KBCS

Flotation Device cracks open the new Matt Mitchell album featuring duets with two different drummers, as well as Bobby Mitchell’s premiere recording of a late Rzewski piano piece that echoes his iconic variations on The People United Will Never Be Defeated! Julia Wolfe composes a string quartet…for percussionists, while Evgueni Galperine, Finnur Karlsson and Joby Talbot explore the augmented reality of trumpet, accordion and cello. Ryuichi Sakamoto contributes an unusually fragile and contemplative solo track while our favorite Kenyan electronicist, KMRU, returns with his own new album of fixed-media pieces. Kaze and guest Ikue Mori demonstrate the pandemic-era art of remote collaboration, a technique honed a decade earlier by the Sound-In collective. Matthias Kranebitter channels the Baroque composer Royer while Ig Henneman channels Galina “lady with the hammer” Ustvolskaya. Ivan Buffa reflects on Darmstadt-era pointillism while his fellow Slovakian Viera Janárčeková finds an unexpected connection between Shakespeare and Sciarrino. Finally, Ken Vandermark and Mette Henriette contribute new takes on the art of transnational improvisation.