During a recent session for Sirius XMU, up-and-coming multi-instrumentalist premiered his compelling John Denver cover “Goodbye Again.” Despite his young age of 22 years, the Boise, Idaho noise succeeds in conveying a much required maturity for this sophisticated cover. If you like what you hear, make sure to check out his debut album The Year of Hibernation which released in September via Fat Possum (Lefse in Europe).
GZA was the guest of honor last week as he voyaged to Cambridge, Massachusetts to visit two of the worlds renowned academic institutions to engage in his first ever lecture. It began with his childhood influences of Kung Fu movies, chess, and nursery rhymes and eventually transitioning to his world views from a scientific and spiritual standpoint in which he notably stated “every being and object within the universe is connected somehow, whether visibly or invisibly….from micro to macro…the deeper one sees into life, the wider life opens itself to one.” Prior to his lecture at Harvard, he was also invited to a panel of great minds at M.I.T. to discuss quantum physics, biology, and oceanography – all of which that will play an influential role in his upcoming album. GZA’s parting message of the lecture, “Live a life full of humility, gratitude, intellectual curiosity and never stop learning.” We were in attendance for the event and were fortunate enough to pick his brain on a few topics.
