Mark Shikuma

Steeped in praise from the British music press, including Mojo Magazine‘s “The Ones to Watch 2011” list, in addition to attracting high-profile admirers such as Nick Cave and Brian Eno (the latter served as an early mentor and supporter), the 28-year-old UK singer/songwriter Anna Calvi has found herself weighed with great expectations. It is difficult […]

Let’s keep it straight. The Mountain Goats primarily consist of John Darnielle, that group’s songwriter, vocalist and guitarist. In 2001, Darnielle and singer/songwriter Franklin Bruno collaborated on a project together (Martial Arts Weekend), under the name of The Extra Glenns, sharing songwriting and instrumental duties. Since then Bruno has been a consistent and key musical […]

Deerhoof  thrives on unorthodox. The SF Bay Area-based band has developed a distinct form of deconstructionist rock, juggling elements of ‘70s prog, experimental jazz, Captain Beefheart, international music and bubblegum pop. At their best, Deerhoof has proved to be a band that can be chaotic, explosive, unpredictable and fun. Their 12th full-length release (not counting […]

When LA’s Dream Syndicate first played NYC’s famous Folk City club in the early ’80s, mayhem ensued. Guitarist Karl Precoda decided to hang from an overhanging pipe during the performance, causing it to break and spilling the contents all over the club. During the proceedings, bandleader Steve Wynn seemed to sneer through the whole messy […]

Sharon Van Etten is precocious for a singer/songwriter with only an EP and one full-length (Because I Was in Love, 2009). Now Brooklyn-based, Van Etten bounced back and forth between Tennessee and New Jersey soaking up a wide array of musical influences, from Neko Case to Bobbie Gentry to Nico, and created her own distinctive […]

Saturn Sings — Mary Halvorson Quartet — Firehouse 12 Emerging from the burgeoning contemporary NY jazz scene, guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson has developed a unique and innovative guitar style, expanding her band and her repertoire on an ever-evolving scale. Exciting, unpredictable and brilliant. Rain on the City — Freedy Johnston — Bar/None NY singer/songwriter […]

The Scottish band Orange Juice was a quartet of young overachievers. Led by quick-witted vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Edwyn Collins, the Glasgow-based band joined a fledging indie label, Postcard Records, under the helm of equally young pop music enthusiast Alan Horne. When it formed in 1979, Orange Juice also featured drummer Steven Daly, bassist David […]

When Icelandic singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Ólöf (pronounced Oluff) Arnalds’ 2007 debut, Vid Og Vid, sold out its initial pressing of 4,000 copies in Iceland, the spare recording of eclectic folk songs nearly reached “gold” status. (In a country of just over 300,000 people, selling 5,000 or more records is considered a “gold record.”) The country’s best-known musical […]

Mary Halvorson’s guitar work can be partly described as someone attempting to walk on a smooth concrete floor slick with cooking oil. Halvorson is a NY-based musician, composer and arranger who explores beyond the length of her fret board as a guitarist and creates compositions with constant angular, unexpected turns, creating a feeling like everything […]

The electric guitar is one of the great (and constructive) creations of innovation, designed and manufactured originally in the U.S. What started out in the 1930s as collaboration between electronic enthusiasts and musicians would eventually see the beginning of mass-produced electric guitars. By the ’60s and early ‘70s, the electric guitar’s presence in music across […]

International singer and composer Natacha Atlas has long fought being pigeonholed. Her first success came with work as lead vocalist with Transglobal Underground, where Atlas’ voice gave a certain kind of “world” credibility to the fusion of heavy dance-beats and international influences. It’s ironic that when she has attempted to move away from that, edging […]