In This issue #10 we highlight 4 artists and some significant works
Bon iver
The album that launched Vernon’s career, For Emma, Forever Ago has a backstory that’s become indie-folk legend. Following the troubling breakdown of a band and a relationship, Vernon holed up for the winter in a remote cabin with nothing but a couple of guitars and an SM57 for company. The nine songs that emerged from this self-imposed exile – originally only intended to be demo recordings – placed Vernon on the path to Grammy awards, Taylor Swift collaborations, and worldwide acclaim.Characterised by Vernon’s haunting falsetto, layered vocal harmonies, and raw acoustic instrumentation.”Skinny Love”: The album’s most famous track, exploring a fragile, “thin” relationship.
“For Emma”: Notable for its use of horns, which Vernon described as a “road trip” sound marking the end of his isolation.”Re: Stacks”: The final track, widely viewed as a masterpiece of “letting go”.
GoGo penguin
The self-titled album by GoGo Penguin was released on June 5, 2020, via Blue Note Records. It is their fifth studio album and The production quality is highly regarded, with instruments having a “crunchy and wholesome” feel, contributing to the album’s dynamic and dramatic soundscapes. Gogo Penguin is from a younger generation listening to electronic and rock music as much as jazz. It takes elements from all their previous works and highlights how accomplished the trio have become both musically and sonically. some describe it as energetic modern rhythmic jazz others reluctant to call the music of GoGo Penguin jazz outright.
Bright Sheng
Bright Sheng’s Four Movements for Piano Trio (1990) is a chamber work for violin, cello, and piano that explores the fusion of Chinese folk music with Western classical structures. The folkloric style and prelude-like first movement of Four Movements for Piano Trio is constructed whereby multiple instruments play variations of the same melody simultaneously, a device typical of Asian music. The second movement of the work is based on a humorous and joyful folk song from Se-Tsuan. In the third movement, a savage dance, the melody grows through a series of melodic development each time the initial motive is repeated, The last movement evokes a lonesome nostalgia.
Seven Tunes Heard in China (1995) is a suite for solo cello . It was commissioned for cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The suite consists of seven movements, each based on folk melodies collected by Sheng from various regions across China. The work blends traditional Chinese folk idioms with modern Western cello techniques, often mimicking the sounds of Chinese instrument.
H’un: In Memoriam 1966-76 is emphatically an angry and grieving cry of historical experience, music that vividly recalls the terrors of China’s Cultural Revolution while mining the fertile resources of Chinese folk tradition. The word H’un, pronounced like the tribe of Attila, is translated by the composer as “lacerations.”
nils frahm
Spaces received general acclaim upon its release on the Erased Tapes label. Unlike a traditional live record, Frahm describes it as a “collage of field recordings,” compiled from two years of performances in various locations using reel-to-reel and cassette tapes. The album captures spontaneous moments, including audience coughs and mobile phone rings, which Frahm considers integral to the “energy exchange” of live performance. It blends classical solo piano with modern synthesizer textures and unconventional percussion. While rooted in neoclassical and avant-garde music, it incorporates elements of electronica and ambient soundscapes.
Classical Album
bright Sheng
Jazz Album
goGo penguin
