A source for news on music that is challenging, interesting, different, progressive, introspective, or just plain weird
Interviews with artists and other interesting people
Source: I Care If You Listen.
On composer-percussionist Susie Ibarra’s portrait album, Talking Gong, the dialogue between these resonant metallic instruments is a social and spiritual activity that animates the performers’ stylistic versatility. Released on January 22, 2021 by New Focus Recordings, the album features a trio of Ibarra, flutist Claire Chase, and pianist Alex Peh exploring the intersections of Philippine culture, movement, and nature.
Source: The Quietus.
Toyah Willcox tells us about her and husband Robert Fripp’s bonkers lockdown videos, why she sees herself as honouring Barbara Windsor, how they might influence King Crimson going forward, and how they’ve inspired a surge of interest in her kitchen cupboards.
Source: harmonic series.
conversations
I interview PG Moreno, who has organized the Epistrophy Arts concert series in Austin, Texas, USA since 1998. Upon moving to Austin in 2014 and seeing Fred Frith live, presented by Epistrophy Arts, I was encouraged to dig deeper into improvised music. Over video chat, we talk about the approaches, processes, joys, and headaches of organizing, providing impressions of Austin along the way. One big takeaway for me is the positive impact of international cultural exchange at the local level, and the near-impossibility of it due to American visa and work permit policies. Another: advocate for this music whichever way you can!annotations
Robin Hayward – Words of Paradisereviews
Cristián Alvear & Cyril Bondi – Michael Pisaro-Liu: E là Fora (self-released, 2021)
Martina Bertoni – Music For Empty Flats (Karlrecords, 2021)
Eric Chenaux – “3 Stars On Mountain Of Doom” (Constellation, 2021)
Mia Dyberg / Matthias Müller – Wide Pointillism (self-released, 2021)
Signe Emmeluth – Hi Hello I’m Signe (Relative Pitch, 2021)
gabby fluke-mogul – threshold (Relative Pitch, 2021)
Antonin Gerbal – Connectors (Remote Resonator, 2021)
Susie Ibarra – Talking Gong (New Focus Recordings, 2021)
Marina Kifferstein – Open Improvisations (self-released, 2020)
Kode9 – “The Jackpot” / “Rona City Blues” (Hyperdub, 2021)
Catherine Lamb – Muto Infinitas (Another Timbre, 2021)
Mike Majkowski – Fields (Audio. Visuals. Atmosphere., 2021)
Damon Smith – Bass Duos 2000-2007 (Balance Point Acoustics, 2021)
Marshall Trammell & William Fowler Collins – Untitleable (SIGE, 2020)
Michael Winter – single track (Another Timbre, 2021)
Source: Chamber Music Magazine.
In this season’s edition of Chamber Music magazine, Ash Fure joins Sound American’s Nate Wooley to discuss the untapped potential of the performance space, the ethics of collaboration, and the social complexity at the heart of their music. Their conversation yields an incisive survey of both artists’ enigmatic sound worlds.
Source: I CARE IF YOU LISTEN.
Wendy Eisenberg is a composer, performer, and guitarist whose music lives in the gray area between free jazz, contemporary classical, and punk music. Since finishing a Master’s degree at New England Conservatory, Wendy has developed a working relationship with John Zorn, releasing music on his Tzadik label, performing in his ensemble, and writing for his Arcana book series. Their most recent solo album, Auto, has been lauded in Pitchfork and The Washington Post. Wendy also performs with the rhythmically complex punk band Editrix, whose newest collection of recordings, Tell Me I’m Bad, will be released on Exploding In Sound on February 5, 2021.
Source: Jack O’ The Clock.
1. We are thrilled to announce that our new album, “Leaving California,” will be released on Cuneiform Records in 2021. This label has been a gold standard for new and adventurous genre-bending music for decades, and we couldn’t ask for a better affiliation.
2. Tomorrow, at 6pm Pacific/ 9pm Eastern, Damon Waitkus will be doing a live Zoom listening and chat with the virtuosic guitar/percussion duo The Living Earth Show, which is open to everyone. This coincides with the release of Damon’s piece for the duo, The North Pacific Garbage Patch, a sinuous, crashing journey through a math-metal oceanscape. Tune in tomorrow here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/873800819273. Ventifacts is a microtonal songwriting duo comprised of Ben Spees (of The Mercury Tree) and Damon Waitkus (of Jack O’ The Clock). This bicoastal recording collaboration has been developing since late 2019, and will be releasing a full-length album in 2021. The duo make use of a wide array of instruments and several alternative tuning systems to create colorful and provocative songs that are at once mind-bending and accessible. Look for their first single early in the new year!
4. Finally, we are in the final week of our fundraiser for Vermont and Alameda County food banks. Since October, we have purchased several hundred meals for people in need. If you haven’t participated yet, now’s your chance: any purchase of either of our No Outlet volumes before 2021 will go entirely to food banks. For those of you who have already participated, thank you so much! Many people went over and above the asking price, and for that we are grateful. It’s a testament to the generosity and empathy of our listeners. Contribute/listen here:
https://jackotheclock.bandcamp.com/album/no-outlet-volume-2-2014-2018
Source: Point of Departure.
Issue 73 – December 2020
Page One: a column by Bill Shoemaker
Ezzthetics: a column by Stuart Broomer
Gerry Hemingway: An American in Luzern: an interview with Troy Collins
Knocking Down Barriers: An Interview with Abdul Wadud, 1980 by David Lee
The Book Cooks:
The Music Finds A Way: A PAPA/UGMAA Oral History of Growing Up in Postwar South Central Los Angeles
by Steven L. Isoardi (Dark Tree, Paris)
&
An Uncommon Music for the Common Man – A Polemical Memoir: Episodes of a Personal History Embracing Ideas of Autonomy and Supportive Social Conditions
by Edwin Prévost (Copula, Matchless Recordings and Publishing; Harlow, Essex, UK)Moment’s Notice: Reviews of Recent Recordings
Source: The Harvard Crimson.
Avant-garde jazz pianist and composer Angelica Sanchez is no stranger to high-profile collaborations. Having previously worked with the likes of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and bassist Richard Davis, Sanchez teams up with fellow pianist and free jazz artist Marilyn Crispell on her latest album “How to Turn the Moon.” The Harvard Crimson sat down with Sanchez to talk about her artistic processes, neuroscience, and her latest recording.
Source: Jouston Chronicle.
So during a year with no shows, Basinski has presented two different recordings representing two very different moods. “To Feel Embraced” is a tribute of sorts to Leonora Russo, the “Queen of Williamsburg,” a beloved New York personality. It reverberates with a bright energy befitting the colorful Russo. And for those still fixated on the miserable void that has been 2020, “Lamentations” strikes a melancholy mood. Basinski discussed the pair of albums and his future plans.
Source: burning ambulance.
I’ve known about Ivo Perelman for about 25 years; the first record of his I heard was Cama de Terra, which came out in 1996. It was actually the very last release on Homestead Records, right before Steven Joerg, who was running the label at the time, left and started AUM Fidelity. That album featured Perelman with Matthew Shipp on piano and William Parker on bass, and they’re two of the people he’s continued to work with ever since, along with many others, including Joe Morris, Nate Wooley, Mat Maneri, Whit Dickey, and a whole slew of other players.
