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Listening Post: Wadada Leo Smith

Regular Dusted readers probably require no preamble or primer when it comes to Wadada Leo Smith. A stalwart leader, innovator and educator in creative improvised music across six decades, Smith ascended to octogenarian status on December 18th of last year. The Finnish TUM imprint prefaced that momentous occasion with a series of physical releases organized around instrumentation and collaboration, with colleagues both longstanding and comparatively recent to Smith’s voluminous sound world.

Four were released in 2021, including the solo Trumpet, Sacred Ceremonies teaming Smith in duos and trio with Milford Graves and Bill Laswell, The Chicago Symphonies composed for his Great Lakes Quartet, and A Sonnet for Billie Holiday with Vijay Iyer and Jack DeJohnette. Production delays prevented the release of the final two entries until June 2022. Emerald Duets engages Smith in diverse dialogues with a revolving roster of drummers that includes DeJohnette, Andrew Cyrille, Han Bennink, and Pheeroan akLaff. String Quartets Nos. 1-12 delves deeply into an under-documented side of his oeuvre in featuring pieces for two string ensembles and a small cadre of guest soloists.

In sum, it’s a massive and magisterial amount of material, gorgeously recorded and lovingly presented. A fitting tribute to Smith at this milestone of his life and work and a noble case of “giving him his flowers while he’s still with us.” Dusted writers participating in this Listening Post were understandably daunted the prospect of digesting and discussing so much music. Smith’s sustained artistry and imagination were instant agents in assuaging and even allaying such fears. In the interests of expediency and economy our ensuing conversation focuses on the final two sets in TUM’s series, starting with Emerald Duets.

Intro by Derek Taylor

Derek Taylor: Precedence was on my mind a lot when listening to these discs. Trumpet and drums still aren’t a common combination. As far as I know, the first recorded example dates to Roy Eldridge and Alvin Stoller, who recorded a trio of duets while waiting for other players to show up at a Benny Carter studio session on March 21st, 1955. A fourth track featured Eldridge on overdubbed piano. They still sound striking today in their vibrant collisions of melody and rhythm. Smith’s most certainly intimately familiar with them.

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Of the six releases in the 80th Birthday series, Emerald Duets and Trumpet feel the most allegiant to and resonant with the arc of Smith’s career from start to present. Percussion in the tradition of the AACM’s “little instruments” has been part of his personal palette from the beginning, featuring prominently in his solo Kabell projects from 1972 and 1979. Dialogues with drummers were a natural progression. There are a handful of recordings in that format that predate this set and show off Smith’s predilection for picking partners ready to go all in on the conversations. I’m really curious to learn what others have gleaned from many highlights of these meetings.

Bill Meyer: Duos in general, and duos with percussionists in particular, are an important facet of Smith’s work. While some recent efforts, such as Ten Freedom Summers, use larger ensembles to make grand artistic statements, the duos can be very personal encounters; personally, I find their intimacy very appealing. I remember reading somewhere that Smith said he thinks it is important to break bread with a duo partner, even when their dietary habits are very different than his. At the time, he was talking about Anthony Braxton. Of all the times I’ve seen Smith perform, the one that affected me most was a duo concert with the German percussionist, Günter Baby Sommer. They have decades of rapport, and it showed in the ways they supported each other making really poetic, beautiful statements. Besides Sommer, the drummers he has previously recorded duets with include Ed Blackwell, Adam Rudolph, Jack DeJohnette, Milford Graves, Sabu Toyozumi and Louis Moholo-Moholo. Emerald Duets enlarges that number by three. He’s worked in many other settings with Andrew Cyrille and Pheeroan akLaff; I’m not informed about Smith's history with Han Bennink. John Corbett did an interview with Smith in 2015 for Bomb magazine where Smith mentions seeing Bennink play, but I don’t know if he’s ever played with him before.

Marc Medwin: If he has worked with Bennink before, I've not heard of it either. I heard about the food symbiosis from him directly, and yes, relating to Braxton, about 15 years ago. Performative intimacy has long been paramount to Smith, as we hear as far back as the Creative Construction Company material and the Kabell Years retrospective. What fascinates me is that, like Bill Dixon, even when Smith works in duo, his take on that intimacy can be quite malleable. The sound can be large, sometimes monumentally so. Maybe it's something about the space and dynamic range in his playing, or maybe it's simply the way the instrumentalists react and interact in the environment Smith has created via the score. Just as a point of comparison, on Coltrane's Interstellar Space, I do not hear that huge sense of physical space as much as lines in intersection. Each piece on The Emerald Duets sounds very spacious to me, in a physical sense.

Michael Rosenstein: This series celebrating his 80th birthday has been a treasure trove of interesting work. What's particularly interesting about this batch of duos with drummers is how they draw on musicians he's had a longstanding association with. I can't find specific documentation but it seems likely that Smith and Jack DeJohnette crossed paths in Chicago in the 1960s as part of their activities with AACM if not at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY in the 1970s. Smith's 1970s collaborations with Pheeroan ak Laff are better documented including a set from Studio Rivbea as part of the Wildflower series and as part of and early New Dalta Ahkri lineup from New Haven. I'm not sure if Smith and Bennink ever played together, but they were both part of Derek Bailey's Company 6 and Company 7 recordings from 1977 so they were at least traveling in the same circles. The earliest documentation I can find of his collaborations with Andrew Cyrille are from the late 1990s playing in a group assembled by John Lindberg. But it seems like their paths might have crossed earlier in New York.

That's a lot of collective experience in this set!

Bill Meyer: DeJohnette moved to NY from Chicago in 1966, and Smith came to Chicago after being in the army in January 1967. But it’s fair to suppose that Smith knew of him from the 1960s on, given DeJohnette’s involvement with Miles Davis as well as his Chicago roots. George Lewis mentions in his AACM study, A Power Stronger Than Itself, that DeJohnette was a frequent presence at Creative Music Studio.

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Derek Taylor: Smith and Sommer have an excellent disc on Intakt, Wisdom in Time, from 2006 and the trio they shared with Peter Kowald from a quarter-century earlier is one of the touchstones of the FMP catalog. So much rapport and mutual listening on display, as Bill notes, and congruous willingness to go pretty much anywhere with the music. It’s a common thread in Smith’s work and I love the “food symbiosis” descriptor as a synopsis of the intentional cultivation of differences-intact cause and effect.

Among these duets, I had the greatest anticipation for the session with Bennink. I’m not aware of any earlier recordings of the two outside the Company disc that Michael mentions and Bennink’s singular brand of intensity, levity and piebald swing feels like a novel foil for Smith. It doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Smith’s penchant for verbose dedicatory titles is in florid bloom and there’s a fascinating emphasis on naming individuals and locales across time and space. Familiar figures (Louis Armstrong, Ornette Coleman, Albert Einstein) are named alongside others (Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson) that had me referencing Google. The open dynamics that Marc notes are on full display with Bennink reigning in his more extravagant impulses. It's like an extended meditation with strong, sharp teeth occasionally bared.

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Bill Meyer: Derek, your point about the titles that Smith gives to the music draws attention to one of the things that I think Smith has in common with Braxton or Dixon: he doesn’t just want to play, he wants to put out a lot of information. The immensity is part of the point. In Smith’s case, this involves spiritual, cultural, sensate, social, scientific and aesthetic concerns. But this can coexist with an attention to tonal and gestural detail; the music asks you to think both big and small. At its best, the music does both, and so far, I find that in the encounter with DeJohnette, where there’s an evident, cooperative give and take between the players, and also titles that reference rarified experiences and interdisciplinary inquiry.

I say so far because I’ve only listened to the duos once or twice each, and I think that the choice to package several full sessions in a box corresponds to a request to consider this music’s messages for a while now, and also for a long time afterwards. One spin is just getting started. On my first listen, the duo with Bennink sounds like two skilled musicians having some fun playing together.

Derek Taylor: Bill, I like your observation about immensity as intentionality and the comparison to output of Braxton and Dixon. The latter’s Odyssey set (five discs of mostly solo trumpet and flugelhorn and a sixth with spoken exegesis of the same) is a spiritual precursor to Smith’s Trumpet and a similarly deep, transportive dive. That kind of fecundity runs the risk of feeling like listener homework when engaged beyond a sampling, but I think Smith largely sidesteps the issue in the breadth and allure of these sets. Even with the economy of instrumentation on Emerald Duets, there’s a wealth of variety and interplay that’s consistently satisfying.

DeJohnette gets the most time with Smith over two complete sessions and I agree, there’s a very productive workshop feel to their encounters that goes well beyond that of a casual conclave. One of the dates is also set apart in that both men double on pianos (acoustic and electric). These are the discs I’ve spent the least time with so far, but that’s primarily because of a desire for repeat visits to the Bennink and Cyrille sessions.

Getting back to meaning-rich titles, the Cyrille has a canny mix of dedicatory pieces and refreshingly political ones. Jeanne Lee, Donald Ayler and Mongezi Feza get the shoutouts and “The Patriot Act, Unconstitutional Force that Destroys Democracy” (a piece also interpreted on the first DeJohnette session) leaves no equivocation as to Smith’s political and humanist sensibilities. Gratifying to see local Representative Ilhan Omar garner a piece on the Cyrille session. It makes me wonder if she’s heard it, and if not, invites the temptation to drop a copy off at her office in downtown Minneapolis.

Jennifer Kelly: I know a lot less about Smith than most of you, though once, on a trip to Chicago, I met up with Bill Meyer at the University of Chicago to see him play and accept some kind of award? (Bill do you remember the details?) It was an incredible evening, very warm and welcoming. I remember one of his grandchildren running around, and everyone very tolerant of that, kind of a family vibe. I think I had already heard a little bit of his work, maybe Ten Freedom Summers?

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In any case, I am also enjoying the drummer duets and finding that I really like Smith's trumpet tone, which is full of air and seems softer and less piercing than other players. It's very ruminative and evocative to my ears. We've been talking about him primarily as a composer, which, fair enough...but what do we think about him as a performer and interpreter of his music?

I've also been dipping into the string quartets and wanted to draw your attention to a piece in the New York Times, which talks about his unusual notation ...one of the reasons that this material is not performed very often.

The difference between his drummer duets and these very lush, romantic classical string is really striking. What do you guys see as the common thread?

Derek Taylor: Jenny, I agree about the inviting nature of Smith’s brass tone(s). There’s clarity and elasticity to it across time that’s extraordinary. He can play harsh and discordant with a mastery of wide array of extended techniques. Although more often there’s a sonorousness suffusing his phrases that’s disarming, but also direct. He found his instrumental voice early and has shaped it to so many different settings to the degree that he’s pretty easy to single out, no matter the ensemble size. A similar singularity informs his architectures for strings, which I was initially surprised by, but then realized I probably shouldn’t have been.

Separating Smith’s composing and playing is difficult for me. There seems to be so much overlap and interaction between the two disciplines. That’s true of many improvising musicians, but it feels particularly so with Smith. The Duets are an excellent example of this intersectionality with each drummer confidently bringing their individual tool kits to bear on the cues and structures, which don’t just encourage, but entreat such interplay.

Probably an unfair and perhaps unanswerable question, but is there a drumming partner amongst the four that resonates most with folks?

Bill Meyer: Jen, I think we saw him play in October 2015 with a version of the Golden Quartet, with (iirc) Anthony Davis on piano, John Lindberg on bass, and Mike Reed on drums. I don’t recall an award, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. That concert stood out to me because I felt like Smith was kind of playfully messing with Davis and Lindberg. Most times, Smith has a kind of esteemed elder air about him. They were playing some of his graphic scores, and I particularly remember Davis seeming a bit flummoxed.

Smith has incorporated elements of classical instrumentation and forms for decades; on the Spirit Catcher album, which was recorded c. 1979, he performs with a harp trio, and on Ten Freedom Summers, the four-disc work that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2013, the music switched between the Golden Quartet, a ten-piece chamber ensemble, and a merger of the two. I haven’t dipped too far into the string quartets yet, but in general I really value the presence of Smith as a player in his music. His trumpet brings things into focus for me.

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Marc Medwin: I love the description of the quartets as Romantic! In a very fundamental way, they are, not that they sound like Mahler or Tchaikovsky. I'm listening to the 9th quartet as I type, and harmony's this wonderfully open and malleable thing, certainly not atonal! The more I think about it, I hear the duets as pretty Romantic as well, and I mean that in the sense of size, as we've been discussing, and in the sense of fluidity as one event melds with another, forms and spaces in which boundaries aren't so much transgressed as disappear. Smith's trumpet tones can sound like that. One pitch can take on many shades and even…what, characters?

Christian Carey: The duets are so captivating. Without a harmony instrument (except the few places when piano is introduced, which I particularly liked), it is up to Wadada Leo Smith to fill in the implications of harmony with single trumpet lines, which he does with a keen sense of progression. That said, the duets are primarily about Smith's soaring melodic style and the sharing of rhythmic ideas between him and the various drummers.

There is a bridging of the gap between duet partners. Smith plays differently with each of the drummers, acknowledging their musicality. All of the drummers bridge the gap as well, doing a fine job of arriving in Smith's orbit. I was particularly struck by how Smith and Han Bennink met in the middle, with the drummer discarding some of his more manic incursions to truly inhabit Smith's compositions.

Bill Meyer: Yeah, Bennink eschews both the antic side of his late free approach and his pre-bebop swinging brushes approach. He meets Wadada where he’s at and just plays.

So far, my favorite duets are the ones with DeJohnette. I think they share an inclination to compose in real time, which leads to their music having an especially patient, thoughtful quality.

Smith’s notation system is called Ankhrasmation. Here’s an interview that includes some discussion of it. https://bombmagazine.org/articles/wadada-leo-smith/

Derek Taylor: Smith elucidates influences on his string quartet writing in the set’s accompanying book, starting with Ornette’s Town Hall 1965 piece “Dedication to Poets and Writers” and moving through the works of Bartok, Beethoven, Debussy, Webern and Shostakovich. Alongside a broad list of African American composers from Scott Joplin to Alvin Singleton, he weaves in B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker. Smith also parcels his compositions into four temporal periods. The dozen pieces documented in the box comprise three of these periods, with a fourth consisting of three more compositions as yet unrecorded corresponding to 13th, 14th, and 15th Constitutional Amendments ratified during the Lincoln Presidency.

In Smith’s words: “My aspiration was to create a body of music that is expressive and that also explores the African American experience in the United States of America. My music is not a historical account. I intend that my inspiration seeks a psychological and cultural reality.”

He continues, “I therefore construct a music that relies on non-traditional components and concepts that allows a shared responsibility for the horizontal flow of the music, including the creative ability to reshape recurrences of musical moments both with interpretations and expressions, to introduce new and different languages into a single work and use that language as a form of expansion and not as a development.”

Lots to unpack and ponder there, and titles once again become dedicatory guideposts in signifying inspiration. The four movements of the first quartet correspond to four African American composers. The two movements of the ninth are named after Ma Rainey and Marian Anderson, respectively. The first movement of the twelfth is for Billie Holliday.

The guests that join the Redkoral Quartet on four of the 12 pieces obviously break with the conventions of the string quartet format. Christian, given your experience as a composer and theorist, I’m curious how you see Smith aligning with and diverging from the lineage of this instrumentation.

Just a side note on the presentation of these sets. As with the earlier releases in the series, the physical packaging and contents of theses final two entries are superlative. The price point is steep, but TUM spared no expense in covering the curatorial and annotative bases. It’s all appealing, from color photographs and reproductions of accompanying artwork to detailed and diverse essays and a sturdy, handsome cardboard exterior. Even interior sleeves within sleeves for the discs. As a collective 80th birthday present to an American treasure, it’s a homerun.

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Justin Cober-Lake: Catching up after a few days away, I hope I don't derail things by looping back. I'm most interested in his duets with Pheeroan akLaff, mainly because America’s National Parks was my entry into serious consideration of Smith's work. akLaff told me at the time that there's an "ethos connecting the player and the score.” Listening to these duet combinations in parallel (especially given the recurrence of "The Patriot Act" allows for some thinking on that topic. How does a player connect to these complex scores, and how does that change among players? How do a pair of artists connect to each other over the same score in different ways. akLaff's work on "The Patriot Act" is my favorite of the batch, but maybe only because I feel a certain resonance there. DeJohnette seems to have more freedom; while he certainly has more time, I may be reading into the collaborative nature of that performance. I'd be curious to learn more about the process. In this case, how does Smith — who composed the piece — adjust his playing to his duet partner? Does he have something different in mind ahead of time, knowing who he's playing with (he knows these artists well) or is approach more reactive?

Derek Taylor: Thanks for linking to your piece, Justin. Even more grist to chew on. The duets feel different from Smith’s ensemble pieces to me on several fronts. Most obviously, they’re dialogues, so the material is geared towards dyadic interplay interlaced with solo expression. Something cellist Ashley Walters notes in your piece seems germane to the differences, too: “Wadada’s music is not completely fixed nor completely free: it lies somewhere in the middle where parts can slide across each other or align depending on the performance. In this way, performing with [his] ensemble is the ultimate chamber music experience: you know each part so well that you can react and create music with each other in real time.”

Each of these drummers is a deft and experienced improviser. Smith recognizes and relies on that throughout, according ample latitude to their decisions and contributions. Bennink’s a great example of that trust placed paying off in an unexpected way. Certain of his more idiosyncratic percussive trademarks are left absent in the service of preserving the tenor and poise of Smith’s compositions. It’s still identifiably Bennink behind the kit, but magnanimously attenuated to Smith and vice versa.

Justin Cober-Lake: The idea of magnanimity remains crucial to Smith's work, in various ways. His titles, his inspirations, and his culture statements make that clear in one way, but his way of interacting with his collaborators always seems to be one of clear conversation and generosity. He has very specific ideas in his compositions, but even those lend themselves toward further communication, between him and other artists and between the artists and the audience. Ankhrasmation and graphic scores are complex, academic concepts, but they're also languages that let people speak to each other in new ways while encouraging a certain amount of improvisation (Watlers' point is certainly relevant). His partners have to study this language, and part of the fun is recognizing what new sorts of ideas come out of conversation within a new discourse community. Listening to the duets lets us see that paired down to its most essential qualities.

This may point to a separate rabbit trail not worth following, but I tend to think of him working on a grand scale, taking on ideas like the national park system or the Civil Rights Movement, and the duets seem to me to be a distillation of how he works. Another way to approach them would be to start with his solo pieces (like the Monk album) and see how he builds into something with a duo, trio, strings, etc. Or maybe the solo work is just totally different, more of him as a player and less as a composer.

Marc Medwin: I would venture that the solo work, or rather I should say his solo work in particular, straddles the lines you draw. The solo set in the birthday series, Trumpet, contains compositions that also speak to all of the issues, political or otherwise, that have formed the substance of our discussion. I am drawn again and again to the inculcation of a moment's implications in Smith's work, which all of us have been mentioning in one way or another, whether in recording or performance.

There is something of the elder's wisdom in what Smith says or plays, a distillation of the spiritual and cultural continua that we often separate for convenience, and he brings similar modes of thinking and construction out of his collaborators. I find the idea of chamber music being such a huge part of the music we're discussing so close to my own thinking! He loves the term "Research," to which he refers quite a lot when discussing his work, and as those who've spent any time with him or read his interviews know, he can bring in wildly disparate notions of science, art, literature and politics at a moment's notice but somehow unify the entire discussion around a concept, opening up terminological meaning beyond expectation. So, I keep thinking, what is chamber music anyway?! What is a symphony, a string quartet, and who gets to delineate those boundaries?

Derek Taylor: Marc, I really like this passage of yours, “there is something of the elder’s wisdom in what Smith says or plays, a distillation of the spiritual and cultural continua that we often separate for convenience, and he brings similar modes of thinking and construction out of his collaborators.”

It’s an assignation that could be applied to a number of Smith’s peers. I’m thinking Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell, Braxton… even William Parker to a degree. Although magical realism and extrasensory erudition as often informs Parker’s cross-cultural cosmology isn’t really an emphasis in Smith’s perspective. Smith seems more interested in existence and reality as shaped by and expressed in tangible historical manifestations. His themes and cues transcend temporal boundaries, but they’re still grounded in factual people, places, events, etc. although not limited to those. They’re also tools in deconstructing and reconstructing or replacing established and hierarchical terminology and ideas. Chamber music in Smith’s conception feels much more inclusive and holistic than the Western classical definition, for example.

The String Quartets are customary string quartets in the sense that the members of the RedKoral Quartet play instruments associated with the conventions and traditions of that format, but how they play them and the soloists that occasionally join them resist and redefine that codification.

Marc Medwin: Yes! Threadgill and Mitchell exhibit a similarly inclusive historical bent, though you're spot on regarding Smith's spirituality, a layered tradition he takes very seriously. With Mitchell, we have transmogrifications like the semi-autobiography of Bells for the South Side, while Threadgill transfigures creative music's history with a degree of earthiness that Smith tends to eschew. An overstatement to be sure but I hope useful!

Bill Meyer: Yeah, Smith works with the sound possibilities and historical associations of the string quartet, but he certainly isn’t bound by them, any more than he’s bound by the conventions of the modern jazz combo format in the Gold Quartet.

Marc Medwin: One of the most fascinating things about Smith's music is how often he broke with those conventions, going way back to that first trio with Braxton and Leroy Jenkins when they recorded those gorgeously transparent compositions The Bell and Silence!

Derek Taylor: Smith's placed himself in so many fertile contexts over the years that I often lose track of the taxonomy. The pioneering work with Braxton that you mention, Marc, but also straight up free jazz dates with Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Marion Brown, Frank Lowe, and others, although he would likely call such idiomatic pigeon-holing unnecessary and reductive. The Yo Miles! fusion projects with Henry Kaiser and various encounters with John Zorn offer additional avenues. And Michael mentioned the Company conclaves earlier. Even the formats and assemblages he returns to (solo, duo, Golden Quartet...) share an enviable trait of retaining freshness.

Christian Carey: Others have touched on this, but the duos are primarily between musicians in their eighties. So many musicians, from Marshall Allen to Roy Haynes, have shown us that music keeps you young thinking and acting.

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Wadada Leo Smith’s 80th Birthday Celebration from Wadada Leo Smith on Vimeo.

Derek Taylor: Definitely true of Wadada, Christian. His beaming visage looks easily 20 years younger than his octogenarian age would suggest.

Michael Rosenstein: Sorry to have been lurking on this for a bit but July was a bit of a hectic month. It’s intriguing to note that the duos with akLaff, Cyrille, and DeJohnette were all recorded within a fairly short period of time — the duo with Cyrille in September 2019, the duo with akLaff in December 2019 and the two discs with DeJohnette in early January 2020. (The duo with Bennink is from 2014, so quite a bit earlier.) The proximity of the sessions, the pieces he assembled and the history Smith had playing with each of his collaborators provides a certain through-thread to the set. But each of his partners bring their own sensibilities which comes through in each of the sessions. In the liner notes, Smith talks about wanting to see how he would respond “in each situation with a new drumming philosophy.” Interestingly, the recording session with Bennink in Amsterdam in 2014 is what kicked off Smith’s idea to put together this recording project of drum duos. Bill references how Bennink “eschews both the antic side of his late free approach and his pre-bebop swinging brushes approach.” But, of all the sessions, not surprisingly based on his musical roots, I hear Bennink’s playing digging in most deeply to the jazz drum traditions. Of course, he extends and abstracts them, but hearing this session, I think back to hearing Smith play with Ed Blackwell (a fantastic meeting that Smith ended up releasing on Kabell.) Listen to the simmering snare rolls he calls up in “Louis Armstrong in New York City and Accra, Ghana” which swings like mad and elicits searing retorts from Smith. While more angular and pointillistic, “Ornette Coleman at the Worlds Fair of Science and Art in Fort Worth, Texas” also digs into those free-bop tendencies and Smith responds in kind. It’s also worth noting that, on this disc, in contrast to the rest of the boxed set, most of the tunes are collective improvisations credited to both players. AkLaff’s playing is imbued with a free sense of pulse, bringing out Smith’s meditative. The name of their disc, “Litanies, Prayers and Meditations” comes through in the pacing and a markedly spare sensibility. Take the evolving miniatures of “Rumis Masnavi: A Sonic Expression” where the drummer parries with Smith’s soaring introspection. On “A Sonic Litany on Peace,” Smith’s piano playing is pared back in both is placement of notes and his choice of damping the strings to minimize the sustain of the instrument against AkLaff’s feints and bobs. Cyrille is a much more open player, often placing cymbals in the fore of his approach to the kit. On a piece like “Donald Ayler: The Master of the Sound and Energy Forms,” that metallic sizzle drives Smith to some particularly heated playing, with a burred edge to his tone. “Mongezi Feza” is a poignant ode to the South African and the tinge of reverb of the recording brings a sense of reverence. Smith’s declaratory playing meshes really well with Cyrille’s tuned kit. The two discs with DeJohnette are more expansive and seem to reveal much more of a compositional bent, though that may be a more extensive use of the harmonic richness of keyboards. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to the duo’s Tzadik release where neither musician used keyboards so one wonders what inspired the use of keyboards on disc 4, particularly the inclusion of a piece like the lush, contemplative “Meditation: A Sonic Circle of Double Piano Resonances.” That said, the choice is quite effective both on its own and as a complement to the overall boxed set. The five-part “Paradise: The Gardens and Fountains” which comprises the final disc is an astute close to the set, giving the two the time and space to explore Smith’s considered, lyrical form. This disc deserves more time than I’ve been able to devote so far but I know I’ll return to it often. Derek rightfully points out the deluxe packaging of the box and it is fantastic to see a label so deeply devoted to presenting Smith’s music. Of all the sets comprising this 80th celebration, the solo trumpet set edges out to the top. But The Emerald Duets comes up as a close second.

Derek Taylor: Michael, thank you for this astute summation/annotation of Emerald Duets. It captures details of each dialogue and knits them together with some insightful holistic observations. I hadn't even considered the import of the Bennink encounter as the impetus for the others and agree that it limns the more familiar aspects of a jazz-rooted duet between trumpet and drums without sounding the least bit conventional or rote. And Bennink does swing doesn't he, inimitably!

I want to express gratitude to everyone who participated; I definitely learned some things and enjoyed the opportunity to collate and communicate thoughts of my own. For an artist who’s already brought a literal library of music into the world, we have much to look forward to from Wadada Leo Smith. The unrecorded string quartets were mentioned, but I’m sure his robust relationship with TUM will yield other aural treasures. In the meantime, the 80th Birthday Series and its last two entries are here to tide us all over.

#wadada leo smith #listeningpost #emerald duo #string quartets #dusted magazine #jazz #classical music #jack dejohnette #hans bennink #Pheeroan akLaff #Redkoral Quartet #derek taylor #bill meyer #michael rosenstein #marc medwin #justin cober-lake #jennifer kelly #christian carey

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experimentik · 6 months

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Experimentik #70 / January 17. 2024 / Lucio Capece / Claudia Risch + Francis Heery + Jung-Jae Kim

January 17. 2024 / 20:30- (doors 20:00)

Solo:

Lucio Capece - 8 voices Sampler Isla 2400, recorded cello and bass clarinet, sine-sawtooth tones and pulses

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Trio:

Claudia Risch - bass clarinet

Francis Heery - electronics

Jung-Jae Kim - saxophone

FB event: https://fb.me/e/3Ywj3sQuL

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Lucio Capece

Argentinian musician based in Europe since 2002, specifically in Berlin since 2004. Since 2010 he dedicates to offer works focused in the Perception experience, that he performs mainly in solo and in the context of occasional collaborations based in the same interest. He composes his own pieces that may include improvisation and different ways of writing. He uses tools like Flying Speakers hanging from Helium Balloons moved by propellers, Speakers as Pendulums, Analog synthesiser, Sine Waves and Noise Generators, Drum Machines, Ultra- Violet Lights, Sensors as much as the instruments that he has played for 25 years: Bass Clarinet and Soprano and Slide Saxophone. Beyond instrumentation and tools, the main intention is to focus in the physical-social-spatial human experience. Between the late 90 ́s and 2010 he offered music in the context of Electro Acoustic Improvisation, focused in quietness, attentive listening and granular material. Capece has been very active in the Reductionist Improvised Music scene in Berlin, and in the radical minimal scene related with the collective Wandelweiser collaborating mainly as member of the collective Konzert Minimal (2008- 2018) and, since 2006 with Radu Malfatti. In a parallel way Capece developed a 10 years collaboration with legendary Finnish musician Mika Vainio from Pan Sonic, working and releasing radical abstract and beats oriented music as a duo and two different quartets. Capece has performed his own sound interventions in spaces like Kraftwerk Berlin ( The Long Now - Maerz Musik), Hau Berlin (CTM festival), The Cathedral of Bern (Zoom In Festival) The Mambo Museum in Bologna (Live Arts week ),the German Pavilion built by Mies Van der Rohe in Barcelona (Sonar +D Festival), the Halle d ‘Expositions built by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel in Evreux, France (ĹÁtelie series) the Bauhaus Archive in Berlin (directing a piece in which together with musicians Axel Dörner and Robin Hayward played a piece with the kinetic sculpture called “Licht-Raum Modulator” built by Lászlò Moholy-Nagy) , and the Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires where he offered an interactive installation for children. Since 2020 he plays mainly in the context of small Ensembles where he composes the music, or collaborates with others performers-composers like Rahma Quartet, From Scratch New Discantus Quintet, Lost Jockey and Phase to Phase. His goal in this context is to re consider Music making in a Phenomenological way, re- searching in the basic elements that make Music be. He offers currently a Sampler solo set based in a personal research in Just Intonation Ratios, folding and unfolding sounds from Pitch to Pulse and vice versa. He has performed as a musician in recognised experimental music festivals and venues in Europe, USA, Japan, Mexico and Argentina. He has released around 35 Cds and Lps, including 9 solo releases, in labels like Mego Editions, B-Boim (Austria), Pan (Germany), Ftarri (Japan) Another Timbre, Entr ́acte ( UK), Potlatch, (France), Erstwhile Intonema (Russia), etc.

photo © Susi Maresca

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Claudia Risch has developed special playing techniques on the Bassclarinet, which is acoustic of it´s nature and works without additive external resorces. She focusses on the extended sound-material of her instruments like micro-intervals, multi-phonics, sound of breath. Within this variety of elaborated technical possibilities Risch combines, applies and modifies her material to create a refined, nuanced and multilayerd sound. The co-operation with composers (e.g. Thomas Gerwin, Francis Heery), electronics and dancers is an important component in her work.

https://www.instagram.com/claudiarisch07/

photo © Matthias Förster

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Francis Heery (b.1980) is a composer and sound artist. His music is inspired by science-fiction, occultism and animal aesthetics. He is an accomplished improvisor and performs with a setup integrating Max/MSP with acoustic instruments and modular synths. He specializes in long-form, site-specific performances in public spaces. His instrumental works have been performed by the RTE Symphony Orchestra, the Crash Ensemble, the Quiet Music Ensemble, the Talujon Percussion Ensemble and by soloists including Carin Levine, Pascal Galois and Izumi Kimura. He has received funding awards from the Arts Council of Ireland as well as commissions from Galway County and City Councils, the Music Current Festival, the Berlin Natural History Museum, and the Berlin International Sound Art Festival. He produces experimental electronica under the name The Cube of Unknowing, with albums released on Fort Evil Fruit and Eiderdown Records.

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Jung-Jae Kim is a South Korean saxophonist, composer, and improviser based in Berlin free/avant-garde & experimental music scene. He pushes the boundaries of sonic aesthetics and sound definitions, taking a transdisciplinary approach to explore new possibilities and delve into human senses and communication through free improvisation.

photo © Morvarid K

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Experimentik 2024 is supported by inm

#culture #musicians #experimental music #berlin

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keikoshiga · 7 months

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フィンランド FINLAND 2023

フィンランド民謡「我が故郷スオミ Kotimaani ompi Suomi」と「カレリアの丘 Karjalan kunnailla」を収録！

「音の和」をテーマに全国でライブ活動を展開している夫婦ユニット、音の和music 川原一紗さん◎藤川潤司さんの最新CDアルバム『こもりうた３〜世界のうた日本のうた〜』に、フィンランド民謡「我が故郷スオミ Kotimaani ompi Suomi」と「カレリアの丘 Karjalan kunnailla」のアレンジとピアノ演奏で参加いたしました。

"Otonowa music " ◎ Kazusa Kawahara & Junji Fujikawa's latest CD album "Komori Uta 3 ~Songs of the World, Songs of Japan~" , I participated in the arrangement and piano performance of the Finnish folk songs "Kotimaani ompi Suomi" and "Karjalan kunnailla".

川原一紗さんがうたう、歌い継ぎたいこもりうたの3作品目。志娥慶香（ピアノ）、木村光里（ピアノ）、藤川穣輔（クラシックギター）らをゲストに迎えて中国、フィンランド、ウェールズ、南アフリカ、沖縄、そして日本のうたをピアノ、カリンバ、ジェンベ、クラシックギター、インディアンフルートなどの生楽器によるおだやかなアレンジで演奏。初めて聴く異国の歌たちがなつかしくも感じられ、やわらかく新鮮な響きで蘇ります。自宅でのリラックスタイムや、子どもたちと一緒に歌う際にもぴったり。音で国境を越え、人や自然とつながっていきたいと活動されている音の和musicの世界がお楽しみいただけます。

川原一紗さんは、2009年にリリースした志娥慶香作詞作曲の「みずのうた」を歌ってくださったシンガーソングライター。再び作品づくりでご一緒できて、とっても嬉しかった！ありがとうございます。

2023年12月6日(水)。CD発売記念コンサートが熊本市の男女参画センターはあもにい多目的ホールにて開催され、CDに収録されているフィンランド民謡「我が故郷スオミ Kotimaani ompi Suomi」と「カレリアの丘 Karjalan kunnailla」を演奏させていただきました。そして、「みずのうた」も初のトリオ編成で！ゲストダンサーの寺本豊さんを交えての渾身の完全即興も、お客様と手拍子とともに、生きる力と喜び溢れた一期一会の瞬間でした。

川原一紗さんが、フィンランド語と意訳された日本語の歌詞でうたい、藤川潤司さんが様々なパーカッションや笛を奏でてフィンランドの大自然を描いてくださいました。日本ではまだまだなじみのないフィンランド民謡ですが、初めて聞いたお客様は美しく切ない旋律と、大自然と故郷を想うフィンランド人の精神に感動してくださったようで「まるでフィンランドの森の中にいるようだった」とありがたいご感想もいただきました。

December 6, 2023. A CD release commemorative concert was held at the Kumamoto City, where they performed the Finnish folk songs "Kotimaani ompi Suomi" and "Karjalan kunnailla" from the CD. The improvised performance with guest dancer Yutaka Teramoto, accompanied by the applause of the audience, was a once-in-a-lifetime moment full of joy and zest for life.

Kazusa Kawahara sang with Finnish and Japanese lyrics, and Junji Fujikawa played various percussion and ethnic whistles to depict the great nature of Finland. Finnish folk songs are still relatively unfamiliar in Japan, but when audience heard them for the first time, they were moved by the beautiful and sad melodies and the Finnish spirit of thinking about nature and their homeland.

Photo by 五十嵐えみ

こうやってフィンランドの音楽や文化をお伝えできるのは私にとっての喜びです。ここ数年のコロナ禍ゆえに、フィンランド訪問もままなりませんでしたので、行きたい想いがますます強くなりますね。

It's my pleasure to be able to share Finnish music and culture with you in this way. I haven't been able to visit Finland in the past few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so my desire to go there has only gotten stronger.

YouTubeやSpotifyなどのストリーミングサービスでも無料でお聞きになれますので、お楽しみいただけたら嬉しいです。

You can listen to it for free on streaming services such as YouTube and Spotify, so we hope you enjoy it.

youtube

#finland #志娥慶香 #川原一紗 #音の和music #熊本 #CD #フィンランド民謡 #Youtube

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eurovision-revisited · 1 year

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The Best National Final of 1996

1996 is a good year for national finals, and there's competition for which is the best. I'm going for De Gouden Zeemeermin - the weird one-time only name for the Belgian National Final. It has much to recommend it: Variety, Quantity and Controversy (as always).

It was a multi-stage competition starting with forty songs split into four heats of ten from which only the top three qualified for the final. That's a harsh start. The range of musical genres and styles is wide, the presentation is fun and pacy, the audience is very involved. One of the acts is Enzo, the boyband with the abs. The crowd has a significant number of fans and screamers, and they've got a good draw as the penultimate act. After there performance, there are not only screams but boos! The final was determined by the usual panel of regional juries, this time with 25% of the vote only. Alongside them were a press jury who also had 25%, then an expert jury with 50%. Who exactly they all were I don't know, but there results feel like a bit of stitch up. The regional jury and the expert jury gave Lisa del Bo maximum marks leaving only the press jury to side with Enzo. And this is after Enzo had beaten Lisa into second place in the heat they'd been in.

Outrage!

The public opnion squished by the juries again, and with more than a hint of conspiracy. I love Lisa del Bo and her song is in my 26 for the year, but it's definitely not her strongest. But then Enzo's Mooi isn't a great song either. It's more about the abs. Belgium, always with the good selections, always poor choosing the winner.

Also good is the first Skopjefest in North Macedonia. Again lots of variety and some surprisingly good singing. That they didn't make it into the actual Eurovision final, falling in the qualification round must have been hugely discouraging after such a good event.

Kdam is once again Kdam, and thus full of choreography and a few stunts. It's probably the most consistently fun national final of them all. Again Israel after having a wonderful national final, failed to make it through the qualification.

Finland was experimenting with televoting and had several teething problems. Phone lines going down, voting opened to soon. It was a catastrophe of the proportions that makes headlines in the national press. When the results were finally released a few days later than they should have been, at least there wasn't any controversy as to who had won.

Euro Laul in Estonia had at least a quarter of the finalists missing leading to the weird sight of one singer singing a duet with their partner on a screen, and in one case there was no one there at all leading to the producers to have to improvise with some camera angles and a drumming stagehand. It does have some good entries in it despite this.

Overall the quality is up, the variety is vastly improved over 1995. Somewhere in the back of my head I can hear Terry Wogan telling me that the broadcasters were under instructions to make the finals less ballad-based and more commercial this year and it feels like they succeeded in that.

For instance, Germany's Ein bißchen Glück managed to send the outstandingly commercial Leon with his environmental banger Planet of Blue. He didn't make it through the qualification round either, much to everybody's surprise. Germany tried something different and they were punished.

That's the problem with 1996. So many of the broadcasters tried but their efforts all got stymied by that audio-qualification round to reduce the numbers. The system for 1997 meant that many of these countries were relegated in 1997. There was now Belgian, Finnish, Israeli, or Macedonia finals from the line up. Romania also got left out. The EBUs 1996 experiment backfired badly.

#esc #esc 1996 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #oslo #oslo 1996 #national finals #De gouden zeemeermin 1996 #Skopjefest 1996 #Ein bißchen Glück 1996 #Kdam 1996 #Euro Laul 1996 #Finnish selection 1996

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emilymaddison1112 · 2 years

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What are some ethereal choral music?

The historical journey of choral music is a fascinating one. It’s journeyed from plainchant, sung in a strict liturgical settings by monks underneath the spires of great churches and cathedrals across Europe; meandered through the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries with newfound polyphonic and harmonic purpose thanks to the pioneering compositions of Byrd, Bach and Beethoven; and evolved further and dissected by early 20th century composers such as Mahler, Schoenberg and Britten.

Fast-forward to today and choral music is thriving. Communal singing is more alive than ever in local choirs, choral societies and churches, and new works are being churned out year on year. So to help freshen up your listening sessions and unearth some more hidden gems from the present day, we’ve decided to share five contemporary choral works that deserve your attention.

1 . Judith Bingham – First Light

Written in 2001 by British composer Judith Bingham for the Winchester-based Waynflete singers, First Light is set to a poem by Mark Shaw about the Incarnation - the religious belief that God became man through Jesus Christ. Bingham plunges listeners into atmospheric uncertainty from the offset of this piece, thanks to her macabre harmonic language and dynamic writing for brass ensemble and choir. The singing itself is epic, fluctuating between delicately sung passages and moments of thunder.

2. John Adams – Harmonium

John Adam’s Harmonium is a wondrous, sonic treat for the ears. Composed between 1980 and 1981, the piece pulses with layers of minimalist textures similar to those heard in the works of other composers of this era including Philip Glass and Steve Reich. Adams uses these layers of sound to drive the music forward in its most epic moments, and provide an ethereal backdrop in others.

3. Magnus Lindberg – Graffiti

The clash of old and new comes to a head in this 2009 work by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The piece's sung text directly derives from vandalism found in Ancient Roman cities, using the Latin language to bring to life the scribbles in and around Pompeii and Herculaneum. The choral writing itself ventures through dramatic, eerie and chaotic soundworlds, reaching an exhilarating climax when the choir’s complex polyrhythmic patterns unite in force. It’s a distorted ode to a world once dominated by the Roman Empire that feels further away than ever.

4. Meredith Monk – Panda Chant II

Now for something a little different - a work written by avant-garde composer and vocal improviser Meredith Monk. 'Panda Chant II' is taken from Monk's 1983 science-fiction opera The Games, written for 16 voices, synthesizer, keyboards, Flemish bagpipes, Chinese horn and rauschpfeife. The Games is set in a post-nuclear future, where citizens take part in ritualistic games in order to save themselves and the remainder of civilisation. 'Panda Chant II' highlights the flexibility of the human voice as it morphs into the sound of our furry friends.There’s no denying the barminess on show in this minute-and-a-half musical thrill ride of overlapping rhythms, but it’s an incredibly fun piece of music – especially when you add in body percussion of rhythmic stamps and claps.

5. Eric Whitacre - Lux Aurumque

A translation of the poem Light and Gold by Edward Esch, Lux Aurumque was originally a piece for wind ensemble before being fully introduced to the world as a choral work by composer Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir in 2009. It’s a stunning piece of contemporary choral music, in which Whitacre keeps listeners guessing with every chord, while, at the same time, dazzling with transcendent textures. The final chord is one of pure bliss, and is the cherry on top of an arguably perfect piece of choral music.

ChorSymphonica is a professional, project-based ensemble of musicians drawn from across the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. Nearly all of our musicians have earned graduate degrees in vocal performance. Every one of our members are dedicated to using their artistic life to improve the lives of others, to inspire others to a more complete point of view, reaching out to audiences with our music making through our concerts. This purpose guides and directs every rehearsal and every concert.

Auditions are held periodically for membership in our database of singers, and for solo opportunities. Soloists are drawn from the ranks of the chorus.

Our music reaches people on a personal level, brings them to contemplation.

ChorSymphonica makes music that touches and moves people.

We are the House Ensemble of The Rockville Bach Academy, Inc, a non-profit organization chartered in Maryland.

To know more visit: https://chorsymphonica.org/about/

#choralmusic #conversationconcerts #musicconcerts

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manic-exposure · 5 months

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Ho Chi Moon, Slummijazz Tampere Finland 2022.

#sami pekkola #ho chi moon #finnish jazz #finnish free jazz #free jazz #improvised music #120 film #medium format film #fuji gs645s #delta 400 #delta 400 pushed 1600 #ilford delta 400

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musicainextenso · 3 years

Video

youtube

Atfer I wrote the previous posts about Baroque era pieces, I felt like something is missing and I thought that I should write about a different era in my next post. Harpsichords were invented in the Middle Ages, being present both in folk music and ‘classical music’ (even though I do not find it wise to use this term in this case).

William Byrd (1543-1623) was an English Renaissance composer, the last of the composers who were working for the Catholic church. He wrote liturgical music, songs, psalms and pieces for consorts and for harpsichord.

The performer, Aapo Häkkinen is a Finnish harpsichordist, clavichordist and organist, and in this video he plays a Ruckers virginal from 1604. The virginal, a smaller version of the harpsichord, created for making music at home, was popular in England during the 16-17th centuries.

Although Pavane the Earl of Salisbury is a miniature piece, it is a little gem in my opinion. It was among the 21 pieces printed for the collection called Parthenia (1612), which included keyboard music by Orlando Gibbons and John Bull. The pavane is a slow processional dance from Europe, written in duple meter, usually danced by royalty to show off their status. In this two minutes we can hear typically English ornaments, and repeated musical formulas. The simplicity of the piece makes me think that it was possible that the performer improvised ornamented variations of this simple theme after playing it.

Noémi Baki-Szmaler, guest editor - @une-barque-sur-l-ocean

#William byrd #byrd #william #music #classicalmusic #classical music #baroque #musica #musicainextenso #musica in extenso #composer #aapo hakkinen #finnish #english #pavane the earl of salisbury #harpsichord #theharpsichord #art

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doomedandstoned · 3 years

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A Rendezvous with Moscow Doomers Train To Elsewhere

~By Sound Animal~

Photographs by Makhmud Podzhigay

This is a momentous occasion for people around the world who appreciate Stoner Doom Metal and its hybrid forms. The Russian Train to Elsewhere has been solid all along. Then, on May 21, 2021, they played live at Peak Sound Endless Misery Doom Fest, revealing their new lineup to the public. And it’s absolutely astonishing.

On June 9th they released the audio as a bootleg. Lead guitarist Maria K. "Gerard" integral to the band all along, now debuts the recording of her vocals, which intertwine with the lead vocalist, Anna Utopian, who also plays keyboards and stepped in to replace the previous vocalist. On drums we have M'aiq the Liar, Olga on the rhythm guitar that keeps me going and going with this band, and on bass, Anton "Vargtimmen" Bryukov. Their previous singer, Denis Generalov, is no longer with the band. We’ll miss him and always appreciate his massive contribution to the previous demo and album. I’m glad to see that in the wake of his moving onward, the band didn’t falter. In fact, this new era of Train to Elsewhere is electrifying.

Live at Peak Sound (Official Bootleg) by Train to Elsewhere

Their sound is hypnotic and contemplatively atmospheric. The excellent drums are pared down to the essentials, as the best Doom drums are. The slow lullaby groove takes us into the imaginative liminal world of Nod as if we’re on a sleeper car bumping over the metal tracks, hypnagogic images combining the forest landscape outside the window with the mind inside. They play everything at a slow, minimalistic, heavy pace, never giving into the egotistical show of shredding to demonstrate just how fast they can play meaningless notes. No, conversely, every note matters.

Anna Utopian’s expressive vocals are consistently strong and delicious, beautifully doing justice to the intense lyrics while she creates Eastern atmospherics on the keyboards. Rarely does any Metal band have so much female representation within it. All the women in this band come across as authentic, being purely themselves as much as the men are, which can be a challenging project, considering the objectified roles they are so regularly expected to play on stage in that particular genre. There are no distracting displays here.

This ability to be genuine is not surprising with this low-key band, though, as they are not about surface level of life. Instead, the music provokes profound speculations and nuanced states of consciousness. It was Anton’s articulate brilliance in interviews that first locked me into their work.

When Maria sings, I stop moving completely. Until she’s done. Only utter stillness will allow the cilia in my ears to vibrate with the kind of desperate attention they require when encountering my favorite female vocalist. I wasn’t expecting that. No one told me. But I’m telling you, Stoner Doom fans. You must listen to this band that has something to say, and you must prepare yourself for Maria’s one of a kind voice. Words don’t do it justice. It’s the low beneath low. Her throat allows everything through, not just part of the frequency of life. All of it. The inflections indicate so much nobility in the depths of life that surely no one could take living for granted again.

First, I’d like to ask about that slow groove that’s consistent through the songs. I’m curious how the different band members feel that movement within their bodies. As a loop circulating through the body, a sway side-to-side (like bumping over train tracks underneath), a sleepwalking headbang, a standing spiral? Perhaps the way they feel the groove move through their bodies changes song to song.

Maria: We’ve never rehearsed our on-stage choreography or something like that. It comes naturally from our perception of the music. I can say, I like the heavy, powerful low-tune sound of traditional Doom. I like the sound of our guitars, amplified and enhanced with stage gear, going through bodies of musicians and audience. I think the sound should fill all the possible space it can, changing it in its special way.

Anton: For our band it’s very individual, some of us stay more or less still, others move to the music, whichever is more comfortable. It’s an interesting question because movement to music and dance is a very early part of human culture in a way it’s ritualistic. Although we never rehearsed stage movement it’s interesting to see the connection with the audience in that light. It’s great when some people dance to our music and move to it.

Anna: Generally, when I’m playing on stage or rehearsing at the studio, I feel some kind of special energy coming through my body. Especially when I sing. I begin to feel very inspired and optimistic about everything around me. I don’t really rehearse my on-stage choreography; I just have some clear ideas about what I have to do on some of our songs. So most of the time I just improvise my on-stage movements. Also I enjoy having that special connection with the audience, it’s an unforgettable experience, especially, when you’re playing on stage and see the people dancing to your songs and even starting to sing any of your songs that you’re playing. That’s when the magic happens for me.

Olga: I felt this only after I became part of the band – the feeling of the unified space with a group of people. When I listen to our music I can almost see how our melodies combine with each other, winding and supporting each other. Seems like their directions and weight are not less material than stage equipment. And our bodies move with the space movement. In this context I like “The Path” most of all – it resonated with me first and still makes me sway to its rhythm emerging in my subconscious in everyday life. I like both versions of it – with Denis and with Anna on vocals, which feel very different.

I love that about the unified space and the melodies themselves playing a tangible role within it. And the rhythm arising from the subconscious. And Anna feels energy coming through her – I feel a tangible effect from that! What scales are you most fond of? Is that part of the particular Folk element of your Doom that creates that tonality? Are there any folk melodies that influence any of the songs? In what ways does your location influence you?

Maria: I’m fond of northern folk, especially Finno-Ugric music, also I try to look at our music from different dimensions, adding Eastern tonality (Arabic, Turkish, Jewish music), as well as blues riffs, chromatic and classical minor scales, influences from Southern and Eastern European folk tradition… Our “Nortern Summer” is a reminiscence to native Karelian folk tunes, and “Mothir” is our adaptation of Icelandic folk song.

Anton: The idea of our project was to express through the language of Traditional Doom some of our folk influences. Yet we are not a folk band in a traditional sense of the word; we try to incorporate those melodies a bit more delicately, but they are very important.

As for the location it has a great influence on us from the vast forests to the existential gloomy culture and literature, we are shaped by this as musicians. As for Finnish folk it is an important part of our culture which sometimes flies under the radar when people are talking about Russia. For instance, Russian poets of the XIXth century with their gloomy and even Gnostic outlook on existence are a big influence for the Russian language texts of our first album.

Anna: I feel inspired by nature. I like spending some time in the forest. In terms of music, I usually prefer songs in minor scales; I like songs that sound not so depressing, but emotional. For example, I like adding some French coldwave sound to our music, as well as some blues rock.

Olga: Here I agree with Anton. The country’s history defined the distinct visual component of our surroundings, inspired by the folklore ideas and concepts we faced from early childhood, it nurtured in our minds the tendency to reflect and the idea of complicated intricacy of life, even its wholeness in imperfection. Maria shapes those images in multilayered sincerity, bringing the ideas into reality.

Samhain by Train to Elsewhere

What is the composition and arranging like for these songs? Do they ever arise from improv jams? Is it mostly one person’s vision per tune? Do the words or riffs tend to come first? Are you most interested in getting across specific meaning through the lyrics or in something else, like creating a subtle mood that goes beyond words?

Maria: Most music comes from improvisations and jams. Sometimes it happens that I bring raw material – several riffs and text – and we try to combine them into a song and repeat it till it seems ready. Also, we have some texts and some jam records that could fit together – so, why not make a song out of them. The needed mood appears when the song is almost ready and we try to play it slower or heavier or faster, add keyboards and guitar solo elements – that comes out of practice.

Anton: My personal contribution is mostly the bass parts in terms of composition, that’s all I do. But sometimes I can advise the band to play slower and heavier, as well as bring in some references from the underground doom scene. Also, I write some of the English-language lyrics like our title track from the debut album Samhain, which has been influenced by folk horror films like The Wickerman (1973) and British classical poetry.

Olga: Most of all I value the moment when the composition is almost finished, when the main direction is defined, but the result can be changed in unexpected ways with new fragments. Then the experiments begin, making us closer to realization of the plot, and I like the way each of us adds his sound to the final feel of the composition and atmosphere.

I like that you call it a plot. Stories really do arise from the subtle nuances within the music itself, whether there are lyrics or not. What emotional process would you hope listeners go through with these paganism-referencing songs? Is there something subconscious about the ancient primal archetypes that can serve people even if they don’t think about those mythologies in their ordinary lives?

Maria: Every song has its own references, atmosphere and path to lead the listener through. Of course, when the full song structure appears in your head, it’s a powerful inspirational impulse.

Anton: I would like to add that myths are powerful archetypes in our subconscious. We like to work with that because the modern world is not concerned with authentic myth and we want to help the listeners experience them. Of course, the interpretation of the myth is psychologically different for every individual but there are important patterns.

For example, facing death and mortality has been approached differently in different cultures. And aesthetically the pagan myth is very poetic and it fascinates me. The main themes of the lyrics are the recognition of one's mortality and different aspects of death -- on "The Path," mystical dark field of pre-Christian pagan tradition in "Samhain" and "Mothir," Gnosticism in "Ashes," omens and symbolism in "Silent Guard," romanticism in "Where you live," and pagan beauty of nature in "Northern Summer." The title track "Samhain" was inspired by a cult folk horror film The Wicker Man (1973) while also referencing the original pagan roots of Halloween -- Samhain.

Olga: The concept of mythology and paganism is the great mirror for the human soul, referring to times, when there were fewer concrete facts and the whole world consisted of trembling windings of human fears and desires.

“Trembling winding of human fears and desires.” I love that. Back before we could fact check everything in a search engine, reality was more amorphous, full of outrageous possibilities, eccentric cutting-edge experiments. Would you like to tell us about Sigil of Time? Is there a mentally different approach to folk music in that one? Some of you are able to participate in that band. Does it feel like a new compartment of the self opening up, like a new realm of a room that you can inhabit? How is that room decorated differently than the room in which Train to Elsewhere sleeps and dreams?

Maria: First material was recorded about ten years ago as my solo project, then we collaborated with Anton for a rather long time – but never released it till spring 2020. In this project I can release my vision that cannot be expressed with a heavy band. Usually, I create meditative multi-instrumentalist soundscapes in a much more intuitive way; most of them are instrumentals or vocals that don't carry any lyrics. Often the recordings wait for some time to be reviewed and even corrected a bit before releasing. Anton records a bass line and manages different synthetic and noise parts. To talk about the room: it’s for chamber music and solitary thoughts.

Anton: Sigil of Time was mostly our experiments with post-industrial dark ambient and dark folk music as well as some field recordings. We didn’t plan to release it to the public but our label Kryrart Records encouraged us to share our music with the world. It’s more of an abstract stream of consciousness inspired by dreams and visions but some lyrics and melodies which ended up in Train to Elsewhere were first composed for Sigil of Time so the two are interconnected.

What were the mechanical methods you used to get the post-industrial effects? That’s intriguing: I’d be curious to hear about any specific dream or vision that inspired a song.

Maria: Sigil of Time is mostly based on acoustic instruments (especially guitars), as we could mention earlier. We use it for recording guitar pedals and post-production with different kinds of distortion and delay, octavers and reversed echoes, also adding such things as different samples, raw analog synthesizer sound… In different periods of time Sigil had a tendency to explore various sources, while anthologies unite tracks from earlier times.

Usually, a song starts from the feeling of total clarity, when the idea of lyrics meets the image of musical sketch, giving a whole plan of what to do. It changes several times while recording, usually each part is improvisation, keeping only several repeating moments. Mixing inserts its corrections, and when the song is almost ready, I leave it for several days, returning to it later with minimal changes.

Anton: As for Train to Elsewhere we use techniques common for recording traditional doom metal. Maybe one thing that sets us apart is that we use the sounds of the amps and their built-in distortion power rather than custom distortion pedals for pedal boards. We want to capture a primal raw sound of early rock and metal. About dreams – before writing the lyrics to Samhain I saw a dream in which I was in a vast endless autumn forest as far as I could see. The forest seemed very old, even ancient; later the dream inspired me to write the lyrics to Samhain.

We would like to thank you for these wonderful interesting questions, it was great answering them. We’re very glad and honored you enjoyed our music so much.

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#D&S Interviews #Train To Elsewhere #Moscow #Russia #doom metal #epic doom #death doom #Sound Animal #Doomed and Stoned

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burlveneer-music · 1 year

Audio

Odd Jazz Vol 2 - from Finland, trumpet/drums duo joined by six other musicians in varying configurations

ODD JAZZ is a collaborative creation of Finnish musicians recorded at the all analog studio in Southern Finland, Hämeenlinna. On this album you find compositions performed by various music collectives in different formations with the unified goal to enrich their compound and give us listeners the delight of sharing their experience of the vast unknown. A feeling of unity is transmitted through the spiritual and mostly improvised idiom. The core members of Odd Jazz are Tuure Tammi (trumpet) and Juha Sarkkola (drums, percussion). Trumpet – Tuure Tammi (tracks: A1,A2,A4,A5,B1,B3,B4) Drums – Juha Sarkkola (tracks: A4,A5,B2,B3), David Vanzan (tracks: B4), Jaakko Tolvi (tracks: A2,B1), Simo Laihonen (tracks: A1) Double Bass – Tero Kemppainen (tracks: A1,A2,B1,B4) Keyboards – Virginia Genta (tracks: B4) Piano – Jouni Joronen (tracks: B2) Saxophone – Sami Pekkola (tracks: A1,B4) Soprano Saxophone – Matti Luokkanen (tracks: B1) Mastered By – Jukka Sarapää Cover by S. Tanner

#odd jazz #jazz #finland #improvised music #odd funk #rr gems records #2022

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dustedmagazine · 3 years

Text

Wadada Leo Smith — Trumpet (Tum)

Photo by Petri Haussila

Braithwaite & Katz · Wadada Leo Smith - Albert Ayler

In his self-published book from 1973, notes (8 pieces ) | source | a new | world | music: creative music, Wadada Leo Smith touches on some of the concepts he employs in his music as follows. “each single rhythm-sound, or a series of sound-rhythm is a complete improvisation. in other words, each element is autonomous in its relationship in the improvisation. therefore, there is no intent towards time as a period of development. rather, time is employed as an element of space: space that is determined between the distance of two sound-rhythms… just as each sound-rhythm is considered an autonomous element in an improvisation, so, too, must space and space/silence be considered.” While that concept of “sound-rhythm” has been central to Smith’s music over the last five decades, it is particularly key to his solo recordings. Starting with his first release, Creative Music - 1 (Six Solo Improvisations) in 1971, by my count one of the first solo improvised trumpet recordings, Smith has continued to probe solo recordings as luminous settings for his explorations of sound and space.

The 3-CD set Trumpet is his most recent, part of the Finnish Tum Label’s celebration of Smith’s 80th birthday. Tum label-head Petri Haussila invited Smith to record for a week during the summer of 2016 in his hometown of Pohja on the southern coast of Finland. The recordings took place in St. Mary’s Church, a medieval stone structure and Smith reveled in the experience. In an interview in Downbeat, he reminisced “We would get up in the morning, have breakfast, go to the church, record. Have a slight lunch, record and go home — have a sauna. Then, I would go to my room to work on whatever I’m going to do the next day. It’s almost like not being in an ordinary community — definitely a way to maintain my focus and my creativity.” That relaxed focus comes through in the 14 pieces captured over the three discs, with homages to friends and influences including Albert Ayler, Miles Davis, Leroy Jenkins, James Baldwin, Amina Claudine Myers and Reggie Workman.

Unlike his earlier solo recordings, Smith sticks solely to trumpet, leaving aside flugelhorn, percussion and vocals that were integral to his earlier work. The trumpeter’s instantly identifiable tone sets the stage on the opener, “Albert Ayler,” reflecting on the dedicatee’s multiphonic surges and open sense of melody, aptly capturing Ayler’s spirit without even obliquely referencing his compositions. “Rashomon: Parts 1 — 5” takes the conceit of Kurosawa’s film, recasting five improvisations which transpose and transform the same long-tone thematic material into a diversity of compact musical statements. “Metallic Rainbow (For Steve McCall)” is another homage that pays respect without direct reference. Smith and McCall were early collaborators, and his tribute hangs shimmering resonances of tones evoking the way the drummer worked with layering reverberations with affecting abstract lyricism.

The second disc starts with the meditative musings of “Malik el-Shabazz and the People of the Shahada,” a reverent celebration of Malcolm X’s spirituality. “The Great Litany,” which follows, is a meditative dive into the teachings of a 13th century Sufi saint, a five-part study in tranquil stillness and reflection. Pieces dedicated to explorers Leroy Jenkins and Amina Claudine Myers touch on Smith’s roots in the AACM community in Chicago. The Jenkins tribute calls up the music the two made with Anthony Braxton in the late 1960s, with slowly considered pacing and the meticulously restrained placement of notes while the piece for Myers is imbued with tranquil admiration.

The central part of the final disc are two suites. The first, “Discourses on the Sufi Path,” is Smith’s obeisance to Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh whose writings have been core to the trumpet player’s understanding and practice of Sufism. The five lissome studies build upon each other with grace, introspection, and elation. “Family — A Contemplation of Love” is a soulful celebration of the family unit, tying his solo investigations outwards toward social engagement. These four pieces are some of the most lyrical of the set, with clarion playing calling up his deep-rooted knowledge and indebtedness to the lineage of jazz trumpet. The closing “Trumpet” is a compact summation of all that preceded, reveling in the tone of the instrument resonating in the stone church. Tum Records has ambitious plans for the rest of the year, with releases by his Great Lakes Quartet, a trio with Vijay Iyer and Jack DeJohnette, a multi-disc set of Smith’s string quartets and a set of duos with drummers. Whatever comes, this one is an auspicious start to the series.

Michael Rosenstein

#wadada leo smith #trumpet #tum #michael rosenstein #albumreview #dusted magazine #jazz #improvisation #solo

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glentheapprentice-arcanawriter · 4 years

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Been Busy, Here’s The Masterpost

So, I’ve been reblogging some ask ideas, and I will leave them up so the original posters and rebloggers are credited, but here is the masterpost so you can just look through them. I might do them in order if I have an idea for them, and I am open for asks. Just put them in, and what characters you want them to be centered on.

For future reference, the characters of the Slime Rancher AU have been affected by an age-old concept that addresses the fact that no human can pass another without impacting the other’s life in some way. The characters in the AU are different in personality (only somewhat in some situations) than the ones in canon.

And with that, let’s make the masterpost.

Masterpost under the bar.

Emoji Prompts

🎂 : A birthday headcanon.

💩 : An embarrassing headcanon

💀 : An injury headcanon

👄 : A kiss headcanon

💔 : A breakup headcanon

🌟 : A secret wish headcanon

💍 : A marriage headcanon

👶 : A family headcanon

💧 : A sad headcanon

🛁 : A bathing headcanon

🛏 : A sleeping headcanon

💥 : A fighting headcanon

😳 : A confessing headcanon

👔 : A clothing headcanon

❤ : A romantic headcanon

☁️ : A soft headcanon

🌑 : A dark headcanon

😜 : A random headcanon

🎃 : A halloween headcanon

😤 : A jealousy headcanon

⌛ : A final headcanon

🌡: A sick headcanon

🍺 : A drunk headcanon

🧨 : An unexpected headcanon

Beautiful Words Prompts

Waldeinsamkeit (German) - the feeling of being alone in the woods, solitude, and a connectedness to nature

Iktsuarpok (Inuit) - refers to the feeling of anticipation when you’re expecting someone that leads you to constantly check to see if they’re coming

Komorebi (Japanese) - sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees.

Kilig (Tagalog) - the thrilling feeling of butterflies in your stomach when something romantic happens.

Hiraeth (Welsh) - homesickness mixed with grief and sadness over the lost or departed, or a type of longing for the homeland or the romanticized past.

Hyggelig (Danish) - warm, friendly, cozy, delightfully intimate moment or thing.

Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan, Tierra del Fuego) - the wordless, meaningful look shared by two people who both want to initiate something, but are reluctant to do so.

Utepils (Norwegian) - to sit outside enjoying a beer on a sunny day.

Tidsoptimist (Swedish) - a person who is always late because they think they have more time than they do; a time optimist.

Bhava (Sanskrit) - when you’re in a mental state of bliss or peace, a oneness that flits into you, especially when you’re listening to music.

Samar (Arabic) - staying up late and having conversations with friends or family.

Cafuné (Portuguese) - the act of tenderly running one’s fingers through a loved one’s hair.

Retrouvailles (French) - a reunion (e.g., with loved ones after a long time apart).

Naz (Urdu) - assurance/pride in knowing that the other’s love is unconditional and unshakable.

Fargin (Yiddish) - ungrudging and overt (expressed) pride and happiness at other’s successes.

Apnapan (Hindi) - having a quality where you accept people, think of them as your own, take care of the ones you love, not for anything in return.

Meriggiare (Italian) - to rest at midday in a shady spot.

One Word Ideas

A aeipathy (n.) - an enduring and consuming passion aleatory (n.) - relying on chance or an uncontrolled element in the details of life or in the creation of art alharaca (spanish, n.) - an extraordinary or violent emotional reaction to a small issue anacampserote (n.) - something that can bring back a lost love antiscians (n.) - people who live on opposite sides the world, “whose shadows at noon are cast in opposite directions” áoyè // 熬夜 (chinese, n.) - to pull an all-nighter appetence (n.) - an eager desire, an instinctive inclination; an attraction or a natural bond aranyhíd (hungarian, n) - “the golden bridge”; the reflection of the sun as it shines on water aspectabund (adj.) - letting or being able to let expressive emotion show easily through one’s face and eyes asterismos (n.) - “marking with stars”; a word that gives weight or draws attention to the words that follow aswium // 아쉬움 (korean, n.) - the mingled feeling of disappointment, frustration, and regret that results from an unsatisfactory situation atermoiements (french, n.) - distractions or hesitations leading to procrastination avos’ // авось (russian, n.) - blind trust in sheer luck

B balter (v.) - to dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill but usually with enjoyment basorexia (n.) - the overwhelming desire to kiss bilita mpash (bantu, n.) - the opposite of a nightmare; not merely a good dream, but a blissful state where all is forgiven and forgotten brontide (n.) - the low rumble of distant thunder brumous (adj.) - of grey skies and winter days; filled with heavy clouds or fog b’shirt // באשַערט (yiddish, n.) - “destiny”; referring to the seeking of a person who will complement you and whom you will complement perfectly

C cafuné (portuguese, n.) - the act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair caim (scottish, n.) - an invisible circle of protection, drawn around the body with the hand, that reminds you that you are safe and loved, even in the darkest times casuistry (n.) - deceptive or excessively subtle reasoning chéngquán // 成全 (chinese, v.) - “to become whole”; to selflessly help someone achieve their aim chimerical (adj.) - created by unchecked imagination; fantastically visionary or highly improbable commuovere (italian, v.) - to stir, to touch, to move to tears consenescere (latin, v.) - to grow old and grey together; to stay too long in an occupation; to decay, to lose respect, to fade convivencia (spanish, n.) - living together, in the sense of living or working closely with other people with whom you share feelings, desires, or a common purpose

D defenestrate (n.) - to throw someone or something out of a window dépaysement (n.) - the feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country dérive (french, n.) - a spontaneous journey where the traveler leaves their life behind for a time to let the spirit of the landscape and architecture attract and move them desenrascanço (portuguese, n.) - the improvisation of haphazard but completely sound solutions or plans at the last minute dormiveglia (italian, n.) - the space that stretches between sleeping and waking dustsceawung (n.) - reflection on people, and on the knowledge that all things will turn to dust

E eigengrau (german, n.) - “intrinsic grey”; the color seen by the eye in perfect darkness erlebnisse (german, n.) - the experiences, positive or negative, that we feel most deeply, and through which we truly live estivate (v.) - to be inactive or asleep through the summer’s heat and then come awake and alive in the winter eudaimonia (n.) - a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous

F fanaa // فناء (urdu, n.) - destruction of the self; “destroyed in love” fernweh (german, n.) - feeling homesick for a place you have never been to finifugal (adj.) - hating endings; of someone who tries to avoid or prolong the final moments of a story, relationship, or some other journey firgun // פירגון (hebrew, n.) - the act of sharing in or even contributing to someone else’s pleasure or fortune, with a purely generous heart and without jealousy fisselig (german, n.) - being flustered to the point of incompetence; a temporary state of inexactitude and sloppiness that is elicited by another person’s nagging fuubutsushi // 風物詩 (japanese, n.) - the feelings, scents, or images that evoke memories or anticipation of a particular season

G gezellig (dutch, adj.) - cozy, nice, inviting, pleasant, comfortable; connoting time spent with loved ones or togetherness after a long separation gibel // гибель (russian, n.) - not death, not suicide, but simply ceasing to exist; deteriorating in a way that is painful for others gibigianna (italian, n.) - the play of light reflected from water or a mirror; a sunlit area gigil (tagalog, v.) - to grit the teeth in order to resist the urge to pinch or squeeze something extremely cute gökotta (swedish, n.) - dawn picnic to hear the first birdsong; the act of rising in the early morning to watch the birds or to go outside to appreciate nature guanxi // 關係 (chinese, n.) - a network of social connections based on mutual trust and the balancing of debts by returning favors so that the relationship’s benefits are shared by all

H hanyauku (kwangali, n.) - the act of walking on tiptoes across warm sand hifistelyä (finnish, n.) - something sophisticated, luxurious, and expensive, which is however a very minor improvement and is not needed hiraeth (welsh, n.) - a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past honne // 本音 (japanese, n.) - what a person truly believes; the behavior and opinions which are often kept hidden and only displayed with one’s closest confidants hüzün (turkish, n.) - a melancholy resulting from inadequacy or failure and weighing so heavily that it becomes communal, resigned, and even curiously poetic

I ichariba chode // 行逢りば兄弟 (japanese, phr.) - “though we meet but once, even by chance, we are friends for life” iktsuarpok (inuit, n.) - the frustration of waiting for someone to turn up ilunga (tshiluba, n.) - a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time incalescent (adj.) - growing hotter or more ardent; set ablaze induratize (v.) - to make one’s own heart hardened or resistant to someone’s pleas or advances, or to the idea of love

J jaaneman // जानेमन // جان ِ من (persian, n.) - “soul of me”; gender-neutral word for sweetheart or darling jiāoqiǎnyánshēn // 交浅言深 (chinese, v.) - to have a deep and intimate conversation with a stranger jīlè // 雞肋 (chinese, n.) - things that you have no use for, yet still don’t want to throw away

K kairos καιρός (greek, n.) - the perfect, delicate, crucial moment; the fleeting rightness of time and place that creates the opportune atmosphere for action, words, or movement kalopsia (n.) - the delusion of things being more beautiful than they really are kalsarikännit (finnish, v.) - to get drunk alone at home in your underwear karōshi // 過労死 (japanese, n.) - death from being overworked katzenjammer (german, n.) - a bad hangover or a general state of depression or bewilderment kawaakari // 川明かり (japanese, n.) - the gleam of last light on a river’s surface at dusk; the glow of a river in the darkness kilig (tagalog, n.) - the feeling of butterflies in your stomach, usually when something romantic takes place kintsukuroi // 金繕い (japanese, n.) - “to repair with gold”; the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver lacquer and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken koyaanisqatsi (hopi, n.) - nature out of balance; a way of life so unbalanced that you need a new way kruschteln (german, v.) - to look for an item in a disorganized pile of stuff

L la douleur exquise (french, n.) - the heart-wrenching pain of wanting the affection of someone unattainable l’appel du vide (french, n.) - “the call of the void”; the instinctive urge to jump from high places latibule (n.) - a hiding place; a place of safety and comfort lethe (n.) - oblivion or something to make you enter oblivion and forget lítost (czech, n.) - regret and remorse and repentance; a state of agony and torment; sorrow said to be created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery livsnjutare (swedish, n.) - one who loves life deeply and lives it to the extreme

M mamihlapinatapei (yagán, n.) - the wordless, meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to do so matutine (adj.) - just before the dawn mbuki-mvuki (bantu, v.) - to shed one’s clothing spontaneously and dance naked in joy meliorism (n.) - the belief that the world gets better; the belief that humans can improve the world mellandagarna (swedish, n.) - “the middle days”; the days between christmas and the new year meraki // μεράκι (greek, n.) - the soul, creativity, or love put into something; the essence of yourself that is put into your work metanoia (n.) - the journey of changing one’s mind, heart, self, or way of life mono no aware // 物の哀れ (japanese, n.) - the gentle wistfulness at the transience of things, and the awareness of the sadness of existence mudita // मुदित (sanskrit, n.) - sympathetic, vicarious joy; happiness rather than resentment at someone else’s well-being or good fortune mutterseelenallein (german, adj.) - utterly alone, as of refugees torn from their home country

N nakhes (yiddish, n.) - the satisfaction gained from life’s gifts; proud pleasure, especially in one’s children or grandchildren and their successes, however small ñáñaras (spanish, n.) - the free-falling sensation in the body caused by an unpleasant situation, fear, anxiety, insecurity, or other intense emotions natsukashii // 懐かしい (japanese, adj.) - of some small thing that brings you suddenly and joyously back to fond memories, not with a wistful longing for what’s past, but with an appreciation of the good times nazlanmak (turkish, v.) - pretending reluctance or indifference when you are actually willing or eager; saying no and meaning yes nefelibata (spanish, n.) - “cloud-walker”; one who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams, or one who does not obey the conventions of society, literature, or art nemesism (greek, n.) - frustration, anger, or aggression directed inward, toward oneself and one’s way of living nemophilist (n.) - a haunter of the woods; one who loves the forest and its beauty and solitude nepenthe (n.) - something that can make you forget grief or suffering noceur (french, n.) - one who sleeps late or not at all; one who stays out late to revel or party noctuary (n.) - the record of a single night’s events, thoughts, or dreams novaturient (adj.) - desiring or seeking powerful change in one’s life, behavior, or situation numinous (adj.) - describing an experience that makes you fearful yet fascinated, awed yet attracted; the powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired

O offing (n.) - the deep, distant stretch of the ocean that is still visible from the land orenda (iroquoian, n.) - a mystical force present in all people that empowers them to affect the world, or to effect change in their own lives ostranenie // остранение (russian, n.) - encouraging people to see common things as strange, wild, or unfamiliar; defamiliarizing what is known in order to know it differently or more deeply oubliette (n.) - a dungeon with a door only in the ceiling; a place you put people to forget about them

P palinoia (n.) - the obsessive repetition of an act until it is perfect or mastered pareidolia (n.) - the instinct to seek familiar forms in disordered images like clouds or constellations; the perception of random stimuli as significant peripeteia // περιπέτεια (greek, n.) - a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances; the point of no return pretoogjes (dutch, n.) - the eyes of a chuckling person who is up to benign mischief

Q quaquaversal (adj.) - moving or happening in every direction instantaneously querencia (spanish, n.) - a place from which one’s strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self

R ranço (portuguese, n.) - the inexplicable feeling of disliking someone without a proper reason rantipole (v.) - to be wild and reckless rasasvada // रसास्वाद (sanskrit, n.) - the taste of bliss in the absence of all thoughts recumbentibus (n.) - the knockout or ending blow, physical or verbal; the final, winning argument redamancy (n.) - the act of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full resfeber (swedish, n.) - the restless race of the traveler’s heart before the journey begins, when anxiety and anticipation are tangled together retrouvaille (french, n.) - the joy of meeting or finding someone again after a long separation; rediscovery

S sankofa (akan, n.) - “go back and fetch it”; to look back on the past in order to understand how we became what we are, and move forward to a better future sarang // 사랑 (korean, n.) - “i wish to be with you until death” saudade (portuguese, n.) - a nostalgic longing to be near again to something or someone that is distant, or that has been loved and then lost sciamachy (n.) - a battle against imaginary enemies; fighting your shadow scintilla (n.) - a tiny, brilliant flash or spark; a small thing; a barely-visible trace sehnsucht (german, n.) - a yearning for a far, familiar, non-earthly land one can identify as one’s home serein (french, n.) - the fine, light rain that falls from a clear sky at sunset or in the early hours of night setsunai // 切ない (japanese, n) - the feeling between bittersweet, painful, and wistful sillage (french, n.) - the scent that lingers in air, the trail left in water, the impression made in space after something or someone has been and gone smultronställe (swedish, n.) - a special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation; a personal idyll free from stress or sadness soigné (french, adj.) - possessing an aura of sophistication in dress, manner, or design; presented or prepared with an elegance attained through care for the finer details sophrosyne // σωφροσύνη (greek, n.) - a healthy state of mind, characterized by self-control, moderation, and a deep awareness of one’s true self, and resulting in true happiness sturmfrei (german, adj.) - the freedom of not being watched by a parent or superior; being alone at a place and having the ability to do what you want susurrus (n.) - a low, soft sound, as of whispering or muttering or a quiet wind súton (croatian, n.) - the approach of death or the end of something

T tacenda (n.) - things better left unsaid; matters to be passed over in silence tatemae // 建前 (japanese, n.) - what a person pretends to believe; the behavior and opinions one must display to satisfy society’s demandsv. temerate (v.) - to break a bond or binding promise toska // тоска (russian, n.) - ache of soul, longing with nothing to long for tsundoku // 積ん読 (japanese, n.) - buying books and not reading them; letting books pile up unread on shelves or floors or nightstands

U uitwaaien (dutch, v.) - to take a break to clear one’s head

V vagary (n.) - an unpredictable instance, a wandering journey; a whimsical, wild, or unusual idea, desire, or action velleitie (n.) - a wish or powerful desire for something that nonetheless is not or cannot be followed by actions meant to pursue it venters (scots, n.) - what the wind or tide drives in from the ocean upon a wave vernorexia (n.) - a romantic mood inspired by spring videnda (n.) - the things that should be seen or visited, especially if because they mark the character of a person or place volta // βόλτα (greek, n.) - a leisurely stroll along the main street or the seashore as the sun is setting, to meet and talk with friends and neighbors vorfreude (german, n.) - the joyful, intense anticipation that comes from imagining future pleasures

W wabi-sabi // 侘寂 (japanese, n) - accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay wēijī // 危機 (chinese, n.) - crisis or critical moment; from risk 危 and opportunity 機, the idea that there can be a positive result in a wisely handled risk

X xibipíío (pirahã, adj.) - of experiential liminality; of a being in the boundaries of experience and the act of entering or leaving perception xuānxiè // 宣泄 (chinese, v.) - “to let accumulated water flow”; to emotionally unburden oneself

Y ya’aburnee // يقبرني (arabic, phr.) - “you bury me”; wishing for a loved one to outlive you because of how unbearable life would be without them yakamoz (turkish, n.) - the reflection of the moon as it shines upon the water

Z zugzwang (german, n.) - a situation where every possible move or decision is a bad one, or one that will result in damage or loss

Sensory Prompts

cold, smooth slate

smell of smoke in icy air

a shimmer of water droplets in the sun

mint leaves

cold mud

the squeak of an old wooden staircase

paper tearing

light on the bottom of a clear pool

radio static

wind chimes

light reflected on puddles

the green iridescence of a beetle’s wing

slipping into warm water

a glow stick being snapped

night wind carrying the scent of freshly baked bread

wet, rotting leaves

dice against a table

the taste left in your mouth after a dentist’s appointment

a bite of an apple

people talking a room away

walking barefoot on sidewalk

dark, bitter chocolate

dryer lint

plucking a peach off the tree

calloused palm

pine needles

aloe being slathered on a sunburn

eggshells cracking

a dog’s cold nose

porch light in the distance

pouring something into a glass

soft cat feet

scraping at a scab

a deer darting away under the trees

jumping into a cold pool

a paper cut

a too-rich dessert

putting on clean underwear

an unpleasantly damp handshake

sweaty socks

the soft fur behind a dog’s ears

crunching ice at the bottom of the glass

licking your fingers while eating Cheetos

fighting against the urge to cry

floating on your back in water

soreness after exercise

the smell of an elderly relative’s house

bowling alley carpet

fresh paint

fireworks close enough to feel in your chest

the radio playing in the background at a restaurant

watching aquarium fish

a toilet flushing in a public restroom

your breath coming out in clouds in the cold

putting accidentally way too much salt on your food

poking at a bruise

rain on a metal roof

scent of a damp basement

the weird green afterimage after coming in from the snow

getting scratched by briars

a popsicle stick against your tongue

opening a window

walking on gravel

cold pizza

blowing out a candle

a swallow of a carbonated drink

packing peanuts

a bleeding mosquito bite

trying to fall asleep in a too-warm room

loud laughter somewhere else in the neighborhood

a round rock in the palm of your hand

putting your hair in a tight ponytail

steam rising from a bowl of soup

gum with all the flavor chewed out of it

the feel of banana peel

heavy boots

latex gloves

cold coins

an earthworm squirming in your palm

someone pulling away from a hug you wish would last longer

cloudless summer sky

ripping up a tuft of grass

getting water in your eyes

clean sheets

the packaging of snack food you’re eating late at night

cold water down your neck

nasty-tasting medicine

cleaning dirt from under your nails

holding your breath underwater

flies buzzing

thick fog

aluminum foil

the smell of stagnant water

the light of a full moon

bending a green twig in your hands

another person touching your skin with cold hands

motion sickness

tufts of shed fur

hard candy dissolving in your mouth

a feeling of acceleration in your chest

Enjoy! Ask away!

If you want a certain character, don’t be afraid to ask, and if you don’t know what character could fit, but you want to see it anyhow, I’ll use a character I think might fit for you. 😊

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