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Flotation Device joins Philip Glass to celebrate both his 88th birthday and the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris with a short piece written for its fully-restored grand organ. We use it as a springboard to explore two younger generations of European minimalists, including Anna von Hausswolff performing on a pipe organ tuned to Renaissance-era quarter-comma meantone temperament, and Bernhard Lang writing for an even more esoteric 1920s-era sixth-tone harmonium commissioned by microtonal music pioneer Alois Hába, whose sole remaining functional copy was just returned to active service. We celebrate Bill Laswell’s 70th birthday with a look at the more exploratory side of his career as a producer and electric bassist, and sample free improv from New York, intermedia from Florida, and three new albums of cross-cultural music by composers born in China, Japan and Iran. We close the proceedings with multihued electroacoustic works by Tristan Murail and Ewa Trębacz.
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Flotation Device 2025-02-09: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: Bill Laswell at 70 [0:00]
1. [2:02] Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, Fred Maher: Square Dance. From Memory Serves (Elektra, 1981) with Henry Threadgill (alto sax), George Lewis (trombone), Fred Frith (guitar, violin, xylophone), Material: Bill Laswell (4, 6 and 8 string basses), Michael Beinhorn (synthesizers, tapes, radio, guitar, drums), Fred Maher (drums, percussion, guitar)
2. [6:25] Miles Davis, Bill Laswell: Agharta Prelude Dub. From Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969–1974 (Sony, 1998)
3. [9:54] Adam Rudolph: Ya-Jey. From The Epic Botanical Beat Suite (Meta, 2015) with Hu Vibrational: Adam Rudolph (bata, slit drum, rebolo, gankogoui, udu, percussion), Brahim Fribgane (cajon, tarija, udu, percussion), James Hurt (sogo, kidi, igbo bell, udu, percussion), Matt Kilmer (frame drum, djembe, kanjira, udu, percussion), Tim Kieper (dusun'goni, pandiero, caxixi, udu, percussion), Keita Ogawa (earthtone drum, frame drum, hadjira, pandeiro, udu, percussion), Tripp Dudley (kanjira, cajon, bayan, frame drum, udu, percussion), Guests: Eivind Aarset (electric guitars), Steve Gorn (bansuri flutes), Bill Laswell (electric bass), Alex Marcelo (fender rhodes), James Dellatacoma (recording engineer, Orange Sound Studio)
4. [14:06] John Zorn, Bill Laswell: The Cleansing. From The Cleansing (Tzadik, 2022) with John Zorn (alto saxophone), Bill Laswell (electric bass), James Dellatacoma (recording engineer)
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SET 2: East meets West [17:49]
1. [21:38] Reza Vali: Hajiani - Reality Music No. 1. From Esfahân (Navona, 2024) with Khosrow Soltani (karnâ), Tedy Mayer (recording engineer, TonZoo OG)
2. [27:31] Lei Liang: Luminosity (excerpt). From Dui (Islandia, 2025) with Mark Dresser (contrabass, recording engineer)
3. [28:48] Lei Liang: déjà vu (excerpt). From Dui (Islandia, 2025) with Cho-Liang Lin (violin), Zhe Lin (percussion), Andy Bradley (recording engineer)
4. [30:21] Yu Kuwabara: Falling Dusk (excerpt). From Sounded Voice, Voiced Sound (Kairos, 2024) with Hidejiro Honjoh (shamisen), Tatsuo Nagami (recording engineer)
5. [31:44] Yu Kuwabara: Lotus Pedestal (excerpt). From Sounded Voice, Voiced Sound (Kairos, 2024) with Awai-Za: Hidejiro Honjoh (shamisen), Shungo Mise (violin), Seiko Takemoto (cello), Tatsuo Nagami (recording engineer)
6. [33:14] Yu Kuwabara: Figure and Ground, Image and Margin, Obverse and Reverse (excerpt). From Sounded Voice, Voiced Sound (Kairos, 2024) with Hidejiro Honjoh (shamisen), Ensemble Guest, Hiroyuji Mito (conductor), Tatsuo Nagami (recording engineer)
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SET 3: Microtonal unconsciousness [37:33]
1. [39:50] Sam Newsome, Jean-Michel Pilc: Cosmic Unconsciousness Unplugged. From Cosmic Unconsciousness Unplugged (2023, Bandcamp) with Sam Newsome (soprano saxophone), Jean-Michel Pilc (piano), Katsuhiko Naito (recording engineer, Maggie's Farm Studio)
2. [44:42] Beaudoin: in this space, his shadow. From 10th Annual Report - Anniversary Edition (Unexplained Sounds, 2024)
3. [50:30] Bernhard Lang: Loops for Hába (excerpt). From Pieces For Sixth-Tone Harmonium (Sub Rosa, 2024) with Miroslav Beinhauer (sixth-tone harmonium)
4. [55:43] Outro with Alois Hába: Six Compositions for sixth-tone harmonium (1928). NOTE: Read more about Hába at http://www.schellsburg.com/HabaCentenary.htm
5. [59:15] Philip Glass: Prelude for Organ. From Prelude for Organ, Live from Notre-Dame de Paris (Orange Mountain, 2025) with Olivier Latry (great organ of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris), Gauthier Simon (recording engineer). NOTE: Premiered January 7, 2025 at Notre-Dame de Paris
6. [1:03:17] Philip Glass: Etude No. 6. From Etude No. 6 arranged for string quartet (Orange Mountain, 2024) with Halcyon String Quartet (performance and arrangement)
7. [1:08:18] Voice break with Philip Glass speaking French
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SET 4: Beyond Glass [1:10:11]
1. [1:11:28] Anna von Hausswolff: All Thoughts Fly. From All Thoughts Fly (Southern Lord, 2020) with Anna von Hausswolff (meantone organ). NOTE: A video accompanying this album is at https://youtu.be/1x11nd1Ft-4
2. [1:23:49] Bernhard Lang: Intermezzi - 2. Abstract Machines #1. From Works for piano (KAIROS, 2021) with Wolfram Oettl (piano), Stephan Schmidt (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2015–16
3. [1:30:28] Wolfgang Mitterer: temp tracks - temperateness, temperance, temperate, tonguetied, temporize, template. From temp tracks (Col Legno, 2021)
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SET 5: Electroacoustic Environments [1:38:30]
1. [1:41:53] Tristan Murail: Winter Fragments. From Winter Fragments (æon/Outhere, 2006) with Argento Chamber Ensemble: Erin Lesser (flute), Kinan Azmeh (clarinet), Miranda Cuckson (violin), Joanne Lin (cello), Joanna Chao (piano), Michael Klingbeil (computer, MIDI keyboard, amplification and reverberation), Michel Galante (conductor), Joshua Fineberg, Pieter Snapper (recording engineers). NOTE: Composed 2000
2. [1:55:56] Outro with Ewa Trębacz: Tharsis
Photo credits: Bernhard Lang by Harald Hoffmann, Bill Laswell by Michael Höfner, Tristan Murail via Radio France, Alois Hába via OperaPlus, Lei Liang by Alex Welsh/New York Times, Paul Beaudoin via the artist, Philip Glass by Chuck Close, Jean-Michel Pilc and Sam Newsome via the artists, Yu Kuwabara by Kenichi Sugimori, Anna von Hausswolff by smial, Reza Vali via the artist, Ewa Trębacz by Mark Haslam