Taking stock

Six months ago I started this blog, partially in an attempt to process the high volume of recorded music that I continue to accumulate. After six months, I see that I was overly optimistic to think that I would be able to write about the new recordings I acquire (even though the volume has been reduced to a trickle). However, the blog has led to some contacts with artists whom I have long respected and editors for new reviewing outlets. Writing has its own pleasures, so although I will continue the blog, I no longer will try to write about everything that walks in the door (or that UPS walks to the door).

This means that I can finally open the stack of CDs still in shrinkwrap on my desk and finally enjoy some of my new music. Items that I may (or may not) write about in coming months include:

• Jean-Claude Eloy — Shanti, a reissue of a long electroacoustic work from the 1970s. His work Gaku-No-Michi, from the same period, has long been one of my favorite pieces, and was one of the first works from vinyl that I digitized when I realized that the lifespan of my old LPs was finite.


• Michael Prime and Max Eastley — Hydrophony for Dagon. Michael Prime was in Morphogenesis, an improvising electronic group whose heritage dates back to Stockhausen's intuitive music. Prime has several solo releases as well, with an interesting side career of producing music from plants. This work was recorded live, and all sounds were produced underwater.


• Paul Bradley — Chroma. Most recent work by a contemporary drone master.


• Erdem Helvacıoğlu — Altered Realities. Helvacıoğlu contacted me through this blog, and as a result, I have discovered this serene collection of guitar pieces recently released on New Albion.
  Update: Ka-ching!


• Bernard Parmegiani — Chants Magnetiques. Archival release by one of my favorite electroacoustic composers.


• Francisco López — Lopez Island. Another contemporary drone master, López also uses field recordings to create immersive sound works.


• Horatiu Radulescu — Intimate Rituals. A spectral composer whose work I find inexplicably fascinating, with a number of works for viola.


• Angelo Petronella — Sintesi da un diario. Contemporary musique concrète from Italy.
  Update: Ka-ching!


• Chris Watson and BJ Nilsen — Storm. Watson was one of the original Hafler Trio members whose recent work has been all field recordings. Here he works with BJ Nilsen (a.k.a. Hazard), another phonographer, on recordings of storms.

After all this, I should also mention that blogging will probably be sporadic for a while. We're traveling again to escape the heat, and the high culture performing arts have pretty much rolled up the carpet for the duration. Monsoons should start in the next couple of days, but we're heading east, where they've only had one day over eighty degrees so far this summer.