Best of Electronic Music Podcasts 

Episode 25 John Ubel formed AskaTemple in 1996.The music he made in some sense is otherworldly, filled with swirling extended celestial guitar excursions. Tracks were often 20 to 40 minutes in length, sonically saturated at times, pulsing and highly rhythmic.

His guitar sound seemed as if he is playing in a trance-like state, with band members at times serving as a pulse propelling the musical energy to higher levels of intensity.

The music of AskaTemple transcended the level of being simply music. It evoked the spiritual essence of John himself. Sadly, John Ubel died OCT 20, 2012 at 46 years old, leaving behind a musical legacy consisting of 30 LTD Edition albums of extreme, minimalist psychedelia.

Episode 24 Stomu Yamash’ta performed his first concert ”Percussion Concerto” with the Kyoto Philharmonic Orchestra in 1963 at the age of 16. By age 17 he had transplanted to NYC and entered Julliard.

During the 1970’s he became internationally renowned, releasing a series of albums adapting his more adventurous style to the creation of a new fusion of experimental jazz, symphonic and rock music. He released 3 albums entitled Go, featuring a cast of international superstar musicians

In the 80s, he reached a spiritual impasse, returning to Kyoto where he took up buddhist studies. Yamash’ta returned to music when in the 1990s he discovered the musical powers of Sanukit stones. Sanukit stones are a particular form of volcanic rock found near Mt. Kanayama in Japan. They generate sound over an 8000 Hz spectrum, creating an 88-tone range. Using these stones, he created an entire line of new instruments and began creating a new sound concept, “sacred music of the stones”.

Most recently, Yamash’ta has released a new album IN Zen Music, and been involved in the creation of a film documentary & transcontinental opera, a DBL DVD entitled Walking on Sound – Zen & Viking Opera.

Eurock LIVE Podcast #24 features the latest music by Japan’s foremost modern music composer Stomu Yamash’ta. We think you will find it quite unlike anything else you have heard. - Download Episode 24 (~63 MB)

Episode 23 In the beginning, there was the music of nature. First came the thunder, then rain, the oceans and rushing rivers. Following that was the wind, birds, bees and pounding heartbeat of man. Luis Perez went back 3,000 years and discovered the first instruments of the Pre-Columbian era.

Since 1971, Luis has dedicated his life to the study of Pre-Columbian musical instruments and researching musical traditions among Mexico’s ethnic groups. In 1980, he released his first album and pioneered a unique new music genre in the process. In the Navel of the Moon featured modern music he composed and played on those ancient instruments.

Thirty years later in 2000, Luis received the Fellowship Award from the California Arts Council for his modern composition featuring Pre-Columbian instruments, Sanctuary of the Butterflies. Since then he has toured the American Continent performing, lecturing and teaching the history of ancient music. He has also composed music for dance, theater and film productions.

Episode 22 To kick off 2012, we have a very special multi-media program for you. Eurock Podcast # 22 features music and video by Art Zoyd from France.

Art Zoyd formed in the mid 1970’s. Their musical influences were Magma, mixed with Zappa. They combined those with their French flair for improvisation into a stark, skeletal and frenetic structure to create a new hybrid of freewheeling “gypsy jazz” and neo-chamber music.

Initially aligned with the “Rock in Opposition” movement, the bands focus later turned to making music that engaged the intellect and became more structured and composed. They wrote scores for dance performances as well as multi-media installations.