Best of Peak Time

A special Peak Time episode featuring some of our favorite interviews about music scenes around the globe. New Yorker writer Kelefa Sanneh talks about British invasion and psych rock of the '60s and '70s, Lauren Martin interviews UK journalist Dan Hancox about London grime, South African music writer Helen Herimbi plays kwaito throughout the ages and we blame it on the Brazilian bossa nova with DJ and music supervisor Greg Caz.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on November 23, 2018. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Music Scenes around the Globe

On this jazz-focused Best of Peak Time episode, we listen back to conversations with harp visionary Brandee Younger, Chicago’s beat scientist Makaya McCraven, London’s freshest innovator Shabaka Hutchings, Grammy-winning bass prodigy Esperanza Spalding, NYC ensemble Onyx Collective, Detroit’s genre-defying new guard (Ian Finkelstein, Jon Dixon and Marcus Elliot) and the seven members of Los Angeles’s West Coast Get Down aka the Wu-Tang of Jazz.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 3, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Jazz Heat with  Shabaka Hutchings, West Coast Get Down, Brandee Younger

On this special Best of Peak Time episode, we put together some of our favorite interviews with those behind the scenes of music production. Studio engineers Heba Kadry, Martin Bisi, Josh Bonati and Craig Leon weigh in on album production, mixing, mastering, cutting dubplates and more.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 4, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Studio Time with Heba Kadry, Martin Bisi, Josh Bonati

This Best of Peak Time episode focuses on interviews with DJ/producers  DJs from the realms of techno and house. Take a trip to Detroit to hear from the techno originators themselves, Derrick May and Juan Atkins, as well as Motor City mainstay DJ Bone. Heading eastward, we hear from NYC DFA affiliate Juan MacLean, then its off UK where we examine the effects of dubstep, hardcore and UK garage on house and techno with London's DJ Skream and Bristol’s techno-bass technician Hodge. We finish things off with Berlin's Ellen Allien and France's The Hacker.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 5, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Four To The Floor with Ellen Allien, Skream, DJ Bone, Denis Sulta

This Best of Peak Time episode revisits interviews with some of our favorite purveyors of moody and dark sounds. Zola Jesus expounds on the trauma and beauty involved in her recent Okovi record, while her Sacred Bones labelmate Luis Vasquez (aka The Soft Moon) deconstructs his post-punk deconstructions. Goth-pop superstar Robert Alfons of TR/ST opens Pandora's box, Heather Gabel of Chicago industrial duo HIDE discusses screaming it all out and Hether Fortune heals her demons under the guise of Wax Idols. Also on today's show: Stuart Argabright of Ike Yard and Black Rain discusses the fertile musical climate of New York in the late '70s and early '80s and Fade Kainer talks selling punk shirts on St. Marks Place and ditching metal bands to start industrial duo Statiqbloom.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 6, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Shadow Dancers with Zola Jesus, TR/ST, The Soft Moon, HIDE

This Best of Peak Time episode gathers up our favorite guitar-wielding maestros and rock experts. We hear from the bad boys of garage rock (Atlanta's Black Lips), LA’s reigning art-punk duo No Age, NYC punks Surfbort, post-punk quarted Pill and Aussie psych rock weirdos Pond. Kelefa Sanneh of The New Yorker dives deep into his love of prog rock; Miriam Linna, cofounder of the great garage rock and soul label Norton Records, remembers The Ramones and NYC staple Paul Major of Endless Boogie shares his extensive collection of music from the weirdest corners of psych and boogie. 

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 7, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Rock n Roll Baby with Black Lips, No Age, Surfbort, Pill

This Best of Peak Time episode is full of some ambient, drone and New Age legends, including Buchla pioneer Suzanne Ciani, pioneering French electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre, ambient-noise sculptor Tim Hecker, mellow man Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, meditative producer Colleen, sound design master Gregg Kowalsky and Japanese pop-meets-krautrock via the duo of Japanese shibuya-kei artist Takako Minekawa and former Ponytail guitarist Dustin Wong.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 10, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Pure Moods with Tim Hecker, Suzanne Ciani, Laraaji

This Best of Peak Time episode features some of the most interesting sonic experimenters we've had on the show. Harley Brown speaks to Mark Pauline of Survival Research Labs about manipulating military weaponry, FM Einheit of Einsturzende Neubaten discusses decades of experiments with metal scraps and drills, sonic artist Kevin Beasley reimagines the cotton gin, experimental composer Tristan Perich discusses his one-bit productions, Holly Herndon explains her AI-assisted computer pop and RBMA’s resident synth wizard Tatsuya Takahashi breaks down the creation of a symphony for 100 cars.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 11, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Sonic Laboratory with FM Einheit, Holly Herndon, Tristan Perich

On today’s show, we’re traveling all around the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world, hearing sounds new and old from the Latin diaspora. This episode collects some of our favorite interviews over the last two years of the show. Salsa legend Eddie Palmieri joins in, as does Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux with Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs. From Spain, C. Tangana, Bad Gyal and producer El Guincho navigate the new landscape of trap en espanol, reggaeton and points beyond. Panamanian duo Los Rakas touch down from Oakland, California; club music producer extraordinaire Deltatron joins us from Lima, Peru to talk neoperreo and more; and Lisbon’s Branko walks us through zouk, kuduro, kizomba and other rhythms of the Lusophone world.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 12, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Fuego with C Tangana, Bad Gyal, El Guincho, Los Rakas

This Best of Peak Time episode tells the story of Berlin music from the late 1970s through the 1990s. Over the course of the last two years, we’ve had the opportunity to interview quite a few Berlin artists of different generations — on today’s show, we weave them into a narrative of how punk bled into techno, and examine the philosophical ideas informing Berlin's music. You’ll find out about the geniale dilettanten, the birth of industrial, how punk morphed into techno, the rave scene after the Berlin Wall fell, the dawn of the Love Parade as Vivian talk to musicians, promoters and authors, including Mark Reeder, Mona Mur, En Esch of KMFDM, Anja Huwe of X-mal Deutschland, Pierangelo Maset and Michael Hirsch of Exkurs, author Reinhard Kleist, Alec Empire, Thomas Fehlmann and Mijk Van Dijk.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 13, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: From Berlin With Love with Alec Empire, Anja Huwe, Thomas Fehlmann

This Best of Peak Time episode is dedicated to forward-thinking club music. From the UK, we talk to Bok Bok and L-Vis 1990 of Night Slugs, g Mumdance, Kahn & Neek, Kaizen's Madam X and Glasgow-based raver Nightwave. London journalist Dan Hancox speaks with Lauren Martin about his history of London grime, Newark’s DJ Uniiqu3 talks about her unique brand of New Jersey club and MC Carol and Leo Justi join us from Brazil to talk about the new wave of dirty funk music from the Southern hemisphere. Also, from right here in New York City, we’ll revisit interviews with LSDXOXO, Bearcat, Venus X and Asmara and flex dance music dons Hitmaker Chinx and Epic B.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 14, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: It Ain't Too Loud with LSDXOXO, Nightwave, Bok Bok, Kahn

From Sactown to the City of Angels, Peak Time cruises down the Cali coast to revisit some of our favorite conversations with the artists who keep the West Coast banging. Appearing on this show: Sacramento street rapper Mozzy; Bay Area young rap royalty Nef the Pharaoh; LA gangster funk outfit G Perico and Jay Worthy of G-Worthy; Kool Keith, Dan the Automator and DJ Qbert of Dr. Octagon; and Marq Hawkins aka DJ Cli-N-Tel, a member of legendary LA DJ and promotion crew Uncle Jamm's Army, talking about the roots of the West Coast G-Funk sound.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 17, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: California Love with Mozzy, Nef the Pharaoh, Dr. Octagon

On this episode, we salute the masterminds behind some of rap’s hottest beats. We revisit interviews with super producer Mike Dean, Zaytoven, Sonny Digital, Kenny Beats, Harry Fraud, The Heatmakerz, Knox Fortune and engineer Kesha Lee, best known for her work with Lil Uzi Vert. 

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 18, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Makin Slaps with Zaytoven, Harry Fraud, Kenny Beats, Sonny Digital

On this Best of Peak Time, we revisit our favorite interviews with young, wild and restless rappers including Rico Nasty, Jpegmafia, Chynna, Bali Baby, Molly Brazy, Joey Purp and H09909. Buckle up.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 19, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: The Young And The Restless with Rico Nasty, Jpegmafia

On this episode, we hear from some of the best-loved and rawest rappers and producers in the South. From Miami, it’s ”da baddest bitch” Trina, followed by her successors and collaborators, the brash and brazen duo City Girls. Coming in hot from Palm Beach, Florida is wifisfuneral, followed by Memphis trap god Young Dolph, Chattanooga’s “underground rap mom” Bbymutha and Baton Rouge's trillest Lil Boosie. And course, no visit to the South would be complete without some words from Jermaine Dupri, one of Atlanta’s all-time greatest hitmakers, founder of So So Def and the man behind Mariah Carey, Usher, Lil Kim, Destiny's Child and so many more.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 20, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Sounds of the South with Trina, City Girls, Boosie, Young Dolph

NYC Rap! Revisiting our favorite interviews with New York rappers of all styles, including Desiigner, Wiki, Chuck Strangers of Pro Era, Junglepussy, A$AP Twelvyy, World's Fair, MIKE, Quelle Chris and Elucid of Nostrum Grocers and Armand Hammer.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 21, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: NYC Rap! with Desiigner, Wiki, Junglepussy, A$AP Twelvyy, MIKE

On this episode, we celebrate the people thinking deeply about the sound that we hear in our favorite films. We revisit favorite interviews with legendary director Werner Herzog, Belgian-born cinematographer Danny Hiele (who has worked with Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus), plus Dean Hurley, Thomas Golubiç and more.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 25, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Music in Film

This Best of Peak Time episode reveals the wealth of exciting styles coming out of African right now. We revisit interviews with Afrobeats stars Afro B and Mr. Eazi, gqom king DJ Lag, Ugandan DJ Kampire, Nairobi producer Blinky Bill, Nigeria's Ekiti Soundsystem and folk star Nneka. From South Africa, art-pop star Nakhane and rapper Yugen Blakrok chime in, as does journalist Helen Herimbi, who gives us a primer on kwaito music.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 26, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: African Pulse with Afro B, Mr Eazi, DJ Lag, Nakhane

This special episode of Peak Time curates our favorite interviews with artists who are exploring the possibilities and permutations of pop. We revisit favorite interviews with Robyn, Panda Bear of Animal Collective, DAWN and Rostam, a former member of Vampire Weekend who now produces for HAIM and Carly Rae Jepsen. We're also joined by the poetic Perfume Genius, bedroom pop queen Japanese Breakfast, NYC crooner Amen Dunes, Canada's US Girls and the always unpredictable John Maus.

Originally broadcast on Peak Time on Red Bull Radio on June 27, 2019. Hosted and edited by Vivian Host. Engineered by Ryan Woodhall. Produced by Sara Casella.

Best of Peak Time: Avant-Pop with Robyn, Panda Bear, Perfume Genius, John Maus

Radio shows & audio interviews of your fav musicians by Vivian Host, a music journalist and DJ. Archives of Peak Time (a daily radio show I hosted on Red Bull Radio) as well as The Vortex, The Slice and more. Check out my DJ mixes & original tracks on Soundcloud here > @stareyes