Show notes
ESP-Disk’, a record label started in New York in 1963 by Bernard Stollman, unleashed a sonic blast of free-form rock ‘n’ roll, free jazz, ur-freak-folk, poetry, and experimental music until the end of the decade, a blast that would leave a mark on the next two generations. ESP introduced the world to, among others, The Fugs, Pearls Before Swine, the Velvet Underground, and the Holy Modal Rounders, and widened the audience for Albert Ayler, Sun Ra and Pharaoh Sanders. In 2012, Jason Weiss published Always In Trouble, an oral history of the label, which has been resurrected and is again releasing its back catalog and exciting new music.



