Podcast
Soundcheck
Hosted by WNYC Studios · EN
WNYC, New York Public Radio, brings you Soundcheck, the arts and culture program hosted by John Schaefer, who engages guests and listeners in lively, inquisitive conversations with established and rising figures in New York City's creative arts scene. Guests come from all disciplines, including pop, indie rock, jazz, urban, world and classical music, technology, cultural affairs, TV and film. Recent episodes have included features on Michael Jackson,Crosby Stills & Nash, the Assad Brothers, Rackett, The Replacements, and James Brown.
43episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Tank and the Bangas Stay Lifted With Playful Tunes, In-Studio
5d ago00:32:08Tap to summarizeThe New Orleans band Tank and the Bangas have built their considerable reputation on a high-energy, exuberant blend of R&B, funk, hip hop, spoken word, gospel, and pop. Listeners may recall how the band first introduced themselves to the public radio community in 2017 by winning the NPR Tiny Desk contest, and have since been awarded a GRAMMY. Their new album is called The Last Balloon, and it completes a trilogy that began with Green Balloon in 2019 and Red Balloon in 2022. Tank and the Bangas play a few fizzy-lifting, playful, and cathartic songs from the Last Balloon, in-studio. Set List: 1.Move 2. No Invite 3. Whole World Photo of Tank and the Bangas by Jeremy Tauriac Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →
English Post-Punk Duo Sleaford Mods Spares No Fury, In-Studio
1w ago00:37:55Tap to summarizeNottingham post-punk duo Sleaford Mods have built their career on going against the grain, challenging the British class system, capitalism, and pop culture. They’d tear it all down if they could. Vocalist Jason Williamson and producer Andrew Fearn are known for their relentless streams of expletive-laden takedowns of social and political hypocrisy, but they’re also catchy in their own minimalist, not suitable for a workplace way. Sleaford Mods’ latest album is called The Demise of Planet X, and they perform some of these danceable and ferocious rants, in-studio. Set list: 1. I Don't Rate you 2. Megaton 3. Elitist G.O.A.T. Photo by Ewen Spencer/Courtesy of the artist Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →
Avant-folk Composer Em Spel Sings Beguiling Songs, In-Studio
2w ago00:31:34Tap to summarizeEmma Hospelhorn is known as a flutist when she goes by her full name, especially as a member of Chicago’s Ensemble Dal Niente; the acclaimed collective that brings experimental chamber music to the masses. But when she steps into the universe of her solo project, Em Spel, she writes and sings surreal, beguiling songs that fall somewhere in between dream pop, art rock, and folk music. The multi-instrumentalist has a new album out, titled Bird or Snake, in which she occasionally breaches the constraints of tonality and uses layering techniques to texturize the organic elements that define her sound. The pandemic carved out enough space in Hospelhorn’s busy schedule for the creation of new Em Spel songs, some of which she performs live with her band for this episode of Soundcheck. (- Sırma Munyar) Setlist: 1. The Poet 2.Sea Wall 3.Geographic Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →
The Klezmatics Were Made For These Times (In-Studio)
2w ago00:37:45Tap to summarizeThe Klezmatics have never been just a klezmer band. From their beginnings 40 years ago, they’ve fused klezmer music, rooted in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, with the sounds of jazz, psychedelia, Latin music, punk energy, gospel fervor, global rhythms, and even ambient music. They’re also a band whose music rises to meet the moment, from their debut album Shvaygn = Toyt, silence equals death, released during the height of the AIDS epidemic, to their latest album, which is a 40th-anniversary statement called We Were Made For These Times. It uses music as activist art to speak to questions of immigration, labor, and belonging - answering with urgency, care, faith, community, and collective action, (Bandcamp liner notes). The Klezmatics play some of these anthemic songs of resilience and joy, in-studio. Set list: 1. Un du akerst 2. Elegy for the Innocents 3. Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportee) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →
Texas Aficionado Ryan Bingham Plays New Songs, In-Studio
3w ago00:29:59Tap to summarizeRyan Bingham may be known as the character, Walker, on the hit neo-Western television series Yellowstone by many; but he’s also built a fandom around his rich Americana discography, spanning seven studio albums in 19 years. Earning an Oscar and a Grammy for “The Weary Kind”, the theme song for the film Crazy Heart co-written with T Bone Burnett, jumpstarted Bingham’s music career back in 2010. Since then, he’s been composing, recording, and performing his heartfelt songs that sound like they belong in a different time from decades past. Playing slide guitar and singing raspy melodies with ease, Bingham embodies the persona of an artist who appreciates the melting pot of Texas – so much so that he recently starred in a short film called Love Letter to Texas, written and directed by Jeff Nichols. And though Bingham may not be a troubadour, he certainly performs like one, both in the studio and on stage. His latest album, titled They Call Us the Lucky Ones and recorded with the Dallas-based collective The Texas Gentlemen, is a testament to his willingness to welcome spontaneity, recounting his stories in the moment as they come. You can feel the same spirit on this episode of Soundcheck, as Bingham performs some of his new songs solo at our Manhattan studios. (- Sırma Munyar) Setlist: 1. Let the Big Dog Eat 2. Relevance 3. Blue Skies Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →
Hiss Golden Messenger's Warm and Earthy Folk-Rock, In-Studio
3w ago00:35:55Tap to summarizeHiss Golden Messenger is the band led by singer/songwriter and guitarist M.C. Taylor, whose Americana folk and roots music has featured a rotating cast of characters, many but not all of them from North Carolina’s rich and varied musical scene. The band’s latest album is called I’m People, a simple enough title for a record that opens up onto some expansive ideas on what it means to be human and alive in America in 2026. Warm and twangy, soulful and jangly, M.C. Taylor and the current lineup of Hiss Golden Messenger play some of these songs, in-studio. Set list: 1. In The Middle of It 2. Last Orders 3. Mercy Avenue Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →
Multi-instrumentalist Julieta Venegas Lets Go of the Past, In-Studio
4w ago00:32:17Tap to summarizeMexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas is considered a living legend among her peers. But when it’s just her and her favorite musical instruments, like the piano, the accordion, or the Venezuelan cuatro guitar, her artistry is just as raw, honest, and vulnerable as it was in her early days in music. On her new record, Norteña, Venegas acknowledges the fact that none of us are as innocent as we used to be. Missing that pre-internet naïveté and going back to her roots played a big part in her writing process. Still, she’s not one to live in the past. As she puts it: “You have to let go of things… Even the things you think are really the best moments of your life are not going to be, because then you’re going to keep on going, and you’re going to find other best things in your life.” This art of being at peace with present time is most apparent on this edition of Soundcheck, where she performs two singles from her new album, as well as a beloved song from two decades ago. In the studio, Venegas is known to fuse pop, rock, and regional Mexican music with well-thought-out and expansive arrangements. But here, she picks up a different instrument for each song, singing and playing organically, as she injects her momentary emotions into every note. (- Sırma Munyar) Setlist: 1. La Línea 2. Tiempos Dorados 3. Oleada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →
Gamelan Yowana Sari Brings the Brilliant Bursts of Metal
May 700:53:37Tap to summarizeGamelan Yowana Sari is a Balinese art ensemble in residence at the Aaron Copland School of Music at CUNY Queens College made up of students, alumni, faculty, and community patrons – all guided by GYS founder Michael Lipsey and co-directors Fred Trumpy and Ruka Shironishi. This contemporary group of percussionist ringers (ahem) are “fostering the creation of new works for gamelan”, and are “deeply committed to the transmission of Balinese culture through traditional music” (Bandcamp). GYS recently traveled to Bali to record some of these new works - some for gamelan and electric guitars- for their self-titled debut album, (which is out now on Cantaloupe Music.) Recently, they traveled from Queens and elsewhere with their heavy metal arsenal of traditional metallophones and gongs; 7- and 8- string guitars; and a hi-hat turtle to play (and count in cycles of fives and sevens) in the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space. Bonus - there's also a tour of the instruments! (- Caryn Havlik) 1. Stones Are the Flowers (Kyle Miller) 2. Guirlandes, mvt 1 (Theo Merigeau) 3. aERIFORm kiTE (Evan Ziporyn) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →
Sofía Rei Connects Traditional and Future Sounds, In-Studio
May 400:40:25Tap to summarizeNew York-based Sofia Rei is a Grammy-nominated vocalist, songwriter and producer from Buenos Aires, Argentina who was classically trained as a singer and fell in love with Brazilian music. Her new album, Antónima expands the concept of chamber music, looks to South American and Caribbean dance music (cumbia, candombe), and combines elements of Oya’s healing thunder and improvisation – all while flirting with jazz and experimental pop - as she and longtime collaborator and co-producer JC Maillard skillfully layer her voice and electronic sounds. Then there’s the all-star lineup of featured guest musicians on the album - many of them visionary Latin American women creators – who help Sofía Rei to celebrate future sounds. She and JC Maillard play in-studio. (- Caryn Havlik) Set list: 1. El Mundo Es Redondo (Anonimous) 2. Si Una Cae 3. Marciana Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →
Indie-rock Songwriter Morgan Nagler Sings Her Unfiltered Songs, In-Studio
Apr 3000:30:25Tap to summarizeMorgan Nagler writes new songs every day, whether she’s in a room with the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and HAIM, or by herself playing an acoustic guitar in her bedroom. When she’s collaborating with other artists, there’s a lot of thought put into what each song is supposed to be about. But in private, Nagler refers to her tried and true “puke method”, eager to see what emerges, unfiltered. Then perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that her debut album, which was born after a series of side projects, carries an intimate, conversational tone. Despite the layered electric guitar textures and thoroughly arranged instrumentals, Nagler sings as though she’s right there, sitting next to you. In her co-write sessions with other artists, she “shows up and there’s nothing, but by the end of the day, you’ve got a song with a nice demo recorded. And then, you can just wipe your hands of it.” Such is the privilege of a songwriter stepping into another artist’s universe. In her own universe though, Nagler assesses all her heartbreaks and existential crises, summing it all up with an appropriate album title: I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It In the making of her album, Nagler had “the time of her life”, having so many of her collaborators show up for her passion project. But for this edition of Soundcheck, she’s accompanied by nothing but her own guitar, putting her story in front and center. (- Sırma Munyar) Setlist: 1. Cradle the Pain 2. Hurt 3. Heartbreak City Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →