Ton de Leeuw was a microtonal composer who passed away in 1996. The Netherlands has produced an amazing array of composers and improvisers, but for all their wealth, such luminaries as de Leeuw rarely get promoted. Thankfully, the Dutch Oscillation Series, headed by the legendary Jos Smolders, is rectifying this Continue Reading
Contemporary Classical
Bernard Parmegiani – La Création du Monde
This album is considered to be a masterpiece of electroacoustic music. The composer’s notes are provided on the release’s Bandcamp site: “La Création du Monde (The Creation Of The World) (1984), 72’38 — First movement, “Lumière noire” (Black Light) premiered at the 1983 Acousmatic Cycle, 104 Studio of the French Maison Continue Reading
Karoline LeBlanc, Paulo J. Ferreira Lopes – Frangible Seams of Lore
I wish to thank organist Karoline LeBlanc, who reached out to the blog and sent us her latest album with percussionist Paulo J. Ferreire Lopes. I was expecting improvised music, and I’m sure this is, but the feel of this album is more akin to modern classical music. The depth Continue Reading
Atte Elias Kantonen – Karvagraffiti Siellä Kelopuun Keskiruumiin Paikkeilla
Atte Elias Kantonen is an electroacoustic music composer from Finland who really seems to have the spirit of the original electroacoustic and experimental music genres mastered. From his Bandcamp site: “Binaural mix of the 8-channel composition commissioned by Sonic Acts for the Spatial Sound Platform, presented during The Listening Room Continue Reading
Sergey Kuryokhin – Some Combinations Of Fingers And Passion
I will forever praise Leo Feigin, the courageous figure who introduced me to new post-Soviet music. My first purchase from his renowned Leo Records was the album that introduced me to Sergey Kuryokhin, Russia’s most radical pianist and multi-instrumentalist. Kuryokhin impressed musicians traveling there and later collaborated with several Americans, Continue Reading
Wim Mertens & Glenn Branca – Belly Of An Architect (Original Soundtrack)
For no other reason than having a good memory about the great Wim Mertens and the late Glenn Branca, I present you this minimalist classic soundtrack, one of Mertens’ best works.
Valgeir Sigurðsson – Architecture of Loss
Going through my archives, I came across a release from 2012 by an Icelandic composer named Valgeir Sigurðsson. I remembered that this was one of the first purchases I made on Bandcamp. 16,481 releases later, I can still come back to this release, a quite experimental one.
Jeff Gburek – Rounded Sleep (for Eliane Radigue)
Perhaps the most important contemporary experimental musician, Éliane Radigue, has passed away. Jeff Gburek offers a wonderful tribute in her honor. Words fail at the moment.
The Genius Orthodox Composer You’ve Never Heard Of – Sir John Tavener
Time is precious these days, so there won’t be a post today. Instead, I’d like to share an article about the late Sir John Tavener. He was a composer who gained the attention of the Beatles but later turned away from avant-garde music to embrace Orthodox hymnody, focusing on creating Continue Reading
Antonio Russek, Raúl Pavón, Roberto Morales, Vicente Rojo Cama – Música Electroacústica Mexicana
Although the price for the download is somewhat steep at around $40, the single track by Antonio Russek included in this compilation, released by Aurora Central Records, is an excellent example of Mexican electroacoustic music—a genre that often flies under the radar and doesn’t receive much attention.