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Colin Stetson on Optimistic Underground

Colin Stetson

with
New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
+
Those Who Didn't Run

So it's been almost a year since his album came out and half that since Those Who Didn't Run 10" but the point remains that a shit-ton of you have yet to give this guy a chance and realize that he does things with one saxophone at a time that full bands can't come close to achieving, even with all the overdubbing in the world.

check it out, read and hear why this man has created one of the most important albums of the last several years

http://optimisticunderground.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/colin-stetson/

then learn about how he does it

http://optimisticunderground.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/colin-stetson-a-closer-look-at-how/

for fans of

Zs

Matana Roberts

Bon Iver

Radiohead

Steve Reich
…

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Voting has now opened for the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2012 – your chance to name the very best recordings made throughout last year. BBC Music Magazine jury of critics has selected the 21 nominated discs and DVDs from almost 300 five-star recordings reviewed during 2011. And now it’s over to you.

There are seven categories: instrumental, orchestral, opera, vocal, chamber, choral and – new for this year in the voting categories – DVD. Simply go to www.classical-music.com/awards2012, listen to tracks or watch clips from the nominated recordings and then choose your favourite in each category.

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Once you’ve voted in all seven you’ll be automatically entered in a draw to win some spectacular prizes, including a brand new limited edition Kemble Centennial piano worth £7,000 or a Yamaha MCR-555 hi-fi worth £380, plus copies of all nominated CDs and DVDs.
…

O.K., so we again reach another new year. It's somewhat cliché to think that a particular year has been the 'best' for music, what with the many contributing factors that affect such dynamics, however, this one just past certainly contained some of the most amazing music I've ever had the opportunity to hear. It's a shame that I haven't had the time to properly sort this year's list outside of the top 20, or so, but here goes. As usual, each category is sorted only on the basis of an alphabetical order, however, as opposed to 100 records, there is a top 50, plus a top 10 tracks:

Top 20:

Autechre & The Hafler Trio - ah³eo & ha³oe (ae3o3)
Bee Mask - Canzoni dal Labratorio del Silenzio Cosmico/Elegi for Beach Friday
BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa - Big Shadow Montana
Black Swan - The Quiet Divide
Broken Harbour - Gramophone Transmissions
Bvdub - I Remember (translations of Morketid)
Chris Watson - El Tren Fantasma
Dustin O'Halloran - Lumiere
…

This entry original appeared on my weblog on Friday, December 30 2011

The fact that religious devotion can sometimes lead to wondrous things is proven by many composers, from Pérotin all the way to Arvo Pärt. Or it could just be that plainchant, whether derived or original, is universally beautiful. 1

Deeply religious music is a tradition still very much alive in both the 20th and 21th century with composers like the aforementioned Arvo Pärt, 2 Sofia Gubaidulina and John Tavener.

John Tavener converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity and became heavily involved in mysticism in the 1970s and onwards. A lot of his output consists of large religious works for choir and ensemble or orchestra incorporating religious themes from his studies on mysticism and the Russian Orthodoxy.

One of his most emotionally stunning pieces is "Funeral Ikos" for a small choir, written in 1981. While the piece clearly has a lot of medieval influences…

It was going to be 20, but one of the albums on this list was released Dec 22, so whatareyougonnado, I altered it.

BEFORE WE START, the best album of the year was obviously 'the SMiLE Sessions', 40 years on from their infamous recordings. Hearing the whole thing together, in hindsight of what I've heard of the sessions, and also based on the masterful recording Brian Wilson completed in 2004 (one of my favourite albums), was just a beautiful experience. It transcended experiencing an album. I don't think I'm likely to hear a record more beautiful and moving in my life, for all of its melodic excellence, and for all its tragic, haunting missing parts. But, unfortunately, it's technically a compilation. So fuck that. And fuck Mike Love.

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I HAVE some honourary mentions before we start. Madlib Medicine Show #11: Low Budget High Fi Music…

Nude Rolling Down An Escalator (CD 11701)
I wouldn't quite call it gimmicky, mainly because I'm enjoying it so much. It's funny I thought it was an electronic album because of the cover...which shows mountains made of marks—rising, falling and intersecting—that I'm guessing correspond to notches in a player piano role. It sounds like Chopin, Scott Joplin & Steve Reich all rolled into one (pun intended). So, yes, slightly ridiculous. I was already laughing when I noticed the absurd titles: Bud Ran Back Out, Cosmic Boogie Woogie, etc.

Tal como aconteceu no ano passado, esta não pretende ser a lista daqueles que, para mim, foram os melhores álbuns de 2011, mas antes uma ordenação qualitativa de tudo quanto ouvi este ano. Nesse sentido institui um sistema de qualificação em dois planos: um geral, constituído por cinco níveis (de A a F), e um outro, respeitante a cada um desses cinco, constituído por outros três (de A a C).
Desta forma penso tornar-se mais óbvio aquilo que penso em relação a cada título, procurando atenuar diferenças entre, por exemplo, o primeiro e o último álbum classificados com AA, e realçá-las entre, por exemplo, o último álbum com a classificação AA e o primeiro com AB.
Gostos à parte, procurei ouvir cada título as vezes suficientes para formar uma opinião e, nos últimos tempos, tornei a ouvi-los seguindo a ordenação que aqui apresento:

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001 John Adams, Son of Chamber Symphony / String Quartet (Nonesuch; Música contemporânea, Música de câmara);
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listen

1. Capitol K – God Ohm
2. Primus – Restin’ Bones
3. Steve Reich – Section IIIA
4. Hidden Orchestra – Flight
5. A Lull – Weapons For War
6. Lumerians – Atlanta Brook
7. Not Squares – Asylum
8. Os Mutantes – Bat Macumba
9. Appetite – Fiery Ring
10. Roll The Dice – See You Monday
11. Blues Control – Good Morning
12. CANT – Answer
13. Lime Headed Dog – Balloons and Dams
14. Boards of Canada – Chromakey Dreamcoat
15. Pilooski – Love Is Wet