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Lou Reed sails on Hudson River Wind Meditations

Echoes
John Diliberto and Lou Reed

Before he died in 2013, Lou Reed created an ambient album called Hudson River Wind Meditations that tapped into his spiritual side. Now that the album is being re-released in a deluxe edition, we go back to our interview with Reed talking about it.

Lou Reed was an iconic figure in modern music. The founder of The Velvet Underground, he provided a counterpart to the hippies and flower power of the era, trawling a darker and seedier side of life. As a solo artist, he did the same thing, with a lean, distorted guitar sound and songs that were often grittier than a back alley. But there was another side to Lou Reed as well, one that’s experimental and meditative. One example came out on the 2007 CD, Hudson River Wind Meditations. It was an all-electronic disc of drones and ambiences. We don’t play Lou Reed often on Echoes for obvious reasons, but I thought: when else would I have an opportunity to interview him? Lou Reed talks about a meditative river, on Echoes, Sunday night starting at 6 p.m. on 91.1, 89.9 and wshu.org.

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John Diliberto is a nationally published writer and award-winning radio producer who has been exploring and exposing new music on the radio, in print and on-line since 1974. He currently is the host and executive producer of Echoes, heard Sunday nights from 6-10 p.m. on WSHU-FM and WSUF.