The fourth installment of a five-part pilgrimage exploring the 2026 BIG EARS festival. The drummer of LA quintet SML, Booker Stardrum reflects on the group’s remarkable six-set residency, where groove-based improvisation pivoted from dance party to delicate texture, fueled by the rare alchemy of strong personalities who refuse to dominate. Stardrum also discusses Close-up On The Outside, his deep new solo album for We Jazz, a quiet meditation that showcases his unique compositional voice apart from his collaborators. Against the backdrop of a festival that felt like a love letter to LA’s rise as a gravitational center for contemporary music, he notes the cross-pollination on display: “When we lock in, we lock in. It’s an honor to play with musicians of that talent.” Sound Propositions should be available wherever you get your podcasts, so please keep an eye out and subscribe (and rate and review, it helps others who might be interested find us). You can support Sound Propositions on Patreon if you are so inclined, or send a one-time donation via PayPal. The first two seasons are also available on Bandcamp. I’m very grateful for any support, which will help ensure future episodes. Interview recorded in Knoxville, 28 March 2026Produced and mixed in St Louis, July 2026 SOUND PROPOSITIONS podcastEpisode 41: THE PILGRIMAGEPart 4: IN RESIDENCE - with Booker Stardrum LINKS Booker Stardrum (Bandcamp)SML (Bandcamp)Cloud Becomes Your HandInternational AnthemWe JazzJoyful NoiseBig Ears TRACKLISTARTIST – “TITLE” (ALBUM, YEAR) [Greg Saunier soundchecking for Joyful Noise]SP INTROBooker Stardrum, “Inside Sounds” (Close-up On The Outside, 2026)Cloud Becomes Yours Hand, “Doggy Paddle (Bogart the Sorghum)” (doggy paddle, 2011)Cloud Becomes Yours Hand, “Third Avenue Slime” (Rest in Fleas, 2016)Booker Stardrum, “Telluric (ft. Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Logan Hone)” (Close-up On The Outside, 2026)Harry Partch and ensemble/Danlee Mitchell, “Castor & Pollux: A Dance for the Twin Rhythms of Gemini” (The World Of Harry Partch, 1968)Booker Stardrum & Chris Williams, “Ballast” (Relay, 2023)SML, “Plankton” (How You Been, 2025)Booker Stardrum, “Close-up On The Outside” (Close-up On The Outside, 2026)Booker Stardrum, “Dusk (ft. Chris Williams)” (Close-up On The Outside, 2026)Booker Stardrum, “Diorama” (CRATER, 2021)SML, “Rubber Tree Dance” (Small Medium Large, 2024)SML, “Moving Walkway” (How You Been, 2025)Gregory Uhlmann, “Back Scratch” (Extra Stars, 2026)Jeff Parker, Josh Johnson, Anna Butterss, Jay Bellerose “2019 07-08 I” (Mondays At The Enfield Tennis Academy, 2022) Jeff Parker ETA IVtet, "Freakadelic" (The Way Out of Easy, 2024) SML, “Window Sill Song” (Small Medium Large, 2024)SML, “Taking out the Trash” (How You Been, 2025)SML, “The Drums” (Spontaneous Music Live, 2026)SML XL (Jeff Parker and Mikel Patrick Avery), [excerpt] (Live from Greyhound at Big Ears, 28 March 2026)Play Time, “Open the Door, Joey” (Magic Object, 2026)Booker Stardrum and Evan Shornstein, “AND A GOOD MONDAY” (OOPS!, 2026)Booker Stardrum, “Five Finger Cloud” (‘Temporary etc.’, 2018)Booker Stardrum, “Drim Dram” (‘Dance And’, 2015)Booker Stardrum, “Phantom Near Interlude” (Flowers Not Bombs, 2026) —-Sound Propositions is written, recorded, mixed, and produced by Joseph Sannicandro.
