Flotation Device explores new albums by Charles Uzor, Mary Halvorson, the Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey duo, and Heiner Goebbels, whose latest release on ECM features Ensemble Modern somberly interacting with old recorded voices. Vanished myths and memories is a salient theme in much of this music, but there are new voices to be heard too: making their Flotation Device debut are John Aylward (US), the quintet Nakama (Norway and Japan) and Trio ETE (France) which we'll relate to Rhys Chatham for his 70th birthday.
A selection from Unexplained Sounds Group’s latest global survey of avant-electronica helps to round things out, while our “50 years ago in the avant-garde” feature provides perspective by commemorating the September 1972 premieres of one of the earliest examples of Polish minimalism and a little-known chamber opera (or "musical-scenic unity" if you prefer) by Stockhausen.
Annotated playlist and photo credits in Comments. Creative and improvised music with host Mike Schell.
