58. Loren Connors (w/ Suzanne Langille)

Painted by Nathan Berko-Gibson

Loren Connors is a guitarist, poet and painter who grew up in Connecticut but has called New York his home since early adulthood. Since the late 1970s he was released over 50 albums of primarily improvised material (released by labels with names like Persona Non Grata, Ambiguous Recordings, and as of late, Family Vineyard) and developing his unique avant-garde playing style in formed by early blues and 20th century composers. He has collaborated with a diverse array of likewise important musicians such as John Fahey, Sonic Youth, Jim O’Rourke, Kath Bloom and Alan Licht. His most frequent cohort is also his partner, Suzanne Langille. She and Loren join me from Brooklyn at their friend Bob Bellerue’s home studio. We talk about Loren‘s family doorway into music and the lessons learned along the way, his body of work, Suzanne and Loren‘s aesthetic partnership, and we’ll also hear Loren‘s guitar improvisations in real time throughout the interview. Suzanne and Loren also improvise a piece together just for today’s show, and David Grubbs gives a warm introduction.

Special thanks to Bob Bellarue for engineering this episode.

Some music from this episode:

More music from Suzanne Langille can be found on her bandcamp site, and the band Haunted House has physical albums available through Erstwhile Records.

An entertaining video outtake from this interview is available for Patreon supporters.