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New Sounds from WNYC

New Sounds from WNYC

WNYC Studios

New Sounds is unlike any radio show you've ever heard: a whirlwind tour of new and unusual music from all corners of the globe. New Sounds combs recent recordings for one of the most informative and compelling hours on radio, and aims to make the world smaller. For over 25 years, host John Schaefer has been finding the melody in the rainforest and the rhythm in an orchestra of tin cans. Defying rigid categorization and genre pigeonholing, New Sounds offers new ways to hear the ancient language of song. With guest musicians from David Byrne to Meredith Monk to Ravi Shankar to Philip Glass to Christopher O'Riley to Bang On A Can, Schaefer presents performances (both in-studio and from the New Sounds Live concert series) and premieres new works from the classic and operatic to folk and jazz, and anything else in between. Each show has a theme, ranging from post-rock to klezmer to African blues to minimalism. The variety of cultures and styles explored is boundless. Music you may not have known existed and now can't live without.
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Top 10 New Sounds from WNYC Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best New Sounds from WNYC episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to New Sounds from WNYC for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite New Sounds from WNYC episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

New Sounds from WNYC - August & September 2017 New Releases (Special Podcast)
play

10/04/17 • 56 min

Hear prog-marching band music from Chicago's Mucca Pazza, ambient-gothic Norwegian-Icelandic music from the duo Jo Berger Myhre & Ólafur Björn Ólafsson, jazz-tronic ambient minimalism from London's Portico Quartet, and new work from Danish experimental supergroup Girls in Airports.

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New Sounds from WNYC - Classical Instruments, Contemporary Sounds (Special Podcast)
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04/03/17 • 56 min

Hear music that begins with classical instruments, like the string quartet, piano, or an orchestra, but which is then augmented, enhanced by electronics, percussion, or preparation. Listen to works by English violinist, pianist, and composer Poppy Ackroyd, Netherlands-based composer Peter Adriaansz, and cinematic music from the augmented string quartet amiina.

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New Sounds from WNYC - #3928: With Guitarist Shane Parish (Special Podcast)
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01/11/17 • 56 min

Guitarist Shane Parish, of the instrumental prog-punk band Ahleuchatistas, plays music from his solo record of “weird old Americana” live in the studio on acoustic & prepared guitar.

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New Sounds from WNYC - #3912: With Zakir Hussain & Niladri Kumar (Special Podcast)
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11/01/16 • 51 min

“Indian music does not stop and start with Ravi Shankar.” So says tabla master Zakir Hussain, who, along with young sitar virtuoso, Niladri Kumar, joins John in the studio for a live performance. Niladri Kumar and Zakir Hussain perform a radio-friendly (short) Raga Charukeshi, for Rupak Tal (a seven beat rhythmic cycle) and Raga Bhairavi in Teental (16 beats.)

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New Sounds from WNYC - #3893: With Guitarist Guy Buttery (Special Podcast)
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09/15/16 • 58 min

South African guitarist Guy Buttery visits the studio to perform virtuosic feats of bending, tapping, picking, harmonics, and other techniques and textures yet to be named for guitar. Hear music from his latest record, his sixth, a self-titled wonder of collaborative tunes. Plus, music from the late Malian guitarist and griot Tiécoro Sissoko.

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New Sounds from WNYC - New Music from Ireland Part 3 (Special Podcast)
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06/23/15 • 56 min

This episode continues the series exploring the new music of Ireland. John Schaefer sits down with Jonathan Nangle at the Contemporary Music Centre in Dublin. Nangle tells how Donnacha Dennehy influenced him to explore more experimental music, and then shares how electronics and silence factor into his compositions. Listen to how Nangle uses electronics to subtly augment conventional instrumentation on "Where distant city lights flicker on half-frozen ponds". Hear Nangle explain how his piece "Then Falls by Shadow" takes the inspiration of Irish weather to combine shuffle mode with a choral performance. Later in the hour, John Schaefer talks to David Bremner about his own compositions and playing the pipe organ at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. Hear Bremner's piercing organ compositions "Variations upon 'the usual reason'" and "Amhrán na Leabhar."

PROGRAM #3715 New Music from Ireland: Part 3 (First aired on 4/17/2015)

ARTIST(S)

RECORDING

CUT(S)

SOURCE

Kate Ellis

Jump

Donnacha Dennehy: Aisling Gheal [2:09]

Diatribe Records

Jonathan Nangle

Self-released

DIY Aeolian Harp [:39]

Soundcloud

Jonathan Nangle

new music::new Ireland 2

Where distant city lights flicker on half-frozen ponds [excerpt 1] [2:14]

CMC Ireland

Jonathan Nangle

new music::new Ireland 2

Where distant city lights flicker on half-frozen ponds [excerpt 2] [4:47]

See Above

Ergodos Musicians

I Call To You

Jonathan Nangle: Ich ruf' zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ [2:22]

Ergodos Records

Jonathan Nangle

Commissioned for Dublin SoundLab

untitled (after Dan Flavin) [1:42]

Soundcloud

Jonathan Nangle

Commisioned by David Bremner and Elizabeth Hilliard

Then Falls thy Shadow [:51]

Soundcloud

Jonathan Nangle

Contermporaty Music from Ireland, Volume Nine

Our headlights blew softly into the black illuminating very little [5:21]

CMC Ireland – CMC CD09

Contemporary Music Centre

Jonathan Nangle & David Bremner

Ergodos 2009 'Off-Grid' Festival

Untitled improvisation [1:25]

Soundcloud

David Bremner

Contemporary Music from Ireland, Volume 2

Variations upon ‘the usual reason’ [4:40]

CMC Ireland

David Bremner

L’Air Du Temps

Amhrán na Leabhar [2:49]

Soundcloud

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New Sounds from WNYC - Various Electroacoustic Music (Special Podcast)
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05/26/15 • 56 min

Hear electroacoustic music by Dublin-based Seán Mac Erlaine and Australian-born, London-based Leah Kardos. Plus, music from NY-based GABI, cellist Julia Kent, and Bing & Ruth.

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New Sounds from WNYC - With Missy Mazzoli (Special Podcast)
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05/12/15 • 56 min

Composer, keyboardist and bandleader, Missy Mazzoli, joins John Schaefer to introduce selections from her new recording, “Vespers for a New Dark Age.” The work, commissioned by Carnegie Hall for the 2014 Ecstatic Music Festival, is a 30-minute suite for singers, chamber ensemble and electronics, and is built around text, both spiritual and worldly, by contemporary poet Matthew Zapruder. Mazzoli wrote for the very specific voices of sopranos Martha Cluver, Melissa Hughes and alto Virginia Warnken Kelsey, who all have a lot of experience with contemporary music but also early and Baroque music. Her ensemble Victoire provides dramatic settings while drummer Glenn Kotche (perhaps best known for his work in Wilco) propels the work percussively. Plus, hear selections from Phil Kline’s millennial mass “John the Revelator,” written for the early/new music vocal group Lionheart and the quartet ETHEL.

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New Sounds from WNYC - Gamelan Plus (Special Podcast)

Gamelan Plus (Special Podcast)

New Sounds from WNYC

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04/28/15 • 56 min

Listen to works that include gamelan, but take a more western approach for this New Sounds - like combining Celtic traditional music and Indonesian gamelan in music from Gamelan Son of Lion and composer/sax player and bagpiper Matthew Welch. In the music of Barbara Benary, the co-founder and guiding spirit of Gamelan Son of Lion, there is a juxtaposition of Cape Breton Celtic singing, gamelan and Benary herself on violin. Also, hear the Celtic-Balinese tapestry of Matthew Welch’s chamber rock hybrid Blarvuster with its Scottish bagpipes, Balinese gamelan, and Welch’s vocalizing in Indonesian. Plus, Lou Harrison’s "Threnody for Carlos Chavez," written for viola and gamelan ensemble, and music from NYC-based Patrick Grant, who serves his post-minimalism with a twist of Rock and Balinese gamelan. That, and more.

PROGRAM #3691 Gamelan Plus (First aired on 2/3/2015)

ARTIST(S)

RECORDING

CUT(S)

SOURCE

Gamelan Son of Lion

Sonogram

John Morton: She (really) Had To Go [9:23]

Innova 718 innova.mu

Patrick Grant

Patrick Grant

Fields Amaze [8:35]

Available at cdbaby.com

Gamelan Son of Lion

Sonogram

Barbara Benary: Jigalullaby [8:23]

Innova 718 innova.mu

Matthew Welch & Blarvuster

Blarvuster

Canntaireachd Masolah I [6:23]

Tzadik 8077 tzadik.com

Lou Harrison

Drums Along The Pacific

Threnody for Carlos Chavez [8:00]

New Albion #122 Out of print, but available as a download via Amazon

Bill Alves (performed by Susan Jensen, violin; The HMC American Gamelan)

Mystic Canyon

Mystic Canyon for Violin and Gamelan [5:20]

MicroFest Records Amazon

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New Sounds from WNYC - New Music for String Quartet (Special Podcast)
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04/18/15 • 56 min

Hear unusual music for string quartet on this program, as Australian composer Andrew Byrne, now based in New York, uses the string quartet as a percussion instrument in his work called “Striking.” Then, listen to Bang on a Can All-Star saxman, clarinetist and composer Ken Thomson’s work for the JACK Quartet, “THAW.” There’s also folk-informed music from the singer, songwriter and composer Aoife O Donovan as played by Brooklyn Rider. Hear string quartet music by multi-instrumentalist composer Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ, who plays a traditional Vietnamese string instrument on “Green River Delta,” in collaboration with Kronos Quartet. Plus, hear a work from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams that uses the string quartet as an ambient music ensemble, relying upon harmonics and on tones played on open strings. That, and more.

PROGRAM #3686 Music for String Quartet (First aired on 1/21/2015)

ARTIST(S)

RECORDING

CUT(S)

SOURCE

Ken Thomson (JACK quartet)

THAW

Thaw, excerpt [1:41]

Cantaloupe Records 21095 bangonacan.org

Members of Either/Or Ensemble

Striking; Whispers and Cries

Andrew Byrne: Striking Parts 1 & 2 [7:32]

Available for purchase directly through composer here: andrewbyrne.com

JACK Quartet

John Luther Adams: The Wind in High Places

John Luther Adams: The Wind in High Places - Above Sunset Pass [7:24]

Cold Blue Music CBM 41 coldbluemusic.com

Ken Thomson (JACK quartet)

THAW

THAW: Thaw [10:55]

Cantaloupe Music 21095 bangonacan.org

Brooklyn Rider

Almanac

Aoife O'Donovan: Show Me [4:56]

Mercury Classics / In A Circle Records #002159302 mercuryclassics.com Available at iTunes, Amazon.com, Emusic.com

Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ with Kronos Quartet

Three-Mountain Pass

Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ: Green River Delta/Luu Thuy Truong [4:40]

Innova 866 innova.mu

Members of Either/Or Ensemble

Striking; Whispers and Cries

Andrew Byrne: Striking Parts 3 & 4 [8:30]

Available for purchase directly through composer here: andrewbyrne.com

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FAQ

How many episodes does New Sounds from WNYC have?

New Sounds from WNYC currently has 16 episodes available.

What topics does New Sounds from WNYC cover?

The podcast is about Radio, New, Minimalism, Music, Classic, Folk, Podcasts, Wnyc, Technology, Religion, Jazz, John, Rock, Arts, Africa and Performing Arts.

What is the most popular episode on New Sounds from WNYC?

The episode title 'We've Got Rhythms (Special Podcast of show #3960)' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on New Sounds from WNYC?

The average episode length on New Sounds from WNYC is 55 minutes.

How often are episodes of New Sounds from WNYC released?

Episodes of New Sounds from WNYC are typically released every 14 days, 22 hours.

When was the first episode of New Sounds from WNYC?

The first episode of New Sounds from WNYC was released on Feb 3, 2015.

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