00:00
Flotation Device wraps up its survey of the past year’s most intriguing new releases of creative and improvised music. In the spotlight are some of our 2021 interviewees—Ingrid Laubrock, Anna Webber and Michael Gregory Jackson—plus avant-rock from Błoto and The Flying Luttenbachers, avant-disco from Gabriel Prokofiev, The Locals’ unusual take on Anthony Braxton, and the cross-cultural contemplations of David Shea’s Thousand Buddha Caves. Evan Parker and Matthew Shipp play a loud duet as do Bill Orcutt and Chris Corsano. Anna von Hausswolff combines minimalism with pre-modern organ tuning, while Nate Wooley advances long-form improvisational composition and Žibuoklė Martinaitytė explores light and darkness in an atmospheric piano concerto. One last bit of '70s Residents residue rounds out the playlist for two hours of cliché-free post-holiday listening. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and beyond with host Mike Schell.
Annotated playlist and photo credits with Comments
Global chart history
Top position held by this upload
Comments
00:00
Flotation Device 2022-01-02: annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
1. [0:00] Intro and SET 1: Favorites from 2021
2. [1:07] Błoto: Chryja. From Kwasy i zasady (Astigmatic Records, 2021) with OlafSaxx (saxophones, AKAI EWI 5000), Latarnik (keyboards), Wuja HZG (bass guitar), Cancer G (drums)
3. [5:10] Nate Wooley: Mutual Aid Music IV-I. From Mutual Aid Music (Catalytic Sound/Pleasure of the Text, 2021) with Nate Wooley (trumpet), Ingrid Laubrock (sax), Joshua Modney (violin), Mariel Roberts (cello), Sylvie Courvoisier, Cory Smythe (pianos), Matt Moran (vibraphone), Russell Greenberg (vibraphone, percussion), Ryan Streber (recording engineer)
4. [19:50] The Flying Luttenbachers: Omnicide. From Negative Infinity (ugEXPLODE, 2021) with Weasel Walter (left guitar), Matt Nelson (tenor saxophone), Katie Battistoni (right guitar), Tim Dahl (bass guitar), Sam Ospovat (drums), Craig Dreyer, Lucas Haas (recording engineers)⠀
⠀
1. [25:09] SET 2: Braxton and Shea
2. [29:43] Anthony Braxton: Composition 23g. From The Locals Play the Music of Anthony Braxton (Discus Music, 2020) with The Locals: Pat Thomas (piano, melodica), Alex Ward (clarinet), Evan Thomas (electric guitar), Dominic Lash (electric bass), Darren Hasson-Davis (drums). NOTE: Recorded 2006 at Konfrontationen Nickelsdorf
3. [37:09] Gabriel Prokofiev: Fivatak. From Breaking Screens (Melodiya, 2021) with Gabriel Prokofiev (electronics), OpensoundOrchestra, Stanislav Malyshev (conductor), Ilya Karpov (recording engineer)
4. [41:43] David Shea: The Thousand Buddha Caves (excerpts). From The Thousand Buddha Caves (Room 40, 2021) with Mindy Meng Wang (guzheng, voice), Speak Percussion: Eugene Ughetti, Matthias Schack-Arnott (percussion), David Shea (electronics, piano, singing bowls, vocal overtone and multiphonic singing, sample collage, field recordings), Guest Musicians: Tamara Kohler (flute, alto flute), from samples of Rituals: Oren Ambarchi (electric guitar), Joe Talia (drums), Girish Makwana (tablas), Ictus Ensemble (excerpts from Chamber Symphony #1)
5. [55:12] Outro with Anthony Braxton: G N 6 (X' 70B) K '7⠀
⠀
SET 3: More favorites from 2021 [59:04]
1. [1:00:01] Michael Gregory Jackson: Heart & Center. From Frequency Equilibrium Koan (Golden, 2021) with Julius Hemphill (alto saxophone), Abdul Wadud (cello), Pheeroan aKLaff (drums), Michael Gregory Jackson (guitar). NOTE: Recorded live 1977 by Jackson at The Ladies Fort, New York
2. [1:09:46] Evan Parker, Matthew Shipp: Leonine Aspect #1 (excerpt). From Leonine Aspects (RogueArt, 2021) with Matthew Shipp (piano), Evan Parker (soprano saxophone), Maïkôl Seminatore (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live August 22, 2017 at Festival Météo, Théatre de la Sinne, Mulhouse, France
3. [1:15:08] Chris Corsano, Bill Orcutt: Distance of Sleep. From Made Out Of Sound (Palilalia, 2021) with Chris Corsano (drums), Bill Orcutt (guitars)
4. [1:18:49] Anna Webber: Idiom VI - Movement IV. From Idiom (Pi, 2021) with Anna Webber Large Ensemble: Anna Webber (tenor saxophone, flute, bass flute), Nathaniel Morgan (alto saxophone), Yuma Uesaka (tenor saxophone, clarinet, contra-alto clarinet), Adam O’Farrill (trumpet), David Byrd-Marrow (horn), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Erica Dicker (violin), Joanna Mattrey (viola), Mariel Roberts (cello), Liz Kosack (synthesizer), Nick Dunston (bass), Satoshi Takeishi (drums), Eric Wubbels (conductor)⠀
⠀
SET 4: Darkness and light [1:25:53]
1. [1:30:49] Anna von Hausswolff: Dolore di Orsini. From All Thoughts Fly (Southern Lord, 2020) with Anna von Hausswolff (organ)
2. [1:34:51] The Residents: Piano Fragment 3. From Leftovers Again?! (New Ralph Too, 2021). NOTE: Previously unreleased
3. [1:36:11] Žibuoklė Martinaitytė: Chiaroscuro Trilogy. From Saudade (Ondine, 2021) with Gabrielius Alekna (piano), Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Giedre Šlekyte (conductor). NOTE: Composed 2017
4. [1:54:58] Outro with Anna von Hausswolff: All Thoughts Fly
Photo credits: David Shea via the artist, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė by Lina Aiduke, Evan Parker and Matthew Shipp by RogueArt, Błoto via the artists, Gabriel Prokofiev by Nathan Gallagher, Bill Orcutt and Chris Corsano via the artists, Anna von Hausswolff by smial, Nate Wooley by Ziga Koritnik, Michael Gregory Jackson by Mark Coelho, Anthony Braxton by Tom Marcello, Anna Webber by Evan Shay.