Gizeh Records is a very interesting label. I can’t say I adore every single release, but I have come to the realization that artists like Aidan Baker and Christine Ott will produce solid release after solid release. TABU features one of the most brilliant instruments ever designed during the 20th Century, the ondes martenot, and Ott uses it to full effect, creating soundscapes whose feel verges on the oceanic. A heavy, lovely release.
Modern Classical
[Music] Maryam Sirvan – Untamed Terror
Eerie is not nearly powerful enough to describe the hellish soundscape that Maryam Sirvan produces on this record. It is as if Pierre Henry decided to do an ethnographic recording tracing Dante’s footsteps inside of Hell. Brooding, powerful soundscapes.
[Music] Jim Perkins & Tom Gaisford – Byrds
It’s not everyday that you see a single of classical music released, but this reinterpretation of the works of 16th and 17th Century English composer William Byrd, ably handled by Jim Perkins & Tom Gaisford, even features a remix by Leah Kardos of Byrd’s Kyrie. Bigo & Twigetti continue to knock it out of the park in terms of quality releases.
For a more in-depth review, consider visiting our friends over at a closer listen.
[Music] Juhani Silvola – Post-Biological Wildlife
Norwegian composer Juhani Silvola is the heir of the French electroacoustic music tradition, and he has managed to update the sound while maintaining its spirit. According to his biography, “Juhani’s music often explores themes circling post-humanism, nature and virtual reality, questioning the role of humanity in the near future, and painting varied scenarios without exclusively condemning or glorifying the techno-futuristic vision.” We’re in for a bleak future, folks.
Post-Biological Wildlife is his latest album, released on his own Eighth Nerve Audio.
[Music] Benjamin Aït-Ali – Les Cinquantièmes Hurlants
Benjamin Aït-Ali is one of France’s heirs the the electroacoustic music mantle once held by the likes of Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry.
This particular piece, dedicated to the sea, of all things, was performed at the SIME Festival in April of 2018. The piece was prepared the year before, inspired by events that led up to the passing of his father.
[Music] Benjamin Finney – Erik Satie: Trois Gymnopédie
Imagine Erik Satie’s most famous work reimagined as a floating, ambient piece of work touched with a wee bit of shoegaze. That’s what you will hear in Benjamin Finney’s EP. A sublime work.
[Music] Roberto Romero Molina – Escandinavia por Ala Delta
This must be a great week for Bandcamp. This release features a young Mexican composer called Roberto Romero Molina, whose work falls somewhere between electroacoustic music and something reminiscent of a sci-fi movie. A short, but brilliant, release.
[Music] Iancu Dumitrescu / Ana-Maria Avram in Berlin
Berghain, February 3d at 10 pm
Iancu DUMITRESCU
Ana – Maria AVRAM
HYPERION INTERNATIONAL
Tim HODGKINSON, Yoni SILVER Tijana STANKOVIC, Diana MIRON, Zsolt SÖRÉS, Albert MARKOS, Andrei KIVU, Shmil FRANKEL, Laurenţiu COŢAC, Guillaume OLLENDORFF Cătălin MATEI, Gilly MOCANU, Colin HACKLANDER, Eduard GABIA
special guest
Stephen O’MALLEY
Program:
- Iancu Dumitrescu “Quasar light” (I) – (II)- (III)
for percussion and computer sounds
- Ana-Maria Avram “ Polarities & Ambiguations”
for two bass clarinets
- Iancu Dumitrescu “Blue Shift/Red Shift”
for strings and percussion
- Ana-Maria Avram “Heteromorphies (X)”
for e-guitar and ensemble
- “Murmur”
for ensemble
- Iancu Dumitrescu “Distant Supernova”
for e-guitar, ensemble and computer sounds
- Ana-Maria Avram “Signals”
for e-guitar, ensemble and computer sounds
- Iancu Dumitrescu “Collisions of Galaxies”
for ensemble and computer sounds
world premières
Concert realised with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute-Berlin
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[Video] Valentyn Silvestrov – Intermezzo
Pianist Peter Bannister interprets the work of Ukrainian composer Valentyn Silvestrov.
[Video] Karlheinz Stockhausen – Klavierstück XIV
Pianist Bernhard Wambach deftly interprets this 1984 composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 