Raphael Helfand

Associate Editor at The FADER

United States

Contributing editor at The FADER: [email protected]

Writer/reporter/editor/producer at large: [email protected]

Previously: Laid Off NYC (Editor-in-Chief), ANTIGRAVITY Magazine, WNYC.

Selected features, essays, interviews, reviews, surveys, and more below.

Portfolio

FADER features

The FADER
Machine Girl vs. The Machine

Machine Girl discuss their new album MG Ultra, an LP full of obsessive, paranoid anthems for the end of world.

The FADER
Thou's punishment ritual

Thou, Louisiana's heaviest band in a generation, discuss the compromises and reckonings behind their latest album, Umbilical.

The FADER
A rap trio too fun to fail

Following a legendary skatepark show, POLO PERKS <3 <3 <3, FearDorian, and AyooLii dropped by the FADER office to discuss their zany masterpiece, A Dog's Chance.

The FADER
MIZU's many movements

MIZU's new album, initially conceived as the score for a dance piece, finds the experimental cellist exploring her strangest textures and darkest colors yet.

The FADER
BRAT's hot-pink hell

New Orleans band BRAT are blasting through punk pieties on the path to something much more fun.

The FADER
Black Fondu's secret is simplicity

Read our interview with 20-year-old London rapper-producer Black Fondu, who's building buzz with only one official track on the books.

The FADER
Anastasia Coope's warped folk curios

21-year-old painter-singer-songwriter Anastasia Coope discusses her unconventional path to the strange songs on her debut album, Darning Woman.

The FADER
How much should rappers worry about Eric Adams' war on drill?

The FADER: What's your initial reaction to Eric Adams' recent statements on drill? Jack Lerner: To me, this is just one incident in a long line of policy makers, the media, and law enforcement scapegoating the artistic expression of young Black men to stoke fear and redirect attention away from the bigger problem.

Older Features

The Iron Lattice
Catering to the Crowd

I explored The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival's byzantine economy, one interview at a time.

Essays

Expressionless—Listening
11/12/2020
Considering Scott Walker

An accelerated listening guide through Scott Walker's expansive discovraphy.

The FADER
David Berman's purest poetry

"Like Like the the the Death," the Silver Jews' strangest song, exists between the indoors and the outdoors of David Berman's mind.

laidoffnyc
01/21/2021
Six Degrees to MF DOOM

In which I selfishly re-direct the narrative from MF DOOM's tragic death to my experience growing up with his music as a suburban white kid.

laidoffnyc
10/15/2021
Another World

by Raphael Helfand As many of you may have noticed, we haven't posted our usual Favorite Music round-ups these past two months. These lists are massive projects for us, and everyone at LaidOff has been busy and stressed. To lighten our load and switch things up a bit, we'

Reviews

Pitchfork
03/17/2022
Emma Ruth Rundle: Engine of Hell

Emma Ruth Rundle lives on a gloomy planet. Drop a needle on one of her records and imagine her shuffling down an otherwise sunny street beneath her own personal raincloud, shivering in an oversized trench coat. The clouds gather as you listen, and before long, darkness has fallen.

The FADER
Dancing with DJ E

Chuquimamani-Condori's 2023 album DJ E sounds unlike anything else. At UNSOUND last week, they conjured the same strange magic behind the decks.

Pitchfork
bbymutha: Cherrytape EP

The Tennessee rapper’s latest four-song EP is a concentrated burst of energy with perfectly paced flows and a vibe that's always ready for the dancefloor.

Pitchfork
Connan Mockasin / Ade: It's Just Wind

New Zealand psych rocker Connan Mockasin’s collaborative album with his dad, Ade, has bad jokes, stream-of-consciousness poetry, and an odd, undeniable appeal.

The FADER
Drone music isn't just one note

Kali Malone, William Basinski, Stephen O'Malley, and six more experimental music titans played Pioneer Works in the space of 30 hours last week.

Pitchfork
Pearl & the Oysters: Flowerland

The third album from the duo of Juliette Pearl Davis and Joachim Polack takes on the soft psychedelic hues of Stereolab and Wendy Carlos, shot through with malaise and a curious sense of overstimulation.

laidoffnyc
02/23/2021
Bill & Bonnie's Wild Kindness

In which I marvel at Bill Callahan and Bonnie "Prince" Billy's remarkable collaborative run and extol its final insallment, a cover of Silver Jews' "The Wild Kindness"

The FADER
Heems and Lapgan's magic mind meld

LAFANDAR, the debut collab from Heems and Lapgan, is a return to form for the former Das Racist rapper and a breakout moment for his new producer.

Bandcamp Daily
07/23/2021
Anika, "Change"

ALBUM OF THE DAY ​ ​ The age of "I actually wrote this album pre-Covid, but it feels prescient now; I guess I was channeling something..." is finally coming to a merciful close.

Interviews

The FADER
John Cale remains in flux

John Cale shares wisdom on the avant garde's past and future on the new episode of The FADER Interview podcast.

The FADER
Zsela is listening

Zsela discusses unlikely dualities, fire escape reveries, and Ween in the context of her brand new debut album, Big For You.

The FADER
Chrystabell is the dreamer

Singer, actor, and longtime David Lynch collaborator Chrystabell discusses the mind meld that inspired the duo's new album Cellophane Memories.

The FADER
Mabe Fratti's tension-release game

Guatemalan experimental cellist Mabe Fratti talks paranoia, elastic thoughts, FOMO, and the rockstar moves of her new album, Sentir que no sabes.

The FADER
Geneva Jacuzzi's high-art camp-pop

Geneva Jacuzzi discusses her new album 'Triple Fire,' a tight collection of campy bangers fit for the dance floor and the walls of the Getty.

The FADER
Protomartyr love to rock

On The FADER Interview, Protomartyr's Joe Casey discusses the warily hopeful philosophy behind the band's new album, Formal Growth in the Desert.

The FADER
Hanif Abdurraqib is building new worlds with a concert series

Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, podcaster, and curator of worlds. His ability to find parity in the disparate, along with his exquisite command of the English language, has made him one of the 21st century's most celebrated cultural critics.

The FADER
Lupe paints Amy

Lupe Fiasco discusses the deep intention behind his new album Samurai, a portrait of Amy Winehouse as a mythic battle rapper.

The FADER
SQÜRL's ecstatic ambitions

SQÜRL's Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan discuss their inspirations and assembly process on The FADER Interview.

ANTIGRAVITY Magazine - Your New Orleans Alternative to Culture.
07/08/2021
Sound or Space: an Interview with Oscar Rossignoli

Oscar Rossignoli is the musician New Orleans' downtown scene didn't know it needed. No other pianist in the city can currently boast the level of chops or the improvisational acumen that have become the keyboard phenom's calling cards. Trained at conservatories in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Rossignoli started to dabble in non-classical forms [...]

ANTIGRAVITY Magazine - Your New Orleans Alternative to Culture.
03/11/2019
THE EXTRA LIVES OF AF THE NAYSAYER

Amahl Abdul-Khaliq (AF THE NAYSAYER) is a driving force in Louisiana's often overlooked electronic music community. In the late '00s, he waded into a scene dominated by dubstep and helped steer the ship toward deeper waters. He founded Dolo Jazz Suite, a loose collective of like-minded producers across coastal Louisiana who burst the sonic barrier [...]

ANTIGRAVITY Magazine - Your New Orleans Alternative to Culture.
07/10/2018
LETTING IT FESTER WITH GUTS CLUB

Guts Club is not your granddad's folk singer. Lindsey Baker has only been writing and playing music seriously for a few years, but she's already dropped three albums' worth of sinister, violent folk country. She began her career in earnest during a brief stint in Brooklyn, putting out Guts Club's first LP, The Arm Wrestling [...]

Surveys

The FADER
The artists of UNSOUND define NOISE

Krakow's UNSOUND festival starts today. In honor of its theme, we asked Bill Callahan, Chuquimamani-Condori, DJ Anderson do Paraiso, and more a deceptively simple question: What is noise?

The Brian Lehrer Show clips (uncredited)