ACL 2014: Top Ten Field Recording & Soundscape

Field recordings and soundscapes do much more than reflect the sounds of nature.  They also delve into local culture and artificial sound environments; they serve as travelogues, historical statements, and calls to political action.  An environment once captured is never

Tarab ~ I’m Lost

This album is comprised of field recordings, but don’t expect to hear field recordings; they’ve been chopped up, rearranged, amplified, and skipped like flat stones across a glass surface.  At one point the speakers spew the ugly sound of a busted CD;

Helmut Schäfer ~ Thought Provoking III

The most surprising thing about Helmut Schäfer‘s final recording is how accessible it is: an experimental piece that teeters on the edge of modern composition.  It’s so different from his “brutalist” output that it’s left to longtime collaborator Zbigniew Karkowski to tackle the

Richard Garet ~ Areal

Few artists ever attempt the single track, album length release, and fewer still manage to succeed.  Richard Garet is the exception to the rule, as proven by last season’s Decentering and this season’s Areal.  The key to Garet’s success is sonic variety; this music