Lamniformes Radio Roundup: October 2020

Two new episodes and a feat. on ex.haust

Now that I’ve switched over to Substack I’ve been trying not to bombard my followers with each individual episode of Lamniformes Radio. In general I try not to beat people over the head with every little thing that I’m doing, but I’m also well aware that getting people to pay attention to you at all requires you to do just that.

The happy compromise: A monthly roundup post where I can put all of the last month’s podcast episodes into a single post.

First up is my interview with Danny Sher of Horse Torso. Sher is the drummer and composer for the group, a four piece math rock/no wave band based around New York State. I first heard this band at Mathcore Index Fest 2018, where their jazz informed approach to math rock stood out immediately. Their latest album Mikropianist blurs the line between improvisation and rigid math rock structure. Led by Sher’s nervy drumming, the band dance through complex rhythms with total disregard to harmonic convention. Sher and I spoke at length about his background in Jazz, his experiences drumming on the internet, the movie Whiplash, and the method behind Horse Torso’s madness.

Two time Lamniformes Radio guest Emmet Penney invited me onto his new podcast ex.haust to talk about the state of the music industry in 2020, with a specific focus on streaming, the effect of COVID on DIY bands, and more broadly what it means to try and make “new music. I get to go full Pynchon-pilled for a stretch, and as all of us are aging millennials there’s also some fond remembrance for a less centralized musical internet. I’m flattered that Emmet invited me on for these two episodes and I had a blast recording them.

ex.haust Episode 4: The Parasocial Music Marketing Machine ft. Ian Cory (Pt. I)

ex.haust Episode 5: The Parasocial Music Marketing Machine ft. Ian Cory (Pt. II)

Finally, the latest episode of Lamniformes Radio, featuring music critic and festival organizer Joseph Schafer. Schafer was my editor when I first joined Invisible Oranges and has remained a friend and collaborator since. In addition to his work as a freelancer, Schafer writes a monthly metal column for Consequence of Sound called Mining Metal, and is part of the team that organizes Northwest Terror Fest, an extreme metal festival based in Seattle, WA. This episode quickly got out of hand because Joseph and I are incapable of talking without busting each other’s chops, going on paragraph long digressions, and firing off takes. The two of us are also working on a limited run podcast about the anime classic Neon Genesis Evangelion called Human Instrumentality Podcast. More info regarding that project soon.