Mina Gajić, YuEun Kim, Coleman Itzkoff – Sonic Alchemy (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:08:25 minutes | 2,11 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sono Luminus
How do we even measure time? It is sometimes said that time is as old as humankind, but of course it isn’t. It’s just something we created out of a need for… what exactly? Earliest known evidence suggests we were measuring time already 5000 years ago. That way we could create predictability, for example concerning planting and harvesting. From there on we could more easily schedule and organize, which then helped us building a more sustainable life. When we had found a mutual understanding of what we would call time then other systems could be developed, kind of like a third-party software. Music notation works as a fine example.
Today our life is synchronized “to the beat.” Not only is every single footstep kept track of by our telephones or every breath by our smart wrist watches – even our thoughts are as good as monitored as we scroll casually through advertisements on social media. Without us even realizing, the idea of time and synchronicity is apparently encrypted so deep in our consciousness that the thought of viewing the world without it is beyond our comprehension. That doesn’t change the fact that time as we understand it has not always been the same. Our ideas on time have changed throughout the centuries and will most probably continue to do so. The works on Sonic Alchemy are of composers who offer a new perspective on how we can perceive time, each in their own way.
Read moreWolfgang Muthspiel, Scott Colley, Brian Blade – Dance of the Elders (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 45:32 minutes | 852 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM
Wolfgang Muthspiel and his trio with Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on drums reaches a new creative peak on Dance of the Elders – the group’s follow-up up to the much lauded Angular Blues, which The Times called a “quietly impressive album”. Here Wolfgang’s successful stride continues, with his unique compositional signature on the one hand and the particularly vibrant interchanges with his trio colleagues on the other. The guitarist’s writing and approach to jazz is heavily folk-induced but equally inspired by classical music – both aspects are presented clearly throughout the album. Brian’s floating percussive injections and Scott’s nimble counterpoint on bass complement Wolfgang’s acoustic and electric playing in fluid interplay over intricate polyrhythms and adventurous harmonic landscapes.
Read moreWill Butler + Sister Squares – Will Butler + Sister Squares (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 45:05 minutes | 895 MB | Genre: Pop Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Merge Records
Sara Dobbs and Jenny Shore used to work summer stock theater in St. Louis, Missouri. They’d do the hand jive with TV stars past and future; they’d get coldly corrected by the ancient, legendary choreographer Gemze de Lappe. Sara went on to Broadway, including a run as Anybodys in West Side Story. Jenny went on tochoreograph in the independent dance scene of early 2000s Chicago.
Julie Shore is Jenny’s sister. She’s always made music – playing Chopin, writing songs, making bands with her friends. She’s had the archetypal Millennial journey of entering adulthood in the ’08 financial crisis and figuring out what stupid series of jobs you have to take to pay rent while keeping an artistic life alive.
Miles Francis grew up in New York City with Backstreet Boys posters covering their walls. An extraordinary drummer since youth, Miles thrives in collaboration – whether producing artists in their West Village studio, performing with artists like Angelique Kidjo, or powering protests with a big marching drum.
These four – Miles, Julie, Jenny, and Sara – are Sister Squares. What made them a musical unit was working with Grammy winner and Oscar nominee Will Butler. They’ve all just finished a new record together: Will Butler and Sister Squares.
Read moreWilhelm Backhaus – Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3, Piano Concerto No. 4 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:07:41 minutes | 649 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd.
Wilhelm Backhaus, born in Leipzig in 1884, was still studying with Eugen d’Albert inFrankfurt. After his successful debut in London in 1900, Wilhelm Backhaus – supported by conductors such as Nikisch, Richter and Muck – made a career in Europe. He gave more than 4,000 concerts over the course of his life. From 1908 he recorded records, most of them on C. Bechstein. Backhaus debuted in the USA in 1912. In 1929, Wilhelm Backhaus played all 32 Beethoven sonatas in Vienna and Paris for the first time, for the interpretation of which he became famous. Backhaus died in Carinthia in 1969.
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