Rearranged

Baltimore's Alex Armbruster on arranging, teaching music, and making a life in the arts without stylistic boundaries.Baltimore drummer Alex Armbruster recently arranged five works by women composers for a performance by his six-piece sax/tuba/sousaphone ensemble Top/Bottom/Switch. In this episode, they discuss their approach to arranging and their determination live a life in the arts unbound by stylistic or disciplinary distinctions.Armbruster's dance film RE:wilding premieres November 6, 2026 at Howard Community College. The soundtrack EP, Wood Metal Glass, comes out later in 2026. You can follow them at @alexarmbruster and @top.bottom.switch on Instagram.Thanks to Osiris Media for marketing and distribution.Rearranged theme music composed and recorded by Lawrence Lanahan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The man behind Meridian Brothers on the highly organized method he uses to produce his scrambled takes on Latin American musical traditions. Eblis Álvarez's music under the Meridian Brothers banner mines cumbia, salsa, and other traditions, but his outlandishly creative imagination and skill with electronics produces music that exists beyond any particular genre.  Álvarez discussed "Mi Pregunto" from Mi Latinoamérica Sufre.His newest album is Ruido Tovar, a collaboration between Meridian Brothers and Mexican Institute of Sound. Thanks to Osiris Media for marketing and distribution.  Rearranged theme music composed and recorded by Lawrence Lanahan. https://www.meridianbrothers.com/https://meridianbrothers.bandcamp.com/track/mi-pregunta-2https://meridianbrothers.bandcamp.com/album/ruido-tovarhttps://www.lawrencelanahan.com/podcastscoresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We visit the composer's Peabody class on "Listening to Baltimore" and discuss his "intimate and epic" music. Baltimore-based Judah Adashi brings the community into his compositions and into his classroom at the Peabody institute. We talk about his music, his city, and why marimbas sound like rain. In this episode, we discussed Judah's compositions "my heart comes undone," "Art and the Rain," and a forthcoming recording of his "Broken Hallelujah" by the Atlantic Guitar Quartet. Judah teaches composition at the Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute, including the courses "Art and Activism" and "Listening to Baltimore." Visit rearrangedpodcast.com for pictures from my visit to Adashi's "Listening to Baltimore" class. Thanks to Osiris Media for marketing and distribution.  Rearranged theme music composed and recorded by Lawrence Lanahan. https://www.judahadashi.com/https://lavenathecellist.bandcamp.com/track/my-heart-comes-undonehttps://soundcloud.com/jadashi/artandtherainhttps://www.atlanticguitarquartet.com/https://peabody.jhu.edu/preparatory/faculty/judah-adashi/https://e-catalogue.jhu.edu/peabody/#coursestexthttps://baltimorepeacemovement.com/https://www.facebook.com/justicefortyronewest/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Clare and Olivier Manchon on their dedication to craft and never ever cutting corners in songwriting, arranging, and film scoring.Clare and Olivier Manchon met in a world of sound as students at the Berklee College of Music. Over the last couple decades they've brought the world many rich arrangements, both in their band Clare and the Reasons, and on arrangements and film scores. In this episode, they discuss their dedication to craft--and to "never ever cutting corners."In this episode, Clare and Olivier discuss their songs "The Lake" and "The Mauerpark" from the Clare and the Reasons album KR-51, as well as their arrangement of "Great, Great Day" by John Legend.Clare and Olivier also discussed scoring the documentaries Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World and Turn Every Page. Thanks to Osiris Media for marketing and distribution. Rearranged theme music composed and recorded by Lawrence Lanahan.https://www.olivierandclaremanchon.com/https://www.olivierandclaremanchon.com/purchase-music/kr-51https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/turneverypage/https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/mary-oliver-documentary/37967/https://music.apple.com/us/song/great-great-day-bonus-track/1764420444See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How the prolific songwriter and composer draws on intuition and orchestration to create his musically and emotionally compelling songs and concert music. Gabriel Kahane discusses his arranging approach for his own vast and varied catalog as well as for other artists, writing orchestrally for piano accompaniment, and what it's like to hear a jazz musician interpret one of his songs.Gabriel Kahane's newest recording is Elevator Songs, a collaboration with the vocal music ensemble Roomful of Teeth. Thanks to Gabriel and Jeffrey Kahane, and to Dumbarton Oaks, for letting me gather tape backstage. In the episode, Gabriel discussed "Baltimore" from Book of Travelers and "Empire Liquor Mart" from The Ambassador. Links are below. https://gabrielkahane.bandcamp.com/album/elevator-songshttps://gabrielkahane.comhttps://www.doaks.org/https://gabrielkahane.bandcamp.com/track/baltimorehttps://gabrielkahane.bandcamp.com/track/empire-liquor-mart-9127-s-figueroa-stSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Georgia Anne Muldrow and Brandon Ross talk about their collaboration on the new Harriet Tubman album Electrical Field of Love and how their bandmates create in the moment by supporting each other through their musical "it's alright, go ahead" moments. Thanks to Susan Valot for recording Georgia Anne Muldrow in L.A. and Good Studio for recording Brandon Ross in Brooklyn. Thanks to Osiris Media for distribution and marketing. Discover the Harriet Tubman's Electrical Field of Love at Bandcamp or Pi Recordings.Rearranged theme music composed and recorded by Lawrence Lanahan. https://www.brandonross.nyc/https://georgiaannemuldrow.bandcamp.com/https://www.susanvalot.com/https://a-good.studio/https://www.osirispod.com/https://harriettubman.bandcamp.com/album/electrical-field-of-lovehttps://pirecordings.com/electrical-field-of-love-harriet-tubman-georgia-anne-muldrow-out-march-27th/https://www.lawrencelanahan.com/musicSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How the High Llamas founder and in-demand arranger gets his sound. Rearranged host Lawrence Lanahan inteviews O'Hagan about the evolution of the High Llamas' sound, arranging for other artists, and learning from the younger version of himself while arranging old tunes with Cathal Coughlan for a Microdisney reunion. SHOW NOTES Thanks to Talia Augustidis [link: https://allhear.substack.com/] for recording O'Hagan's end of the conversation in South London. Discover the High Llamas' music at Bandcamp [link: https://thehighllamas.bandcamp.com/] or Drag City [link: https://www.dragcity.com/artists/the-high-llamas?srsltid=AfmBOorK3qmVVM2ZO4naSom_XEMigUubzy5BdToEVb9Pq1kqSFE7aJLF] Listen to "Berry Adams," [link: https://thehighllamas.bandcamp.com/track/berry-adams] the song O'Hagan discussed at the beginning of the interview.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The music arranger’s power to put a listener inside a song.Songwriters write the songs—duh—but arrangers determine how we hear them. To arrange a song is to make a series of musical decisions. What do those decisions add up to? Sometimes it’s really just a sound, and we like that sound or we don’t. But musical decisions can also determine or even change the meaning of a song. Today, we’ll discover the power of musical decisions not just to add sounds to a song, but to take sounds away, creating space for the listener to dwell within the song.Thanks to:RJ BeeOsiris MediaThe theme music and other scoring music for Rearranged was written and recorded by Lawrence Lanahan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Don’t mess with my melody! What happens when arrangers end up in court.Copyright law is supposed to incentivize creative expression, but court rulings on arrangements have had the opposite effect. In Episode 4, we learn why the courts have called arrangers "mere mechanics," stifling creativity from the 19th century right up through songwriter Ed Sheeran's recent trial.Guests:Kembrew McLeod is a professor of communication studies at University of Iowa. McLeod co-produced the documentary Copyright Criminals, and with Peter DiCola, he wrote Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling, Duke University Press, 2011. https://communicationstudies.uiowa.edu/people/kembrew-mcleod, https://www.dukeupress.edu/creative-licenseCharles Cronin is a lawyer, musician, and historical musicologist in Los Angeles. He has taught at Claremont Graduate University and George Washington University, and he helped build GWU's extremely handy Music Copyright Infringement Resource. https://blogs.law.gwu.edu/mcir/authors-and-contributors/Salvatore Pappalardo is a professor of English in the English Department of Towson University in Maryland. https://www.towson.edu/cla/departments/english/facultystaff/spappalardo.htmlThanks to:Kembrew McLeodCharles CroninSalvatore PappalardoPlease check out Joanna Demers's book Steal This Music: How Intellectual Property Law Affects Musical Creativity, University of Georgia Press, 2006. https://ugapress.org/book/9780820327778/steal-this-music/The theme music and other scoring music for Rearranged was written and recorded by Lawrence Lanahan.Music discussed:“Satin Doll,” Duke Ellington“I Got Rhythm,” George Gershwin“Rhythm-A-Ning,” Thelonious Monk“Ornithology,” Charlie Parker“Donna Lee,” Miles DavisGo!, Dexter Gordon, Blue Note, 1962“Choir,” James Newton“Pass the Mic,” Beastie Boys“D.O.G. in Me,” Public Announcement“Atomic Dog,” George Clinton“Love Break,” Salsoul Orchestra“Vogue,” Madonna“Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke“Fish Market,” Steely and Clevie“Dem Bow,” Shabba Ranks“Despacito,” Daddy Yankee/Luis Fonsa“Happy Together,” The Turtles“Thinking Out Loud,” Ed Sheeran“Let’s Get it On,” Marvin GayeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How revolutions in recording technology remade the sound of the popular song.Studio technology has evolved from Edison's massive and unwieldy acoustic horn to an infinite array of possibilities that fit on the smartphone in your hand. In Episode 3 of Rearranged, we explore the revolutions in the sound of the popular song that accompanied revolutions in how we record sound.Guests:Brandon Shaw McKnight (Charles P. Harris) is a Baltimore-based actor, singer, and director. https://bshawmcknight.art/Charles Cronin is a lawyer, musician, and historical musicologist in Los Angeles. He has taught at Claremont Graduate University and George Washington University, and he helped build GWU's extremely handy Music Copyright Infringement Resource. https://blogs.law.gwu.edu/mcir/authors-and-contributors/Susan Schmidt Horning is an associate professor of history at St. John's College in Queens, New York. https://www.stjohns.edu/academics/faculty/susan-schmidt-horningJohn Morrison is a writer, producer, and DJ in Philadelphia. https://www.johnmorrison215.com/Thanks to:Brandon Shaw McKnightCharles CroninSusan Schmidt HorningJohn MorrisonThe theme music and other scoring music for Rearranged was written and recorded by Lawrence Lanahan.Music discussed:“After the Ball,” Charles P. Harris, 1892.King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band, Classics Records, 1992. https://www.discogs.com/release/11895715-King-Oliver-And-His-Creole-Jazz-Band-1923Bessie Smith: Downhearted Blues, Original 1923-1924 recordings, Naxos, 2003. https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.120660“Every Breath I Take,” Gene Pitney, Musicor, 1962. https://www.discogs.com/release/6077743-Gene-Pitney-Every-Breath-I-Take-It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy, Def Jam, 1988. https://defjamshop.com/products/public-enemy-it-takes-a-nation-of-millions-to-hold-us-back-lpSWP: Southwest Psychedelphia, John Morrison, 2020. https://johnmorrison215.bandcamp.com/album/swp-southwest-psychedelphiaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.