80. Lora Logic of X-Ray Spex and Essential Logic
Listen now
Description
Once upon a time in England, a teenager named Susan Murphy brought her saxophone to audition for a new punk band called X-Ray Spex- a group that was not looking for a sax player. Despite that fact, she made the cut, and like her fellow new band mates, she adopted a stage name: Lora Logic was born. When her tenure with the band was unexpectedly cut short, a friend with a studio encouraged her to forge her own path, and in 1979 the underground scene was introduced to her next project Essential Logic- a groove-laden and experimental sort of progressive punk rock. Somewhere along the way she became a Krishna devotee and let her music career take a back seat, re-emerging on occasion with a new set of songs. Nearly 50 years after it all began, Essential Logic is back with a new album called “Land of Kali,” and a box set called “Logically Yours.” Dylan Shearer co-hosted this episode, and we spoke with Lora at length about everything- how it all began, how things have changed, her nuanced collaborative relationship with X-Ray Spex vocalist Poly Styrene, why she plays the sax, her travels to India, and collaborating with her daughter on the latest iteration of Essential Logic. Lora also shares a favorite vegetarian recipe.
More Episodes
Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah is the percussionist and vocalist behind African Head Charge, the experimental dub project he co-founded with legendary studio wizard Adrian Sherwood in the late 1970s. With dozens of albums to his credit, he’s been established as an influential and singular performer with a...
Published 06/18/24
The band Danielson started when Daniel Smith worked with his siblings to satisfy a requirement for his senior thesis three decades ago. If you’re not familiar with their music, one thing you’ll notice throughout today’s show is that nobody else sounds anything like them. Daniel and I are talking...
Published 05/14/24