Liam Wilson / Azusa
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
My Mom tells me she used to listen to this when she was pregnant with me, every track is like a nuke to my heart and soul.
Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius
The Jimi Hendrix of bass, arguably the greatest player to ever touch an electric bass. He broke all the rules which in and of itself is inspiring as a musician and to anyone seeking to break free of boundaries, but beyond that, these compositions and performances aren’t just masturbatory, they’re fantastic on multiple levels.
Cynic - Focus
Is this a jazz band playing metal, a metal band playing jazz? Neither? Both? The sheer musicianship, uniqueness and self-realized lyrics still inspire me on a transcendental level.
16 Horsepower - Sackcloth ‘n’ Ashes
David Eugene Edwards has a conviction in his delivery that few artist, except for maybe Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave or Tom Waits, seem capable of achieving.
Dead Can Dance - Into The Labyrinth
I’d never heard anything like Lisa Gerrard’s voice before and their ability to reincarnate so much world/folk/tribal sounds into tracks like “Towards The Within” still shake my soul in a Shamanic way.
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
It’s hard to choose just one Zep record, but songs like “Kashmir”, “In My Time Of Dying” and “In The Light” opened my eyes to the layers of mysticism music could invoke which makes this one stand out among the rest.
Radha Krishna Temple (London) - The Radha Krsna Temple
Produced by George Harrison at the height of the Beatles fame. It’s hard to avoid contemplating your own existence when persons of his caliber and notoriety, who has access to almost anything the material world can offer, and yet they practically drop everything in devotional service to a higher power… I find that to be quite profound especially when its in a music shaped package.
J Dilla - Donuts
A “swan song” if ever there was one, if you don’t know J Dilla, or the backstory of this album, get yourself the 33 1/3 book about it and do some homework.
Glenn Gould - Bach: The Goldberg Variations
The greatest playing the greatest, music at its purest, a true peak of artistic achievement.
Shora - Malval
This Swiss band was a blistering and violent force in its early days, disappeared and resurrected themselves with this dark and moody masterpiece, only to vanish again.