Though I have no first-hand experience with this, my sense is that it’s more difficult for women and members of the LGBTQ+ to break into the relative mainstream of experimental music. Sure, you could argue that people with an affinity for “outsider” art would naturally be more inclined to accept…
Sixty years after Ornette Coleman released The Shape of Jazz to Come, contemporary musicians continue to challenge and expand upon the core tenets of the genre. Besides its notable anniversary, I mention Coleman’s breakthrough specifically due to its embodiment of disruption. The reception for his playing style has softened considerably…
Covering music for the blog provides both an avenue for curation as well as a means of tracking stylistic movements in various scenes. We’ve used our platform to chronicle the evolution of dissonant death metal, the new wave of traditional heavy metal, progressive stoner/sludge/doom, and a myriad of other subgenres…
Premiering new music from familiar faces is one of our favorite things to do. Not only does it give us the chance to highlight more incredible songs and albums, but it gives our readers another opportunity to discover an artist they may have missed the first time around. Which brings…
Like the seminal Swans album, this column contains an eclectic collection of experimental music recommendations, all of which provide sonic landscapes for the listener to lose themselves within. Expect offerings from the genres of ambient, drone, electroacoustic, free improvisation, post-minimalism and more. … Other writers may do things differently, but…
There’s really nothing like the concert experience. From road trips to overpriced venue beers to unforgettable performances, every show’s pros and cons extrapolate from the music to create new, unique meaning. One of my favorite aspects of live shows, and specifically tours, is the ability for larger acts to introduce…
This column will now be a monthly feature where I point the Heavy crowd to some more obscure releases that deserve to be heard. If you want more obscure and weird music recommendations, visit my website! … Current Banger: Haolin Munk – Planestasia Suite I recently found out and praised extensively the new album…
During my freshman year in college, a friend and I were hanging in my dorm room and listening to BADBADNOTGOOD’s BBNG2. After a couple of songs, he turned to me and mused “What ever happened to jazz? I wish we lived in the days of nights on the town hitting up…
Each month, we always seem to come to the same conclusion when it comes to our Editors’ Picks column: Friday release days open the floodgates and unleash a seemingly endless stream of quality new music. But while some of our Editors and Contributors sit down gleefully each week to dive into this newly stocked treasure…
As a fan of forward-thinking music, it’s been thrilling to watch Travis Laplante grow into an essential experimental artist over the past several years. As both a saxophonist and composer, Laplante has created and contributed to some of the most exceptional releases in modern classical and avant-garde jazz. In between his incredible…
