Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds Of (CD 1)
Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds Of (CD 2)
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Jazzland - Remixed
Jan Jelinek - Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records
Takemitsu - Quatrain / A Flock Descends Into The Pentagonal Garden
It's not a huge leap from ambient electronica to modern classical although they are actually very different to listen to. The Toru Takemitsu (Japanese "classical" "modern" avant garde composer 1930 - 1996) album is definitely "classical". By that I mean it is orchestral rather than electronically produced. Takemitsu employs traditional classical instruments but there the similarity with what you'd think of as a traditional symphonic orchestra ends. So there are pianos and clarinets, violins and gongs, and even some guitar (Takemitsu did compose some solo classical guitar pieces). The pieces ebb and flow; subtle patches of peaceful beauty regularly burst forth into huge powerful crescendos. The instruments battle out constant questions and answers like jazz players. The music frequently sounds like the soundtrack to a Hitchcock film. Quiet, quiet, loud, simmer, simmer, crash! It sometimes feels like the composer has thrown everything and the kitchen sink into the score. But, boy, is it interesting. It's not an easy listen, but it's fascinating. If Vaughan Williams recalls an English country meadow in The Lark Ascending, Takemitsu's A Flock Descends flies in the opposite direction and sounds like the soundtrack to a New York street at rush hour.
photo credit : bbc
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