The 20′ – 2000 (Noton/Raster) series is one CD a month, each featuring an electronic score for the last 20 minutes of the year 1999. Recommended entries include those by Scanner, Ryoji Ikeda, Thomas Brinkmann, and Coh.
Month: October 1999
Paradinas in Orbit
Michael Paradinas looks up
The same year that saw the daring $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter crash and burn, μ -Ziq’s Royal Astronomy (Astralwerks) received unanimous praise for keeping things exquisitely simple (which for μ-Ziq’s Michael Paradinas is something of a first).
Requiem for a Friend
Grieving in ambient mode
Cadman Requiem (Point) is the esteemed British composer’s Gavin Bryars’ (slow) moving tribute to a friend who died in the 1988 Lockerbie airline terrorist attack, composed for the men’s vocal group the Hilliard Ensemble, shows that “ambient” is about artistic intent, not technology.
Japan’s Digital Composer
Nobukazu Takemura has a point
Experimental electronic music has more than its share of pointilists. On Scope (Thrill Jockey), Nobukazu Takemura distinguishes himself with a composer’s sense of dramatic arc, distinctly Eastern tones and much sonic subtlety.
Mouse Support
Toma & St. Werner sample widely
Mouseketeers Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner benefit tremendously on Mouse on Mars’ Niun Niggung (Sonig/Rough Trade) from the support of a wide assortment of acoustic instruments, including drums, French horn, bass clarinet, cello, fiddle, and more.