The saxophone has gotten a bad reputation in modern music. It often conjures up tongue-in-cheek appreciation or outright disdain; the sax has almost totally lost the essence of cool it once possessed. But, unbeknownst to them, many artists in 2011 are working to revive the maligned instrument. From sweeping crescendos to accents of personality, we’ve picked a handful of songs from the past year that we think are providing the saxophone as much-needed resurgence. Download the tracks below and listen to the extended mix on Spotify . As always, feel free to mention any songs you think we missed, [...]
It is no secret that, like sports, fashion, and fruit, the arts are seasonal. The music release schedule in particular tends to follow such a pattern, with major releases appearing in spring (just in time for wallets to recover from the holiday season), disappearing in summer (when money is more likely to be spent on concerts), and reappearing in autumn (with just enough time to gain buzz before people start buying gifts). As a result, September and October tend to overflow with great new records, and this year was no exception. We at FP spent the month reviewing everything from [...]
I'm going to let you in on a secret. The best album of 2011 consists mostly of live solo performances on bass saxophone. The secret to the success of New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges lies in the way it was recorded. 24 microphones were used, each capturing a different element of Stetson's remarkable range of techniques: the rattle of the reed, the percussive tapping of the keys, or the harmonic overflow of the entire instrument vibrating. It's like he's got an entire band in there with him. If that wasn't enough, there's [...]
(Constellation, 2011) Colin Stetson pretty much owns 2011--musically speaking--evidenced by his breath-stealing (quite literally) full length LP, New History Warfare, Vol. 2 . And Those Who Didn't Run only strengthens that pwnership. An EP-lengthed 10" (as opposed to LP-lengthed 10"?) equating to two ten-minute sides of heavy-surreal saxophone apocalypse, Those Who Didn't Run expands on everything that is good about New History Warfare. Both sides offer a variation on Stetson's rhythmically mind-warping saxophone tones, pushing and pulsing into big gorgeous [...]
![[Review/Listen] – Colin Stetson – “Those Who Didn’t Run”](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3801846_lg.jpg)
Tweet Goodness me, what to say about Colin Stetson ? I don't feel sufficiently qualified about the general state of woodwind and solo sax playing at this time to make any bold claims about his music being unique or of startling novelty, but the very fact that I find him so mesmerising despite my ignorance surely proves something: Stetson's music is so obviously attention grabbing that even someone relatively ignorant of trends in contemporary woodwind like myself can tell there is every reason to be [...]
Improbable as it seems, the last few years have seen a resurgence in non-jazz saxophones. Once They've been lifted out of jazz brunches and placed squarely into otherwise cool indie records ( Before Today, Kaputt, Halcyon Days ). A nasty sax solo even finds its way on to Lady Gaga's new album. But while many haute-indie purveyors have found ways to reappropriate cheesy saxophones, Colin Stetson wields an ancient bass saxophone like a war horn. By using a physiologically complex circular breathing method, Stetson is able to create a stunning flurry of notes that are as beautiful as they are cacophonous. Stetson [...]
Earlier this year, Colin Stetson exploded from popular backup player (everyone from Tom Waits to LCD Soundsystem, David Byrne to Anthony Braxton) to everyone's favorite bass saxophone solo artist, thanks to the absolutely amazing New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges . There's something of Albert Ayler's expressive, expansive free jazz, but there's something of minimalist pop construction on that record, too. The super-rich, massive bass sax is a tool of unbelievable depth, an innovative player like Stetson honking out the lowest notes the thing will hit, while a moment later squeaking out an extended technique quack. Simultaneously, [...]
JKriv By Stef Siepel The weekly froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy. Track of the week: ‘Elisco’ by JKriv & Lou Teti JKriv , let me tell ya, I don’t know anything about him except that he makes killer music. Earlier this [...]
The new Colin Stetson EP, Those Who Didn't Run, is now available for streaming on Constellation Records' SoundCloud page . There are two ten-minute tracks on this monster, which is an exercise in attention span that not even Stetson's last album asked listeners to endure. Not to make this EP sound like a chore. This dude's approach to solo saxophone pieces are a mind-boggling treat, and this EP is a raw, uninterrupted listen to that.
Cette semaine, on se penche sur trois disques qui ont la particularité commune de tourner autour d’un instrument principal qui d’habitude se fait plus discret dans l’univers pop/rock. New History Warfare Vol.2: Judges de Colin Stetson est indéniablement le disque le plus impressionnant de la sélection, où l’on entend le canadien seul avec son saxophone (alto, tenor ou basse)(avec toutefois les voix de Shara Worden au chant et Laurie Anderson au spoken word sur quelques titres). A la première écoute, j’avais d’abord rejeté ce disque, trop effrayant, trop différent de ce [...]
Colin Stetson | Red Horse (Judge II) & In love and in Justice
Colin Stetson's new EP, Those Who Didn't Run is out this week. Pitchfork reviews the record and has a " The End of Your Suffering " from the EP up for listening. I picked up some great used vinyl over the weekend at Waterloo Records . I got turned onto Implodes new album, Black Earth while in the store. If you like droned out guitar rock with spoken word echos over the top, this album is for you. [...]
Jeff Mangum has justifiably been getting the lion's share of the attention surrounding the I'll Be Your Mirror festival; when a reclusive indie god comes out of hiding, it's a big deal. But the weekend also marked a long-awaited return for the festival's curators and headliners. Last night, Portishead stepped onstage in the Convention Hall to play their first East Coast show since 1998. Just before they took the stage, their simple P logo appeared on the screen in back of them, and the crowd collectively lost it, and then continued to lose it for the next hour [...]
![Colin Stetson - The End of Your Suffering [STREAM]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3758505_lg.jpg)
If you've got 10 minutes to be blown away, try out this new Colin Stetson track. "The End of Your Suffering" appears on the 2 track Those Who Didn't Run 10 inch, out next week via Constellation Records .
What’s up everybody? Enjoying that time of seasonal change? Better yet, enjoying going back to school ? Hey, all of that’s alright. Getting into the new routine is what makes change all the more interesting. Sure, one month ago you were lounging by the pool while surfing the web, but now you’re listening to your teacher talk about electrons while surfing the web. Oh, how the times change. Here at Cluster 1, though, our routine is always changing in order to get you the freshest and dopest video content out there. And as your routines change, one thing will [...]
For those not up to date on Cluster 12s original content (busy watching The Wire , we're sure), Feedback is a series from CoS/C1 and production company Side B where we deliver exclusive (and highly intimate) interviews with exciting and unique acts from across the musical spectrum. Previous episodes saw us get cozy with up-and-comers Cults and offer an introduction to female-to-male transgender recording artist Rae Spoon . Now, the latest episode of Feedback gets us closer to a man who's been around the block a few times, but who [...]
Filed under: News , Exclusive , Awards Courtesy of Arcade Fire Lost amidst this week's debate over Arcade Fire winning the 2011 Polaris Prize for their album 'The Suburbs,' was that one of the biggest influences looming over the whole award wasn't a band, a label, or an album at all -- it was Arcade Fire's privately-owned studio, Petite Eglise, a converted church 66 kilometres away from Montreal. [...]
A estas alturas probablemente ya sabréis que Arcade Fire se ha hecho con el Polaris Music Prize , el equivalente canadiense al Mercury Music Prize, del que hablamos hace unas semanas y que consiguió PJ Harvey. Y es que cada año leemos o vemos en la televisión quiénes son los mejores artistas en los diversos galardones que se entregan. Aparte de los cambios en las tendencias que generan en el mercado, no podemos olvidar que en muchos casos sirven para descubrir nuevos talentos. Está claro que en esta tarea los que recompensan la [...]
Filed under: News , Exclusive , Awards Chromewaves When the grand jury for the 2011 Polaris Prize voted Montreal's Arcade Fire as the winner at a gala Monday, Sept. 19 in Toronto, they did something no other Polaris grand jury has done in the award's previous five years -- picked the popular band to win. Indeed, the Polaris Prize, which is voted on by Canadian music critics each [...]
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