Recommended reading, news, and so forth elsewhere:
● Guillermo Scott Herren (aka Prefuse 73) on Electronica’s Classical Under-girding (newmusicbox.org): Lengthy interview with Guillermo Scott Herren, aka Prefuse 73, on, among other things, the influence of abstract contemporary classical music on his electronica: "It's just me being really nerdy and listening to these tape records, these weird throwback Nonesuch records. I'm the first to go to the old experimental music section and just buy all the dollar records that nobody buys. And everybody's like, 'Pfft, what are you buying? Oh, I got that, it's so boring.' But you listen to it, and you're like: What is going on? Because those records are like, one minute will be this beautiful kind of composed piece, and all of a sudden swoosh. And it's so random. And it all came together." Interview by Trevor Hunter. Video available, too.
● Rhys Chatham & 200 Guitars (nytimes.com): Rhys Chatham's 200-guitar piece "A Crimson Grail (Outdoor Version)" performed a week ago Saturday at Lincoln Center in Manhattan (a year after its initially scheduled run was scuttled by inclement weather), reviewed in New York Times by Steve Smith: "Chatham’s piece dealt in massed sonorities and mingling overtones rather than manual calisthenics." Also available, HD performance video of the “end of first part” (vimeo.com) and of the “finale” (vimeo.com). Video found via twitter.com/rlainhart, which also listed two additional reviews: There’s timeoutny.com‘s Sophie Harris: “The sound of two hundred tremoloed guitars ricocheted around the space, even setting off a car alarm in the street (miraculously in tune!).” And artforum.com‘s Andrew Hultkrans: “The third section opened with the guitarists playing repeated fifths, with the basses dropping one sustained bomb at the end of each measure, reminding me of the intro to the Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ stuck on auto-repeat.”
● Moon Score Composer Clint Mansell Q&A (mojo4music.com): Pop Will Eat Itself‘s Clint Mansell talks (a bit) about working on the score to the recent chamber-sci-fi film Moon, as well as about working with Darren Aronofsky, musicians whom he admires (Philip Glass, the Buzzcocks), and performing his soundtrack music live. Also: "I mean, if somebody called me to do the music for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 you know what that score needs to be, and whilst I may be able to make a passable attempt at it I don't think that would be my strong suit." Interview by Andrew Male.
● Up, Bustle and Out Has New Album in the Works (upbustleandout.co.uk): Been a few years since (former Ninja Tune mixmasters) Up, Bustle and Out's album Istanbul's Secrets (latest in an ongoing series of audio travel guides), but the group has a new album, titled Soliloquy, that it's "pitching to reputable labels."
● RjDj (Interactive Music App for iPhone/Touch) Starts World Tour September 10 in Tokyo (rjdj.me):
● Cellphone Speaker Interference Can Be Diminished with Electrostatic Bag (lifehacker.com):
More online resources at disquiet.com/elsewhere.