Category Archives: music

By Spencer Cawein Pate At this point in his musical career, composer Jurg Frey seems incapable of writing music that is not beautiful. His work has undergone a process of refinement to where it has become something like an aeolian harp; … Continue reading →

By Spencer Cawein Pate Is there a better-named record label than Balloon & Needle? I think not, for no other title could so perfectly suggest the sounds exploding from this small but mighty outfit located in Seoul, South Korea: sharpness and … Continue reading →

By Spencer Cawein Pate 0. Introduction “I love plainness in color, monotony, snow is rather a monotonous tune.  Why should colour not give an impression of singing? White is like a murmur, a whisper, a prayer.”—Robert Walser (quoted in the liner … Continue reading →

By Spencer Cawein Pate When I first laid eyes on the evocative cover of Verses, a new album from Another Timbre collecting five chamber works by the composer Barbara Monk Feldman, I thought it was a cropped photograph of calm ripples … Continue reading →

By Spencer Cawein Pate The Giving Shapes, a Canadian duo comprised of the harpist / vocalist Elisa Thorn and the pianist / vocalist Robyn Jacob, make the most aesthetically beguiling and emotionally compelling music I’ve heard in some time; their songs … Continue reading →

By Spencer Cawein Pate “Before you play two notes, learn how to play one note, y’know. And that, it’s as simple as that really. And don’t play one note unless you’ve got a reason to play it.”–Mark Hollis Two of … Continue reading →