Essential Tremors

Over the course of three decades and 22 studio albums, John Darnielle's band The Mountain Goats have blazed a fiercely independent, lo-fi trail that has since been followed by many indie bands.

In this episode, Darnielle discusses how songs by Stockholm Monsters, Digital Underground and Ava Gabriel shaped his creative process.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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French musician Cécile Schott, who records as Colleen, has spent the past 20 years building a fantastic sound world from samples and loops, with albums on the esteemed Leaf and Thrill Jockey labels.

In this episode, she talks about how music by Lee "Scratch" Perry, the Beatles and This Heat changed her life.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Kim Deal has amassed a staggering body of beguiling pop songs over the past three decades with her bands the Breeders and the Amps.

On this episode, she talks about how songs by Hank Williams, Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd shaped her course.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood has built a rich solo sideline as a soundtrack composer and collaborator with other artists.

In this episode, he discusses how pieces by Abdel Halim Hafez, Kraftwerk and Mohamed Abdel Wahab influenced his recent album with Kuwaiti-Israeli musician Dudu Tassa.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Reeds player Henry Threadgill has capped a storied 50-plus-year career as a bandleader and composer with a superb new memoir of his life and thoughts about music entitled Easily Slip Into Another World.

In this episode, he discusses how music by Howlin' Wolf, Thelonious Monk and James Brown shaped his course.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Kuwaiti-Israeli musician Dudu Tassa's latest record, a collaboration with Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, is a love letter of sorts to a variety of favorite, but potentially lost-to-the-ages songs of the Middle East. 

Titled Jarak Qaribak, which translates to "Your neighbors are your friends," the Nigel Godrich-mixed record features guest vocalists from across the region taking on songs dear to Tassa's and their hearts.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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British trio the Clientele make guitar pop as literate as it is melodic.

In this episode, frontman Alasdair MacLean discusses how music by Boards of Canada, Love and Michael Jon Fink influenced him.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Australian experimentalist Oren Ambarchi has charted a course that crosses modern composition, post-rock and electronic music without ever lingering long in any genre.

In this episode, he talks about how music by Keith Jarrett, Miles Davis and Alvin Lucier shaped his work.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Art-pop duo Water From Your Eyes specializes in a hazy blend of beats, bites, luxe melodies and wry lyrics.

Nate Amos discusses how music by Scott Walker, Jute Gyte and Ben Johnston shaped the group's sound.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Stephen O'Malley is best known as a guitarist for drone-metal band Sunn0))), but his musical practice spans composing, collaborations with a host of contemporary artists and a span of other groups, such as electronic duo KTL and dirge-metal legend Khanate.

In this episode, recorded live at the Big Ears Festival, he discusses how music by Fugazi, Pita and Iancu Dumitrescu influenced his work.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Harpist Brandee Younger is blazing a trail for her instrument across jazz, soul, and many stops in between.

In this episode, she discusses how music by Alice Coltrane, Tank and the Bangas, and Dorothy Ashby shaped her work.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Singer/songwriter and former Essential Tremors guest Will Oldham guest hosts this episode featuring a conversation with June Tabor, whose long career belies the simple label "folk singer."

They discuss Danny Kaye, Anne Briggs, learning to sing, Frank Sinatra and Robert Plant.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Bassist William Parker has spent 50 years at the heart of jazz, as a collaborator with many of the music's greats and as a composer and bandleader in his own right.

In this episode, recorded live at the Big Ears Festival in 2023, he discusses how Duke Ellington, Don Cherry and Cecil Taylor shaped his work.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Under the name Scritti Politti, Green Gartside has been making smart, cutting-edge pop for decades, on his own terms and his own schedule. On this episode, he discusses how tracks by the Paragons, Robert Wyatt, and the Albion Country Band shaped his work.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Guitarist Bill Orcutt has gone from noise artist to an iconoclastic solo guitarist who redefined his own relationship with the instrument, deconstructs American standards, and now composes music for larger groups.

In this episode, he discusses how music by Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland, and Joseph Spence shaped his course.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has carved out a career as an instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and collaborator who has played with a spread of artists within and beyond the jazz world, including instrumental power trio Messthetics.

In this episode, he discusses how tunes by Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp and Abdullah Ibrahim, and Sonny Rollins influenced his playing.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Mary Halvorson is often classified as a jazz guitarist, but her work — fluid, soulful and inventive — pushes boundaries, having been described as "the most future-seeking guitarist working right now" by NPR and "an unflinching original who has revealed new possibilities within the music" by The New York Times.

Hear how songs by Jimi Hendrix, Yusef Lateef and Robert Wyatt guided her musical development.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Outsized British group caroline has grabbed attention with an expansive sound that mixes elements of folk, postpunk, and choral music to create a surging, emotional effect.

In this episode, members Jasper Llewellyn and Mike O’Malley discuss the music that shaped the band’s sound.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Even after over four decades-long career, English songwriter and working class provocateur Billy Bragg still stands as one of the most influential artists of the era of U.K. punk.

Hear how songs by Smokey Robinson, Little Feat, and The Who have played significant roles in his life.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Composer Kali Malone transforms the spartan musical language of minimalism through unusual tunings and reframing sacred sounds like pipe organ and choir.

In this episode, she discusses how My Bloody Valentine, Hindustani classical music, and Josquin des Prez shaped her art.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Composer/performer Carl Stone has built a body of work out of reimagining a world of existing sounds and music into sometimes witty, often beautiful electronic music of his own.

In this episode, he discusses how music by Thomas Tallis, Captain Beefheart, and Sheik Chinna Moulana influenced his work.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Ashley Capps helped reinvent the music festival with Bonnaroo, then did it again with Big Ears, the eclectic annual celebration of jazz, folk, electronic music, and other flavors of music he mounts each spring in Knoxville, TN.

In this episode, he discusses how encounters with the music of Steve Reich, Julius Hemphill, and the Ramones shaped his course.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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As a founding member of New York City's Interpol, guitarist Daniel Kessler has been integral in the shaping of their sound. Hear how songs by Fugazi, Tappa Zukie, and Aphex Twin helped put him on his creative path.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Drummer Brendan Canty powered the seminal D.C. post-punk band Fugazi and continues to blaze a trail in the instrumental trio The Messthetics.

In this episode, he discusses how songs by Parliament, Scritti Politti, and King Crimson shaped his music.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Claire Rousay's music combines field recordings, Auto-Tuned vocals, conventional instruments, spoken word, and other elements with a subtlety that both attracts and subverts terms like "ambient" and "sound art." In this episode, she discusses how tracks by Ryu Hankil, Elliott Smith, and K. Mulhern shaped her work.

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Producer, MC, actor, director—the RZA has expanded his leadership of hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan into a decade-spanning, multi-hyphenate creative career. On this episode, the RZA discusses how Isaac Hayes, the theme from Love Story, and a famous hip-hop break shaped his work.

Essential Tremors is produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner and distributed by Your Public Studios.

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Singer/songwriter Will Oldham has created a vast and beguiling body of work under his own name, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, and Palace and its variations, as well as through numerous collaborations. In this episode, he discusses how songs by Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, Al Jarreau, and the Mekons influenced his music.

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Geordie Greep's guitar and idiosyncratic vocals have helped make uncategorizable London band Black Midi into an international sensation. In this episode, he discusses how songs by Warren Zevon, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and Frank Zappa influenced his music.

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Electronic musician Jon Hopkins is well-known in certain circles as the creator of numerous thoughtful, yet in many cases danceable, records. He's also had his hand in some enormously commercially successful records, however, as a producer and guest musician, such as Coldplay's "Viva la Vida," as well as in several co-productions with Brian Eno. In this episode, he discusses the effect songs by Eno and Harold Budd, Ozric Tentacles, and Orbital had on him.

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Brooklyn-based jazz trumpeter Jaimie Branch has established a significant following and accumulated many critical accolades, both here in America and abroad.  In this episode, she talks about how songs by Nirvana, Sun Ra, and Eric Dolphy made her the artist she is today.

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As frontman for Sleaford Mods, Jason Williamson has brought working-class anger and surly wit to the duo's bumping minimalist tracks. On this episode, he talks about how second-wave UK punk, Raekwon, and Two Lone Swordsmen shaped his music.

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Guitarist Steve Gunn has carved out a career as both a singer/songwriter and a six-string explorer. In this episode, he discusses the impact music by Richard Thompson, Mary Margaret O’Hara, and Solange has had on his work.

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Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer is one of the most respected musicians of his generation, as borne out by the accolades he’s received to date, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2013, a Doris Duke Performing Artists Award, and a lifetime appointment as a Professor of the Arts at Harvard University.  His work is far from coldly academic, however: soulful, delicate, nuanced, and mesmerizing, it reflects a complex but highly focused mind dedicated with singular purpose to his craft.

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Alan Sparhawk, along with his spouse (and previous Essential Tremors guest) Mimi Parker), have, as Low, managed to not only maintain a collaborative and marital union for the better part of thirty years, but to constantly forge ahead artistically over the course of their 13 studio albums. Somehow managing to sound familiar but also intriguingly new with each release, the band has consistently retained the intimacy of their earliest work while also taking bold risks that continually endear them to new listeners and earn them ever greater critical accolades. Their newest record, HEY WHAT, was released by Sub Pop on September 10, 2021.

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Composer Ellen Fullman has spent the past 40 years developing and exploring the Long String Instrument, a sui generis room-sized installation capable of creating a galaxy of tones and overtones. In this episode, she discusses the influence of traditional Ainu music, Central African polyphony, and com
poser Pauline Oliveros.

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Richard Thompson is an English singer-songwriter whose work spans over five decades and who has likely influenced many of your favorite bands and musicians with his distinct, virtuosic guitar-playing. Thompson could also be credited with bringing Celtic and other traditional folk influences to bear on mainstream rock music through his work with his first band, Fairport Convention, in the 1960’s. His song choices here reflect this legacy as well as his own family's personal history.

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Washington, DC-based singer/guitarist Mary Timony has built a deeply respected career through a series of bands like Autoclave, Helium, Wild Flag, and Ex Hex, as well as solo music. In this episode, she talks about how the music of Jimi Hendrix, the Velvet Underground, and Moondog shaped her own work.

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Suzanne Vega has spanned four decades with her deceptively cool singing voice and urbane songwriting. On this episode, she discusses how the music of Bob Dylan, Philip Glass, and Lou Reed guided her path.

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Stephen Morris drove the shift from punk to postpunk as the drummer for Joy Division and New Order, and helped further open postpunk to new sounds. On this episode, he discusses how the music of Can, Terry Riley, and Grandmaster Flash shaped his course.

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Tricky has created his own sound world over the past 25 years, built from broken hip-hop beats, forlorn chanteuses, and shadowy mutters. In this episode, he talks about the impact of Nirvana, Billie Holiday, and T. Rex on his life.

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Singer/guitarist Mdou Moctar has blazed a trail for electrified Tuareg music from his native Niger through the music venues of Europe and the U.S. In this episode, he talks about how Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, and Tinariwen shaped his own music.

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Kristin Hersh has built a devoted following with her one-of-a-kind singing and songwriting, as a solo artist and as leader of the bands Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave. On this episode, she discusses how traditional ballads, Nick Drake, and Vic Chesnutt impacted her own work.

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Brandon Soderberg has worked as a music critic, an altweekly editor, and a reporter on the frontlines of protest. He’s now the co-author of I Got a Monster, a book about the Baltimore Police Department’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force. On this episode, he discusses how music from OutKast, Fabio Frizzi, and Jason Isbell shaped his work.

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