Music Interviews

Wajatta is a sort of musical odd couple: John Tejada (left) is a meticulous electronic composer and Reggie Watts (right) improvises all his music. Their album, Don't Let Get You Down, is out now.

Music & Culture

'Art Shouldn't Be Painful': How Wajatta Combines Improvisation And Production

5:04am February 28, 2020

The electronic duo, composed of improvisational musician and comedian Reggie Watts and LA dance music powerhouse John Tejada, talk about their second album, Don't Let Get You Down.

"I'm trying to let go of the worrying thing, and that's what I've loved the most about this album, rather than the first one," Harry Styles says of making his album Fine Line.

Music & Culture

Harry Styles On 'Fine Line,' Stevie Nicks And His Definition Of Success

5:54pm February 27, 2020

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks to the pop superstar and former One Direction member about the creative and commercial pressure behind making his sophomore album.

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Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique are performing all nine of Beethoven's symphonies in a series of concerts celebrating the composer's 250th birthday.

Music & Culture

Revisiting Beethoven's Beloved, Radical Symphonies For His 250th Birthday

9:45am February 25, 2020

Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts all nine symphonies this year. He spoke about the surprisingly political side of Beethoven's music with All Things Considered.

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"This story isn't unique to us. There's a lot of parents and kids going through this same thing," Katie Pruitt says of confronting her sexuality and her mother on her debut album, Expectations.

Music & Culture

A Debut Album That Confronts Ingrained 'Expectations' With Emotional Clarity

5:41pm February 24, 2020

by Jewly Hight

Singer-songwriter Katie Pruitt grew up in a conservative Catholic family in Georgia. On her debut album, she sings about the pressure she felt growing up to hide her sexuality from her family.

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Music & Culture

Banoffee Goes From Background To Album Cover

7:27am February 23, 2020

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Singer-songwriter Banoffee talks about the making of her debut album, "Look At Us Now Dad," and what it took to make it as a musician in Los Angeles after leaving her native Australia.

Balloons are a central feature of every Loft party.

Music & Culture

Still Saving The Day: The Most Influential Dance Party In History Turns 50

2:10pm February 19, 2020

by Piotr Orlov

The Loft, a party that David Mancuso first threw at his Manhattan home 50 years ago, seeded a community — and cemented a belief system that continues to reverberate.

Music & Culture

Encore: On 'Seeking Thrills,' Georgia Channels A Lifetime On The Dance Floor

4:05pm February 18, 2020

British musician Georgia has a new album out full of throwback dance beats and stripped-back vocals. It's called Seeking Thrills. She speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro.

Rachael & Vilray first met in 2003 when they were students at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, but didn't begin performing together until 2015.

Music & Culture

Rachael & Vilray Share A Mic — And A Love Of Old Swing Standards

1:31pm February 18, 2020

by Sam Briger

The music duo perform songs from their self-titled debut album, which draws on the music of the '30s and '40s. "There is a timeless quality to these old standards," Vilray says.

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"I feel like I've always been referencing back to those dark childlike adventure stories," Natasha Khan says of the '80s films that inspired the latest Bat for Lashes album, Lost Girls.

Music & Culture

On 'Lost Girls,' Bat For Lashes Spins A Vampire Fairy Tale With Synth-Pop

6:08pm February 16, 2020

After her 2016 release, The Bride, Natasha Khan didn't know if she'd make another album. But she moved to LA, starting working on a script for a vampire film and found herself writing a concept album.

Weather is the first record of original music from Huey Lewis & The News in nearly 20 years.

Music & Culture

Facing Hearing Loss, Huey Lewis Releases What 'May Be' His Last Album

9:47pm February 15, 2020

by Leila Fadel

Huey Lewis & The News just released their first album of original music in almost 20 years. But Weather also might be the last for the band's frontman, whose hearing collapsed two years ago.

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