Two small ambient/orchestral pieces have been released by the composer ǽfv, of whom I know nothing except that she is an experimental composer and cellist whose short compositions left me wanting much more.
Awalom Gebremariam – Desdes
Awalom Gebremariam was a singer from Eritrea who completed this gem of a record in 2007 in the United States. From his Bandcamp site:
“Awalom completed Desdes in 2007, not long before he departed Eritrea. Because Awalom left after the recording he never received any money for cassette and CD sales. But he also didn’t get to find out how much of an impact the songs have had locally.
His songs appear to focus on love, but Awalom isn’t speaking about romantic love per se. Love of country and pride in the struggle for independence are what helps makes songs like these popular among listeners locally and in the large worldwide Eritrean diaspora. While we don’t have many details about the popularity of the tape in Asmara, the strength of Awalom’s sentiment was enough to carry the recording across many miles and into Awesome Tapes From Africa’s cassette deck.”
A treasure of a cassette in the past, and just as fine a download.
Schola Cantorum, Ensemble Trinitas, The New England Mehterhane and five different DÜNYA ensembles – A Story of The City: Constantinople, Istanbul
Turkish-American composer Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol directs Schola Cantorum, Ensemble Trinitas, The New England Mehterhane and five different DÜNYA ensembles in a sumptuous history of Istanbul/Constantinople via music from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods.
Joseph Benzola & Dave Seidel – Fairyland
Drummer and percussionist Joseph Benzola is amazing at his craft, but composer Dave Seidel adds to Joe’s playing by stretching the sounds without distorting their energy.
William Ryan Fritch – Polarity
Welcome to 2023! We start the year by sharing a release due on January 13 by American composer William Ryan Fritch, who has been previously featured on the blog before. From his label, Lost Tribe Sound’s Bandcamp site:
“‘Polarity’ is the first in a three album series reflecting on the many calamitous water crises affecting life on this planet.
Fifty percent of the sales for the three album series will be donated to communities that are at the front line of these crises, in perpetuity.
Much of the sound of Polarity was inspired by experiments in “real world-ing” various synthesized and electronic signals through modified speakers, transducers, solenoids and a multitude of electromagnetic drivers. All of which allow the sounds to be captured as acoustic phenomena resonating through various materials and liquids. For years, Fritch struggled to find a way to meaningfully utilize synthesized sounds and direct input signals in his music. So much of his relationship with composition and music in general is founded on tactility and proximity serving as vital determinants in how a piece of music is performed and developed. Fritch finally found relief from this through the utilization of hydrophones, ceramic PZM mics and unique contact mic setups to capture these sounds in a way that let him feel and see the vibration, resonance and energy from these circuits.”
Shane Beck and Harald Bertram – Endless Love
We end 2022 and walk into 2023 with a shimmering, hopeful release. German composer Harald Bertram collaborates with the ‘Last American Poet’, Shane Beck in a collaboration of Berlin School-influenced electronics and poetry. A lovely release to end our year with.
Jeff Gburek – Winter Serenity Miniatures
What a stunning way to end 2022! Jeff Gburek scores six pieces which have absorbed themselves into my listening space. This isn’t music to merely listen to – it is music that you feel. There is so much happening in the music that even microtones give you a tingling sensation. This must be the Schuman resonances he mentions in tracks 3 and 4. Deepest listening.
“During the recording sessions for the long form improvisations comprising “Winter Serenity 2022″ published just a few weeks ago, there were several shorter tracks that were either due to interruptions or done as sound checks or sketches. I re-worked them into these new tracks which display both the sides of the variable weather amd the eternal struggle between coherence and looseness that haunts almost everything we do in this life. Instrumentation: retuned, detuned (microtonalized) mandolin, synthesizer, effects, sine wave generators which are used to simulate overtone series of the Schuman frequency. Have a listen and have joy in your life trip globally as well and locally.
Jeff Gburek 22/12/2022”
Ani Zakareishvili – Fallin
Ani Zakareishvili has produced a work of genius – something that feels like it would have fit in the classic movie The Shining, with its surreal, hazy feel to it. From Warm Winters Ltd.’s Bandcamp site:
“Tbilisi, Georgia-based artist Ani Zakareishvili joins the Warm Winters Ltd. roster with a hazy, phantasmic EP titled ‘Fallin’. Centred around crackling piano loops and edited snippets of Eartha Kitt’s interview from 1982, Zakareishvili ponders on the meaning of “falling in love” and reveals a deeply resonant layer of her work. This is hypnagogic, hushed music, untroubled yet profound, which somehow waltzes past you in the blink of an eye. Unhurried, it blooms with grace and fades with equal ease. A wonderful introduction to the work of Ani Zakareishvili, who will share more of her work via the label in 2023.”
A weird and gorgeous work.
Mariana Ingold – Cara A Cara
Uruguayan vocalist and musician Mariana Ingold has a storied reputation for her albums of children’s songs, environmental work and collaborations with the indigenous communities of her native country, but in 1986, she started recording some rather fine pop music as well. She mixed candombe music with synthesizers to make a fusion which caught on in the country’s capital, Montevideo. She is still quite active as a performer, but it’s quite a treat to see some of these recordings see the light of day after several decades of being out-of-print.
Various Artists – Bureau B 2022
Bureau B has released so many incredible reissues that it has been hard to document all of them. Artists released this year include Martin Rev (of Suicide), Cluster, Dieter Moebius, Jimi Tenor and Faust among so many others. The label is incredibly prolific, and 2022 was another banner year for the label, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year!