Spinning On Air Archive
January 2007
Orchestral Song
Sunday, January 28, 2007
It can be effective to hear some songs performed in the spare, stripped down setting of one voice and one instrument, but when it's handled well, orchestration can both expand and enhance the possibilities and power of songs. Host David Garland presents some infrequently heard examples of imaginatively orchestrated songs performed by Pete Fine, Julie Covington, Janis Ian, Karen Beth, Jack Nitzsche, Chad & Jeremy, Peter & Gordon, Nick Drake, David Stoughton, Peter Ivers' Band with Yolanda Bavan, Scott Walker, Tim Buckley, plus the Dutch group Bauer with the Metropole Orchestra.
Peter Walker
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Guitarist Peter Walker recorded his first album, "Rainy Day Raga," in 1966. Back then he was already combining his knowledge of Indian music and Flamenco into a compelling, psychedelic blend. On his 1969 album, "Second Poem to Karmela or Gypsies Are Important," he played the Indian sarode and electric keyboards, pushing his blend still further. Then, after serving as music director for some of Dr. Timothy Leary's Happenings and working as a garage mechanic, Peter Walker seemed to disappear. But Walker has emerged again, and after recent years of intensive Flamenco study in Spain, he's advancing in new directions. He also proves to be a thoughtful raconteur and vital performer, as you can hear when he joins host David Garland to converse and play in the WNYC studio.
View photos from the session
Peter Walker at Tompkins Square Records
Walker's early albums are newly available on iTunes:
Rainy Day Raga
Second Poem to Karmela or Gypsies Are Important
Untamed
Sunday, January 14, 2007
The experimental spirit of late 1960s music generally blanded out in the '70s, but there were still some musicians who remained untamed. The 1971 album "First Utterance" by the English band Comus was disorienting in its day, but now the musical landscape has changed in such a way to make that album sound right at home. Host David Garland presents imaginative, obscure songs from the '70s by Comus, Magic Carpet, Wizz Jones, These Trails, Dr. Strangely Strange, Extradition, Justine, and Brigitte Fontaine & Areski, as well as recent music that fits right in by Inlets, and Fursaxa.
The Best of 2006's Sessions, part 2
Sunday, January 07, 2007
2006 was another great year for in-studio performances on Spinning On Air, so this week we'll hear more of the passionate, compelling, surprising music recorded for the program during the past year.
Featured are artists who are finding new paths connecting art and pop, and new ways to reach us with music. Host David Garland has chosen examples of great, creative songwriting in performances that can't be heard anywhere else. This week: Currituck Co., Et Ret, Juana Molina, Vetiver, Lisa Germano, Metallic Falcons, Seductive Sprigs, Danielson, Death Vessel, W-S Burn, Vashti Bunyan solo, Wooden Wand solo. Part one, featuring Akron/Family, Feathers, Vashti Bunyan & Ens., Islaja, Mi & L'au, White Magic, Nat Baldwin, Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice, Timesbold, Au Revoir Simone, The Weird Weeds, Bridget St. John, and Nomi, can be heard here.
Hear the full sessions and interviews:
Currituck Co.
Et Ret
Juana Molina
Vetiver
Lisa Germano
Metallic Falcons
Seductive Sprigs
Danielson
Death Vessel
W-S Burn
Vashti Bunyan
Wooden Wand
Windows 
Windows 
Windows 
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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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