Cosa Brava is a quintet formed in March 2008 in Oakland, California by multi-instrumentalist and composer Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Skeleton Crew, Keep the Dog). Fred Frith's career began as a folk and later rock musician he co-founded Henry Cow in 1968 but has since diversified into a number of different genres, from avant-jazz to contemporary classical music. He has written scores for film and dance, and music for orchestras and string quartets. But, like a lot of musicians, the idea of "genre" is not really very interesting to him anyway!
The motivation behind the formation of Cosa Brava arose out of Frith's love of rock music in general and songs in particular. He said, "Over the years Ive done a lot of improvising, and composed a lot of music on paper. Ive written for orchestras and string quartets, directed ensembles of improvisers of all descriptions, produced scores for dance and film. I even somehow became a Professor of Composition! But I really miss what you can do with a rock band. I miss developing material through the push and pull of cooperative rehearsals, I miss what happens when you move away from the parts and start formulating things with a collective ear, I miss the single-minded commitment to a group identity. The musicians in Cosa Brava can improvise, read scores, AND rock the house. Like I say, if you pick the right players, chances are the music will take care of itself.
Frith had previously worked with Zeena Parkins in Skeleton Crew and Keep the Dog, and had collaborated with Carla Kihlstedt on several albums.
ETA:
- And a repost from 2012 about a wonderful album from a truely amazing ensemble: Fred Frith guitar, bass, voice
Carla Kihlstedt violin, bass harmonica, voice
Zeena Parkins accordion, keyboards, foley objects, voice
Shahzad Ismaily bass, voice
Matthias Bossi drums, percussion, mayhem, voice
The Norman Conquest sound manipulation
- "Cosa Brava is about storytelling. I don't think about it too much. It just turned out that way. Some of the stories have words and some don't, but they share a sense of scenes glimpsed in passing. Torn photos, fragments of movies, distant shouts. One of my earliest memories is of a long drive north, as our family moved away from London to start a new life in the Yorkshire dales. I remember the smell of the car, and passing our broken down removals lorry in the middle of night. I was four years old, and sometimes it feels like I've been on the road ever since. I need to travel, and now my life depends on it, so there's never a shortage of stories. The musicians of Cosa Brava are fellow nomads and experienced collaborators, and some of the best storytellers around, so my stories also become their stories. It's been an exhilarating journey, and I still have no idea where we're going. In the end it doesn't seem very important."
- Fred Frith, February 2012, Liner Notes.
- "Cosa Brava is an experimental rock and improvisation quartet formed in March 2008 by multi-instrumentalist and composer Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Skeleton Crew, Keep the Dog). Cosa Brava released in 2010 "Ragged Atlas" (Intakt CD 161) followed by "The Letter" in 2012 (Intakt CD 204)."
- Intakt Records.
BC streaming:
released 05 April 2014 TURN UP THE VOLUME KNOB TO 11 FOR REALISTIC EXPERIENCE.
ETA:
Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo
- Smoooooth !
And a repost from 2012 on the N&N thread: - "We are thrilled to present the brand new studio album from Volcano The Bear, the band that have, in the words of The Wire magazine, produced some of the finest, wildest British music of the last 10 years on record and on stage. Or, as Losing Today puts it, no one sounds, has sounded, or will ever sound quite like Volcano The Bear. A calculated hysterical melting pot of This Heat, Robert Wyatt, Faust and The Residents, of musique concrète and ethno-folk, all seen through a prism of theatrical improvisations and unhinged set pieces. VTB have released a number of records since the start in 1995, often mixing studio, live and home recordings. Golden Rhythm/Ink Music is their first studio album since Amidst The Noise And Twigs back in 2007. Largely based on the sonic fault-line between Aaron Moore and Daniel Padden, it´s also the most focused and driven of VTBs prolific output so far, showcasing the duos unique musicality and interplay, whilst retaining their trademark eccentricity and humour throughout. It presents rock music as seen through VTBs skewed eye, featuring more of Padden and Moores drum/guitar combination than on previous albums. Taking the bizarre energy of their live duo performances into a studio environment, and combining it with VTBs eclectic instrumentation and Clarence Manuelos singular audio-work, GR/IM shows VTB making their most vital work to date."
- Rune Grammofon.
Streaming at SoundCloud. I've read a few critiques that say this is a special album that explores the Haitian roots of Jazz, but beyond the first two tracks, it all seems very normal to me.
That Jazz Racine Haiti album made one of my lists, but (IIRC) didn't become a Jazz Pick. Was planning on revisiting it at some point, but my memory (again, IIRC) agrees with your statement... the album has its moments, but nothing that differentiates it too dramatically from the crowd.
After a dryish spell (three months off from emusic and not missing it) I am discovering a ton of great music at the moment. Starting to explore Carpe Sonum records. The Anthony Lee Norris and Porya Hatami track (BC stream) from the Carpe Sonum sampler that I posted a little upthread is lovely - going to have to get that album when it's released.
Streaming a fairly new Lost Children Netlabel compilation (the netlabel with The Silent Ballet comps):
ETA:
just discovered by accident that with that track by Linear Bells from the Lost Children comp, if you play it in bandcamp and while playing right click on the individual track and open it in a second tab bandcamp will play it in both tabs at once (at least in Chrome), and it sounds great double-layered.
-Germanprof Nov 28th 2013
From here. Interesting example of how musicianship shines through trends and styles, although of course George Duke was more trendsetter than follower.
Soundcloud streaming two tracks from Brian Eno & Karl Hyde (Underworld)
Released by: Warp Records
Release/catalogue number: WARP249
Release date: May 5, 2014
[img]Vejo o Som by Jovino Santos Neto: a "duets" where the pianist is paired with an American or Brazilian musician. Emotional, and at times, intense.[/img]
Comments
- How time flies.
Cosa Brava - Ragged Atlas
Fred Frith - guitar, bass, voice
Carla Kihlstedt - violin, nyckelharpa, bass harmonica, voice
Zeena Parkins - accordion, keyboards, foley objects, voice
Matthias Bossi - drums, percussion, sruti box, voice
The Norman Conquest - sound manipulation
ETA:
- And a repost from 2012 about a wonderful album from a truely amazing ensemble:
Fred Frith guitar, bass, voice
Carla Kihlstedt violin, bass harmonica, voice
Zeena Parkins accordion, keyboards, foley objects, voice
Shahzad Ismaily bass, voice
Matthias Bossi drums, percussion, mayhem, voice
The Norman Conquest sound manipulation
- "Cosa Brava is about storytelling. I don't think about it too much. It just turned out that way. Some of the stories have words and some don't, but they share a sense of scenes glimpsed in passing. Torn photos, fragments of movies, distant shouts. One of my earliest memories is of a long drive north, as our family moved away from London to start a new life in the Yorkshire dales. I remember the smell of the car, and passing our broken down removals lorry in the middle of night. I was four years old, and sometimes it feels like I've been on the road ever since. I need to travel, and now my life depends on it, so there's never a shortage of stories. The musicians of Cosa Brava are fellow nomads and experienced collaborators, and some of the best storytellers around, so my stories also become their stories. It's been an exhilarating journey, and I still have no idea where we're going. In the end it doesn't seem very important."
- Fred Frith, February 2012, Liner Notes.
- "Cosa Brava is an experimental rock and improvisation quartet formed in March 2008 by multi-instrumentalist and composer Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Skeleton Crew, Keep the Dog). Cosa Brava released in 2010 "Ragged Atlas" (Intakt CD 161) followed by "The Letter" in 2012 (Intakt CD 204)."
- Intakt Records.
Emeralds - Allegory of Allergies
Then:
" ?? " by We all inherit the moon
(Title is in non-Western script)
loscil - submers
Then
The Longing Daylight by Lee Anthony Norris & Porya Hatami
Various Artists/Carpe Sonum Records - Sampler of Upcoming Releases
I believe "on LSD" is the only real answer to your conundrum.
Dot Tape Dot - "Tomavistas"
Quirky electronica with some nifty melodic craftsmanship.
Soundcloud:
Song from album - https://soundcloud.com/other-electricities/dot-tape-dot-pal-talk-2-morning-from-tomavistas
Dot Tape Dot official - https://soundcloud.com/dot-tape-dot
released 05 April 2014
TURN UP THE VOLUME KNOB TO 11 FOR REALISTIC EXPERIENCE.
ETA:
Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo
- Smoooooth !
And a repost from 2012 on the N&N thread:
- "We are thrilled to present the brand new studio album from Volcano The Bear, the band that have, in the words of The Wire magazine, produced some of the finest, wildest British music of the last 10 years on record and on stage. Or, as Losing Today puts it, no one sounds, has sounded, or will ever sound quite like Volcano The Bear. A calculated hysterical melting pot of This Heat, Robert Wyatt, Faust and The Residents, of musique concrète and ethno-folk, all seen through a prism of theatrical improvisations and unhinged set pieces. VTB have released a number of records since the start in 1995, often mixing studio, live and home recordings. Golden Rhythm/Ink Music is their first studio album since Amidst The Noise And Twigs back in 2007. Largely based on the sonic fault-line between Aaron Moore and Daniel Padden, it´s also the most focused and driven of VTBs prolific output so far, showcasing the duos unique musicality and interplay, whilst retaining their trademark eccentricity and humour throughout. It presents rock music as seen through VTBs skewed eye, featuring more of Padden and Moores drum/guitar combination than on previous albums. Taking the bizarre energy of their live duo performances into a studio environment, and combining it with VTBs eclectic instrumentation and Clarence Manuelos singular audio-work, GR/IM shows VTB making their most vital work to date."
- Rune Grammofon.
- Some tracks on Soundcloud: Buffalo Shoulder - Spurius Ruga - Fireman Show[/i]
Edit March 11: Now on Emusic
Stein Urheim - "Stein Urheim"
On Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/hubro/hubrocd2529-stein-urheim-s-t
Brigaden - "Om Alberto Och Nagra Andra Gubbar"
Review tomorrow, if I can pull it together in time.
If not, I'll post the review on that Stein Urheim album instead.
Streaming at SoundCloud. I've read a few critiques that say this is a special album that explores the Haitian roots of Jazz, but beyond the first two tracks, it all seems very normal to me.
That Jazz Racine Haiti album made one of my lists, but (IIRC) didn't become a Jazz Pick. Was planning on revisiting it at some point, but my memory (again, IIRC) agrees with your statement... the album has its moments, but nothing that differentiates it too dramatically from the crowd.
NP:
If Trio - "Imaginary Folklores"
Just beautiful.
On soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/iftrio/sets/upcoming-album-2014
Review soon.
Now this is awesome (though the cover needs to be rethought).
In the Silence of the Subconscious by Moss Garden
After a dryish spell (three months off from emusic and not missing it) I am discovering a ton of great music at the moment. Starting to explore Carpe Sonum records. The Anthony Lee Norris and Porya Hatami track (BC stream) from the Carpe Sonum sampler that I posted a little upthread is lovely - going to have to get that album when it's released.
ETA: - My goodness, yes it certainly does . . .
Really nice electronic dancey dub-steppy compilation; 26 tracks; NYOP.
From here. Interesting example of how musicianship shines through trends and styles, although of course George Duke was more trendsetter than follower.
Reverie Create - The Smile and the Thought
Then:
Rafael Anton Irisarri - The Unintentional Sea
Released by: Warp Records
Release/catalogue number: WARP249
Release date: May 5, 2014
- I just love it when Brian Eno sings . . .
Manu Katch
Craig