July 13, 2026

Mostly new, a few old. That pretty much describes this episode of Breaking The Tethers. There was also a nice variety of sounds and instrumentation. Not much more to say than that. I'd recommend giving it a listen and you can do that here. 

And you can also listen to next week's program! The date will be Monday, July 20. The time will be 10 am MT. The radio station coordinates will be cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

July 6, 2026

The three weeks of celebration for the 20th birthday of Breaking The Tethers comes to an end and we're back this week with a usual sorta BTT show (go here to listen). Mostly it was just music and me rambling a bit between the tunes but also, there was an interview. I was joined by Christophe Magnan-Bossé from the group Greenhouse Ensemble. We talked about the band and their new album, Mezzanine. We concluded by playing a track from Mezzanine, "Variations sur une turlute". Many thanks to Christophe for joining me!

There'll be more "regular" Breaking The Tethers on Monday, July 13. Tune in from 10 to 11 am MT, at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

June 29, 2026

The three weeks of celebration for the 20th anniversary of Breaking The Tethers comes to a close with this episode. While I very much liked the music featured in the previous two shows, I think I liked this one best. I'd make a list of my faves here but it would basically be the tracklist for the program! Anyway, be sure to check it out.

We're back to a "regular" BTT show next week. Please tune in from 10 to 11 am MT at 90.9 FM or cjsw.com. 

Thanks.

Andrew

June 22, 2016

Welcome to the second of three Breaking The Tethers shows in celebration of 20 years of the program. If memory serves, BTT started on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 though I'm not 100% sure. At any rate, June 22, 2026 is probably the closest to an exact 20th anniversary day that there is going to be. Musically, like the June 15 program, this episode featured a bunch of "hits" from BTT past; basically, some favourite tracks of mine that have been featured on the show. This week, my fave of faves was "Out-bloody-rageous" by Soft Machine, the version from the Third album. I may not have actually played this exact piece for almost 20 years (I think I played it in summer or fall 2006); I've played no small amount of Soft Machine in the years since and I've played different versions of "Out-bloody-rageous" by Soft Machine but not this exact one. You can listen to "Out-bloody-rageous" and more from this program here.

The 20th anniversary musical celebration comes to an end with the next BTT show, on Monday, June 29, from 10 to 11 am MT. Come sit in with me at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

June 15, 2026

This was the first of three shows in celebration of the (first) 20 years of Breaking The Tethers, featuring a selection of my fave tracks (and hopefully listeners' faves as well) played on BTT over the years. Some of these tunes have been played off and on over the years, some haven't been played for ages. The latter would include the first track in this program, "Song of the Underground Railroad" by John Coltrane, from The complete Africa/Brass sessions. This actually the first piece of music played on BTT in June 2006 and I don't think I've played it since! The whole show is here. 

The second celebratory BTT event will take place next week, on Monday, June 22, from 10 to 11 am MT. Go to cjsw.com or 90.9 FM. Fine music will be featured.

Thanks.

Andrew

 

June 8, 2026

Piles and piles of newly-released music has floated into my world recently. Regular Breaking The Tethers listeners will know that this often means that an "all new" edition is forthcoming. And that's exactly what emerged this week. Lots of great tunes were played (all new, of course! 😆), in a variety of different styles. My fave track? Without a doubt, the fully-crazed "Generative open graphic score #1" by Nolan Hildebrand from the aptly-named album Noise trip explosion. Some folks went nuts over this number and let me know. I suspect that some had seizures. You can listen to this "song" and the rest of the show here.

The next show brings the first of three programs in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Breaking The Tethers. Come hang with me on Monday, June 15 at 10 am, cjsw.com or 90.9 FM for an hour of BTT faves from over the years.

Thanks.

Andrew

Breaking The Tethers 20th Anniversary Shows

On a Tuesday morning in late June 2006 (sorry, I can't quite recall the exact date - maybe it was June 20?), at 6:00 am MT, Breaking The Tethers on CJSW began. What this means is that BTT is going to be 20 years old this month! This warrants some celebration, musically, on the show itself. Here's what's going to happen: The June 8th program will be a regular BTT show; I think going to do an "all-new" program, considering loads of new music has crossed my path. After that, the next three shows, June 15, June 22, and June 29, will be in celebration of the BTT big anniversary. On each of these episodes, I will play fave  tracks from the BTT past; mostly stuff I really dig and some things that I remember that listeners did as well. So, please tune in! Much fun will be had! Go to cjsw.com or 90.9 FM at 10 am MT.

Thanks.

Andrew