Flotation Device celebrates the 80th birthday of computer music pioneer Laurie Spiegel, the 70th birthday of Chinese cross-culturalist Ye Xiaogang, and the 50th anniversaries of Frank Zappa's Orchestral Favorites and Louis Andriessen's Workers Union. We mark the latter's standing as one of European minimalism's greatest landmarks with a montage of five different recordings featuring Bang on a Can, the California E.A.R. Unit and more. We also dive into the first complete recording of Frederic Rzewski's ten-hour piano tome The Road. And new and newly-released recordings by Alexander Hawkins, Taylor Ho Bynum, Fred Frith, Blasio Kavuma, the late Irène Schweizer and The Dwarfs of East Agouza round out the proceedings. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, originally broadcast September 21 on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma.
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Flotation Device 2025-09-21: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell
Intro and SET 1: Laurie Spiegel at 80 [0:00]
1. [1:24] Cosa Brava: Koegra. From Z Sides (Klanggalerie, 2024) with Fred Frith (guitar, bass guitar, voice), Carla Kihlstedt (violin, voice), Zeena Parkins (keyboards, voice), Shahzad Ismaily (bass guitar), Matthias Bossi (drums, voice), Norman Teale AKA The Norman Conquest (creative live sound)
2. [4:08] Irène Schweizer et al: Freizeit, Reise. From Irènes Hot Four (Intakt, 2025) with Rüdiger Carl (saxophones, accordion), Irène Schweizer (piano), Johnny Dyani (bass, vocal), Han Bennink (drums, percussion, megaphone). NOTE: Recorded live November 8, 1981 at Internationales Jazzfestival Zürich
3. [9:20] Laurie Spiegel: The Unquestioned Answer. From Dreamcatcher (Pentatone, 2025) with James McVinnie (organ), Matthew Swan (recording engineer)
4. [13:11] Laurie Spiegel: The Unquestioned Answer. From The Expanding Universe (Philo, 1980 reissued 2012 by Unseen Worlds). NOTE: Realized 1974–77 at Bell Labs
SET 2: Satin vs. Sasquatch [16:31]
1. [20:26] Blasio Kavuma: Reverie vs Machine. From Soundclash (Nonclassical, 2025) with Cecilia Bignall (cello), Blasio Kavuma (electronics)
2. [24:05] Alexander Hawkins: Satin Antiphonal. From Song Unconditional (Intakt, 2025) with Alexander Hawkins (piano), Stefano Amerio (recording engineer, Artesuono)
3. [29:10] The Dwarfs of East Agouza: Neptune Anteater. From Sasquatch Landslide (Constellation, 2025) with The Dwarfs of East Agouza: Alan Bishop (alto saxophone, acoustic guitar, vocals), Sam Shalabi (electric guitar), Maurice Louca (keyboards, beats, electronics), Nene Baratto (recording engineer, Big Snuff Studio)
4. [33:06] Alexander Hawkins, Taylor Ho Bynum: Catalogue (Part 2). From A Near Permanent State of Wonder (RogueArt, 2025) with Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet, flugelhorn), Alexander Hawkins (piano), Greg DiCrosta (recording engineer, Firehouse 12)
SET 3: Workers Union at 50 [37:53]
1. [41:58] Louis Andriessen: Workers Union. NOTE: Composed August 1975, premiered later that year. Montage of five recordings
a. From The Minimalists (Mode, 2009) with Orkest de Volharding, Jussi Jaatinen (conductor), Gert De Bruijn (recording engineer, MCO Studios Hilversum)
b. From Raging Against the Machine (Redshift, 2017) with Ensemble Paramirabo, Thin Edge New Music Collective, Dennis Patterson (recording engineer)
c. From Workers Union (Lin, 2017) with Onur Başkurt (drums), Amy Salsgiver (MalletKAT), Kerem Öktem (synth)
d. From Gigantic Dancing Human Machine (Cantaloupe, 2002) with Bang on a Can: Evan Ziporyn (bass clarinet), Wendy Sutter (cello), Robert Black (bass), Mark Stewart (electric guitar), Lisa Moore (piano), David Cossin (vibraphone), Edward Haber, George Wellington, Irene Trudel, Scott Strickland (recording engineers)
e. Zilver (New Albion, 1997) with California E.A.R. Unit: Dorothy Stone (flute), Robin Lorentz (violin), Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick (cello), James D. Rohrig (keyboards), Lorna Eder, Vicki Ray (pianos), Arthur Jarvinen (electric bass, percussion), Amy Knoles (percussion), Tom Erbe (recording engineer)
2. [58:09] Outro with Frederic Rzewski: Coming Together
3. [1:01:09] Laurie Spiegel: Drums. From The Expanding Universe (as above). NOTE: Realized 1974–77 at Bell Labs
SET 4: The complete Road [1:08:19]
1. [1:11:05] Frederic Rzewski: The Road - Part 1: Turns (excerpts). From The Road (Passacaille, 2025) with Daan Vandewalle (piano), Yannick Willox (recording engineer, Acoustic Recording Service). NOTE: Composed 1995–2003. First complete recording
SET 5: Ye at 70, Orchestral Favorites at 50 [1:28:33]
1. [1:31:23] Ye Xiaogang: The Song of the Earth, Op. 47 - 2. Banquet at Tao Family's Pavilion. From The Song of the Earth (Deutsche Grammophon, 2021) with Liping Zhang (soprano), Shenyang (bass-baritone), Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Long Yu (conductor), Philip Krause (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2004
2. [1:36:22] Ye Xiaogang: Nine Horses for 10 Players, Op. 19 (excerpt). From Chamber Music (Resonus Classics, 2024) with Fidelio Trio: Darragh Morgan (violin), Tim Gill (cello), Mary Dullea (piano), Adam Binks (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1993
3. [1:40:26] Frank Zappa: Bogus Pomp. From Orchestral Favorites (DiscReet, 1979 reissued 2019 by Zappa as Orchestral Favorites 40th Anniversary) with Frank Zappa (guitar), Pamela Goldsmith (viola), Mike Lang (solo piano), Ian Underwood, Ralph Grierson (keyboards), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Terry Bozzio (drums), John Bergamo (percussion), Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra, Michael Zearott (conductor). NOTE: Recorded live September 17–19, 1975 at Royce Hall, UCLA
4. 1:53:59] Outro with Frank Zappa: Strictly Genteel (Orchestral Favorites)
Photo credits: The Dwarfs of East Agouza (Alan Bishop, Maurice Louca, Sam Shalabi) by Maged Nader, Laurie Spiegel via Drew Schlesinger, Frederic Rzewski and Daan Vandewalle via Passacaille Records, Irène Schweizer via the artist, Alexander Hawkins via the artist, Workers Union by Louis Andriessen, Ye Xiaogang via Resonus Classics, Blasio Kavuma via the artist, Cosa Brava (Zeena Parkins, Norman Teale, Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, Matthias Boss) by Heike Liss, Frank Zappa recording Orchestral Favorites by John Williams, Louis Andriessen by Marco Borggreve.