On Becoming in Shadows ~ Of Being Touched, Jason Doell’s piano and electronics roam wherever they please. The Toronto-based composer and sound artist created the music by recording piano phrases and tinkering with them using an algorithmic program, but it rarely sounds inflexible. Instead, the phrases liquefy, flowing with the ease of a river. AtContinue reading “Jason Doell. Becoming in Shadows ~ Of Being Touched. Whited Sepulchre, WSR043.”
Genre Archives
TAK Ensemble. Love, Crystal and Stone
The terms vanity label or vanity press can carry a connotation of indulgence, even aggrandizement. Were all indulgences as grand as TAK Ensemble’s packaging of Ashkan Behzadi’s music, Mehrdad Jafari’s paintings, and the poetry of Federico García Lorca, however, we might soon excuse the sin of vanity. The New York City quintet’s new, self-released collection,Continue reading “TAK Ensemble. Love, Crystal and Stone”
Monica Pearce. Textile Fantasies
Fabrics and music have an obviously sensuous connection: Think of weaving, texture, soft and strong qualities. Prince Edward Island-raised composer Monica Pearce, who is now based in the U.S., explores these links in her excellent debut album, Textile Fantasies, which features a cycle of eight works written for a variety of instrumental combinations. While pianoContinue reading “Monica Pearce. Textile Fantasies”
John Oswald. Classics from the Rascali Klepitoire
I first met John Oswald as a fellow musician in Toronto’s new music, improv, and modern dance scenes of the 1970s; we co-launched Musicworks in 1978. By his own account, he began mashing up appropriated music on a home tape recorder as a teen. Since then, he’s explored and systematically developed mediated ways to makeContinue reading “John Oswald. Classics from the Rascali Klepitoire”
Pauline Oliveros & James Ilgenfritz. Altamirage
Pauline Oliveros is best known for her invention and development of Deep Listening, which in essence encouraged intense attention to all possible details of sound. While that can conjure relaxing tones and quiet drones, this highly entertaining recording bursts with wit and energy, exposing Oliveros as a composer and improviser who moved well beyond minimalism.Continue reading “Pauline Oliveros & James Ilgenfritz. Altamirage”
Marina Hasselberg. Red
Ricercar Primo, by composer Domenico Gabrielli, opens Vancouver cellist Marina Hasselberg’s Red by dropping us into a hollow, windy atmosphere that feels a little like a haunted house. Her cello gradually enters with a Bach-like solo, resonant and a little forlorn, surrounded by swirling electricity. The piece presents a dichotomy between futuristic electronics and classicalContinue reading “Marina Hasselberg. Red”
Matt Choboter’s Hypnopompia. Sleep Inertia
Aiming to portray hypnopompia—hallucinations that occur while waking up—Vancouver pianist Matt Choboter has created an eight-part auditory suite that turns subconscious dreamscapes into musical exploration. Featuring clarinetist François Houle, guitarist Jacob Wiens, bassist James Meger, and percussionist Andrew Thomson, all of whom also add electronic impulses to Choboter’s preparations and drone collages, the result isContinue reading “Matt Choboter’s Hypnopompia. Sleep Inertia”
The Quasi-Punk-Rock Life of Du Yun
Whether exploring a musical idea on her own or working with a new collaborator, Du Yun follows her intuition. The New York-based composer, performer, and curator—currently professor of composition at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and distinguished visiting professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music—has said that her work is often aboutContinue reading “The Quasi-Punk-Rock Life of Du Yun”
Esmerine. Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More.
Esmerine is a group of Montreal multi-instrumentalists with sonic and historical ties to peers like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Set Fire to Flames, and Thee Silver Mt. Zion, and with a virtual universe of sounds in their arsenal. On their seventh album, core members Rebecca Foon, Bruce Cawdron, and Brian Sanderson blur the lines betweenContinue reading “Esmerine. Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More.”
Katelyn Clark & Isaiah Ceccarelli. Landmarks.
Modern eras, Umberto Eco suggested, have revisited the European Middle Ages ever since they ended. His own novel The Name of the Rose illustrates that point; so does the so-called early music revival. Katelyn Clark, heard here playing continuo and portative pipe organs, is a specialist in that flourishing field, and percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli is a keen singer of late MedievalContinue reading “Katelyn Clark & Isaiah Ceccarelli. Landmarks.”