On Demand
Spinning On Air Archive
November 2004
Sylvain Chauveau
Friday, November 26, 2004
Paris-based composer Sylvain Chauveau creates a unique kind of quasi-chamber music that has a gentle intensity, with roots in both modern pop and the music of such early 20th Century French composers as Erik Satie. His subtle, understated album "Nocturne Impalpable" always generates a lot of inquiries when it's played on WNYC. On a brief tour of the U.S., Sylvain visits with host David Garland to talk about his music and to play it on the WNYC piano and his electric guitar, which he plucks, strums, bows, and layers, creating lovely sonic weavings. Also, Parisian writer and performer Felicia Atkinson joins Sylvain for a moody spoken-word pop song abstraction, and Sylvain sings one of his favorite songs by Bill Callahan of Smog.
» See photos of Sylvain Chauveau playing live at WNYC
Devendra Banhart returns with White Buffalo Deer Woman Appears
Friday, November 19, 2004
Two years ago an obscure young songwriter named Devendra Banhart sat on the floor of the WNYC studio and sang his unusual songs on Spinning On Air. Since then, after two new albums, performances around the world, and rave reviews, Devendra has become a rising superstar. Critics grope with such terms as "neo-hippie" and "psych-folk" to describe his style, and the New York Times described him this way: "...with his twitchy, laserlike energy, Mr. Banhart, 23, seems like a brilliant young hobo who needs to connect. His songs are weird, animist dreams of nature and love, over intricate guitar fingerpicking." This week Devendra once again joins host David Garland and brings along his brand new band, White Buffalo Deer Woman Appears, to play new and old songs, and talk about the changes in his life and art. The second hour of the show will feature some of Devendra's current favorite recordings.
» View photos of White Buffalo Deer Woman Appears
Espers and Psych-Folk
Friday, November 12, 2004
The group Espers plays psych-folk. At least that's the category some have placed them in, a category that hasn't had much use since the late 1960s when groups such as The Incredible String Band were making a kind of poetic, experimental, acoustic psychedelia. Now, in 2004, we find ourselves in the midst of a psych-folk revival. The six young Philadelphia-based musicians of Espers visit with host David Garland, and perform several of their moody, subdued-but-intense songs in the WNYC studio. After their live set, Espers become guest DJs, sharing old and new recordings they love.
Hannah Marcus
Friday, November 05, 2004
Hannah Marcus has been writing and recording songs for the last ten years or so, and she's evolved a very personal style. The songs sometimes wander gently, other times they are searching urgently, and their goal seems to be an encounter with the truth. Hannah joins host David Garland in the studio to talk about and to sing some of her encounters, accompanying herself on piano and guitar, joined by an ensemble of viola, cello, harmonium, and sax. While Hannah often writes her own lyrics, she's also collaborated with novelist Rick Moody (The Ice Storm, etc.), not only on her songs but also in the group The Wingdale Community Singers, along with guitarist David Grubbs, and we'll hear some of the smart urban country music this entertaining group has recorded. Hannah's new CD, "Desert Farmers," was recorded with members of the Montreal-based band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Hannah will introduce us to some of their music, too.
David Garland on the Web
All About the WNYC Music Host
David Garland, host of WNYC's Evening Music and Spinning on Air, is also a composer and a performer. He has performed his music extensively in the U.S. and Europe and several of his recordings and downloads are available on his Web site, DavidGarland.com.
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