This in from Nadia Sirota and the gang at WQXR’s Q2:
Listen in to Q2 now through Sunday toJacobTV on the Radio: a 5-day celebration of the omnivorous creative world of the game-changing Dutch composer, JacobTV. Festival features include:
JacobTV as DJ, introducing many of his seminal works (full archival versions to 20+ pieces available on-demand)
Full on-demand concert audio from Ethel Plays JacobTV: a recent New Sounds Live performance from Merkin Concert Hall with the string quartet Ethel
Hours of rare, never-before-heard recordings from live concerts and private recordings
Videos from upcoming pieces, recent collaborations, documentaries, and live performances
A limited time download of his break-through Grab it! inspired by the documentary Scared Straight!
Many Sequenza 21 readers will know Carlton Wilkinson best for his blog The And of Oneand for his work as a composer and presenter of contemporary concert music; but the man wears many hats. He’s also a college instructor (currently on the faculty at TCNJ) and a music critic for the Asbury Park Press.
Wilkinson recently shared another facet of his work: Three Rooms, a self-released album of avant pop songs. It’s currently for sale at CD Baby and iTunes. The recording primarily consists of spare piano-vocal tracks; but also includes percussion, guitars, and judicious, employment of synthesizers.
One can certainly hear influences of Carlton’s experimental compositions in the arranging touches such as flurries of noise and percussive adornments. But there’s a fair bit of prog sensibility here as well, no doubt abetted by Wilkinson’s singing voice bearing more than a passing resemblance to Adrian Belew.
Wilkinson has graciously shared an MP3 with us for previewing. Please don’t re-host and, if you like it, support grassroots music-making and buy the recording!
A number of  Sequenza 21 contributors and readers also populate the site ImprovFriday. It’s a web community that encourages sharing of improvisations, compositions with an element of improv, and recent compositional sketches at a series of web events run on … you guessed it, Fridays.
While this all sounds very free form, the group has specific guidelines for participation, found here. Employing these operating principles are a wide ranging group of spontaneous creators: diverse in style, outspoken yet constructive in critiquing each others’ work, but unified in ambitious music-making.
For Sequenza 21 readers, the list of participants contains several of our ‘usual suspects:’ Steve Layton, David Toub, J.C. Combs, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz, and Bruce Hamilton. Included below are a few sound snippets for your preview.
This coming April, Kill Rock Stars will reissue Elliott Smith’s debut album Roman Candle and the posthumous release From a Basement on the Hill.
Can’t wait ’til April? Digital music site ThinkIndie has posted a free MP3, “Cecilia/Amanda” here.
The song was written for Smith’s high school band Stranger than Fiction. Even early on, his songwriting talents were abundantly clear. It’s such a pity that he came to an unhappy early end.
Got Holiday Blues? Don’t go it alone!
Smith’s work is wonderfully beautiful, and one is glad that Kill Rock Stars is making sure that another generation of listeners has a chance to appreciate it. Still, hearing his work, I can’t help but reflect on his tragic passing and wish it could have been averted.
The challenges of substance abuse and depression seem to especially abundant around the enforced cheer of the holidays. If you or someone you love is struggling with either, please remember that you are not alone: there are resources and avenues for help.
The BBC reported yesterday on a poll conducted in the UK. It suggested that, while digital piracy remains popular, especially among young people, that those who sample music from dubious online sources are actually likely to spend more on music per year than their non-pirate counterparts.
The survey also indicated that those willing to pay for recordings were willing to spend on average about 45 pence per track; few were willing to purchase music for more than a pound per song.
Is this good news or bad news for artists who hope to make money off of their recordings?
Kay and I went down to Barrow Street to hear the second Keys to Future concert last night. In addition to some pieces with which I was very familiar, the program also included works that were new to me. Discovering a new piece or previously unfamiliar composer in a live venue can be thrilling; especially when Amy Briggs and Stephen Gosling are playing! It was an excellent show; my review of it should post on Musical America later this week.
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We got to the Village a little early, and had time to enjoy a preconcert dinner and stroll around the shops on Bleeker Street. A browse through Bleeker Street Records reminded me of one of the reasons why I’m so glad that there still are a few brick ‘n mortar stores around; and why I’d be sad if they went away. ‘Digging’ for vinyl or CDs can reveal sought-after treasures; but it can also lead to pleasant digressions and discoveries. While looking for something else, one of the CDs I grabbed off of the rack struck my visual fancy. I have no idea who the band is, what style of music they play, or whether they are any good. The artist who rendered their booklet cover, on the other hand, had such a vivid imagination that it was worth the five bucks just to see if the music could compare.
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One of the debates as we ‘go green’ and cut costs is about the efficacy of digital distribution; whether we really need artifacts or whether digital copies, with all their conveniences (and foibles) instead suffice. I have grudgingly converted to obtaining some recording acquisitions via digital download. Even with the current sonic compromises of MP3, the convenience and comprehensiveness factors of many digital stores are seductive. And the 30-second sonic snippets can be handy for triaging selections.
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Still, the experience of digging through shelves of recordings in person and having some album art catch your eye, paging through the storybook of lyrics and wondering if the musical rendering will compare – that’s magical!
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One of my favorite places to browse in the digital domain is Silber Media. The imprint specializes in experimental artists, particularly of the alt-electronica persuasion. A number of their artists are on tour this summer; dates below!
The mystery CD from Bleeker Street is in the changer. I’m about to press play – wish me luck!
Silber Artists on Tour
Aarktica ( www.myspace.com/aarktica )
May 21 2009 8:00 PM
AARKTICA w/ Mark Van Hoen (Seefeel), Millimetrik, Luxa (Loveless Music Presents) New York
Remora ( www.myspace.com/remora ) – post apocalyptic pop
May 25 2009 9:00 PM
 Remora @ The Nightlight Chapel Hill, North Carolina
May 30, 2009 – 8:00 PM
 Remora @ BFF Bog Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Small Life Form ( www.myspace.com/smalllifeform ) – aggressive ambient
May 31 2009 8:00 PM
 Small Life Form @ Badgerhaus Raleigh, North Carolina
While digital distribution is undeniably convenient, sonically speaking MP3s leave a lot to be desired. Several companies have been at work on audio formats that strive for the manageable size of MP3s while not compromising on sound quality. MP3HD files are currently four times the size of conventional MP3s, but are a lossless format that will be compatible with most MP3 players.
One of the first artists to embrace the upcoming MP3HD format is the jammy neo-prog outfit Umphrey’s McGeeUmphrey’s McGee. Umphrey’s made selections from their recent two-night run at the Murat Egyptian Room on March 13, 2009 available in the new format this past week at http://all4mp3.com/Listen_mp3HD.aspx. Additional recordings will be made available in the coming weeks.
“As one of the few artists who record and make available every show that is played, sound quality is paramount to the entire band. The HDMP3 format is a welcome addition to our existing arsenal of lossless and lossy formats we make available for fans, explains Umphrey’s McGee’s audio engineer and producer Kevin Browning.” Offering a much richer sound spectrum combined with the convenience and familiarity of the MP3 format, we expect HDMP3 to be a hit with the band and fans alike.”
This past Thursday, I was in touch with Francois Thuiliere at Thompson Software about their MP3HD project. He said, “MP3HD is a lossless audio codec based on MP3. It makes a bit-exact copy of CD or wav, and its biggest advantage over similar codecs is its backward compatibility with mp3. So if you play an MP3HD file in a non-MP3HD player, it will simply play the standard mp3 file.â€
“We just launched the format a couple of weeks ago and we are already seeing a lot of interest in the musician community. The fact that most of the labels have adopted mp3 (which was developed by Thomson) is very encouraging for the future adoption of mp3HD. We will have the software development toolkit (SDK) ready for our licensees in May, so you expect implementation in commercial products to start in the coming months.â€
While it is far too soon to guess who will win the battle for prevailing hi-def digital audio format, the effort promises to bring better-sounding music to the ears of audiophiles in an era increasingly dominated by digital distribution.
More info: There’s a Win Amp plug-in for Windows and a demo software toolkit (available here).
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