Political Ritual, the eponymous release by the Québécois electronic music duo of Maxime Corbeil-Perron and Félix-Antoine Morin, presents itself as a mystery, white print on a grey cover, a series of lighter, vertical oscilloscope intrusions appearing almost possibly accidental. The roles of the two performer–composers—here improvisers—are not distinguished. Each side of the LP presents aContinue reading “Political Ritual. Political Ritual.”
Genre Archives
Bekah Simms’ Music of Discomfort
Bekah Simms likes music that challenges. “I don’t want to ever get too comfortable,” she tells me, as we sit down to talk about her work. “I don’t want it ever to be super easy to write a piece, because I feel like then I won’t be a better composer when I’m done it.” It’sContinue reading “Bekah Simms’ Music of Discomfort”
Vicky Chow Is Just Warming Up
Against a deep blue, backlit stage, Vicky Chow sat at the baby grand in the Scheuer Auditorium at the Jewish Museum on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in April 2017, flanked by forty speakers hanging from stands. For an uninterrupted hour, she played dizzying sequences of interlocking melodies against a latticework of pulse tones. The pieceContinue reading “Vicky Chow Is Just Warming Up”
Sound Symposium XVIII.
Audiences at Sound Symposium XVIII in St. John’s, Newfoundland were treated to a full spectrum of improvisation, including free improvisation, graphic scores, and directed improvisation. We heard a vast range of music for electroacoustic soundscapes, Javanese gamelan, contemporary art music, Balkan folk music, and even music made by 3-D printers amplified by CCRMA’s GRAIL (StanfordContinue reading “Sound Symposium XVIII.”
Frances White and Kristin Norderval. She Lost Her Voice / That’s How We Knew.
Seductive and hypnotic, this is an utterly convincing work for voice and electronics—not an easy combination. For forty-five minutes, it moves slowly through a text by the piece’s director, Valeria Vasilevski, and blurs genres (chamber opera? theatre work? song cycle?) with its sensual, rhapsodic sound world. Frances White’s music is spectacularly beautiful: soprano Kristin Norderval’sContinue reading “Frances White and Kristin Norderval. She Lost Her Voice / That’s How We Knew.”
Sarah Hennies. Gather & Release.
The phenomenological aspect of sound has long been the foremost concern of percussionist and composer Sarah Hennies’ work. While her music often exploits the way we hear, it never comes off as some mere exercise. Gather & Release bends her fascination with the psychological ramifications of listening into an unprecedented shape. This ambitious new workContinue reading “Sarah Hennies. Gather & Release.”
Daniel Blinkhorn’s frostbYte—wildflower [ONLINE EXCLUSIVE]
Daniel Blinkhorn is an Australian composer and sound and new-media artist currently residing in Sydney. He has worked in a variety of creative, academic, research, and teaching contexts. An ardent location field recordist, he has embarked on many recording expeditions; his sonic travels have taken him throughout Africa, Alaska, the Amazon, the West Indies, NorthernContinue reading “Daniel Blinkhorn’s frostbYte—wildflower [ONLINE EXCLUSIVE]”
Tenzier: History Outside the Margins
“There’s a group of students who used a term I really liked: countermemory,” Tenzier founder Eric Fillion tells me over Skype from Montreal. “I almost like that better than counterculture.” He’s talking about Tenzier, the avant-garde label which has put out five critically acclaimed vinyl releases in as many years, as well as Tenzier theContinue reading “Tenzier: History Outside the Margins”
Thanos Chrysakis. Above The Hidden Track An Endless Blaze.
Electronic musician (and, elsewhere, pianist) Thanos Chrysakis’ newest release is dominated by dense continuous textures that throng the sonic field. It’s an undeniably intense listening experience, with less breath and fewer blatant contrasts than some of his other solo work. Portrayed with absolute auditory limpidity, each particle tickles one’s ears like glass mosquitoes. Other sustainedContinue reading “Thanos Chrysakis. Above The Hidden Track An Endless Blaze.”
Philippe Battikha. Invisible Backgrounds.
Balance and variety are the keys to Montreal trumpet player Philippe Battikha’s latest release, on which he avoids the flashy displays of technical virtuosity evident on many solo instrumental albums. Best known for his work in noisy ensembles such as La Part Maudite and Corse and as a member of Nicolas Caloia’s Ratchet Orchestra, BattikhaContinue reading “Philippe Battikha. Invisible Backgrounds.”