For his 90th birthday, Flotation Device celebrates Phill Niblock, the godfather of drone minimalism, and a much-loved icon of Downtown experimental music. We sample his austere, immersive yet beautiful music, including a complete 20-minute work specially chosen for the occasion by the composer, who joins host Michael Schell in conversation to discuss his unusual path to new music.
We also compare Niblock’s brand of no-nonsense minimalism with his like-minded peers La Monte Young and Éliane Radigue, and we contrast it to the more popular beat-driven minimalism of Philip Glass, Samuel Adams and John Luther Adams (featuring the late Robert Black). In a more improvisational vein, we explore new albums by Anna Webber, Evan Parker, Matt Wright, Christian Lillinger and Elias Stemeseder that extend the scope of creative music with unusual tunings and instruments. Plus we continue our recent survey of hybrid compositions by Kate Gentile and the Horvitz/Morris/Previte trio.
