Because I don't have enough to get around to listening, I went out and purchased:
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan - Morning Visions
Elodie Lauten - The Death of Don Juan
Kevin Drumm - Imperial Distortion
Tape - Luminarium
Rhys Chatham - Guitar Trio Is My Life!
Plus, I bought moongraphs [erm, sic] on Rothko (Skira), Richter (MOMA), Rauschenberg (Abrams) and Rackstraw Downes, as well as the Tarkvosky 'Sculpting in Time'.
Curious what you'll make of Tape, Brian. I like them, when in a sanguine mood. Might be too poppy for you?
ReplyDeleteI want to add Imperial Distortion to my Drumm collection as well.
Where can I get a moongraph?? :D
ReplyDeleteI'd liked their 'opera' from a few years back and have generally enjoyed what I've heard on Hapna, so I thought it was worth a shot. Have it on now...pretty, yes but sounds OK.
ReplyDeleteBriefly, the Khan is great, Lauten interesting in parts (too close to Daniel Lentz sometimes), Drumm ok if you like soft drones with not too much else going on, Tape pleasant enough, Chatham very cool! Always loved the original Guitar Trio on Moers and here I get 10 versions. This is how I prefer my rock: with one note. ;-)
ReplyDeleteeh it's hard to go wrong with the elite of Classical Indian music (given that yr into classical indian). I guess I wouldn't mind more chat on the new Tape. their last "Rideau" was lovely (prod by Schmickler) and there are many moments I really love on the new one...
ReplyDeletebut these moongraphs! only in nyc eh?
Amusingly I put moongraphs into Google and found a dozen or so links, each and every one of them a typo for monograph!
ReplyDeleteI found the Drumm release extremely dull indeed.
Yeah, I'll give it another go at higher volume to see if I was missing anything in the details, but it seems like an odd step. Between purchasing it and listening, I read a couple of reviews (I think Dusted was one) which seemed to ascribe unbelievable magnificence to it. Not that I bought the hyperbole, but it left me expecting something of interest.
ReplyDeleteI think that Drumm record is a challenging one, to me also. I didn't like it much either on first listen (and I doubt there will be a second one for a while), but I'm hesitant to write it off. something about the overall structure (including the end) is very intriguing, and I have enough respect for Kevin that I think there might be more there than I picked up on first listen. then again, there might not.
ReplyDelete