FMA Blog

This Thursday, Interpretations presents an evening of intensely focused music from baritone vocalist Thomas Buckner, with Hamburg-based new music specialists L’Art Pour L’Art. Baritone Thomas Buckner welcomes Hamburg-based L’Art Pour L’Art, (celebrating 30 years as an active ensemble). Taking a look at John Cage’s influence on the European experimental tradition, the evening features Cage’s “Four6”, Christian Wolff’s “Edges”, and three works from European composers: Matthias Kaul’s “Thinking About Air… A Song” and “Games for 5”, & Helmut Oehring’s “Philipp”.

On January 26, the Transient Series launched Volume II at Willow Place Auditorium in Brooklyn, with a concert of music by Swiss composer Jürg Frey. (PLUG: On February 24, 3 pm, we will host The Audience vs Ecstasy Mule vs John Cage vs Ecstasy Mule vs The Audience, with WFMU’s very own Kurt Gottschalk. LINK.)

At first glance, Frey’s music seems to be forbidding; the first 4 1/2 minutes of the flute & piano duet that I played contains nothing but a repeated unison E, alternately above and below the threshold of audibility. It’s music that seems to be demanding something of us, but only because we’re used to unfamiliar music being demanding.

But 10, 15, 20 minutes in we realize that Frey’s music isn’t really demanding anything at all – it’s just slowing everything down, removing what doesn’t need to be there. It’s not ponderous, because it recognizes that there’s nothing to ponder. It’s in a liminal space, between being heavy – in a the sense of being “meaningful” – and being so light that it turns into escapism – minutes, then hours escape from us.

Maybe it's just that it all took place in late January, in a building with no insulation – but I'm reminded of the Wallace Stevens poem "The Snow Man." Stevens imagines a bare landscape, where the listener is only there to behold "Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." To me, this seems a perfect analogue to Frey's work, where the listener, after struggling for so long to discern some meaning from each phrase, finally ceases "reading" the music and just "beholds." (But, then again, maybe this reading is even too much of an overreach on my part.)

Check out a few of my top highlights from the concert below, and if you’re interested download the whole thing from our brand-new page on the FMA. If you like what you hear, please check out our Kickstarter page, where we hope to raise the funds required to master and manufacture the first album on Index.

Find the true meaning of Valentine's day with a bouquet of songs for the scummiest of sweethearts. This mix is so filthy you'll blush and throw up in your mouth a little bit. It will make your arrow wounds from Cupid turn all infected and swollen.

The mix includes sexy songs about sex, unsexy songs about sex, Amil Byleckie reading one of his adult personal ads, an incriminating focus on male genitalia, and a gentle lo-fi synth sway through dark love songs. NSFW.

Created with my Valentine Miscellaniac.

If you dug the soulful hip-hop of Toussaint Morrison's recent mixtapes, then you'll definitely want to check out Wiggle, the debut by his producer Dr. Wylie.

The opening track "GFGDGT" stands for Good Food, Good Drinks, Good Times. It conveys all that and more with its grinding anchor of a beat and a cosmic synth lead that toes the line between Dam Funk and Dabke (that spirited solo about 2 minutes in particularly recalls this vibe). More highlights include the talkbox-infused spacious groove of "Favrit Flayvah" and the hop-along organ beat of "Happy Money."

Wiggle was released by Urban Home Companion. The Twin City activist/art collective is a home for music by Dr. Wylie, Toussaint Morrison, and their talented collaborators. It's also a platform for forays into film and theater. We're looking forward to new releases by both Dr. Wylie and Toussaint Morrison this April!

While you scarf down king cake and brace yourself for tomorrow's hangover, we have a few suggestions for what belongs on this evening's playlist. These odd ball finds aren't your usual crawfish boil Zydeco. Check out bubbly Spanish street orchestra music from Magnifique Bands dos Homes sen Medo, horn-heavy hippie-sing-along Southern Rock from Dark Meat, the accordion toting Zydepunks live at the OCCII in Amsterdam, and NOLA Electroclash organist and inventor Quintron live on WFMU.

Lastly, don't forget to toast your Hurricane cocktail to the legendary Raphael Saadiq as he performs "Big Easy" live on KEXP.

Quintron 
Live at WFMU 12/24/1995

Dark Meat
Live at WFMU 8/10/09

Raphael Saadiq
Live at KEXP 9/6/2009

A Magnifique Bande dos Homes sen Medo

The ring and decay of the bell calls to order, marking the onset on an aural peregrination. Space and place shift in this captivating live performance from CKUT alum Aaron Rosenblum at the now sadly defunct Williamsburg, Brooklyn venue Zebulon.

In setting out to discover how the music on the Free Music Archive gets put to use, a good place to start seemed to be with Jared C. Balogh. Since he started sharing his music for free online in the mid-aughts, he’s seen it applied in any way you could imagine -- from student films to promotions for a public television series. it can be a challenge to find time to make music and corresponding with people from around the world interested in using his music in their projects, and then keeping track of how it’s used.

When you hear the depth and range of his genre-spanning catalog, it’s no wonder that so many other artists hear things that resonate with their own work. While Jared’s been recording since the 90’s, he started his own label, Altered State Reflections, in 2006 and used it to launch his Trans Atlantic Rage project. He began recording under his own name in 2010, which he discussed with us about a year ago on the blog.

For our new Music for Video interview series, he took some time out to chat with us again, this time about how it feels to see your work used everyplace from motion pictures to podcasts.

What’s it like to have people constantly sharing how they’ve used your music with you? What are those e-mails like to get?

At times it is overwhelming, but I find ways to manage it. More than half of my time now is devoted to answering e-mails, IM sessions, updating websites, posting on social networks etc.... with all the usages of my music. I guess you can say it is a good problem to have. My time for writing music is dramatically cut in half. It is more than a full time job (7 days a week) several hours a day. I want to post everything on my website because I am honored and grateful that all of these people spend all this time creating something with the music I create. I watch all videos, films, documentaries, listen to all podcast, radio, newscast etc.... Then I leave a comments. I don't want to come off as being ungrateful. No ways do I want it to stop. I am enjoying every minute of it. It is fun and exciting!

Want to see your music live long and prosper? Star Studios in Oklahoma City are seeking music for use in Star Trek fan films. The independent studio provides set and props free of charge for anyone who wants to make thier own non-commercial productions, and they are close to completing their main set, the bridge of a Constitution Class Starship. Plus, they are part of an association of fan film producers that has a good working relationship with CBS/Paramount, who own the Star Trek franchise.

The group is interested specifically in instrumental, mostly orchestral songs, and feel that loops and electronic tracks are not appropriate to the era. You can contact them for more information on their website.