Perhaps the largest impact of today’s slate is not its ability to push music forward, but its unusually high number of collaborative efforts. As the outer world seems to be headed in the direction of isolation, the experimental field finds commonality even in the most disparate of disciplines. As such, the spring roster serves as a metaphor of hope.
The spring slate also bears a number of meaningful statements, from the recovery of ancient tongues to support for the people of Lebanon. Music is a uniting force, but it is also a voice of protest; its very existence can be perceived as a threat, which only underlines its enormous power. When we travel the world through sound, we recall our shared connection.
Avant and Electro-Acoustic
Electro-magnetic waves feature strongly in Christina Kubisch‘s TUNING, which takes a deeper dive into video games than one would have thought imaginable. The album collects pieces from various time periods, united by a concentration on interval and tone (Faitiche, April 17). Kristina Warren‘s Tusk (no relation to the Fleetwood Mac LP) is a study of the concertina, an expressive instrument whose tones can be folded into surprising shapes, from rhythm to drone. The album gives the instrument room to breathe and the listener space for contemplation (March 20).
Italian label Dissipatio has lined up a true variety pack of releases for March 26. Zlatko Kaučič & Francesco Cigana offers the mysterious and percussive Kako Klicati Zmaja, which delves into the strange legend of the Pozoj; Bruno Duplant‘s athanor is dark and dronelike, a study of sonic thresholds; and Heimito Künst offers a touch of krautrock on Vol. 3 (March 26).
okla records launches the spring season with a pair of atmospheric charmers. GLASSxTEETH‘s alliterative Whispers Heard Through Waiting Room Windows is a sound collage bordering on musique concréte, filled with fascinating textures, while Aidan Baker + rsn‘s Bottom Layers of a Surface deals with subsounds and the surprising effects of unmapped layering. Both are released on March 27. Michael Langford‘s Subtle Vessel was recorded outside of a water tank, then played back in the tank as the artist added new music, performing a duet with himself, producing sublime reverberations (Discreet Archive, April 8).
Tokesmo is releasing two EPs on April 9, one abstract and tonal, one rhythmic and percussive. tksm 01 and 02 are complementary, and deserve to be heard as a pair. In like fashion, Pietro Bardini uses strings and electronics to imagine Parallel Rooms, each with its own complementary soundtrack, commenting on and looping back to the other (STRATA, March 20; cover at top of article). SNAKE DE‘s Alla Sorrentina is an electronic album, but it’s not easy to dance to; there’s some ambience, but it’s not easy to rest to; and that’s why we put it here. The duo’s synthesizer work seems impervious to genre (Kythibong, March 27). What would happen if one were to translate Alex Ross’ The Rest Is Noise into data bits and then transform it into sound? We’re about to find out. Constant Variant‘s album shares the title of the book and operates as the study of a study, prefaced by single RIN-8499 (May 1).
One of the season’s most beautiful outliers is Or Gare – funeral procession music from Ryfylke, Norway, reverently presented by Stine Janvin / Morten Joh. Otherworldly vocal effects create a space in which past and present intertwine (Futura Resistenza, March 24). Church bells, voice and an Italian libretto decorate L’uso e gli attributi del cuore, an expressive set from Radio Hito, also known as Nguyễn Zen Mỹ (Meakusma, April 17). Kink Gong captures field recordings of the Thai jungle along with snippets of local song, solo and group. THE LISU is out April 17 on Discrepant.
Poetry, music and film combine on the multi-media project Power Manual / Weight Extra, which comes from Emma Baiada, Daniel Jakob and Łukasz Polowczyk. A magazine with film still and text can be ordered along with the release (Adventurous Music, March 20). Late Bush utilizes “AI cloned voices” on Hoarses, along with strings from Echo Collective. The concept is that because we’ve never heard Baroque music played in its original form, all we have are scores, which raises questions about the generation and presentation of modern music as well (Vlek, April 24). Scoring for live choreography can pose a challenge, and Diogo Alvim rises to the occasion on Música para Mysterious Heart, a percussive set that uses voice as texture in wild ways (Crónica , April 7).
Yoichi Kamimura returns with Waterforest, the sonic component of a Kyoto exhibition. The album combines field recordings from multiple locations, focusing on the sounds of water and ice, while the LP is a lovely turquoise hue (Hakari Contemporary, March 20). Cassia Streb & Tim Feeney‘s unique Lampworking is crinkly and textured, making good use of a host of unlikely instruments: boiling water, ball bearings, eucalyptus bark, dried leaves, ravens and more (kuyin, March 20). Drums, electronics and basalt stones is an intriguing combination, put to good use by Simon Berz on the percussive Tectonic. One can almost hear shifting plates (Karlrecords, March 27). Percussion, electronics and spoken word fill Nicolas Remondino‘s Hieratico, which includes many guest artists and makes a raucous first impression (OOH-sounds, March 27).
Jazz and Improvisation
Eva Novoa kicks off the 577 Records slate with Solo (I), amazingly the artist’s first solo piano recording in a storied career (March 20). This will be followed a week later by WaSaBe Trio, a cool abbreviation for Walter Thompson, Sam Day Harmet, Billy Martin (March 27). Pianst Yvonne Rogers‘ The Button Jar is playful and upbeat, with titles to match, including “Puzzle Building” and “The Craft Room” (Pyroclastic, May 8). Yelena Eckemoff offers a tribute to the natural beauty of Sweden on Rosendal’s Garden, a springlike, ivory excursion (March 27).
CAN co-founder Irmin Schmidt resurfaces with the subtly unsettling Requiem, whose field recordings act as mitigating tones for the prepared and unprepared piano (Mute, April 24). Pianists Alcyona Mick and Liam Noble battle and reconcile on Distant Plains: the planets revisited, offering a new take on Holst’s classic work (Caliban Sounds, April 25). Always Ever includes sixteen improvised pieces from Australian pianist Alister Spence, replete with unbounded energy (April 24). Miroslav Beinhauer‘s Pieces for Broken Piano may test the tolerance levels of some listeners, but it asks valuable questions on tuning, expectation and the very definition of music (Sub Rosa, March 20). Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe and Patrick Shiroishi combine forces on Making Colors, a set as diverse as their individual talents (AKP Recordings, April 24).
Cellist Janel Leppin leads Ensemble Volcanic Ash on Pluto in Aquarius, offering jazz with a rock tinge and an unusual amount of accessibility (Cuneiform, March 27). On the same day, the label releases her solo effect Slowly Melting, where cello is enhanced by piano, guitar, synth and bass. For the first time, Korean gayageum artist Doyeon Kim becomes a band leader; Wellspring is an explosion of melody with a nearly punk level energy (Tao Forms, May 1). Matthew Shlomowitz‘ Explorations in Polytonality and other Musical Wonders, Volume 5 is a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, a little bit jazz and a whole lot of experimental. The cover challenges the eye as the music challenges the ears (New Focus, April 3).
Caroline Davis combines saxophone and electronics on Fallows (as seen right), inspired by a Mary Oliver poem, sprinkled with field recordings and dedicated to ancestral figures (Ropeadope, March 27). Multi-instrumentalist Randy Trubitt leads the trio Living With Tollways on Eponymously Titled, but as the title is spelled out, it contradicts its name – a fun conundrum (Signbearer, May 8).
Saxophonist Alabaster DePlume offers Dear Children of Our Children, I Knew: Epilogue as a commentary on the feelings of helplessness in the wake of international violence, from Gaza to ICE. Somehow the artist manages to stay hopeful. The Bethlehem samples are from Mai Mai Mai (April 18). “Instrumental ghosts” populate Dispersion, from the trio Loom & Thread. Sax and vibraphone are the main instruments, sampled and dissected by electronic means (Macro, March 20). Saxophone and guitar join forces on IN A NEW ORDER, an instinctive jazz album from Blair / Huber. The Frankfurt duo is purposely minimalist, cutting all unnecessary sound (LEITER, March 20). Baritone saxophone is the only instrument on Voices I, a solo turn from Amelia Ya’el that explores the possibilities of the instrument (Signbearer, May 29).
Saxophonist John Sweenie offers Mysticism for Intellectuals, leading a sometimes trio, other times quartet in a series of improvisations. We love the colorful cover, created by Jace Carleton (April 9). Caleb Wheeler Curtis leads a sextet on Ritual, which highlights the stritch while making room for other fascinating interplay (Chill Tones, April 10).
At times, trumpeter Adam O’Farrill‘s ELEPHANT flirts with drum ‘n’ bass, but technically it’s jazz. The highlight of the album is the “Sea Triptych,” inspired by Irish Murdoch’s The Sea, The Sea (Out of Your Head, March 20). We don’t often hear antelope horns, but they feature strongly in Andreas Tsuchopp‘s What If We Align Our Breath. The trombonist pays tribute to South African musical history while blazing a path of his own (Kit, March 20).
Guitarist/bouzouki player Ayman Fanous is releasing a five-disc box set called Brooklyn Stories, featuring solo works and collaborations with a number of guest artists. Those who like what they hear will love the comprehensive collection (Infrequent Seams, April 24). Guitarist Marco Avitabile is Now Transitioning between jobs, homes and phases of life; the album translates his journey into song (March 20).
Passenger Pigeon‘s Another New Low is an improvised guitar album, featuring dour track titles and a wink toward the world’s condition (April 16). Please Plant Flowers, invites Nicholas Mycio – a perfect sentiment for the season. The bassist leads a trio on this intimate album, recorded after spending time in a war zone (March 20). Bassist Christian Dillingham leads a trio on As It Relates to Now, reflecting upon the current climate via jazz (Shifting Paradigm, May 15).
Oboe, accordion and bass are the main elements of Dionée, who create a sort of avant chamber music on Mille-feuilles. The album also contains some of the longest track titles we’ve ever seen, which include “Sensible mais pas folle la prochaine fois j’enduirai mes pores d’huile phosphorescente perméable à l’amour mais fuyante face aux audiences pour ne plus devenir comme ce squelette rachitique ce tas d’os lavé à la violence des oreillers.” Good luck requesting that track from your local DJ (Tour De Bras, April 22). The trio Andrea Giordano, Kalle Moberg and Jo David Meyer Lysne are introduced in Radis, a journey into abstraction that benefits from its use of instruments such as prepared guitar, accordion and organetto (Black Truffle, March 27). That’s one strange fish on the cover of Razen‘s Stained Glass Starling, but a similar thing might be said about the music, which possesses an exotic appeal thanks to the unusual combination of harmonium, hurdy gurdy, erhu, kacapi, tromba marina, recorder, bass tuba and more (Viernulvier, April 24).
A “search for a new musical language permeates Julius Windisch’s ensemble immerweiter. Live at Morphine Raum is prefaced by the lead single “Aphex Town,” demonstrating some inter-genre possibilities (UNIT, March 20). Matthew Wright‘s Cracked Glaze takes “the spine of a scale” as its starting point, and allows the music to slowly unfurl. Ensemble Klang and others guest star on the single, 46-minute piece (False Walls, May 15). Lukas Ligeti‘s Notebook discards any previous book on composition and writes its own; the ensemble prefers to blaze its own path (New World, March 27). The unusual vernacular pushes improvisation to the extreme, with a shifting arrangement of players; it’s the first offering from aliosius on his own life is beautiful imprint (April 9). The sound of the IFANAME trio also fluctuates from minute to minute, the brainchild of Mats Gustafsson, Jan St. Werner and Johan Berthling. The self-titled album is released March 20 on sonig. Contrabass and voice are the components of the outlier Automatic Thinking. James Ilgenfritz & Thomas Buckner begin with an “Unreliable Narrator” and follow him down the rabbit hole of the throat (Infrequent Seams, April 17).
The rare artist who plays both drums and piano harp, Nick Fraser assembles a trio (and sometimes quartet) for Areas, whose tone ranges from sedate to extremely active (April 10). Recording as GEORGE, John Hollenbeck dedicates Looking for Consonance to George Floyd and Black Lives Matter. The drummer leads a quartet to flesh out his vision, creating a miasma of tones (Out of Your Head, May 8). On Indigo Garden, Black Nile bonds with “the wider Black diaspora” through positive and unhurried jazz improvisations (MASS MoCA, April 10). Avant percussionist Bruno Silva creates shifting textures on Visita do Fogo, recording as Serpente (Souk, March 27). Showcasing percussion, drums, bass clarinet and double bass, Five Nights at the Midwest is a massive three-disc set from Stein/Smith/Snead (Irritable Mystic, May 22).
Bali Gamelan Sound is the end result of years living in Bali, studying the culture, and becoming one with the community; Topeng Semar Pegulingan is out on March 29. For more gamelan music we turn to Hoavi, whose Architectonics are played on non-traditional percussive instruments, including tables, railings and glasses (Peak Oil, April 10).
Vocals, samples and “talismanic presence” are the kibbles and bits of LISA‘s Yamaha Dog, an eclectic collaboration from Koichi Yamanoha and Anastasia Freygang (Collapsing Drums, May 1). Finally, Simon Hanes‘ GARGANTUA reflects its title with three drum sets, three electric basses, three trombones, three French horns and three soprano voices, creating a mini-opera that is anything but restrained: perhaps the season’s most bombastic release (Pyroclastic, March 27).
Richard Allen
a closer listen 