madwonko, Author at RadioPeng

CCCP Fedeli alla Linea: Punk Liturgies in the People’s Disco

If punk ever took communion in a red banner-lit chapel while screaming about factory alienation and grilled sausages, it would sound like CCCP Fedeli alla Linea. Forget what you know about punk. This wasn't three-chord rebellion in a dingy London pub. CCCP was a performance-art ritual, a dadaist cabaret dressed in Red Army drag, a sonic riot happening simultaneously in Reggio Emilia, Kabul, and a crumbling Catholic cathedral. Their name […]

June 22, 2025 311 2

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General

Mina: The Voice That Disappeared but Never Left

If the gods of pop decided to whisper secrets into human ears, they’d probably sound a bit like Mina. To call Mina just a singer is like calling the Colosseum just a pile of rocks. This woman didn't just dominate the Italian charts for decades—she redefined what it meant to have a voice, a face, and then, gloriously, no face at all. That’s right. In 1978, she walked away from […]

June 21, 2025 16 3

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Ambient

The Holy Minimalist: Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru and the Sound of Sacred Solitude

In a world that rewards noise, speed, and spectacle, the music of Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru arrives like morning fog drifting through a sunlit chapel—gentle, quiet, and utterly unbothered by the demands of modern life. A classically trained pianist turned Ethiopian Orthodox nun, Emahoy’s life is a journey through war, exile, silence, and spiritual transcendence. Her compositions, mostly written in solitude and humility, feel like whispered conversations with the eternal. […]

June 20, 2025 12 1 2

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General

Carol Kaye Said No—And Rock ‘n’ Roll Might Finally Deserve It

Some legends wear leather. Some wield Stratocasters like swords. And some—like Carol Kaye—lay down the bottom-end thunder of an entire generation while looking like your friend’s unassuming cool aunt who happens to know exactly where the beat belongs. Carol Kaye, the bass-playing polymath behind hundreds of your favorite songs (even if you don't know it), reportedly turned down an invitation to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of […]

June 20, 2025 9 1 2

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Avant-Garde Jazz

William Parker: The Sonic Shaman of Free Jazz

If jazz is a galaxy, William Parker is its rogue comet—blazing, untethered, radiant with centuries of ancestral fire and a homemade bow on a one-stringed bass. You don’t just listen to William Parker; you fall into a trance, wake up somewhere in a Brooklyn loft circa 1982, and realize you’ve just witnessed a séance conducted entirely through upright bass, pocket trumpet, and spontaneous human combustion. For the uninitiated, William Parker […]

June 19, 2025 7 1 2

Ambient

Falling Down the Autechre Rabbit Hole

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what music would sound like if composed by a sentient fax machine experiencing existential dread inside a collapsing geometry engine—congratulations, your ears are ready for Autechre. Formed by Rob Brown and Sean Booth in the late '80s, Autechre isn’t so much a band as it is an interdimensional math experiment gone delightfully rogue. They came up through Warp Records in the golden age of […]

June 18, 2025 7

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Ambient

The Curious Case of Aphex Twin

If you’ve ever wandered into the shadowy alleyways of electronic music and felt like your brain was being kneaded by a Lovecraftian rave goblin, congratulations—you’ve probably encountered the sonic mind-maze that is Aphex Twin. Also known as Richard D. James, he’s the guy who looks like he just hacked your dreams and left a distorted drum loop in your subconscious. Let’s get weird. Aphex Twin: The Musical Cryptid Richard D. […]

June 17, 2025 28 2

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General

Finale Furioso: When Musicians Die Weird

There are some guitarists who play the instrument.And then there are the rare few who become it. Terry Kath was one of those rare few. Long before Chicago became a household name for soft rock ballads and prom night slow dances, it was a wild, gritty, horn-blasting rock band—and Terry Kath was its thundering heart. His guitar tone? Raw, roaring, full of chaos and beauty. His voice? Soulful, deep, and […]

May 30, 2025 15 2

Funk

Bootsy Collins: The Cosmic Funk Shaman We Didn’t Deserve

If the universe had a house band, Bootsy Collins would be its frontman — wearing star-shaped sunglasses, a glitter cape, and boots that could kick open a wormhole. Born in the groove-laden labs of Cincinnati and raised on a diet of bass licks, chaos, and pure uncut funk, Bootsy didn’t just play the bass — he weaponized it. First with James Brown’s band (ever heard of a little ditty called […]

May 28, 2025 10