Music That Expands Our Horizons

[Ducatista47]

I am launching this as an addendum to my “Music of Outstanding Merit” thread. It is intended to be about expanding listening horizons while still showcasing music of merit. It is more about individualistic artists than genres. If you only like to listen to regular “songs” this might be slim pickings. These initial posts feature very well recorded CDs, worth mentioning even though this thread is about music, not recording.

Feel free to add your own horizon expanding or genre busting favorites.


Colin Towns is the man behind Provocateur Records in the UK. Their online store seems to be extinct but I presume the titles are still available through outlets like CD Baby and Import CDs. I personally own a ton of titles from this label. He is a very good musician himself ands uses other top shelf talent to flesh out his compositions. His catalog includes several genres but his take on each is unique or close to it. They range from trios and quartets to a Jazz orchestra of nearly seventy pieces. Almost anything from Provocateur will be unusual but here is a title or two.

One is Still Life (1998), Colin Towns’ Mask Quintet with Maria Pia De Vito. Since the mentioned singer is one of the most accomplished alive, these are indeed songs. The music is hard to pin down as like this or like that, but all are easy to relate to. They just come from a different place or three. It is not the lyrics so much as the music and the way each piece flows. In my opinion they are superior to the usual product. Almost all Provocateur CDs with Colin Towns as a leader have this in common.

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Another I have mentioned before, Verso - DeVito/Taylor/Towner (2000). That trio would be Maria Pia DeVito again with the alternative spelling, Ralph Towner and the late, great pianist John Taylor. This came together when the musicians' mutual admiration society became irresistible. The styles mashed up here are Jazz, World and Towner’s unique music DNA. The music might seem almost familiar until you realize no one else sounds quite like this combo.

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These both have De Vito and she is herself a very different animal. The source of her tremendous vocal range (more like six than five octaves) is mysterious until you hear her deep speaking voice. She came from operatic training if memory serves, but her combo of Jazz, World, experimental and Art music is given free reign on all of her titles on this label, and resembles no one else’s work. You will hear far less use of vibrato and much more acrobatic pitch changing than other singers employ, all to very musical effect. When she skat sings it is not from the Ella Fitzgerald end of the Jazz universe.

[Ducatista47]

Kaki (Katherine) King is one of the best guitarists there is, but works from a left field of her own creation. She is instantly recognizable and completely unique. The only guitarists who sometimes sound anything like her are copying her. Her initial acoustic style possessed mind numbing dexterity and a touch of ferocity, invoking in my mind the phrase “She’s all over he fucking thing”. She has since added a unique take on lap steel and has played an acoustic guitar with a second bridge in the middle, playing both sides at once. She is diminutive but small hands have not slowed her down. She was a drummer too and her playing often reflects that. A unique, monstrous talent that creates unique music.


Glow (2012) is one of my favorites of her titles. There is a string quartet on it and her use of it on the opening track is quite different from the usual uses of the format. You’ll see. For this tour she began using a fixed mounting for a white Ovation Adamas and had a system developed that maps the guitar and projects moving images on it. It’s really striking. The music she composes takes full advantage of her abilities, so naturally it is a different take on how to play guitar and other instruments in the service of a tune.

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Junior (2010) is as close to a regular CD as she has come. She sings on the tunes and there is even a touch of Rock to it. “Falling Day” is a barn burner of a single. It is pop music but not like anything on the charts. The visual design of the CD art is a lot of fun and might explain why one of the songs is titled “Communist Friends”. Again, everything sounds pretty different from the way anyone else would have done it. If you play your cards right you can get an edition of the CD that has a bonus DVD in it. The drummers on this CD are amazing. Being comfortable sitting at the battery herself, she knows how to spot one.

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[Ducatista47]

The violinist Hilary Hahn is well known. Less well known is her relentless musical exploration and penchant for not repeating herself. This has made her something of a gifted outsider in the world of classical music. A frighteningly talented player, she is the one who plays impossible to play works. I saw a video of her performing a wickedly challenging etude. Then she, seemingly without effort, played it double speed. In her CD of 27 new encores she commissioned, you can hear nearly every style of violin music. Her label, Deutsche Grammophon, has gone along with her pairing works by the usual Classical Music composers alongside bold modern composers. It is great to hear Schoenberg and Higdon interpreted by a gifted contemporary musician. My favorite release of Hilary’s is much further off the beaten path.

Silfra (2012) is an improvised collaboration with Volker Bertelmann, known as Hauschka, who plays prepared piano. It ends up prepared piano goes way beyond thumb tacks on the strings. The Silfra Rift (off Iceland) “marks the divide between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is preternaturally still, colored in shades of blue and green not found anywhere else.” The music here is inspired by the place and inspires me when I hear it. If you are a Classical music fan, try Silfra as a change of pace.

From Napster: “Hilary Hahn loves to upset expectations, which is why she's recorded both Bach and Schoenberg. But her improvised collaboration with composer and prepared-pianist Hauschka -- who often plays to indie crowds -- could surprise those who think they know the violinist's range. Rehearsing off-and-on for two years before this recording, they developed a language that keeps the jam sessions from being free-for-alls; the payoff of "Adash" and the suite-like "Godot" could pass for composed. Still, there's a hint of wildness throughout this, one of the more striking instrumental albums in recent memory.”

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[BMWCCA]

Kaki (Katherine) King is one of the best guitarists there is, but works from a left field of her own creation. She is instantly recognizable and completely unique. The only guitarists who sometimes sound anything like her are copying her. Her initial acoustic style possessed mind numbing dexterity and a touch of ferocity, invoking in my mind the phrase “She’s all over he fucking thing”. She has since added a unique take on lap steel and has played an acoustic guitar with a second bridge in the middle, playing both sides at once. She is diminutive but small hands have not slowed her down. She was a drummer too and her playing often reflects that. A unique, monstrous talent that creates unique music.
Wow! Listening to tracks from her "Live at Berklee" which is simply amazing. Getting ready to pull the trigger on a couple of her CDs. Wanting instant gratification, I was wondering what the "produced on demand" CDs are like on Amazon. My preference would be to order from the artist's own web site, thinking maybe they benefit more from it that way.

I think I'll start with "Glow" and "Live at Berklee".

Thanks again for another beautiful recommendation! :applaud:

[Ducatista47]

You are in for a surprise when you hear Glow. In a less collaborative setting, sans orchestra, she carries the load...and she is on fire. In the Berklee recording, she is buried in the mix.

I do enjoy buying directly from the artist. They do get all the money. Some bands with a major label history don't have control of all their catalog. Cowboy Junkies can try to send you everything but their RCA recordings, for instance. Musicians usually will sign everything at no additional charge, at least if they are not a big deal in the business. If they use a fulfillment service I suppose not, but I seem to gravitate to musicians who do this out of their homes. Cindy Combs and Terri Nunn both signed and wrote messages in multiple places on everything they sent, and I didn't even ask them to. The independent musicians I like tend to be wonderful human beings, not surprisingly. Julie Fowlis and her band were the nicest people imaginable. And they all signed every CD I brought with me, not just my purchase.

[BMWCCA]

You are in for a surprise when you hear Glow. In a less collaborative setting, sans orchestra, she carries the load...and she is on fire.I listened to Glow on Spotify and ordered both CDs from the link on her web site. Mentioned her to my daughter, an aspiring musician in Brooklyn where Kaki is also based. She remembers listening to her a decade or so ago while in school. I mentioned that Kaki is making a NYC appearance this month.

Thanks again!

[Ducatista47]

With billions of human voices on Earth, it is unlikely that any one singing voice is unique. There are, however, instances of someone making a unique contribution to the vocal arts with an unsurpassed set of pipes in the service of a unique muse. Lisa Gerrard is known, as far as she is, as the female half of Dead Can Dance and a maven of motion picture soundtracks. The Black Opal is an example of what she was interested in doing in 2009 without yielding any trace of pop music.

Possible to tag as Art Music, this release is either many genres or belonging to none; feel free to decide. Whatever it is, her contribution to musical vocalization has always been unique. She has been wildly creative from a young age. Lisa can sing in several languages, including one of her own. She developed a "Twin language" (unique languages twins sometimes develop to talk to each other) - but she had no twin. Nowhere here is there any trace of vocal gymnastics or trickery, or cuteness for that matter. She simply has a marvelous, versatile, expressive, and seemingly effortless voice. I may be an old softy, but I can't hear the closing track, the lullaby "Sleep" rendered solo by Lisa and her piano, without weeping tears of melancholic joy.

I don't think this will appeal to very many listeners here, but I put it out on this thread because it is undeniably a work of genius by a genius and is unlikely to resemble anything you have previously heard. The instrumental music is on the serious or dark side, she is considered a bit Goth by some, and I love it. Powerful, thrilling and subtle at the same time. The only way I knew of to obtain The Black Opal was to buy it and download it from her website; I did so in the FLAC format, both the main disc and a bonus selection. Recorded in 2009 and released in 2011, it is (basic disc only) on Amazon, but only an mp3.

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[Ducatista47]

The recording I heard (today while mowing the lawn, streaming Napster on an iPod) was by the Stuggart State Opera, Orchestra & Chorus. Sony Classical, 2003. I knew it only by reputation but immediately realized what it was. I found the semi-minimalist music mesmerizing. Some will feel it is monotonous. In any case, it is not your father's opera and is possessed of great intelligence, both formal and casual. A powerful assault on the senses and sensibilities. It certainly tells a story as well.

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[Ducatista47]

A visual followup of Kaki performing with the Passerelle Bridge; a performance of her original acoustic style; and if I can find it something from her recent release Live At Berklee (she composes some interesting music). Note that when using the Passerelle (available on her website) she executes a bend by pressing vertically on the string. Of course, that takes that (other) side of the string out of its ability to play a note for the moment. I'm glad she can figure it out at playing speed, my old brain can't suck it up that hard. She plays six-string open harmonics on all her guitars by slapping the strings. Kaki always seems to find a way to play the sound in her head. Anyone who can use Harvey Mandel and Michael Hedges as a STARTING point earns my admiration. As a bonus, a song with her guitar mapping projection software on display, and a couple of other gems. Every note here is played live.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlR_k7FZnsw

[Ducatista47]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV5JBCBcCO0

[Ducatista47]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKs0tzjJb04

[Ducatista47]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziPD16xCBBg

[Ducatista47]

This CD came out after Glow and before Live at Berklee. Amazing music on this one.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fgSDI4aPCc

[Ducatista47]

Notice the small (Sony?) digital recorder on a tiny stand on the floor. They would have killed for that in 1928...or 1968. This song ended up leading off Glow.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wDDTaKHj1I

[grumpy]

Thanks for posting re Kaki King!

[Ducatista47]

Two YouTube compilations by "Guitar Got Talent" that are giving me a lot of artists to check out. It is nice to see many picking up on what Kaki King has created and is creating. While some have obviously listened to John Fahey, it sadly seems there will never be another anywhere close to his genius. Never flashy, his expression was in a class by itself. Combined with his absolutely perfect playing, he was untouchable. If you have a decent streaming service, try Rain Forests, Oceans, And Other Themes.

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

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

[Ducatista47]

I never thought I would be able to put a pop/rock offering on this thread. Who could possibly expand our experience of the musical content in the genre of popular songs? Anna Calvi from the UK, that's who. The music in popular recordings is usually restricted to harmless playing to support the almighty vocals and the want-to-be clever lyric. A story set to variations of La-la, La-la and Da-da, Da-da. Everything from "Hot Blooded" to Michael Bolton, that's what is really going on and it sounds like it. Rock licks in ABA patterns don't change that. One would think that if it happened it would be in the Blues end of the spectrum, like Led Zeppelin, rather than the social commentary end, like Billy Joel or Michael Jackson (or Taylor Swift nowadays). As the song goes, "It Hasn't Happened Yet."

Anna Calvi was different from the start. Fifties and Surf era guitar and powerful, insistent, idiosyncratic singing. Definitely not Blues based. For Calvi, her words were the opportunity to compose a piece of real, honest, music as striking as her singing. As time went on her work became more intense as the dramatic nature of both her singing and her playing became overwhelming enough to banish any pop music DNA, and cuteness, and any danceability from the music. One thing very few bands ever dabbled in was dramatic style vocals or playing. The Doors did it sometimes in an Art School, European Art Song corny way. The Moody Blues did a very mainstream vocal and orchestral brand of drama, a very pop approach. U2's stuff did it for a bit, but mostly with Bono's singing. I don't mean drama like a play, rather dramatic playing and vocal styles.

Anna is a fully realized multi-instrumentalist; she could be U2 all by herself. On Hunter, she performs all the guitar and vocal work and shares the synth, bass, piano, and percussion duties. Only the occasional strings lack her physical participation. She wrote every bit of the material as well. You would never guess a woman is playing these guitar parts. While that sounds incredibly sexist, if you listen to Hunter in a good system - a necessity, in this case, to hear just how intense her playing has become, YouTube won't touch it - you will see how I mean that. Most of the songs on Hunter are musically more intense than would be ever encountered on the sales charts. Calvi uses dynamics and atmosphere to outstanding effect. Blending in is not in her vocabulary. She is also in that vanishingly rare group who consider their own vocals another instrument in their compositions. To be honest PJ Harvey has regularly broken the pop song mold for a quarter-century, but she is even less likely to show up in the radio/streaming milieu (I can't imagine "Pig Will Not" on any station let alone one that plays Taylor Swift) and Calvi does it while sounding absolutely nothing like Polly Jean.

As usual, I don't know if a single reader here will like this music, and I expect some will not see a difference from the usual pop music stuff. But I do not think I'm going out on a limb recommending it. Not to sound like a broken record, but I don't see how listeners who find music is very important in their lives and want to try new things could still be without a good streaming service. Twelve bucks a month is nothing next to what cable costs and is less than a restaurant meal or a few cups of decent coffee. Certainly, music is more important than that.

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[SEAWOLF97]

Philip Glass: Akhnaten

Philip Glass..... That's how I always felt abt his Koyaanisqatsi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Hr1C62Smk

but I also felt that way about the drum solo in Inna-a-godda-da-Vida in 1968 ;)

(only on headphones, tho) :D

[Mr. Widget]

Thanks Clark! I liked most of the album on my first listen. I kept thinking about what the album would sound like on a pair of "full range" speakers. :D


Widget

[Ducatista47]

Thanks Clark! I liked most of the album on my first listen. I kept thinking about what the album would sound like on a pair of "full range" speakers. http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/images/smilies/biggrin.gif


Widget
http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/images/smilies/tongue.gif I was listening on my Stax headphone rig, but I will post an update of why my single driver augmented system sounds nothing like your description of such an approach. I'll link as soon as I post it. It's long and boring and not really news to you, but perhaps someone might be interested.

I am glad you enjoy some of what Anna Calvi is doing. I would hate to give you a bum steer. I could summarise Hunter by saying that pop music-wise if Arianda Grande is at one end of it and Taylor Swift is in the middle, Anna Calvi is at the other end. WAY at the other end. To be subjective, this is a really exciting CD. Every time I listen to it hits me harder.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?41886-Single-Driver-Done-Right&p=425078&viewfull=1#post425078

[Ducatista47]

Tonight (10/24/2020) I happened on a live Kaki King stage concert. It was recorded about a week ago and streamed tonight from a performing arts center at Georgia Tech.; it is now available to watch anytime. (https://www.facebook.com/kakiking/videos/709433496597742/ ) It begins at about four minutes. Afterwords is a live Q & A which had no sound for a long time; the concert ends at about 51:00 and the sound works from about 1:00:00. They may at some point edit it out but as she eventually attempted to entertain silently maybe they won't. Worth the wait, as her fans seem to ask ultra intelligent questions. She paints a vivid picture of what it has been like being a performing musician since Covid took over. She also discusses the age old dilemma of performing pieces as recorded versus having fun with them.

In the performance itself, she is partially improvisational in that - as she explains in the Q & A - her compositional approach has become largely working pieces out by performing them over time until it doesn't get better each time. Kaki mounts the Passerelle bridge later in the gig but a wood one this time. The tone is quite different. Kind of like going from a National to a Dobro.

Another change, the projection of images on her guitar has advanced to where it no longer needs to be mounted while she plays. She explains it for us. Of note is her mention that the broadcast or streamed presentation of the images has nowhere near the detail and clarity that it does live.

At one point she switches from her Ovation to a normal acoustic flat top with a device mounted on it that works something like an EBow that has been computer enhanced. It is called a Vo-96 (http://www.guitarsite.com/news/gear/vo-96-acoustic-synthesis/). It excites the strings to directly produce the sounds you hear. In most hands it would likely be a "This sounds cool" situation. Naturally, she works miracles with it, completely integrating it with her creative process and creating sonic nirvana.

Edit: This video, at least the Q & A, may be up for only 24 hours. The concert is also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRIyE75n8Po .Perhaps it will stay up longer?

[Ducatista47]

This came out three years ago but I found it only last month, streaming on Amazon Music HD. The CD is Elsa Martin (pronounced mar-TEEN, they are Italians) handling vocals and Stefano Battaglia on piano. Both masterfully. I began this thread, if I recall, with Maria Pia De Vito and Martin reminds me, in this recording, of De Vito. Her style and feeling more so than her voice. That is the highest compliment I can give a vocalist. It reminds me of how sad I am that John Taylor died at a gig a few years ago and he can no longer back De Vito. THIS pair did another release a year later, "Al Centro Delle Cose". That one was certainly influenced by De Vito's "Nel Respiro", possibly the boldest vocal recording of all time.

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[Fritz The Cat]

This came out three years ago but I found it only last month, streaming on Amazon Music HD. The CD is Elsa Martin (pronounced mar-TEEN, they are Italians) handling vocals and Stefano Battaglia on piano. Both masterfully. I began this thread, if I recall, with Maria Pia De Vito and Martin reminds me, in this recording, of De Vito. Her style and feeling more so than her voice. That is the highest compliment I can give a vocalist. It reminds me of how sad I am that John Taylor died at a gig a few years ago and he can no longer back De Vito. THIS pair did another release a year later, "Al Centro Delle Cose". That one was certainly influenced by De Vito's "Nel Respiro", possibly the boldest vocal recording of all time.

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Thanks for the tip. Interesting.
What about the developing of your last horizon expanding tip Kaki King?

[Ducatista47]

Thanks for the tip. Interesting.
What about the developing of your last horizon expanding tip Kaki King?

There was a bump or two in my personal Kaki journey recently. I had a ticket to each of two tour stops near the end of January (the two within reach, Central Illinois and Eastern Iowa) but she had to cancel all concerts in the month due to a COVID surge. I may never get to see her in person, but as I can still enjoy her recordings and posts I am fine with it all.

I should mention that Elsa Martin is no snobbish diva and performs music in a variety of forms. Here is a link from about two years ago. She certainly didn't let lockdown slow her down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbuSkqV82J8