Best Now And Xen Podcasts (2025)

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093 - Peter Jung (PitchGrid software) 58:08

Play Pause

1M ago58:08

58:08

Peter Jung demonstrates his microtonal software for us - it has a lattice interface that allows one to visualize regularly constructed scales, perform operations related to them that are intuitive, and connect that to synthesizers. The working title is "PitchGrid" - but if others have suggestions feel free to comment! This is an extremely visual ep…

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092 - Stephen Altoft 1:18:07

2M ago1:18:07

1:18:07

Join us for a chat with Stephen Altoft about all things microtonal trumpet, going over mechanics, tuning, and the composition scene. Stephen shows off several trumpets and flugelhorns and their valve systems. Other topics include affordable instruments, conferences, venues, composers, extended techniques, and improvised vs. notated music. [Music] K…

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091 - Genoël von Lilienstern 1:51:21

2M ago1:51:21

1:51:21

Big thanks to Genoël for joining us on the Now and Xen podcast. This episode is a bit unconventional, as Genoël, in large part, is interviewing me for issue 144 of the "Positionen magazine" which was released in August. Go check it out online, as well as Genoël's compositions! A lot of our discussion revolves around where xenharmonics and microtona…

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090 - Maddie Ashman 25:54

4M ago25:54

25:54

Cellist, guitarist, vocalist, and compositional viral icon Maddie Ashman joins us on the Now and Xen podcast to discuss her work. Topics of choice include musical influences, feeling microtonal colors, hurdles when playing such music, and how to find your way. Instagram clip of "dark" (Maddie Ashman) from otherwordly Instagram clip of hocket type b…

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089 - Alyssa Aska 51:29

4M ago51:29

51:29

Composer Alyssa Aska stops by Now and Xen to talk about her microtonal compositions for fixed media and various combinations of electric and acoustic pianos and organs. She draws inspiration from video game music and early music, and often shifts the tuning system used over time for deliberate effects. We talk about software and setups. Exciting op…

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088 - Kari Ikonen (Maqiano) 37:08

5M ago37:08

37:08

Finnish jazz legend Kari Ikonen joins us on Now and Xen to go over the specifics of his new invention, the "Maqiano," a clamp system that allows pianists to retune individual piano keys microtonally, and quickly, without needing to call a piano technician. For a good idea of what it sounds like in practice, check out his latest album "Al-Bahr" with…

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087 - Chris Kline (Projective Tuning Space) 1:31:22

5M ago1:31:22

1:31:22

Chris Kline and I discuss his Projective Tuning Space app and constructed instruments. The app allows one to visualize various connections between temperaments, Lumatone layouts, and microtonal sources for whichever tuning you choose to work with. His self-made instruments involve 3D printing and range from flutes to ukuleles to death whistles. Atl…

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086 - Phillip Golub and Joseph Branciforte 51:08

8M ago51:08

51:08

Come check out Phillip's new composed album with us, "Loop 7," featuring his characteristic style but infused with 22-tone equal temperament. Grammy-award-winner Joseph Branciforte joins us as well to share how the acoustic pianos were recorded and treated as "one instrument" in the process. Find "Loop 7" here: https://phillipgolub.bandcamp.com/alb…

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085 - Julian Woods 1:28:44

9M ago1:28:44

1:28:44

Microtonal jazz extraordinaire Julian Woods shares with us his methodology for re-tuning classic standards into JI and what it's like playing in a live band. Topics include playing songs, composition directives, microtonal setups, and guitarists' advantages for frets, fretlets, and fretless, Philipp Gerschlauer has collaborated with Julian on his o…

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084 - Subhraag Singh and Infinitone 2 1:30:33

9M ago1:30:33

1:30:33

Subhraag Singh, creator of the Infinitone, graciously agreed to discuss the updated software with me! The update uses many new features such as dynamic re-tuning, visuals, LFO control, key triggers, and more. We go on a magical quest to discover Stephen's xenharmonic tomato, and dissect the ethics of advertising radical new microtonal morphing soft…

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083 - Richie Greene 1:30:20

10M ago1:30:20

1:30:20

Richie and I discuss phonorealism (pioneered by Peter Ablinger), 41-tone equal temperament, and his collection of instruments and live performances, such as "Six Monologues." Sam Reflecting on the First Time He Heard Her Sing (2017) - phonorealism ludus vocalis (Burp) - Felipe Tovar-Hevao Dream Hangover - !mindparade Six Monologues (mvt. 3 - Traged…

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082 - Microtonal Guitar Method (Tolgahan Çoğulu) 34:15

1y ago34:15

34:15

We have regular guest Tolgahan Çoğulu back to discuss upcoming projects such as collaboration with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (including their secret new microtonal guitar, sheet music transcription), classical/flamenco guitar ideas, the new fretlet guitar design, microtonal bends on electric guitar, and the Anatonlian rock scale. King Gizz…

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081 - Dave Fiuczynski 2:07:16

1y ago2:07:16

2:07:16

Check out our episode with iconoclastic guitar legend Dave Fiuczynski. He wields a double neck fretless guitar, and plays a bunch of cool microtonal riffage for us! We talked about two tracks from "Flam! Bam! Pan-Asian Microjam!" and two from "Mikrojazz." In "Flam," there are a variety of compositional methods used, and the vocabulary is almost ent…

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080 - Music Discord May 2:27:04

1+ y ago2:27:04

2:27:04

This huge episode features three vastly different conversations, each with prominent members of a respective microtonal music discord. (1) Xenharmonic Alliance (ground, anomaly, xenoindex, Frédéric Gagné, HEHEHE I AM A SUPAHSTAR SAGA) Hyperspace Odyssey [21edo] - from Adxenture EP Serendipitous Arrival [26edo] - from Adxenture EP Liminal City Escal…

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079 - Melopœia 52:07

1+ y ago52:07

52:07

Xenharmonic black metal project Melopœia consists of Brian Leong, Jon Lervold, and Dave Tremblay. Their albums are inspired by J.R.R. Tolkein, and features his direct text both sung, and by mapping the letters of the text to different notes of 26-tone equal temperament. Their latest album utilizing this is "Valaquenta," be sure to catch the latest …

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078 - Christopher Otto (JACK quartet) 1:22:05

2y ago1:22:05

1:22:05

Chat about contemporary music, composition, and just intonation with us in this theoretically adventurous and wide ranging episode. Christopher Otto, composer and violinist, works with the JACK quartet, a group that has played the music of such individuals as John Zorn, Tristan Perich, Cenk Ergün, Tyshawn Sorey, Catherine Lamb, Georg Frederich Haas…

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077 - Noah Jordan 1:13:37

2y ago1:13:37

1:13:37

Take a magical tour with us through some of Noah Dean Jordan's microtonal instruments (including the requinto), including improvised performances! Be sure to check out the "Noah Dean Jordan" account on Bandcamp as well as the "Nueva Armonica" account! Intro: I Was Once a River (Rock Creek II) Outro: I Was Once a River (Te Quiero Verde) Check out No…

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076 - Matthew Sheeran 2:34:58

2y ago2:34:58

2:34:58

Today's episode celebrates the culmination of a years-long project with Matthew Sheeran, widely celebrated composer, orchestrator, and arranger. The album we've been working on is called "Acoustic Microtonal," and it is a recording of Easley Blackwood's Twelve Microtonal Etudes using acoustic instruments, playing monophonic lines in isolation and t…

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075 - Saad Haddad 47:29

2y ago47:29

47:29

In this episode, we discuss composition and performance with composer Saad Haddad. One prominent topic - the challenges involved working with orchestras and large ensembles playing microtonal music, and logistics of the industry. We also discuss ideas of east vs. west, style infiltration, using minimal sets of pitches, and maqam. Music: Vortex Temp…

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074 - Sevish and benyamind (Big Sway) 1:44:05

2y ago1:44:05

1:44:05

After this episode, be sure to check out the new Sevish album, "Big Sway!" Myself, Sevish, and benyamind have a classic microtonal chat about all things fun and intervallic, covering topics such as intuitive tunings, voice manipulation (vocoding, autotuning, etc.), perfectionism, going gridless, expectations, and communication and accessibility wit…

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073 - Brock Benzel 36:26

2+ y ago36:26

36:26

In this brief but informative chat with Brock Benzel, we explore uncharted territory, with a firm commitment to being true to the self, taking on challenges, putting the music first, and breaking rules just the right way. Enjoy the comfort of alien intervals that Brock brings using the Lumatone keyboard instrument (our big topic). Music [Intro] Par…

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072 - Steve Mueske 45:16

2+ y ago45:16

45:16

An episode about synth and drums among other tidbits. Topics include names, aliases, Sevish himself, reverberance, randomness, evil, disguising tuning, non-octave tuning, flaws, beauty, the joy of doing creative work yourself, AI, picking your genres, the microtonal community, and art. Be sure to check out Steve's work as "Pentachrist" on Bandcamp,…

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071 - Denny Genovese 2:13:16

2+ y ago2:13:16

2:13:16

In this episode, Denny Genovese recalls his history of creating and studying microtonal music, and his experience creating and performing in the impressive Exotic Music Ensemble. Join us as we become inspired through the brown note, Ivor Darreg's secret math codes, the origins of Fractal Tune Smithy, the Moody Blues, FM synthesis, JI scales, and nu…

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070 - Danny Playamaqui 56:09

2+ y ago56:09

56:09

Check out Danny Playamaqui's electronic music, a hugely expansive discography using a staggering variety of techniques. Danny conducts by-ear-tuning editing, strategic de-tuning, varispeed tricks, and poly-systemic techniques in addition to starting out with xenharmonic tunings as templates. Luckily, 4 bars a day keeps the doctor away (or is it an …

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069 - Bryan Deister 1:29:05

2+ y ago1:29:05

1:29:05

Come join us for a pleasant studio chat with Bryan Deister, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and jazz pianist extraordinaire. Recently he has been exploring microtonal covers on the Lumatone, with massive success on TikTok. He has also written many albums featuring microtonal music in various tuning systems, generally equal divisions, the most rece…

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068 - Chris Bandy 49:41

3y ago49:41

49:41

Chris Bandy, a cappella maestro and creative polymath, joins us to discuss the microtonality of his spectacular arrangements on YouTube. He works in Logic Pro using FlexPitch. Most of his microtonal strategies involve tuning standard adjustments and drifts, or moving microtonal distances. His most xenharmonic sounding arrangement is likely "Where i…

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067 - D&D's guide 1:07:05

3y ago1:07:05

1:07:05

Dave Keenan and Douglas Blumeyer have written an in-depth, specific guide about the mathematical principles of regular temperament theory that are groundbreaking in their consistency and explanatory power. We have them on to discuss how the exchanges evolved, de-mystify some theory concepts, and get spicy with terminology. Music [Intro] Dave Keenan…

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066 - Mat Muntz 55:35

3y ago55:35

55:35

Experimental bagpipe and bass legend Mat Muntz brings his Croatian folk music expertise to the table… a topic most would say he has matsered in depth. Check out his latest album "Phantom Island" on Bandcamp, which freely combines folk music and jazz idioms into a grand polysystemic masterpiece. A lot of our conversation revolves around the intrigui…

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065 - Aaron Myers-Brooks 35:05

3y ago35:05

35:05

Check out this conversation with Aaron Myers-Brooks, Pittsburgh prog guitarist/composer extraordinaire. His latest album, "Oblique," is a microtonal odyssey exploring various quirky polyrhythms, applications of 17-tone equal temperament, electronic sounds, and distortion flavors. We get an inside exclusive look at the scores to "Energy Shapes", fig…

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064 - The One Footed Bride 1:11:58

3y ago1:11:58

1:11:58

"One-Footed" is a piece written by Taylor Brook named after Harry Partch's "The One-Footed Bride'' Just-Intonation diagram. We discuss the aforementioned piece with Taylor Brook and John Schneider, diving into the ins and outs of writing idiomatically for the Partch ensemble, using Partch as inspiration, notation, and extended techniques on these i…

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063 - acreil 39:01

3+ y ago39:01

39:01

Check out acreil's music! Algorithmic albums appended with "a." Keeper of obscure words in lists. Hardware enthusiast and certified synth geek. We have a delightful episode discussing how acreil works in Pure Data among other curiosities, such as how one navigates form to prevent boredom. Not only do we mess it up (or whatever), but we solve the pa…

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062 - Skueue 49:23

3+ y ago49:23

49:23

Algorithmic August kicks off with Skueue, builder of the unnamed machine in Pure Data. This is an abstract, idea-filled episode packed to the brim with insights about the process. Our points of focus include a discussion of how writing affects software, uncommon disagreement about common practice, VST's in PD, programming cadences, rootful resoluti…

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061 - Nicholas Denton Protsack 49:05

3+ y ago49:05

49:05

Nicholas Denton Protsack's music abounds with spectral delights of various kinds. Our talk today has a particular focus on notation, delving into the strategy behind its presentation. As we study tuning more and more, becoming less rigid with its implementation, it becomes helpful to focus on not just approximating some tunings with others, but als…

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060 - Aaron Breeze 1:04:41

3+ y ago1:04:41

1:04:41

How on earth does one create a 1200-tone tone row? Or even a 372-tone row in Sibelius? Find out in this wacky episode featuring Aaron Breeze, the swingin' licc master himself! The broader topics in this thrilling, conversational episode include silliness and perceived complexity, the connection between playing and speaking, red dress methodology, r…

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059 - Stephen James Taylor 1:42:41

3+ y ago1:42:41

1:42:41

In this colorful, rich episode, we take a look into the importance of visual and narrative elements in accompanying microtonal music and its ideas. Stephen James Taylor does this not only through writing music in film, but also through his own visual content, such as in "Surfing the Sonic Sky," an important documentary about Erv Wilson. Among the t…

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058 - Anna-Maria Hefele 39:14

3+ y ago39:14

39:14

Anna-Maria Hefele, overtone singing sensation, has kindly graced us with her presence! Witness conversation about the tuning and construction of the intricate and aesthetically majestic Lambdoma project (built by Josef Baier). We also discuss how overtone singing intertwines with various musical ideas (production, style, classical technique, analyt…

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057 - Ventifacts 1:08:44

4y ago1:08:44

1:08:44

A fascinating collaboration between Ben Spees, of The Mercury Tree, and Damon Waitkus, of Jack O' the Clock. We take a look at the acoustic instruments used to create it (including non-Western ones), swap files, and talk about the challenges and inspirations behind the project. We also affirm quarter tones as part of the xenharmonic canon, nerd out…

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056 - Ben Hjertmann & Emmalee Hunnicutt 1:01:47

4y ago1:01:47

1:01:47

"Visitors," a lovely acoustic journey inspired by the visits of animals, is an album that leads to great conversation. Performed by Ben Hjertmann and Emmalee Hunnicutt, this masterpiece uses many different instruments which we discuss here. Fresh topics include: the act of rounding fretless tab, what a mentally ill Sufjan Stevens would sound like, …

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055 - Hear Between the Lines 1:29:29

4+ y ago1:29:29

1:29:29

We chat with Rami Olsen and Freddi Sturm, the brains behind "Hear Between the Lines," about all things microtonal arranging/content! Topics touched upon include contrived wet food analogies, channel ideas, the story of Rami's cool guitars, fooling the ear by drifting, comparing different tuning systems' whole tone scales, piano pedal shredding, and…

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054 - browsers and inharmonic sleep therapy (Sevish) 1:12:34

4+ y ago1:12:34

1:12:34

Sevish and I chat about software, instruments, and philosophical questions. We are both excited to continually witness more and more people become interested in microtonality! Web-based browsers such as Scale Workshop, Xenpaper, and Leimma have made it even easier for people to play microtones without downloading synthesizers - all you need is an I…

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053 - Automatic Microtonal Guitar (Tolgahan Çoğulu) 44:26

4+ y ago44:26

44:26

Check out our latest conversation with the brilliant guitarist Tolgahan Çoğulu, inventor of the LEGO microtonal guitar and automatic microtonal guitar. We dive into how these guitars work, how they could be useful for playing microtones, the inspiration behind these incredible ideas, and the geometry of making frets tune accurately on a LEGO grid! …

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052B - Subhraag Singh 1:20:29

5y ago1:20:29

1:20:29

Here's the last episode we had on as a Patreon exclusive! This wonderful conversation features Subhraag and I talking about Infinitone DMT, an extremely exciting software that acts as the first really practical digital plugin just for retuning synths! Some examples of what it can do? Automate tuning parameters, like fundamental frequency. Shift bet…

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052 - Eric Ederer 1:30:10

5y ago1:30:10

1:30:10

We dissect makam scales with Dr. Eric Ederer, using his fantastic instruments and deep knowledge of theory & praxis. Makam music uses a lot of different parameters to identify itself to its listeners, such as direction (seyir) and where the melody starts. There is a lot of analysis work that can be done in this field, especially in describing histo…

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051 - Dsilton (Georg Vogel) 50:53

5y ago50:53

50:53

We discuss the origin and style of the polystylistic jazz band Dsilton, as well as the 36-note keyboard that Georg Vogel often plays and the tuning setups. Be sure to look out for Dsilton's first studio album out sometime in spring or summer 2021! They play a lot of music live that you can see on their YouTube channels. Music Intro: Iwan Baanas - D…

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050 - Robin Meiksins 1:03:38

5y ago1:03:38

1:03:38

Join us for a conversation with Robin Meiksins, flute performer extraordinaire! She plays lots of new music, and as such is familiar with many contemporary techniques. We discuss favorite tuning systems to play in, ways to achieve microtones on the flute, and how notation can be viewed as "representative" of particular schools of thought. Music (al…

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049 - Taylor Brook 1:19:53

5y ago1:19:53

1:19:53

Composer Taylor Brook regularly works with Just Intonation, string players, and piano timbres. We discuss some of the notational and compositional challenges of working with Just Intonation, the JACK quartet, comma drift, secrets for hiding dissonance, and writing with microtones. Music Intro: Virtutes Occultae (16: Cloud Pastoral) - Taylor Brook D…

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048 - Erica dal Bassa, soprano sfogato 1:05:06

5y ago1:05:06

1:05:06

Composer-performer Erica dal Bassa is an innovator in electronic and vocal music. We explore varied experimental topics such as bytebeat, singing techniques, narratives, and microtonal effects. One way to explore possibilities of the voice in music is to use resonance to make one's voice sound either masculine or feminine, which soprano sfogato use…

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047 - Michael Harrison 1:45:21

5y ago1:45:21

1:45:21

Composer Michael Harrison and I talk about his deep interests in Indian classical music (solfege, tuning, raga, and practice) as well as Just Intonation (septimal intervals). His latest piece, "Just Constellations," is an a cappella piece sung/commissioned by the iconic Roomful of Teeth ensemble. Topics include improvisation, commatic intervals in …

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046 - Músico Nerd (Gustavo Silveira) 35:35

5+ y ago35:35

35:35

A stimulating conversation about content creation, electronics, and microtonal controllers! Gustavo is the original creator of the XT Synth, and his channel has classes on how to make DIY human-computer interfaces. We discuss how we would create a microtonal fretless controller type that no one has ever seen before, and compare it to other interfac…

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045 - Vivian Tylinska 1:31:38

5+ y ago1:31:38

1:31:38

Vivian and I chat about microtonal tuning systems, building instruments, playing guitar, and metal! Her Bandcamp name is Victory Over the Sun. You should be extremely excited about her upcoming microtonal metal album in 17-tone equal temperament! We go over a few of the demos for this album, and play intervals back and forth on keyboards and guitar…