Category Archives: Modern Composition

Sea Island & Ferry ~ As If

A staggered release plan has kept Hong Kong’s Sea Island & Ferry in the public eye (and ear) all year.  As If was released as a pair of EPs a few months apart, and is now packaged together as a single album. The

Sea Island & Ferry ~ As If

A staggered release plan has kept Hong Kong’s Sea Island & Ferry in the public eye (and ear) all year.  As If was released as a pair of EPs a few months apart, and is now packaged together as a single album. The

Aaron Martin ~ The End of Medicine

Alex Lockwood’s documentary “The End of Medicine” is about the next pandemic, already brewing beneath the radar, ready to transfer from animals to humans.  Even those immune to horror films may be terrified when they learn what happens when livestock

Aaron Martin ~ The End of Medicine

Alex Lockwood’s documentary “The End of Medicine” is about the next pandemic, already brewing beneath the radar, ready to transfer from animals to humans.  Even those immune to horror films may be terrified when they learn what happens when livestock

Jakob Lindhagen ~ Memory Constructions

Who are we? Do we construct who we are? Hit play on this beautiful new album from Jakob Lindhagen and consider that it might not all be as simple as you first thought. There’s a fascinating episode of Revisionist History,

Jakob Lindhagen ~ Memory Constructions

Who are we? Do we construct who we are? Hit play on this beautiful new album from Jakob Lindhagen and consider that it might not all be as simple as you first thought. There’s a fascinating episode of Revisionist History,

Henning Schmiedt ~ Piano Miniatures

This is a welcome return to ACL for Henning Schmiedt, who we last reviewed enthusiastically in 2017 for a collaboration with Christoph Berg. There’s a phrase from that review that stands out, ‘a feeling of playful innocence’, a feeling that

Henning Schmiedt ~ Piano Miniatures

This is a welcome return to ACL for Henning Schmiedt, who we last reviewed enthusiastically in 2017 for a collaboration with Christoph Berg. There’s a phrase from that review that stands out, ‘a feeling of playful innocence’, a feeling that

Danny Mulhern ~ Singing Through Others

We are not machines, but we are surrounded by them. We’re an ancient species who have surrounded ourselves with technology too complex for most of us to understand. Our society has embraced burnout-inducing narratives that coerce us into thinking we

Danny Mulhern ~ Singing Through Others

We are not machines, but we are surrounded by them. We’re an ancient species who have surrounded ourselves with technology too complex for most of us to understand. Our society has embraced burnout-inducing narratives that coerce us into thinking we

Fall Music Preview ~ Modern Composition

The elegant hues of modern composition make the genre a perfect match for fall.  Orchestras bloom like full-spectrum trees; piano notes fall like individual leaves.  As ambassadors to the moss and dirt, these leaves nourish the next generation.  The songs

Fall Music Preview ~ Modern Composition

The elegant hues of modern composition make the genre a perfect match for fall.  Orchestras bloom like full-spectrum trees; piano notes fall like individual leaves.  As ambassadors to the moss and dirt, these leaves nourish the next generation.  The songs

Copenhagen Clarinet Choir ~ Organism

Groups of instrumentalists face a challenge that soloists do not, in that each member must constantly adapt and respond to the others’ pitch, tempo and timbre. Ensembles of varying natures have different ways of staying cohesive; an orchestra follows their

Copenhagen Clarinet Choir ~ Organism

Groups of instrumentalists face a challenge that soloists do not, in that each member must constantly adapt and respond to the others’ pitch, tempo and timbre. Ensembles of varying natures have different ways of staying cohesive; an orchestra follows their

Matt Ulery ~ Become Giant

After a dozen albums, bassist Matt Ulery is still stretching his boundaries.  For the first few minutes of Become Giant, one doesn’t even hear him, focusing instead on the strings.  Violinist Zach Brock and Chicago’s KAIA String Quartet are the guest stars on

Matt Ulery ~ Become Giant

After a dozen albums, bassist Matt Ulery is still stretching his boundaries.  For the first few minutes of Become Giant, one doesn’t even hear him, focusing instead on the strings.  Violinist Zach Brock and Chicago’s KAIA String Quartet are the guest stars on