(New York, NY) — Twenty-four of the world’s most renowned musicians share incredibly candid, in-depth thoughts on the joy and pain of the creative process, their careers and aspirations, conflicts and collaborations, and the realities of today’s music business in Innerviews: Music Without Borders (Abstract Logix), the first book by acclaimed music journalist Anil Prasad.
Artists featured in the book include some of the greatest names in jazz, rock, world music, hip-hop, and electronica: Jon Anderson, Bjork, Martin Carthy, Stanley Clarke, Chuck D, Ani DiFranco, Bela Fleck, Michael Hedges, Jonas Hellborg, Zakir Hussain, Leo Kottke, Bill Laswell, John McLaughlin, Noa, David Sylvian, Tangerine Dream, David Torn, Ralph Towner, McCoy Tyner, Eberhard Weber, Chris Whitley, Victor Wooten, and Joe Zawinul. Wooten contributes a foreword to the book. Some of the evocative topics explored include:
– Bjork on the chaos of her creative process
– Stanley Clarke on saying no to Miles Davis
– Chuck D on what’s wrong with hip-hop today
– Ani DiFranco on propelling democracy through music
– Bela Fleck on journeying to Africa to discover the roots of the banjo
– Bill Laswell on the drama of producing difficult artists
– John McLaughlin on turning the tables on the jazz police
– McCoy Tyner on the deification of John Coltrane
– Tangerine Dream on electronica transcending technology
– Joe Zawinul on inventing the original hip-hop beat
Prasad established Innerviews (www.innerviews.org), the Internet’s first and longest-running music magazine, in 1994. The Innerviews website offers more than 175 of his uncompromising interviews that feature artists speaking at length about topics that matter to them. Prasad is celebrated for his special ability to get his subjects to confide and reflect in ways they rarely do with other interviewers.
“Anil Prasad is like a great musician,” says Victor Wooten. “The way he expresses himself through his own art — his writing — causes readers to feel inspired, as if we’ve learned about ourselves, as well as the subject of the interview.”
“Anil Prasad really knows what he’s talking about,” says McCoy Tyner. “He’s doing the music a great service with his work.”
In addition to his work with Innerviews, Prasad is a contributing editor for Guitar Player magazine and a writer for Bass Player magazine, two of the world’s highest circulation specialist music periodicals.
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