Flotation Device pays its respects to the late Louis Andriessen, “Blue” Gene Tyranny and Phillip Arnautoff. Amy Knoles takes us behind the scenes to reveal her memories of performing an iconic Andriessen masterpiece, while Tyranny is represented by our first look at his new 6-CD memorial retrospective from Unseen Worlds and Arnautoff by his only solo recording: an epic solo of just intoned instrument-crafting that recalls Harry Partch and Ali Akbar Khan.
We also hear composer Vladimir Martynov in the uncharacteristic role of free improv pianist, while Alex Paxton channels Richard Dadd, Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion channel ABBA, and a history-minded Anglo-French quartet channels the American bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik. Premiere recordings of nostalgic gems by Pierre Henry, New Hermitage and Odaline de la Martinez round out the playlist alongside a bubbling new percussion piece by Chris Mercer. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Mike Schell.
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Flotation Device 2021-07-18: annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: Ahmed & Arnautoff [0:00]
1. [1:28] [Ahmed]: Nights on Saturn (excerpts). From Nights on Saturn (Communication) (Astral Spirits, 2021) with أحمد [Ahmed]: Seymour Wright (alto saxophone), Pat Thomas (piano), Joel Grip (bass), Antonin Gerbal (drums). NOTE: Tune composed by Ahmed Abdul-Malik. Recorded live December 5, 2019, Cafe OTO
2. [10:39] Phillip Arnautoff: Soliloquy (excerpts). From Soliloquy: A Ritual of Communion with Vibrating Strings (Periplum, 2001) with Phillip Arnautoff (66-string harmonic canon in just intonation)
3. [19:57] Alex Paxton: Dadd's Fairies. From Six Degrees of Separation (NMC, 2021) with Members of the London Symphony Orchestra, Darren Bloom (conductor), David Lefeber (recording engineer)
4. [25:20] ABBA: Lay All Your Love On Me. From Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part (Nonesuch, 2021) with Caroline Shaw (voice), Sō Percussion: Eric Cha-Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting
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SET 2: Louis Andriessen (1939–2021) [29:52]
1. [33:57] Amy Knoles on recording Hocketus
2. [35:18] Louis Andriessen: Hoketus. From Industry (Sony Classical, 1995, reissued 2002 by Cantaloupe on Gigantic Dancing Human Machine) with Evan Ziporyn, Richard Craig (alto saxophones), James Poke, Katherine Pendry (panpipes), Cees Van Zeeland, Gerard Bouwhuis (pianos), Damian LeGassick, Lisa Moore (Fender Rhodes), Mark Stewart, Robert Black (electric basses), Amy Knoles, Steven Schick (congas), Richard King (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1976, recorded 1994 in London
3. [59:12] Outro with Louis Andriessen: De Tijd⠀
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SET 3: "Blue" Gene Tyranny (1955–2020) [1:00:44]
1. [1:02:03] "Blue" Gene Tyranny: Sleeping Beauty in Camouflage. From Degrees of Freedom Found (Unseen Worlds, 2021). NOTE: Recorded 1992
2. [1:08:49] Pierre Henry: Strette Symphonie collector. From Galaxie (Decca France, 2021). NOTE: Realized 2010
3. [1:14:13] Odaline de la Martinez: Litanies. From Sonidos Cubanos 2 (Neuma, 2021) with Lontano. NOTE: Composed 1981⠀
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SET 4: Martynov and friends [1:28:34]
1. [1:31:40] New Hermitage: Patient Sprout. From Unearth (Bandcamp, 2020) with Andrew MacKelvie (alto and tenor saxophone, bass clarinet), India Gailey (cello), Ross Burns (guitar), Ellen Gibling (harp), Jason Jenkyns (recording engineer)
2. [1:32:55] Chris Mercer: Found in Translation. From Still Motion (Sideband, 2021) with Patti Cudd (percussion, live electronics). NOTE: Composed 2018
3. [1:42:43] Vladimir Martynov, Arkady Pikunov, Sergey Poltavsky, Petr Ivshin: Hexagram 31 (excerpts). From Hexagram 31 (Fancy Music, 2021) with Vladimir Martynov (piano), Arkady Pikunov (soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone, live electronics), Sergey Poltavsky (viola d’amore, live electronics), Petr Ivshin (drums), Maksim Khaikin (recording engineer)
1st place in the global Noise trending chart today. Congrats to our sister show from Radio Eclectus.
Photo credits: Chris Mercer via Northwestern University, Odaline de la Martinez via the artist, Louis Andriessen by Francesca Patella, Caroline Shaw by Kait Moreno, Ahmed Abdul-Malik via Wikimedia, Vladimir Martynov by Dmitry Rozhkov, Alex Paxton via the artist, Phillip Arnautoff via the artist, “Blue” Gene Tyranny via Unseen Worlds.