Experimental

  • Tomas Korber & Konus Quartett – Anschlussfehler

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    Composer Tomas Korber and Konus Quartett both have a decade and a half under the musical belts. In 2011, Konus commissioned Korber to write a concert-length work for saxophone quartet and live electronics. That invitation resulted in the well-received Musik für ein Feld, recorded in 2014. Their new collaboration is a challenging work entitled Anschluss.…

  • Speaker Music – Of Desire, Longing

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    It’s sometimes said that artists who choose a December release date do so at the expense of their showing up on best-of-the-year lists. While it’s true that the reverse can be argued, DeForrest Brown, Jr. need not worry about timing. He’s produced one of 2019’s most exceptional records, under the name Speaker Music. Exceptional not…

  • Aitor Etxebarria – Nihilism Part 1

    In an era of extreme politics and institutional cynicism, the rejection of traditional sources of authority is inherently humanist. To combat this, conservative commentators brand dissent as nihilist, a word tossed around rather sloppily these days. It is an effective rhetorical trick because it colours those who question the powers that be as amoral and…

  • Dans les arbres – Volatil

    When music historians describe our current period of contemporary music, some consideration should be given to the extraordinary range of the artists that produced it. At one end, young laptop warriors making beautiful noise out of makeshift home studios. At the other, the 21st century’s great composers and performance ensembles. Part of the appeal –…

  • Cares – Control Isn’t Real

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    James Beardmore has produced what may be the best Cares recording to date. Control Isn’t Real lands Nov. 8. This one feels like a step forward for Cares. The sound is crisper, a bit bigger. What’s your take? Thank you. I wanted to take the sound further by focusing on space and dynamics and I…

  • claire rousay – t4t

    claire rousay could charm the pants off a 52-year-old father of two. The young trans woman is a long-time percussionist who has turned her attention to improvisational avant-garde music. She is an iconoclast in the making. Her thoughtful approach to the music, and much else, makes rousay one to watch. rousay and I talked about…