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Since January 2005, Music From Other Minds has presented new and unusual music by innovative composers and performers from around the world. Produced weekly for KALW 91.7 FM San Francisco by Charles Amirkhanian and the Other Minds staff, and aired at 8pm every Sunday, Music From Other Minds aims to open up radio listeners to experimental classical work by living and recent composers. We bring you the latest in contemporary music from around the world, and some glimpses into the past, to give a context for today’s music.

Follow this link for information and track listings from programs prior to program 501.
Follow this link to download a complete list of works played on MFOM up to program 702.

Previous Programs

Program 678: Five New Releases

Five new albums from 5 very different experimental musicians. Cairo-based Maurice Louca’s work combines Egyptian folk instruments, classical western instruments and electronics in an intriguing synthesis of Arabic and Western sensibilities. Pamela Z offers a theatrical take on the voice and it’s possibilities when combined with modern technology. Ben Lamar Gay fuses folk, hip hop, jazz and utter weirdness into something extraordinary. Nick Zanca’s latest release is a fusion of field recording and artfully used electronics. And Lea Bertucci’s work is a thoughtful combination of the acoustic properties of both her instruments and the environments in which they are played.

Program 677: Percussion Music

On this Music from Other Minds, Ed Herrmann makes his Music from Other Minds Debut with a program dedicated to percussion.

Program 676: New Release Mix #1

On this Music from Other Minds, Liam Herb plays a mix of 2021 releases by John Cage, KMRU, Annea Lockwood, and Morton Feldman.

Program 675: Stirred, Not Shaken - Jazz Hybrids

This program presents a few recent recordings that give us some examples of jazz hybrids, combinations of jazz and other musical genres. The centerpiece of this program is an extended improvised jam featuring German free jazz saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, master Moroccan Gnawa musician, singer, and guembri player Maâlem Moukhtar Gania, and highly regarded American drummer Hamid Drake. We’ll also hear work from pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson, from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and saxophonist Henry Threadgill, from composer and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, from the edgy free jazz ensemble, Irreversible Entanglements and from Sarathy Korwar and the Upaj Collective.

Program 674: From the OM Archive - Amirkhanian and Cage in Conversation

On this Music from Other Minds, Liam Herb plays an archival recording of Charles Amirkhanian’s Ode to Gravity: The Music of John Cage, originally broadcast on NPR stations worldwide on December 12, 1987.

In this program, you’ll hear Amirkhanian’s on-stage interview with Cage at the San Francisco Exploratorium, various works by the composer spanning early to late, and learn about the background of this legendary theorist, artist, and philosopher.

Program 673: From the OM Archive - Amirkhanian and Nancarrow in Conversation

On this Music from Other Minds, Liam Herb plays an archival recording of Charles Amirkhanian’s Ode to Gravity: The Music of Conlon Nancarrow. Originally broadcast on NPR stations worldwide in April of 1987, this program includes interviews with the composer in his studio in Mexico City conducted by Amirkhanian in 1977, some of the composer’s Studies for Player Piano also recorded on that trip, and a recording of his String Quartet (1942) performed here by the Kronos Quartet.

Program 672: OM Festival 25, Preview 2

This program gives a preview of the artists performing on nights three and four of the 25th Other Minds Festival. Subtitled “Moment’s Notice,” a celebration of the art of musical improvisation. We’ll present work tonight by saxophonist Darius Jones, and the improv duo of Larry Ochs on sax and drummer Donald Robinson. We’ll play work by jazz master Roscoe Mitchell, bassist Junius Paul, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, and guitarists Mary Halvorson and Elliott Sharp. And we’ll end the program with work by James Fei and Anthony Braxton.

Program 671: New Music for Gamelan

On the next Music from Other Minds, Modern works for gamelan including works by Balinese composers Dewa Putu Berata and I Made ArnawaAmericans Bill Alves and John Cage, and Tokyo-based sound artist Sawako.

Program 670: Other Minds Rewind

On this Music from Other Minds, Liam Herb played recordings of Other Minds Festival 25 artists at past festivals.

Tune in for Myra Melford‘s rip-roaring solo piano work Life Carries Me This Way from OM 19, Tyshawn Sorey, Ikue Mori, and Ken Ueno‘s trio performance from OM 17, William Parker‘s composition Spirit Catcher from OM 9, and an excerpt of Jason Moran‘s Slang which featured Mary Halverson on guitar.

Program 669: OM Festival 25, Preview 1

This time on Music From Other Minds, we’re giving our listeners a preview of all of the artists performing on nights one and two of the 25th Other Minds Festival. Subtitled “Moment’s Notice,” after the tune by John Coltrane, the festival is a celebration of the art of musical improvisation. We’ll present work by Myra Melford, Mark Dresser, Ikue Mori, Zeena Parkins, William Winant, Jen Shyu, Ben Goldberg, Liberty Ellman, Gerald Cleaver, and William Parker, including a song that features drummer Hamid Drake. We’ll also play a new pre-release track from drummer Tyshawn Sorey and DJ, producer and electronic musician King Britt.

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