Radio Eclectus #67: Cockroach operas (Oct. 22, 2020)

Richard Barrett, Agata Zubel, Du Yun & Stuart McLeod all have new albums, and guess who’s got them! From concertos to improv to mad love (including a cockroach as protagonist), Radio Eclectus samples them all, along with avant-berimbau via Luciane Cardassi, Anglo-Dutch postminimalism from the forthcoming Joe Cutler CD, and electroacoustic jamming by the Chantler/Noble/Wright trio. Plus, we honor Japan's foremost living composer on his 65th birthday, unveil a cool artifact of early live electronic music, and close with an epic instrumental chillout by Vancouverite Jordan Nobles. Radical new music from the Northwest and beyond.

As a bonus, we follow the cockroach-as-raconteur theme back to the 50s for a glimpse at an obscure Broadway swing opera featuring Eddie Bracken & Carol Channing, with music by George (Tubby the Tuba) Kleinsinger. Where else are you going to hear THAT?

“Cheers to Radio Eclectus & Michael Schell, a great program featuring experimental music.” -New Focus Recordings