FreeForm Northwest

12/17/2025

FreeForm NW Top 10 of 2025!
Tomorrow 4-6PM KAOS 80.3FM or kaosradio.org/listen

12/16/2025

Bonus Track!
Zhonghu - Super Z Attack Team
Jon Davis is the only Chapman Stick player I know. He also puts on Prog festivals in Seattle. Zhonghu is his prog rock band. This is a paired down 3 piece band version of the Attack Team that Jon Davis had on his first album. When I say trio, Jon uses Chapman Stick, hardware and software synthesizers, guzheng, samples, field recordings, Otamatone, percussion, theremin, didgeridoo, toy piano, programming, so this is not exactly skinny. Pull out your mood ring and put on your headphones and get to trippin’!

9 track album

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#1 Brittany Davis - Black Thunder
This album is a total killer. Singer and pianist Ms. Davis hooked up with half of the late, great band Industrial Revelation, D’Vonne Lewis (drums) and Evan Flory-Barnes (bass). They went into the studio and improvised this mighty album in two days. It is beautiful, hip and heartbreaking. It is the children of Nina Simone at her best, boldly. This album is way more than the sum of its parts - breathtaking!

17 track album

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#2 Reggie Garrett and Christine Gunne - The Road Taken
Achingly gorgeous duet record. “A Place In This World” is nearly unbearable in its desperate longing for home. Two people making beautiful music in this time of uncertainty - nothing else included or needed.

12 track album

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#3 The Cosmic Tone Research Trio - The Cosmic Tone Research Trio
Portland's finest practitioners of Great Black Music - a phrase coined by the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the AACM way back in the 60’s, so that tells you something about where they are coming from. There is something in their sound that’s a bit Alice Coltrane as well. Their first album was coined slow music, this one is simply great music.

8 track album

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#4 Eric Apoe - Embryo
Eric’s 13th album is finally released! “Batmobile” kicks off the slow and glorious gravel parade so new I have barely heard it, but the magnificent “Tacoma”, hidden away here at #15, is so great it has instantly vaulted “Embryo” to the #4 spot!

19 track album

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#5 Selector Dub Narcotic - When Boys Cry
King Calvin and the mighty Smoke M206 get to throwin’ down - what more do you need to know? Thump! 12” vinyl - D/L comes with instrumental versions of all 4 songs on the bandcamp.

8 track album

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#6 Bad Scene - Room Without a Light
The Bloch Bros.’ Bad Scene is always Top 10, right? See them in Seattle this spring. They will rock! (if ya need an FCC clean version, just ask Kurt!) As a bonus we have Kurt’s mighty The “No” 3 (Kurt, Jim Sangster from Young Fresh Fellows and Dan Peters of Mudhoney) doing the Groundhogs’ “Cherry Red”. Heaven!

track by Al Bloch

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#7 Ural Thomas - Natural
Another great release from MIssissippi Records in Portland. I first knew of Ural from “Wheedle's Groove: Seattle's Finest In Funk & Soul 1965-75”. From Bandcamp: These 8-track recordings are from the early 90s - possibly some begun as early as late 80s. There are synthesizers, drum machines, a chorus of vocal overdubs, guitars, bass, drums...a full band all Ural, recorded at home and now for the first time on LP. Totally cool - Ural is still playing out in Portland on occasion.

10 track album

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#8 Golden West - Kansas b/w Hallelujah. The Great Kathy Moore wrote a couple new tunes that she thought needed another singer - enter the legendary Kim Virant of Lazy Susan fame. So bad ass! Streaming now, fancy yellow 7” vinyl soon. Oh my yes!

Listen to Kansas

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#9 Warren Dunes - Beauty Comes of Everything (single) : I’m kinda late to the party here with this trendy three piece, but what the heck? Super catchy upbeat pop. I think I shall be doing some digging in their catalog!

track by Warren Dunes

12/16/2025

FFNW Top 15 of 2025
#10 Briarfinch - Briarfinch
Tight Olympia newgrass crew featuring the high level chops of Josh Grice on an impressive debut.

10 track album