I listen to a lot of music, and I'm always looking for new music. People often ask me how I discover so much new music.
I read a lot of music reviews, and if anyone ever recommends an artist to me, I will add it to a playlist and make sure I have a good listen. If it's someone whose taste I really respect, I will give it multiple listens and maybe even follow up and talk to them about it, explore why they recommended it.
I also listen to lots of radio, primarily Sydney's FBi and the French FIP. I listen to Ultima Thule on 2MBS, which is a long-running ambient show, and on BBC Six Music I listen to Stuart Mackonie's Freak Zone. I watch videos from Tiny Desk and from KCRW on YouTube. Give each of them a go.
Now I've got a new music discovery tool. I was in San Francisco last week and had the weekend available to me, so I thought, I wonder what gigs are on? I asked Manus, which is a really cool agentic AI tool, to recommend some gigs to me, but I didn't give it any context. I've been recording my musical listening history for over 20 years into last.fm.
So I asked Manus to look at all of my musical history and then to make some recommendations on gigs I should go and see in San Francisco that night. It nailed it in one. It was quite incredible. The list of artists that it suggested I go see was spot on for my tastes.
Artist |
Venue |
Why You'll Like It |
|---|---|---|
The Brian Jonestown Massacre |
The Chapel (9:00 PM) |
Their neo-psychedelia and shoegaze sound aligns perfectly with your long-term interest in bands like The Cure and Sonic Youth. |
Indigo De Souza |
The Fillmore (8:00 PM) |
A rising star in indie rock with raw, clever songwriting that fits right in with your appreciation for The Beths and Vampire Weekend. |
Opiuo |
Public Works (9:30 PM) |
If you're in the mood for something electronic, his glitch-hop and bass-heavy sets will appeal to your interest in Four Tet and Plaid. |
Tigran Hamasyan |
Great American Music Hall (8:00 PM) |
For something more instrumental and complex, this jazz-fusion pianist is a great match for your interest in GoGo Penguin. |
it also suggested Go Go Bordello, which are an amazing band, but a little more high energy than I was up for, given the hectic week I'd had. I also wasn't keen on Brian Jonestown Massacre because I've seen them before and I didn't have time for Anton's bullshit
I went and made up a playlist of the other artists and got into my work with it playing in the background. All the music I heard would've been a fun gig.
And then this track came up. My brain pretty quickly perked up and I was asking myself "WTF is this time signature?"
So that kinda decided it. Perfect for a Friday night after an intense week of work.
The gig was incredible. Incredibly skilled musicians. The drummer was a fucking metronome. Just amazing, and insane music.
The answer, BTW, is 256/32 with the main motif in 35/16. Click for a video that follows it. Insane right? 🤯
And here's the AI's full interaction in Manus. I'm quite digging this new method of music discovery!