Flotation Device celebrates the 80th birthday of iconoclastic British composer Frank Denyer with a pair of recordings—one new, one rare—that reveal his penchant for uncompromising musical exploration, including an emphasis on unexpected instruments like shakuhachis and ocarinas. We also pay our respects to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, sample the nostalgic Bulgarian-inflected music of Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin (for her 55th birthday), and survey new albums from Ingrid Laubrock, Alex Paxton, Dai Fujikura, Matt Mitchell and the Knuffke/McPhee Quartet. A fixed-media piece from South African musician Mntana.WeXhwele that combines electronics with indigenous instruments rounds out the playlist.
Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world, with host Michael Schell, originally aired April 9, 2023 on KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma.
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Flotation Device 2023-04-09: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: The eternal quiet place [0:00]
1. [1:33] Ingrid Laubrock: Delusions, Chant II (excerpts) from The Last Quiet Place (Pyroclastic, 2023) with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor and soprano saxophones), Mazz Swift (violin), Tomeka Reid (cello), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), Michael Formanek (double bass), Tom Rainey (drums), Nick Lloyd, Ryan Streber (recording engineers)
2. [7:09] Ryuichi Sakamoto: Raw Life - Response. From Raw Life Osaka (WEA Japan, 1999) with Eiko Hiramatsu, Kazumi Tamaki, Misako Koja, Yoriko Ganeko (voice), Ryuichi Sakamoto (conductor), Goh Hotoda (recording engineer)
3. [10:50] Knuffke | McPhee Quartet + 1: Keep The Dream Up. From Keep Up The Dream (Fundacja Słuchaj, 2023) with Joe McPhee (tenor saxophone), Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Michael Bisio (bass), Jay Rosen (drums), Jim Clouse (recording engineer)
4. [17:35] Dai Fujikura: IMPULSE Piano Concerto No. 3 (excerpts). From Fujikura/Ravel: Piano concertos (Sony, 2022) with Yu Kosuge (piano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor). NOTE: Composed 2017–18⠀
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SET 2: Out of Africa [25:45]
1. [30:49] Mntana.WeXhwele: Isi-La-Wu. From Anthology Of Contemporary Music From South Africa (Unexplained Sounds, 2022) with Nkosenathi Ernie Koela AKA Mntana WeXhwele (traditional instruments, electronics)
2. [40:11] Frank Denyer: After the Rain. From A Monkey's Paw (Continuum, 1991) with Oliver Butterworth (violin), Yoshikazu Iwamoto (shakuhachi), John Whitfield, Helen Keen, Anne Kimber (ocarinas), James Wood (percussion), Frank Denyer (conductor), John Whiting (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1983, recorded 1989
3. [55:45] Outro with György Ligeti: Violin Concerto
4. [1:00:35] Matt Mitchell: scrutiny. From Oblong Aplomb (Out of Your Head, 2023) with Matt Mitchell (piano), Kate Gentile (drums, percussion), Daniel Goodwin (recording engineer)⠀
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SET 3: Hi Mom! [1:03:50]
1. [1:04:53] Alex Paxton: Love Kittens. From Happy Music for Orchestra (Delphian, 2023) with Dreammusics Orchestra: Taylor MacLennan (flute, piccolo), Lavinia Redman (oboes), Alex Roberts (clarinets), Izabela Musial (bassoons), Lucy Smith (horns), Beibei Wang (percussion), Elizabeth Bass (harp), Joy Boole (piano), Lasma Taimina, Kalliopi Mitropoulou (violins), Victoria Bernath (viola), Mike Newman (cello), Gwen Reed (double bass), Alex Paxton (trumpet, trombone, tuba, conductor, recording engineer)
2. [1:08:33] Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin: Mari Mamo. From Bird As Prophet (New Focus, 2019) with David Bowlin (violin), Conor Nelson (flute), Ayano Kataoka (percussion), Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin (Bulgarian singing), Adam Abeshouse (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2009⠀
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SET 4: Back to basics [1:25:26]
1. [1:28:10] Frank Denyer: Melodies (Another Timbre, 2023) with Scordatura Ensemble, Luna String Quartet. Composed 1974–77
1. one-note melody with Jos Zwaanenburg (bamboo flute), Joeri Saal, Robert Bosch (recording engineers)
5. two-note melody with Frank Denyer (voice), Rupert Gillett (recording engineer)
7. three-note melody with Elisabeth Smalt (sneh), Jos Zwaanenburg (baroque traverso), Pepe García (santur), Joeri Saal, Robert Bosch (recording engineers). NOTE: a sneh is a 4-stringed bowed instrument designed by Denyers with "a heart-shaped body covered with monitor lizard skin and an extended viola neck, played in an upright position with the tail piece resting on the player’s thigh"
21. eleven-note melody with Alfrun Schmid (voice), Elisabeth Smalt (viola), Jos Zwaanenburg (flute), Pepe García (cimbalom), Orlando Velazquez (drum), Joeri Saal, Robert Bosch (recording engineers)
22. twelve-note melody with Alistair Sung (cello), Pepe García, Orlando Velazquez (percussion), Joeri Saal, Robert Bosch (recording engineers)
23. 4th interlude with Dario Calderone, Pietro Elia Barcellona (double bass), Jos Zwaanenburg (bass flute), Néstor Martínez Jara (tuba), Orlando Velazquez (percussion), Joeri Saal, Robert Bosch (recording engineers)
25. fourteen-note melody with Pepe García, Orlando Velazquez (percussion), Luna String Quartet: Janneke van Prooijen, Jellantsje de Vries (violins), Elisabeth Smalt (viola), Alistair Sung (cello), Joeri Saal, Robert Bosch (recording engineers)
2. [1:50] Outro with Biliana Voutchkova, Sarah Davachi: Slow poem for Stiebler
Photo credits: Knuffke/McPhee Quartet+1 (Jay Rosen, Kirk Knuffke, Christof Knoche, Joe McPhee, Michael Bisio) by Jim Clouse, Melodies by Frank Denyer, Laubrock Sextet (Tom Rainey, Tomeka Reid, Michael Formanek, Mazz Swift, Ingrid Laubrock, Brandon Seabrook) by Nicki Chavoya, self-portrait by Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin, Frank Denyer via the artist, Ryuichi Sakamoto by Steve Layton, Matt Mitchell via Out of Your Head Records, Dai Fujikura by Michael Schell, Biliana Voutchkova by Cristina Marx, Mntana WeXhwele via Nkosenathi Ernie Koela, Sarah Davachi via the artist, Alex Paxton by Hannah Driscoll/Ricordi.