I knew that there would be something to download (see above). To quote Jonah
Rafael Karlen, The Sweetness of Things Half Remembered: Absolutely gorgeous chamber jazz recording, featuring saxophonist Rafael Karlen and pianist Steve Newcomb, along with a string quartet. Its music thats constantly in motion, always active, yet has a deceptively languorous disposition. A lot of this has to do with the thick harmonies from the string quartet, but they zip along at times, too. Mostly, though, its in the way the songs modulate their speed, with bursts of acceleration then soon after slowly taking the foot off the gas pedal. Talkative and elegant, both. Fans of Benjamin Koppels Adventures of a Polar Expedition should just hit the download button and dont look back. An absolutely enthralling release. Pick of the Week.
The cover link takes you to Bandcamp where you can preview the album - but emusic (in the UK at least) is considerably cheaper.
- " Magma is the French brain-child of drummer/composer Christian Vander formed in Paris in 1969, disbanded in 1983 and reformed in 1996. Starting with a base of experimental rock heavily influenced by jazz and 20th century classical music, the band developed such a unique style of progressive rock that it became a new genre called zeuhl. Characterized by insistent and repetitive rhythms, dramatic vocals, virtuosic solos, heavy bass playing, and jazzy drums, Zeuhl has been emulated by numerous followers from all over the world.
Much of Magmas music is written in the constructed language known as Kobaïan and concerns a lengthy saga about Earth and the planet Kobaïa, with spiritual and environmental themes."
Talk about too much music syndrome; found this when scrolling through my amazon; didn't even remember I had it. I think it was a guvera thing. But I had wanted to listen too it because it ranked so high on pitchfork's best of the decade so far list. That seems like an odd list to put out, four years into a decade; well no I guess five, so halfway, so that makes more sense! Anyway the list is a fun way to re-structure listening, and I was surprised how many of them I had; mostly from amazon sales.
I'm listening to a playlist I created last year, The Periodic Table of Tunes, that has each
of the 118 elements, in order, either in the
song title or the band name.
Personnel:
Jonny Spall - alto and baritone sax
Mark Hanslip - tenor sax
Grahan Fox - drums
Ross Stanley
Riaan Vosloo - double bass, other basses and electronics, laptop
Tim Giles - drums
while the twin notions of "imaginary soundtracks" and "Lynchian" music have been flogged to death by now, theres no denying the oddly evocative and evocatively odd atmosphere that hangs over the whole session: a skewed, David Lynch-style vision of reality gone wrong. Allsopps compositions show a sly disregard for genre, and a keen sense of the potential absurdity inherent in juxtaposition. Aglow / Piano Dentist begins with a synthetic classical interlude like a dreamy Vangelis score before erupting into a brutal punk thrash with wild altissimo sax skronk, which in turn gives way to proggy, Hammond-led trickery. Quiet Now mixes snatches of distant strings with a creeping, robotic rhythmic clank and plangent droplets of organ. (BBC review)
It's strange, but maybe predictable that
the more recent element names find their
ways onto more experimental-based works.
Probably the more creative electronic works
are given these rather obscure titles derived
from the element names. I think that only 117
have actually been confirmed - the 118th being
in preparation - while many others are awaiting
"official" name status after they go thru a board
that decides this kind of thing. One of the tracks
actually describes some of this process. Anyway...
US-born, Australia-based composer David Shea has already amassed quite the catalog over his estimable career.
He still might be best known for his work with John Zorns Tzadik imprint, but Sheas been working tirelessly over
the last five years on a new album (his first in almost a decade) of outer-wave electro-acoustic deconstructions.
Released on Lawrence Englishs Room 40, Rituals is a collection of music influenced by ceremonial rituals,
after Shea spent time immersing himself in traditional ritual music centered on Buddhist and Taoist traditions
and the influential musique concrete of Luc Ferrari and Giacinto Scelsi. Both Oren Ambarchi and Lawrence English
make guest appearances on the album, adding to Sheas mesmerizing drone soundscapes.
Comments
I knew that there would be something to download (see above). To quote Jonah
The cover link takes you to Bandcamp where you can preview the album - but emusic (in the UK at least) is considerably cheaper.
Talk about too much music syndrome; found this when scrolling through my amazon; didn't even remember I had it. I think it was a guvera thing. But I had wanted to listen too it because it ranked so high on pitchfork's best of the decade so far list. That seems like an odd list to put out, four years into a decade; well no I guess five, so halfway, so that makes more sense! Anyway the list is a fun way to re-structure listening, and I was surprised how many of them I had; mostly from amazon sales.
The Periodic Table of Tunes, that has each
of the 118 elements, in order, either in the
song title or the band name.
Elements 1-30
Craig
Elements 31-60
Personnel:
Jonny Spall - alto and baritone sax
Mark Hanslip - tenor sax
Grahan Fox - drums
Ross Stanley
Riaan Vosloo - double bass, other basses and electronics, laptop
Tim Giles - drums
ETA: Hey, they have their very own thread from 2011
The Golden Age of Steam - Welcome to Bat Country
Interesting. Enjoying it.
ETA: bitw review
Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do
Now:
Trying to liven up a quiet Friday morning at work.
Great, now I have "Magneto and Titanium Man" running through my head. Thanks, rostasi...
the more recent element names find their
ways onto more experimental-based works.
Probably the more creative electronic works
are given these rather obscure titles derived
from the element names. I think that only 117
have actually been confirmed - the 118th being
in preparation - while many others are awaiting
"official" name status after they go thru a board
that decides this kind of thing. One of the tracks
actually describes some of this process. Anyway...
with Marc Ribot, Trevor Dunn, and Tyshawn Sorey