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June 2008

New Releases June 2008

Monday, June 30, 2008

It's that time of the month again for the new releases show on New Sounds. Although, given the redirecting of the mail because we are relocating to Varick Street, the boatloads and bins were not as deep as they usually are. Anyhow, for this program, John Schaefer carefully sorts through the new CDs which have come across his desk over the past month to present some of the choice cuts.


All Strung Up

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Up on this New Sounds program is a wide net of guitar music, from the Japanese/Argentine trio Zum to the neo-folk of Glenn Jones; along with the elegant compositions of Ralph Towner to the Persian-rooted guitar of Lily Afshar. The international guitar ensemble Zum consists of members of Robert Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitarists – who have been working in Guitar Craft for more than a decade. We’ll hear some arrangements from their second CD, just-released, called “Angel Suite.” Also, we’ll listen to the latest picking and playing slide from Boston-based Glenn Jones (guitarist and leader of Cul de Sac), in the fingerstyle tradition of one of his musical hero, John Fahey. And more.


Cross-cultural Music

Saturday, June 28, 2008

There's new music from Turkey and elsewhere on this New Sounds program. We’ll dip liberally into the soundtrack from the film, “Crossing The Bridge,” in which the musician and composer, Alexander Hacke (of the German avantgarde band Einstürzende Neubauten), sets out with his mobile recording studio on the streets of Istanbul to capture a cross-section of Turkish music. Some of the artists documented include fusion DJs Orient Expressions, the "Elvis of Arabesque" Orhan Gencebay, and digital dervish Mercan Dede, among others. Dede takes electronic groove and beats from the DJ booth and melds them to traditional instruments like the darbouka, santur, and ney. Listen to some of his most recent record, “Su.” Plus, music by the groove-based experimental collective known as Club D’Elf. This band usually includes an oud, in addition to bass, drums, turntables, slide guitar, and keyboards. And there's so much more.


Classical Musicians Rock It

Friday, June 27, 2008

For this New Sounds, classical pianist Christopher O’Riley plays the music of folk-rocker Nick Drake and classical guitarist Benjamin Verdery plays the music of Jimi Hendrix. Plus, the string quartet Amiina sings, adds electronics, and writes their own post-rock music. And much more.


Twisted Roots

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Listen to some contemporary compositions based on the sounds of American folk, blues, and other "roots" music for this New Sounds. We'll hear from Joel Harrison's latest, "The Wheel," along with music by Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, and Last Forever. There's also a live performance by Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas, and Sam Bush of "From Ankara To Izmir" recorded in the WNYC studios. Plus, music from Bill Frisell rounds out the show.


On Earth, Peace

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

For this New Sounds program, listen to some choral music, including “On Earth, Peace,” a new mass by the choir Chanticleer featuring music by five different composers of different faiths. Each composer was invited to set one standard portion of the Catholic Mass according to his or her personal spiritual beliefs. The resulting work, with settings from Kamran Ince, Ivan Moody, Shulamit Ran, Michael McGlynn, and Douglas J. Cuomo, contains a bit of Latin but also incorporates Jewish texts, Rumi poetry, a Gaelic song and a section of Greek Orthodox liturgy. Also on the show, choral music from the Republic of Georgia, Corsica, the Ensemble Organum, UK composer Joby Talbot, and more.


Tango, New Sounds-style

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Tangos, both alleged and apparent, from the likes of Jocelyn Pook, the Penguin Café Orchestra, and Pete M Wyer. Plus, hear some tangos for the end of time, some tangos arranged for unexpected instruments, and anything that makes you want to clench a rose in your teeth.


BOAC Marathon 2006 Highlights, Part 3

Monday, June 23, 2008

Listen to highlights from the 2006 Bang on a Can Marathon, recorded live at the World Financial Center. Hear music by David Lang performed by cellist Maya Beiser and the percussive delights of Gamelan Galak Tika. Also, music from the piano-insider Michael Harrison, and the violin-manipulator Todd Reynolds. This is part three of a three-night series.


BOAC Marathon 2006 Highlights, Part 2

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Listen to highlights from the 2006 Bang on a Can Marathon, recorded live at the World Financial Center. With Alarm Will Sound, performing its acoustic arrangements of electronic music by Aphex Twin and John Adams. There’s also music from the electronic duo Matmos (whose aluminum rap sheet includes organized sound sources from crayfish swimming, human skulls, cards shuffling, and liposuction), joined by hardware-store lurking instrument-builders So Percussion. Plus music by the Icelandic string quartet Amiina making stunning music with water-glasses, table bells and musical saws. This is part two of a three-night series.


BOAC Marathon 2006 Highlights, Part 1

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Listen to highlights from the 2006 Bang on a Can Marathon, recorded live at the World Financial Center. Hear the one-of-a-kind 10-string guitar madness by Dominic Frasca, along with the heavy punk-folk of the Tuvan throat-singing band Yat-Kha. Plus, there’s the Italian chamber-music group Sentieri Selvaggi, and Michael Gordon’s Weather Ensemble. This is part one of a three-part series over the next few nights.

» Vote in this year's New Sounds Listener Poll!


Computer Blue

Friday, June 20, 2008

Listen to a sampling of computer music, including an Icelandic tribute to an obsolete mainframe computer, and a singing Mac from the mid-80s. Hear music by Johan Johansson, inspired by the very first huge mainframe on Iceland - his Dad's. We'll hear his "IBM 1401, A User's Manual." Then, experience the singing Mac in a work by Hearn Gadbois, "GAHT MAYH MOH8JOH3 WOYKIN." Plus, there's "Idle Chatter," by Paul Lansky, made with the sounds of human speech fed into a computer; just listen to the resulting song that comes out. Plus, music by Morton Subotnick, and more.


A Love Supreme

Thursday, June 19, 2008

For this edition of New Sounds, the Turtle Island String Quartet perform music by John Coltrane live in the WNYC studios. On its latest release, the San Franciso-based group reworks Coltrane classics like "Naima" and "Moment's Notice," in addition to Coltrane's landmark entity "A Love Supreme."


Ethiopiques, Old and New

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The French series of recordings called Ethiopiques documents the remarkable combination of James Brown funk, 60s psychedelia, Indonesian scales, Hindi film scores, and European marching bands that formed the sounds of "Swinging Addis" in the early 1970s. We'll hear Ethio-pop and Ethio-jazz from Mahmoud Ahmed and Tlahoun Gessesse, among others, as well as newcomers from the US and France: the Either Orchestra and Le Tigre (des Platanes).


Twitchy Renaissance-Infused Minimalism

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

From the New Sounds Live concerts at Merkin Hall, Nico Muhly presents a series of new electroacoustic ensemble works, combining “twitchy Minimalism” and Renaissance polyphony. Hear brand-new works from "Mothertongue," along with other works, recorded live.


Beyond Kronos

Monday, June 16, 2008

For this New Sounds program, hear music by other West Coast new music ensembles. The California EAR Unit plays works by Ann Millikan and Virko Baley. Millikan's music is packed with propellant polyrhythmic textures and draws on African and Brazilian music, along with jazz. Plus, the New Performance Group of the Cornish Institute plays Janice Giteck and the Paul Dresher Ensemble plays music by Paul Dresher, and more.


The Eno Connection

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Brian Eno, who rose to prominence as the boa-modeling, liberally rouged keyboardist for '70s glam band Roxy Music, has long experimented with dismantled pop structures and toyed with sound, credited by some as having invented "ambient" music. Eno is also a world-class producer, ranging from the Talking Heads to U2 and everything inbetween, tangential to, or within an orbiting earshot. On this New Sounds, we’ll hear Eno’s audio landscapes, as both a producer - featuring his sound sculpting skills on Paul Simon’s latest record, “Surprise,” Robert Fripp’s Exposure, and a release from a star-studded EP by Fovea Hex – and as a solo artist in his own right with his latest release, “Another Day On Earth.”


Almost Jazz

Saturday, June 14, 2008

For this New Sounds program, listen to some idiosyncratic almost-jazz from America, Australia, and beyond, including some new music by the Catholics. Led by Lloyd Swanton, the bass player for the instrumental trio The Necks, The Catholics are a jazz-leaning outfit, who on their latest, “Gondola,” combine jazz with influences from African, Eastern and Caribbean music with a little bit of atmospherics. Also, hear selections from “My Ears Are Bent,” the latest release from accordionist/keyboard player Ted Reichman, who has finally returned from a nomadic existence to choose New York as his home. The name of the record comes from a collection of writings and observations on New York City by Joseph Mitchell, and Reichman’s record aims to do the same, using music as the medium. And as always, much more.


West Africa Unwired

Friday, June 13, 2008

Listen to some acoustic music from an area now known largely for its electric Afropop on this New Sounds. We'll hear some works from West African singer and kora players Ballake Sissoko, Toumani Diabate and Mory Kante along with tunes from acoustic guitar legends Baaba Maal, Mansour Seck and Boubacar Traore - mostly from the recent compilation partnership with Amnesty International and Oxfam, "Think Global: West Africa Unwired." Plus, other bluesy sounds from Mali, Wodaabe music from the Sahelian savannah and Manding rhythms, and perhaps music from Senegalese star Youssou N'Dour as well.


Yeah, They’re All Women. So?

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Schaefer stacks the decks on New Sounds with new music from vocal pioneer Meredith Monk, featuring a work from her latest, "Impermanence." There's also music from 2 Foot Yard, a trio that includes violinist/songwriter Carla Kihlstedt (Tin Hat, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.) Plus, hear incredible guitar compositions from Kaki King, whose fingerstyle-meets-folky-shoegaze genre sets the bar for a new era of guitaristry. Music from Sussan Deyhim rounds out the show.


New Music from Europe

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Hear Arvo Part's most recorded work, "Fratres," performed by the Icelandic chamber group Isafold. There's also music for piano, looping, and strings by the Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi. Plus, selections from the film score "The Merchant of Venice" by English composer Jocelyn Pook, and much more.


Beats and Loops

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

For this New Sounds, listen to music by Rich O’Meara and Richard McCandless for percussion and electronics. Combining the broad sound spectrum of percussion and electronics with the intimacy of chamber music, McCandless's works are fully composed, while O'Meara's can sometimes blend composed and improvised elements. We'll hear McCandless’s "Voyager" for percussion and tape along with O’Meara's "Island Spinning" for vibraphone and four recorded marimbas. And much more.


Medieval and Modern Choral Music

Monday, June 09, 2008

Music by the young American composer Eric Whitacre, some dazzling unaccompanied vocal writing from his record "Cloudburst." Also, music from the lauded record "Officium" by the Hilliard Ensemble and saxophone-wielding Jan Garbarek. Plus, Anonymous 4 sings Hildegard von Bingen and music by Alfred Schnittke - his "Collected Songs Where Every Verse Is Filled With Grief." And more.


Electro-Acoustic Music

Sunday, June 08, 2008

For this New Sounds, we’ll dip into the new collection of works by Eve Beglarian, from a CD called “Tell the Birds,” which deals with texts, from such disparate writers as William Blake, Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz, and American poets Linda Norton and Stanley Kunitz. Listen for combinations of samplers and electronics with vocalists, the Paul Dresher Ensemble Electro-Acoustic Band and possibly an orchestral showpiece. Plus, music by the Norwegian trumpet player, composer and producer Nils Petter Molvær. His music connects stylistic extremes - jazz, ambient, house, electronic and breakbeats - and effortlessly melts them into intense soundscapes that give space to the trumpet and the melodic structures and can stretch to eternity.


New Music for Thumb Piano

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Nearly ubiquitous in sub-Saharan Africa, the thumb piano (also known as mbira, kalimba, sanza, and other regional names) has both a musical and spiritual legacy. We’ll hear contemporary extensions of that tradition on this New Sounds program, including selections from the Congotronics project, where homemade amplification distorts the thumb piano sound so that it has an entirely different texture, and is then accompanied by wickedly insistent percussive groove. Also, listen to Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche’s latest release "Mobile," which has him performing on the thumb piano for his solo drum kit compositions. Plus, there’s music by Ugandan-born New Yorker Samite, the late Camerounian writer/composer/musician Francis Bebey, and more.


"Found" Sounds

Friday, June 06, 2008

From the New Sounds Live concerts at Merkin Hall, The Curiously Strong Winds play two works by Phillip Bimstein, both incorporating "found" sounds; the natural sounds used in "Half Moon At Checkerboard Mesa" and the very unnatural sounds of Las Vegas in the piece "Casino." That plus, music from David Byrne and Kyle Gann for this edition of New Sounds.


Inbetween Lines

Thursday, June 05, 2008

For this program, hear some electroacoustic ensemble music that falls between conventional lines of musical categories, always a good thing on New Sounds. Listen to music from the group called Kneebody, who make jazz groove rock with wailing horn lines and crunchy guitars. There's also electro-acoustic techtronica, some veering into slapstick territory, from Secret Mommy, aka Andy Dixon. Perhaps some music from Jerome Sabbagh, featuring guitarist Ben Monder, and more.


Electro-Acoustica

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Hear some electro-acoustic music by the likes of Paradigm, Sawako, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey for this New Sounds program. Listen to Sawako's work for cello and electronics called "Windshower Particle" from an album called "Bittersweet," along with Paradigm's largely acoustic work "Scanning," from "Melodies for Uncertain Robots." There's also music from Switzerland by Gunter Moeller and Jim O'Rourke for electronics, piano and percussion, from "Weighting." Plus, music by trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer.


New Music From Turkey

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Listen to new music from Turkey on this edition of New Sounds. From the brand-new double-CD release, "Nine Heavens" by the Persian-emigree group Niyaz, we'll hear “Beni Beni." It's a marriage of an 18th century Turkish Sufi poem to a traditional Turkish folk song which skillfully weaves in electronics and programming. Also, the Balkan club-friendly electronica artist Shantel has written original music for the Turkish-German film "The Edge Of Heaven" (the new Fatih Akin movie which won an award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.) It features works by Turkish musicians, like Selim Sesler and Kazim Koyuncu, and contemporary Turkish songs. Plus, works from Okay Temiz, Mercan Dede and the Mevlevi Dervishes of Istanbul.


Mostly Acoustic Impressions

Monday, June 02, 2008

Curran's electroacoustic classic, "Songs and Views from the Magnetic Garden" combines chanting, singing, the bells of Rome, the lapping of the ocean, and many other sounds, to create something of an impressionist cast. We'll hear that work along with other acoustic pieces on this edition of New Sounds. Listen for a water work by Takashi Kako which uses fluid, expressive colors while combining classical technique and improvisation - his Prelude dans L'eau. Also, works by Mark Pollard and Will Ackerman.


Zithered

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Was that an acoustic guitar? A harp? Well, for this New Sounds, everything comes from the zither (and digital delays) when the Austrian bassoonist/composer Christof Dienz performs live in the WNYC studio. Dienz was a bassoon player for the Vienna Opera Orchestra and composed most music for his genre-defying band ensemble "Die Knödel." For this project, he samples little specks of noise or short melodies from an electric zither which he thump or strums with a tuning fork, a glass slide, wooden sticks, his hands or paper clips. The result is rhythmic soundfields of beaten string layers. You’ve got to hear it! Oh yes, and much more.