Low Profile with Markly Morrison

Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah is the percussionist and vocalist behind African Head Charge, the experimental dub project he co-founded with legendary studio wizard Adrian Sherwood in the late 1970s. With dozens of albums to his credit, he’s been established as an influential and singular performer with a sound all his own. Today I’m speaking with Bonjo about how he found his musical and spiritual calling in the Poco churches of Jamaica in his youth, how an encounter with Fela Kuti changed the course of his life, his collaborations with classic reggae and soul artists like Desmond Dekker, Prince Far I, Creation Rebel and the Foundations, how he turned an experimental studio project into a large live ensemble, and insights into African Head Charge’s latest album, A Trip To Bolgatonga on Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound label. Scherler Sundays is returning to downtown Olympia for summer 2024!! That means ten weeks in a row of free outdoor concerts and live interview tapings for future broadcast. Come see your next favorite artist and get to know them in one fell swoop, week after week! This year’s lineup includes Little Wings, Mirah, Tender Forever, Lois, Damien Jurado, Michael Hurley, Chris Cohen, Oh Rose, Jonny Kosmo and more than 20 others, all curated and hosted by yours truly. It’s happening every sunday at 3pm from July 21st through September 22nd. Find more info at ScherlerBeer.com If you’re a fan of this show, please consider taking a moment to support this show by committing to a flexible monthly donation at patreon.com/lowprofile. It would mean the world to me if I could set aside a proper work week at a living wage every month, and I believe with enough of the regular listeners chipping in 5 bucks, it could happen. So thanks a lot to those of you who have continued to support me on Patreon, and if you haven’t yet, give it a try! It will be great for your karma, I bet! You can find links to more of their work on this episode’s website at lowprofilepodcast.com, where you’ll also find a treasure trove of oral history from exceptional musicians of all stripes. Low Profile is a part of the Ruinous Media podcast network, and this episode’s artwork was drawn by Jack Habegger. Thanks to Howard Wuelfing at Howlin’ Wuelf Media for facilitating today’s interview.

Mayo Thompson is the founding member of The Red Krayola, an experimental rock group that has existed in various formations since 1966. He’s collaborated with The Raincoats, Pere Ubu, and the Fall as a record producer, is an active visual artist, and has recently published his second novel, “After Math,” a sequel to 2020’s “Art, Mystery” (both available via Drag City Publishing). Mayo joins Low Profile to discuss the unconventional processes of several Red Krayola albums, his lone solo album “Corky’s Debt to His Father” and its recent live embodiment, his experience as a writer, a long-standing collaborative relationship with the conceptual collective known as Art and Language, and working with others including Lora Logic, featured on the previous episode. The interview is conducted by a panel featuring returning cohosts Dylan Shearer and Jack Habegger teaming up with Markly to tackle this heavyweight guest. The unedited interview is available for supporters at patreon.com/lowprofile in this episode: The Red Krayola “People Get Ready, The Train’s Not Coming” (00:02) The Red Crayola “Hurricane Fighter Plane” (08:30) The Red Crayola “Freeform Freakout no. 3” (15:05) The Red Crayola “Transparent Radiation” (16:32) Mayo Thompson “The Lesson” (18:25) The Red Crayola “Coconut Hotel” (25:03) The Red Krayola with Art and Language “Ergastulum” (34:02) Mayo Thompson and the Corky’s Debt Band (live) “Worried Worried” (35:53) The Red Krayola with Art and Language “The Milkmaid” (39:13) The Red Krayola “If S Is” (45:57) The Red Krayola “Bad Medicine” (51:43) The Red Krayola “Breakout” (55:12) Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company. Instagram: @lowpropodcast Facebook Community: Low Profile Listener Hub Support this show: patreon.com/lowprofile Illustration by Jack Habegger Scherler Sundays (live episode tapings + free concerts) is happening again in Olympia for Summer 2024, visit scherlerbeer.com for updates!

Friend of the show Sean O’Hagan returns to the Low Profile to discuss “Hey Panda,” the first release from The High Llamas in eight years. When we last spoke in 2021, he had dropped the High Llamas moniker and forged a new path under his given name, embracing more contemporary influences. In the years since, he’s recruited Llamas new and old to reroute the course of the band he’s led since the early ‘90s, and invited exciting guest performers to come along for the ride. “Hey Panda” is out on March 29th from Drag City Records. Today Sean explains the process that led to this album, collaborating with Bonnie Prince Billy and Fryars, recent production and arrangement work with other artists, and a bit of the contemporary music he’s been getting into lately.

James Spooner is a writer, filmmaker and visual artist from Southern California. He grew up as one of two black punk rockers in the small town of Apple Valley, and he wrote a critically acclaimed graphic novel about his experience called “The High Desert,” released in 2022, twenty years after the release of his groundbreaking documentary “Afro Punk.” When I read the book, I found it so moving that I immediately reached out to him and invited him to be a guest on this Afro Punk, The High Desert, Black Punk Now!program. James joined me for a live interview in Olympia at the Capitol Theater after a screening of his film, and we discussed his experience growing up as a black punk in the desert, the avenues that led him to direct his first film, being the father of a Gen-Z black punk, his career as a tattoo artist, and his new anthology book “Black Punk Now,” which was edited by Spooner and Chris L. Terry and came out last October. Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company. Instagram: @lowpropodcast Facebook Community: Low Profile Listener Hub Patreon (donation-based bonus content+goods): patreon.com/lowprofile

Who smoked more: academics like John Cage, La Monte Young and Vladamir Ussachevsky- or the underground scenesters, like Glenn Branca, Arthur Russel and Laurie Anderson? Why is turntablist Christian Marclay on the cover of "Transfigured New York," but not in the book, even though she interviewed him multiple times? Could AI design be to blame? How did the old guard of "New Music" feel about the commodification of computer-based music production four decades ago? In the 1980s, Brooke Wentz hosted a radio show in the middle of the night that focused on experimental music, which was developing all around her in New York City. Over the course of a decade, many of the artists Brooke played on that show would join her in the studio. Her journalism days are through, (now she works on the business side of the industry) but she has just released a book with selected interviews back in the day called “Transfigured New York: Interviews with Experimental Artists and Musicians," available now from Columbia University Press. This may be a bit of a shock to you, but I’ll say it- I’m a big fan of oral history interviews, and I’m a big fan of experimental music. I’m pleased to feature Brooke and her work here today, which includes a couple of clips from her interviews (with Morton Subotnik and John Lurie, respectively). She joins me today from a working holiday somewhere in Mexico. The artwork for this episode is a drawing by my kid Camille, based on a photo from "back when" sent to me by today's guest. Terrific. Many thanks. Low Profile is stoked to be a part of the Ruinous Media network. This show is also supported directly by you on Patreon ( patreon.com/lowprofile ) Low Profile also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company. More on the book: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/transfigured-new-york/9780231558631 Instagram: Brooke @seven_seas_music and Markly @lowpropodcast Facebook Community: Low Profile Listener Hub Patreon (donation-based bonus content+goods): patreon.com/lowprofile

On this year's final installment of highlights from the Scherler Sundays live series, headlining act Gun Outfit is a twangy , dreamy rock band that started in Olympia in the mid-aughties, and relocated to Los Angeles several years later. Carrie and Dylan still have family around these parts, so they brought their kid up to visit with the kinfolk, along with the rest of their crew as they share some favorites from their catalog and surprise with a handful of new tunes. Amps For Christ is the long-term project of Henry Barnes, and he's a friend of the show (See episode 15). He also happens to play guitar in Gun Outfit, so he gets a bit of a double feature today. Opening the show is a new power trio called Blues Faeries, comprised of Olympia heavy hitters Jon Merrithew (C Average, Mosquito Hawk, The Noses), Dave Harvey (Nudity, Tight Bros From Way Back When) and Jaysen Lee Peters (The Cold Sweats). We'll get to hear insights and anecdotes from all the performers here as well. This year's Scherler Sundays concert series was such a blast, and it was great to see so many of you there! Looking forward to plotting one in 2024...This episode was engineered by Kefa Crow, documented by Andrew Ebright, and mixed + edited by Rose Nielsen. If you like this show, please consider supporting it with flexible monthly donations at patreon.com/lowprofile to help cover the expenses associated with running a conglomerate like this.Scherler Sundays is hosted by Three Magnets Brewing Company in downtown Olympia, WA. They make lots of good beer, including their NA brand Self Care which features delicious craft flavors unlike any other. Low Profile also receives in-kind support from San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria and Rainy Day Records in Olympia. For a full archive of previous episodes, visit lowprofilepodcast.com and dig around.

Recorded at the beginning of the 2020 lockdown, this remains one of my favorite interviews in the last five years of working on this project. Tjinder Singh’s Cornershop has been a long-standing go-to band in my rotation since I came across them on MTV in the mid nineties, watching back-to-back videos for “Sleep on the Left Side” and their ubiquitous hit “Brimful of Asha.” Since then, they have continued to release tons of great singles, albums and collaborations. It’s a tasty mix of Punjabi folk, psychedelic rock, disco, dub, pop and everything in between. I hope you enjoy this deep dive into the world of Cornershop. Find a full archive of this program at lowprofilepodcast.comThis show is supported by you at Patreon.com/LowprofileLow Profile receives in-kind support from Three Magnets Brewing Company, Rainy Day Records, San Francisco Street Bakery and Schwartz’s Deli in Olympia, WA.