The "classical" music you buy from Boomkat (2010): a thread to discuss Sylvain Chauveau, Johann Johannsson, Peter Broderick, Olafur Arnalds and others

Thanks for the Skelton link!

Johann Johannsson & Greg Haines (?) live in London in May:
http://www.last.fm/event/1380575+Arctic+Circle+Presents+-+J%C3%B3hann+J%C3%B3hannsson+-+Greg+Haines

Hildur Gudnadottier's Without Sinking deserves a special mention.

(Any thoughts on her other releases? I haven't heard them).

this thread title cracks me up and is so otm

Do any of these artists get reviewed as "classical" music in anywhere other than the Wire? Do they get coverage in what might be described as "traditional" classical music magazines?

the actual boomkat category is 'classical / home listening / ambient' and it's pretty much a catch all for slow quiet stuff.

Do they get coverage in what might be described as "traditional" classical music magazines?

judging from a cursory search, not at all.

Never bought it myself, but I think that the BBC Music magazine (mostly classical, some jazz too) has Late Junction-type stuff in it (Late Junction being the one mainstream radio programme that plays this sorta stuff).

Nils Frahm added to the Johann Johannsson show.

Akira Rabelais has a new album coming out soon. Everyone should listen to Eisoptrophobia. Lovely, haunted reworkings of gorgeous piano pieces from the likes of Satie et al.

Frahm's The Bells sounded lovely earlier while cleaning the kitchen; Johannsson's Virdulegu forsetar sounding gorgeous now (possibly my favourite classical album ever, up there with my favourite albums of any genre); have also been enjoying Valgeir Sigurdsson's Draumalandid.

Anyone heard the Rachel Grimes album?

BTW, djh, thanks for starting this thread...hadn't heard Chauveau or Arnalds yet and grabbed a bunch of both. The Arnalds albums I got have rapidly become some of my favourites.

Anyone else picked up the newish Johannsson soundtrack to the film Varmints? Grabbed it on vinyl and ripped it to MP3 (guess the CD isn't out yet) but there seems to be some weird distortion that comes in on the last track of side one...not sure if that's part of the sound or whether my rip was bad...was perfectly clear up until that point. Either way, enjoyed the album.

the Varmints soundtrack turned up in today's boomkat newsletter (vinyl only until april it says) and actually goes by the snappy title "And In The Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees"

samples here:
http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=245281

You can get Varmints on CD - it came out as a tour CD - I got my copy from Insound. It's being re-issued in the UK in April.

Free compilation that partly matches this thread's aesthetic here: http://jointhecircle.net/

nils frahm's wintermusik sounding fucking gorgeous right now (washing the dishes, glass of red on the go).

Want to echo the Richard Skelton love upthread - Landings is great. Maybe I just don't listen to enough of this sort of thing, but the strings on it sound fantastic, there's a really earthy resonance to them.

In the mood to buy a record in this genre ... Any suggestions?

One artist you may want to check out is Harold Budd - a lot of good albums dating back to the 70s, even. It varies a bit, from very piano-heavy to highly processed, so you'll want to preview them first I guess. I have a soft spot for Lovely Thunder and his collab with the Cocteau Twins, Moon and the Melodies but people often point to The White Arcades as a good starting point. (He also has some newer releases too which I'm somewhat less familiar with.)

Also you may want to check out one or more of Ryuichi Sakamoto's more recent works - I really like both BTTB and Playing the Piano for their simplicity and the nice balance between classical sensibilities and modern feel.

Have also been enjoying the Nils Frahm record Winter Musik.

Anyone go to any Bubbly Blue & Green events?

Also, yes, Winter Musik is excellent. I possibly like The Bells even more.

> Anyone go to any Bubbly Blue & Green events?

was at the Isan / Hauschka with Hildur Guðnadóttir on thursday. went for the laptop electronic (with added water driven percussion and splishy sploshy samples), stayed for the prepared piano and modified cello (surprisingly captivating).

another huge thumbs-up for Frahm's The Bells - this is great stuff

new olafur arnalds: http://www.erasedtapes.co.uk/ (though not really *getting it* so far)

The new Greg Haines is getting good reviews:
http://www.themilkfactory.co.uk/st/2010/03/greg-haines-until-the-point-of-hushed-support-sonic-pieces/

Hauschka, the prepared piano dude i mentioned upthread slightly, is in the latest morr mailout as gigging soon.

10.05.2010 — London (GB) — Barbican ( http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=10071 )
12.05.2010 — Cambridge (GB) — Junction
13.05.2010 — Bristol (GB) — St George
14.05.2010 — Oxford (GB) — Holywell Music Room
15.05.2010 — Manchester (GB) — Band On The Wall
16.05.2010 — Edinburgh (GB) — Roxy

also, isan's half of the Bubbly Blue And Green gig is available from their website: www.isan.co.uk (which is a bit off topic but...)

Nils Frahm in Oxford tomorrow!

So I can't make the Johann Johannson show in London on May 27, anyone want a ticket? £12.50, wot a bargain.

what's worth exploring on kning disk?

and were broderick and frahm the only "solo piano" releases on the label?

Hauschka very entertaining live.

bunch of stuff on Type Recordings, including Broderick's Float in the boomkat summer sale for £3.95:

http://www.boomkat.com/labels/?id=2582&format=cd

Have I missed anything?

Looking for suggestions for more stuff like Olafur Arnalds or like, say, Peter Broderick's Float - stuff that is maybe a touch less dissonant than stuff like Landings can be at times (though I love it too). Really need some more stuff that won't jangle the nerves at random intervals!

(Caveat: still want to stay away from new age cheeseorama.)

I have never heard of these composers. I assume they sound something like Satie informed by minimalism with subtle O'Rourke-ish electronic touches, with higher production values and lower standards of performance technique than most 'new music'? Which could be great or not, depending.

OTM

Pondering spending my Xmas Boomkat voucher on Third Eye Foundation's "The Dark" and Philip Jeck's "An Ark For The Listener" but do feel free to persuade me otherwise . . .

Those are both really great listens tbh.

does the Akira Rabeilas' Caduceus album go here? nobody seems to have talked about it much. severely processed guitar w/ traces of field recordings and delicate AM radio interference. so nice

Should start a 2011 thread but uncertain on what classical music is being bought from Boomkat this year . . . .

Had forgotten how much I enjoyed Richard Skelton's Landings (prompted to replay by The Wire).

Has anyone gone for Skura, the 20 disc box set?

a bunch of the Type Recordings releases are in the winter sale, for the next week anyway.

also, here's a link to the Home Listening recommendations

http://boomkat.com/genres/32/recommendations

Go for it if you want to start a new thread, but I would say make it modern classical / ambient / field recordings of rolling tumbleweed cos there's obviously lots of blurring between these things.

New Nils Frahm.

Can't listen to it on headphones (as recommended on the sleeve) as the scrape of pedals etc gets on my nerves too much.

Hasn't moved me as much as previous releases, so far, but it may grow on me.

This is lovely:

http://drownedinsound.com/news/4143522-listen--stream-a-winged-victory-for-the-sullens-self-titled-debut

agree..... my thoughts here

I picked up a dozen or so releases in the recent (1 mo. or so ago?) Boomkat sale... biggest winner is probably Sylvain Chauveau's The Black Book of Capitalism...... gorgeous record all around.

maybe start here (largely because it is cheap)

https://bloxhamtapes.bandcamp.com/album/all-is-quiet-at-the-ancient-theatre

@Maresn3st, it worked! I liked the sustained tension - so I'm going to buy it when it comes out :)

Ah, thank you Stan!

Had wine and made a CD-R for a friend. Here it is as a Spotify playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7yBvydRPnLza5ijwEHKPC7

(Not my most thought-through playlist).

I reviewed five new CDs on the Another Timbre label. link

used to lurk in this fine thread quite a bit a couple of years ago

recently I thought of it again because I started to work on solo piano music that fits the thread title quite well, although with somewhat of a different twist than most of the other artists discussed here

well I just released my first piece and while technically not on boomkat just yet, I’m definitely planning to sell my album there eventually maybe next year or so :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpwN-QxJiGs

(feel free to ignore if this kind of shameful self-promotion is making you nauseous)

Weirdly missed this:

https://bleep.com/release/329892-cate-blanchett-hildur-gunadttir-tar

Enjoyed this - Elizabeth Alker on Radio 3 - Sacred Spaces

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001fx2s

Has there been anything good this year??

Didn't know where else to put these modern percussion ensemble pieces, but album title of the year for sure:
https://juliansartorius.bandcamp.com/album/rllrlrllrrlrlrlrllrlrlr?label=1968817536
Julian Sartorius - RLLRLRLLRRLRLRLRLLRLRLR

This video of one of the pieces is fantastic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ4HRiNTQC4

Quite enjoyed this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/erx84f (Available on iPlayer)

Proms as follows:

The Echo Society featuring Robert Simonsen and Brendan Angelides
Postcard from Earth - excerpts

Bryce Dessner
Sing Sing - excerpts

Anna Meredith
The End We Start From - excerpts

Son Lux
Everything Everywhere All at Once - excerpts

Tamar-kali Brown
The Last Thing He Wanted - Connecting the Dots

Colin Stetson
The Menu - Amuse Bouche

Herdis Stefansdottir
Knock at the Cabin - excerpts

Isobel Waller-Bridge
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - excerpts

Hauschka (Volker Bertelmann)
All Quiet On the Western Front - excerpts

Hildur Guðnadóttir
Tár - For Petra

Jung Jae-il
Squid Game - excerpts

Jed Kurzel
Monkey Man - excerpts

Max Richter
On The Nature of Daylight

Jerskin Fendrix
Poor Things - excerpts

Playing Hildur Guðnadóttir recently-ish - and specifically the track below - two guests independently said "Oh, this reminds me of [insert name of classical composer]." I'd had buckets of wine though and have no memory who they suggested. Any ideas?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTDYtmHRqa4

Playing Hildur Guðnadóttir recently-ish - and specifically the track below - two guests independently said "Oh, this reminds me of [insert name of classical composer]." I'd had buckets of wine though and have no memory who they suggested. Any ideas?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTDYtmHRqa4

Oh, that's weird. The first time I posted it looked like it was playing the Julian Sartorius track above it.

Michael Gordon perhaps?

What's the point of specifically namedropping "boomkat"?

Well, it could have been lots of places, I suppose. At the time, it's where I would have bought (or heard of) most of this stuff and where a lot of the enthusiasm for these releases came from. A lot of the releases on Type were often discounted, too. There was probably some comedy involved and there was probably something about Boomkat being some kind of signifier.

the actual boomkat category is 'classical / home listening / ambient' and it's pretty much a catch all for slow quiet stuff.

― koogs, Wednesday, January 27, 2010 9:26 AM

I recall Boomkat being the first retailer to really formalize this emerging (and what would become very broad) genre. In hindsight I wouldn't include, say, Richard Skelton but the concept worked well enough at the time.

This Isobel Waller-Bridge record (Objects) is really good, uses a really varied blend of techniques too.

This new soaring Max-Richter-style gloop from Dobrawa Czocher is sounding pretty nice rn

https://dobrawaczocher.bandcamp.com/album/state-of-matter