Refractions: The Echoes Living Room Concerts Volume 12 launches Thursday night, November 16. The music on this CD tells a story of its own, a sound of synthesis and collaboration, world fusions, ambient designs and sonic explorations. But there are also stories behind each of those songs, unique circumstances that are part of the wonder…
Program Highlights
Download This: Lisa Gerrard, Patrick O’Hearn bypass CDs
Tonight on Echoes, (tomorrow in Philadelphia) you’ll hear an hour of music that you can only buy on-line. This isn’t a new phenomenon and I wrote about it a few months back (Farewell CD), but the transition is happening faster than I expected. MP3.com helped pioneer digital delivery before effectively folding its tent three years…
Reviews & Commentary
From Serene to Scintillating: Rasa and Cecil Taylor
It’s been a wild week for music both on and off Echoes. In the Echoes Living Room, Rasa made their first visit to Echoes. They’ve played live on the show twice before. In fact, their first live performance ever was on Echoes. But those performances were recorded in their Marin County Studio. Since they moved…
Program Highlights
Arvo Pärt Reinvented
It was a double dose of Amiina and Slow Six this weekend. Earlier, I wrote about their Echoes Living Room Concert performances. But I also got to see them in regular concert performances, both on the same day. There were only about 60 people at the Slow Six concert this past Saturday night at The…
Program Highlights
Ambient Chamber Music-Slow Six & Amiina
It’s ambient chamber music madness today on Echoes. We have two acts coming in whom we’ve wanted for a while. Even though neither have a new CD, opportunity knocked and we opened the door. Right now I have Slow Six warming up in the echoes Living Room. Slow Six is Christopher Tignor and 4 other…
Reviews & Commentary
Soundtracks-Reinhold Heil & Johnny Klimek vs. John Williams
We’ve been following Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek for a few years now. I loved their integral score to Run Lola Run, composed with director Tom Tykwer. Their ambient soundtracks to The Princess and the Warrior and One Hour Photo put them on the Echoes map. We’ve been wanting to interview them for some time…
Reviews & Commentary
Roots of Echoes: Star’s End
Echoes celebrated its 17th birthday, last week, but Star’s End celebrated its 30th Birthday. Philadelphia space music fans know Star’s End for it five hours of space and ambient music every Saturday Night/Sunday Morning from 1-6AM on 88.5, WXPN. It’s one of the reasons Philadelphia is considered such a hotbed of electronic music. I created…
Reviews & Commentary
Echoes Turns 17
In our excitement about Steve Reich’s 70th Birthday we skidded right by our own. Echoes has been on the air for 17 years now. That’s not as momentous as a 70th, not as alliterative a Sweet 16, not as significant as the voting age of 18 or drinking age of 21, and has no decennial…
Reviews & Commentary
STEVE REICH PUSH-STARTED MY VW BUG AND MINIMALISM
We celebrate Steve Reich on his 70th birthday with this anecdote that goes back to the days of drumming and something Reich probably won’t remember.
Reviews & Commentary
LA Excursion: BT, Album Leaf, Devo, Heede
I’m heading back from LA today after gathering some great interviews. After several false starts, cancellations and venue movements, I interviewed BT. It’s interesting that in the dance and film music worlds, BT is very well known, but outside of that, people seem only vaguely aware of him. His recent music has been extremely impressionistic…