Soundcheck

Just Don't Call it a "Vanity" Label

Thursday, June 15, 2006

In the past, musician-run record labels were dismissed as vanity projects. But these days, major composers are taking their cue from indie rockers and forming their own labels, from Philip Glass and Michael Nyman to Michael Torke and John Zorn. Today, Torke explains the financial and creative pay-offs of going the "DIY" route; and writer and composer Daniel Felsenfeld explains what this means for music fans. Later on the show: Dayna Kurtz, a slide guitarist and singer with a dusky voice, shares music from her new album, "Another Black Feather." And Brian J. Davis talks about his "Yesterduh" project, wherein he layered 60 individual recordings of the Lennon-McCartney classic "Yesterday," gathered over a month, into one giant polyphonic Beatles extravaganza.

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