music

introducing 'elsewhere'

After being involved with music production first as a photographer, then as a designer and co-producer for Erstwhile Records for 15 years and Gravity Wave for 8 years, I decided to start my own label. The label's name is 'elsewhere', curat…

The Budapest Festival Orchestra performed Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff under Iván Fischer w/ Dénes Várjon

Last night, I saw the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer performing Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, and Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor. It was magnificent. I love th…

Jürg Frey - Ephemeral Constructions (EWR 1709)

I have been listening to Jürg Frey’s music intensively in the last few months. I first became aware of Frey’s works in 2010, around the time when I discovered Wandelweiser composers’ works and became deeply immersed in - first Michael Pisa…

Jürg Frey - Collection Gustave Roud (at115x2)    

'Collection Gustave Roud' is a double CD of Jürg Frey's recent works from 2007 to 2016. All five pieces of this album are closely connected with the works of the French-Swiss poet Gustave Roud, who has been a profound influence on Frey’s c…

My new essay on Jürg Frey's L'ame est sans retenue composition series

“It’s about how ‘normal’, ‘regular’ things are transformed - by the work of composing, by decisions, by intuition, by the ear - to an art work.” - Jürg Frey (8/16/2017) My new essay on Jürg Frey's L'ame est sans retenue composition series …

FOR/WITH: Works by Christian Wolff, Ashley Fure, Annea Lockwood, Michael Pisaro (9/29-30) @Issue Project Room, NYC

Successful interaction of composers and improvisers The trumpeter and composer Nate Wooley organized a two-night mini-festival “FOR/WITH” at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn on September 29th and 30th, featuring four iconoclastic composers—C…

Jürg Frey - L'ame est sans retenue I (ErstClass 002-5)

Jürg Frey - L'ame est sans retenue I (ErstClass 002-5) Jürg Frey's L'ame est sans retenue I (ErstClass 002-5) is officially released from Erstwhile Records today (10/6). This is so far my favorite package I have ever designed. The cover ar…

My Year-End List of 2016

Favorite Releases of 2016 (classical + experimental genres) 1. Keith Rowe - The Room Extended (ErstSolo) 2. Michael Pisaro/Reinier Van Houdt - the earth and the sky (ErstClass) 3. Mitsuko Uchida - Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major / …

Music with Fluctuations (揺らぎのある音楽)

About ten years ago, I talked about 'music with fluctuations' at one of the lecture series held every Saturday at a jazz cafe in Tokyo, where music writers and critics gave small lectures each week while playing some music (mostly jazz) un…

Michael Pisaro 'Continuum Unbound' (GW011-013) box set has released!

Michael Pisaro's new and the most ambitious works: 3CD box set 'Continuum Unbound' (GW011-013) just came out from our Gravity Wave label. The box set contains 3 CDs and a 12-page full color booklet of Michael Pisaro's essay. You can see th…

My year-end list of top 20 releases of 2013

Top 20 Releases of 20131. Michael Pisaro / Greg Stuart - Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds (Gravity Wave) 2. Dennis Johnson - November (by R. Andrew Lee) (Irritable Hedgehog/Penultimate Press) 3. Eva-Maria Houben - Piano Music (by R. A…

Michael Pisaro / Greg Stuart - Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds (GW 010)

Michael Pisaro / Greg Stuart - Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds (GW 010) was just released today. The details are here:http://michaelpisaro.blogspot.com/

Graham Lambkin / Jason Lescalleet 「Photographs」 (Erstwhile 070-2)

グレアム・ラムキンとジェイソン・レスカリートは、エッジのある大胆な音作りとアナログサウンドの温かみを絶妙のバランスで融合させたコラボ作品を、2006年頃から作り続けている。2枚組の本作は、過去にアーストワイルから出た2008年の「The Breadwinner」…

Cover Design of Michael Pisaro - Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds (GW 010)

Michael Pisaro / Greg Stuart - Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds (GW 010)To be released in early November. http://michaelpisaro.blogspot.com/

Antoine Beuger / Michael Pisaro 'this place / is love (erst 068)' is released

Antoine Beuger / Michael Pisaro - this place / is love (erst 068) was officially released today. Very happy with the final product, especially how the disc image turned out. One of my favorite CD covers and disc labels I have ever designed…

Antoine Beuger's Music

Dissolve the borders between the outer world and the inner world with the equality of sound, silence, performer, environment and listener In order to understand and appreciate Antoine Beuger’s compositions, I strongly recommend you to expe…

実験音楽ウエブマガジン「surround」来月創刊予定

来月、米国を拠点に、実験音楽を扱うウエブマガジン「surround」が創刊されます。その初刊号に寄稿する長文の音楽評論を、数日前にようやく書き終えました。題名は「Silence, Environment, Performer」というもので、ヴァンデルヴァイザー派を代表する5人の…

Michael Pisaro / Oswald Egger / Julia Holter - The Middle of Life (Die ganze Zeit) (GW 008)

Michael Pisaro’s new piece The Middle of Life (Die ganze Zeit), just released from the Gravity Wave label in January 2013, is his 2011/2012 composition inspired by Austrian contemporary poet Oswald Egger’s 2010 book Die ganze Zeit. The 47’…

Radu Malfatti's Music

The vivid contrast between sound and silence brings out the purest form of sound, affecting the gravity in music In Radu Malfatti’s compositions, the contrast between sound and silence is sharp. In many of his works, continuous monotonic s…

Jürg Frey's music

Composer of micro symphony born in the gray area between sound and silence, impressionism and minimalism Jürg Frey’s compositional approach keeps him at the keen edge of contemporary music while simultaneously maintaining a faint touch of …

Antoine Beuger 'keine fernen mehr' (EWR 1006/07)

2010年にエディション・ヴァンデルヴァイザーからリリースされた「keine fernen mehr」は、アントワン・ボイガー自身が吹く口笛の音で演奏された曲を収録した2枚組のアルバムだ。全体的に非常に静かなかすれた質感の口笛の音の前後に、ボイガーが息を吸い込…

Antoine Beuger 'calme étendue (spinoza)' (EWR 0107)

ヴァンデルヴァイザー派の作曲家アントワン・ボイガーによるこの作品(1997年)は、演奏者がスピノザの「エチカ」の文章を8秒間に1語ずつ、 静かなトーンとゆっくりしたテンポで読み上げるというものだ。個々の単語は、表情や抑揚や意味を一切付加しないよ…

Keith Rowe / Michael Pisaro duo at AMPLIFY 2013: rotation in NYC (1/15/2013)

Keith Rowe and Wandelweiser composer Michael Pisaro seemed to have quite different interests and orientations judging from their previous bodies of work, but the result of the first meeting of this duo at AMPLIFY 2013 was surprisingly bala…

Michael Pisaro's new two CDs are released from Gravity Wave

GW 008: Michael Pisaro/Oswald Egger/Julia Holter - The Middle of Life (Die ganze Zeit) GW 009: Michael Pisaro - The Punishment of the Tribe by its Elders ... Both are available at ErstDist: http://www.erstwhilerecords.com/distro.html You c…

Manfred Werder's Music

Hearing the music in the moment of experiencing the natural and immediate relation to the world Manfred Werder shows that music exists all around us in our natural environment, and leads the listener to experience this via performers’ real…

Jürg Frey - Piano Music (piano by R. Andrew Lee) - review in Japanese

ユルク・フレイによる2つの作曲作品を収録したCD「Piano Music」が、米国のピアニスト、アンドリュー・リーによる演奏で、「Irritable Hedgehog」から昨年末にリリースされた。「Irritable Hedgehog」は現代音楽の新しいレーベルのようで、ピアニスト名もレ…

Top 10 Releases of 2012

Top 10 Releases of 20121. Jürg Frey - Piano Music (piano by R. Andrew Lee) (Irritable Hedgehog) 2. Radu Malfatti - darenootodesuka (b-boim) 3. Manfred Werder (Jason Kahn) - 2005¹ (Winds Measure/8CDr) 4. Jakob Ullmann - fremde zeit/addendum…

Gravity Wave 008/009 cover art

GW 008 / 009 front covers Michael Pisaro/Oswald Egger/Julia Holter - The Middle of Life (Die ganze Zeit) (GW 008) Michael Pisaro - The Punishment of the Tribe by its Elders (GW 009)... to be released in the mid or late January 2013.

Sound of Memory - from Michael Pisaro / Toshiya Tsunoda 'crosshatches' (erst 066-2)

When I visited my family in Japan two months after 3/11, I noticed that the air was obviously different from what I remembered. Wherever I went out for a walk on the familiar streets or got on the trains, I could not help realizing that th…

Michael Pisaro/Toshiya Tsunoda 'crosshatches' (erst 066-2) is released

Just released today.