Guided by Voices – La La Land (Guided by Voices, Inc.) A colleague recently quipped that “it is a new fiscal quarter, so there must be another Guided by Voices album coming out.” Indeed, Robert Pollard and company (a rotating list of musicians) are prolific almost beyond measure, a situation in which one might wonder about issues of quantity versus quality: they needn’t worry. Joining Pollard on La La Land are a slate of long time collaborators: Doug Gillard and Bobby Bare, Jr., guitars, Marc Shue, bass, and Kevin March, drums. They know Pollard’s style thoroughly; even in
Read moreSufjan Stevens is an indie rock luminary who, throughout his career, has explored a number of styles. His first contemporary classical release, Reflections will be released on Asthmatic Kitty on May 19th. The music is for piano duo and performed by Time Andres and Conor Hanick. This meeting of stalwart musicians crosses the boundaries of pop and post-minimalism to create music that is carefully crafted, well-paced, and has a strong sense of drama. Below is the recording’s lead off single, “Ekstasis,” both in a visualizer and a live performance.
Read morelove & light iSing Silicon Valley, conducted by Jennah Delp Somers Esteli Gomez, soprano; Cheryl Ann Fulton, harp Avie Records On love & light, the girl’s choir iSing Silicon Valley performs a program of ancient liturgical chants and Latin motets by contemporary composers. Many include the dulcet accompaniment of harpist Cheryl Ann Fulton, who arranges early music for the harp. Os Mutorum by James Macmillan opens the recording with a gentle spirit, introducing the listener to a program emphasizing healing and uplift. Star power and fetching lyrical singing is provided by soprano Esteli Gomez. Her performance on Kile Smith’s
Read morePanorama – Olivia de Prato (New Focus) Violinist Olivia de Prato has established herself as a staunch advocate of new music. In addition to her work with Mivos Quartet, she is a talented soloist. On her second solo release for New Focus Recordings, Panorama, she undertakes a recital disc of female composers. A number of the pieces include electronics, fleshing out the solo texture in diverting fashion. The album opens with Missy Mazzoli’s violin plus electronics piece Tooth and Nail (2010). The original version was written for violist Nadia Sirota; this is a transcription for violin. The
Read moreThis Island Susan Narucki, soprano; Donald Berman, piano Avie Records Soprano Susan Narucki has long been known as an advocate for contemporary music, as has collaborative pianist Donald Berman. On their latest recording, for Avie, the duo present a program of art songs by female composers active in the first half of the twentieth century. Three of the song sets are world premieres. Narucki was inspired to begin collecting the songs for this recording by Rainer Maria Rilke. Specifically, in one of his letters he mentioned the Belgian Symbolist poet Émile Verhaeren, one of the most highly regarded
Read moreHearing Landscapes Hearing Icescapes Lei Liang New Focus Recordings From 2012-2022, composer Lei Liang did a residency at the Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego, where he is a full professor. At Qualcomm, Liang worked with scientists in a variety of disciplines – software developers, robotic engineers, material scientists, cultural heritage engineers, and oceanographers – to infuse his music with ecological and ethnographic elements. The result, Hearing Landscapes Hearing Icescapes, are two electronic works that incorporate samples, folk songs, and a few live musicians. Hearing Landscapes is an homage to Huang Binhong (1865-1955), a gifted landscape painter. The audio
Read moreNo Cosmos -You iii Everything Else (Lighter than Air) Montreal-based trumpeter Scott Bevins has played in the band Busty and the Bass and collaborated with Pierre Kwenders and the collective Moonshine. You iii Everything Else is the debut of his No Cosmos project, which combines fusion-inflected jazz with experimental electronica. “Watercolor Ghost” is propelled by a circular electric piano riff with high soprano Sarah Rossy scat-singing on top of it. Bevins and saxophonist Evan Shay continue with the tune, lightly adorned here and there, but emphasizing basic contours of the melody. Drummer Kyle Hutchins creates economic, flowing grooves that
Read moreThe Song is You Enrico Rava and Fred Hersch CD/LP ECM Records ECM Records has begun resuming production of their releases as vinyl LPs. This is the first I am reviewing. As one expects from ECM, its sound quality is superlative. Those who remember ECM’s vinyl releases in the pre-CD era will welcome this return. In addition to production values, another aspect of ECM’s curation ethos is bringing together artists from their roster to make music together. Both trumpeter Enrico Rava and pianist Fred Hersch have created memorable releases for ECM. Pairing them is an inspired choice. The Song
Read moreRadical Romantics Fever Ray Mute It has been nearly six years since Plunge, Karin Dreijer’s last album under the moniker Fever Ray. Equally well known for their band The Knife, on which they collaborate with their brother Olof Dreijer, Karin has made distinctive electronic music for over twenty years. Their latest, Radical Romantics, is a welcome return. In gestation since 2019, it is some of the finest work released by the Fever Ray project. Another welcome return is one of collaboration. Olof helped to produce some of the recording and co-wrote four of the songs, the first collaboration
Read moreVoyageur Ali Farka Touré Work Circuit Records The late Ali Farka Touré (1939-2006) was one of the most venerated of West African guitarists. His work combined the musical culture of his home country Mali with that of other African styles, including frequent collaborations that extended his work’s reach. Touré had a belated introduction to First World listeners, via a solo record that came out in the 1980s, when he was in his fifties. By 1994, Taking Timbuktu had won him a Grammy, with more awards to follow, including a Grammy for the posthumous release Ali & Toumani. When
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