Sci-fi opera takes center stage in this show, as we dive into Upload by Michel van der Aa, comparing its theme of immortality gained through digitizing one’s consciousness with Tod Machover’s Death and the Powers, and the original science fiction opera, Karl-Birger Blomdahl’s Aniara, set aboard a doomed spaceship.
We also sample the latest recorded works by Sciarrino, Adès, Christian Wolff, Younghi Pagh-Paan and Ryan Carter, and introduce ourselves to the sparse, delicate piano music of Bolivian composer Cergio Prudencio. Pablo Ribot offers avant-electronica from Argentina, while Satoko Fujii and Otomo Yoshihide record together for the first time. John Zorn and Bill Laswell follow their own duet inclinations, as do Christian Bucher with Rick Countryman, and Gerald Cleaver with Brandon Lopez (via HPrizm's electronic post-filtering). A newly-excavated Derek Bailey outing from 1982, plus João Lencastre’s international quartet and Austin Larkin’s solo violin, round out the proceedings.
Global chart history
Top position held by this upload
Comments
Flotation Device 2023-02-26: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: The avant-garde in current praxis [0:00]
1. [1:37] Ryan Carter: Mutable Arrays. From On a Better Filtering Algorithm (Kairos, 2022) with Present Music: Jennifer Clippert (flute), Margaret Butler Padilla (oboe), Barbara Drapcho (clarinet), Catherine Chen (bassoon), Dietrich Hemann (horn), Don Sipe (trumpet), Alex Wier (marimba), Carl Storniolo (percussion), Michael Mizrahi (piano), Sharan Leventhal (violin), Claudia Lasareff-Mironoff (viola), Adrien Zitoun (cello), David Bloom (conductor). NOTE: Composed 2012
2. [6:56] Gerald Cleaver, Brandon Lopez, Hprizm: Mainsource A. From In The Wilderness (577, 2023) with Hprizm (electronics), Brandon Lopez (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums)
3. [11:59] Pablo Ribot: Mantra. From Anthology of Experimental Music from Latin America (Unexplained Sounds, 2022)
4. [14:11] Salvatore Sciarrino: Arioso a 5. From Chamber Music (Brilliant Classics, 2022) with Ensemble Opificio Sonoro: Andrea Biagini (flute), Raffaella Palumbo (clarinet), Filippo Farinelli (piano), Chiara Franceschini (violin), Umberto Aleandri (cello), Marco Momi (conductor). NOTE: Composed 2018⠀
⠀
SET 2: Sci-fi opera [25:20]
1. [29:15] Michel van der Aa: Upload (excerpts). From Upload (Bandcamp, 2023) with Daughter: Julia Bullock, Father: Roderick Williams, Ensemble MusikFabrik, Otto Tausk (conductor), Tom Gelissen (sound design), Guido Tichelman (recording engineer)
2. [42:57] Derek Bailey et al: Breath-Light Texture (excerpts). From New York 1982 (Recital, 2022) with Derek Bailey (acoustic guitars), Charlie Morrow (trumpet, ocarina, voice - L channel), Carol E. Tuynman (trumpet - R channel), Patricia Burgess (saxophone), Glen Velez (percussion). NOTE: Recorded live April 30, 1982 at The Record Plant, New York
3. [44:55] Satoko Fujii, Otomo Yoshihide: Perpetual Motion I–II (excerpts). From Perpetual Motion (Ayler, 2023) with Satoko Fujii (piano), Otomo Yoshihide (electric guitar), Takanori Terabe (recording engineer). NOTE:
4. [53:57] Outro with Karl-Birger Blomdahl: Aniara
5. [1:01:20] Christian Bucher, Rick Countryman: The Force of Nature. From The Force of Gravity (FMR, 2023) with Rick Countryman (alto saxophone), Christian Bucher (drums), Mrk Estandarte (recording engineer)⠀
⠀
SET 3: Look at the lilies as they grow [1:04:30]
1. [1:06:04] João Lencastre: One. From Safe in your own world (Phonogram Unit, 2022) with Pedro Branco (guitar), Leo Genovese (piano), Drew Gress (double bass), João Lencastre (drums), André Tavares (recording engineer)
2. [1:10:23] Austin Larkin: IV. From Violin Liquid Phases (Memory of a Past Heat, 2022) with Austin Larkin (violin), Mell Dettmer (recording engineer)
3. [1:15:08] Younghi Pagh-Paan: Seht die Lilien an, wie sie wachsen. From Horizon (Cantate, 2023) with Wolfgang Kogert (organ), Ingo Schmidt-Lucas (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2015
4. [1:21:03] Thomas Adès: Shanty - Over the Sea. From Shanty - Over the Sea (ACO Originals, 2023) with Australian Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti (conductor)⠀
⠀
SET 4: Distant distances, silent music [1:28:31]
1. [1:31:10] Christian Wolff: Four Small Duos. From A Complete Anthology Of Solo and Duo Violin Pieces (Black Truffle, 2022) with String Noise: Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris (violins), Ryan Streber (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2010
2. [1:33:10] John Zorn, Bill Laswell: Austin Osman Spare. From The Cleansing (Tzadik, 2022) with John Zorn (alto saxophone), Bill Laswell (electric bass), James Dellatacoma (recording engineer)
3. [1:39:51] Cergio Prudencio: Lejanas lejanías. From Works for Piano (Kairos, 2022) with Daniel Áñez (piano), Gabriel Dufour-Laperrière (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2004
4. [1:53:46] Outro with Federico Mompou: Música Callada
Photo credits: Salvatore Sciarrino via the artist, Kjerstin Dellert and Olle Sivall in Karl-Birger Blomdahl: Aniara, Younghi Pagh-Paan via Ricordi, Satoko Fujii via the artist, Derek Bailey by Stoke Newington, Otomo Yoshihide by Hreinn Gudlaugsson, HPrizm with Brandon Lopez and Gerald Cleaver by John Rogers, Thomas Adès by Marco Borggreve, Julia Bullock and Roderick Williams in Michel van der Aa: Upload, Cergio Prudencio via Kairos Records, John Zorn and Bill Laswell with Sterling Ruby painting via Gagosian.