04/22/22: Ghostly Portraits

Featuring Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Werliin, Robert Davidson, Michael Oesterle, and Earthen Sea

Hello and Welcome to Keeping Score. This week I have four new releases.

The Music

Something Jazzy

Australian composer and musician Oren Ambarchi and Swedish composers and musicians Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin released Ghosted, a sparse, rhythmic, fun release. The release notes state:

Using aspects of jazz, world and experimental musics, each tune settles into a deep groove, digging itself via continuous minimal adjustments into an ever-deeper, eternal groove.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc.

Something Lyrical

Australian composer Robert Davidson released Diary Pages, his first release for solo piano. The release focuses on intimacy and and contemplation, with nostalgic quotations and dedications to important people in Davidson’s life. The pieces are simple and tonal, perfectly matching their themes.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc.

Something Expressive

Canadian string quartet Quatuor Bozzini released Quatours, with pieces by German-born Canadian composer Michael Oesterle. The release notes describe each piece:

Daydream Mechanics is inspired by the book Mécanique jongleuse by Québec poet Nicole Brossard and explores hypnotic figures, playing on the border between memory and perception. String Quartet No. 3 “Alan Turing” is a tribute to the English scientist and his free spirit whose creative potential we have irretrievably lost. Serious or playful, the colorful and evocative pieces of Three Pieces for String Quartet have as a common thread endangered animals. Finally, his most recent String Quartet No. 4, is a large-scale work with a calm and sprawling style. And as in all his music, the search for balance in the musical materials, which are geometric and expressive, is at the forefront. 

Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc.

Something Ambient

American composer Jacob Long (aka Earthen Sea) released Ghost Poems. Minimalist and experimental ambient tracks, Backseat Mafia writes:

Ghost Poems isn’t a record which offers any quick fixes. As with other Earthen Sea releases, at its heart is a devotion to gentle persuasiveness of subtly immersive electronica. Best experienced when taken as a whole, it’s only then that you begin to appreciate the intricacy that Long creates.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc.

Have a great week!