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Aria Pedraza is the founder of the Midwest Rave Culture Archive, which "preserves and interprets the art, artifacts, and culture of a sociomusical movement that has been an influential force in advancing experimental sound practices and cultivating spaces, counter to mainstream, where individuals could express themselves freely and experience the profound, collective euphoria of music." and "seek(s) to meaningfully engage community members who have lived, shaped, and sustained Midwest rave culture; inviting collections of ephemera, audio and visual recordings, and oral histories". MWRCA will have their first exhibition this Saturday, November 14th, 2026 in Wicker Park. Tickets be purchase here.

***Sp*tify nuked this episode for c*pyright, back up again. (Originally released 9/22/26) Gia Theodoropoulou is a curator, scholar, and editor based in Chicago. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the Chicago Journal of Visual Art. This Friday, September 25th, 2026, will be the release symposium of Issue I of the journal, with a Q&A hosted by AOTA's Jake Leech at Point Blank in Chicago, IL.

***Sp*tify nuked this episode for c*pyright, back up again. (Originally released 2/19/2026) Maxwell Volkman lives and works in Chicago. We discuss 3 of his works since 2024, his collaborative book of drawings with Cameron Spratley entitled "Bone Thugs n Harmony Korine", his video Kurt Cobain-fascinated work "226" and his recent duo show at LVL 3 entitled "Between Bedlam".

Lia Kohl is a composer and sound artist based in Chicago. Her wide-ranging practice includes composition and performance, installation, improvisation, and collaboration. Her work centers curiosity and patience, an exploration of the mundane and profound possibilities of sound. Her latest collaboration, BODY SOUND, with Macie Stewart and Whitney Johnson, is out now on International Anthem. We discuss how she views music sculpturally, when to say no, and how this album "will be part of what made her life worth it". This episode is 3 of 3 of the BODY SOUND series. Please buy the album ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Whitney Johnson is a sound artist living in Chicago. She composes, performs, and installs multi-channel sound with viola, sine waves, Max/MSP, organ, synthesizers, vocalization, tape looping, and field recording. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Art and Technology/Sound Practices at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her latest collaboration, BODY SOUND, with Macie Stewart and Lia Kohl is out now on International Anthem. We discuss the early days of her DIY touring, how her solo performance has changed over the years, her role in multiple bands, and how being in the audience of the moment is the key to improvisation. This episode is part 2 of 3 of the BODY SOUND series. Please buy the album ⁠here⁠.

Macie Stewart is a musician and multi-disciplinary artist based in Chicago, IL. Heralded for their versatility, Stewart works with piano, violin, guitar, voice, and synthesizers, effortlessly traversing styles and scenes. Stewart is a distinguished, go-to collaborator who Pitchfork credits with “making some of the best tracks of the past five years transcendent.” Her latest collaboration, BODY SOUND, with Whitney Johnson and Lia Kohl is out now on International Anthem. We discuss her latest playing and touring on/for Jeff Tweedy's latest record, how music is innate to their way of living, and their favorite off-the-road treat (breakfast(?) salad(?)). This episode is part 1 of 3 of the BODY SOUND series. Please buy the album here.

Zander Raymond is an artist & synthesist living and working in Chicago, IL. He has a new album, No One Notices the Fly, out now on the Chicago-based record label, Love All Day. We discuss how his art practice uses collage and found objects, his sonic palette weaves synths and field recordings, and how skipping stones his whole life brought all of these creative languages together. Zander Raymond Listen: no one notices the fly

Mac Pierce is an artist based in Chicago, IL. Mac critically engages with weaponized emerging technologies, making artworks that examine topics that may otherwise fall into the shadows. Using technology as a medium to create artworks, his practice communicates concepts about computer hacking, surveillance, and firearms using the grammar inherent to these systems. Mac received a BFA in Studio Art & Design from the University of Idaho and an MFA in Art & Technology Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently exhibiting DEATHMATCH, a new work about virtualized violence at Bert Green Fine Art through October 18th. Gallery open hours Friday, 12-4pm or by appointment. https://www.macpierce.com/ https://www.instagram.com/transistor_resistor/

A.O.T.A. & Weather Proof present: 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒕 Readings with a center. Well-distributed. Criticism optional. Poetics too. Readings/video by: Sam Dybeck Estuardo R. F. The Yearbook Committee (VIDEO) Nathanial Knize (of Silent Generation) Gareth Kaye Allegra Harvard Milo Christie Kat Kitay (VIDEO) Jesse Malmed Chloë Simmons C. Philip Mills Lydia Eliza Trail (VIDEO) olivier Taylor Payton Paul Talks (VIDEO) Recorded live at New Wave Coffee in Logan Square, Chicago on Monday, April 21st, 2025. 𝐼𝓉 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝒶𝓂𝓃 𝓅𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑒.

Dorothy Carlos is an experimental cellist and composer working in improvised performance and multi-channel sound in New York City and Chicago. Her work utilizes extended techniques and digital manipulation, merging free improvisation and computer music. Her new album, Ear World, is out now on 29 Speedway. Dorothy Carlos: https://dorothycarlos.com/ https://www.instagram.com/dorothycarlos/

Milo Christie (b. 2000 Berkeley, CA) lives and works in Chicago, IL. He co-directs Weatherproof, an artist-run space in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood. He has shown work at UNDA.M. 93 (Chicago, IL), Popgun at Miguel Abreu (New York City, NY), Western Pole Road Trip (Various Places), Switch-Hook Projects (Chicago, IL), and Quarters Gallery (Los Angeles, CA). His poetry has been published in Warm Milk (Brooklyn, NY), Petrichor Mag (Online), and Horizon Mag (Bristol, UK). His latest show, Smuggle, is up now at Letters to Nora in Chicago, IL. The show also features artist Ludwig Siegele (Milo's Father) and artist John Smith. References/Reading List: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playtime https://chbooks.com/Books/B/Boat https://softskull.com/books/the-novelist/ https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/2788-althusserians-anonymous-the-relapse https://www.semiotexte.com/shop/p/the-missing-pieces https://citylights.com/general-poetry/sonnets-3/ https://archive.org/details/500_Queens_Gambit_Miniatures https://www.belladonnaseries.org/books/p/positions-of-the-sun-by-lyn-hejinian https://www.nyrb.com/products/suppose-a-sentence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lifespan_of_a_Fact

Taylor Payton is the co-director and co-founder of Grunt's Rare Books in Chicago, IL. She is also the associate director at M. LeBlanc. Formerly, she directed and founded Sulk Chicago, an apartment gallery in Chicago's South Loop. In this episode, we discuss her beginnings in her hometown of Dallas, Texas, adventures in her first apartment gallery, what the contemporary Chicago art historical moment seems to be, and a retelling of her art fair experiences this past summer in Marsallies and Berlin (she sadly did not make it to Berghain.) Taylor presents her biggest showcase to date,Lonelyhearts, at M. LeBlanc tonight (Thursday, February 13th). Featuring works from Petra Cortright, Mark Leckey, Isa Genzken, JPW3/Chris Coy, Andy Hope 1930, Paul McCarthy, Isabelle Frances McGuire, Bunny Rogers, Slater Bradley, Dara Birnbaum, Maria Lassnig, Steve Reinke, Martin Kippenberger, Heimo Zobernig, and Valie Export across two nights. Free, no ticket or RSVP needed. Taylor Payton: Website Grunt's Rare Books M. LeBlanc Sulk Chicago

Jack Garland is an American photographer. He currently lives in Chicago with his girlfriend and their dog. He’d love to work with you. Jack Garland's new photo book,waco, is out now in collaboration with Nearest Truth Editions. We discuss the faith required for images, living in the post-late 2010's Instagram bubble bust, the contemporary American experience in bohemian European art culture, how to grow as an artist without becoming an academic, and as always, Gothic King Cobra. Wine pairing: https://rwmselections.com/products/mas-jullien-terrasses-du-larzac-autour-de-jonquieres-2015 Gothic King Cobra: https://www.youtube.com/@KingCobraJFS Jack Garland: Website Instagram Airing Out the Archive: Linktree

Episode 14: Ujstin Echno is the project name of Justin Enoch, musician and post-production sound editor at large, residing in Los Angeles. We discuss our long friendship built in St. Louis, the mid-fi genius of Broken Social Scene, how going mental in a cubicle can be extremely productive, the day they knew that nothing mattered ever again (positive) outside a rave boat in Prague, the role of Prince's unlistenable yet amazing work of the 90's/ early 00's, and the brutal yet life-fulfilling process of creating work you want to return to. Little Funky Son was released on Reserve Matinee on October 30th, available here. Ujstin Echno: https://linktr.ee/ujstinechno https://www.instagram.com/romanian_soundbath/ https://www.instagram.com/postmambo/ "Little Funky Son, the new album from multidisciplinary musician Ujstin Echno, mosaics together the artist's life experiences across countries, years, genres, and friendships. Born in Nagyvárad, Romania, raised in Ferguson, Missouri, and now residing in Los Angeles, Echno's body of work is the final result of a series of catalysts – the desire to spotlight Eastern European musicians through their years-long Radio Benska show, their day job as a post-production sound editor in film, adolescent hours spent driving around St. Louis listening to R&B radio, and all of the ephemera in between."

Sam Goldner writes for Pitchfork, Tone Glow, Bandcamp, and more, based in Los Angeles. We talk Music Journalism Twitter Psychosis™️, Challengers, reviewing a OneRepublic concert in high school, bugging Mr P of Tiny Mix Tapes, Charli XCX’s incorrect shirt, realizing a human wrote your most loved/hated Pitchfork review, Brian Foote getting mad at you, reviews that haunt him, how Jeremy Larson taught us it’s all just rock n roll, Cindy Lee hype, bar italia falling off, mk.gee garnering old head acclaim, and what besides music/film he's finding pleasing these days (spoiler: wedding day eggs). Sam Goldner: Twitter Pitchfork Airing Out the Archive just launched a Substack (!!!) with a review of the OPN show in Chicago last week. Please find that here. Please also follow along on Instagram!