I’ve recently made a return to ceremonial sound after a month-long venture into what I’d describe as “comfort genres” (for example, 90s eurotrash). One of my favorite Western artists that falls under that category is Roberto Musci, an Italian musician who makes incredible use of field recordings from the Eastern world.
The first song I ever heard of his, and perhaps my favorite song of all time, was “Claudia, Wilhelm R and Me” from his 2016 album “Tower of Silence.”
I’m not sure exactly how I came across it; I just remember being 13 and feeling like what I had just discovered was something profound. “Tower of Silence” has been tucked into my pocket since, and I tote it around like a lucky charm.
Released in 1983, it was a product of his travels about Africa, Asia, and the Middle East: “The Loa of Music” has field recordings of chants in different languages, instruments unfamiliar to mainstream Western music, and storytelling from across the globe.
Some of my favorite tracks from the album are the ones with Indian elements (sue me), including “Improbably Music,” “Katak Dance for H. Partch” and “Lazy Raga.”
They are delightful in their incorporation of the Hindustani sound, while still taking a contemporary, experimental stance on the endeavor.
“The Loa of Music” is a beautiful collection of songs to meditate to — move about to, breathe in rhythm with, sit outside to — and what better time for that than now.
As the leaves change color and the eventual chill ever-so-capriciously sets in, you may find yourself craving some sweet beats alongside your leftover Halloween candy. In that case, you’re in luck, as many of WKNC’s favorite electronic artists have recently put out new work.
The New Tunes
bye2, a jungle and breakcore artist from the UK known for her album “Teeth Restoration,” just dropped a new album at the beginning of October called My Wife Is Drink Paint.”
Its frantic breaks interspersed with deeper subterranean-sounding instrumentation and patches of coarse noise make for some cool tracks.
It’s a little tale of love and digestion that should be fun for anyone who enjoys breakcore or jungle. You can even download it completely for free on Bandcamp right now.
Another big release is Machine Girl’s new album “MG Ultra,” which came out Oct. 18. The New York electronic duo continues their tradition of hard-hitting sound that crosses into industrial and results in a kind of electronic hardcore.
This noisy vibrancy is boosted by founding member Matt Stephenson’s howling vocals and drummer Sean Kelly’s relentless hammering. “MG Ultra” features plenty of tracks that fans will enjoy; my personal favorite is probably the catchy “Psychic Attack.”
Heading in a calmer direction, the artist TURQUOISEDEATH released their new album “Kaleidoscope” on Oct. 11.
TURQUOISEDEATH has an interesting discography, spanning atmospheric drum and bass, breakcore, breakbeat, dark ambient and even some emo, post-rock and shoegaze.
On the album “Se Bueno,” they collaborated with Korean indie flagships Asian Glow, Parannoul and BrokenTeeth to produce a unique blend of these genres.
“Kaleidoscope,” meanwhile, is firmly on the electronic side of things, but it still implements newer sounds for TURQUOISEDEATH like IDM and trance.
I’m personally partial to trance, and find some of the tracks very pretty. “Kaleidoscope” is a smooth listen that can be downloaded for free off of the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Also, WKNC now has music from all of the above releases in our Afterhours automatic rotation, and there’s more to come.
Tune in from 6pm to 5am on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday nights for a chance to hear some cool new electronic stuff on the radio waves. (Provided that a DJ isn’t on air, of course—but then you get to listen to their awesome music instead.)
WKNC DJ Emma Bookhardt was named best DJ personality in the College Media Association’s Film and Audio Festival. Photo contributed by Emma Bookhardt.
A WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 DJ has been named among the best in the country.
Emma Bookhardt, a third-year student studying English and communication, earned first place in the best DJ personality category in College Media Association’s 2024 Film and Audio Festival. On the air as Bodhi, Bookhardt hosts “Reel-to-Reel,” a weekly two-hour program that takes a deep dive into the intersection of movies and music. In her award-winning submission, she examined the 1977 classic “Smokey and the Bandit” with music from the film and the time period explored it in. Other episodes have explored “Dazed and Confused,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “Animal House.” “Reel-to-Reel” airs Fridays from 8-10 a.m. on WKNC 88.1 FM.
Film and Audio Festival winners were announced at the Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association’s Fall National College Media Convention, held Oct. 29-Nov. 2 in New Orleans.
College Media Association also presented its individual and organizational Pinnacle awards at the convention. WKNC Public Affairs Content Creator Ellie Feaga, who graduated in May 2024, was awarded third place for audio newscast for “Eye on the Triangle Weekly News Jan. 29, 2024.” WKNC was also named third place for Radio Station of the Year. This was WKNC’s ninth year as a finalist for the award.
WKNC also received honors from the College Media Business and Advertising Managers at their national convention Nov. 7-9 in Philadelphia.
Bookhardt’s “Reel-to-Reel” took another top finish, this time in Best Digital Self Promotion Ad for “Reel-to-Reel Presents: Hello, I’m…Johnny Knoxville?” The March 8, 2024 episode included tracks by Johnny Cash, Southern Culture on the Skids, and Guided by Voices.
Emma Bookhardt won first in Digital Self Promotion Ad for her “Reel-to-Reel” episode featuring music from and inspired by the “Jackass The Movie.”
WKNC’s final award was second place Best Promotion Audio Ad for “Jazz in my Radio” to advertise WKNC’s “Sunset” jazz music block, airing Sundays from 6 p.m. to midnight. The ad was voiced by Spencer Grattan, a fourth-year student studying computer science, and produced by Claire Conklin, a May 2024 graduate.
Emilia Rivadeneira (left), a fourth-year student studying political science and communication, welcomed Zania Sanders (middle), a third-year student studying science, technology and society and AYA Ambassador at the African American Cultural Center, and Annabelle Rossi (right), a third-year student studying political science and President of Students for Immigrant Rights and Equality, to discuss their views on the 2024 election as part of 24-hour live coverage from college students across the country. Photo by Jamie Lynn Gilbert.
Student radio station WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 joined college media outlets nationwide to provide 24-hour election coverage as part of Student News Live.
Created as a non-partisan news hub to amplify the voices of student journalists, Student News Live coordinated a live audio and video feed starting at noon ET on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Marshall University from Huntington, West Virginia started and ended the 24-hour broadcast and was joined by student journalists from North Carolina State University, William Paterson University (NJ), Wayne State College (NE), Harrison High School (GA), Syracuse University (NY), State University of New York at Old Westbury, Ohio University, Metropolitan State University (CO), Grand Valley State University (MI), Kutztown University (PA), University of Texas-Arlington, Ashland University (OH), University of West Georgia, Santa Monica College (CA), Texas A&M University, California State University-Fullerton, University of California-Berkley, University of Cork (Ireland) and Centenary University (NJ).
WKNC at NC State took the midnight to 1 a.m. slot. Public affairs director and “Eye on the Triangle” host Emilia Rivadeneira, a fourth-year student studying political science and communication, divided her hour into two, 30-minute segments.
Rivadeneira was joined live by Mac McCorkle, Professor of the Practice in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, and Elizabeth Lane, Assistant Professor of Political Science at NC State. They offered an analysis of the election results, including the impact of Donald Trump’s win in North Carolina, the N.C. Supreme Court race, the citizenship voting amendment, and the future of North Carolina voting patterns. The interview was simulcast on Student News Live and WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 and recorded for YouTube.
WKNC then considered how NC State students felt about the election in a conversation with Annabelle Rossi, a third-year student studying political science and President of Students for Immigrant Rights and Equality, and Zania Sanders, a third-year student studying science, technology and society and AYA Ambassador at the African American Cultural Center. They discussed anxiety about the election, what issues were important to college students, youth voter turnout and influences, and the role of student organizations in election advocacy.
“Collectively, we created a nationwide student journalism broadcast that offered the audience something new: the perspective of the younger generation of Americans,” wrote Rob Quicke, professor and director of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University and co-founder of Student News Live, in a post-broadcast news release. “Topics and issues of interest to this generation were probably only covered by Student News Live, and not heard elsewhere. It’s important that we shared those voices and reported from the communities that don’t get a platform or opportunity to communicate on other forms of media.”
Student News Live had more than 1,700 YouTube views on their livestream. The election coverage was produced in partnership with iHeartRadio, PBS News Student Reporting Labs and West Virgina Public Broadcasting.
“Hide In Plain Sight,” off of Jim James’ 2016 album “Eternally Even,” is a spiritual pondering.
For those who are unfamiliar, Jim James is one of the members of the rock band My Morning Jacket, and “Eternally Even” was his second solo release. The entire album is a work of art (I also really love “Same Old Lie,” which sounds wide-eyed like a revelation), so I recommend listening to it in full. My heart has however been taken captive by one track in particular.
Synths brazen and verses bearing profound truths in relatively uncomplicated language. The output is abstract, but the feeling is whole. It’s a floccose sound, like a semi-bitter mug of green tea; it is warm and leaves a certain crackle in the throat.
“Hide in Plain Sight” starts off as noise. We hear a bassline and it’s as definite as a heartbeat; the guitar kicks in and it’s blown out, wailing, alluring. And then Jim’s voice, smokey bourbon perfection, singing to us notes on absolutes (”Life’s eternal struggle / It’s just a dream / I hate to burst your bubble / Times change, entire lives reduced to rubble.”) and the contradiction of hoping like a human does (”But then what if the world became sweet again? / Hand in hand, everybody all the best of friends / Golden ends, could we handle it?”)
It’s a song for the end of the day, when change has become blasé; you’re tired, and you’re tired of being tired. Perhaps my favorite line in the whole song reflects that sentiment: “Life goes on with or without you.” It’s polysemous, which is what I love about it so much. It could be defeat, but it could also be sourcing solace in the surrender.
The best way to describe it might be as a soundtrack to an hour of recuperation, perfect for picking up the pieces.
