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PC Nackt Deconstructs the Classics with 'Plunderphonia'

PC Nackt kicks off a unique series of recordings dedicated to creating new music by "plundering" unexpected historical sources such as classical piano pieces or chamber orchestra music.

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Music

Christine Ott Brings the Ondes Martenot to New Heights with the Mesmerizing 'Chimères'

France's Christine Ott, known for her work as an orchestral musician and film composer, has created a unique new solo album, Chimères, that spotlights an obscure instrument.

Music

Composer Kosta Jevtić Offers 'Reflections on a Journey' to the Mediterranean

Serbian composer Kosta Jevtić evokes the clement Mediterranean in solo piano form on the brilliant new album, Reflections on a Journey.

Music

"Weird Music Is Still Good": Erik Hall on Isolation and Pulling Off an Impossible Steve Reich-ian Feat

Finding himself at a loose end, Erik Hall doesn't indulge in Netflix marathons or spends time sorting out his closet, instead he recreates Steve Reich's seminal masterpiece Music for 18 Musicians in his basement. And then he tells PopMatters about it.

Ian Rushbury
Music

Erik Hall Is One Musician Taking on Steve Reich's 'Music for 18 Musicians'

Erik Hall painstakingly and effectively recreates Steve Reich's minimalist classic, Music for 18 Musicians, with three instruments in his Michigan home studio.

Reviews

Sylvain Chauveau's 'Life Without Machines' Is an Indictment of How External Forces Falsely Shape Humanity

Whereas so many contemporary albums are created to harness flash and consumption, Life Without Machines allays bedazzlement. Sylvain Chauveau advocates for unplugging and disconnecting, and only then will we truly live.

Music

Ryan Rumery's 'At, Apart' Traffics in Nuance in the Face of Isolation

Film music composer Ryan Rumery kicks off a new Bandcamp-only Friday release series with At, Apart, which is devastating in emotional scope and careful sense of arrangement and place.

Music

Jazz Guitar Virtuoso Wolfgang Muthspiel Gets the 'Angular Blues'

Jazz guitar virtuoso Wolfgang Muthspiel scales back to a trio for Angular Blues, trimming the fat while leaving plenty of space for inventive and exciting improvisation.

Music

Quarterly's 'Pomegranate' is a Small Treasure of Charm and Warmth

Brooklyn-based duo Quarterly combine elements of folk and classical on the intimate, calm, and unique Pomegranate.

Music

Brian and Roger Eno's 'Mixing Colours' Is a Celebration of Contemplative Slowness

Brian and Roger Eno's Deutsche Grammophon debut, Mixing Colours, represents a refreshing antithesis of today's harsh and accelerated times.

Music

Agnes Obel's Chamber Pop Hits a New Peak on 'Myopia'

Agnes Obel's Myopia is delicate and personal, employing treated vocals and piano to plow depths of sorrow and interrogate dark storms of the soul.

Music

Yann Tiersen's 'Portrait' Is a Fresh Interpretation of Past Glories

Amelie composer Yann Tiersen teams up with a coterie of collaborators on Portrait to revisit works from a 25-year career, with poignant and reinvigorating results.

Music

Melodic Improvisation Fuels Paul Haslinger's 'Exit Ghost'

Ex-Tangerine Dream and classically-trained pianist Paul Haslinger frees himself from 20 years of composing for television and film and looks inward for inspiration on his latest atmospheric journey through dreamlike soundscapes.

Music

yMusic Explore 'Ecstatic Science'

Ecstatic Science, the fourth album by modern ensemble yMusic, provides a satisfying snapshot of contemporary classical music in 2020.

Music

Crowhurst + Gavin Bryars Demonstrate the Powers of Collaboration With "Dead Swans of Dreams" (premiere + interview)

Veteran composer Gavin Bryars and "noise guy" Crowhurst present a new LP recorded in a 17th century hotel and brimming with musical imagination. Says Bryars, "To watch what Jay does was, sometimes, beyond my comprehension and I thought, at times, that Jay may be more intelligent than me. But it didn't last long!"

Music

A Winged Victory for the Sullen's 'The Undivided Five' Is a Breathtaking Album Full of Subtlety

Each track of ambient duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen's The Undivided Five captures the sound of two exceptional musicians drawing in deep musical breaths and then exhaling something of lasting ethereal beauty.

Music

Anna Meredith's 'FIBS' Is an Audacious Blast

Scottish composer Anna Meredith makes a busy, joyful noise on her long-awaited second studio album, FIBS.

Music

'All Encores' Is Nils Frahm, Beautifully Deconstructed

German composer/producer Nils Frahm has compiled his last three EPs into a varied and satisfying full-length release, All Encores.

Music

Terry Riley Shoots the Kronos Quartet into Space with the Beautiful, Moving 'Sun Rings'

The decades-long partnership between composer Terry Riley and the Kronos Quartet continues – with a little help from NASA – on the brilliant new album, Sun Rings.

Music

Sarah Pagé's 'Dose Curves' Reinvents a 5,000-Year-Old Instrument

Dose Curves is the debut solo album from accomplished Canadian harpist, Sarah Pagé, and it's nothing short of spellbinding.

Music

Composer Mario Diaz de Leon Merges the Acoustic and Electronic on 'Cycle and Reveal' (album stream) (premiere)

Composer Mario Diaz de Leon uses traditional classical instruments in combination with experimental electronics on his latest album Cycle and Reveal featuring four recent works. Hear it in full now.

Music

Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Bryce Dessner and Eighth Blackbird Collaborate on 'When We Are Inhuman'

A rewarding, enriching and outstanding collaboration between Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Bryce Dessner, and Eighth Blackbird makes the old sound new, the new sound old and shines a light on a long lost minimalist composer.

Music

What It Takes to Be Kind: An Interview with Thor Harris

There's still beauty to be found in the best of humanity, says the kindest guy in underground music, Thor Harris of Thor & Friends.

Music

Experimental Ensemble Thor & Friends Share Latest Video "As Above So Below" (premiere)

Enjoy the premiere of experimental ensemble Thor & Friends' video for new song "As Above So Below" as well as receiving a tour of the making of both song and video.

Music

Composer Donnacha Dennehy Tackles Percussion Quartets and Ensemble Atonality with 'Surface Tension / Disposable Dissonance'

Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy creates two distinct worlds with his latest release, focusing on experimental percussion and creative dissonance.

Music

Composer Luke Cissell Makes an Arresting Musical Statement with 'String Sextets Nos 1 & 2'

Kentucky-born, New York-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Luke Cissell continues to experiment across different genres with a pair of exquisite new chamber pieces.

Music

William Brittelle's Non-Religious 'Spiritual America'

Composer William Brittelle's "electro-acoustic song cycle", Spiritual America, attempts to capture non-religious spirituality in musical form.

Music

"It's Not About Genre, It's About Emotion": Composer William Brittelle on Faith, Music, and Identity

Composer and New Amsterdam Records co-founder William Brittelle discusses his latest work, Spiritual America, with PopMatters and talks about faith, genre, and his genre-fluid electro-acoustic music.

Music

Jameszoo and the Metropole Orkest Collaborate on the Entrancing 'Melkweg'

Experimental composer Jameszoo flexes his musical muscles with the Metropole Orkest on Melkweg. The sound is unique and bracing, not unlike discovering the soundtrack of a new planet.

Music

Yann Tiersen Releases "Erc'h", His Latest Stunning Video (premiere)

French composer Yann Tiersen's latest album ALL connects the natural world with music, and his latest visualizer for "Erc'h" is as gorgeous as the music is.

Events

Kelly Moran Turns 'Ultraviolet' Into an Audiovisual Spectacle

Experimental pianist Kelly Moran delivers a stunning performance traversing the entirety of her new record, with the great Kayla Painter opening the show.

Music

With 'El Chan', Bryce Dessner Moves Way Beyond the National

Guitarist/composer Bryce Dessner's latest album El Chan is an ambitious series of sweeping, deeply moving classical works

Music

Vitamin String Quartet Interprets Björk's "Hyperballad" (premiere)

Adventurous classical outlet, Vitamin String Quartet share their renovation of Björk's "Hyperballad" ahead of Record Store Day.

Music

Portishead's Beth Gibbons Collaborates with the Polish National Radio Symphony to Celebrate the Work of Henryk Górecki

With Portishead's Beth Gibbons as the soprano, Henryk Górecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs is hoisted into modernity and emblematic of the contemporary political and social turbulence.

Music

Ryuichi Sakamoto's 'BTTB' Is Moody Simplicity at Its Best

On BTTB, Ryuichi Sakamoto's affinity for the suggestive qualities of the so-called Impressionist movement reveals itself through subtleties.

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