Interbellum - Over All of Spain the Sky is Clear (FlingcoSoundSystem)

FlingcoSoundSystem is a relatively new Chicago based label spearheaded by Bruce Adams, who back in 1993 was one of the co-founders behind Kranky. OK, do I have your attention? Now settle down and keep listening. With this fourth label release, Over All of Spain the Sky is Clear, FSS is introducing us to Brendan Burke, aka Interbellum. On the album, we hear Burke behind the piano, while Fred Lonberg-Holm softly plays the cello. The tracks are recorded in their open ended form, following a minimal restraint digital and acoustic manipulation, with the help of applied mathematics and durational processing. I'd be lying if I said I really understood the mathematical formulations in this piece, but it is the end-result that's important here. And it speaks for itself. Fans of long form and improvisational modern classical pieces would be absolutely delighted to hear this duet. While none of the pieces overpower the mind with concrete melodical structure, the overall drifting experience is that of pure musical exploration. Throughout the album, the sound vibrates, travels, and floats in and out of our peripheral hearing, until the slightly audible voice becomes almost coherent, only to drown again in the harmony of bowed and struck strings, which flips between the major and minor scales, like a child laughing through the tears after a fall. This unobtrusive wondering through musical modes becomes especially apparent during the second track on the album, The Life and Death of Anne Zimmerman, which is over twenty minutes long. Add to that some distant crackling, echoed machine buzzing, and you've got yourself a requiem for the living. Interbellum [in its definition of the word], is a period of time between wars (World Wars I and II to be more specific). Perhaps such definition will explain the more somber mood of of this unfolding album, which, as with all other FSS releases, is meant to be listened to in one sitting, as a collection of sequenced tracks, making up a coherent album as a whole. Pick up this digital release from flingcosound.com available for download for only $5. Recommended if you like Richard Skelton, Machinefabriek and Sylvain Chauveau as well as some acoustic pieces by The World's End Girlfriend.

myspace.com/interbellumsound | flingcosound.com

Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fordlandia (4AD)

A few years ago, when I was regularly creating mixes for a podcast, an idea came across to compile music for my funeral. One thing I am sure about - I will die. And when I pass on, music will be filling in the void that was once my presence. How touching. Why shouldn't I be the one to select the pieces that would make others weep? Yes, I'll admit, I can be self centered like that. For my opening track, I turned to Jóhann Jóhannsson, and his Odi Et Amo from Englabörn (4AD, 2007). Now, with the release of Fordlandia, I may need to compile a second volume. On second thought, just play the whole album! But don't get me wrong. I don't want to come across saying that Jóhannsson's compositions are full of funeral sound [perhaps that should be a genre in itself?]. Yet, this Icelandic-born modern classical musician composes some of the most beautiful and soul drenching works that I have ever heard. The saturation of emotion approaches even my limits, and my eyes swell up with tears, as the concrete humanity gets cleansed in the rain, out in the windows of my crawling train. This is Jóhannsson's sixth full length album. Besides these contemporary classical conceptual pieces, Jóhannsson produced about a dozen of soundtracks for [mostly] Icelandic films, shorts and documentaries. There are also his theatrical works, arrangements for many artists, and music for installations. It would be an understatement to say that Jóhann Jóhannsson is a prominent figure in Icelandic contemporary artistic community. After all, he's one of the co-founders (along with Kira Kira and Hilmar Jensson) behind Kitchen Motors, "a think tank, a record label, and an art collective specializing in instigating collaborations and putting on concerts, exhibitions, performances, chamber operas, producing films, books and radio shows based on the ideals of experimentation, collaboration, the search for new art forms and the breaking down of barriers between forms, genres and disciplines." Thematically, Fordlandia continues the exploration of technology where Jóhannsson's last conceptual album, IBM 1401, a User's Manual (4AD, 2006) left off. Jóhannsson elaborates: "one of the two main threads running through [Fordlandia] is this idea of failed utopia, as represented by the [its] title - the story of the rubber plantation Henry Ford established in the Amazon in the 1920's, and his dreams of creating an idealized American town in the middle of the jungle complete with white picket fences, hamburgers and alcohol prohibition." For a detailed insight into creation of the album, including a commentary on each individual track (!!!), you absolutely must visit Jóhannsson's web site. Fordlandia thus becomes a second installment in a series of works documenting human hunger for ideals, technological progress, doomed failures, and the beauty of nature reclaiming itself. Such it is still, music for the born and the departed. Highly recommended! Undoubtedly one of the best albums of 2008.



myspace.com/johannjohannsson | johannjohannsson.com
myspace.com/4admusic | 4ad.com

Hauschka - Ferndorf (130701)

When I'm in the mood for classical piano and chamber music, I usually turn to a bottomless repertoire of Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Chopin, Stravinsky and Beethoven. For a more edgier, experimental, and contemporary feel, I queue up modern classical composers like Arvo Pärt, Phillip Glass, Nico Muhly and Max Richter. I'm definitely adding Hauschka to the latter list. I first discovered Volker Bertelmann upon the release of his sophomore album The Prepared Piano (Karaoke Kalk, 2005). It was an exploration into brutal modifications with adjusted hammers and padded strings that was more on avant-garde side (see John Cage's credited invention of the prepared piano), and made me listen closer for the adjustments in my favorite instrument. The fourth full length album from this Düsseldorf based pianist and composer explores every chamber instrument in its full capacity. On Ferndorf (translating into 'remote village' from German), Hauschka brings in two cellists, violinist and even a trombone player to construct modern classical pieces that are pleasant on the ear and the soul. Five out of twelve tracks appear to be "purely improvised", yet elicit strong musicianship from the participating players. Alluding to his birthplace in rural Germany, the trip along the memory lane, is an upbeat skip and hop. Here, Bertelmann revisits his childhood influences contributing to his decade long affair with the piano. Where most major-chord filled pieces usually fill me with a post-neo-classical dread of scale walking, Hauschka keeps restraint and tends to concentrate on execution and message of each individual piece. Of course, no such trip ever occurs without a touch of melancholy. Here, too, Hauschka excels in creating majestic and musical compositions, all whilst adding a touch of modern experimentation and exploration of live instruments, to let his composition rise just a notch above the rest. Deep respect to Bertelmann for extracting all percussive attributes from a beloved instrument while keeping it waltzing with joy. Grab this latest release from FatCat's sister label, 130701. Similar artist cloud includes Goldmund, Deaf Center, Sylvain Chauveau, Library Tapes, Peter Broderick, Marsen Jules, and of course Max Richter and Ryuuichi Sakamoto.

Update: Hauschka is currently on tour! Be sure to visit his myspace page for Upcoming Shows schedule.



myspace.com/hauschka | hauschka-net.de
myspace.com/fatcatrecords | fat-cat.co.uk

Max Richter - 24 Postcards In Full Colour (130701 / FatCat)

Writing about such music is difficult. Especially when its beauty is escorted by concept. I could tell you about Touch Ringtones, and Max Richter's approach at creating twenty four miniature classical sketches designed to capture the moment and snap you in and out of your daily tasks. I could tell you about Richter's gallery installations where the pieces would be transmitted to the audiences mobile phones via SMS. I could tell you about the twenty four photographic images beautifully laid out on a CD insert (some revealing a reflection or a shadow of Max Richter himself), and on a mini website with a preview of the tracks. I could, perhaps, quote the German-born, modern classical composer, who explains the idea behind his fourth album in his own words: "thinking about how we listen to music now, with the range of options available, I wondered why it is that the ringtone medium has so far been treated as unfit for creative music..." But I won't do any of that. Instead, I simply invite you to listen and decide for yourself... Richter may have an impact on your perception of the intrusive personal wake up call of a gadget humanity should probably live without. I often picture Mozart slapping his forehead at the thought that his genius is echoed through a tiny speaker on a busy subway. Perhaps one day, on my morning commute, I will be disturbed by the alarming calm of Max Richter's peaceful piano playing through someone's Nextel. Perhaps... I doubt it... Until then, I highly recommend an excellent pair of headphones to enjoy this absolutely marvelous collection of sketches whose shortcoming is only their brief existence. Each track ranges between one minute and two, offering you only a short glimpse into a moment conveyed through geographically centered track names, personal photographic snapshots, and of course music itself. The instrumentation for the album is limited by Richter himself to a string quintet, acoustic guitar, and of course, a piano. The seasoning for this recipe includes dusty vinyl, fuzzy shortwave radio, and clicky scratchy samples, all processed by transistors and 16 track 2" tape. The pieces are designed to be a cluster of fragmented impressionistic vignettes, "stitched together to form a series of jump-cuts and foldbacks in time." Richter elaborates further: "because the piece is a collection of tones, where I have no control of the order, I made a structure that holds together by use of shared material – like a cloud of pieces, or a handful of confetti, or a constellation of fragments – to be navigated as you like..." 24 Postcards In Full Colour is released on Brighton Based FatCat Records imprint, 130701, dedicated to more instrumental albums. I highly recommend you also pickup (or revisit) Richter's previous hailed modern classical masterpieces, Memoryhouse, The Blue Notebooks, and Songs From before.



myspace.com/maxrichtermusic | maxrichter.com
myspace.com/fatcatrecords | fat-cat.co.uk

Ólafur Arnalds - Variations of Static (Erased Tapes)

Pórhallur Gunnarsson hosts a popular Icelandic talk show, Kastljós. The show is broadcast six nights a week on a national television network. Almost a hundred thousand viewers tune in each night. That's about one-third of the population of Iceland, which is located in the North Atlantic Ocean just south of the Arctic Circle. The climate must be cold. My hands are cupped around a hot coffee mug; I'm halfway across the globe, sitting in my pajamas, waking up to the latest post on YouTube. In the clip that I'm watching, Gunnarsson opens up with an introduction in Icelandic, a language I don't understand. No matter. The music that follows requires no words. The show cuts to a boy sitting behind a grand piano. He is skinny and wearing a white T-shirt and jeans. Next to him is a string quartet. The camera zooms in on his hands. The boy plays a single melody composed of exactly six notes. In the background there is an echo of digital hiss. After an introduction of four repetitions, the quartet joins in. The accompanying harmony and chord progression is indisputably classical. But at about two minutes, the bass kicks in. The boy in a white T-shirt and jeans is a twenty-one year old Ólafur Arnalds. Born in a suburban Icelandic town, Mosfellsbær, he composes melancholic, emotionally fueled, and undeniably beautiful music. Ólafur studied piano when he was very young. After about a year of lessons, he decided to switch to drums instead. He kept his studies in drums up until two years ago, when he switched over again, this time adding classical theory and composition. Influenced by electronic, post-rock, and modern classical music alike, Arnalds incorporates various stylistic elements into his work. He seamlessly embraces contemporary symphonic composition and instruments but also makes use of electronic instrumentation. After I listened to Arnalds's 2007 debut, Eulogy for Evolution, I wanted to express my feelings and thoughts about it. Majestic, graceful, gorgeous and sublime are words that popped into my mind. But they are meager words when compared to the emotion in that music.

Read full Headphone Commute exclusive article:
ÓLAFUR ARNALDS : beautiful in the same way the arctic is…



myspace.com/olafurarnalds | olafurarnalds.com
myspace.com/erasedtapes | erasedtapes.com

Peter Broderick - Float (Type)

Perhaps it's possible to stop comparing some contemporary classical musicians to Max Richter, and instead begin comparing them to Peter Broderick. After a release of a 7" single on John Twells' (Xela) Type Records, Portland based Peter Broderick emerges with a full length album, Float. For this release, Broderick borrows his friends Amanda Lawrence for string and vocal work, and Skyler Norwood to aid in recording and effects from a collaboration on Loch Lomond's Paper The Walls (Hush Records, 2007). Float is immediately bold, familiar, and elegant. As any soundtrack written for a passing life, it transcends its message past the minor key. At first the album sounds too comfortable, like a soft blanket thrown over the frigid winter feet. I feel as if I've heard this sound before, perhaps in a forgotten film, or as a fragment of a beloved prelude. But as I let my mind break down the composition, the messages begin to emerge. I'll let you hear your own details - I'd hate to lock the music into words. Broderick's banjo playing adds an interesting element to the ensemble of the [usual] piano, strings and an occasional guitar. And I can't help but draw a parallel between the ages of Broderick and Ólafur Arnalds - both are only twenty one! With that said, may I claim that modern classical is at the beginnings of a new cycle, with young multi-instrumentalists incorporating both, organic and electronic, leading the way. Highly recommended! A cozy cinematic score. Check out above mention artists plus Harold Budd, Michael Nyman, Alberto Iglesias, Clint Mansell and of course Jóhann Jóhannsson.

myspace.com/peterbroderick
myspace.com/typerecordings | typerecords.com

Ólafur Arnalds - Eulogy For Evolution (Erased Tapes Records)

Majestic, graceful, gorgeous and sublime are only the first few words that come to mind when I listen to Ólafur Arnalds’ debut on Erased Tapes Records titled Eulogy For Evolution. Iceland scores once again, with another composer feeling right at home with many instruments - piano, organ, and a melodica. Bring in the strings - cello, viola and violins - and you’ve got an acoustic ensemble for the melancholic sound easily compared among countryman Jóhann Jóhannsson and, of course, Max Richter. Just when you’ve slotted the chamber sound among the modern classical genre, Arnalds throws in some drums and all of a sudden you’re listening to progressive post-rock. The last pieces on the album are exceptionally emotional, starting off with a solo violin performance and building into a progression full of surprises - so I won’t ruin it here. I especially like how the piano recording is separated in the stereo field: the sound of key action preemptively heard in right channel, followed by the hammer striking the string in center, and the soft dull stomp of a pedal somewhere in the left. I rate the album with AAA - Astonishing Acoustic Aural experience. No wonder it showed up at the top of many Best of 2007 lists. Did you happen to miss it? Rapidly elevating to the highest ranks among the contemporary composers, twenty-year-old Ólafur Arnalds is definitely the name to watch in the upcoming years. A must in any collector’s library.

myspace.com/olafurarnalds | olafurarnalds.com
myspace.com/erasedtapes | erasedtapes.com

Nico Muhly - Speaks Volumes (Bedroom Community)

Somewhere on the outskirts of Reykjavik lies an Icelandic label formed in 2006 by Valgeir Sigurðsson. Bedroom Community is a collective of artists from around the globe focusing on high quality aesthetic music. Its roster at the moment includes above mentioned Sigurðsson, Sam Amidon, worldwide hailed Ben Frost for his experimental noise album, Theory of Machines (my personal Best of 2007 selection), and our current subject, Nico Muhly. Muhly is a Vermont born NYC resident with a Masters in Music from the Juilliard School. Born in 1981, his biography is already full of collaborations with recognized modern composers like Philip Glass. My brief biographical note will not do Muhly justice, and The New Yorker has done a much better job of it in its article, Eerily Composed (link below). As for Muhly’s music... well it Speaks Volumes itself (pun intended). The first label release breaks through with gorgeous modern classical chamber composition. With Muhly on the piano, and with an exquisite touch of cello, harp, clarinet, trombone, and yes, some electronic treatment, we get a glimpse into composer’s soul through his emotion filled debut. Muhly begins a new chapter of postminimalist sound, overshadowing the stuffy halls of contemporary classical, struggling to keep its aging neck above the flood of modern ideas. Muhly’s forthcoming release, Mothertongue, a composition in four movements, is due out in May ’08, on Bedroom Community. Recommended for the likes of Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich, Max Richter, Sylvain Chauveau and Ryan Teague. Favorite track: Keep In Touch.

Read Eerily Composed by Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, February 08

myspace.com/muhly | nicomuhly.com
myspace.com/bedroomcommunity | bedroomcommunity.net

Philip Glass - Music In Twelve Parts

Orange Mountain Music, a label created by Kurt Munkacsi, producer of most Philip Glass recordings, re-[re]-releases a new recording of the classic Music In Twelve Parts as a set of twelve individual [iTunes only] files (upgraded to 256 kbps), scheduled at one per month in celebration of the great composer's 70th birthday year. I grabbed the first two parts from iTunes (at $1.99 a piece), and became instantly entranced in the hypnotic repetitive patterns that explored the flow of melody, and just when I would "tune into" the presented concept, it would change like a school of rapidly swimming tiny fish. Throughout the pieces I find myself drifting in and out of consciousness, and after twenty minutes (per track) I feel relaxed and refreshed, like from a lengthy meditation. Not surprisingly wanting more, I looked up an earlier, 1996 recording of the same work. Although the three disc set is offered by some retailers at over forty dollars, I was shocked to see the entire performance available in MP3 format (also at 256 kbps, yet DRM-free) from Amazon at only $9.99. What a steal - DONE! I must comment that I like this older recording to be better - it is warmer, more organic, and is a tiny bit slower. My recommendation would be to skip the marketing gimmick and head over straight to Amazon, to try the digital rip before you commit to the entire album. Perfect head-cleaner for a busy mind. Prescribed for musicians at a piece per day, prior to recording sessions, preferably on an empty stomach.

myspace.com/philipglasspiano

Music In Twelve Parts (Amazon MP3 Download)