Last Friday saw the release of Prometheus Risen, the second collaborative album from drummer Matt Chamberlain and keyboardist Brian Haas, following their 2013’s debut duo record Frames. The pair recorded the album over the course of three days in a studio in the desert in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Done entirely live, Prometheus Risen is an improvised effort described as “a free-flowing, no-holds-barred, in-the-moment encounter based on daredevil instincts, a shared arranger’s aesthetic and mutual trust”.
‘Orange Purple Sunshine’ is one of the phenomenal tracks off the album. Listen to it below and grab the record now from The Royal Potato Family.
We’re only a couple of days away from the release of Fantasias for Theremin and String Quartet, the new album from German prodigious thereminist and composer Carolina Eyck and American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME). They have unleashed an arresting video to accompany the equally beautiful and ethereal ‘Leyohmi’. The effort was directed by Sona Malfa and features choreographer/dancer Genard Ptah Blaircomes. Feast your eyes and ears on the video for ‘Leyohmi’ below.
Fantasias for Theremin and String Quartet is out on October 14th via Butterscotch Records.
Colossal Squid, the highly awaited debut album from Adam Betts is nearing its release date and he had already enticed us with two ace singles off it, ‘Drumbones’ and ‘Aneek’.
To get us even more excited, the incredibly talented drummer has shared the awesome and relentless ‘Hero Shit’, also culled from his forthcoming album. “’Hero Shit’ was me chasing a dumb euphoric feeling summed up by the title! Inspired by a mix of the Rustie’s sense of energy but as played by a rock band,” explained Betts. “Vocal samples are chopped up attempting to sound like a crowd shouting over each other, but rhythmically tied to the drum kit, so there’s a lot of chaos but it comes together in a way that makes a bit of musical sense.” Listen to it now.
In other related good news, and to celebrate the album’s release, Adam Betts has announced a launch show at London’s Servant’s Jazz Quarters on November 29th.
Last year, amongst many projects and collaborations, Qasim Naqvi composed Preamble, a wonderful collection of short chamber compositions performed by the Contemporary Music Ensemble of NYU, which then came out as an album. The incredible percussionist and composer, who is also one-third of longtime favourite band Dawn Of Midi, is ready to follow up that release with a new album of electronic music. Entitled Chronology, the album was composed for the Moog Model D analog synthesizer, and it saw Naqvi join forces with painter Pippo Lionni and the P! Gallery in New York. As the press release explains, “the collaboration chronicled a sharing of ideas between both artists as an asynchronous call-and-response where painting, music, and graphic notation blended through common and conflictual gestures.”. The compositions come paired with transcriptions, made using a graphic notational system designed by Naqvi himself. Here’s what he said about the project:
“I was keen on somehow mirroring Pippo’s process through sound. His paintings are made with a spare set of elements. With layers of transparency, interference, and graphic form, he is able to achieve a set of permutations with the basic ingredients of black acrylic enamel and a canvas. I was struck by his restraint and use of one color source, and the kind of visual distortion achieved through a process of slow layering. So for the music, I reacted by using an analog device instead of a computer.
When we think of a computer, we think of limitless options and an abundance of memory for recalling ideas. The Moog holds a reverse approach. It’s a tactile piece of machinery with discrete circuits, 3 voltage-controlled oscillators and knobs for controlling the contour of the oscillator. It’s monophonic, so chords or polyphonic playing is out of the question. The absence of this function required a layering of ideas in stages. Also, there’s no way of saving anything or recalling presets. Once you make a sound, that’s it. It exists in that moment unless you chronicle the settings by writing them down. It’s kind of like making a gesture with a brush. Once it strikes the canvas, you can either freeze it in time or erase it forever.”
Chronology arrives on November 4th via New Amsterdam Records and if you just can’t wait, get hold of it now exclusively through the label’s bandcamp subscription. For a taster of what’s to come, check out the album trailer below.
Last summer the Copenhagen Opera Festival commissioned Efterklang and Karsten Fundal to compose an explorative opera entitled Leaves – The Colour of Falling. Efterklang performed the opera live then in 16 sold out shows in the 1000 m2 nuclear basement of the former Copenhagen Municipal Hospital. Now, and marking the return of the Danish trio, the opera is being officially released for the first time. What’s more, Efterklang are performing it again live in early 2017, having recently announced a string of European shows with The Happy Hopeless Orchestra.
‘The Colour Not of Love’, one of the sublime songs off Leaves – The Colour of Falling, is now streaming. Karsten Fundal had this to say about it:
“This song is very special to me as it really got under my skin when we made it. Efterklang have arranged and adapted the composition in their usual hyper sensitive understanding of what the music is about. In some ways we shifted roles on this one – I made this relatively catchy melody and its simple harmonies and basic arrangement. Efterklang added the string and vocal arrangements. The lyrics are very impressionistic and somewhat melancholic as they evolve around the colour green – the colour of love and the colour not of love. It works beautifully in English because of all the wordplays. It’s a really great example of Ursula Andkjær Olsen’s poetry as she plays with triviality while abolishing linearity as she calls for our innermost emotions in the secret meaning behind the words”
Grab Leaves – The Colour of Falling when it’s out on November 4th via Tambourhinoceros and now check out to ‘The Colour Not of Love’ and the video that accompanies it.
Better known for his impressive drumming stints with bands like Son Lux, Landlady or Father Figures, Ian Chang has launched his solo project. He’s offering the first taste of what’s to come with ‘Spiritual Leader’, an incredible and hypnotic percussive electronic track. It comes paired with a fitting video directed, edited, and produced by Endless Endless’s Sara Padgett Heathcott and Adam Heathcott. Watch it below.
Last Friday saw the release of Prometheus Risen, the second collaborative album from drummer Matt Chamberlain and keyboardist Brian Haas, following their 2013’s debut duo record Frames. The pair recorded the album over the course of three days in a studio in the desert in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Done entirely live, Prometheus Risen is an improvised effort described as “a free-flowing, no-holds-barred, in-the-moment encounter based on daredevil instincts, a shared arranger’s aesthetic and mutual trust”.
