Recordings

Ian William Craig. A Turn Of Breath. In the late 1980s and early ’90s, there was a palpable enthusiasm for experimentation among various musicians who had been lumped together under banners like gothic or ethereal. In addition to austere post-punk and maudlin glam-posturing, this multifarious category also encompassed[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 120

Sarah Peebles. Delicate Paths. The thin, luminous sound of the shô, a Japanese mouth organ, is very particular and very beautiful—presenting a pleasant and impossibly clear glassy tonal surface. Sarah Peebles’ new shô-centred disc Delicate Paths demonstrates a thorough, painterly understanding of[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 120

Jaap Blonk Ever since his performances of classic Dada sound poetry in the late ’70s, Dutch performer–composer Jaap Blonk has been a prolific explorer of the limits of oral sound. He has developed an extensive body of work centred around his own vocal invention and innovation, frequently[...] Read more

Recordings Gary Barwin Issue 120

Adrian Verdejo. Modern Hearts. Recordings of new music for electric guitar are rare. Solo efforts in that field are rarer still. And albums that fully exploit the sonic capabilities of the instrument are practically unheard of, thus making Adrian Verdejo’s Modern Hearts almost a public service—at least for[...] Read more

Recordings Alexander Varty Issue 119

Jocelyn Morlock. Cobalt. Cobalt, Jocelyn Morlock tells us, is one of the most poisonous elements, but it’s hard to imagine anyone dying of exposure to this Vancouver-based composer’s music—unless it was from a surfeit of beauty. Her strongest pieces can be described in a single word: numinous;[...] Read more

Recordings Alexander Varty Issue 119

Digital Primitives. Lipsomuch & Soul Searchin’… This two-disc release features a trio of free-jazz stalwarts who do not engage in your standard squawk session. Instead, they slice ninety-four minutes into nineteen funky cuts, as much influenced by country blues, rock, and various world musics as by modern strains of jazz.[...] Read more

Recordings Lawrence Joseph Issue 119

Hecker. Articulação. Much of Florian Hecker’s downright preposterous music could easily be regarded as the absurdist vanishing point of technological vanguardism in computer music. Both boisterously noisy and eerily austere, with its hyperactive bursts of sound, his music often feels as though it’s[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 119

Jean Derome, Malcolm Goldstein, Rainer Weins. 6 improvisations. Saxophonist Jean Derome, violinist Malcolm Goldstein, and guitarist Rainer Wiens are pillars of Montreal’s improvised music community who retain their sense of whimsy and their willingness to test the limits. Frequent associates in varied contexts, they meet for the first time as a[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 119

Rob Power. Touch. Percussionist Rob Power, based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, is a musical jack of all trades, although contrary to the conclusion of the popular saying, he is seemingly a master of all of them. In addition to teaching at the percussion faculty at Memorial University, he performs with[...] Read more

Recordings Jamie Drake Issue 118

Zacht Automaat. Zacht Automaat. Since forming in 2010, Zacht Automaat (the duo of multi-instrumentalist Carl Didur and Oxford resident Michael McLean, mostly guitar and bass) have released no fewer than eleven albums in various limited formats. Now they’re given the deluxe treatment with a sort of best-of double LP ([...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 118

GGRIL. Combines. The GGRIL (Grand Groupe Régional d'Improvisation Libérée) is one of Canada’s few large improvising ensembles, a feat made more improbable by their location in relatively isolated Rimouski. From a population of 46,000, bassist Éric Normand has managed to[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 118

Juan Blanco. Nuestro Tiempo / Our Time. Through most of the twentieth century, Cuban composer Juan Blanco (1919–2008) was an active and collaborative creator and cultural leader in his homeland—primarily, though not exclusively, through his work in electroacoustic music. “No Cuban composer epitomized musical[...] Read more

Recordings Jennie Punter Issue 118