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November 2007

New Releases November 2007

Friday, November 30, 2007

It's that time of the month again for the new releases show on New Sounds. John Schaefer carefully separates the wheat from the chaff for this show. He'll sort through the stacks, bins, and boatloads of new CDs which have come across his desk over the past month to present some of the finest new releases. He'll skim off the cream. He'll pick the lentils from the ashes. You get it. What we can see of his desk from here includes something new from Susie Ibarra, Jay Cloidt, and Andy Summers & Ben Verdery.


String Quartet Plus

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Music for string quartet takes over this New Sounds program with help from additional musical and non-musical sounds. Listen to an "extreme composition" by Brad Lubman for string quartet with electronics called "Jumping to conclusions" – with a neat section acidly titled: "My Art Has No Value." Also, music from the understated pinhole world of Amina, the string quartet who have toured as Sigur Ros' texture-makers, and Steve Reich's seminal "Different Trains," which uses vintage train sounds from the 1930s and '40s, among other taped material.


Kind of Afroblues

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

For this New Sounds, listen to the blues that kind of wander someplace else. Hear the droning, bluesy grooves of guitarist Brad Barr, of The Slip, on "Bouba's Bounce," drawing inspiration from the late Sandy Bull's psychedelic folk. Also, there's a nod to the blues from Mali, with Bill Frisell's "Boubacar," from the Intercontinentals record. Plus, there’s Arabic-flavored blues, as Taj Mahal adapts the Mississippi Delta blues tune "Catfish Blues" ("I wish I was a catfish swimming in the deep blue sea, I'd have all you good looking women swimming after me … "), with references to the Malian cities of Timbuktu and Bamako as well as the capital city of Zanzibar. And as always, much more.


Instrumental Crossovers

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

On this edition of New Sounds, the string quartet Ethel plays "Nepomuk’s Dances" by Marcelo Zarvos from their brand-new release "Light." It's a work with a Latin-American flavor, snappy crisp pizzicatos, fiery fast passages and a (literally) foot-stomping final movement. Also, indie-rock heroes Yo La Tengo play their own instrumental "Daphnia," from the new album whose title just rolls off the tongue, "I Am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Beat Your Ass." Plus, music by Explosions in the Sky, Slow Six, and a host of other samplings of music without words.


Instrumental Crossovers

Monday, November 26, 2007

On this edition of New Sounds, the string quartet Ethel plays "Nepomuk’s Dances" by Marcelo Zarvos from their brand-new release "Light." It's a work with a Latin-American flavor, snappy crisp pizzicatos, fiery fast passages and a (literally) foot-stomping final movement. Also, indie-rock heroes Yo La Tengo play their own instrumental "Daphnia," from the new album whose title just rolls off the tongue, "I Am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Beat Your Ass." Plus, music by Explosions in the Sky, Slow Six, and a host of other samplings of music without words.


Chant Wars

Sunday, November 25, 2007

For this edition of New Sounds, listen to medieval chant and its contemporary descendants with music from the groups Sequentia, Chanticleer, Trio Medieval, The Mediaeval Baebes, and others. Sequentia teams up with the vocal ensemble Dialogos, on the CD, “Chant Wars,” which illuminates the legendary 9th-century confrontation between the Frankish cantors of the Carolingian emperors and the European chant traditions the emperor sought to replace with these ‘new’ musical repertoires and vocal styles. Perhaps we’ll even hear the lament on the death of Charlemagne. Also on the show, music from Chanticleer’s most recent CD of sacred chant, Sound in Spirit, drawing from traditions as diverse as Native American and Japanese, Byzantine and Tibetan, and even incorporating overtone singing. Plus, sample from Trio Medieval’s recent record of chants from the 13th century, and the latest from the Mediaeval Baebes.


Must Haves: Contemporary Classical

Saturday, November 24, 2007

In advance of our third annual Must Have Festival, listen to some recommended contemporary classical music on tonight's program. There's music by California-based Ingram Marshall, with his work "Fog Tropes," where the highly processed sounds of the San Francisco bay are blended with foghorns and a brass sextet. There’s also Einojuhani Rautavaara's "Cantus Arcticus," or "concerto for bird [voices] and orchestra," featuring the taped cries of wild birds from arctic regions. Plus, sample some of Phil Kline’s provocatively intense Zippo Songs, chamber-rock art song settings of "poems" inscribed on army-issue Zippo lighters by American GIs in Vietnam. Music from the Philip Glass opera "Satyagraha," based on a portion of the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, rounds out the show.


Must Haves: World Music

Friday, November 23, 2007

New Sounds throws its cap back into the Must Have Festival ring (before the horses are out of the gate for the third annual event), with another night of recommended recordings, this time in the "world music" vein. Sample works by Wally Brill, from his release, Covenant, which combines the sounds of Jewish incantations with ambient and dub-tronica, yet manages to be both intensely reverent and danceable. Also, hear selections by the Algeria-born and San Francisco-based DJ Cheb I Sabbah who has layered Sufi devotionals and ragas atop trancey warped swirls of drones and suffused them with innovative percussion patterns. Plus works by the rich-voiced Brazilian singer songwriter, guitarist and producer Celso Fonseca, Ethiopian soul singer Mahmoud Ahmed, and others.


Must Haves: Traditional Music

Thursday, November 22, 2007

On the eve of WNYC's third annual Must Have Festival, John Schaefer offers a guide to traditional music for this edition of New Sounds. Listen to recommended recordings of music from Sunda, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Tibet, Chile, India, and more.


Bang a Gong

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Sample some of the music of New Zealand composer/entertainer Gareth Farr on this New Sounds. We'll hear Farr's work, called "From the Depths Sound The Great Sea Gongs" evoking "masses of gleaming bronze, covered with seaweed, lurking far beneath the waves." There’s also the bowed piano of Stephen Scott's "Vikings of the Sunrise." The title refers to the intrepid explorers who most likely started out in Indonesia, and then gradually made their way into the sunrise, settling the islands of the Pacific. Then, listen to Lou Harrison's "Concerto In Slendro," using the Indonesian scale which makes the violin, celeste, tack piano and percussion sound like a gamelan. Plus, John Luther Adams's work "For Lou Harrison," and more.


Joys & Desires

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Experience “high torque” ensemble music with the latest from in-and-out-of-jazz drummer/composer John Hollenbeck – “Joys and Desires.” Its mesmerizing and exotic textures are all the more arresting because of the vocal contributions of Theo Bleckmann. Plus, there are selections from “Terror & Magnificence,” music by John Harle, a saxophonist with Michael Nyman's band. The work is kind of like chamber jazz and invokes Tudor texts and English folksongs. Also, hear "Ariadne in Su Laberinto," the final movement from Osvaldo Golijov’s gorgeous song cycle “Ayre.” It’s a juxtaposition of Eastern European Jewish music and Spanish rhythms and Arabic and Latin American rhythms featuring Dawn Upshaw, the soprano and “vocal octopus” (a compliment from the composer himself.) And as always on New Sounds, much more.


Electroacoustic music

Monday, November 19, 2007

Listen for some electroacoustic music on this edition of the show by none other than So Percussion, the tube, block, and pipe-beating quartet of drummers, from their latest "Amid the Noise." Plus, hear a work from Martin Bresnick, his "Fantasia on a Theme by Willie Dixon." The marimba player on said recording, Jason Treuting, happens to be a founding member of So Percussion. Plus, music by computer music composer (and Radiohead inspirer) Paul Lansky. And more.


Purcell Maneuvers

Sunday, November 18, 2007

For this New Sounds program, we’ll hear music inspired by composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695), including the singing alien camp theatrics of Klaus Nomi. Nomi performs Henry Purcell's "The Cold Song" from the semi-opera “King Arthur” and there's also Jeremy Peyton Jones' early reworking of Purcell trio sonatas, called “Purcell Manoeuvres.” Plus, music from Phil Kline, Robert Moran, percussionist/composer Areski Hamitouche, and more.


Music for Multiples

Saturday, November 17, 2007

For this New Sounds program, experience an hour of music for multiples of the same instrument. Take the dense layers of guitars in Glenn Branca’s Symphony No. 2, introduce gradual massive bursts, and incorporate metal percussion and drums and you have a massive soundmass. On the other hand, there’s music by Alex Shapiro - a work called “Bioplasm” for 4 flutes. It’s a squishy piece, something that she thought of as “an organism that oozes across the sonic floor.” Also, there’s a work by Mary Jane Leach for multiple female voices inspired by early music polyphony. Rounding out the show is music by Raphael Mostel for Tibetan Singing Bowl Ensemble.


World Music

Friday, November 16, 2007

Listen to the dangerous heat of Hazmat Modine, together with Tuvan throat singer Huun-Huur-Tu as we administer a dose of cross-cultural world music on this New Sounds. Some of the most gleeful and unexpectedly wicked combinations of noises come from this band, like the recorded sounds of Sri Lankan crickets or dogs from Bali barking through the night, along with odd instruments like the cimbalom, the claviola, the sarrusaphone, and the contra-bass saxophone. There’s also new music based on Persian and Turkish music from the collaborative efforts of kamancheh player Kayhan Kalhor and baglama, or saz player, Erdal Erzincan. And as always, much more.


New Americans V: The Far East

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Hear music from Kyaw Kyaw Naing, the master of the pat waing (a traditional Burmese drum-circle instrument). Also, works by composer Jin Hi Kim for the komungo (a Korean bass zither), and Miya Masaoka, an American musician and composer who performs on a 17-string Japanese koto (zither). Masaoka also employs the "Koto Monster," which uses string preparations and electronic triggers – as additional laser beam "strings" hover above.


New Music from Argentina

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Listen to a bunch of new music from Argentina on this New Sounds show, including singer/songwriter Gabriela’s unique combination of Argentine folk music and jazz. Also, hear folktronica from Juana Molina with nature noises, bombo leguero (hollow log drum), and keyboards. Not to be outdone, there’s playful folktronic geekery by Gaby Kerpel which uses plenty of other instruments from South America and samples from anywhere. Plus, arrangements of music by the late great king of the “Nuevo Tango” Astor Piazzolla, new music by bandoneon master Dino Saluzzi, and more.


Tibetan Buddhist-Based Film Scores

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Western film scores built around the sounds of Tibetan Buddhism, including “Kundun” by Philip Glass and “Fate of the Lhapa” by William Susman are featured on this New Sounds program. Listen to some of "Kundun," the score to the 1997 Scorsese film, where Tibetan instruments deepen and enrich Glass's minimalism, and the voices of the Gyuto Monks add an aura of spiritual power. Also, hear some of Susman’s “Fate of the Lhapa” featuring performances by cellist Joan Jeanrenaud (Kronos Quartet Alumnus) and Tibetan vocalist Tsering Wangmo. In this score for the documentary about the last three Tibetan shamans living in a Tibetan refugee camp in Nepal, haunting and lyrical sounds of Asian and Western Music merge to set the tone for a spiritual and mystical journey.


More Ambient Music

Monday, November 12, 2007

Ambient music can be music of little or no rhythm, with background sounds and effects as foreground music, perhaps bringing to mind works by Brian Eno. There’s also some danger of falling into the "new age" category. Well, on this edition of New Sounds, listen to some ambient music that takes the modern drone and renders it stately, as in the latest release by K. Leimer, “Statistical Truth,” as well as some looks back to works by Fripp & Eno. Also, works by Michael Jon Fink from the Cold Blue family and Bach as interpreted by Anton Batagov.


Meredith Monk Live

Sunday, November 11, 2007

From the New Sounds Live concerts at World Financial Center, a celebration of the 40th anniversary season of vocalist/composer Meredith Monk. Listen to selected favorites and interpretations from Monk’s repertoire as rendered by the Pacific Mozart Ensemble, from points all over the huge glass atrium. Plus, there’s also a special performance of "Facing North" by singer Theo Bleckmann together with Meredith Monk herself.


New Music Soundtracks

Saturday, November 10, 2007

New Sounds tackles film music for this program. Listen for excerpts from Angelo Badalamenti's “Twin Peaks,” and Carter Burwell's score from the movie, "Adaptation," among others. Plus, hear music by David Byrne - “Lead Us Not into Temptation” – a dark and lovely score for the film "Young Adam." The film is set along the canals of industrial Scotland and Byrne's score is somewhat noir-ish to match the mood of this picture. Guest contributing musicians on Byrne's project included members of Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Snow Patrol, The Reindeer Section, and others.


New Music from West Africa

Friday, November 09, 2007

Hear new music from the Tuareg band Tinariwen on this New Sounds. Fresh from opening for the Rolling Stones this past summer, the band unleashes more electric guitar-driven primal desert blues on their latest effort, "Aman Iman." Also, the Afromotive - a thundering 9-piece band from the Ivory Coast by way of Asheville, North Carolina - make irresistibly Afro-beat-y-licious dance music. We'll sample some of that, and maybe Extra Golden's song for Barack Obama. Plus, listen for the latest from Youssou N'Dour, Leni Stern, and others.


New English Choral Music

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Up on this New Sounds program, hear some new choral music representing three different generations of English choral composers, including the recently premiered work "Path of Miracles" by Joby Talbot. Based around the 500-mile Catholic pilgrimage from Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees to the grave of St James at Santiago di Compostella in north-west Spain, the a capella song cycle’s four movements move with the ancient pilgrimage through privation and celebration. There’s also music by Ivan Moody, his Canticum Canticorum I, written for the Hilliard Ensemble. Plus, hear some of the mystical minimalism of John Tavener.


Songs from around the world

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Hear music by La Mar Enfortuna, the Sephardic side project of legendary noir rock group Elysian Fields, as they explore lost or forgotten music from the 11th to the 16th century, with exotic melodies and instruments. There's also music from Sinikka Langeland, singer and player of the kantele, the traditional Finnish plucked zither. Plus, A song in Aramaic, sung by SAVAE, and others.


New Americans: Eastern Europe

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Hear a brand new release from Kitka, the all-women's ensemble who specialize in Balkan music (in collaboration with the Ukrainian-born singer and composer Mariana Sadovska). Also on the show, music by Ljova, Victoria Jordanova, Dusan Bogdanovic, and Milos Raickovich, among others.


Almost Jazz

Monday, November 05, 2007

For this New Sounds show, sample some recent recordings of works that stretch the definitions of jazz. Listen to Sex Mob's latest record "Sexotica" with its riffs on of the booze-drenched lounge feel of 50's bandleader Martin Denny. The results are playful and adventurous, and with the electronic splicing after the free expression (courtesy of GoodandEvil - Brooklyn producers Danny Blume and Chris Kelly), sound like a primal reinvigoration of exotica. Also, listen to pianist Jason Moran’s work, “The Shape, The Scent, The Feel of Things” a commission for the Dia Art Foundation, which accompanied performance/video artist Joan Jonas' abstract video piece. Plus, music by the unpredictable trio of Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, and Paul Motian, who take “Pretty Polly” and let it timeshift and almost swing, with a blend of skewed folksiness and behind-the-beat blues phrasing.


Buoyant Afro-pop

Sunday, November 04, 2007

New Sounds is serving up Afro-pop and Afro-groove music on this program. Listen to electrified traditional music with a merciless groove from the Congo, Senegalese pop, Afro-flamenco, a brass band from Benin, and a host of others. Sample the original sounds of Konono No. 1’s melodic electric likembés (thumb pianos), coupled with found percussion of pans, pots and car parts, which, although distorted, are really danceable. Plus, there’s West-African steeped groove rock by Toubab Krewe - a quintet out of Asheville, North Carolina by way of Mali, Zimbabwe, Congo, Brazil & the Caribbean. Also, listen for the combined sound of military brass bands, voodoo ritual chants and rhythms, scratchy American jazz records, with a dash of Fela’s Afrobeat that is Benin’s Gangbé Brass Band. And much more.


New Music from Switzerland

Saturday, November 03, 2007

On this New Sounds program, expect the occasional alphorn – but no yodeling. Hear lots of new music from Switzerland, including something from composer/violinist Franziska Baumann, whose sound installation work features the sound of glacial ice movements interspersed with voices. Also, listen to Michele Walther (violin), Matthias Gubler (soprano sax), and Luzian Jenny (accordion) from the vivacious collection of songs, "Orange Heart." Plus, the fun grooves of the Albins Alpin Quartet, whose music incorporates saxophone, accordion, toy piano, tuba and regular old drums. And so much more.


Asian Fusion

Friday, November 02, 2007

Asian Fusion is not just a cuisine. We'll hear contemporary music by Gamelan Cudamani - who play a type of hybrid gamelan orchestra with seven tones instead of the usual five. Plus, we'll sample from the Rough Guide To Indian Lounge, with the Indian flute and voices of Bombay Dub Orchestra and the mesmerizing slide-guitars of Debashish Bhattacharya; along with other like-minded explorations.


Unexpected Strings

Thursday, November 01, 2007

For this New Sounds, listen to some chamber music for zither and strings, for sampled guitar and electronics, and more. There’s music from composer Dan Joseph, whose past work for Gamelan Son of Lion includes writing a piece for hammer dulcimer and Javanese Gamelan. Plus, there’s music from Turkish electronic composer, Erdem Helvagioglu, featuring guitar with live electronics and processing. And much more.