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hi everyone,

how's it going?  hope it's going well.  in case you're not sure how to spend time you might otherwise be using the prepare to watch or play in the superbowl, i have good news: you can listen to WXYC's specialty programming and/or think about WXYC's specialty programming!  look:

Join us Friday at 9 PM for the Inside Track.  This week catch the newly reissued burner Steel Funk from John Gibbs and the Unlimited Sound Steel Orchestra.  John A. Gibbs is a Trinidadian steel-pan player and scientist whose dual science/music career brought him to Philadelphia in the mid 70s.  In this new locale, Gibbs was able to fuse his deeply scientific interest in the sound of the steel-pan with the already bursting Philadelphia soul and funk scene.  Steel Funk is the result.  This awesome release combines Trinidadian and Philly sounds so well that one might think this steel-soul crossover is a long-established tradition. Quick grooves and group vocals establish a comfortable funk skeleton which is filled in somehow perfectly by the awesome sound of the steel drum.  Although most tracks are groovy funk instrumentals, the end of the album closes with some disco mixes which are a huge pleasure.  Check out this singular release!

Tonight's New Science Experience is proud to have WXYC's own MARGARITA BOYS + FRIENDS. Tune in from ten to midnight for some choice soul, house and disco tunage.

Hell or High Water's coming atcha again this Sunday from 1-2pm, bringing you a special selection of archived recordings from UNC's very own Southern Folklife Collection.  Don't miss it!

What's that, you ask?  It's another episode of Broken Music, WXYC's show dedicated to more challenging or longer-form musics.  Tune in on Sunday from 2-3pm to settle in to some arguably unsettling sounds.

Grant and Andy are doing Sports Rap this week for a special Good Bowl Edition! What's going to happen? I don't know! Find out on Sunday from 9-10.

Tune in on Monday at 9 PM for the Outside Track. Don't miss this week's show as we explore the new release from Henry Plotnick entitled Blue Thirteen. Henry Plotnick is a 13 year old composer from San Francisco.  His recordings have been described as minimalist compositions, which is an ok working descriptor for now.  His music has an amazing warmth and fluidity to it; I really don’t want to pigeonhole Plotnick based on his age or make some sort of Romantic gestures about childhood, but, to me, there is something strikingly pre-adolescent about these recordings.  His music is recorded using mostly a midi keyboard and Garageband, the native Mac music making software.  He uses almost “cheap” sounds: a digital harpsichord, a reverby casio, and dinging bells.  He elevates these nostalgic sonic elements into swirling, genius and enveloping compositions made up for short, repeated elements that undergo small changes over time towards the ultimate deconstruction of the beautiful unity which began the track. Pretty stunning.