#22. 23 January 2020

howdy there friends!

i hope you're all doing great. 
lots happening. not a ton of time. if you're in Pittsburgh, scope the shows tonight and tomorrow (keep scrollin) with fellow VAXer Liz Kosack in town from Berlin for 2 nights only. 

also, my pops suggested this: Recommended Listening Archive. i dug up as many of my past RL emails as i could find and archived them in a blog. feel free to dig through my past recommendations especially if you're new to the list. 

meanwhile, i've been listening listening listening.

Jaimie Branch :: Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise
CLICK. THAT. LINK. i'm a little late to the party on this one. jaimie branch's new record is SMOKIN. it's not dissimilar from the first one, but everything is deeper. deep grooves stacked from bottom up: bass, drums, cello. the group sound and the record sound, the vision and direction are all incredibly clear. joyous and celebratory and also fuckin fed up.

Robert Lundberg :: Water Infrastructures Addendum
i've been a fan of rob's ever since i heard In One Wind back in 2007 or something. rob is a kickass bass player, a really smart and thoughtful person, and a water lawyer. seriously. this new solo bass recording is GREAT. drone-y, repetitive, cyclical. the performances develop slowly. imagine water reshaping a landscape over centuries and millennia. also the physical manifestation of this recording is a beautifully assembled book of photos and history. highly recommended.

Dana Saul :: Ceiling
i met dana at a workshop in Banff in 2012. i'm excited to hear this new recording in which he very much realizes a unique and personal intersection of composition and improvisation. this album features absolute shredder musicians, but doesn't use them as such. the focus is on the slow unfolding of composition and group interplay. it's great. go listen.

Nathan Alexander Pape and Patrick Breiner :: Ground Air
my buddy nate pape and i released a recording in October and i didn't really tell anyone about it. in hindsight that was kinda dumb. here it is! it's twisted and great. quiet, sound-based improvisations with kernels of melody throughout. i'd love for you to have a listen.