In the five years before her death in 2007, Alice Coltrane was subject to a considerable critical reappraisal. The release of her back catalogue on CD and the live performances she gave with her son Ravi Coltrane in support of her 2003 album Translinear Light seemed to arrive at just the right moment for aContinue reading “Franya J. Berkman. Monument Eternal: The Music of Alice Coltrane.”
Genre Archives
Montreal’s Constellation Records
Montreal’s Constellation Records rose to prominence around the turn of the millennium, following the explosion of Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s popularity. While it’s sometimes tempting to allow that band and similar acts on the label’s roster to sum up Constellation’s identity, a more-than-cursory glance at its lineup of artists indicates an interest in far moreContinue reading “Montreal’s Constellation Records”
Colin Stetson. New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges.
Saxophonist Colin Stetson’s solo outing displays his interest in multiphonics, spiralling repetition, and circular breathing. Inviting comparison to veteran Toronto player David Mott, Stetson’s playing exhibits an even coarser and more carnal tone than that of his forerunner. His sturdy, concise pieces seem to derive much from the energy of rock. The thick saturated textureContinue reading “Colin Stetson. New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges.”
Rouge Ciel. Bryologie.
Bryologie, named intriguingly for the study of mosses, is the third CD by the Montreal quartet Rouge Ciel, founded in 2001. When the group began recording, some of the members were around twenty years of age, and the band maintains that same personnel, with Guido Del Fabbro on violins, banjo, and programming; Simon Lapointe onContinue reading “Rouge Ciel. Bryologie.”
Joane Hétu. Récits de neige.
This is the third and final CD in Hétu’s series of compositions about snow performed by her Ensemble Supermusique. It’s divided into four multi-part segments—La Neige, Jamais froid, Rafales, and Paysages—but there are overarching patterns here, a profound experience of a season, the Quebec landscape (“Chaque chute de neige est une exposition d’art unique”) and,Continue reading “Joane Hétu. Récits de neige.”
Dafeldecker / Kurzmann / Tilbury / Wishart. Violet 2009.
This is the third in a long-standing series of collaborations initiated by Austrian musicians Werner Dafeldecker (electronics and bass) and Christof Kurzmann (electronics and clarinet), which see them teaming up with a small group of other improvisers. This time, the two musicians perform a series of improvisations with Stevie Wishart on hurdy gurdy and long-standingContinue reading “Dafeldecker / Kurzmann / Tilbury / Wishart. Violet 2009.”
Martin Arnold. Tam Lin.
Slow but dense, with ripe, colourful gestures and murky tonality, the title composition of Martin Arnold’s Tam Lin inspires a sense of bated-breath wonder, yet utter confusion. But what other results could one achieve by setting the improvisatory and vocal quirks of the Draperies—Ryan Driver, Eric Chenaux, and Doug Tielli—against Arraymusic’s distinctive instrumentation, in anContinue reading “Martin Arnold. Tam Lin.”
Kyle Gann. No Such Thing As Silence: John Cage’s 4’33”.
Cage never used absolute silence. In the beginning (his beginning, at least), such matters did not concern him—and concern with the earlier, less-notorious John Cage forms just one part of Kyle Gann’s fascinating study of Cage’s best-known composition. “There is no such thing,” Cage wrote for a 1957 lecture, “as an empty space or anContinue reading “Kyle Gann. No Such Thing As Silence: John Cage’s 4’33”.”
Various Artists. An Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music, Volume 6.
With An Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music, Volume 6, curator Guy Marc Hinant continues his review of this and last century’s hard stuff. He continues his formula—a word that I’m sure would make him bristle—of assembling current artists, influential old-timers, and poppier practitioners. In previous editions, the middle category has included Morton Subotnick, EdgardContinue reading “Various Artists. An Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music, Volume 6.”
Toddler Body. Survival Smokers.
Recently the mainstream of independent pop and rock has introduced certain safe yet conspicuously weird tics into their already carefully tweaked lexicon of self-conscious poses. Given that pseudo-psychedelic, fake lo-fi pop geared to fashionable teens is at an all-time high, it’s refreshing to hear some genuinely skewed yet playful music being created. Toronto’s Toddler BodyContinue reading “Toddler Body. Survival Smokers.”