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HARRISON, MICHAEL: Revelation CD (CA 21043CD) 19.00
"A protégé of new music pioneer La Monte Young, composer-pianist Michael Harrison has developed one the most distinctive voices of our time, informed by his study of North Indian classical ragas and Middle Eastern rhythms. In Revelation (2001), his hypnotic seventy-minute work for solo piano, he employs the principles of harmonic resonance and just intonation to forge a remarkable new sound for the instrument, based on unfamiliar tunings and scales. Live performances of this strangely beautiful work have been praised for delivering 'heaping doses of old-fashioned, jaw-dropping virtuosity' (Los Angeles Times) and for generating 'pulsating shimmering walls of sound.' –The Wire." |
Never heard of this composer. All the elements sound good though: La Monte Young protege (questionable really, but rare, and La Monte's Well Tuned Piano is a favorite), solo piano, long piece (though maybe too conveniently CD-length ). Despite not enjoying Cantaloupe as a label, I'm down for this one.
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JANDEK: Austin Sunday DVD (COR 0786DVD) 14.00
DVD version. Filmed live at the Scottish Rite Theatre, Austin, Texas, August 28, 2005. NTSC format, theoretically Region 0. Aspect ratio: 16:9. The music and artwork is the same as the Austin Sunday 2CD, released in 2006. |
I attended this performance, one of his very first, maybe the second or third ever. I actually did not enjoy it at all and stopped exploring his records after this. I think he sung something along the lines of "throw me away" at some point and I felt like it was the most poignant moment of the evening. It was almost like he was begging. The fact that I heard many people leaving totally rapt, one even saying "why isn't all music like that?," only made me more solidly a former-Jandek fan. Seemed totally wrong. Put it away if you really want to, Jandek.
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BURIAL: Untrue CD (HDB 002CD) 15.50
This is the second full-length release on Hyperdub from the UK's mysterious and much-acclaimed Burial. Of all the artists past and present who claim to let their music do their talking for them, Burial is one of the elite band of whom this truly is the case. In fact, so reluctant is he to engage with the cult-of-personality hoopla that surrounds almost every modern producer and musician of merit, that he remains a genuine recluse; he has never appeared live, only one obliquely-angled publicity photograph is known to exist, and the number of interviews he has given can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Yet despite this, his music speaks loud and wide, and the world has been listening ever since his South London Boroughs EP debut on Hyperdub in March 2005. His eponymous album, which began life as a low-key release in May 2006, is now widely-regarded as the benchmark release of the ever-widening dubstep genre, picking up unanimous critical acclaim along the way, and ending the year heavily featured in many "best of" polls. Now Burial returns with Untrue, a new record of weird soul music, which lovingly processes spectral female voices into vaporized R&B and smudged 2-step garage. Vocal lines are blurred, smeared, pitched up pitched down and pitch bent until their content is cast adrift from their original context and they whisper their saccharin sweet nothings into the void. The album continues with the debut's crackle-drenched yearning and bustling syncopations, haunted by the ghosts of rave, but also reveals some new Burial treats with a more glowing, upbeat energy. Kicking off with the skittering 2-step syncopations and vocal science of "Archangel," "Near Dark" and "Ghost Hardware," before long it descends into a space of radiant divas and ambience. Where Burial first was humid, suffocating and unrelentingly sad, Untrue is less sunless. Many of the tracks are so sweet they become toxic, underscored by the almost geological rumbles of growling bass lines. Unlike the overpoweringly melancholic prevailing mood of before, Burial's sound is now better defined as a downcast euphoria typified by the epic, muted optimism of the album's last track, "Raver." Forget central heating — the radioactivity of this album is all that you'll need to keep you warm this winter. Untrue is available as a full 13-track digipack CD, including recent underground hit "Ghost Hardware," and a 9-track DJ-friendly double vinyl set, from which some of the beatless pieces have been edited. |
I think it's time I finally listened to one of these records.
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RADIGUE, ELIANE: CHRY-PTUS 2CD (SCHOOL 002CD) 26.00
Double CD of early Radigue music — classic Buchla synthesizer sounds from one of the greatest minimalist composer/performers ever. There are a total of 4 versions of the "CHRY-PTUS" piece here, spread over 2 discs: two of the original 1971 versions, a 2001 Radigue realization and a 2006 realization by Giuseppe Ielasi. "Originally two tapes which are to be played simultaneously, with or without synchronization, which does not affect the structure of the work, but creates changes in the game of sub-harmonics and overtones. Three variations on this piece were performed at the New York Cultural Center in 1971, with variations of amplitude and location modulation as well as synchronization. Realized on the Buchla Synthesizer at New York University. The booklet contains a text by painter Paul Jenkins, who also realized the watercolor on the front cover, written on occasion of Radigue's first concert in New York, April 6th, 1971." |
New Eliane Radigue release (!) on Guiseppe Ielasi's new label, Schoolmap. Just received this and will post more soon.
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VA: Lifting the Veil: The Earliest Blues Guitarists CD (WA 2008CD)17.00
Another exceptional archival release from Allan Evans' World Arbiter label. "After years of preparation, World Arbiter offers new vivid restorations of discs from Harry Smith's Archive. Pioneering legendary artists are heard in a variety of genres which created the blues. Our text contains selections from an astonishing discovery: an unknown 1951 oral history of Rev. Gary Davis, providing a candid, unparalleled insight into his life." Featured artists: Leadbelly, Rev. Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy, Gus Cannon & Blind Blake, Leola B. Wilson & Blind Blake, Buddy Boy Hawkins, Ramblin' Thomas, Edward Thompsom, William Moore, Charley Patton, Rube Lacy. Includes two previously unpublished recordings (Rev. Gary Davis from 1956/7 and Leadbelly from 1941), plus various obscure 78 tracks from Harry Smiths' collection (all recorded 1926-1929). |
Harry Smith Anthology vol. 6?? I'm game. World Arbiter is a good one, glad FE recognizes them as such.
"Back in 2001, Thomas Buckner organized a series of concerts at Merkin Hall in New York City. The idea was to have a contemporary classic composer inviting another composer, a kind of alter-ego, to perform together. When Robert Ashley, whose concert was considered the peak of the whole series of events, decided to invite his old friend Walter Marchetti, it was immediately clear that there would have been something unforgettable going on. The night of October 25th, 2001, the audience at the Merkin Hall had the privilege of being present at one of the more dense, intimate and breathtaking sonic events in contemporary music history. Sides A and B include the live rendering of two Walter Marchetti sound works previously issued on CD by Alga Marghen. A 25-minute excerpt of 'Nei Mari del Sud. Musica in Secca' and one painful variation from 'De Musicorum Infelicitate.' The performance of those tape pieces was conceived as an action theatre event, the first concert of the legendary Italian composer in the States after more than 30 years! Side C includes the recording of Robert Ashley's 'Yes, But Is It Edible?,' a composition for piano and voice dedicated to Thomas Buckner who performs it with the composer. This 27:30 min long piece is a true masterpiece, with Robert Ashley introducing us to creation and coincidence, space and time, private parts and characters, with direct references to the ONCE group and his friends David Behrman, Alvin Lucier, Gordon Mumma, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, 'Blue' Gene Tyranny, George Manupelli, as well as Maria Callas and Patsy Cline, Elvis and Lennon, Monteverdi, pop music, Irish and Jewish new-comer's Broadway musical parody of America, Lloyd-Weber, Saturday Night Life, Chinese opera, mariachi bands, country music and much more. Side D includes 'Practical Anarchism,' a touching homage that Robert Ashley dedicated to Walter Marchetti. Previously published as a text by Alga Marghen in the booklet of the AntibarbarusCD, this is actually the first time ever that this piece for solo voice, performed by the same Robert Ashley, is made available on record. Also on side D is 'Musica Per un Bicchiere non Molto Grande,' an early ZAJ piece by Walter Marchetti, performed here by Robert Ashley. Edition of 300 copies."
!! Fingers crossed (X).
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"As Roses Bow: Collected Airs 1992-2002 is a 2CD set of Loren Connors' most melodically rich and stunning miniature compositions. Inspired by O'Carolan's airs and other Irish airs of the past, these works, recorded from 1992-2002, are melded with Connors' distinctly personal adaptation of the blues. He considers these 43 pieces his complete airs. The collection is culled from 10 albums (eight of which are out-of-print ) and one single, including his groundbreaking Hell's Kitchen Park (Black Label, 1993), Moonyean (Road Cone, 1994), as well as obscure titles like St. Vincent's Newsboy Home (Item Recordings, 1998) and Lullaby (Carbon, 2001) plus four unreleased airs. Nearly the entire critically-heralded Airs (Road Cone, 1999) is remastered and included as well. A timeless collection of the most gorgeous and accessible work from one of America's most iconoclastic artists." Also includes pieces from the Five Points EP (Table of the Elements, 1994), 9th Avenue (Black Label, 1995).Calloden Harvest (Road Cone, 1997), Evangeline (Road Cone, 1998), Standing Upright on a Curve (Sub Rosa, 1998) and Sails (Table of the Elements, 2006). Remastered by Jim O'Rourke."
WOW! A brilliant idea for a collection. Definitely going to check this out though I have most of these albums.
