Transmissions

Welcome back to Transmissions with Jason P. Woodbury. This week on the show, another talk that spun out of our Big Ears hang out, a conversation with a journeyman musician Fred Thomas.

Even if you don’t know Thomas’ name, you’ve heard him: In the ‘90s, he was responsible for the math rock band Chore; from there, he joined up with Warren Defever’s genre bending indie rock outfit His Name Is Alive, alongside groups like Lovesick and his own band Saturday Looks Good To Me, who melded Detroit R&B and soul to twee indie pop.

Thomas has stayed busy too: in addition to his solo albums and archival projects from Saturday Looks Good to Me—more on that in this talk—he’s a member of Winged Wheel, alongside Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, who are responsible for one of our favorite albums of 2026, Desert So Green. And you may have seen him as a guest musician with Detroit post-punks Protomartyr ahead of the release of their new album, Hotel Usona, out September 25th on Domino Records. And then there’s Idle Ray, Mighty Clouds, and so many more projects.

In addition to all that, Thomas is also a prolific writer about music, namely for the Allmusic guide. All this makes him an ideal guest for Transmissions—an artist who isn’t hemmed in by any single genre. We spoke with Thomas out at Big Ears in Knoxville—and as was the case with last week’s Dust-to-Digital episode, we reconvened after Big Ears to tape a proper chat. Transmissions editor Andrew Horton joins in as co-host for this one, as he has unique insight into Thomas’ electronic efforts: Horton released one of Thomas’ many projects, All Energy Must Continue Upward, on his great label, Good Glass Records.

From pre-fame adventures with Andrew WK to his work as a music writer, from Ethio-jazz to house music, this conversation runs a wide game. So here it is, presented this week on Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions, produced in collaboration with the Talkhouse Podcast Network.

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Since 1999, Atlanta label Dust-to-Digital has created lavish boxsets, books, and collections of gospel, folk, blues, field recordings, and other sounds sourced from deep global archives.

Led by April and Lance Ledbetter, the label has been responsible for works like Goodbye, Babylon, a landmark 2003 gospel collection which inspired Brian Eno to say, "I love this kind of archaeology of the beginnings of music, in this case soul and rock ‘n’ roll …[it] features hair-raising sermons, the greatest hits of pastors." Other engrossing deep dives include Music of Morocco: Recorded by Paul Bowles, 1959; Excavated Shellac: An Alternate History of the World's Music; and the John Fahey collection, Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You (The Fonotone Years 1958-1965), alongside many others.

This week on Transmissions, we present a loose hang with the Ledbetters, a lowkey look into the normal day-to-day of people who have dedicated their lives to the extraordinary effort of archiving sounds of the past.

And now, Dust-to-Digital has launched an app: Dust-to-Digital Radio. Featuring a rotating selection of music released by the label and archival material digitized by the Dust-to-Digital Foundation, the app makes good on the label’s namesake, bringing historical music directly into the digital present. And it’s fun too—in an age of endless choice, it’s a treat to hand your ears over to these expert curators.

In late March, we met the Ledbetters at the Big Ears Musical Festival. A few days after we all settled into our respective homes, we reconvened on Zoom to discuss the label’s mission, navigating the algorithms, and of course, some of the most notable Dust-to-Digital fans, including the aforementioned Eno and Law & Order's Carey Lowell.
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Describing the sound of Sacred Harp singing can be difficult. Arcane, otherworldly, and overwhelming, it’s a unique a cappella form of shape note Christian hymn singing that was born in England in the 18th century, but took root in the American south. It’s not something you listen to so much something as experience.

This week on Transmissions, host Jason P. Woodbury speaks with Matt Hinton. Along with his wife, Erica Hinton, he’s the director of the 2006 documentary Awake, My Soul: The Story of The Sacred Harp; in 2025, the duo returned to the film, remastering it and crafting a full update. This month, the film is screening in the Los Angeles area, including showings in Glendale, and Santa Monica, at the Laemmle Glendale, Laemmle Royal, and the Monica Film Center.

Sacred Harp utilizes a shape note system, in which shapes—triangles, circles, squares, and diamonds—are paired with syllables—fa, sol, la, and mi—to represent the notes in the traditional scale. Awake, My Soul explores the culture that centers around this form of communal worship, and invites viewers into this strange musical world.

In addition to his work as a documentarian, Matt Hinton is a musician himself. He’s a member of the rock band Luxury, which features three Orthodox priests. He made a film about that group too, the 2019 movie Parallel Love: The Story of a Band Called Luxury.

Though the soundtrack for Awake, My Soul, as well as a companion disc, Help Me to Sing: Songs of the Sacred Harp, featuring John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Danielson, Richard Buckner, The Innocence Mission, author Rick Moody, and more, have long been out of print, they returned to streaming last month as the film celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Join us this episode as we dig into the nature of communal singing, folk traditions, and the mysteries of sacred sound.
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Welcome back to Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions with Jason P. Woodbury. This week on the show, we welcome Nashville-based music journalist, critic and author Erin Osmon, to discuss her tremendous book, Won't Back Down: Heartland Rock and the Fight for America, which chronicles how heartland rock, typified by artists like Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Bob Seger, and more, brought a populist, Americana-inspired sound to the airwaves of the radio and MTV.

Along the way, Osmon shines a light on lesser heralded artists in the heartland canon, including Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, and Tracy Chapman, explores the impact of the shift from vinyl and tape to compact discs, the ubiquity of synthesizer technology, and the progressive undercurrent that propels this music.

Osmon’s writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times, and she’s the author of a 33 ⅓ book on John Prine and Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost. With Won’t Back Down, she traces the origins of heartland rock and its influence on artists like The War on Drugs and The Hold Steady, and best of all, offers deep insight into the complex characters of its most notable figures. Especially intriguing is the Indiana-born Osmon’s focus on fellow Hoosier John “Cougar” Mellencamp, who emerges as one of the most fascinating characters, a hothead with a leftist heart and punk rock verve.

This year marks the 250th birthday of America, and this conversation was taped just a few days before the 4th of July. We haven't been feeling all that patriotic—maybe it has something to do with the fascists governing our country and their endless commitment to foreign wars and environmental destruction—but Osmon’s book reminds us that this country has at its core something more noble, some promise that has not been stamped out just yet. As the Boss once sang: “Everything dies, baby, that’s a fact/But maybe everything that dies someday comes back.”
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Occasionally, a song breaks forth from the void and strikes you like a bolt of lightning. That’s how we felt first hearing “Rockcurry,” from the late dub pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry and electronic duo Mouse on Mars’ Spatial, No Problem, released earlier this summer on June 5th via Domino Recording Co.

The song feels a little like plugging a fork into an electrical socket, à la Twin Peaks: The Return. Shock. Boom. A whole new world.

This week on Transmissions we're joined by Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma, Mouse on Mars, calling in from Germany to discuss creating Spatial, No Problem with Lee. The two have been friends since they were kids. In 1993, they formed Mouse on Mars, drawing from electronic traditions, live instrumentation, breakbeats, and a propensity for collaboration with other artists, including Mark E. Smith of The Fall, members of the National, and Stereolab—who, hey now, provide our show’s theme song: “Flashes in the Afternoon."

Though Lee is best remembered for his foundational contributions to reggae and dub music, his collab with Mouse on Mars is not a reggae record per se. Sure, that’s one element in the stew, but it simmers alongside ingredients suggesting jazz, krautrock, ambient music, and even some blues. Originally recorded back in 2019, Spatial, No Problem showcases just how dynamic Lee was as a creative force in the years before his passing in 2021.

The LP demonstrates how The Upsetter could do any sound. From the Neu! ready strut of “Rockcurry” to the Eastern-tinged jazz of “Spatialee” to looping ecstatica of “Hallo Shiva,” the album blends generations and approaches, equal parts live instrumentation and chopped loops. It’s a fitting final statement from a shamanistic artist who vibrated with trickster energy right up to the end.

This week on Transmissions, Jan and Andi share memories of working on the album, with detours into discussion of some of their other collaborations, with artists like Mark E. Smith and another Transmissions favorite, Swamp Dogg.
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