Keeril Makan - In Sound

I recently stopped by the Downtown Music Gallery in lower Manhattan to check out the new store/location after a somewhat recent move. The Downtown Gallery is a great place to look for hard-to-find CDs and LPs of what they call "Underground & Avant Jazz, Art Rock/Pop, Contemporary Classical, and the Completely UnCategorizable". As they were nearing their closing time, I rushed to grab something before I left. What I found was a relatiely new release from John Zorn's Tzadik label from a composer I had never heard of, Keeril Makan. The album, In Sound, features three pieces written between 2002 and 2007 from this young composer. The track listing is as follows:

1. The Noise Between Thoughts. 2003.
for string quartet, performed by the Kronos Quartet

2. Threads. 2002.
for electro-acoustic sextet, performed by the Paul Dresher Ensemble.

3. Washed By Fire. 2007.
for string quartet, performed by the Kronos Quartet.

Although this may not need to be said, being the year 2009 and all, this is some very fine and dare I say, "Cosmopolitan" writing from an American Composer (Yeah I said it, crucify me if you must ...). What I've heard thus far are very fresh and expressive sounds and a truly unique voice coming through both a traditional ensemble as well as a non-standard one. The writing is very textural, yet not lacking in other areas. I have only given it one listen so I don't want to say too much about it yet, but I can confidentely say that this recording will soon be a strong recommendation to anyone interested in hearing it. I look forward to hearing more from this composer. His bio follows, as printed in the liner notes.

"Trained as a violinist, Keeril Makan has received degrees in both music and religion from Oberlin and the University of California at Berkeley, and subsequently studied in Helsinki and Paris. He is currently Assistant Professor of Music at MIT and makes his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has received commissions from Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kronos Quartet, Paul Dresher Ensemble and Carnegie Hall, and he has received awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fromm, Gerbode and Hewlett Foundations, Meet The Composer and ASCAP. Makan's work has been featured at the Other Minds Festival in San Francisco and the MATA Festival in New York, and internationally at the Gaudeamus Festival in the Netherlands, Le Domaine Forget in Canada and Voix Nouvelles in France. In 2008, he was awarded the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome. For more information, visit www.keerilmakan.com."

Mick Goodrick w/ Jimmy Mosher

This may be old news ... but here are a few bootlegs of Jimmy Mosher with Mick Goodrick (Scroll down). You can find some info about them on the other side of that link. I've got nothing else to say, so I'll leave you with a few Goodrick quotes.

"If a metronome clicks in the forest and there's no one to hear it, does it swing?"

"(I once saw a squirrel carrying a miniature soprano sax ...)"

"Beware of beavers bearing baritones,
but promote peacocks practicing pianos and
trust turkeys tooting tenors."

"We're all stupid people, that's why we play the guitar"

I think you get the idea ...

... it's time to whack off to kiddie porn.

The Eugenics Council. What can I really say about this group? Nothing really. A group whose principles and beliefs may relate to violence directed towards myself. A group who I feel I cannot mention to many people for that same reason. Yet, when it comes to sincerity in music, their music might be some of the strongest stuff I have ever heard. I was introduced to the Eugenics Council when I found Rosemary Malign's Myspace page. My reaction to the music was complete awe, I listened to the Myspace player repeat itself three times in a row: the first time not realizing that I was hearing the same tracks again, and the last times not wanting to turn it off. When I finally got my hands on a copy of The Eugenics Council's "Think Machine", I must have listened to it at least once a day for two months or so. For music in the "noise" vein, I am still in awe over the sounds and sheer power they have behind their music. For all music in general, I have completely surrendered to the impact of their sincerity and consider them one of my favorite artists, and one of my biggest musical influences (in all types of music I am a part of).

In this .zip file titled "Rarities and Remixes", there are a collection of tracks that may or may not appear on other releases of theirs (I unfortunately still haven't heard a few of their releases), as well as different mixes of tracks, and renamed tracks that can be heard elsewhere.

1. Again (Remix)
2. Auschwitz Fuck
3. Babes (Remix)
4. Our World (Remix)
5. Denial
6. Funny
7. Mossy
8. Go Away
9. Dirty Girl
10. Walls
11. Tell Me
12. Best Friends
13. I Am The Hate
14. Think Machine
15. Untitled

Get it here.

6/6/09

So I'm not too sure what direction I want to take this blog. I was thinking of making a blog as my homepage for myself as a musician but I'm also getting more interested in the idea of just keeping a blog. I just saw the blog of a friend of mine (who happens to be a great drummer who I've had the pleasure to work with) earlier today/tonight which gave me the idea to keep a blog of stuff I've been checking out. I just also thought that this could include things that are not music. Please be sure to check out Dan DiPiero's blog here. Now, way back in the dark ages, I used to keep a livejournal blog which was basically a journal/diary of nonsense. It actually was more of a nice writing exercise for myself in a style which isn't really a style but one that I enjoy writing in none the less. I don't want this to go in that direction, partly because I would like to keep something public, but I'll see what I can do to bridge the gap. So, with that said, here's something I was just checking out tonight, Freedom Tunnel. Some really beautiful artwork is and is still being done at that location.

Now as far as music goes, this Luiz Bonfá album is one I first heard about a year ago. I knew from the first listen that it was going to be a staple of my listening diet, and did indeed listen to a portion of it tonight. O Violão e o Samba showcases Bonfá's playing in a very relaxed, yet refined manner. It's not overly guitar-oriented, but Bonfá's genius clearly shines through. The album features him (absolutely drenched in reverb) with a rhythm section and vocals on a few tracks. As usual for his albums, each track presents virtuosic guitar playing that sounds so relaxed and easy to play. As my friend (and wonderful bass player) Robin Cain once said while listening to this album, "I'm sure that everyone, no matter who they are, would hear brazilian music and say it sounds like waves. *as he makes a waving motion with his hands*" One interesting moment to note is on the track "Amor em Brasilia" in which Bonfá plays an out of tempo portion that seems as though it should be a solo guitar section, but the rhythm section continues playing time until Bonfá re-establishes the time. Try twisting your head around that once you hear it, and then just realize that it's just great, like the entire album. The album closes with a tune with a beautifully simple melody being passed back and forth between violão and flute. I can't say anything to really do the album justice, so please check it out if you haven't already.

This is Luiz Bonfá - O Violão e o Samba

1. Inquiatação
2. Nossos Momentos
3. Meu Nome ... Ninguém
4. Lamento no Morro
5. Pastorinhas
6. Você Chegou Sorrindo
7. Murmúrio
8. Liberdade Demais
9. Amor em Brasília
10. Saudade da Bahia
11. Copacabana
12. Amor de Solidão

Get it here.

That's all for now, tune in for more later.

New Album "Fibonacci"

New noise album from "aje" now available at Bandcamp. Initially intended to be an experiment with the use of computer-generated sounds, the computer was scrapped and only analog sounds are heard on the album. Just over 20 minutes of exploring the push and pull of time.

Visit http://ajemusic.bandcamp.com/ for other aje-specific "releases".