The Tonearm
The people and ideas moving culture forward. With host Lawrence Peryer.
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Latest Episode
Koen Holtkamp: Modular Plucks, Drums, and Horns After Dark
Koen Holtkamp set aside the loops of his work with Mountains, spent a year and a half coaxing plucked strings from his modular synth, and gave every player on ‘Nightlife’ a space of their own.
Play Latest EpisodeGreatest Hits
Wondering where to start or where to go next? Check out some of our most popular episodes.
295
March 7, 2026
Michael Graves: The Patient Philosophy of Audio Restoration
Five Grammys and a working museum of tape machines later, Osiris Studio's Michael Graves reflects on the ethics of restoration, the problem of artist intent, and why the work never stops surprising him.
291
Feb. 8, 2026
Lawrence English: Capturing the Impossible Trio
The Australian composer and Room40 founder discusses his new collaborative album 'Trinity' with Stephen Vitiello, his theory of relational listening, and why he spent eight years interrogating the meaning of live performance before returning to the stage.
301
April 19, 2026
Tomeka Reid: The Low Seat, the Long Haul, and 'dance! skip! hop!'
Cellist and composer Tomeka Reid joins the podcast to discuss dance! skip! hop!, the fourth Tomeka Reid Quartet album, and why photographs of her grandmother's Wyoming life keep finding their way onto her record covers.
310
June 21, 2026
Ora Cogan: Hard Hearted Is How You Survive
Ora Cogan on the politics of 'Hard Hearted Woman,' the hollowing-out of folk tradition, and why her forties have been the best time of her life to be playing music.
314
July 19, 2026
Suzanne Ciani: The Buchla's Orchestral Homecoming
The electronic music pioneer joins the podcast to discuss 'CIANI/ORKEST,' her live album pairing the Buchla synthesizer with the 50-piece Metropole Orkest, and why she has always heard the instrument as orchestral.
309
June 14, 2026
Billy Polo: Audio Engineer as Archaeologist
From the Black Ark tapes buried in Lee Perry's yard to unreleased Dennis Brown sessions, Billy Polo on the forensic pleasures and urgent stakes of reggae's analog archive.
Recent Episodes
329
Nov. 1, 2026
Koen Holtkamp: Modular Plucks, Drums, and Horns After Dark
Koen Holtkamp set aside the loops of his work with Mountains, spent a year and a half coaxing plucked strings from his modular synth, and gave every player on ‘Nightlife’ a space of their own.
328
Oct. 25, 2026
Wadada Leo Smith: A Trumpeter Composing in Light
The AACM veteran joins us to discuss 'Constellations and Hemispheres,' a record he built like a dub producer from four ensembles, and the color research he asks of every player, kept secret from the rest of the band.
327
Oct. 18, 2026
Midori Hirano: Piano and Synth That Know When to Stop
The Berlin composer and pianist joins us to discuss ‘The Juniper Tree,’ her new score for Nietzchka Keene’s 1990 film starring Björk, written without the original soundtrack in her ears and pared back by the Japanese idea of ma.
326
Oct. 11, 2026
Charlotte Greve: Everything She Loves, Under Her Own Name
The Brooklyn saxophonist, composer, and singer joins us to discuss 'Waterbodies,' her tenth album, which brings '80s power ballads, an orchestra, and a choir back to the one long saxophone tone where all her music starts.
325
Oct. 4, 2026
David Perlis: Everything You Love Is from Marin
The Marin-born author and former WFMU host joins us to discuss 'Morning in Marin,' his history of how Alan Watts, the Grateful Dead, George Lucas, and Philip K. Dick turned one county north of the Golden Gate into a center of postwar American culture.
324
Sept. 27, 2026
Mark Isham: Analog Machines and a Jazzman's Breath
The Grammy-winning trumpeter and film composer joins us to discuss 'At the Carousel Club,' his first solo album in 15 years, built from a wall of vintage analog synthesizers and a band featuring Nels Cline and Vinnie Colaiuta.
About the Host
Lawrence Peryer
Executive Producer & Host
LP is a lifelong music fan turned industry innovator who has spent his career helping artists forge meaningful connections with their audiences. From pioneering early digital communities to producing Grammy-nominated box sets and award-winning retail experiences, his work lives at the intersection of creativity, technology and fandom. He's hosted The Tonearm since it initially launched as Spotlight On in February 2020.