Echolocations' first attempt at throwing a show went smashingly on Friday. Fun was promised and I'm pretty sure fun was had. Best Friends Forever, Mike Gunther, and Maria Isa put on a wonderful show, thank you thank you. Thank you also to the Varsity Theater, my parents for coming from Oregon, all of my friends who helped me out lots and lots and everyone for coming. I think that I might have to do it again sometime.

I hope that the month has started out marvelously for all. It has for Joe, Toben, and Steve, the winners of our latest cd giveaway compliments of Barsuk Records.

If you live in the twin cities area grab a pen please. On the 17th of August at the lovely Varsity Theater InRadio will be throwing part fundraiser part cd release extravaganza for the fabulous Best Friends Forever . InRadio featured Mike Gunther and His Restless Souls as well as soon to be featured Maria Isa will also be performing. It'll be a great night filled with wonderful music and all should come out in support of InRadio and BFF.

Lastly, InRadio has a new name which it will begin using very shortly, so embrace Echolocations, the company formerly known as InRadio.

The lovely people at Barsuk Records have agreed to help host our second CD give-away. If you want your name thrown in the mix to receive one of these fabulous releases, email me: alice@inradio.net.

Rocky Votolato: The Brag & Cuss. 'The Brag & Cuss' moves from the minimal acoustic guitar and vocals of 'Makers' to a fuller sound. Most of this record was played by a full band, featuring James McAllister (Sufjan Stevens) on drums, Bill Herzog (Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter) on bass, Casey Foubert (Pedro the Lion) on electric guitar, banjo, mandolin and all percussion, and Rick Steff (Cat Power, Hank Williams, Jr.) on Hammond b3, piano, and accordion. The bare emotion that made 'Makers' great is still present in spades, but this time Votolato has ventured further into classic country territory. Votolato paints broad pictures with a simple turn of phrase, and he pulls you into a world of reminiscences and feelings that are truly timeless and eminently human. A profound sense of freedom and release comes across in the new record, which in turn is more hopeful, laid-back, and embraces life with a resigned optimism.

Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter: Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul. This album is a musically deep piece of work, addressing themes of love, illusion, forgiveness, and the universality of the human experience. The band's musical growth has been mirrored by the evolution and maturation of Sykes' distinctive singing voice, which time has saturated with a weathered wisdom that connects to something beyond the singer and the song. And the visual aesthetic of Sykes' songwriting has never been more evocative. Listen closely to her stark descriptions of isolation, sometimes-swaggering toughness, fragile human emotion, and the possibilities of love, and you'll hear something that perfectly, tenderly, and surprisingly captures the feel of the 21st century so far — it's the sound of vulnerability, and the sound of the best and most relevant piece of art Jesse Sykes has ever made.

John Vanderslice: Emerald City. John wrote the bulk of his new album, 'Emerald City' (out July 24), while knee-deep in legal limbo after a visa application for his girlfriend, a French national he met in Paris, was rejected by US Immigration. The songs and themes are fueled by an era of deep insecurity and paranoia; they develop in front of a backdrop of ritualized and mythologized current events. Lyrically, JV's characters and storytellers track Manifest Destiny from burning wagon wheels to two-bedroom homes with full amenities in Bakersfield, California. Along that rough road, there are bewildered commemorations, peace-lovers and revenge-lusters, psychotic reactions to unnamed episodes, and the grief-stricken and the vengeance-hungry wrapped up in the same skin. Weaving throughout the entire album is the ever present danger of opposition. But at its simplest, 'Emerald City' is made up of JV's love songs — confused and angry, afraid and defeated. The red tape tie-up for JV and his girl remains unresolved.

InRadio 5.2: Elephants On Parade is finally on its way to your mailboxes, sorry for the delay friends. 5.2 is packed packed packed with fun. Debut albums offer great tracks from the likes of: Beat The Devil, Lightning Dust, Hallelujah The Hills, Bloody Black Eyes and more.

Balkan Beat Box offer up a delectable audio treat with 'Habibi Min Zaman' from their latest release, 'Nu Med'. Stating that they are a natural reaction of musicians who wanted to erase political borders, Balkan Beat Box create musical connections that politics often keep separate. Jewish, Balkan, Arabic, Syrian, European, Moroccan, and American are united by hip hop beats and dancehall toasts. The members of Balkan Beat Box do not believe in flags, nationalities, or borders. 'We believe in listening to localities... to local music,' says Balkan Beat Box co-founder and saxophonist Ori Kaplan. 'Nu Med' is a musical vision of what the New Mediterranean would sound like if borders were removed. Their musical nomadism continually returns to the Gypsy sound. 'Gypsy is the definition of a soul, not a color or place. It's a take on life.' States co-founder Tamir Muskat.

Balkan Beat Box serve as a reminder that we need to transcend borders not continue to create them.

enjoy! -alice

Thank you Dan Deacon for the interactive musical adventure embarked upon by all at the Triple Rock last night. On tour in support of his latest release, 'spiderman of the rings' deacon treated us to a dance contest, a sing along, and one hell of a dance party. Quite the entertainer Deacon, who stood in the middle of the crowd, created a house party atmosphere, which generated intoxicating energy. If a certain Dan Deacon comes through your city I would recommend going, even if you don't find yourself a fan of his music, he will probably win you over, the man works in mysterious ways.

InRadio subscribers will get a small peak into his latest record when InRadio 5.2: Elephants On Parade arrives at your door. We ran a tad behind schedule for this issue, but it'll be there shortly, promise. The wait will be worth it though, 5.2 is chock-full of sassy summer tunes that promise to delight.

Congratulations to Stefanie Kalem the winner of our first ever ticket giveaway, stay tuned for more free stuff to come.

It seems like there has been a consensus: Come august it'll be six cd's for 30 dollars, so subscribe now if you want to save some money. Thanks for all who voted.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing Finally Punk at the Belfry. I got there in time to see Kitten Forever, who set the non-existent stage quite nicely for the Austin four-piece. We were all crowded in the basement and it was very hot, but the energy was good. They had paintings that they bought at a rummage sale strewn around their equipment and they changed their instrument arrangement after each song. It was punk musical chairs and it made me happy to see women playing everything they could get their hands on, figuring it out together, and having lots of fun.

Lastly, if you live around the twin cities you really should go check out b-girl-be this weekend. I've had a sneak peak at the art exhibit and it is very much worth the trip.

InRadio 4.6 featured artist, Birds & Batteries are just about to release their new album, 'I'll Never Sleep Again'. The celebration will be held on June 27th at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco, which will also include performances from Dame Satan and 20 Minute Loop. Michael Sempert and crew have generously given InRadio two tickets to the show. If you're in the San Fran area and want to attend for free email me: alice@inradio.net and I'll throw your name in the hat. The winners will also receive a free copy of, 'I'll Never Sleep Again'.

Dear Listener,

Behind the scenes here at InRadio, we've been doing a little remodeling and as the summer rolls on different changes will be taking place. We will keep you informed as they happen. In short, by the end of the summer InRadio will pack its bags and head out west to Portland, Oregon. The talented minds that started InRadio are ready to embark on a new chapter in their musical adventure and have turned their focus towards the fabulous imp, an up and coming digital media player that enables publications to offer their recommended media to their audience. They have left their baby in my care and I am honored and excited to take the reins of responsibility at InRadio.

Without much advertising we keep at it, and continue to promote and support independent artists. You, our fabulous subscribers, have kept this possible both financially, and at the core of our mission.

Thank you! And now I ask your advise on two issues:

One: Over the 5 years of InRadio's short life, we have seen our costs rise as we try to keep our subscriptions costs low, accessible and stable. In my own 2 years with InRadio, I've seen post rates and often mounting costs put pressure on InRadio that, with our current state of transition in mind, are now stressing our limited resources. However, before making any changes I would appreciate your opinion. Please vote, and submit your thoughts!

Two: InRadio needs a new name. To save me from ripping my hair out with nights of unproductive brainstorming, please contribute your ideas. Once I get a good list going I'll put it to vote and we'll see what happens.

Thank you again for all your support. This is a very exciting time for me, InRadio, imp and with your involvement, I hope you will also be enthusiastic about what the future brings for the company formally known as "InRadio".

-alice hacker

To celebrate her cd release, Maria Isa and friends (Los Nativos, Leroy Smokes, Raices and a bunch of other musicians, singers and dancers) put on one hell of a show last night. Maria Isa is a vocalist and songwriter who performs Afro-Puerto Rican music, Bomba and Plena with a mix of Hip-Hop, R&B, and Reggeaton. Her passion for her music, her culture, and justice creates an intoxicating performance. On one listen the album sounds really good and more hip-hop heavy than the performance last night, mixing a number of musical styles with talented and meaningful lyricism. Check her out at B-Girl Be this year.

Thanks to Electrelane I was treated to one of the most amazing musical experiences of my life. Honest. The show was incredible, watching them construct their songs and moving with it was nothing short of amazing. Four friends, who had never really heard their music before trusted in my guarantee and came with me. All of them left that night stunned with what they had just been witness to. Honest. I couldn't believe I was closest to the stage with wiggle room all around, if we all knew better I would have been head-bob wrestling all night.

A surprise treat of the evening was Anni Rossi who upon cancellations and short notices came up with them from Chicago. She played the viola every possible way imaginable, plucked it, thumped it, strummed it. This generated a myriad of sounds to accompany her voice, which she also twisted and bent. This multitude of sounds coming from two instruments, well three, there was boot stomping, was delightful.

A good article on Electrelane's new album.

enjoy your weekends,
alice

InRadio April/May: Opportunity, Opportunity at its core connotes hope, possibility and good things to come. However, it is not passive, it must be harnessed and if you wait too long it will pass you by. Opportunity is inherent to music, however sad a song, it was created, perhaps to personally expel and move on or perhaps to bring awareness to a problem in hopes of change, but hope has to exist to create.

By featuring artists who are using their music to create the world they would like to see we hope that InRadio 5.1 leaves some of that energy with the listener. Canadian fun lovers, You Say Party! We Say Die! insist that if you are doing what you really love then life feels like a party and that happiness translates through their music. Through their beautiful music, Andy Palacio & The Garifuna Collective are bringing awareness to and continuing their Garifuna Culture. The basis of Zaki Ibrahim's music lies in her philosophy that cultures exchanged lead to greater understanding and tolerance.

In the words of the brilliant Ellen Willis, who we sadly lost last November: 'My deepest impulses are optimistic, an attitude that seems to me as spiritually necessary and proper as it is intellectually suspect.'

Let InRadio 5.1 bring out a little optimism in you, it is essential for change.

If it's time to renew, be sure to click on the link to the left. Otherwise, to get yourself a subscription, click here

I saw InRadio 5.1 featured artist The Shaky Hands last week at the Turf Club. Tambourines, bows on guitars and grandfathers playing the congas. They were great and I apologized for being the only one pseudo-dancing, he promised they'd be back through and I promised more dancing from Minnesotans.

A surprise plus was that my good friend's band, Over/Under opened up for them. I had also just bought Electrelane's new cd and got to enjoy it on my bike ride over to St. Paul. Couldn't have asked for a better night.

On Sunday I got the pleasure of hearing one of the best bluegrass bands in Minneapolis. They played for a few hours and got everyone in the place two stepping along with them. They have recently started playing with an upright bassist, who also plays bass for a local group, Black Blondie. Her jazz infused bass playing added delightfully to the many guitars (steel, acoustic, slide), banjo, fiddle, mandolin and steel ukulele. They were in complete control of the tempo and in sync with each other, speeding it up and slowing it down without even a nod, I was floored. Check them out: Ditch Lilies.

Wanna sneak peak into InRadio 5.2? I will tell you this, it's the most up-tempo cd I've made yet. Summertime fun here we come. It also features two artists I've posted about before.

take care,
alice

Electrelane has just released their fourth album, 'No Shouts No Calls' on Beggars Group Label, Too Pure. I haven't heard the album yet because I haven't risked going into a record store unattended. I need to find a chaperone who will strictly limit my purchases to said item and perhaps the new Blue Scholars.

What I can confidently say is that after purchasing I will immediately put it into my disc-man, get on my bike, and smile all around town as I absorb the first go through.

Equally thrilling is the fact that they're touring the u.s. right now and will be in Minneapolis in one week. I have not looked so forward to a show in a long time and it feels good to be ridiculously giddy.

I've never been able to aptly describe their music or pigeon hole it into a genre. All I know is that it demands my attention and I gladly give it. Each listen and album conjure different feelings. 'Axes' reminds me of wandering the streets of Chicago, I like to ride my bike to 'Power Out' and of late if I had my druthers it would always be raining when their music was on (that's not a bad thing coming from Portland).

Greatest of all is that it continuously serves as a reminder of how powerful music can be and why it is essential to my life.

okay...off you go to by your tickets now.

-alice

I hope that everyone enjoyed May Day. I spent the latter part of mine marching with a few thousand other people down Lake St. here in Minneapolis in support of immigrant rights.

The boom box kept blasting a Victor Jara song that I now can't remember the name of. Victor Jara was and is a hugely popular Chilean folk singer, professor and political activist. He was a leading voice during the 'Nueva Canción Chilena', a movement characterized by the renewal and reinvention of Chilean folk music whose politicized lyrics depicted the struggle and desires of the working class. Victor Jara, like thousands of others was taken to the Estadio Chile (now named Estadio Victor Jara), which housed political prisoners during the dictatorship. Jara was kidnapped the day after the U.S. sponsored September 11th coup of 1973, which toppled the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende and placed Augusto Pinochet in power. There Jara was tortured and murdered. Although the military regime burned the vast majority of his master recordings his wife managed to sneak recordings out of Chile. It is because of her that his music and its message has continued to be heard throughout the world and within Chile.

Hearing his music yesterday brought me back to the May 1st that I spent on the streets of Santiago. Surrounding me were hundreds of thousands of workers, mothers, children, musicians, anarchists. We all marched together for our common rights as a worker and as a person.

Another artist responsible for the 'Nueva Canción Chilena' was the amazing Violeta Parra. The last song she wrote before she committed suicide in 1967 was 'Gracias A La Vida' (Thanks To Life), which has been a favorite song of mine since I first heard it in Chile years ago.

I am thankful for so much that surrounded my time in Chile, the people I met, the beauty I saw, the things I learned, and the music that I was exposed to daily.

The video isn't great, but it's the only one that I could find with the song.



-alice

One of my dearest friends just released her first CD, 'Into The City'. I am very proud of her and what she has made. She is also an amazing artist and is responsible for the cover. My good friend Indigo appears on the album and I happen to think that she too is quite fantastic. Watch out for her debut album in the Spring. She gets my thanks for bringing Eli into the world, a three year old that I would gladly spend any Saturday in the park with.



Saturday was Joy's CD release at the Nomad in Minneapolis, I danced straight through the whole show, front and center. I respect both of these women tremendously and hope that people enjoy them as much as I do.

If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC

-Kurt Vonnegut (A Man Without A Country)

I have piles of cd's staring at me, shoveled in between my plant and my computer, they are gaining in stature and I know I must start listening to them soon. Perhaps tomorrow. Yesterday, Jagjaguwar sent me the new Minus Story, 'My Ion Truss'. I took it home but the noise of cards shuffling, rummaging, and conversation stood in my way. I'm excited to give it a proper listen; 'No Rest For Ghosts' was one of my favorites from 2005.

There are a few albums that I can't stop listening to lately, one is Jolie Holland's, Springtime Can Kill You. For whatever reason I didn't really like this album when it first came out, it probably had to do with it being different from her previous albums. I got over that and really started to listen and I think it's fantastic. I heard an interview with her on The Current when she came through Minneapolis and she talks about how timid she sounds when she listens to the album. This was one of my let downs about it as well, after having seen her recording a radio broadcast on the Austin City Limits stage where the sound is impeccable, the album sounded restrained. Live, her voice just captures you. She produced the record and attributes her timidness to having too much responsibility and being scared of wasting the labels money. She won't be producing her next album and I have a hunch that it will better capture the vibrancy of her voice.

The other album I've been listening to a lot lately is, Beat The Devil's debut EP. It's only five songs, but they are a powerful five and they stay with you. Their hub is New York City where it looks like they've been drawing a lot of attention. Lead singer, Shilpa Ray's vocals differ quite drastically from Holland's, but are equally captivating. She adds to her vocals with her harmonium. Alongside her are Mitchell King and Mishka Shubaly, who I think play drums and bass respectively, however when I caught two songs in Austin this year, Mishka was banging on a huge marching band drum and Shilpa was smacking a shovel with a stick. Whatever is going on, I like it, and the artwork isn't bad either.

It has started to snow very lightly here, I'm attempting to embrace it, what else can I do in April?

Good news for imp: We launched The Austin Chronicle Media Taster for a special sxsw edition.

Sam and I drove down from Minneapolis on Wednesday morning getting there early Thursday. The drive wasn't too bad and pretty uneventful, other than the 'on the hour every hour' dance party. No tickets, no accidents, no road kill. I finished my book and Sam contemplated the feasibility of creating a utopic city completely run on green energy.

We had the great fortune of starting every morning (noon) off with wonderful up-beat music to help us get ready for the long day ahead.

•Thursday we caught the always terrific, InRadio 4.6 featured artist, Matt & Kim. If you read what I wrote on our website you'd know that they are fantastic live and they easily got all the hung-over hipsters bobbing their heads and stomping their feet.

•Friday we were graced with another 4.6 artist, Macromantics, who with her DJ Amy brought energy and life to our morning.

•On Saturday, our partner Snocap kicked off their day party with The Trucks. A group I had heard about but never seen and they were fabulous.



•Saturday night we hung out with our friends at Bust and Kill Rock Stars and enjoyed their showcase.

The Disappointment:

We went to a party at The Blue Genie on Friday where I was very excited to hear InRadio 5.1 artist, Bonde Do Role. Unfortunately the Police had other thoughts in mind and shut down the party. I was sad but felt worse for I Heart Comix and Mad Decent who had put a lot of time and effort into organizing it.

On Sunday we got back on I-35 and headed home. The drive back was a little rougher than the drive down but all in all it was a great week for imp, InRadio and me. -alice-

Welcome to March, home to InRadio 4.6: Moments In Movement. It's snowing in Minneapolis today so I thought I'd highlight a label whose home is experiencing very different, 86 degree weather.

About a mile from the Guatemalan border and five-minutes from the ancient Mayan ruins of Xunantunich is Benqe Viejo a small town in Belize that houses the Country's first recording studio and Stonetree Records. Stonetree is dedicated to actively promoting the region's unique musical styles and encouraging the preservation of Belize's tradition music: including that of the Garifuna, Creole, Maya, and Mestizo cultures.

Formerly the colony of British Honduras, Belize was fought over by Spain, Britain and Guatemala before it gained independence in 1981. One Stonetree artist, Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective, have just released 'Wátina', a stunning new album featuring an all-star, multigenerational lineup of Garifuna musicians from Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The Garifuna people originated when two large Spanish ships, filled with a delivery of West African slaves, sunk off the coast of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in 1635. Half of the Africans survived and intermingled with the indigenous Caribs of the region, creating a new hybrid culture. Fiercely independent, the Garifuna community resisted European colonization, and were forcibly exiled to the Caribbean coast of Central America.

Andy Palacio sites a visit to Nicaragua in the 80s as an important moment in shaping his desires to play Garifuna music. He was on his way to serve in a literacy campaign when a storm forced his boat to change direction and stop at a nearby village. It was here that he met a Garifuna man who could not believe that Palacio could speak Garifuna, for the old man believed that the language would perish with him. 'From that day I realized that what was happening in Nicaragua, the disappearance of Garifuna culture, foreshadowed what was going to happen in Belize less than a generation down the road,' recalls Palacio. 'I decided to follow my passion and focus more on performing Garifuna music as a way to keep the traditions alive long into the future.'





If you like what you hear help Stonetree and Andy continue with their mission and purchase a cd from their website. And don't be surprised if these voices sound familiar when listening to upcoming InRadio cd's, I have a hunch that at least Andy will make his way onto our compilations.

I spent my weekend in Chicago, re-living college life in the dorms and eating a lot of burritos. I left smiling because I found two cd's I have been scrounging the records stores in Minneapolis for. Thanks to Reckless Records I now have two amazing new, well old, albums in my posession:

ESG 'South Bronx Story' and The Slits 'Cut'

These two groups were and are hugely instrumental in the history of punk and music in general, and were two of the first female led bands in punk rock, no wave and hip hop history, inspiring movements such as Riot Grrrl in the early nineties.

Starting in the 70's, ESG is a group of four sisters who grew up in the South Bronx. Their mother, seeing her daughters interest in music and wanting to steer them away from the realities of their neighborhood, begin to buy them instruments as children. She entered them into local talent shows and at one they met Ed Bahlman who owned 99 Records. He became their unofficial manager and booked them shows in the punk rock - no wave clubs. The story of ESG gives them a place in three different musical histories - house music, hip hop, and punk. Their first EP contained 'moody' an all time dance floor classic and 'ufo' one of the most highly sampled tracks in hip hop. They are still playing music today and have added to their numbers with renee's daughter, nicole and valerie's daughter, chistelle.

The Slits were formed in 1976 and after a few shows were invited on tour supporting the clash on the 'white riot' tour in 1977. In the beginning their music was abrasive and loud, shouted choruses with stuttering drums. In 1977 and 1978 they put out two Peel Sessions, the only recordings before 'cut' which was released on Island in 1979. By the time 'cut' came out their sound was much more polished and reggae influenced, thanks in part to Dennis Bovell who produced the record. They continued to play in the early 80's but many feel that their initial energy had deserted them and they disbanded to other projects in 1981. Ari Up and Tessa Pollitt reformed the band in 2006 releasing and EP and going on tour.

Which means that lucky for all of us who weren't around when these bands began playing in the 70's that there is still hope to catch them live.

I don't care who you are these albums will make you dance in whatever capacity you can, so go out and buy these albums, or buy them from the labels online if you can't find them at your local record store.

Oh yeah, and InRadio 4.6: Moments In Movement is on it's way, the theme of which works quite nicely with this.

best,
alice

here in Minneapolis we've been welcomed with quite a cold front.

The March/April InRadio is now out of my hands and into the hands of our good friends at Copy Cats Media. I'm excited to see the final product and get those in the mail for all of you.

Enjoy another sneak peak into InRadio 4.6. This video shows the producer side of Lee Scratch Perry and talks about the role music plays in Jamaica.


A new version of imp is out and we think it looks great. Take a listen on the left and tell us what you think.

-alice

We at InRadio thought it was finally time to open up a little bit more to our loyal listeners. We'll use this space to keep you updated on InRadio and imp happenings as well as for any other reasons we may find. Please use this space however you'd like. Tell us what you're listening to, who you'd like to hear on the compilations, what you liked and didn't like from past comps.

Good news from imp:
Bust Magazine just released their imp powered media player last week. Go check out all the great music that they're recommending, especially Karen Dalton, one of my personal favorites.


As you guys hopefully enjoy the January/February compilation, I am in the process of putting together the March/April compilation. Here's a little sneak peak of what's to come.




Take Care,
alice