Flotation Device looks back at some of the most compelling new releases of creative and improvised music from 2023. Heading the docket are three different kinds of East meets West, ranging from Yikii’s brash solo machinery, to an Iseul Kim duet that straddles jazz, folk and composed idioms, and EunHo Chang’s Sensational Bliss: a collection of short pieces for a mix of Western and Korean musicians.
We also revisit relentless orchestral and chamber works by Jóhann Jóhannsson and Eric Wubbels, an offbeat take on Celtic ballads from Richard Thompson and the London Experimental Ensemble, synth music from beyond the ether by Norm Chambers, off-kilter rhythms from Kate Gentile and Pasquale Corrado, and free improv from Nicole Mitchell, Alexander Hawkins, the Horvitz/Morris/Previte trio and Mamer (performing on a Central Asian sherter). A Philip Glass cameo plus an unusual new rendition of Terry Riley’s In C (the most landmarky of all minimalist landmarks) round out the playlist.
