Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
Kinetic are an ensemble, led by pianist Joe Sheehan, whose pieces weave together traditional Ghanaian folk songs and original chamber music. For Kinetic's most recent release, Dances of Lake Volta, Sheehan reworked a number of pieces from the group's 2018 album, Songs of Lake Volta, and then added several new ones for good measure. One … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Kinetic – Another Day
Helga Scheibert is a Transylvania-raised, CMU-affiliated pianist who released an album called "Mirror Image" in May. The album's music is an eclectic blend of classical, jazz, folk, and experimental piano stylings. While listening, you'll hear roiling low-note swells, jaunty, sophisticated bounces, theatrical flourishes, virtuosic runs, and a dash of field recording here and there. "Whale … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Helga Scheibert – Whale Song
Eric Weidenhof, an experimental cellist whose isms EP was one of last year's most fascinating local releases, returns with another EP called Phloem. Where isms scrabbled claustrophobically through the darkness, Phloem grandly unfurls itself like a lush, subterranean plant. A discordant sense of unease remains, but the nightmare has transformed into a lucid dream, not … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Eric Weidenhof – Reign for Rest
Multi-instrumentalist Lenni Green's genre-defying December album, Where Did You Go?, was inspired by a friend's battle with schizophrenia. The album's sounds encompass pensive guitar meditation, windswept synth grandeur, piano-led power balladry, and more, the sonic array revolving around a poignant emotional center. Closer "Awakening," which, in Green's words, represents "the catharsis of heavy emotions and … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Lenni Green – Awakening
Chicago avant-garde flautist and composer Nicole Mitchell, who joined the University of Pittsburgh last year as Director of Jazz Studies, unites with Houston composer and multi-instrumentalist Lisa E. Harris for the album EarthSeed, inspired by the works of science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler. EarthSeed's music is a lively, freeform sprawl of jazz, chamber music, … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Nicole Mitchell and Lisa E. Harris – Ownness
Charles Rivera is a Lousville, KY composer and improvisational musician who has worked with the likes of Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Rivera writes on Bandcamp that his latest release, "Camping" for Orchestra, was "inspired by looking at two contrasting vases." It was performed by Rivera and Louisville's Orchestra Enigmatic and recorded live in the atrium … Continue reading Daily Discovery-Charles Rivera-“Camping” for Orchestra
Midori Takada-Through The Looking Glass (1983, RCA//2017 reissue, WRWTFWW and Palto Flats) I first found Through The Looking Glass, a cult favorite release by criminally underrated Japanese experimental composer Midori Takada, while (surprise, surprise) looking at a Pitchfork list. I feel like a consistent, slightly embarrassing theme has arisen when talking about how I find … Continue reading Midori Takada-Through The Looking Glass
Today's listen is a collaboration between American violinist Hilary Hahn and German experimental pianist Hauschka, a pairing that produced the album Silfra (Deutsche Grammophon) in 2012. The album, recorded in Iceland, was mostly improvised; the pair had been preparing material for years before, but decided to scrap it all at the beginning of the recording … Continue reading Daily Listen-Hilary Hahn and Hauschka-Adash
Today's find comes from the upcoming album The River and the Rain In It by Syria, VA-based experimental duo James Lawrence Wolf and Raven Bauer Durham, both veterans of the local music scene. "Building a Beehive" is difficult to characterize, as it draws from ambient, drone, and even classical sounds. Guitars flow like the glassy … Continue reading Daily Discovery-James Lawrence Wolf and Raven Bauer Durham-Building A Beehive
Bored In Pittsburgh 