A couple weeks ago on the blog, I talked about the multimedia collective Intersystems, based in Canada in the late 1960s. As discussed then, electronic and avant-garde-based rock in North […]

August 28, 2022 | News

Sahel Sounds record label and blog founder Christopher Kirkley blew the dust off a cassette he found in an archive at Niger’s national museum. By the end of his initial […]

August 19, 2022 | News

The drive to make immersive multimedia experiences seems to be more mainstream than ever in contemporary culture. From 3-D movies to VR headsets, the sensation of completely transforming the setting […]

August 12, 2022 | News

“MY EARS FEEL LIKE CAVES.” “I felt like a witch capturing sounds from a nether realm.” “Everything is watery and the sound of someone’s voice rides into my ears on […]

August 7, 2022 | News

‘Off The Wall’ is a series for the Torn Light blog where I talk about a handful of our specialty, rare, and hard-to-find records, ranging from personal favorites to records […]

July 30, 2022 | News

American gamelan composer Daniel Schmidt said of his third album, Cloud Shadows, “Starting at perhaps age four or five, I would sit on the top step of our front porch, just under […]

July 24, 2022 | News

The artist walks alone Someone says behind his back “He’s got his gall to call himself that He doesn’t even know where he’s at” The artist walks among the flowers […]

July 17, 2022 | News

Complementing last week’s blog on Jean Ritchie well, the Torn Light Archives returns with our most recent acquisition, two 1970s issues of the folk revival era magazine, Sing Out!. The […]

July 10, 2022 | News

A couple years ago, I started to play old-time music casually, at the start playing guitar, while eventually learning mandolin and singing as well. There is little else that feels […]

July 3, 2022 | News

For a while now, I’ve had a fascination with music you’re expected to ignore, i.e. Muzak, easy listening, and stock music. It began when I read this fascinating article from […]

June 26, 2022 | News