The first intimation that Jenny Moore has arrived at the music room at The Victoria, a historic pub in East London, is when the crowd slowly starts to part. The six members of her ensemble Mystic Business are doing a slow stomp, each hitting a pair of Boomwhacker tubes against each other to produce pitched,Continue reading “Jenny Moore Tears Things Up”
Genre Archives
Julius Eastman: That Which Is Fundamental.
At the end of February, publisher G. Schirmer, Inc. announced that it had acquired the catalogue of Julius Eastman and would be restoring, publishing, and promoting his works, putting the composer among the ranks of Tan Dun, Terry Riley, Kaaija Saariaho, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Tom Waits. It’s quite a distinction for a composer who diedContinue reading “Julius Eastman: That Which Is Fundamental.”
First-place winner, Musicworks’ 2017 Electronic Music Composition contest
The glitchy, vaguely dystopian composition constructed from manipulated vocals is almost widespread enough now to warrant its own genre tag. Laurie Anderson is, of course, its foremother. Recent interesting entries include Holly Herndon’s Platform, Katie Gately’s Pipes, and Giant Claw’s Soft Channel. All of them delight in detaching signifier from signified, building up intricate, oftenContinue reading “First-place winner, Musicworks’ 2017 Electronic Music Composition contest”
The Shapeshifting Sounds of Gabriel Dharmoo
After experiencing Anthropologies Imaginaires, it’s hard to imagine that just a few years ago Gabriel Dharmoo, its creator and performer, was reluctant to use his spectacularly flexible voice to anything like its full extent. In fact, he initially rebelled against seizing the singer’s usual place, smack in the middle of the spotlight. “I felt likeContinue reading “The Shapeshifting Sounds of Gabriel Dharmoo”
Christine Duncan Unleashes the Elements
IT ALL CAME BACK SO FAST: the Whip, the Punch, the Elements. All those gestures unlocked my voice and made it respond exactly as it was supposed to—even after a five-year absence. Late last year, I embedded myself with the Element Choir, the world’s leading structured-improvisation choral group, as it prepared for one of itsContinue reading “Christine Duncan Unleashes the Elements”
Apocalypsis
I ATTENDED A PERFORMANCE of the Luminato Festival’s production of R. Murray Schafer’s Apocalypsis not knowing what to expect; the full version of this work had only been produced once, thirty-five years ago. After the performance, I obtained the scores for its two acts—John’s Vision and Credo—as well as recordings of both the early production andContinue reading “Apocalypsis”
Anna Pidgorna’s Invented Folk Songs
With its balance of bold colour palettes, strong melodic profiles, and unexpected performative elements, composer Anna Pidgorna’s work has been catching eyes and ears of late. Her chamber opera On the Eve of Ivan Kupalo recieved a 2013 SOCAN Foundation Award, and Light-Play through Curtain Holes, a solo accordion piece, represented Canada at the ISCMContinue reading “Anna Pidgorna’s Invented Folk Songs”
Jennifer Walshe Spins a Fine Tale
The centenary of Dadaism is only three short years away, but there’s still time for curators and arts organizations across the world to program fitting tributes to the full multiplicity of artists involved in the movement. Irish radio, for example, will be honouring Dublin’s Dermot O’Reilly, Kevin Leeson, and Brian Sheridan, the Guinness Dadaists whoseContinue reading “Jennifer Walshe Spins a Fine Tale”
Various Artists. REWORK_ (Philip Glass Remixed).
And how, you may well ask, do the epochal Beck and the magisterial Glass bond and re-bond? With lots of echo, I’m here to report. Echo and backwards-boinging. And the chanting of an avant-garde choir. Because “avant-garde” is “now,” for now, this choir sings high-low, high-low for a while; a male voice arises chanting aboutContinue reading “Various Artists. REWORK_ (Philip Glass Remixed).”
Casa Da Música Builds A Home For Experimental Music
FULL-TEXT AVAILABLE IN PRINT EDITION ONLY 1497. Lisbon, Portugal. Navigator Vasco da Gama commands the first ship to sail from Europe to India. During the fifteenth century Portugal’s navigators are at the cutting edge of innovation and world discovery, their travel exploits feats of experimental technique. While Vasco da Gama discovered the world’s vastness andContinue reading “Casa Da Música Builds A Home For Experimental Music”