Music is Music

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Music is Music: Third Coast Percussion Oct 01, 2015

Show notes

You may have heard of the band Wilco. Maybe fewer of you have heard of the band's drummer, Glenn Kotche. And probably fewer still, know that Kotche is a classically trained percussionist and composer. In this installment of Music is Music, we're taking a trip into Kotche's world through a piece called Wild Sound. The members in Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion approached Kotche back in 2008 to see if he'd be interested in collaboration. The vibe was there from the beginning, but concert performances and world tours with a rock band kind of got in the way. Cut to 2014, when Third Coast Percussion landed an ensemble-in-residence honor at the University Notre Dame. Stars aligned and the scheduling gods carved out time for Kotche and Co. to collaborate, dream up and refine the pieces of Wild Sound. Kotche had the idea to use some of the found sounds he's gathered through years of touring and taking walks in cities all over the world. The skeletal structure of the piece takes us on a journey from nature to city streets. Third Coast Percussion and Kotche also collaborated on the instrumentation used. Much of the sounds coming from the stage are from instruments that are built and evolve in real time while the music is performed. The ensemble assembled their tools and delighted patrons as part of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's Liquid Music Festival. From a bicycle wheel and ball bearings to sci-fi plexiglass sheets that were wired for sound, the stage was covered with their inspiration, melody and creativity. In less-capable hands, these makeshift instruments could have been a shamble, but Third Coast Percussion were up to the task, and Kotche's composition was transcendent. Check out an interview with the artists and the entire performance of Wild Sound.

Music is Music: Julia Holter + Spektral Quartet Oct 01, 2015

Show notes

Alex Temple's new composition Behind the Wallpaper was specifically written with singer/songwriter Julia Holter and the Spektral Quartet. The piece combines Spektral Quartet's brand of accessibility and playfulness with the neo-renaissance vocal stylings Holter likes to hint at in her own work. Spektral Quartet is one of the gems of the Chicago music scene. The group is just as comfortable performing in a concert hall as it is at a bar. Case in point: this installment of Music is Music, where the artists converge on Chicago's Lake View neighborhood for a show at Constellation. Familiar tropes shake hands with found sounds and new tones in this performance of Alex Temple's Behind the Wallpaper.

Music is Music: Nils Frahm Sep 29, 2015

Show notes

Nils Frahm's hands began gracing a keyboard at an early age. He learned the classics as a kid. Everything changed when he discovered Keith Jarrett. It took a while, but Frahm realized he couldn't get through life being a Jarrett clone, so he eventually moved on... and out. Electronic music and Berlin's club scene floated into the picture before Frahm turned back to his roots and the piano. By this time, however, Frahm was busy blending a stew all his own. A blend of piano, electric keyboards and effects processors give Nils Frahm the palette on which he draws from. He's continually trying to explore and create new sounds in a way that is uniquely his own. On this installment of music is music, we're going to hear a version of a piece called, "Hammers." It's a piano-only piece that flies out of his fingers and usually leaves him exhausted by the time it's over. This version is from his 2013 release, Spaces.

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