Spotlight On

Spotlight On

The musicians, writers, innovators and ideas shaping media, entertainment, and culture. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

July 3, 2025 56 mins

Today, the Spotlight shines On Terence Hannum.

Terence wears many hats. He is a visual artist, professor, and one-third of the experimental trio Locrian. It's the 15th anniversary reissue of Locrian's The Crystal World that brings us together today. This album marked a turning point for the band, transforming them from a duo into a full trio and giving structure to their sprawling sonic explorations.

The record ta...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On guitarist Knox Chandler.

Knox's name might ring a bell from his work with The Psychedelic Furs, Siouxsie and the Banshees, or maybe from his string arrangements on Depeche Mode's Exciter. However, his latest project takes an entirely different turn. After decades in the music business bouncing between New York, Berlin, and stages around the world, Knox found himself back in his Connecticut hometow...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On John Andrew Fredrick of The Black Watch.

After thirty-seven years of making indie rock, the band’s latest album, For All the World, boasts an energy and vitality that surprises even John. John’s a great guest: His creative process remains rooted in uncertainty, he reads more about music than he listens to it, he draws inspiration from everything from Dostoyevsky to David Bowie, and ...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On saxophonist and composer Ingrid Laubrock.

Ingrid's just released Purposing The Air, a double album that sets 60 brief poems by Erica Hunt to music through four different vocal-instrumental duos. It's an ambitious project that transforms Hunt's emotionally sharp koans into what Ingrid calls "a library of moods”—each piece capturing a different feeling, from the everyday to the search...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines on clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh.

Earlier this year, Kinan released Live in Berlin, his fourteenth album with his CityBand quartet. The album captures music he wrote during Syria's 2011 uprising—pieces that carry the weight of watching your homeland torn apart from thousands of miles away. Born in Damascus and now based in Brooklyn, Kinan has spent decades crossing the world with his clar...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On guitarist and composer Tal Yahalom.

Tal has built a reputation in New York's creative music scene for weaving post-bop, classical, and South American influences into a unique sound all his own. On his latest album, Mirror Image, Tal brings together a chamber quintet that puts his guitar in conversation with strings, woodwinds, and percussion, creating music that shifts between meditative refl...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On Claire Cope. This British composer crafts music that combines the freedom of jazz with the precision of classical music, drawing inspiration from women whose stories are often overlooked in history books.

Caire’s new album Every Journey dropped in March to coincide with International Women's Day. On it, she expanded her original septet to an 11-piece band, giving her more colors to paint...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On Mike Scott, founder of The Waterboys.

In 2014, Mike stumbled upon Dennis Hopper’s photography in a London gallery and fell into a rabbit hole that led to Life, Death and Dennis Hopper, a bold concept album that tells the story of the Easy Rider star from childhood to beyond the grave. It's a sonic movie with guest turns from Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple, and Steve Earle that ...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On Craig Mod, a writer, photographer, and walker who's spent the last 20 years making Japan his home.

Random House has just released Things Become Other Things, a walking memoir that traces his 300-mile journey along ancient pilgrimage paths in rural Japan. The book blends sharp prose with striking photography, capturing conversations with aging fishermen, inn owners, and cafe "mamas" while refl...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight again shines on media artist Tamiko Thiel, in the second of our two-part conversation.

In our first talk, we explored Tamiko's journey from designing the world's first AI supercomputer in the eighties to becoming a pioneering media artist. Today, we dive deeper into her groundbreaking work in virtual reality and other philosophical matters.

Tamiko's been creating immersive digital worlds since the mid-1990s ...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On digital media artist Tamiko Thiel.

To mark our special milestone of 250 episodes, we are kicking off a two-part conversation with media artist Tamiko Thiel.

Tamiko has lived at the crossroads of art and technology for over 40 years. She designed the Connection Machine, the first commercial AI supercomputer that now sits in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. She's worked with everyone from Steven Spielberg...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On naturalist and classical pianist Hunter Noack.

Redefining what a concert hall can be, Hunter Noack hauls a nine-foot Steinway grand piano to mountaintops, forests, and beaches for his series "In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild."

Hunter grew up in Central Oregon, where his love for music and nature took root. His concert series gives audiences wireless headphones and encourages them to wand...

Today, the Spotlight shines On renowned saxophonist Noah Preminger.

Boston-based saxophonist Noah Preminger has spent years pushing jazz into new territories before focusing on one of the art form's most enduring traditions. He’s just released Ballads, a collection that finds this restless musical explorer settling into the quiet power of beautiful melodies.

Noah's built his reputation on bold musical choices—from stark Del...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On two artists who've taken the piano-guitar duo to bold new places. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson have just released Bone Bells, their third album, and a fresh showcase of their uncanny musical connection.

These two players come from different worlds: Sylvie from European classical traditions and Mary from experimental jazz guitar circles. But when they join forces, somet...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On Phillip Golub, a Brooklyn pianist taking his music in bold new directions.

Phillip's new project, Loop 7, is a set of minimalist compositions performed on a piano tuned to 22 notes per octave instead of the usual 12. Working with producer Joseph Branciforte, he's created something that lives between acoustic chamber music and studio art.

It's a groundbreaking approach—Phillip's performance was...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On Six Missing, the musical project of ambient artist TJ Dumser, who creates music that helps us connect with the present moment in ways we often forget.

After encountering an intense phase of burnout, TJ turned his mental health struggles into Gentle Breath, a dark, lush EP that marks a new direction for this Austin-based artist. It's music that explores uncertainty with stunning depth—thi...

Mark as Played
March 13, 2025 45 mins

Today, the Spotlight shines On violinist and composer Jenny Scheinman.

Jenny Scheinman grew up on California's remote Lost Coast, and now she brings us music that captures the wild beauty of her roots. Her double album All Species Parade brings together jazz and folk to create something wholly original that feels like the natural world itself.

With a dream team of collaborators including Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, and J...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On Cary Baker, author of Down on the Corner: Adventures in Busking and Street Music.

The music you hear on street corners and subway platforms has its untold history, and at age 16, Cary Baker followed a slide guitar's haunting melody through Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market to find himself face-to-face with bluesman Blind Arvella Gray. That chance encounter sparked a lifelong obsession.

Cary's bo...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On New York live music and venue impresario Michael Dorf.

In addition to founding The Knitting Factory and City Winery, Michael has brought legendary artists together at Carnegie Hall for over twenty years, raising millions for music education while creating unforgettable tribute nights. He launched his first tribute show in 2004 after seeing how school music programs were vanishing.

No...

Mark as Played

Today, the Spotlight shines On Greg Lisher, a guitarist best known for alternative rock who has leaned hard into electronic music.

Greg made his name playing with Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom, but during the pandemic, he sat down at a keyboard and started exploring new sonic territory.

The result is Underwater Detection Method, a collection of instrumental pieces that blend synthesizers with live strings and drums...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.