A LISTENING GUIDE
Guitars beyond the familiar
Two starting points: Friko’s Chicago indie rock and Maddie Ashman’s exploration of tuning.
Sometimes the next discovery comes from staying near a familiar instrument while changing everything around it. These two routes begin with guitar but lead to different places. Choose the band route first if you want a group to follow; choose the tuning route if you are curious about how a song is put together.
Friko
The band route: start with the debut
Chicago band Friko released Where we’ve been, Where we go from here in 2024. Their label describes the later Something Worth Waiting For as a wider exploration that reaches into noise-rock and avant-garde classical music. Begin with Get Numb To It! and Crimson to Chrome from the debut before moving forward. That gives you a reference point for hearing how a band changes between records, without requiring a complete history lesson first.
Hear the songs and read Friko’s story →Background: Friko · ATO Records ↗
Maddie Ashman
The tuning route: try a different question
Ashman’s work explores microtonal music and just intonation. Our artist feature connects that research with songwriting and the Otherworld release. Start with Dark, then try Toffee. You do not need the theory before pressing play. Ask whether anything about the relationship between voice and instruments surprises you; read the background afterward if it makes you curious. The point is to find an entry into the music, not to pass a listening test.
Hear the songs and read Maddie Ashman’s story →Background: Otherworld · Maddie Ashman ↗
If one route connects and the other does not, that is useful. Keep the song you want to replay, and bring that artist into your taste preferences. A good personal edition should have room for both familiar territory and a deliberate stretch.
Unraveled · Updated