Current Favorites: Autoharp, Patterns, Ginsberg
A weekly(ish) answer to the question “What have you been listening to lately?” It’s lightly annotated because I don’t like re-posting material without providing some context. I hope to write more about some of these in the future, but didn’t want to delay sharing them. (This weekly feature was previously titled Current Listens. The name’s been updated for clarity’s sake.)
▰ Kin Sventa playing saxophone and autoharp with live processing (beats, synthesis). When the beat kicks in around 2:00, it gets even better. On loop now. Way bolder than the track of his in my latest podcast, and that is way alright.
▰ Repetitions and echoes define the collection of muted elegies that is Aura by Nashville-based Belly Full of Stars (aka Kim Rueger). Each track is titled “Pattern,” a term true not just to the genteel simplicity on hand, but to the deep sense of permanence the quiet tracks embody.
▰ The shimmering, swelling drone that is “Blue Moon” feels welcomingly rougher, considerably more strident, than a lot of recent music by Jeannine Schulz, and all the more compelling for it.
▰ A host of acts, including Gavin Friday (working with Howie B), Yo La Tengo, and Bill Frisell, set the late Allen Ginsberg’s poetry to new music (“All proceeds from the sale of this album will be donated to HeadCount.org promoting voter registration and participation in democracy”). A major highlight is the opening “Elegy for Neal Cassady” by Scanner.
Allen Ginsberg’s The Fall of America: A 50th Anniversary Musical Tribute by Various Artists
