Soundcheck

WNYC Studios
  • 4.5 (138)
  • PERFORMING ARTS
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

WNYC, New York Public Radio, brings you Soundcheck, the arts and culture program hosted by John Schaefer, who engages guests and listeners in lively, inquisitive conversations with established and rising figures in New York City's creative arts scene. Guests come from all disciplines, including pop, indie rock, jazz, urban, world and classical music, technology, cultural affairs, TV and film. Recent episodes have included features on Michael Jackson,Crosby Stills & Nash, the Assad Brothers, Rackett, The Replacements, and James Brown.

  1. Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O, In-Studio (Encore Edition)

    1D AGO

    Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O, In-Studio (Encore Edition)

    New York-based drummer and educator Matt Wilson has performed with and/or played on many recordings by other musicians - Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Charlie Haden, Lee Konitz, among others - and leads ensembles of his own, but at this time of year, the thing he might be best known for is his Christmas Tree-O. And yes, he went there – putting a pun right in the band’s name. The trio, featuring multi-reed player Jeff Lederer and bassist Paul Sikivie, takes holiday tunes as a whimsical jumping off point for a variety of jazz styles, from swing to free improv. Their recent album is called Tree Jazz – The Shape Of Christmas To Come, and they’re here to play their gleeful, irreverent, and sometimes nerdy takes on music of the season, in-studio. Set list: 1. Up on the Rooftop 2. Good King Wenceslas 3. Shine Your Light

    36 min
  2. Jazz-Leaning Donny McCaslin Band Grooves With Crunch, In-Studio

    4D AGO

    Jazz-Leaning Donny McCaslin Band Grooves With Crunch, In-Studio

    Saxophonist and composer Donny McCaslin has been playing with jazz luminaries like Maria Schneider and Dave Douglas, and leading his own band, for a couple of decades. But he’s best known for his work with David Bowie, who basically hired Donny’s whole ensemble to be the band on his final album Blackstar. His latest, Lullaby for the Lost, is a  guitar-driven, rock-influenced, groove-laden beast (in the best way). Donny McCaslin and his band play some of the tunes live, in-studio.  Set List: 1. KID 2. Solace 3. Mercy

    37 min
  3. Composer and Producer Kelly Moran's Prepared Piano Meets Electronica, In-Studio

    DEC 18

    Composer and Producer Kelly Moran's Prepared Piano Meets Electronica, In-Studio

    New York-based classically trained composer and musician Kelly Moran’s music draws on everything from classical to dance to metal, but ends up sounding like none of those. She has become known for her music for prepared piano – a regular piano whose strings have things like metal or wood placed on the strings to alter the sound. Moran has also worked with electronic keyboards, and has recorded music for unaltered, completely acoustic piano. (She has also composed for classical musician Margaret Leng Tan, toured with Oneohtrix Point Never and FKA Twigs, and worked with other visionary contemporaries like Kelsey Lu and Yves Tumor.) Her 2025 record, Don’t Trust Mirrors (Warp Records), combines all three kinds of keyboards. Kelly Moran has brought her audio interface, her tools, and her bags of screws and bolts. She has prepared our piano, and plays in-studio.  Set list: 1. Don't Trust Mirrors 2. Prism Drift 3. Vesela Kelly Moran on sampling her own instrument and production techniques Kelly Moran's Track by Track notes on Don't Trust Mirrors

    42 min
  4. Montreal's Psych-Art Rockers The Besnard Lakes, In-Studio

    DEC 15

    Montreal's Psych-Art Rockers The Besnard Lakes, In-Studio

    The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse. The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night. The Besnard Lakes Are The Last Of The Great Thunderstorm Warnings. The Besnard Lakes are a rock band from Montreal with a knack for intriguing album titles. Their latest is The Besnard Lakes Are The Ghostly Nation, a collection of arty, often psychedelic songs about a society in crisis. The Besnard Lakes play live in our studio for the latest edition of Soundcheck Podcast. Set list: 1. Chemin de la Baie 2. Give Us Our Dominion 3. In Hollywood

    39 min
  5. Brooklyn Band Momma Plays Unplugged, In-Studio

    DEC 11

    Brooklyn Band Momma Plays Unplugged, In-Studio

    The Brooklyn band called Momma revolves around the singing and songwriting team of Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten who combine gauzy vocal harmonies with walls of roaring guitars. Their 2022 album Household Name was a critical favorite, and their 2025 album, Welcome To My Blue Sky, builds on that success with songs about longing, infidelity, leaving people behind, and unknown futures. Etta and Allegra of Momma play uplugged versions of those songs, in-studio. Set list: 1. Bottle Blonde 2. I Want You (Fever) 3. Rodeo

    33 min
  6. Icelandic Pianist Eydís Evenson Shares Elemental Lessons of LIfe and Nature

    DEC 8

    Icelandic Pianist Eydís Evenson Shares Elemental Lessons of LIfe and Nature

    The Icelandic keyboardist and composer Eydís Evensen has released three albums of music that blends classical lyricism with the repeating patterns of post-minimalist music. "Her compositions, guided by emotion, are intimate explorations of mourning, hope, reflection, and renewal—creating a world that invites listeners to feel their way through the music" (Lincoln Center event program). On her latest LP, Oceanic Mirror, one might hear reflections of Iceland’s landscapes – glacial stillness, volcanic tension, the power and motion. Eydís Evensen plays new songs from the album, in-studio. She plays in New York at Lincoln Center's David Rubenstein Atrium on Jan. 9, 2026. Set list: 1. OM, Helena's Sunrise 2. Drifter 3. Winter's Void, Somnolent

    38 min
  7. Boyish Brings Walls of Guitars to the 'Gun' Show, In-Studio

    DEC 4

    Boyish Brings Walls of Guitars to the 'Gun' Show, In-Studio

    The L.A-based, Brooklyn-born band called Boyish is built around the songwriting of India Shore and Claire Altendahl, and while they’ve been releasing music since 2018, they’ve just put out their debut album, called Gun. The album presents a series of scenes and character studies from a fictional American town called Gun, which seems to be haunted – by memories and dreams for sure, but also possibly by a ghost. All accompanied by roaring guitars and frayed vocals. Boyish plays in-studio for the Soundcheck Podcast. Set list: 1. Jumbos 2. A Town Called Gun 3. Prom

    34 min
  8. English Singer Patrick Wolf Plays Artful Baroque Pop, In-Studio

    DEC 1

    English Singer Patrick Wolf Plays Artful Baroque Pop, In-Studio

    English singer and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Wolf built his sizable reputation on a blend of Baroque pop and arty, classically-informed folk-rock. But a series of setbacks kept him from the music scene for a decade, before he returned with an EP in 2023, and in June of 2025, his latest LP called Crying The Neck. Patrick Wolf joins us at the piano, to play new songs, in-studio.  Set list: 1. Enter the Day 2. The Last of England 3. Foreland

    41 min
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4.5
out of 5
138 Ratings

About

WNYC, New York Public Radio, brings you Soundcheck, the arts and culture program hosted by John Schaefer, who engages guests and listeners in lively, inquisitive conversations with established and rising figures in New York City's creative arts scene. Guests come from all disciplines, including pop, indie rock, jazz, urban, world and classical music, technology, cultural affairs, TV and film. Recent episodes have included features on Michael Jackson,Crosby Stills & Nash, the Assad Brothers, Rackett, The Replacements, and James Brown.

Information

  • Creator
    WNYC Studios
  • Years Active
    2005 - 2025
  • Episodes
    219
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © WNYC Radio
  • Show Website
    Soundcheck

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