Enigmatic Project Led by Oren Ambarchi

Ghosted II is the intensely cerebral successor to 2022’s Ghosted, with Oren Ambarchi’s ensemble plumbing the depths of post-rock and avant-jazz.

Samuel Goff Faces His Traumatic Childhood on New Album

Samuel Goff Faces His Traumatic Childhood on New Album

Avant-garde artist and producer Samuel Goff unleashes a fascinating exercise in catharsis on his second solo album, This Is My Body, This Is My Blood.

Einstürzende Neubauten Discuss Their Improvised Utopias

Einstürzende Neubauten Discuss Their Improvised Utopias

Well into their fourth decade, industrial pioneers Einstürzende Neubauten continue to experiment and transform. Blixa Bargeld chats about their creative process.

Samuel Goff’s ‘Diminished Borders’ Is a Manic, Introspective Free Jazz Trip

Samuel Goff’s ‘Diminished Borders’ Is a Manic, Introspective Free Jazz Trip

Drums and dual saxophones create an atmosphere that invites frenetic pacing and meditative peace on Samuel Goff, Camila Nebbia, and Patrick Shiroishi’s Diminished Borders.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘Two Virgins’ at 55: Still Telling Naked Truths 

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘Two Virgins’ at 55: Still Telling Naked Truths 

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Two Virgins inspired so much ire and distaste back in the day that we can take this opportunity to see what all the fuss was about.

Ivo Perelman and Nate Wooley Go Berserk on ‘Polarity 2’

Ivo Perelman and Nate Wooley Go Berserk on ‘Polarity 2’

Tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman and trumpeter Nate Wooley explore the limits of free jazz on this welcome sequel with its power of boundless musical interplay.

‘Chameleon Street’ Pushes the Limits of Independent Cinema

‘Chameleon Street’ Pushes the Limits of Independent Cinema

Chameleon Street has a finger on the throbbing pulse of shifting cultures that see youth through punk, new wave, and hip-hop.