Category Archives: Experimental
2020 Winter Music Preview ~ Experimental & Field Recording
What will experimental music sound like at the end of the next decade? In 2030, we’ll look back and pretend that we always knew how influential the mavericks of 2020 would turn out to be. What sounds unusual now may be considered
2020 Winter Music Preview ~ Experimental & Field Recording
What will experimental music sound like at the end of the next decade? In 2030, we’ll look back and pretend that we always knew how influential the mavericks of 2020 would turn out to be. What sounds unusual now may be considered
A Closer Listen’s Best Experimental Albums of the Decade
“Let’s try an experiment, and see if it works!” By all indications, the experiments of the ten artists on our decade chart were successful. They tried new things, and found their efforts rewarded. While we laud the efforts of all
A Closer Listen’s Best Experimental Albums of the Decade
“Let’s try an experiment, and see if it works!” By all indications, the experiments of the ten artists on our decade chart were successful. They tried new things, and found their efforts rewarded. While we laud the efforts of all
ACL 2019 ~ Top Ten Experimental
From locked grooves to dueling drummers; from abstract voices to plastic instruments; from stories of slavery to modern African drones, the Experimental category represents creativity at its best. These artists follow their own paths, abandoning the marked roads, more interested
ACL 2019 ~ Top Ten Experimental
From locked grooves to dueling drummers; from abstract voices to plastic instruments; from stories of slavery to modern African drones, the Experimental category represents creativity at its best. These artists follow their own paths, abandoning the marked roads, more interested
The Nest ~ Das Lied Der Ankommenden
German trio The Nest have just released two new tracks from the sessions that produced their latest full-length, making for an opportune moment to revisit a record which deserves some attention. Das Lied Der Ankommenden was released in the height
The Nest ~ Das Lied Der Ankommenden
German trio The Nest have just released two new tracks from the sessions that produced their latest full-length, making for an opportune moment to revisit a record which deserves some attention. Das Lied Der Ankommenden was released in the height
IMA ~ The Flowers Die in Burning Fire
In one corner, Japanese percussionist Nava Dunkelman, trained in taiko and gamelan. In the other, Hong Kong electro-acoustic composer Amma Ateria. When the bell rings, the two women approach the center and embrace, dubbing their new partnership IMA. The Flowers Die
IMA ~ The Flowers Die in Burning Fire
In one corner, Japanese percussionist Nava Dunkelman, trained in taiko and gamelan. In the other, Hong Kong electro-acoustic composer Amma Ateria. When the bell rings, the two women approach the center and embrace, dubbing their new partnership IMA. The Flowers Die
Various Artists ~ Now That’s What I Call Silence
Silence is one of the most important elements in music, but it’s often underused or overlooked. Without silence (or rests), everything would be no bueno, a clusterf*** with no end in sight. It would drive us all insane, and that’s
Various Artists ~ Now That’s What I Call Silence
Silence is one of the most important elements in music, but it’s often underused or overlooked. Without silence (or rests), everything would be no bueno, a clusterf*** with no end in sight. It would drive us all insane, and that’s
Matana Roberts ~ COIN COIN Chapter Four: Memphis
COIN COIN Chapter Four: Memphis is essential listening. It screams the past to the present, echoing Spike Lee’s cry at the end of Do the Right Thing: “Wake up!” We still haven’t woken up. We still haven’t faced the sins of our ancestors,
Matana Roberts ~ COIN COIN Chapter Four: Memphis
COIN COIN Chapter Four: Memphis is essential listening. It screams the past to the present, echoing Spike Lee’s cry at the end of Do the Right Thing: “Wake up!” We still haven’t woken up. We still haven’t faced the sins of our ancestors,
Hecker ~ Inspection II
In a 1929 short story entitled “The Hounds of Tindalos”, Frank Belknap Long envisioned an entity (identified as a multiplicity, as “them”, but always acting in unison) that gave the story its name, and which was the terrible side-product of
Hecker ~ Inspection II
In a 1929 short story entitled “The Hounds of Tindalos”, Frank Belknap Long envisioned an entity (identified as a multiplicity, as “them”, but always acting in unison) that gave the story its name, and which was the terrible side-product of
a closer listen 