Journal
- Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Composer Donnacha Dennehy, whose piece Land of Winter, performed by Alarm Will Sound and conductor Alan Pierson, was released earlier this month on Nonesuch, shares some insight on the work, which explores the subtleties of Ireland’s seasons via twelve connected sections representing the months of the year, in a new essay. "It is the varying quality of light that truly demarcates the seasons," he says, "from the shorter days of grey or piercing light in the winter to the warmer but mercurial light of summer days that at solstice stretch almost to midnight. I like this play between light and time, and it is the major inspiration behind the piece."
Journal Topics: Artist Essays, Artist News
- Thursday, July 21, 2011
After launching his solo career with the critically acclaimed Familial last year, Philip Selway returns with the Running Blind EP, which Nonesuch releases digitally in North America on August 30. (Bella Union releases it July 25 in Europe.) When Selway wrote the songs that formed the track listing for Familial, he kept back a handful that he felt worked best as a separate piece of work; these now comprise Running Blind. The digital EP includes those four songs plus a live session video of the title track. Listen to the title track here.
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist NewsWednesday, July 20, 2011Emmylou Harris was the musical guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night on NBC. She and her band performed a rocking rendition of "New Orleans," off her new album, Hard Bargain. Prefix calls it "an upbeat country-rock track that’s well suited to Harris’ vocal style, which has retained the edge she’s possessed since emerging onto the music scene in the early 1970s." Harris also gave a web-exclusive performance of the album track "Darlin' Kate." Watch both performances here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Video, TelevisionWednesday, July 20, 2011Chris Thile and Michael Daves will be the guests on WNYC's Soundcheck today at 2 PM ET, performing songs from their debut duo album, Sleep With One Eye Open, before a live audience at the Greene Space in downtown Manhattan. Also performing are the Del McCoury Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The show is sold-out and will be webcast live. The New Yorker, in a preview of their show at The Bell House in Brooklyn tonight, says: "Expect the pair to deliver a high-spirited bluegrass-infused performance full of inspired harmonies."
Journal Topics: On Tour, Artist News, Web, RadioWednesday, July 20, 2011Wednesday, July 20, 2011The Low Anthem was featured on NPR's World Cafe yesterday. The show, now available at npr.org, features concert performances of songs from the band's new album, Smart Flesh, and an interview with the band. "The Low Anthem's markedly pleasant tunes contain some of the sweetest sounds in modern Americana," says World Cafe. "The band's music features husky vocals, poetic lyrics, rich harmonies, even some heavy blues guitar." The Low Anthem announced its US fall headlining tour yesterday.
Journal Topics: Artist News, RadioTuesday, July 19, 2011Björk continues to unveil Biophilia, her most interdisciplinary project to date, with today’s release of the Biophilia App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch and first two album singles "Cosmogony" and "Crystalline" on the iTunes Store. The full Biophilia album will be released on September 27, 2011, through One Little Indian / Nonesuch Records; the five physical versions are available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store, including the custom-made Biophilia Manual and Ultimate Edition.
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist News, WebTuesday, July 19, 2011Jessica Lea Mayfield is featured on SPIN magazine's tribute to the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind. She performs the album track "Lounge Act" on Newermind, on which SPIN asked some of its "favorite contemporary artists to cover the influential album's 13 songs, in their original order." Newermind is available as a free download till July 25 on SPIN's Facebook page. Mayfield concludes her tour with the Avett Brothers in Oakland tonight, then continues her own headline tour. Tune in to hear her perform on KFOG this afternoon.
Journal Topics: On Tour, Artist News, Web, RadioTuesday, July 19, 2011The Low Anthem announces new US headlining dates for September and October 2011 in support of their latest album, Smart Flesh. The band will also rejoin Iron & Wine on October 13 to open their show at NY's Terminal 5. Tickets for the fall headline shows are available for pre-sale beginning today at 10 AM ET and include a free download of two versions of the Smart Flesh outtake “Glitter." Hear those tracks here.
Journal Topics: On Tour, Artist NewsTuesday, July 19, 2011Randy Newman's recent appearance on Words and Music from Studio A from New York's NPR member station WFUV is now available to stream on NPR Music at NPR.org. Newman performs songs from his latest Nonesuch release, Songbook Vol. 2, and talks with host Claudia Marshall about the project. "He is, simply, one of America's greatest songwriters," Marshall exclaims, "and the hour or so we spent together is among the most enjoyable radio interviews I've ever done." Newman launches his two-week tour of Australia this Friday.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Web, RadioTuesday, July 19, 2011Emmylou Harris is the musical guest on tonight's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Tune in to see Harris and her band perform "New Orleans," off her new album, Hard Bargain. Harris performed in NY's Central Park on a double bill with the legendary Levon Helm last night and joined in on the finale: The Band's "The Weight." She recently spoke with the A.V. Club, which says: "Her voice has a mournful quality that reaches back before the West was won, a sound that’s come to the fore over the last couple of decades as she’s definitively departed from the land of fiddles and pedal steel."
Journal Topics: On Tour, Artist News, TelevisionMonday, July 18, 2011Nonesuch Records releases Modern Music, a collaboration between pianists Brad Mehldau and Kevin Hays and composer/arranger Patrick Zimmerli, all longtime friends, on September 20, 2011. The album features pieces written by each of the three musicians as well as works by Steve Reich, Ornette Coleman, and Philip Glass, performed by the two pianists in arrangements by Zimmerli. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of the title track.
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist NewsMonday, July 18, 2011Emmylou Harris brings her North American summer tour to NYC for a special performance, in which she joins the Levon Helm Band for a concert in Central Park to benefit SummerStage. She performs on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night. "The Road," the opening track on her new album, Hard Bargain, is the Free MP3 of the Day today at MP3.com. The New York Times, recommending tonight's show, calls Harris "the reigning queen of smart, fluent Americana."
Journal Topics: On Tour, Artist News, Web, Television