Music

Jon Appleton, the composer who helped develop the digital synthesizer, is dead at 83

4:25pm February 11, 2022

by Liam Elder-Connors

Jon Appleton, who helped develop the digital synthesizer, has died. He was an innovator in what he called "electro-acoustic music," using effects to reshape natural sounds and field recordings.

Jacob Collier: A playful approach to creating music

3:59pm February 11, 2022

Grammy winner Jacob Collier has been called a musical phenomenon; his work is full of joy and spontaneity. He makes a case for why we should emphasize play, passion, and curiosity over practice.

Queue Listen Now

Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama in the "Beg for You" video.

Music & Culture

Charli XCX (feat. Rina Sawayama), 'Beg for You'

2:00pm February 11, 2022

by Reanna Cruz

Joined by fellow Y2K-appreciator Rina Sawayama, Charli XCX adds a wistful, garage spin to September's biggest hit to create the yearning lament that is "Beg for You."

Music & Culture

yMusic, 'Together'

1:39pm February 11, 2022

by Tom Huizenga

Hear a sparkling new chamber piece that, by design, explores the idea of being together.

Music & Culture

Petrol Girls, 'Baby, I Had An Abortion'

12:15pm February 11, 2022

by Lars Gotrich

An unapologetic party-punk raver for the abortion rights movement.

Music & Culture

Ian Noe, 'River Fool'

11:24am February 11, 2022

by Bruce Warren

An exemplary starting point for Ian Noe's Appalachian tales.

Catherine Russell's Tiny Desk (home) concert.

Music & Culture

Catherine Russell: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

10:25am February 11, 2022

by Suraya Mohamed

The celebrated jazz singer performs a selection of popular early jazz standards at the GB Juke Joint Studio.

Raveena's galactic journey back down to Earth

5:09am February 11, 2022

On her new album, Asha's Awakening, the artist Raveena sends her protagonist on a thousand-year intergalactic journey of discovery, all in order to better understand her own place on Earth.

"It's my job to be honest, that's all that's required of me as an artist," Japanese American artist Hikaru Utada tells NPR.

Music & Culture

Breaking the boundaries of language and genre, Hikaru Utada finds freedom

7:46pm February 10, 2022

by Michelle Hyun Kim

Japanese American pop star Hikaru Utada has forged a boundary-breaking legacy merely being true to themself.

Whitney Houston's legacy lives on 10 years after her death

4:44pm February 10, 2022

NPR's Adrian Florido talks with music critic Gerrick Kennedy, who has spent a lot of time researching and thinking about Whitney Houston's lasting legacy, about his book: Didn't We Almost Have it All.