The first HUGE new release day of 2012, so strap in and get ready for a pretty comprehensive rundown! Dave Sumner‘s got your jazz picks, and I’ve got the rest. Here we go!
Continue reading ‘New This Week: Cloud Nothings, Craig Finn and More’
Hey all, we’ve got some fine new releases on the UK store this week, so let’s get into it, shall we? Craig Finn, Leila, First Aid Kit, Pulled Apart By Horses, Nada Surf, Liz Green, and more, after the jump.
Continue reading ‘NA In the UK: Craig Finn, Pulled Apart By Horses’
Hello! Welcome! It starts with a trickle, but always ends in a deluge: there are new records to talk about this week: Kathleen Edwards, Cate Le Bon, Chick Corea, Matthew Dear, Ani DiFranco, new Sleigh Bells, and much, much more after the jump.
Continue reading ‘New Arrivals: Kathleen Edwards Cate Le Bon, Chick Corea’
HELLO! Welcome back! 2012! Here we are! Doing it in the 0-1-2! This will be the last relatively quiet week we’ll be having here for a while, I think. A handful of new titles and some really worthwhile catalog stuff, along with Dave’s usual, fantastic jazz roundup. Here we go!
Keepaway, Black Flute: New Yorkers return with groovy record on Das Racist’s Greedhead label. You get squiggly grooves, thick organs, drowsy, far-off vocals — the kind of stuff that kicks in at the dance party around 3:30 a.m. when everyone is good and boozy. eMusic’s Marc Hogan says:
The official video for first track “Cake” shows Keepaway in three-part split-screen, goofing around in front of a tree. Sounds about right. Avoiding a single focal point, Mike Burakoff (samplers), Frank Lyon (drums) and Nick Nauman (guitar) all share vocal duties, and while there’s definitely a sylvan quality to Black Flutes‘ hollow beats and campfire harmonies, these are no stone-faced shamans. “Hologram” ventures into grinding-ready dubstep bass wobble; synthy, Afropop-nodding reverie “Bomb Track” ends with what appears to be assurance that women can’t measure men’s size as well as they think; and the chorus on the FlyLo-warped “Vital,” includes the wildly apropos line, “I forget my manners.”
Snow Patrol, Fallen Empires: Irish band returns with more deeply-felt pop music — do Irish bands write any other kind? There’s a lot of yearning, but also a lot of racing, and the band spikes their usual concoction of glimmering guitars and searching vocals with the odd layer of keyboard or throbbing dance beat.
Megadeth, Peace Sells, But Who’s Buying? (25th Anniversary Addition): Anniversary reissue of blistering, classic Megadeth record finds it sounding just as nasty and uncompromising as ever. Seriously heavy!
Syd Barrett, The Madcap Laughs: Timeless psych-folk record from the inventor of the genre. This is Syd spacing out, woozy melodies and woozier arrangements. Animal Collective still ain’t got nothing on this.
Heavy Feather, You’re the Lotion on Darkness’ Knuckles as it Punches Light in the Face: This is the greatest album title I’ve seen in quite a while. The album is small and soft and pretty, lots of whispery melodies and gentle arrangements. Tender little snowfall indie rock.
The Little Willies, For the Good Times: Norah Jones’ country band (which also features vet Jim Campilongo on guitar) returns with a batch of smoky, note-perfect covers of classic way-out-west tunes.
Caspian, Live at the Old South Church: Live album from instrumental/post-rock/mood-core band on the great Mylene Sheath label. Fans of everyone from Rachel’s to Explosions in the Sky, this one’s for you.
–>Jazz Picks, by Dave Sumner
Iro Haarla Quintet, Vespers: Another late 2011 arrival to eMusic , and another standout from last year. Haarla brings a masterful touch to this collection of soaring tunes and serene atmospherics. Switching between piano and harp, Haarla is the driving force behind the long plaintive calls of Matias Eick on trumpet and Trygye Seim on sax (both stars of the Euro jazz scene in their own right). Enchanting tunes that’ll fit in just fine with those quiet moments when all you want to do is sit back and relax. Beautiful stuff. Pick of the Week.
Marc Perrenoud Trio, Two Lost Churches: High octane piano trio that doesn’t forget the melody. Swiss pianist and composer Perrenoud, historically, has kept the personnel on his albums to three or less, and his ability on this album to build a sense of more out of less is evidence of his comfort level with the small combo setting. Modern piano trio, but keeps things grounded in the jazz tradition. Nice stuff.
Strasax, Strasax Live:This quintet of four saxes and a set of drums invites excellent pianist Benjamin Moussay to sit in for a live set of modern jazz. Sax collectives tend to take to approaches to a performance: everyone storming off in their own direction with a powerful cumulative effect when their paths cross or take-turns-soloing blowing sessions approach. On Live, Strasax seems to straddle both those extremes. A fair amount of dissonance and skronk, but Moussay’s work on piano and electric keyboards brings a groove to the set that nicely counterbalances the saxes and attracts them back to the center of the tunes.
Jazoo, Are You Still There?: This quintet from Slovenia is a neat little find. Instruments comprising sax, piano, drums, bass, accordion, flute, and electronics. They have a fresh modern sound abounding with celebratory cheer and respect for the melody. Woodwinds that sway happily to and fro, rhythms like a race through the driving rain, squiggly electronics blended with the teddy bear warmth of accordion. Absolutely love this. Find of the Week.
Joachim Kuhn Trio & HR Big Band, Out of the Desert: Pianist Joachim Kuhn does some amazing stuff with the trio format, but he just can’t help himself when it comes to the large ensembles. Much like the guy who foils his friends attempts to have a quiet night at home with a beer by dragging everyone out to the tavern, Kuhn brings his trio, once again, out into the crowd. This time it’s with the HR Big Band in a live performance. Kuhn’s a vet of the scene, and even though his compositions sound very much of Today, his roots of jazz past clearly inform his current releases. If you like your big band to sound a little different, this is a good choice. And if you prefer something more symphonic with your piano trio, then Kuhn’s excellent Europeana with the Radio Philharmonie Hannover will float your boat, too. Both albums on the ACT Music label, a great source of under the radar modern jazz.
Blue Cranes, Cantus Firmus: This Portland quintet seem to straddle the line between jazz and post-rock, but where much post-rock sounds meticulously thought out, it’s the heart of jazz that shines through when improvised music is the guiding principle. The Blue Cranes clearly take to improvisation. Featuring a core of tenor & alto sax, keyboards, drums, and bass, they seem more than happy to toss a bunch of strings into the mix. Strangely, it pushes their music further away from post-rock and closer to an avant-chamber jazz sound. Cantus Firmus is an EP, but they also have a proper album from 2010 on eMusic called Lift Music! Flown Music! from 2007, and it’s just as cool as the EP. Intoxicating tunes with plenty of force from sax and melancholy from strings, rhythms that don’t so much keep the time as spray paint the walls wherever the melody wanders. Highly Recommended.
Blake Lyman, Anthology For Now: This Portland saxophonist’s debut album has him sounding way more comfortable standing in his own reeds than should be expected when using the word ‘debut’. A trio outing, I was ready for a competent but unspectacular blowing session. Instead, what I got was a confident set of evocative tunes. Lyman takes a speak softly and carry a big sax approach to this album, letting his instrument give the impression of force without ever letting the volume get loud enough so that the neighbor’s call the police. Very impressive album. Nice straight-ahead music. Lyman clearly has his own voice; it doesn’t ever sound like he’s trying to channel his sax idols. Recommended.
Elio Villafranca & Arturo Stable, Dos Y Mas: The Cuban born pianist and percussionist seamlessly fuse jazz and world musics, particularly Cuban, for a sublime duo recording. It’s a spirited affair. Villafranca is something of a virtuoso on the keys, though it maybe Stable’s varied percussive instruments and polyrhythmic approach that lend the most intriguing elements to this recording. Tough to say for sure; they both demand my attention with the quality of their play. This is the kind of album that I slowly become addicted to and might begin raving about on the forums in a couple months. Released on the Motema label, who is on quite a roll these days. Highly Recommended.
Charlie Haden & Hank Jones, Come Sunday: I was waiting for this to hit the site. Jazz masters Charlie Haden (bass) and Hank Jones (piano) come together to record another set of spirituals. Fifteen years ago, they recorded Steal Away, a remarkable recording also based on spirituals of their childhood. Come Sunday is no less sublime. Throwing their legendary experience behind simple tunes, it gives the album a weight belied by their light touch. It’s obvious they didn’t record on auto-pilot and there’s no throw-away tunes here. Just beautiful stuff, though with the sad passing of Hank Jones not long after they finished recording, it leaves for a pull on the emotions even greater than the visceral reaction to the sound.
Fernando Huergo, Suite En Celeste Y Blanco: Veteran jazz bassist leads a quintet in an excellent set of Argentinean-influenced jazz. Quintet comprised of sax, flute, bass, drums, and piano. Warm tunes with long flowing lines and some delicious sharp curves. A solid recording that’s sure to cheer up the saddest of winter gloom. Some moments of thrilling beauty.
Jessica Pyrdsa, Whistler’s Daughter: Okay, this caught my attention. Pianist-vocalist has a real nice sound on both instruments. Jazzy in the sense of early Tom Waits. Gotta say, I’m finding myself addicted to quite a few of these tunes. Nothing that blows me away, but the music sounds pretty damn sincere, and I wanted to get a quick word in the article about it. Nice stuff.
And a heads-up about six box sets new to the site. They’re all listed under the Verve label. Artists include Oliver Nelson, Woody Herman, Oscar Peterson Trio, Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, and Quincy Jones.
–> Singles & EPs
The Shins, “Simple Song”: Well, if you were anywhere near a computer yesterday, I’m going to assume you heard this? New one from the Shins 2.0 features a lot of yearning James Mercer vocals and a typically resplendent backing arrangement. For some reason, he was sounding a lot like Brian Wilson to me when I listened to this yesterday. Weird, I know.
Dry the River, Weights & Measures EP: You heard it here first: keep an eye on this band. Keening country harmonies, trembling vocals and sparse arrangements characterize this brief EP from soon-to-be-buzz band. This EP doesn’t do a great job of capturing the power of their live show, but it’s a good introduction before a full-length delivers the goods.
The Babies, Cry Along with the Babies: New 6-song EP from the Babies, aka Kevin from Woods and Cassie from Vivian Girls, is made up mostly of lo-fi folky stuff recorded on what sounds like a 4-track, a nice nod to the sound of indie past.
Nite Jewel, “One Second of Love”: Nite Jewel used to be hushed and tentative and proudly chintzy, but this debut single for Dead Oceans finds her ramping up the cool Italo Disco influence. A good pump-primer for the forthcoming full-length.
Air, “Seven Stars”: Single from forthcoming Air record. I haven’t paid attention to Air in a really long time. This sounds nice, though – a lot more organic than their previous stuff.
The last week before the holidays, and we are down to a trickle as far as new arrivals. This will be the last New This Week roundup of 2011. Where does the time go? Not into some kind of bottle, I can tell you that much. And now, one last run through the stacks before we reconvene in 2012.
Common, The Dreamer, The Believer: The first track on this record features Maya Angelou. The second features Nas. Honestly, I feel like that says it all when it comes to Common: despite what Bill O’Reilly may say, he’s one of hip-hop’s most progressive figures, as much a poet as a rapper, more interested in storytelling than battle rapping. This one finds him returning to the kind of dusty, old-soul beats that characterized his earliest outings. Which is just fine by me.
Radiohead, “The Daily Mail”/”Staircase”: Studio versions of two songs left off the last Radiohead record. Suspecting you’ve heard these already.
Young Jeezy, TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition: JEEZY. I loved the first Young Jeezy record, was a little cool on the second, skipped the third, but am ready to get back on board if Jeezy is ready to have me. What I love about Jeezy’s delivery is the sense of menace in his voice — the way it scrapes across the ice-cold synths is the stuff of horror movies. LET’S GET IT.
The Internet, Purple Naked Ladies: Chillwavey project from Odd Future’s Syd the Kid. Some chintzy synths, soulful vocals and guest appearances from some of the Odd Future crew. Remember Cody ChestnuTT? If he made a chillwave record, this is what I think it would sound like. Also, chillwave.
The Lost Sounds, Lost Sounds: Synthpunk outing from the late Jay Reatard, with Alicja Trout. One of Jay’s earliest releases. Scuzzy and nasty with buckets of shitty-sounding synths.
Tegan and Sara, The Con: Demos: Truth in advertising! Demo versions of the songs from the last Tegan & Sara record. The songs sound great in this more minimal, stripped-back format, highlighting the Quinn sisters’ trembling voices. RECOMMENDED
Meg & Dia, Be Careful, I Love You, Stay in Touch: EP of sweet, plaintive songs consisting mostly of rolling piano and reaching, emotive vocals.
–> Jazz Picks
By Dave Sumner
For the quantity of releases as sparse at they were these last seven days, looking over my list, I’m pretty happy with what was offered in terms of quality. As always, some conventional music, some odd music, and some stuff in between.
Miguel Zenon, Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook: Turning classic Puerto Rican songs into jazz compositions, apparently, wasn’t enough of a challenge for alto-saxophonist Miguel Zenon, so he adds a ten-piece wind ensemble to the mix. The result is a richly textured series of tunes with a modern approach but steeping in the nostalgic songbooks of Long Ago. Sharp searching sax lines interspersed with lush ballads endow this album with a storybook feel. By the way, the wind ensemble is conducted by the excellent pianist-composer Guillermo Klein. If you’re not familiar with his discography, then get started right here, with Filtros, arguably 2008’s album of the year. Highly recommended.
Miguel Zenon, Awake: Altoist Zenon, known predominately for delving into Puerto Rican songbooks and compositions resulting in some very exciting recordings, threatens to record a straight-ahead affair with Awake. I said “threatens”. Adding Fender Rhodes and a string ensemble to album tunes keeps things euphorically different, and his playing on alto sax is just phenomenal. A virtuoso display of his lyricism without it coming off as forced. Pushy lead instruments just grate on my nerves; it’s so unnecessary to force an instrument to do the work that it’s absolutely capable of doing on its own. On Awake, Zenon lets his sax sing. Highly recommended.
Branford Marsalis, Eternal: A Marsalis brothers album that I keep coming back to. Eternal is a laid-back quartet date, featuring Joey Calderazzo on piano, Eric Revis on bass, and “Tain” Watts on drums. Marsalis really just lets his sax sing and features it through the beautiful sound rather than through a fussy display of technique. Watts’ drum work on this album is outstanding, and Marsalis’s sax wails over the top evoke a sense of the spiritual. Recommended.
Roberto Negro Trio, Downtown Sorry:
Interesting piano trio album. Negro gives the impression on the first track that it’ll be a standard piano-bass-drums recording with some pretty flourishes and a little bit of nuanced melancholia thrown in for good measure. But then his piano runs begin to scatter, the bass and drums follow at a discrete distance, and sax and electronics reveal their face at surprising moments. Each subsequent tune gets a little more interesting than its predecessor. Pretty neat, and Recommended.
Olivier Mugot, Distance(s): French guitarist Olivier Mugot has put himself together a nifty avant-garde world jazz album. With herky-jerky compositions played out on guitar, bandoneon, harmonica, percussion, bass, Distance(s) is faintly reminiscent of old-school ECM without sacrificing any of the album’s sense of Now. Plenty of cerebral moments to keep the listener engaged. Pretty cool.
Oh Yeah Orchestra, Freedom of Movement: Comprised of ten of the top jazzers on the Swedish scene, it’s a nice mix of orchestral and avant-garde jazz. Odd dissonance woven into luxurious threads of large ensemble orchestration results in an enchanting set of tunes. I love it when experimentalism is applied to an album, and yet the overall result is an exhilaratingly pure jazz recording. Soprano & tenor sax, trumpet, trombone, tuba, cello, bass, Berimbau, percussion, hang & sizzleboard drums, and some vocal accompaniment are the ingredients to this excellent album. Highly recommended.
Mike Lorenz, Of the Woods: I often like to refer to Brian Blade’s epic Season of Changes as the vanguard example of what nu-jazz has come to be… non-repetitive melodies more akin to storytelling than formulaic poetry and indie rock conventions in a modern jazz framework. But there are others that have adopted that sound, many to impressive effect. Enter guitarist Mike Lorenz’s Of the Woods, a nice series of tunes with understated tension built over machine gun rhythms. A quintet of guitar, sax, piano, bass, and drums, it’s a solid effort that’s quite an enjoyable listen. Definitely worth a look into if you’re into Brian Blade’s thing.
Dino Saluzzi, Navidad De Los Andes: Another ECM dropped today, this one matching up the trio of composer and bandoneon musician Dino Saluzzi, with cellist Anja Lechner, and saxophonist Felix Saluzzi. Not jazz, per se, more world-classical… I guess… or something like that. Cripes, ECM just has its own sound when it comes to these things; they might as well be their own genre at this point. Some people go crazy for this stuff, some not so much. If you like sorrowful harmonization amongst a trio of concerto instruments, then just hit the download button and don’t look back.
Alfredo Naranjo, Mexico Music Fest: Vibraphonist, composer, and arranger Alfredo Naranjo brings together a quartet that includes guitar, bass, and percussion for a nice live set recorded live in April 2011. With Naranjo’s vibes out front, it’s a warm display of technique and voice, with Juan Angel Esquivel’s guitar the perfect accompaniment. I’m very much of the opinion that vibes and guitar should always be at the hip on a jazz album; something so complementary in the instrument’s respective sounds that it’s a lonelier affair when one is excluded from the other. Thankfully, on this fine live performance, we get to hear them in action together.
Angelo Valori & the M. Edit Ensemble, Il Caffe Dalle Americhe: An intoxicating album of jazz fused with Mediterranean folk music. Piano, strings, vocals, saxophones, guitars, and an accordion that sounds like a string section when it sticks to the background. Plenty of serene moments fluttering over rustic compositions. It gets a bit light & fusion-y at times, but that’s part of its charm. I almost passed this album over, but something about it kept me coming back. Now I’m getting hooked. My patience was rewarded, maybe yours, too. Highly recommended.
Okay, this last one, I’m not sure what to make of it and everything I find on the internet about it is in French and no convenient translation page to help me out, but this is just too cool not to mention…
Jazz Combo Box, Scratcho’Band: A mix of hot jazz, hip hop, and a little bit of 70s soul. As far as I can tell, this outfit got together a jazz outfit, including tuba and either and maybe a banjo, scratch records along with it and sample others. There are a lot of failed hip hop jazz fusion attempts out there… a lot. I find most of them unlistenable. This album, though, it’s so damn infectious, leaves me smiling with each track. I’d hate to find out that they’re actually doing their thing over old vinyl jazz records, but really, what little I could find and translate, I think these guys are doing their own thing. So fun.
And real quickly, I think it’s been awhile since 1201 Music dropped an album from the Black Lion Vault series, but there’s a nice Charles Tolliver (Paper Man) which dropped, and an even better Human Arts Ensemble (Under the Sun).
See you next year.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. By which I mean: there’s hardly anything coming out. Let’s dive into the few treasures under the tree this week.
Continue reading ‘new arrivals: anthony hamilton, charlotte ganisbourg & more’
twitterview: Breathe Carolina
You asked; they answered. Below the jump, the Twitter Q&A with the Denver, CO duo Breathe Carolina.
Even though the new release cycle continues to slow down, we’ve still got a few banner new releases today, alongside some hidden gems. Let’s dive in.
new: smashing pumpkins & more
Hello! As some of you may have noticed, there was no New Arrivals roundup last week — largely because there were only a handful of records that came out on Tuesday, and short weeks have a habit of being relatively uneventful. But we’re making up for it today, with a batch of new albums to help round out your 2011, including a batch of Smashing Pumpkins reissues and the new single from Sharon Van Etten. So, without further ado:
The Unthanks cover Robert Wyatt and Antony Hegarty, Hospital Records celebrate their 15th anniversary, Vladislav Delay returns, and more, after the jump.
Continue reading ‘NA in the UK: The Unthanks, Hospital Records’
We’re getting ready to close the gate on another year and, as such, the New Arrivals onslaught is slowing to a trickle. However! We’ve still got a smattering of new albums from trusted favorites — along with a few below-the-radar gems — to keep things interesting until we all hit the holiday madness. So! Here we go!
now live: emusic scenes
eMusic is thrilled today to announce our first-ever iPad app: eMusic Scenes. We’ve been working on this for a while now, and we’re happy to be able to share it with all of you. Scenes was designed to bring you the stories and faces behind some of music’s major movements — from Italian Opera to Atlanta hip-hop to avant garde jazz in Amsterdam. The way it works is easy: simply touch the scene you’re interested in learning about, and you’ll get a brief introduction to the scene — written by one of our well-respected eMusic writers — along with biographies of the artists responsible for creating the scene and links to their most famous works. You can watch videos, listen to radio stations featuring music from each Scene and dive deeper into the store to buy the music you’ve just discovered. You can download Scenes here. We’ll be updating the app with new scenes monthly, so be sure to check back often. Got an idea for a Scene we should cover? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll make sure it’s featured in one of our monthly updates.
New Oneohtrix Point Never, David Lynch’s first album, Kele from Bloc Party gets loose, Olof Arnalds covers Arthur Russell, new EMA, and much, much more, after the jump.
Continue reading ‘NA: Oneohtrix Point Never, David Lynch, Olof Arnalds’
twitterview: Trevor Hall
The gracious Trevor Hall consented to a Twitter Q&A: you asked, he answered! Below, read his thoughts on India, culture shock, his favorite reggae album, his first tattoo, and more.
Some marquee new arrivals this week, including the new one from Florence & the Machine, a Beach Boys record 45 years in the making, and a collaboration that gives new meaning to the word “unusual.” Plus, Jonah is back with a new round of jazz picks.
Continue reading ‘new arrivals: beach boys, florence & more’
Well, if you’ve been saving your pennies for that mythical rainy day, ladies & germs, THAT DAY HAS ARRIVED. No matter what your pleasure, there’s certain to be something within today’s mammoth haul that suits you. Why does it seem like I’m saying that with extra confidence? Because today also sees the New Arrivals debut of Dave Sumner — aka Jonah Powell — who will be combing through the stacks at the same time I do, grabbing the jazz titles of note for a section we’re (for the time being, anyway) dubbing Jonah’s Jazz Picks. Sound good? Sounds good to me. Let’s do this.
twitterview: m83
This past week, Anthony Gonzalez of M83 sat down at his Twitter feed and answered a bunch of questions asked by you, his fans, about his epic new Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, his favorite movies and bands, and more. You can read the entire interview after the jump!
It’s New Arrivals time, and I wanted to lead this week with some exciting news: beginning next week, both here on 17 Dots and on eMusic proper, Jonah Powell will be contributing his roundup of the best Jazz new arrivals to this massive tome. JAZZ FANS, YOUR DAYS IN THE COLD SHADOW OF ISOLATION ARE OVER. We’re a little behind schedule today for a variety of reasons, so I’m just gonna give you the highlights and let you fill in the rest in the comments.
emusic interview: omar souleyman
[Bjork specifically requested that eMusic conduct an interview with the Syrian musician Omar Souleyman as part of her eMusic Takeover. Souleyman remixed the song "Crystalline" from her brand-new record Biophilia. -Ed]
On the map of Syria, a slim finger of land extends to the northeast. This is Hassake, the country’s breadbasket, a land of plenty where the countryside is fertile and dominated by farms. Deep in Hassake, out near the fingertip, lies Jazeera, a region of small towns and villages that stand closer to Iraq and Turkey than the country’s capital, Damascus, 12 hours away by road. It’s a world away from the huge crowds of Glastonbury festival or Central Park Summerstage. But Jazeera is home to Omar Souleyman, the wedding singer who’s played those major events and lit up audiences all over the world with his modern techno take on traditional Arabic dabke music. And Jazeera is his heart, where his family is settled, a place where “we have all sorts of things growing; it’s a very green area.”
Omar Souleyman is a Middle Eastern superstar. Go to any market there and the stalls are packed with his cassettes, well over 500 of them, most recorded live at the wedding parties that remain his bread and butter, then quickly copied and circulated.
eMusic Interview: Bjork
Ed. Note: As part of her week-long takeover of the eMusic UK site, Bjork granted us an exclusive interview about the many facets of her fascinating new album and iPad app project Biophilia. Read it below.
by Andrew Perry
One of the pop world’s most intrepid and unique artists (of either gender), Björk has fearlessly skipped through genres as diverse as disco-pop and anarcho-punk, big band swing and avant-garde techno, in a career spanning almost thirty years. Her name is synonymous with integrity, otherness and a questing spirit that’s rare in the post-millennial landscape.
The latter quality has inspired her in 2011 to devise probably her most ground-breaking work to date, with Biophilia. More than simply her eighth solo album, this latest venture challenges the divisions between technology and nature, physical and virtual reality, acoustic music and electronica, and between merely receiving Art and interacting with it.
This time around, Björk’s collaborators were not just string-pluckers and synth boffins, but a crack team of the world’s leading app-builders, whose pioneering knowledge of touchscreen computer science she enlisted to devise apps for each of the ten tracks on Biophilia. Within these, the listener can themselves define the course of the track, by choosing a given instrument’s part, thus effectively playing in Björk’s band!
Quite apart from thus helping to develop touchscreen technology, and further the links between state-of-the-art computing and music-making, this brain-frazzlingly forward-thinking artist has in the process crafted some of her most imaginative music so far, often evoking an arcane wonder at natural forces through medieval folk-y (though tech-driven!) textures, occasionally invaded by jaw-droppingly tough urban breakbeats.
She is also determined to use the project to open music schools equipped with this new app technology. In her spare time, she’s been fighting to secure investment in Iceland’s ailing economy, and to prevent the multinationals from taking over its energy resources. In short, that island’s most beloved daughter is firing on all cylinders.
