Shyscapes (2011)

Music: Nils Frahm
Tristana
Album: Wintermusik

Emptyset — Fragment (2013)

Amazing video for the track Fragment featured on the album Recur by the noise / electro band Emptyset. Here is the explanaion from their Vimeo page: "The video mirrors Recur's production approach, applying greater layers of detail and complexity into a signal chain, and continues from our previous moving image work exploring aspects of analogue video, broadcasting and electromagnetic induction. Fragment follows on from this line of research, integrating more physical processes by using reflective surfaces as a means of reshaping the transmitted image."

The Rothko Chapel (Houston, Texas)

Wim Mertens — Struggle for Pleasure (1988)

Lavinia Meijer — Metamorphosis (2012)

Excellent harp rendition of Metamorphosis by Philip Glass. The album is called Glass: Metamorphosis, The Hours and is available here. Jogging enthusiasts will love the video.

Colin Stetson — Judges (2011)

Colin Stetson is a bass saxophone player from Montréal with a minimalist approach. He plays saxophone with a circular breathing technique that allows him to play for very long periods unninterupted. His songs are made up of musical textures and repeating patterns. The result is something you have never heard before. The song Judges is featured on the album New History of Warfare Vol. 2 (The third album of the trilogy was released this year).

! Modern Marimba ¡

I had to post about this marimba thing so I guess my blog is reopened! I recently stumbled on a video by a guy called Evan Chapman playing an excellent version of the song Opening by Philip Glass (on the Glassworks album). There is something about the sound of this instruments that makes the song sound better. I feel like the sounds are softer, more flowing than on the original. So I went looking for a studio recording of this song. Turns out I found one. It's by Nathaniel Bartlett on an album called Precipice: Modern Marimba. The album contains marimba renditions of modern composers classics: Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Stravinsky, Boulez and Bartók to name a few. You can buy the excellent Opening version by Nathaniel Bartlett here.

The Portico Quartet — Line (2009)

I had a recent obsession with the sound of the hang drum, (see article on the subject here). I have been looking for interesting records featuring this musical instrument.

I just discovered the Portico Quartet. A London jazz group making minimalist music featuring a hang drum. The instrument is really well integrated and doesn't sound like a gadget or something added on top of the music. Their music is repetitive, minimal, sometimes reminiscent of the sounds of Philip Glass and Steve Reich. It is accessible jazz that will probably please amateurs of minimalist music.

The Portico Quartet
Line

Album: Isla (2009)

Olafur Arnalds — 3355 [Official video]

Olafur Arnalds
3055 [Official video]
Album: Eulogy of Evolution (2007)
Animation by Zoon Designs

Avro Pärt — Alina (1999)

Arvo Pärt is an Estonian composer who is doing religious music differently from what we are used to hear. His style is often described as sacred minimalism. He invented a technique of composition called tintinnabuli (from the latin tintinnabulum, meaning a bell). The technique is inspired by a choral chants involving two voices answering each other.

Most of the composer's work is choral but this is a piano recording with some touches of violin and cello. Arvo Pärt himself was present for the making of this recording. The choice of the pieces, the order in with they appear and the minimalist cover design typical of ECM recordings, everything is just great.

In contrast with the very powerful choral recording, this music is very delicate. There is a lot of use of silence as the piano notes vibrates. This is quiet, introspective music. Listening to this album you have the impression that every note played makes sense, everything is in a perfect order and harmony.

Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts (2007)

It was just last summer that I stumbled upon the work of Philip Glass. I became addicted to his music and the album Solo Piano played in my house every evening. The same thing happened to director Scott Hicks (Shine), when his son took him to a midnight screening of Koyaanisqati, a movie scored by Glass. Since then, he became an unconditional fan.

In 2005, Hicks started working on a documentary about the composer. The result is an intimate portrait of Philip Glass. In this movie we discover a man who is profundly human, funny, intelligent and spiritual. But also a man who can be stubborn, obsessed by his work and makes huge sacrifices for his music. Scott Hicks followed the composer during a two years period, filming him at home, in his cottage in Nova Scotia and also at work with famous directors. I wouldn't recommend this movie for people who don't know the work of Glass, but this film is essential viewing for anyone interested in the work of the composer.

If you want to discover Philip Glass and you are intimidated by his huge discography, here are my suggestions: Glassworks (1982), Koyaanisqati (1983), Solo Piano (1989) and the Songs from the Trilogy compilation of works for the opera (1989).

Harold Budd/Brian Eno – Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror (1980)

The first post I did on this blog was about the album Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno. So I decided to continue in this direction and give my readers an overview of the four albums of the Ambient Series:

• Brian Eno — Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)

• Brian Eno/Harold Budd — Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror (1980)

• Laraaji — Ambient 3: Day of Radiance (1980)

• Brian Eno — Ambient 4: On Land (1982)

In 1978, Brian Eno discovered the music of the pianist Harold Budd while working with him on the production of the album The Pavillon of Dreams. The music of Budd is mostly improvised atmospheric piano pieces. Not surprisingly, Brian Eno found some similarities with the piano improvisation of Budd and his album Music for Airports. 

Both musicians started collaborating together in the creation of this album, which is mostly improvised by the pianist (with some sound effects and manipulations by Eno). The most obvious difference between the first Ambient album and the second is the sound. While Ambient 1 has a synth sound that is more pronounced, Ambient 2 has a more acoustic piano sound (that ages better in my opinion). The album is relaxing to listen to and it is ideal music for meditation or relaxation.

This is the album that started Harold Budd's carreer and many collaborations with Brian Eno (The Pearl — Harold Budd/Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois). He now has a prolific carreer and many solo albums in the same minimalist piano style.

Nils Frahm — Unter (2012)

Nils Frahm – Unter (2012)
Single: Unter | Über

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)

I discovered ambient music two years ago, during a very rough winter in which I needed time to think. I was in a difficult part of my life, being a new father, and needed to question a lot of things I was taking for granted in my life. No music is better when it's snowing outside than this slow, meditative music to take the time to relax. And I started listening to ambient with the most logical album to start with, Music for Airports by Brian Eno.

It didn't take a lot of time before I bought dozens of ambient music albums. And I'm now really addicted to this kind of music.

Brian Eno composed this album while he was waiting for his plane at the Köln-Bonn airport. The idea was to create background music that was discreet and relaxing to alleviate the tense atmosphere of a typical airport. Le first track (1/1) is by far the best of this album. It's a simple melody at the piano reminding of the early experiments of american minimalist composers (See John Cage — In a Landscape). I think the other tracks on this album are also interesting but the synth sound feels a little outdated.

This album was the first to use the word "ambient" to describe music. So it's a very good introduction to the genre. It's also the first of 4 albums by Eno and friends (Ambient 1: Music for Airports, Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror, Ambient 3: Day of Radiance et Ambient 4: On Land).

I'm often listening to Music for Airports at the end of the day, to relax, and my 3 years old daughter is now asking me to "put the green CD" before sleep. Yes, this albums may sound new-agey at times. But it is also a classic of the genre. If you like this album I strongly recommend you have a look at Music for Airports by the New York musical ensemble Bang on a Can. It's a remake of the 1978 album that dosen't sound as outdated.