[Music] Arturo Stàlteri – From Ajanta to Lhasa

September 30, 2020 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

This release comes as a very pleasant surprise! Arturo Stàlteri (Italian bio) is a pianist and composer of incredible ability whom I came across at least 30 years ago when finding a record by his early project, Pierrot Lunaire, who release a couple of progressive rock masterpieces.

This new album (and I’m not really sure if it is a reissue or something that was sitting in the vaults for 40 years) compares well with minimalist composers influenced by Eastern culture like Terry Riley, Philip Glass and La Monte Young.

This really is a minor treasure. I’d be very interested to see if Stàlteri has a few more hidden albums waiting to see the light of day.

[Music] Alessandra Celletti – Minimal

September 6, 2020 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

I am proud to announce that my dear and darling friend, Alessandra Celletti, has a new album out. She does an astounding job interpreting the works of John Cage, Arvo Pärt, Alan Hovhaness and Philip Glass in her own inimitable way, as well as a couple of her own pieces.

Just a lady and her piano. Weirdly elegant and whimsical listening material.

[Music] Mamman Sani Abdoulaye – Unreleased Tapes 1981-1984

February 23, 2019February 23, 2019 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

Dreamy, mellow, but not quite Kosmich Musik, this collection out of 1970s Niger was miles ahead of its contemporaries. It’s a shame it took so long for Mamman Sani to have his synth work available, but this charming LP was lovingly curated by the ever mighty Sahel Sounds.

[Music] Lárus Sigurðsson – The Beauty Of An Ending

February 6, 2019 / Rudy Carrera / 1 Comment

Lárus Sigurðsson is a new name for me. The pianist and multi-instrumentalist hails from Iceland, and he already has a catalog which is a few records deep. This is a mellow, but absorbing album to listen to, with piano, guitar, and voice out in the distance.

Soothing.

[Music] David Borden / Mother Mallard – The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Parts 5-8

March 27, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

Thanks to the Good Lord above for giving the world Steve Feigenbaum and Cuneiform Records, who continue to release, digitally, their amazing wares.

David Borden and Mother Mallard have their roots in American minimalist music. This particular release is the middle section of a 12-part series of variations for minimalism in the same way the Goldberg Variations were for Johann Sebastian Bach and classical music.

[Music] Hans Otte – Das Buch der Klange (The Book of Sounds) / III – IV – V

December 6, 2015 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

Beautiful minimalism courtesy of Hans Otte, a new name for me from the ECM Records label.

[Music] Philip Glass – The Kiss

August 2, 2015 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

A simple, rhythmic, filmic, beautiful melody. A great one by Philip Glass.

[Video] The Hilliard Ensemble – Passio (Composed by Arvo Pärt)

April 18, 2015 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

After a rather brutal week health-wise, I figured it was time to listen to something which would be both lengthy and calm enough to let me wind down a bit. Hearing England’s The Hilliard Ensemble perform this sumptuous work by Arvo Pärt suffices nicely.