That was a week, let me tell you. Orchestra readings, string quartet readings, the premier of my setting of The Walrus & The Carpenter, narrating for another composer’s piece, DJing at Crush v.5, and getting abused by the time change.
With that said, Crush was rad, the readings went well, and my piece was a spectacular success. Recordings of the quartet and the orchestra readings follow:
Thor Kell – String Quartet No. 3
This is what happens when you put a Morton Feldman shaped bomb under Brahms’ Lullaby. Many, many thanks to the Bozzinis for doing a wonderful job reading this. Also featuring Mrs. Tubby the teddy bear on music box duty.
A piece based on stellar evolution, the periodic table, and nuclear fusion. Sounds like me. The first excerpt is the first half of the main section, the second is the development and coda, as it were.
The UVic orchestra is reading my piece on Monday. It is called The Chandrasekhar Limit, and it is about stellar evolution. I have never been more afraid in my entire life. (Well, that’s a lie…but I am filled with trepidation.)
It is 16 minutes long; each player has their own part; my former composition teacher called it ‘he singularly most unusual orchestral composition I have ever seen in my life’. I will post a recording as soon as I have one.
I’ll be helping out Natron at Common Ground at Whitebird this Saturday, from 10 to midnight. Except deeeeeep haaaauuus, lots of Detroit vibes, and hints of Chicago.
So: The Virgo repress is fucking amazing. Jacques Green is fucking amazing. Bibio’s album teaser is fucking amazing. Hybrid’s orchestral / ambient stuff is really good. The Luke Abbott B-side is rad. The We Love tune from the new Bpitch Collection is so so so clever.
I gotta say that Get Low, by Justin Martin, on Dirty Bird, has been the ass-shaker of the past month, give or take. Thanks to Kenzie Clarke for the tipoff.
Also should be mentioned that Egyptrixx is lots of fun live: warped, dub-ish tech/house with lots of snap in the drums.
1: Steve Bug – Trust In Me (John Daly Remix) [Poker Flat]
2: Lindstrom – I Feel Space (M.A.N.D.Y. Remix) [Playhouse]
3: Slacker – Turning To Air [Jukebox In The Sky]
4: Petter – All Together [Border Community]
5: Holden – Lump [Border Community]
I’m watching you now. I’ve been watching you for a long time. Can you believe that it took me this damn long to get All Together, Lump, AND that mix of I Feel Space down in a set?
CYCLONOPEDIA might be the single weirdest book I have ever read. A pseudo-academic Cthulhuian treatise on the Middle East, oil, and demonology, it is by no means for everyone (and isn’t really totally for me, to be honest). Read the first two chapters: if you’re enthralled, you’ll love it. If not, move on to brighter things.
SOLACE, on the other hand, is a game that you will get pretty much from the word go. It’s a vertical shooter about grief. Simple enough, right?
And, in music, the Future Times label mix for Resident Advisor is sassy as all get out, the Traversable Wormhole RA podcast is good but drags a bit, and I myself have something like four sets in the pipeline. More as it breaks.
The detroit EP is done. This makes me happy. I am now debating distro options. I could SoundCloud it up, I could put it on a USB key and throw it into the ocean. I feel there’s a healthy middle ground somewhere, however.
