My guest this week is Josh Rogers. Josh runs the Illuminated Paths label, and releases music under the moniker Broken Machine Films. We first met in Orlando in 2007, and my 10,000 Devastating Watts EP came out on his label.

We discuss Illuminated Path’s nonstop release schedule, and how the label manages to consistently release multiple projects a week. I ask him about his habit of filling every Illuminated Paths package with strange ephemera, and his odd tape-dubbing system. We talk about the Vaporwave sound that the musicians under the Illuminated Paths umbrella have helped to create.

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to DJ Shadow’s “Endtroducing….” This episode is hosted by Splice Today.

http://www.splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-91-josh-rogers

My guests this week are Bito Sureiya and Jiro Sama of DosOtaku. They’re members of the NASA 8 collective. I first saw them last summer at the Ratscape festival, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

They talk about linking up in high school, and cutting their teeth at Baltimore’s Beet Trip night. I ask them about their NASA 8 collective, and what connects the NASA 8 members around the world. They talk about their passion for freestyling, and how their freestyle skills enhance their writing process.

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Stetsasonic’s In Full Gear. This episode is hosted by Splice Today.

http://www.splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-90-dosotaku-nasa-8

My guest this week is Jones. Jones is a rapper and producer from Baltimore. We’ve been friends since third grade, and we’ve been making music together since 1998.

We talk about our early group called Wounds, and his first forays into making beats. We discuss his full-length debut, his remix projects and his role in the band Hungry Bodies. He breaks down why he put music on the back-burner for the last few years, and his plans to get back in action.

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Ghostface Killah’s Ironman. This episode is hosted by Splice Today.

http://www.splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-89-jones

My guest this week is Jack Toft. Jack is a rapper from Buffalo, NY. We first met when we shared a bill in Charlottesville, VA, and we’ve played many shows together since then.

He talks about his early stabs at writing fiction and poetry, and how he drifted into music by way of a noise band called The Next Syphilis. He breaks down his first solo album being compared to Waiting To Exhale, and we try to guess what happened in Waiting To Exhale. He talks about the strangeness of starting to tour later in life, and the beauty of being part of the underground music world.

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to MC Rell & The Houserocker’s Into The Future. This episode is hosted by Splice Today.

http://www.splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-88-jack-toft

My guest this week is Flyin’ Ryan Burke. Ryan is a professional wrestler from Ohio. Our paths first crossed when he took part in Pittsburgh Batman, a play written and directed by (previous Height Zone World guest) Lord Grunge. I’ve always been interested in learning the ins and outs of his hustle.

He talks about being driven to become a wrestler from a young age. He describes making his wrestling debut in a K-mart parking lot, as well as finding himself wrestling in front of thousands of people. We discuss the logistics of being a working-class wrestler, and the tenacity it takes to stay in it.

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Cash Money and Marvelous’s Where the Party At? This episode is hosted by Splice Today.

http://www.splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-87-flyin-ryan-burke