Steven Bernstein is a trumpeter/composer/arranger who founded the band Sex Mob in the mid 1990s. Steven joins Free Association to talk about his new record with Sex Mob and his decades-long work with Scott Harding, Hal Willner, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, and John Lurie.

Michael Gira speaks with Brian on the subject of the new Swans record The Beggar, and on the cusp of a worldwide tour. Gira formed Swans in 1982 in New York City. After a long hiatus, the band reformed in 2010 with the record My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky. Since then the band has become known for their compelling live performances and as one of the most uncompromising bands in new music. The wide-ranging conversation ranges from writing to recording to artists such as Nina Simone, Charlemagne Palestine, and Scott Walker.

Composer J.G. Thirlwell is a man of many interests and talents, with wide-ranging projects including the decades-running Foetus, the large ensemble Steroid Maximus, chamber ensemble Manorexia, collaborations and compositions for Kronos Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, and Bang on a Can, and his scores for the TV series Venture Brothers and Archer. His new record Dystonia (Cantaloupe Music) features riveting and ground-breaking string quartet pieces performed by Mivos Quartet. J.G. sat down to talk with Brian about composing, rehearsing, collaboration, how his Foetus project evolved, composing for film and TV, and much more.