The Signal to Noise Blog

Long Distance Poison and the Revival of Cassettes

2012-01-16T21:09:00.000-06:00

Long Distance Poison

Gamma Graves

Ecstatic Peace Cassette

Gamma Graves is a prime example of the kind of release that has helped to fuel the cassette resurgence on the indie/experimental music scene. Produced by a variety of sources, from bedroom DIY collectives and small tape-only labels to established imprints like Ecstatic Peace, the audio cassette format, long thought extinct, is back. Tapes have been unassumingly encroaching their way onto the shelves of connoisseur collectors and music critics (no less than Steve Smith is a devotee): even record sellers such as Insound and Other Music have made room for them again.

The Brooklyn triumvirate of synthesizer performers Nathan Cearley and Erica Bradbury and prepared guitarist Casey Block comprise Long Distance Poison. Armed with vintage gear by Moog, Arp, and Roland, they create experimental soundscapes with a sense of history, referencing everyone from David Borden and early Philip Glass to Keith Rowe, Alva Noto, Ryoji Ikeda, and Derek Bailey. Drone-based foundations are overlaid with coruscating ostinato loops and distressed with pointed interjections.

Gamma Graves is the type of music that would have been just fine to distribute digitally (or via CD). Indeed, some purists might argue that cassette is an inherently inferior audio format to hi-res digital played through good equipment (by no means do most consumers play their MP3s through good equipment). So, why do I like having it on cassette? I find the noise imparted by tape and deck to do no harm to this music: in fact, it adds another, subtle, layer of drones to the proceedings that is consonant with the musical intentions of the work.

The tape as artifact yields something important too. Limited runs of handmade cassettes are often lovingly attired with artwork more expansive and, obviously, more tangible than any JPEG can provide. They are a reminder of a bygone era in which the physical release WAS the release, in which tape-trading and digging in bins for rarities was a hobby to enthusiastically pursue: not something simulated in online forums and furtively grasped at brick and mortar outposts now few and far between. Long Distance Poison (and Ecstatic Peace) acknowledge their debt to history not only via musical reference points, but through the resonances found in a cassette as relic and artwork. Try finding all that in a computer file.

Sharon van Etten performs on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

2012-01-06T12:02:00.002-06:00

Last night, Sharon Van Etten played the song "Serpents" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (video below), debuting a new band featuring a guest appearance by Aaron Dessner (the National). The song is from Van Etten's forthcoming 3rd LP, Tramp, which is slated for release on 2/7/12 via Jagjaguwar. It's also been released as a single b/w non-album track "Mike McDermott."

The performance featured a more amplified sound palette than her previous work, adding tinges of indie rock to Van Etten's alt-folk style, with the songwriter inhabiting a bolder demeanor fronting the proceedings. Add the key ingredient of stardom's formula - a memorable lead-off single like "Serpents" - andTramp appears poised to be Van Etten's breakout release. Congratulations on a very successful network TV debut!

Hosokawa's Landscapes on ECM

2011-11-26T10:35:00.002-06:00

Toshio Hosokawa
Landscapes
Mayumi Miyata, shô;
Munich Chamber Orchestra; Alexander Liebreich, conductor

Composer Toshio Hosokawa (b. 1955) has been featured once before on an ECM recording, as one of three composers programmed on a recital disc by Thomas Demenga. Landscapes is his first portrait disc for the imprint. It features a number of fine performers who are ideal advocates for Hosokawa's fluid and multifaceted musical language. The Munich Chamber Orchestra, led by Alexander Liebreich, has become a featured ensemble on ECM's New Series. The quality of their interpretations here readily support the notion of them remaining a 'house band' for the Manfred Eicher curated imprint.

Hosokawa's work combines the influences of Darmstadt school second modernity with elements from traditional Japanese (and Chinese) culture, ranging from gagaku (courtly ceremonial music) and the employment of traditional instruments to examples from fine art: calligraphy and landscape paintings. In works like Ceremonial Dance and Cloud and Light, one is impressed with how seamlessly these various, at times disparate, elements are synthesized. This is particularly evident on Ceremonial Dance, where acerbic harmonies combine with sliding tones to fashion a hybrid of East/West techniques that sounds truly organic and self-contained. Cloud and Light works from a similar palette. But here there is also an interesting juxtaposition of delicate sustained shô and string chords and thunderous low register outbursts.

In addition to participating in Cloud and Light, shô (mouth organ) player Mayumi Miyata is also featured on two other pieces on the disc. Back in 1993, Landscape V was originally scored for shô and string quartet. This updated version for larger ensemble works equally well; both renditions are hauntingly eloquent tone poems. Miyata takes a solo turn on Sakura für Otto Tomek, a work filled with slowly evolving complex clusters of harmony. Sakura's meditative ambience is shadowed with portentous overtones, creating a rich showcase for the singular and fetching timbres of the shô.

Hosokawa has long been respected in both Japan and Europe. Of late, given the strong reception given Matsukaze, his second opera, in Berlin, his stock has risen considerably in the Euro Zone. One hopes that more American conductors and ensembles will take notice of Hosokawa, a composer with a compelling individual voice developing an impressive body of work.

Undersound review

2011-09-24T11:06:00.001-05:00

Jason Eckardt

Undersong

Fred Sherry, cello; International Contemporary Ensemble; Steven Schick, conductor

Mode Records CD 234

Composer Jason Eckardt is one of a small but growing number of composers adopting the aesthetic viewpoint of "Second Modernity." Briefly described, this approach involves a renewed embrace of abundant virtuosity, compositional and conceptual rigor, and dedicated exploration of new playing techniques and interdisciplinary applications in contemporary music. All of this may sound like a very intellectual approach to an artistic discipline. But Eckardt's music is anything but sterile. Instead, it is kinetic and vigorous, as inspired by the enthusiasm for heavy metal with which he began his musical journey as it is by the top notch players who now champion his work.

Indeed, one couldn't ask for better advocates in this repertory than the ones appearing on Undersound, Eckardt's latest release Mode release. This group of pieces, based on Laura Mullen's text of the same name, is thematically unified by the concepts of decrying oppression, corruption, and dispossession. Its cornerstone work The Distance features Mullen's words sung by soprano Tony Arnold, who negotiates its high tessitura, extensive chromaticism, and angular melismas with a graceful fluidity that few other vocalists can muster in such challenging fare. Simply put, she's a rock star in this genre. Her accompanists - stars in their own right - are members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, conducted by Steven Schick. Their performance exudes a confidence that belies the myriad challenges that they face when realizing Eckardt's score.

ICE flutist Claire Chase is also featured in two other works on the disc. "16" references the sixteen regrettable words in G.W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union address (those about WMD in Iraq): words that helped to later cause so many recriminations and, worse yet, casualties. Parlando techniques, breathy attacks, and stuttered mouth sounds turn the flute into a metaphorical mouthpiece for troubled communication. It is accompanied by percussive attacks and furtive gestures from a string trio. Chase' playing bridges the gap between these deliberately halting sounding effects and fetching, albeit fleeting, snatches of melody, as if yearning for an eloquence that, in this score, is deliberately avoided.

Meanwhile, on Aperture, Chase is part of a Pierrot ensemble in a work that indulges both the noise and effects end of the sound spectrum as well as more pitch focused passages. Sustained single lines are pitted against pointillist excursions and busily angular sections. The whole creates a diverse, labyrinthine compositional architecture, full of twists and turns and engaging surprises.

Cellist Fred Sherry performs the glissando-filled and devilishly tricky solo A Way (Tracing) with characteristic flair, attacking its quickly evolving formal terrain with mercurial suavity.

Undersong is a mind-blowing and aesthetics-expanding journey. Recommended.

Katharine Whalen's Madly Love (Review)

2011-09-21T21:18:00.001-05:00

Director/Cinematographer: Harvey K Robinson
Burst Photographer: Harvey K Robinson
Time Lapse Photographer: Carolyn de Berry

Shot on location in Efland, NC.

©monkeywhale productions, 2011

Katharine Whalen and Her Fascinators
Madly Love
Tiny Human

On September 27th, ex-Squirrel Nut Zippers vocalist Katharine Whalen releases her first CD in nearly five years. Those who associate Whalen with her nineties hits may be in for a surprise: a pleasant one! Madly Love encompasses her diverse musical interests, incorporating jazz, acoustic roots music, and avant pop. She's joined by the Fascinators, an enthusiastic trio of musicians. Guitarist Nathan Golub, drummer Brad Porter, and multi-instrumentalist William Dawson are fine players, capable of negotiating the various stylistic twists and turns found on Madly Love. The record's ready supply of songs both whimsical and substantial makes it an engaging listen. Whalen's extraordinarily rich voice and captivating delivery draws one to return to the CD again and again.

Re: ECM review

2011-09-21T20:25:00.000-05:00

Ricardo Villalobos
Max Loderbauer
Re: ECM

ECM Records 2211

Using jazz as source material for electronica/remixing is nothing new. In addition to hip hop samples by crate-digging DJs, and several one off collaborative projects, labels have gotten aboard and opened their archives. Blue Note has released several remix albums while, for their Blue Series, Thirsty Ear frequently pairs electronica artists with avant jazzers. The former releases more or less ause jazz recordings as fodder for sampling/remixing, albeit iconic fodder. The latter are often engaging and collaborative in nature.

Re:ECM takes what I would consider to be still a third approach to jazz recorded sources. Drawing upon ECM Records' capacious vaults of treasures, it unleashes two of today's abundantly creative electronic musicians, Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer. Given wide latitude in their selection of material, the duo draw upon sessions by several fine jazz musicians on ECM's roster, such as John Abercrombie, Stefano Bollani, and Paul Motian. The ECM New Series is also represented by contemporary classical composers Arvo Pärt and Alexander Knaifel.

The resulting two disc set of tracks is not made in the spirit of remixing choice ECM tracks in toto; nor is it meant to be a sample-fest that spotlights the artists rather than their sources. Instead, Villalobos and Loderbauer treat the recordings as compositional material: to be reworked and developed. Their approach is respectful; their manipulations made deftly and without the heavy-handedness one finds on some of the Blue Note remixes. Most striking here is the microscopic lens brought to details from the sources: breathy wind attacks, string noises on a harp, gently percussive articulations from a jazz drum kit. Indeed, some of Re: ECM's best moments are accomplished via "addition by subtraction."

While the artists themselves weren't playing live for Villalobos and Loderbauer, there is a third presence on these recordings that bridges the gap between creators and recreators. Producer and ECM label head Manfred Eicher supervised the mastering of Re:ECM. Given his association with the source recordings the first time around, his involvement lends an air of authenticity to the proceedings. One can hear his presence as well. In virtually every respect, this sounds like an ECM disc: production values, sound world, ambience, and creative aesthetic.

Too many crossover projects end up feeling like a fish out of water. On the contrary, Re: ECM is the real deal. Here's an idea: next time around, get Villalobos and Loderbauer into the studio with some ECM recordings artists. The possibilities are tantalizing!

Interview with MImi Goese and Ben Neill

2011-09-18T16:35:00.002-05:00

Songs for Persephone: Mimi Goese & Ben Neill

Take a seductive voiced art-pop singer and a post-jazz/alt-classical trumpeter. Add fragments of nineteenth century classical melodies, electronics elicited by a “mutantrumpet” controller. Then add influences ranging from ancient Greek mythology to the Hudson River Valley. What you have are the intricate yet intimate sounds on an evocatively beautiful new CD: Songs for Persephone.

The Persephone legend is one of the oldest in Greek mythology, with many variants that provide twists and turns to the narrative and subtext of the story. In the myth, Persephone, daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter, is kidnapped by Hades, god of the underworld. During her absence, vegetation is unable to grow in the world; fields fall fallow and crops cannot be harvested.

To break this horrible time of famine, the gods come to an understanding with Hades. Persephone is eventually freed, but on the condition that, if she has eaten anything while in Hades’ realm, she must return to his kingdom for a certain length of time. Thus, each year she must remain in the underworld one month for each pomegranate seed that she has consumed. This serves to rationalize, in mythic terms, the change of seasons, times of decay and renewal, shifts in light and weather; even the autumn foliage and the falling of the leaves.

Vocalist Mimi Goese and trumpeter Ben Neill have updated the Persephone story, while retaining its iconic essence, on their new recording Songs for Persephone (out now on Ramseur Records). As one can see from the pomegranate on the cover, (a visual designed by Goese), the duo is mindful of the legendary Persephone’s history; but they are not hung up on providing a linear narrative.

In a recent phone conversation, Goese, who wrote the album’s lyrics, said, “The artwork that I did for the cover, featuring the pomegranate, is one acknowledgement of the myth of Persephone. And there are other images that I found in the lyrics. But we were interested in using what was evocative about Persephone to create our own story. That’s sort of how the myth evolved too – one storyteller picks up the thread from another down through the years.”

They started work on this music some five years ago, but originally presented it as part of a theatrical production by the multimedia company Ridge Theater, starring Julia Stiles. In 2010, it was produced at Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of the Next Wave Festival.

The theatrical presentation and the mythological story behind it are only two strands in a disparate web of influences that resonate with Songs for Persephone. Both Goese and Neill make their home in the Hudson River Valley. Both for its stunning natural surroundings and its history as a home for artists of all sorts, the valley is rich with reference points. Neill feels that these are subtly imparted to the music.

In a recent phone conversation, he said, “I found myself particularly interested in the Hudson River School of painters. These Nineteenth Century artists depicted the local landscape and the changing of season with a dimensionality and symbolism that seemed to have an affinity with what Mimi and I were after in Songs for Persephone.”

For Neill and Goese, these extra-musical influences – artwork, nature, and theater – are an important part of the music’s genesis. But the polystylistic nature of their music making adds still another layer to the proceedings.

Goese says, “I started in dance and theater and later moved to performance art. Singing came along later. But I don’t have the musical background or training that Ben has – I’m self taught.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG1XgKytxd0[/youtube]

She doth protest too much. Goese’s voice provided the steely, dramatic center to the work of late eighties band Hugo Largo. One part art rock and another dream pop, the group incorporated bold theatricality and ethereal experimentation, releasing two memorable full lengths, Arms Akimbo and Mettle, and the Drums EP, an alt-pop connoisseur’s delight. She’s also collaborated on several occasions with Moby and, under the moniker Mimi (no last name) released Soak, a solo album on David Bryne’s Luaka Bop label.

Goese is a powerful singer, but Songs of Persephone brings out the lyricism her voice also possesses. Cooing high notes and supple overdubbed harmonies are juxtaposed with the more muscular turns of phrase. Experience plays a role in Goese’s tremendous performances on the disc. But she also credits the musical creations of her collaborator Neill with spurring on her inspiration.

“Ben has been a terrific person with whom to work,” Goese says. “He’s inventive and willing to try new things. From the moment we first performed together, at a concert nearly a decade ago, I’ve felt an artistic kinship with him.”

One can readily hear why Neill’s music would be an engaging foil for Goese. His background as a producer, and his years of work designing the mutantrumpet, have encouraged Neill’s ear toward imaginative soundscapes. His 2009 album Night Science (Thirsty Ear) is an example of Neill’s nu-jazz arrangements and soloing at their very best.

On the current CD, Neill’s playing remains impressive; but his arranging and collaborative skills come to the fore. There are intricate textures to found, on which Neill’s trumpet and electronics are abetted by strings, bass, and drums, but it’s the melodies, floating memorably past, one after the other, that are most impressive here. Some of the melodic lines he crafts are imitative of the voice in their own right: it’s no accident that some of the most inspired music-making on Songs for Persephone are when Goese and Neill create duets out of intricately intertwined single lines.

Neill says, “The classical materials that I used as the basis of the compositions on Songs for Persephone were melodies from the Nineteenth century: from opera and symphonic music. Many of them were from relatively the same era in which the Hudson Valley painters worked. I found it fascinating to juxtapose these two genres that were in operation more or less at the same time.”

He continues, “I’d describe the material as fragments of melodies: small excerpts rather than recognizable themes. None of them are treated in such a way that most listeners will be able to say, ‘Hey that’s Berlioz,’ or ‘That sounds like Schumann.’ They were meant to be a starting point from which I would develop the music: it’s not a pastiche.”

At 7:30 PM on September 27^th, Goese and Neill will be having an album release party at the Cooper Square Hotel, part of Joe’s Pub’s Summer Salon series. Goese says, “It’s an interesting space – we’ll have glass windows behind us, which is unusual as compared with a more conventional stage. But it’s fun performing in non-standard venues. It allows you to try different things and to bring different elements into the mix in terms of theatricality, lighting, and the way that you play off of each other. I’m excited to see how Persephone changes as we take it into various performing spaces.”

-Composer Christian Carey is Senior Editor at Sequenza 21 and a regular contributor to Signal to Noise and Musical America. He teaches music in the Department of Fine Arts at Rider University (Lawrenceville, New Jersey).

Girls visit Grimey's

2011-09-15T19:39:00.001-05:00

Girls released their third LP this past Tuesday. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (True Panther) is probably the strongest heavy rock record to date in 2011. F,S, & HG is filled with hazy neo-psych touches such as wafts of organ harmony and blurred rhythm guitars; material that would be equally at home in the early 1970s but is so sincerely delivered that it reads sincere rather than self-consciously retro. But it's Christopher Owens' understated delivery juxtaposed against roaring guitar solos that make the album an out-of-the-park homerun. Even songs as unpleasantly titled as the seven minute long epic "Vomit" and its companion rocker "Die" will win you over with their incredibly solid arrangements and unerring pacing.

To celebrate the album's release, Girls is on tour (see dates below). They are also making a high profile stop at Grimey's in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday, September 16 at 5 PM. Billed as a "Nationwide Instore," Girls' performance will be broadcast live to over 75 independent record stores nationwide. What a great way to support local record retailers. If you can't find a store that's participating in your area (or you just need to be a couch potato at the end of the work week) you can even check out the show from your computer, via a live stream on Facebook.

GIRLS TOUR DATES

Sep 14 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse

Sep 15 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel

Sep 16 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge

Sep 17 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle

Sep 19 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

Sep 20 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts

Sep 22 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

Sep 23 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

Sep 24 Boston, MA - Paramount Center

Sep 25 Montreal, QC - Corona Cabaret (POP Montreal Festival)

Sep 27 Toronto, ONT - Mod Club Theatre

Sep 29 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall

Sep 30 Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre

Oct 01 Minneapolis, MN - First Ave Nightclub

Oct 04 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret

Oct 05 Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre

Oct 06 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

Oct 08 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

Oct 09 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

Reich's WTC 9-11 (CD Review)

2011-09-11T11:27:00.002-05:00

Steve Reich

WTC 9/11, Mallet Quartet, Dance Patterns

Nonesuch CD

Now that we’ve gotten the cover art discussion out of the way – and Nonesuch has acquiesced to the concerns of those who felt the artwork exploitative and inflammatory – let’s consider the music on Steve Reich’s latest recording.

An interest found throughout Steve Reich’s output concerns spoken word recordings, which he has employed in a number of pieces, from his early phase compositions to his most recent multimedia works. One of his watershed pieces from the 1980s, “Different Trains,” was written for the Kronos Quartet. It juxtaposes spoken word recordings detailing train travel in the US in the 1940s (Reich was frequently traveling from coast to coast to visit his estranged parents) with spoken word accounts of the treatment of deported victims of the Holocaust in transit to concentration camps.

“WTC 9/11” (2011), also for Kronos, employs similarly emotionally charged taped material, this time referencing the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. Scored for three quartets (using overdubs), field recordings, and electronics, the piece’s outer sections are propelled by the jarring sound of a telephone’s “dead wire” signal, and also incorporate alarmed shouts of air traffic controllers and emergency first-responders. These are woven into the gestural fabric of the quartet’s music, which outlines each utterance with a melodic motif. Also incorporated are snippets of 2009 interviews with lower Manhattan residents, recalling their reactions to the tragedy and reflecting on how it has changed them.

The central passage is particularly evocative: the voices of Jewish officiants chanting and singing psalms over the remains of victims in the months following 9/11 interweaves with angst-filled sustained passages of string writing. One wishes that this area of the piece had been allowed more time to develop and register. Instead, Reich cuts it short, returning to the pensive and dramatically charged material of the opening to close out the work in portentous fashion.

In comparing it to its predecessor Different Trains, I would say that this piece takes a similar approach to the treatment of material. That said, its affect is entirely different. At around fifteen minutes long, “WTC 9/11” is a terser utterance than one might imagine as a response to an event with such far-reaching consequences. But in so crafting it, Reich has recaptured some of the blunt force trauma to our nation’s psyche in the days following the initial event. He’s also avoided some of the overt sentimentality that other artworks commemorating 9/11 have been unwilling to forgo. It is this quality that gives “WTC 9/11” a potent dramatic heft that, though jarring at times, proves taut and unflinchingly eloquent.

Rhythmic drive and insistent pulsation underpin most of Reich’s music. A signature aspect of his style is the incorporation of polyrhythms, which he learned from his studies of African drumming. Reich has created a number of pieces for percussion ensembles or featuring percussion as a strong component. But the Mallet Quartet (2009) is a nod towards the continuing evolution of pitched percussion instruments; it’s his first work to incorporate the largest member of the mallet family: the five-octave marimba. Two of these populate the piece with layers of ostinato repetitions and thrumming, resonant bass thwacks. Meanwhile, two vibraphones supply shimmering chords and sustained lines. The piece juxtaposes these forces of wood and metal, pulsation and sustain, demonstrating that these two instruments can provide abundant variety and color. Engaging in nimble interplay, So Percussion’s rendition of this piece is informed by their years-long association with Reich’s music; they’ve also release an excellent rendition of his earlier work Drumming. When I saw them perform Mallet Quartet live at Carnegie Hall, they did so from memory. This intimate and comprehensive knowledge of the piece is reflected in its authoritative recording.

Reich himself appears, as part of the Steve Reich and Musicians ensemble, in the recording of Dance Patterns (2002). It was originally written for Ictus to accompany Thierry de Mey’s film Counterphrases of Anne Terese de Keersmaeker’s Choreography. Here, mallet instruments are joined by pianos. While the limpid counterpoint and fulsome polyrhythms found in the Mallet Quartet prevails here, the addition of concert grands adds richness to the harmonies; some of the piano writing takes on a positively jazzy cast. Vibrant and accessible, it may not be a watershed work like his pieces for Kronos, but it’s the perfect way to introduce Reich to a new audience. Maybe a passel of foreign film buffs will catch the minimalist bug!

Tryvge Seim makes NYC Debut on 9/11

2011-09-09T22:28:00.002-05:00

Last year, saxophonist Trygve Seim and pianist Andreas Utnem collaborated on Purcor, a recording for the ECM imprint (Seim's sixth as leader). Drawing on material from a wide range of sources, including settings of the Mass, folk music, and Seim's own compositions, it was among the recordings in frequent rotation when I got home from the hospital this past November. Needing a calm environment in which to regenerate and reflect, I found Purcor to be the perfect listening to accompany a healing respite.

Meditative yet soulful, earnest yet elegant, gently articulated yet substantively thoughtful, Seim and Utnem craft a series of duets that are spellbinding. Consistently succor supplying and diverse in mood and musical approach, the compositions on Purcor inhabit both jazz and an ecumenical kind of musical liturgy.

Given what they've crafted on the recording, I have no doubt that Seim and Utnem will provide an affecting evening of music this Sunday. Those seeking solace in artistic expression during this weekend's commemoration of the September 11, 2001 attacks have many options from which to choose, but this is one that will doubtless provide calm in the midst of storms of media frenzy, terror alerts, and turbulent memories. Recommended.

In Concert
Trygve Seim / Andreas Utnem
September 11th, 7pm
Norwegian Seamen's Church
317 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10022-6302
(212) 319-0370

Free of charge

Trygve Seim: tenor and soprano saxophones
Andreas Utnem: piano, harmonium

Michael Gordon's Timber

2011-08-11T20:51:00.000-05:00

Michael Gordon
Timber
Slagwerk Den Haag
Cantaloupe Music

For his latest recording for the Cantaloupe imprint, Michael Gordon chose an unusual and cohesively elemental instrumental palette. The percussionists of Slagwerk Den Haag use only one kind of instrument: simantras - 2"X4"s - carved to different sizes to correspondingly vary the indefinite pitch and timbre. Given this winnowed orchestration, one might imagine that the results are monochromatic. Timber is anything but.

Instead, listeners are treated to an astonishing array of playing techniques, from a pitter patter of ricocheting attacks resembling rain fall to passages that accelerate and slow down to thunderous unison thwacks. Gordon's penchant for polyrhythms and rhythmic canons keeps the musical textures varied and buoys a fascinating narrative that remains instense throughout the piece's fifty-five minute long duration.

Not only is this release musically pleasing, it's easily one of the coolest packaging designs for a CD we've seen in a while. Instead of a jewel case, the CD and liner notes are packed in a wooden box -that weighs about a pound! Seeing performance details carved into the side of a wooden box is much for aesthetically pleasing and, I'd imagine, environmentally friendly, than plastic tray inserts.

CD Review: Aidan Baker, "Still Life"

2011-07-26T12:01:00.001-05:00

Aidan Baker

Still Life

Prima CD 002

Aidan Baker is probably best known for his soundscapes that involve droning guitars and ample distortion. But this time out, on his Prima full length Still Life, the Toronto native left the guitars at home altogether. Instead, he performs all of the instruments himself, focusing on piano, electronic manipulations, upright bass, and drums.

Still Life contains four compositions, each exceeding ten minutes in duration, that combine the gradual, inexorable drive of slowcore with inflections of a modern jazz rhythm section and flourishes of avant-classical. Baker doesn't shy away from crunching dissonance where required. A signature example is the opening of "Refuge from Oblivion," where cascades of punctilious piano disrupt the calm surface that pervaded the previous track.

Often, multiple layers of rhythm compete for supremacy, creating a multifaceted, but never cluttered, interplay. All the while, there is a slow-brewing underlying pulse that undergirds the whole with a supply architectural sensibility.

Artists seeking to combine experimental music and jazz should take note of Aidan's fluent amalgamations.

Still Life by Aidan Baker

Early Summer Playlist

2011-07-09T14:58:00.001-05:00

Thus far, 2011 has been an excellent year for releases of new music. Some formats that many folks thought to be those of yesteryear – 7” singles, 12” vinyl LPs, and even (shudder) cassettes – continue their resurgence.

Vinyl has long been touted by audiophiles; but why cassettes? Nostalgia? Perhaps. But it may also be due to an abiding interest in collecting audio artifacts, as well as a burgeoning taste for lo-fi DIY. Either way, I wish that my car was equipped with a cassette deck, as I’ve enjoyed several new ones at home. This playlist includes several of the discs (both compact and vinyl), tapes, and digital releases that have been in heavy rotation during the beginning of summer 2011. I’m listing whole releases, rather than individual cuts. Check back later in the summer for a proper mixtape.

n Mark Templeton, Scotch Hearts (cassette SLG022)

n Neon Marshmallow 2011 Festival Comp (Neon Marshmallow cassette)

n Feelies, Here Before (Bar None digital)

n Colin L. Orchestra, Infinite Ease/Good Good (Northern Spy CD)

n V/A, Clandestine Comp. Series Vol. 1 (Northern Spy cassette)

n Chris Dingman, Waking Dreams (Between Worlds CD)

n Craig Taborn, Avenging Angel (ECM CD)

n Arlene Sierra, Volume 1 (Bridge CD)

n Matthew Shipp, The Art of the Improviser (Thirsty Ear 2xCD)

n Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop CD)

n Chris Thile and Daves, Sleep with One Eye Open (Nonesuch CD)

n Radiohead, The King of Limbs (TBD vinyl LP)

n John Adams, Son of Chamber Symphony and String Quartet (Nonesuch CD)

n Seda Roeder, Listening to Istanbul (self-released CD)

n Sophia Knapp, Nothing to Lose (Drag City 7” vinyl)

n Devotchka, 100 Lovers (Anti CD)

n Amy Briggs, Tangos for Piano (Ravello CD)

n Chiara String Quartet and Matmos, Jefferson Friedman: Quartets (New Amsterdam CD)

n Battles, The Gloss Drop (Warp CD)

n Thurston Moore, Demolished Thoughts (Matador LP)

n New England Conservatory, American Music for Percussion, Vol. 1&2 (Naxos CDs)

n Anti-Social Music, Is the Future is Everything (Peacock CD)

n Orchestra 2001, To the Point (Innova CD)

n Vicky Chow, Ryan Francis Works for Piano (Tzadik CD)

n Brian Eno, Drums between the Bells (Warp digital)

n International Street Cannibals and others, Ballets and Solos (Composer Concordance CD)

Avant Cellist's Ideas Worth Spreading

2011-07-08T23:10:00.002-05:00

Maya Beiser, everyone's favorite ex-Can Banging All Star downtown cellist, was an invited presenter at the March 2011 TED conference. The TED site recently released a high quality video of her lecture recital, and it's already garnered over 80,000 views!

TED's slogan: "Ideas worth spreading." We're glad that Maya's getting the chance to spread the word about Steve Reich's Cello Counterpoint and David Lang's World to Come far and wide!

ACO Readings turn 20

2011-06-01T22:28:00.002-05:00

The American Composers Orchestra has been holding annual reading sessions for twenty years now: quite a milestone!

This weekend will see composers of concert music hearing their works read by the ACO, conducted by George Manahan, with one of the composers being awarded a $15,000 commission.

For the first time, there will also be sessions devoted to jazz composers.

The New Music Readings' (June 3 & 4) participating composers are Janet Jieru Chen, Mukai Kôhei, Michael Djupstrom, Narong Prangcharoen, Jordan Kuspa, and Kate Soper.

The Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Readings' (June 5 & 6) participating composers are Harris Eisenstadt, Mark Helias, Adam Jenkins, Erica Lindsay, Nicole Margaret Mitchell, Rufus Reid, Jacob Sacks, and Marianne Trudel.

20th Annual Underwood New Music Readings

Friday, June 3 at 10am (working rehearsal) & Saturday, June 4 at 7:30pm (run-through)
One Composer to Win $15,000 Commission, Another to Win Audience Choice Award

Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Readings
Sunday, June 5 at 2pm (working rehearsal) & Monday, June 6 at 7:30pm (run-through)
Presented with The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University
Featuring Eight Jazz Composers Selected from the 2010 JCOI Intensive

Conducted by ACO Music Director George Manahan

All events free & open to the public, reservations: www.americancomposers.org
Miller Theatre | Columbia University | Broadway at 116th, NYC
More information: 212.977.8495 or www.americancomposers.org

Listen to audio samples from Underwood New Music Readings participants here.

Listen to audio samples from the JCOI Readings participants here.

Marilyn Nonken talks about Feldman Festival

2011-05-31T22:45:00.001-05:00

Pianist Marilyn Nonken is performing Triadic Memories on June 4 in Philadelphia as part of “American Sublime,” a festival devoted to the works of Morton Feldman. Marilyn was kind enough to tell us a bit about working on Feldman’s music, as well as some of her other upcoming projects.

-What were your early encounters with Feldman’s music like?

I can't remember my first live Feldman experience as a listener. One of the first works I remember hearing was FOR SAMUEL BECKETT. My first experience playing Feldman was with Ensemble 21, when we performed VIOLIN VIOLA CELLO PIANO, which was just a transformative experience for me, as a chamber player. After that experience, I very much wanted to find a solo work of his to perform and possibly record.

Listening to Feldman is special because there is that great luxury of time. It can take, in TRIADIC MEMORIES for example, maybe a half-an-hour or forty-five minutes to get acclimated to the environment of the work, and to become familiar with the kinds of things that happen in that special environment. In each of his pieces, I think, there's an extended period where the materials introduce themselves, so to say.It's not dynamic in the sense of something happening right away, or a conflict being presented, or a big question being asked --- and so I feel it's best to not aggressively try and "figure out" what is happening.

- Which pieces by Feldman have you performed?

VIOLIN VIOLA CELLO PIANO, EXTENSIONS 1, THE VIOLA IN MY LIFE, INTERSECTION 2, PALAIS DE MARI, and TRIADIC MEMORIES --

- What do you think Feldman meant by titling a piece Triadic Memories?

Feldman's piano music is all about decay, what he would refer to as a kind of receding landscape .... For me, that sense of resonance and the dying of the sound is perhaps the most important part of the piece. His harmonies are gorgeous, very lush and evocative --- but as beautiful as they are, more of the piece is spend listening to them fade.

- When did you record Triadic Memories for Mode? Has your performance of the work changed over time?

I believe this is 2004, recorded perhaps summer 2003. I'm sure my performance has changed --- although not drastically. In terms of timing and rhythmic precision, I believe it's very consistent with the recorded version. I'm still convinced by that "magic" (for me) tempo and the specificity of the rhythms, and the way I first conceived of articulating them. But I do feel that I've become more sensitive to the harmonic nuances of the work, as I've become more familiar with it over the years --- the way I voice things, and the way I anticipate the decay, I think, has become more personal.

- While they're not often showy, Feldman's pieces make significant demands of their own on performers. Can you tell us a bit about those, and how you prepare to perform Triadic Memories in concert?

I feel these works are very virtuosic, despite the fact that they're not fast and full of passagework. There's a moment-to-moment control that Feldman requires, in terms of dynamic and timbre and attack, which requires a tremendous amount of physical and mental preparation. To be that attuned to the smallest nuances, and physically in total control, for such a significant span w/o any real "recess" requires a special kind of concentration. For me, there is no substitute for playing the work -- in real time, w/o interruption, --- daily for at least a week or two before the concert. There is always detail-work to be done (specificity of rhythms, defining colors, making certain that the surface of the work is somehow "flawless" and w/o rupture --- but doing everything sequentially, in tempo, is always a test.

- After Triadic Memories, what are some of your upcoming projects?

I'm very excited to be working again with the fabulous pianist Sarah Rothenberg on a four-hand Kurtag program, combining (as the composer himself has done) Kurtag's JATEKOK with his Bach transcriptions, presented as a concert program on an upright piano. Sarah and I had a fantastic time working on Messiaen's VISIONS DE L'AMEN, touring and recording it, and this is a very different and intimate kind of project --- I'm also preparing for a recording of American spectralist composer Joshua Fineberg's complete solo piano music, which will appear on CD with Hugues Dufourt's recent ERLKONIG -- a follow-up to my complete Murail disc. It will feature a new work written for me by Joshua, amd I am very much looking forward to touring with that, as a complete program in itself. And just after this Festival, I'm recording Elizabeth Hoffman's "organum let open," a beautiful work she wrote for me last year, based on texts of theatre artist George Hunka. It's wonderful to be doing such recent music, and inspiring to be working with such talented composers.

Remembering Milton Babbitt (1916-2010)

2011-01-29T18:44:00.003-06:00

I'm very saddened to hear of Milton Babbitt's passing. He was the first composer I ever encountered and the one who's most fascinated me. Doubtless there will be some articles written this week which more thoroughly critique Babbitt's aesthetic stance and prognosticate on his legacy (be kind folks!). And there are, of course, many former students and colleagues who had much closer and more extended relationships with Milton than did I. But as a way of remembering him today, I'd like to share a few memories of some of my meetings with Milton.

I first met Milton when I was in high school. He was giving a talk about his piano music at a high school on Long Island (Robert Taub was on hand to demonstrate). Knowing that I had made some fledgling attempts at composing, my mother suggested we go to the talk. It was mind blowing. I'd never experienced music - or discourse - like it.

Hearing his music without any previous exposure left me baffled, but eager to learn more. I went to the local public library, checked out Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music and study scores by Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Ives, and Babbitt (his 2nd Quartet and Philomel - still two of my favorites) - and began to teach myself about Twentieth Century music. I can honestly say that without attending that event, a whole world of music might not have crossed my path.

I later got to hear several of Milton's lectures when I was an undergraduate student at the Juilliard School. He was also kind enough to look at my scores. Even though I wasn't writing particularly post-tonal music at that point in time, he didn't try to "convert" me; on the contrary, he was very kind and constructive in his comments. That was my first clue that the whole "serial tyranny" jeremiad was bunk, at least where Milton was concerned.

Another fond memory comes from the summer of 1999. By that time, I was studying with Charles Wuorinen at Rutgers and was busily honing my twelve tone chops. At the Music X festival in Cincinnati, Bob Thomas, Luke Palmer, and I - being the only burgeoning dodecaphonists among the assembled composers - got to spend a great deal of time with Milton. He gave us lessons, lectured, gave masterclasses, and even went out to eat with us. I remember him getting a sausage and peppers sandwich and a good domestic beer!

After writing about Milton's music and writings on several occasions for Splendid Magazine, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity in 2006 to interview him for a print feature celebrating his 90th birthday that appeared in Signal to Noise Magazine. We titled it "He Cares if You Listen." One of the things that I've been most glad to write was that long overdue correction!

In the liner notes for a Bridge release, William Anderson wrote that he once heard Milton say, "We transcend nothing." I remember being profoundly unsettled by that quote, not just because I disagree with it philosophically, but because I hoped that Milton realized how many lives he'd touched. No matter what one's persuasion in terms of spirituality or worldview, we do transcend our own mortality in this sense: memories of us live on in those we have affected.

Milton's work as a teacher, eloquence as a writer, and his beautiful music have affected many: multiple generations of scholars, performers and, of course, composers. Our memories of him will live on and not just in our own reflections. They will also live on in the work that we do. In that sense, Milton's life has been profoundly transcendent.

Thank you Milton, and Requiescat in pace.

Mose Allison

2010-06-11T12:10:00.000-05:00

Mose Allison
The Way of the World
Anti CD

I saw Mose Allison live a couple of times in the mid-nineties. I was struck that, despite decades in the music business, the singer-pianist was so utterly at ease with being himself; without a hint of the 'reinvention' that many so many artists attempt. His combination of beatnik jazz patter and bluesy piano riffs was well worn, but never seemed stale.

Allison is 82 now, and hasn't released a studio recording in a dozen years. But producer/performer Joe Henry managed to coax him out of retirement for one more set of songs. The resulting CD, The Way of the World demonstrates that Allison is still a talented performer and thoughtful songwriter. His lyrics takes an unflinching look at the vagaries of aging, the daily disappointments of the 24-hour news cycle, and the resilient power and omnipresent bewilderments of love. On the delightful blues paean to senior moments, "My Brain," Allison sings "My brain is losing power," but it is hard for the listener to accept this; he seems as sharp as ever.

MP3: Modest Proposal

Contra

2010-01-14T23:04:00.001-06:00

Vampire Weekend

Contra

XL Recordings

Vampire Weekend's sophomore LP, Contra, is out this week on XL. There's a lot of buzz regarding this band, mostly centering around two concerns: their use of “big words” and their appropriation of a host of world/ethnic genres. On the first score, it’s true that the word “baklava” hasn’t appeared in an American pop song in recent memory; but if it sends a few young (and not-so-young) fans scurrying for a dictionary, what’s the harm?

And second, for those pop ‘purists’ who view ethnic-tinged musical eclecticism with suspicion, one might ask whether VW’s penchant for calypso and ska in 2010 is so much different from the Beatles covering blues tunes forty-odd years ago. Pop, at its best, is an inclusive genre.

Both verbosity and polystylism are justifiable, in my book, in the quest for a brainier, variegated indie pop – so long as it comes across as organic rather than pretentious.

On that basis, Contra is a success. Amidst the mbiras, marimbas, and MIA samples, resides a respect for each individual element and a concomitant joy in their juxtaposition: something one doesn’t find in mash-ups for mash-ups sake. What’s more, Contra has a pervasively energetic presentation and rampant tunefulness that many artists would do well to study carefully.

So, raise your MENSA ranking while dancing to Afro-pop – by way of the Upper West Side.

Ben Frost

2009-11-01T22:41:00.000-06:00

Ben Frost

By the Throat

Bedroom Collective (Digital)

Formerly from Melbourne, Australia, composer Ben Frost now makes his home in Reykjavik, Iceland. Just shy of thirty, Frost has already had a wide ranging career. He’s played in Glenn Branca-inspired guitar ensembles, collaborated with the likes of Nico Muhly and Jeremy Gara (of Arcade Fire), and remixed Björk.

His latest recording, By the Throat, combines confrontational avant sonics with the patient sculpting of more ambient artists. Frost enlists a number of artists in the cause: Gara, Muhly, Icelandic string quartet Amiina, and Swedish metal band Crowpath all make appearances on recording. As one can imagine, the surface changes widely, sometimes violently. Hushed, breathy vocals are juxtaposed with screams. Animal sounds – lions’ roars and the multifaceted language of killer whales – are pitted against electronic percussion and synthesizer-laden ostinati. Supple strings give way to sepulchral bass sonorities – worthy to test many a subwoofer. The resultant music is fractured, disquieting, and often quite powerful.

At our house, By the Throat proved to be the perfect soundtrack to chill the bones and over-stimulate the imagination on Halloween. New Yorkers who’d like to experience the intensity of Frost’s vision live can attend performances of his work Mortal Engine at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this December.

Amy X Neuburg’s latest: Singer + Three Cellists

2009-09-03T22:21:00.002-05:00

Amy X Neuburg & the Cello Chixtet

The Secret Language of Subways

MinMax Music

As I mentioned last week in File Under?, WNYC’s Spinning on Air recently devoted an episode to singers accompanied by cello. In addition to a set by Jody Redhage’s new group Fire in July, the episode also devoted coverage to Amy X. Neuburg, a composer/singer/percussionist who’s partnered with three cellists on her latest recording The Secret Language of Subways.

Neuburg and the Cello Chixtet are a compelling ensemble. The arrangements make use of the full range of the cello, never feeling bottom heavy. Neuburg’s voice is a true crossover instrument, encompassing musical theater belting and soaring operatic high notes. The material is correspondingly diverse. “Closing Doors” recalls Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, with a layered vocal coda that recalls Freddie Mercury! “Someone Else’s Sleep” is a lovely alt-pop number, with dovetailing cellos and sumptuous support vocals. “Difficult” brings things closer to experimental terrain, mixing slashing cellos with patter song and drumstick percussion.

More “legit” sounding is “This Loud,” which makes use of both cello and vocal layering, set over jittery, propulsive rhythms. Primarily originals, the CD includes one memorable cover, “Back in NYC” from Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Here, both the Neuburg and the Chixtet are in fine fettle, mixing neoprog and classical signatures to create an effective and thematically unifying closer.

Drowning in Sonic Variety

2009-08-19T21:34:00.002-05:00

Andreas Willers

Drowning Migrant

Leo CD LR 532

Andreas Willers has been recording for many imprints since 1981 as a leader and with such artists as Paul Bley, Gebhard Ullmann, and Louis Sclavis. But even an avant-garde guitarist with as extensive a pedigree as Willers must be excited to have two labels releasing solo albums in the same year. In 2009, Drowning Migrant appears on Leo, while Jazzwerkstatt presents Orange Years. According to the artist, each has a very different approach to music-making. I can only comment on the Leo release, as I’ve yet to nab a copy of Orange Years (stay tuned).

Drowning Migrant exhibits an engaging, multifaceted approach to experimental solo playing. The sonic palette Willers employs is diverse and robust. On pieces like the title track and “Eight Nocturnes,” it sometimes seems like the soundscaping atmospheres of Frippertronics on steroids. But “Cranberry Pineapple” show jazz chops aplenty, while “Extrakt 4” is a shredding fusion vignette. Elsewhere, there’s a bit of whimsy. Breatharan” uses vocal sounds (primarily, intakes of air and exhalations) and melodica, while “Industrial Banjo” distresses and mutates banjo sounds in an extended alt-electronica tone poem. Drowning Migrant may not concern itself with coalescence into an overarching approach, but it’s a rewarding mélange of a host of styles and sounds.

Rashied Ali (1935-2009)

2009-08-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

I was saddened to hear of the loss of great jazz drummer Rashied Ali, who died yesterday at Bellevue hospital. Cause of death was a blocked artery.

Ali is probably most famous for his work with saxophonist John Coltrane on late recordings such as Expression and Meditations. After Coltrane’s death, he went on to over a dozen records as a leader on Knitting Factory and Blue Music.

Here’s a recent performance by Ali, courtesy of YouTube.

Rashied Ali Band live on YouTube

Fire In July debuts in Boston on Saturday

2009-07-24T13:17:00.004-05:00

Fire in July’s debut album, Ancient Star, features singing cellist Redhage’s inimitable “indie art songs” in ensemble arrangements.

A trio subunit of the Brooklyn indie crossover collective Fire in July will make the band’s Boston debut tomorrow night. Come and check them out live!

JODY REDHAGE & FIRE IN JULY

Saturday, July 25, 2009

8:00 pm

Kaji Aso Studio

40 St. Stephen Street

Boston, MA 02115

www.kajiasostudio.com

www.jodyredhage.com

$10 tickets

Jody Redhage, voice/cello/compositions

Alan Ferber, trombones

Tim Collins, vibraphone

Ruby Throat: review; mp3

2009-07-22T10:25:00.001-05:00

Ruby Throat

The Ventriloquist

Sleep Like Wolves (Ryko)

Ruby Throat is Katiejane Garside (Daisy Chainsaw and Queenadreena) and Chris Whittingham. Previously released in a lavish, extremely limited pressing, their LP The Ventriloquist finally is seeing wide release. The duo creates alt-folk of a brave nature and formidable presence.

Garside is capable of stratospheric vocalism. She frequently explores her upper register here amidst arrangements inhabited by drones, pitched percussion, and understated guitar work. Sitting astride darkly-hued Gothic Americana and English traditional music, the music unfolds gradually; at times wafting sinuously at the periphery of awareness; at others, boldly taking center stage. Most ambitious is the sixteen-minute long song based on that most-famous of verses, “John 3:16.” It begins with hushed singing and repeated guitar figures, building to a howling, unsettling, avant-rock climax.

MP3: “House of Thieves” (via Tumblr).

Owl City – iTunes sensations! (video)

2009-07-22T10:04:00.004-05:00

While fans of alt/experimental/avant/indie etc. music tend to look askance at sales numbers and mainstream popularity, sometimes the big web vendors get it right. EMusic has recently touted contemporary classical artists Nadia Sirota and Julianna Barwick. Both of these talents are accessing mainstream audiences in part due to the site’s efforts to raise their customers’ awareness of contemporary classical music with reviews, playlists, and primers. Mega-kudos EMusic!

Online juggernaut iTunes is posting big sales numbers for an electronic pop act with skilful arranging and composing chops. The site’s #2 overall and #1 electronica recording is Owl City’s new LP Ocean Eyes. Fans of Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, and vintage bleeptronica will likely be please in equal measure by “Fireflies,” the recording’s leadoff single. Check out the video below.

Video “Fireflies” (YouTube)

David Mead; new album; 2 MP3s

2009-07-20T09:14:00.001-05:00

After a hiatus, singer-songwriter David Mead is releasing a new album August 25 on Cheap Lullaby. Almost and Always is well worth the wait. Mead has long been a songwriter who can combine polished craftsmanship with authentic emotional appeal – the new LP continues that trend. That Mead has overcome career vicissitudes – label changes and the like – to deliver some of his finest songs to date makes it all the sweeter.

Two tracks from Almost and Always are linked below.

MP3: “Blackberry Winters”

MP3: “Rainy Winter Friend”

Book Review William Parker – Who Owns Music?

2009-07-19T20:44:00.001-05:00

William Parker
Who Owns Music?
150 pages, ISBN: 978-3-00-020141-7
Published by Buddy’s Knife

Bassist, composer, arts organizer, and educator William Parker has had a distinguished musical career. One of the premier exponents of avant jazz on the New York scene, he’s recorded prolifically as a sideman and as a leader of small groups and large ensembles.
For over forty years, Parker has also been active as a writer. Who Owns Music? is a collection of his poetry, reminiscences, and writings about the philosophy of music. Parker is an eloquent advocate of the intrinsic connection between art and the spiritual. He frequently likens advocacy for experimental music to a spiritual struggle. His words will no doubt be heartening news to artists who long for an elevated discussion about the religious impulse in music, sans positivist scoffing or, alternately, dogma and judgmental proselytizing.
For Parker, societal woes and artistic concerns are also linked. Thus his discussion of the ideals of improvised music and composition are interwoven with advocacy for civil rights, free speech, environmentalism, and arts education. The perils of music criticism, particularly the danger of poison pen tirades, are also taken up. Parker occasionally paints with too broad a brush here, giving a sense that he is indicting the majority of music critics. This is perhaps understandable in context; much unfair and ill-informed criticism has been levied at avant jazz in general and Parker in particular. But, even here, he doesn’t stray long from the positive, providing a manifesto that writers should take to heart. He writes, “The role of the critic is to become the poet. (S)he must find a plant and water it and care for it without crushing one blade of grass or one weed along the way.”

Blogging a song a week into an album

2009-07-15T21:57:00.001-05:00

Baby Teeth

Hustle Beach

Lujo 074

Chicago trio Baby Teeth’s third album is, in part, the by-product of blogging. 52 Teeth is songwriter and Baby Teeth member Abraham Levitan’s website, on which he posted a song a week for a year. Hustle Beach presents the cream of this abundant crop: a well-crafted collection of power pop.

Levitan’s voice bears more than a passing resemblance to Elvis Costello; and it’s clear that the elder songwriter’s omnivorous stylistic reach has also made a strong impression on Baby Teeth. But Levitan has updated Costello’s acerbity, zeroing in on the pitfalls of contemporary suburbia (he cites Philip Roth’s American Pastoral as a strong impulse for Hustle Beach).

There’s sophistication to the arrangements; recalling Badly Drawn Boy and Mitchell Froom, the multi-faceted keyboard textures, in particular, thrive. But there’s also a tautness and rhythmic urgency that propels the songs forward. In this, Baby Teeth are kindred spirits of the Hold Steady or even latter day Bruce Springsteen, channeling the anthemic as well as the intellectual.

MP3: Big Schools

Videos (and a video contest) by Thrill Jockey artists

2009-07-13T12:44:00.004-05:00

Tik by Lokai is being used in a film by Gerald Zahn. A view from a single window in Iceland, the movie chronicles a day when those far north get nearly 24 hours of sunlight. The band’s album Transition is slated for release on 18 August.

Video: “Tik”

Meanwhile, Double Dagger is touring up a storm in support of their album More. They recently released a video for “Vivre Sans Temps Mort.”

MAKE YOUR OWN FIERY FURNACES VIDEO!

WNYC's Soundcheck is holding a video contest starring none other than Brooklyn's rock sibling duo, The Fiery Furnaces. On June 23rd, Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger released their first single "The End is Near" from their new album "I'm Going Away" out on July 21st and now YOU get to try and make a video for the song. You can download the track now, right here.

You can use any video editing program of your choice and you have until August 31st to create your masterpiece. The winning director will appear live on the show with Cordero and The Fiery Furnaces in September.

There are but a few simple requirements to submit your video. Start by uploading your video to YouTube, then visit the Soundcheck Video Contest YouTube group page and click on "Join This Group". Once you have joined, click "Add Videos". Select the box next to your Fiery Furnaces video and click the "Add to Group" button, and that's it, you've done it. Be sure to include your contact information in either your YouTube profile or video description so you can be reached upon your win.

You have until August 31st to submit all entries. Good luck!

The Bird and the Bee; New Video

2009-07-12T19:09:00.001-05:00

The Bird and the Bee have released a video, a single from their latest LP Ray Guns are Not Just the Future (Blue Note). The LP has been in heavy rotation around here – a delightful mix of electronica, Sixties pop, and suave jazz with Inara George’s winsome vocals and a bevy of trendy beats.

Video: My Love (YouTube)

Tuesday July, 7: Steve Kuhn at Birdland

2009-07-06T21:14:00.001-05:00

Early in his career, Steve Kuhn performed with tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. Though there have been countless gigs and recordings since then, and Kuhn is far more often in the role of leader these days, the pianist revisits his experience as a sideman to ‘Trane on his latest ECM CD Mostly Coltrane .

On the disc, Kuhn deftly negotiates the jazz equivalent of a tightrope act: interpreting classics by one of jazz’s greatest figures while still maintaining his own musical personality. Happily, none of Kuhn’s singular soloing style and hallmark voicings are subsumed by homage.

Joined by saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist David Finck, and drummer Billy Drummond, Kuhn plays a CD release party tonight at Birdland in New York City. Sets are at 8:30 and 11; $25 for music.

Taller Children

2009-06-25T23:46:00.002-05:00

Elizabeth and the Catapult; Video; new LP

Elizabeth and the Catapult have just released a video in support of their new LP Taller Children (Verve Forecast). While the song may feature the vagaries of adults with arrested development, it’s smart, brisk pop that will likely please listeners of all ages; even the mature set, as is attested by their recent interview on NPR’s All Songs Considered (listen here).

Video: “Taller Children” (YouTube)

MP3: “Taller Children”

Planning a recital

2009-06-25T08:54:00.004-05:00

Faculty Recital in February

I managed to get a faculty recital slot for next February 10 at 3 PM. I'll be presenting my own music and other recent music by composers whom I admire. The program and participants, a work in progress, is below.

21^st Century Music with Christian Carey

Christian Carey, composer and tenor

Jody Redhage, singing cellist

Joseph Arndt, organ

John McMurtery, flute

Ashlee Mack, piano

Works by Christian Carey, Jody Redhage, and James Romig

February 10 at 3 PM

Bristol Chapel

Westminster Choir College of Rider University

101 Walnut Lane

Princeton, NJ 08540

Christina Courtin

2009-06-24T09:34:00.001-05:00

Wednesday: Christina Courtin at Le Poisson Rouge; new CD; MP3

Christina Courtin recently received her degree in violin from the Juilliard School; but she’s taking after Andrew Bird: singing while she fiddles and wowing audiences with crossover fare.

Courtin is performing at Le Poisson Rouge tonight. The date celebrates yesterday’s release of her self-titled CD on Nonesuch. You can download a song from the record, “Foreign Country,” on the label’s website (link below).

MP3: “Foreign Country”

Art vs. Music

2009-06-15T20:03:00.000-05:00

David Stubbs

Fear of Music: Why People Get Rothko but don't get Stockhausen

Zero Books

David Stubbs is a wide-ranging cultural commentator; he writes about sports, film, and literature as well as music. Stubbs' book Fear of Music discusses the perception gap between modern art and modern music. Why is it that collectors will shell out millions of dollars for avant-garde visual art while avante-garde music is still so widely derided?

The old saw regarding the issue of art vs. music appreciation is that time is the deciding factor. Stubbs acknowledges the potency of this argument; as he points out, one can look at the Rothko Room for five minutes and then head off to a café, but many Stockhausen works requires hours of a listener's time. But the author also crafts a persuasive case for consumer consumption of art objects as increasing their palatability with the public. With no easy way to create coveted musical artifacts in this era of file-sharing and digital distribution, it's easy to see music being increasingly thought by the masses of as free, disposable, and even 'unnecessary.” All the while, visual artists are able to monetize their wares with, in some cases, alarming audacity. Stubbs is able to negotiate the delicate issues of the duality between visual and performing arts with deft, knowledgeable, and subtle commentary.

Fear of Music also serves as an excellent primer on music outside the mainstream. At 135 pages, the appearance of this slender volume is deceiving. Stubbs covers a tremendous amount of musical terrain, eloquently expounding on such varied subjects as post-punk, futurism, Dada, Sun Ra, free jazz, Derek Bailey, and Webern. Indeed, the book is an excellent primer for anyone looking to take a subscription to avant-garde music journal The Wire, a periodical to which Stubbs frequently contributes. Indeed, Fear of Music is apt to bring more than a few music lovers further outside the mainstream in their listening habits.

STN co-hosts Houston bill w/ Christina Carter & more

2009-03-01T19:57:00.003-06:00

We are proud to join Sound Exchange (our favorite hometown record store) in presenting an incredible night of music featuring sets by guitarist and vocalist Christina Carter (Charalambides, Scorces), flautist Michelle Yom, and Wols (guitarist/vocalist Amye McCarther). This is some of the best music Houston has to offer and we applaud Ramon Medina for organizing and producing what's sure to be an amazing show. Doors open at 7 PM at our neighborhood's finest listening room, Avant Garden (411 Westheimer). STN will be on premises giving away classic back issues as well as STN#53, still relatively hot off the presses. We'd love to meet some fellow Houstonians, come say hello!

David S. Ware seeks kidney donor

2009-01-19T12:30:00.002-06:00

Saxophonist David S. Ware is ailing and in need of a kidney donor, reports Steven Joerg who heads Ware's label, Aum Fidelity. Diagnosed with kidney failure in 1999 and on dialysis ever since, Ware has continued to perform and record, with Shakti, a new record featuring a new lineup, out this month. In late December, Ware reported that treatment was no longer working effectively, and that a transplant is his only option. Various friends and family members have offered to help, but have been rejected as donors since they do note share Ware's O blood type. Ware is seeking interested donors who are under 60 years of age and who are in generally good health without diabetes and high blood pressure. The transplant would take place at New Jersey's highly-regarded Robert Wood Johnson Hospital. If you think you can help, get in touch with Joerg at 718 854 2387 or at aum@aumfidelity.com. Ware, of course, is a towering figure of avant-garde jazz, who came to light in the '70s in the bands of Cecil Taylor and Andrew Cyrille, and who led fairly consistent quartet lineups that epitomized modern free jazz throughout the '90s and '00s, landing a major label contract with Columbia at one point but primarily recording for highly-regarded boutique labels like Aum Fidelity, DIW and Thirsty Ear.

Drum-heads open vintage drum shop in Portland

2009-01-19T12:20:00.002-06:00

The Breeders' drummer Jose Medeles is teaming up with Scott McPherson, who's sat behind the tubs in the bands of Elliott Smith, Beck and M. Ward to open the Revival Drum Shop in Northeast Portland, Oregon. Medeles characterizes the shop as "a place to check out some great vintage and custom drums, hear timeless music spinning on our turntable, grab a coffee, hang out and talk drum," inspired by Hollywood's Professional Drum Shop,a mecca for skinsmen since 1959. Medeles refers to a photo taken at the PDS featuring "cool drums, cymbals and a couch to sit on. It had a great selection to be sure, but mainly had a cozy, drum friendly environment where all drummers could come and share their love for drumming. When I worked there, the couches had been removed but the vibe remained. I hope REVIVAL captures that spirit of camaraderie." The store will open on January 31st with guest DJs Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse), Janet Weiss (Quasi), Scott DeMay (Mike Kirkendal Band) and Karen Antunes (Mississippi Records). Chick Webb's borthday (February 10th) will be honored by a day-long marathon of Webb's recordings, and on February 13th, the shop will mount a show of drum inspired visual art by Johnny Marr (Modest Mouse), Kim and Kelley Deal (Breeders), Janet Weiss (Quasi), Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd & Kliph Scurlock (Flaming Lips) and others. In-store performances and other events will follow.

Freddie Hubbard: 1938 - 2008

2008-12-30T09:29:00.003-06:00

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard passed away yesterday morning in Sherman Oaks, California at the age of 70. The jazz legend participated in numerous iconic jazz sessions in the '60s, both as a leader and as a sideman with Art Blakey, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Andrew Hill, and countless others. His fusion recordings in the '70s vexed purists but had huge commercial appeal, and injuries and illness sidelined him through much of the '80s and '90s. He had been enjoying something of a career resurgence with a June release on Hip Bop records backed by the New Jazz Composers Octet and a Downbeat cover story penned by STN contributor Howard Mandel ... please check out Howard's blog posting here.

Phil Lesh Digs the Concerto for Orchestra

2008-07-26T13:31:00.001-05:00

Tanglewood Moments: “Yes, THAT Phil Lesh”

If you were in the audience on Wednesday night after the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra, conducted by Oliver Knussen, gave a luminous and revelatory performance of Elliott Carter’s Concerto for Orchestra, you might have noticed an interesting fellow attendee. During the considerable applause following the concert’s conclusion, conductor Oliver Knussen gave each section of the orchestra acknowledgment in turn, pointing out the various solos that members had executed.

During the bass section’s bow, a gentleman in a light jacket popped up, vigorously applauding the double bass contingent: It was Phil Lesh, bassist for the Grateful Dead! Lesh has a classical pedigree of his own: he studied composition with Luciano Berio at Mills College. It must have been such a thrill for the string players, once they were clued in as to who was paying them homage!

Lesh’s enthusiasm was well deserved. One of the best moments in the concerto, one which can’t hope to be captured on recording, was when a solo line began at theback desk of the double basses and wended its way forward. I’ve never heard this passage, nor for that matter the whole piece, better performed. Kudos to Knussen, the TMC students, and Phil Lesh!

More about Tanglewood's Festival of Contemporary Music at File Under ?www.sequenza21.com/carey

Australian EAI

2008-07-15T20:23:00.004-05:00

Pete Gershon has kindly let me use the STN blog to spruik my own, uh, 'web presence'. I'm slowly posting the full transcripts of interviews from the Australian EAI feature published in Signal To Noise #50. Go here for the first in the series, the complete(-ish) interview with Matt Earle...

Ronnie Mathews 1935-2008

2008-06-30T10:08:00.005-05:00

Ronnie Mathews, an accomplished pianist and sideman to Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, and Johnny Griffin died Saturday morning, June 28th, in Brooklyn NY, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 72. Though he never seemed to capture the level of recognition his talents deserved, he was in constant demand among his peers, touring with Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Band, Clifford Jordan's Big Band and for eight years with drummer T.S. Monk Jr. His recording career as a leader stretches back to 1963's "Doin The Thang" (Prestige) with trumpeter Hubbard and Charles Davis on baritone sax. Mathews would go on to make numerous records throughout the '80s and '90s on small labels like Sackville, Timeless and DIW. Last Monday, numerous musicians including Randy Weston, Louis Hayes, Cedar Walton, George Coleman and Jimmy Heath had gathered for a tribute and benefit performance for Mathews at New York's Sweet Rhythm. Donations in his memory may be sent to the Jazz Foundation of America (www.jazzfoundation.org)

Transmuseq is back!

2008-06-27T10:34:00.002-05:00

Violinist LaDonna Smith writes to report that she's relaunching Transmuseq, the new music label she started in the late '70s with guitarist Davey Williams. "We are making an attempt to revive the public face of Transmuseq Records," she confirms. "Like you, the improvisor.com gets so many things to review we just can't do it all... It affected me so, that I put a 10 year moratorium on releasing personal CD's because of the absolute glut! It was just too materialistic to keep doing that! Philosophy getting in the way of progress, I guess... Anyway... out of closet now.. LaDonna is revamping the label.. (and Davey is still involved)" The first four releases feature recent recordings of LaDonna's duets with Misha Feigin and Susan Alcorn and a quartet featuring Dave Liebman. "We fully intend to start introducing and releasing new work by new artists in South America," writes LaDonna, "plus re-releasing our older LPs on CD, and archival recordings. Well that's the plan. We would appreciate your support for this revival."

www.the-improvisor.com/transmuseq/ladonna

Either/Orchestra's Vicente Lebron behind bars

2008-06-18T13:19:00.003-05:00

Conguero Vicente Lebron of Boston's Either/Orchestra has found himself behind bars in, as E/O leader Russ Gershon puts it, "Boston's own version of Guantanamo Bay."
Here's how Gershon describes the bizarre situation: "In May, upon returning from Europe with the Either/Orchestra, Vicente was detained at Logan Airport, had his passport and green card confiscated, and instructed to return for an "Entry" hearing which took place last week. (Kind of ridiculous for a person who has lived here since 1970 and has three US citizen adult children and six grandchildren.) After that hearing, he was confined to the Homeland Security wing of South Bay Correctional Center in Boston on Monday, June 9.
"Because it's a 'Homeland Security' issue only his lawyer has been able to visit him. He can designate only three authorized visitors (who have to have criminal record checks done). I'm not sure yet who they are, but I imagine they will be his sister and daughters. There is no bail allowed, so he is stuck in there at least until his next hearing, the date of which has not been set.
"Without wanting to violate Vicente's privacy, suffice it to say that he has some very minor and old drug possession charges on his record: victimless 'crimes' indeed which some among us have perhaps committed ourselves. On top of that, they are listed INCORRECTLY with various jurisdictions, most likely because he received inadequate legal counsel and didn't have the wherewithal to hire a good lawyer to make sure things were right. Now there are lawyers working on correcting the record. If this can be done, Vicente's road out will be much easier. Even if it can't be, he has a number of options.
"In a huge and impressive outpouring of feeling for a beloved member of several communities, many of you have asked how you can help. Vicente will certainly need financial help to pay for the lawyers, and to help cover his expenses while he can't work. He's already losing thousands of dollars of work with the Either/Orchestra, not to mention all the other gigs he does. Here's what you can do: write a check to "Vicente Lebron, c/o Luz Lebron" and mail it to: Rosa Matos, 20 Chestnut St #102, Cambridge MA 02139"
Gershon further reports that benefit concerts are being organized, to take place in July. More info here as the story develops.

"Don't you ever get sick of Beethoven?"

2008-06-06T10:38:00.005-05:00

A colleague of mine, a composer I respect a great deal, posed this question to me recently. There's a certain "either/or" assumption: if you compose contemporary music, the classical canon is the enemy.

For me, nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the finest "composition lessons" I've ever had have been courtesy of Ludwig Van Beethoven: sitting with his scores while listening to new recordings of his works. True, it's easy to suggest that there are "too many" discs made of Beethoven, particularly given how much new music languishes unrecorded; but CDs such as the latest recording in Andras Schiff's complete cyle of the piano sonatas serve as a reminder of just how richly mutable this repertoire is, how open to multiple interpretations and even fresh discoveries. Anyone who thinks that Beethoven is only for the hopelessly conservative needs to hear his rendition of the Op. 57 "Appassionata" sonata. Yes, this timeless work is a "classical warhorse," but Schiff's artful performance made me hear it with fresh ears.

Right behind oxygen, water, and food, great music is what sustains me. At the moment, perhaps in part due to the wonders of Schiff's new recording, I can't think of fare more sustaining than LVB.

Signal to Noise #50 now available!

2008-05-31T14:28:00.003-05:00

Hot off the presses!

SIGNAL to NOISE #50
inside . . .

"OUR FAVORITE THINGS"
SIgnal to Noise's writers and extended family throw open their closet doors and show off fifty of their dearest musical possessions. Featuring: Susan Archie, Ed Batchelder, Darren Bergstein, Blevin Blectum, Stuart Broomer, Dean Budnick, Christian Carey, John Chacona, Andrew Choate, John Corbett, David Cotner, Kandia Crazy Horse, Ray Cummings, Jon Dale, Martin Davidson, Erik Davis, Tom Djll, Alan Drouot, Lawrence English, Kurt Gottschalk, Jason Gross, Kory Grow, James Hale, Carl Hanni, Ed Hazell, Andrey Henkin, Steve Holtje, Robert Iannapollo, Jarboe, Vish Khanna, Alan Licht, John Litweiler, Adam Lore, Howard Mandel, Richard Moule, Ian Nagoski, Larry Nai, Jack Rabid, Chad Radford, Tony Rettman, Gino Robair, Michael Rosenstein, John Sinclair, Steve Smith, Nathan Turk, Weasel Walter, Dan Warburton, Alan Waters, Kevin Whitehead.

WFMU
Jesse Jarnow goes behind the scenes at New Jersey's home for progressive and unusual music.
Photos by Caroline Bell

AUSTRALIAN E.A.I.
Jon Dale surveys the new wave of Austrialian electro-acoustic improvisors: Adam Sussmann, Arek Gulbenkoglu, Matt Earle and Joel Stern plus expats Will Guthrie and Anthony Guerra.

PLUS:
JAY CLARKSON by Jon Dale
FEUERMUSIK by Vish Khanna
ELLEN ALLIEN by Andrew Gaerig
NORMAL LOVE by Shaun Brady

MIXED MEDIA:
Arthur Russell film by Brandon Kreitler

LIVE REVIEWS:
Instal '08, Scotland by Phillip Berryhill
Sonic Youth in Australia by Jon Dale
i and e Festival, Ireland by Barra Seagheada
Neon neon in Los Angeles by David Cotner
Keith Jarrett Trio in Los Angeles by David Cotner

BOOK REVIEWS:
A Power Stronger Than Itself by Ed Hazell
Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones (David Smay, Continuum)
+ Throbbing Gristle (Drew Daniel, Continuum) by Bill Meyer
Re/Make, Re:Model (Da Capo) by Jon Dale

GRAPHIC NOVELLA:
"Trick or Treat (or, Shaku Joseph Jarman and the peanut chews)" by Jed McGowan and Kurt Gottschalk

CROSSWORD by Ben Tausig

Carey to debut "Innesscapes"

2008-05-06T10:49:00.001-05:00

New Jersey composer (and Signal to Noise contributor) Christian Carey will premiere his new work “Innesscapes” which will be performed by the Halcyon Trio this Friday, May 9th, at the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey.

From Carey’s program description: “A trio for clarinet, viola, and piano, Innesscapes is based on the life and work of landscape painter George Inness. His late painting, Sunset (1892), served as initial inspiration for a work in which I’ve sought to reflect various facets of Inness’ personality and richly resonant paintings.”

Carey is a composer, performer, music theorist and writer who teaches at the Westminster Choir College of Rider University. He writes regularly for Signal to Noise, including a cover story on Elliott Carter in STN#41. We hope if you’re in the vicinity you’ll come out and investigate Carey’s new work.

More information:
www.njartscollective.org
www.halcyontrio.com

Klaus Dinger, 61, member of Kraftwerk and Neu!, has died.

2008-04-02T09:31:00.002-05:00

From Groenland, his record label in recent years:

"With a lot of sadness we're informing you that Klaus Dinger of NEU!, La Duesseldorf and a founder of Kraftwerk died. An uncompromising musician, a challenging personality, inspirational human being and one of the most influential drummers died suddenly on March 21st. In Brian Eno's words: "There were three great beats in the '70s: Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, James Brown's funk and Klaus Dinger's NEU! beat." He will be a great loss to his friends and family, our label, all his fans and music.

Rene Renner
Gronland Records"

33 1/3: 20 Jazz Funk Greats

2008-03-21T15:53:00.004-05:00

Drew Daniel
Continuum
$10.95

Not only is Drew Daniel 1/2 of the sometimes San Francisco/sometimes Baltimore-based subversive and experimental electronic duo Matmos, he teaches in the English department at Johns Hopkins University. So by default he is literally the most qualified person on the planet to pen an insightful and intelligent review of one of the most aesthetically perplexing and compelling entries into the annals of early industrial music: Throbbing Gristle’s 1979 album, 20 Jazz funk Greats.

From Daniel’s research and personal editorials that reveal the subtle but profound secrets and dark ironies hiding in the album's cover art, a track-by-track vivisection and journalistic conversations with the group, this book is an easily digestible review of TG’s multi-layered M.O. Daniel’s workaday tone falls on TG’s spirit with the same superficial ambivalence and secretly fanatical tone with which Throbbing Gristle portrayed the grim aspects of the culture that compelled the original wreckers of civilization to churn out such a powerful album.

Shock value was a matter of interpretation and often times a side effect of TG’s societal and musical meditations and assaults.

Following Daniel’s narrative journey through angst-ridden teenage obsession into an adult and very intellectual examination of TG’s aesthetics is a fascinating examination in and of itself.

--Chad Radford

STN@SXSW windup

2008-03-17T11:51:00.009-05:00

A big, sloppy "thank you" to everyone who performed at, attended, or in one way or another participated in our debut showcase at SXSW. It was a gas. I was bemused when I looked at the program and saw Jandek, our headlining act, listed as "cowtown/blues" ... but that's exactly what it was. A heavy set of country blues music, stretched out and twisted in all the right places. Christina Carter's set with an unfortunately very ill Shawn McMillan was full of ethereal beauty. The wonderfully face-painted Space City Gamelan cleansed the palate with their ancient chime-and-gong percussion and earned the evening's only standing-O. The Nameless Sound Collection blew some minds with a trombone and trumpet + double drum, double bass, double guitar lineup. The Weird Weeds wrapped things up with their pretty-ful, slightly skewed out-pop songs. As you can imagine, a beautiful night of music. Special thanks to Jason Gross for hatching the whole plan in the first place, and to SXSW's Craig Stewart, our stage manager Lori, and the Central Presbyterian Church volunteers for being so helpful and accommodating.

Some photos for your viewing pleasure ...

The venue (photo by grrrrshon):

Jandek, Ralph White & Susan Alcorn:
(photos by Robert Loerzel):

Christina Carter (photo by Robert Loerzel):

Space City Gamelan (photo by B.C. Walker):

Nameless Sound Collection (photo by grrrrshon):

Weird Weeds (to follow) . . .

Would love to hear your reviews & comments if y'all were there!!

Issue #49 now available!

2008-03-14T13:10:00.003-05:00

Today's the official "on sale" date for our spring issue ... however, many subscribers and indy retailers have already begun to receive the magazine. We're proud to bring you Kurt Gottschalk's article on his meeting with singer and pianist Diamanda Galas, a gallery of work by Jeff "MusicWitness" Schlanger with accompanying text by Laurence Donohue-Greene, Robert Loerzel's feature on Baby Dee, Marc Master's survey of the "New Noise Underground" including Carlos Giffoni, Mouthus, Prurient, Yellow Swans and more, and Darren Bergstein's profile on Radio Massacre International.

RMI has been kind enough to make an exclusive live cut available to us from the Gathering's Concert Series in Philadelphia on November 17, 2007. Find it here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/99351741/Signal_to_Noise.mp3.html

They'll be back in the states to play at NearFest on June 22nd.

John Zorn- Dreaming Cinema

2008-03-01T22:18:00.002-06:00

JZ can add another feather to his cap after a two night stint at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn this weekend. I caught the second evening of "Essential Cinema" where his band provided a live soundtrack for five short films by Joseph Cornell, Kenneth Anger, Maya Deren and Harry Smith. The films were more a stunning collage of images than linear tales (definitely influencing the likes of David Lynch). Zorn had the right music to add to it, whether it was screaming jazz for Smith or literal heavy metal for an iron foundry scene in a Cornell movie or spacey jazz for Deren. Decked out in his trademark camouflage pants, Zorn mostly conducted, rarely picking up his sax as the band played behind the screen.

The real treat came next as he told the audience that the band had such a good time premiering his new piece "The Dreamers" that they were going to reprise it again for this show. Though they shined before, drummer Joey Baron and guitarist Marc Ribot pushed the group to dizzying heights here with Baron flailing his kit and Ribot tearing into wild surf music. It was some of the most hard-hitting, wonderful fusion music I'd ever heard and surely somewhere in another dimension, Frank Zappa was nodding in approval. Here's hoping that Zorn takes this music on the road and expands on it- it's some of the most impressive work he's done.

Atlas Sound vs. Dennis Palmer & Col. Bruce Hampton in ATL. Tues., Feb 19.

2008-02-26T13:07:00.000-06:00

Col. Bruce Hampton (left) and Dennis Palmer (right).

Its been a while since I've had to time my evening activities in order to make it to one show before hauling ass across town to catch another one at a different venue. Last week Two shows on Tues., Feb. 19th made for a particularly busy school night in Atlanta.

The first show: Atlanta avant-garde rock legend Col. Bruce Hampton teamed up with Dennis Palmer of Chattanooga, Tenn. improv. duo the Shaking Ray Levis for a one-off collaboration that was not to be missed. Hampton's influence as an improv/avant-garde guitarist stretches back to his days with the Hampton Grease Band in the late 1960s. He is a seminal figure in Atlanta's rock history whom also played the role of Morris in Billy Bob Thornton's '96 film, Sling Blade. His approach to rock music has always been quirky, and is a close cousin to Captain Beefheart's outsider-rock lurch.

Palmer is an improvisational musician of another color altogether. Palmer was an active character in Atlanta's art-punk/no-wave/experimental-music scene of the late '80s and early '90s, that is so often lamented as the "Destory All Music" era. As 1/2 of the Shaking Ray Levis, he is a distinctly Southern entity who draws influences from the hissing of summer lawns, the sound of insects and the fervor that drives Southern Baptist zealots to shout fire and brimstone from Chattanooga's street corners. As such he is prone to bouts of speaking in tongues during performances; usually just for affect.

Hampton speculates that he and Palmer have been kicking around the same musical circles, beginning with Howard Finster's Paradise Gardens in Summerville, GA., since the early 1980s. But Palmer clarifies that they didn't team up to play together until '99. Tonight's show at Eyedrum marks their first performance together as a duo.

Despite Hampton's stature Palmer was most definitely the star of the show. He was much more active and the various clicks, noises chirps and otherwise electronic sounds he churned out added character to Hampton's slow and subtle clusters of guitar tones and cartoonishly nonsensical rants. Hampton was much quieter than Palmer, and the two only seemed to occupy the same plane of silent musical telepathy at scattered moments. Not to sell Hampton short. He is a fascinating character, but his low-key strumming and ogre-like mumbles were undeniably out shined by Palmer.

Across town Bradford Cox held the Atlanta unveiling of the Atlas Sound Music Group, a live ensemble that he has gathered to add weight to his live performances. The group features Brian Foote (Kranky Records / Nudge), Adam Forkner (White Rainbow), Honey Owens (Valet) and Atlanta-based drummer/guitarist Stephanie Macksey.

In Atlas Sound's brief but distinctive catalogue Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel is a decidedly sophisticated and technologically advanced affair. Cox's previous solo outings have been assemblages of 4-Track recordings and layers upon layers of looping and bouncing. Let The Blind Lead... represents one giant leap for Cox in terms of technology. To kick things up a level during live performance, the group plays catchy and ramshackle renditions of songs from the album, adding a flawed, human element to the music's pace. Live the sharp edges of songs, such as "Quarantined," "Bite Marks" and "Recent Bedroom" from Let The Blind Lead... were shrouded in a haze of topsy turvy drums, jangle and fuzz, and the morphine garage rock melodies of "Ativan" burst forth with more power than ever.

During the show Cox repeatedly riffed on the opening to Soundgarden's "Spoonman" but never followed through.

Cox's parents as well as his sister were in the audience and between songs he repeatedly asked his sister how she thought he was doing.

Seeing the songs from the album played out live gave Atlas Sounds a sense of irreverence and punk rock attitude, which is not to be found anywhere throughout the album. The live show gives a much needed boost of energy and enthusiasm to a record that is captivating and quite stunning, but is seemingly not one that would translate to such a powerful and fun show.

Pictured in the Atlas Sound photo no. 1: Adam Forkner (foreground), Honey Owens (middle) and Bradford Cox (background). Stephanie Macksey is on the drums and Brian Foote is just a smudge beside Bradford (stage left).

Pictured in Atlas Sound photo no. 2: Adam Forkner (foreground) Honey Owens (middle) Bradford Cox (background).

--Chad Radford

Downtown Music Gallery needs help, seeking new home

2008-02-23T08:13:00.002-06:00

A notice from the great NYC musical institution and new music booster Downtown Music Gallery:

DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY NEEDS YOUR HELP!

At the end of this past January, our five-year lease ran out here at 342 Bowery. Our landlord has graciously given us another 3-6 months to find another place but, with 4 to 5 times the rent we're paying being offered by bar/restaurants ['cause we know you can't get a drink anywhere around here - NOT!] for the space our stay will come to an end soon.

We have been searching for a new location for the past 6 months, but if it's anything close to the 1500 sq. ft. we now occupy and need, no matter how far east we go, the realtors are convincing the landlords to hold off renting until they get a minimum of $ 60-75 per sq ft per year - which for 1500 sq ft means a monthly base rent nut of $7500-9400 - even on Ave D, where no one ventures to!

The only people who can afford that are banks that now make a tidy new-found profit off of people taking $20 out of their account every ten minutes [!] and national chains that take a tax loss to blanket NYC with their outlets. No merchant who deals in anything but items that have over 1000% markup [like drinks] can afford to stay in business here, not even groceries and supermarkets, which have all been closing rapidly. Just think: the overuse of debit cards has caused the price of all everyday goods and food to skyrocket - most of the increased amount just goes to the rent!

Anyone in NYC knows there are many spaces - in both prime and not prime areas - that have remained empty for YEARS due to realtors who have sold their bill of goods to landlords - when we've met those landlords, many have lamented the money they've lost due to the pressure from realtors, and were perfectly willing to talk lower prices, when beforehand the agent said they wouldn't budge [and wouldn't put us in contact directly, naturally]

We have many friends here in NYC, some 10,000 of you around the world receive our newsletter each week. What we would like is a basement, second floor or higher loft space [with elevator] with about 1,500 square feet for under $4000, hopefully in lower Manhattan - we don't really care what it looks like, or what some snobs might have to say about the neighborhood, just as long as it's secure. We'll do the rest.

We would love to stay in the Lower Manhattan, but we might have to move to mid-town or further uptown or even nearby in Brooklyn or Queens

If you know of a space for us to rent - especially where we deal with the landlord directly - please contact us immediately!

Our time here is limited. We may have to go with one overpriced space - that otherwise meets our needs - within two weeks, so we'd like to hear from you before then

Thank You

Bruce, Manny, Mikey, Chuck, Bret & all at DMG

Saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo Has Brain Tumor

2008-02-22T09:27:00.001-06:00

via Jazz Promo Services:

"On Friday, January 25, 2008 world-renowned saxophonist/composer Andrew D'Angelo suffered a major seizure while driving in Brooklyn, NY. Tests in the hospital revealed a large tumor in his brain. Andrew will undergo brain surgery at some point in the next few weeks. At this time, it is believed that the tumor is not cancerous, but this will not be confirmed until a biopsy is performed. Like many Americans, Andrew has no health insurance. A fund has been established to help with the costs of his surgery and recovery. Donations can be sent via PayPal at donate@andrewdangelo.com. We deeply appreciate any efforts that can be made to spread the word about Andrew's situation. Benefit concerts are currently being planned for New York City and Boston. More information about these concerts will be posted on
http://www.andrewdangelo.com/ as soon as it is available.

D'Angelo, born 1966 in Seattle, Washington is one of the key members of Brooklyn's avant-garde jazz community. His work as a composer, performer, and bandleader has been a pivotal influence on his peers, as well as on younger generations of musicians. Andrew first achieved worldwide notoriety as a member of Human Feel with his longtime friends Jim Black, Chris Speed, and Kurt Rosenwinkel. After moving to Brooklyn in 1986 he joined the downtown music community centered around the Knitting Factory, working with musicians like Mark Dresser, Erik Friedlander, Bobby Previte, and many other leading artists. He is also currently a member of the Matt Wilson Quartet and Hilmar Jensson's band Tyft. Skirl Records released "Skadra Degis," the debut of Andrew's trio with Jim Black and Trevor Dunn on January 31, 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.andrewdangelo.com/"

Teo Macero, 82, record producer worked with Miles Davis, has died.

2008-02-22T05:14:00.002-06:00

Teo Macero, 82, Record Producer, Dies

By BEN RATLIFF, NY Times
Published: February 22, 2008
Teo Macero, a record producer, composer and saxophonist most famous for his role in producing a series of albums by Miles Davis in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including editing that almost amounted to creating compositions after the recordings, died on Tuesday in Riverhead, N.Y. He was 82 and lived in Quogue, N.Y.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/arts/music/22macero.html

STN seeks interns

2008-02-21T14:45:00.003-06:00

We're seeking an intern for variable and relatively light duties which might include anything from postering and placing magazines in key areas to proofreading to transcribing interview material from mp3s. If you can work your system to turn it into course credit, more power to you. Any interested parties should send me an e-mail with formal (or informal) resume and references:
editor@signaltonoisemagazine.org

Two Print Passings

2008-02-20T16:05:00.005-06:00

Sad news reflecting a tough time for print periodicals: two favorite music magazines, Resonance and No Depression, will cease publication, citing falling ad revenues and generally untenable business climate. It's a huge challenge to do something like this, and to keep a publication alive for 14 and 13 years, respectively, seems to me like a huge success. Along with Punk Planet, which wrapped up its own unbelievable run earlier this year, both Resonance and No Depression served as models of what might be achievable with Signal to Noise. So I applaud you guys and wish you the best with whatever you do next.

In their own words:
http://resonancemag.com/editor.html
http://www.nodepression.net/blogs/letter/

The Art of Noise

2008-02-20T13:06:00.002-06:00

Thought I'd remind those of you in the Houston area to check out "The Art of Noise: poster art, album cover art & ephemera from the Signal to Noise collection" at the Steve Gregg gallery at the Art Institute of Houston, through March 14th. The exhibit features approximately thirty pieces, including work by Reid Miles, Wes Wilson, Frank Kozik, Amy Borezo, Peter Brotzmann, Chubby Jackson, Gerrit Gollner, David Wang and others. The gallery is at 1900 Yorktown Street in Houston, open from 9 to 8 from Monday through Thursday, 9 to 5 on Friday and 9 to 2 on Saturday.

You can read Chris Gray's very generous story about the exhibit in the Houston Press from a couple of weeks ago right here:

http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-01-17/music/the-art-of-noise/

STN @ SXSW!

2008-02-19T15:49:00.002-06:00

Signal to Noise is excited to announce that we're making our SXSW debut, hosting our own showcase at Austin's Central Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 15th. The lineup features some of Houston's best creative music, both past and present:

Jandek
Nameless Sound Youth Ensemble under the direction of David Dove
Space City Gamelan
Christina Carter & Shawn David McMillan
Weird Weeds

We have found both the festival staff and the musicians to be extremely accommodating and we look forward to a night to remember. Come join us!

Welcome to the Signal to Noise blog!

2008-02-19T15:48:00.000-06:00

Greetings, and welcome to the new Signal to Noise blog! This will be an online repository of news and commentary built and maintained by the Signal to Noise writing staff. SIGNAL to NOISE is a nationally distributed, quarterly publication focusing on the confluence of avant-garde jazz, electro-acoustic improvisation and left-of-center modern rock, with an emphasis on independent production and promotion. Featuring a vibrant mix of seasoned music writers and new, previously unpublished voices, STN has been nominated by UTNE Magazine for “Best Arts And Creativity Coverage” in their 2004 Independent Press Awards, as “Zine of the Year” at 2007’s Plug Independent Music Awards, and four years running as “Best Periodical Covering Jazz” by the Jazz Journalists Association. Each issue of STN mixes in-depth features on the most significant and cutting-edge creative musicians with original, exclusive photography and hundreds of reviews of the season’s key concerts, books, and recorded music in all formats from CD to DVD to LP to MP3. All of the content is exclusive to STN's print edition ... this blog is meant to serve only a supplementary function. Hope you'll stop by frequently!

The Signal to Noise Blog

Long Distance Poison and the Revival of Cassettes

Sharon van Etten performs on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Hosokawa's Landscapes on ECM

Undersound review

Katharine Whalen's Madly Love (Review)

Re: ECM review

Interview with MImi Goese and Ben Neill

Girls visit Grimey's

Reich's WTC 9-11 (CD Review)

Tryvge Seim makes NYC Debut on 9/11

Michael Gordon's Timber

CD Review: Aidan Baker, "Still Life"

Early Summer Playlist

Avant Cellist's Ideas Worth Spreading

ACO Readings turn 20

20th Annual Underwood New Music Readings

Friday, June 3 at 10am (working rehearsal) & Saturday, June 4 at 7:30pm (run-through)One Composer to Win $15,000 Commission, Another to Win Audience Choice Award

Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute ReadingsSunday, June 5 at 2pm (working rehearsal) & Monday, June 6 at 7:30pm (run-through)Presented with The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia UniversityFeaturing Eight Jazz Composers Selected from the 2010 JCOI Intensive

Conducted by ACO Music Director George Manahan

Marilyn Nonken talks about Feldman Festival

Remembering Milton Babbitt (1916-2010)

Mose Allison

Contra

Ben Frost

Amy X Neuburg’s latest: Singer + Three Cellists

Drowning in Sonic Variety

Rashied Ali (1935-2009)

Fire In July debuts in Boston on Saturday

Ruby Throat: review; mp3

Owl City – iTunes sensations! (video)

David Mead; new album; 2 MP3s

Book Review William Parker – Who Owns Music?

Blogging a song a week into an album

Videos (and a video contest) by Thrill Jockey artists

The Bird and the Bee; New Video

Tuesday July, 7: Steve Kuhn at Birdland

Taller Children

Planning a recital

Christina Courtin

Art vs. Music

STN co-hosts Houston bill w/ Christina Carter & more

David S. Ware seeks kidney donor

Drum-heads open vintage drum shop in Portland

Freddie Hubbard: 1938 - 2008

Phil Lesh Digs the Concerto for Orchestra

Australian EAI

Ronnie Mathews 1935-2008

Transmuseq is back!

Either/Orchestra's Vicente Lebron behind bars

"Don't you ever get sick of Beethoven?"

Signal to Noise #50 now available!

Carey to debut "Innesscapes"

Klaus Dinger, 61, member of Kraftwerk and Neu!, has died.

33 1/3: 20 Jazz Funk Greats

STN@SXSW windup

Issue #49 now available!

John Zorn- Dreaming Cinema

Atlas Sound vs. Dennis Palmer & Col. Bruce Hampton in ATL. Tues., Feb 19.

Downtown Music Gallery needs help, seeking new home

Saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo Has Brain Tumor

Teo Macero, 82, record producer worked with Miles Davis, has died.

STN seeks interns

Two Print Passings

The Art of Noise

STN @ SXSW!

Welcome to the Signal to Noise blog!

Friday, June 3 at 10am (working rehearsal) & Saturday, June 4 at 7:30pm (run-through)
One Composer to Win $15,000 Commission, Another to Win Audience Choice Award

Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Readings
Sunday, June 5 at 2pm (working rehearsal) & Monday, June 6 at 7:30pm (run-through)
Presented with The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University
Featuring Eight Jazz Composers Selected from the 2010 JCOI Intensive