Seniority and the strange acceleration of creativity  There's a quiet revolution happening in plain sight: musicians who once embodied youthful rupture now carry their art deeper into age, as a new perspective on creativity. The surface story—legends touring stadiums—is easy to tell. The more interesting truth is internal: as the body slows, the internal listening ear gains momentum; experience pares away the unneeded flourish. What we call "seniority" is not […]

Fasiel and Broz were there from Sicily. Alix and her friend Rocco were fresh from his band's gig in Rotterdam. Costa and I came from London. We arrived in Amsterdam from different European countries, and Mary Halvorson's Amaryllis Sextet was the reason for this end of year reunion trip. My expectations were high. I bought tickets back in June, assuming she wouldn't play London this autumn. I was wrong: she […]

RadioPeng doesn't usually dip into the glossy waters of mainstream pop. Our orbit tends to favor the cosmic, the obscure, the droning, the free-jazz freakouts and the ambient abysses. But every so often, a song comes along so unabashedly human-so universal in its naked sincerity-that it breaks through the firewall. Enter Endless Love (1981): Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's gloriously over-the-top hymn to devotion, a duet so pure it could […]

Tangerine Dream’s Zeit is a slow, dark, and patient record. It came out in 1972. It is four long pieces. The mood is heavy, quiet, and cosmic. There are almost no rhythms. There are long drones, soft waves, and deep tones. It asks you to listen closely. It rewards you if you do. What listeners say Many fans call Zeit a tough album. They also call it unique and powerful. […]

The story begins with songs moving by Bluetooth from one phone to another across the Sahara. Cheap handsets held MP3s on memory cards. People traded tracks in markets, at roadside stalls, and at weddings. Bluetooth was the wire. The phone’s tiny speaker was the radio. This was a music network built by people, not towers. Sahel Sounds listened to that network and became a bridge. The label found the songs […]