The Squid's Ear Magazine


Mattrey, Joanna : Veiled (Relative Pitch)

The first solo record for NY violist Joanna Mattrey, performing also on the Stroh violin, in a deep exploration of the sound possibilities for both instruments, using preparations to alter the resonance of the viola, masking its overtly singing and beautiful nature and allowing for unexpected and unusual textures which weave around melodic lines; unique and fascinating.
 

Price: $13.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: 1

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Joanna Mattrey-viola, Stroh violin


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 5902249001747

Label: Relative Pitch
Catalog ID: RPR1095
Squidco Product Code: 28786

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at GSI Studios, on April 20th, 2019 by Jason Rostkowsjki and Nathaniel Morga.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Veiled is Joanna Mattrey's first solo record, and a deep exploration of the sound possibilities for the viola. Her improvisations include preparations, which alter the resonance of the instrument, masking its overtly singing and beautiful nature, and allowing for many unexpected and unusual textures.

Yet this music is an attempt to weave a melodic line through the unclear, the fog, the mist, the Veiled, and tap into an impulse that isn't defined by conventional musical language. These pursuits are highly influenced by the study of martial arts, alexander technique, yoga, and the mysteries of subtle energy and how it can be transformed into movement."



"Joanna Mattrey is a violist active in both the new music and free improvisation communities who's playing often incorporates textural gestures, preparations, and electronic alterations. She is searching for moments of ceremony and ritual in a modern soundscape. Mattrey has played with such luminaries as Marc Ribot and the Young Philadelphians, Mary Halvorson, John Zorn, Erik Friedlander, Nick Dunston and others among New York City's Downtown scene."-Relative Pitch



"The Stroh violin or Stroviol is a type of stringed musical instrument that is mechanically amplified by a metal resonator and horn attached to its body. The name Stroviol refers to a violin, but other instruments have been modified with the amplification device, including the viola, cello, double bass, ukulele, mandolin, and guitar.[citation needed] John Matthias Augustus Stroh, an electrical engineer in London, invented the instrument in 1899."-Wikipedia

Artist Biographies

"Joanna Mattrey, violist, sound artist.

Joanna Mattrey is a violist active in both the new music and free improvisation communities who's playing often incorporates textural gestures, preparations, and electronic alterations. She is searching for moments of ceremony and ritual in a modern soundscape.

Mattrey has played with such luminaries as Marc Ribot and the Young Philadelphians, Mary Halvorson, John Zorn, Erik Friedlander, Nick Dunston and others among New York City's Downtown scene.

Her projects are incorporative of many styles which have brought her to various venues including the Whitney Museum, the Rubin Museum, MoMa's PS1, Carnegie Hall, Roulette, Boston's MFA, The Stone, Joe's Pub, LPR, and has played at SxSW, the Newport Jazz Festival, and the NYC Winter Jazz Fest.

Mattrey has commissioned solo pieces from Nick Dunston (Vijay Iyar), Weasel Walter (Lydia Lunch), Lucie Vitkova and more to bring her improvising sensibilities to the new music world."

-Joanna Mattrey Website (https://www.joannamattrey.com/)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Ferver 4:00

2. So Close To The Surface 2:22

3. Stroh 5:38

4. Waza 2:29

5. Shackled 1:06

6. A Mouthful Of Dirt 2:08

7. Come To Bury To Exhume 4:23

8. Grey Eyes 1:28

9. Grey Eyes 2:46

10. Descant 7:36

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Stringed Instruments
Instruments with Preparations
Solo Artist Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Relative Pitch.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Elliott Sharp
SysOrk: Occam's Machete
(zOaR Records)
Assembling a world-class ensemble of 24 string players drawing from the Quartets JACK, Sirius, Flux, and Bergamot, here performing as SysOrk, Elliott Sharp's large-scale algorithmic composition provides simple instructions to the participants, creating a seething sonic tapestry of shifting, swirling tones and acoustic drones, exceptionally immersive and detailed.
Lee, Charmaine / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Gabby Fluke-Mogul / Joanna Mattrey / Weston Olencki
Live in Accord [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Notice Recordings)
Four configurations of far-reaching free improv at Notice Recordings's 2021 event in Accord, NY: a solo performance by Charmain Lee on voice & electronics; a duo between Lee and Weston Olnecki on synths & trombone; a trio from Gabby Fluke-Mogul on violin, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and Joanna Mattrey on viola; a duo between Lonberg-Holm and Olencki.
Webber, Anna
Idiom [2 CDs]
(Pi Recordings)
In various configurations of her ensemble--from trios to 12 performers--composer, saxophonist & flutist Anna Weber composed these six pieces based around specific wind techniques, including the use of multiphonics, alternate fingerings, buzzes, air sounds, key clicks & overblown notes, explored through an exuberant and embraceable balance of improvised and composed "Idioms".
Other Recommended Releases:
Angeles, Camilo / Joanna Mattrey
Hailstone Temple [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Notice Recordings)
Excerpted from their 2022 concert at Museo Ex Teresa Arte Actual in Mexico, flutist Camilo Ángeles (TVL REC label), also performing on bass flute, joins with New York City violist Joanna Mattrey, an active performer and improviser associated with Issue Project Room and Roulette, for six unusual duos of wind, string and voice leveraging the natural resonance of the museum space.
Mattrey, Joanna
Soulcaster [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Notice Recordings)
Taking the title from Brandon Sanderson's book series The Stormlight Archive, where a soulcaster is an instrument that transforms one object or life form into another; Joanna Mattrey transforms her viola and a tromba marina, aka a nuns' fiddle, with preparations, objects and unusual approaches through technique, creating a remarkable set of 11 unique and inventive improvisations.
Mattrey, Joanna / Gabby Fluke-Mogul
Oracle
(Relative Pitch)
Performing on viola, violin and a stroh (a string instrument mechanically amplified by a metal resonator and horn attached to its body) the NY duo of Joanna Mattrey and Gabby Fluke-Mogul present eight dialogs of ominous and prophetic divination, titles including "The Vision", "The Potion" or "The Omen", as they weave and tear at their strings in startling and impressive ways.
Mines, Kelsey
Look Like
(Relative Pitch)
The first complete solo release from Seattle, Washington bassist and vocalist Kelsey Mines, active in both classical music as a member of Yakima Symphony, Symphony Tacoma and the Paramount Orchestra, and as an improviser, here presenting a series of improvised solo-duets that explore how listening to our on-going internal dialogue helps us conjure honest, outward expressions.
Lipscomb, Jon
Conscious Without Function
(Relative Pitch)
Swedish guitar improviser Jon Lipscomb (LOPLOP, Swedish Fix) takes his listeners on a rugged trip across the strings, using distortion, tremolo and rapid-fire technique as he mines territories between free improv, noise and rock, his nimble mind stopping to explore areas of interest then cascading into new, turbulent environments; frightfully powerful.
Belisle-Chi, Gregg
KOI - performing the music of Tim Berne
(Relative Pitch)
After hearing Matt Mitchell's solo piano album performing the music of saxophonist Tim Berne, Brooklyn-based acoustic guitarist Gregg Belisle-Chi asked himself how Berne's compositions would sound on his own instrument, reaching out to the composer for guidance as he went into the studio to interpret and record these 10 Berne compositions.
Fluke-Mogul, Gabby
Threshold
(Relative Pitch)
Applying extended techniques from rubbing & scraping to sawing and striking, New York violinist Gabby Fluke-Mogul presents a bold solo violin album of 6 pieces with titles like "Bruise" or "Teeth", drawing an incredible gamut of unusual sounds from the violin and its body, occasionally adding vocal utterance, all laid out with a wonderfully quirky sense of timing.
Lubelski, Samara
Partial Infinite Sequence
(Relative Pitch)
Performing solo on violin with surrounding effects that emphasize the dramatic tension in her extended sequences, Samara Lubelski presents two substantial journeys into the infinite, swirling in delays and reverb as her bow transitions from rapid up and down to long drawing and sustaining, pulling a variety of sounds that elate her listeners in spirals and eddies.
Johnson, Hermione
Tremble
(Relative Pitch)
Using an imaginative set of piano preparations, Auckland, New Zealand pianist Hermione Johnson draws unusual timbral and tonal qualities from the prepared piano, deftly improvising with dexterous technical skills to create unusual rhythmic and timbral environments, each a marvelous, miniature universe of unexpected voicings, evoking gongs, guitars, kotos, &c.
Jooklo Trio (Genta / Vanzan / Lopez)
It Is What It Is
(Relative Pitch)
A raucous blast of free jazz, electrifyingly extending the Italian improv unit Jooklo Duo of drummer/percussionist David Vanzan and saxophonist Virginia Genta, here on amplified tenor & sopranino saxophones, with New York improviser Brandon Lopez on electric bass, burning six hair-raising pieces of aggressive free improv of exemplary relentlessness.
Pitsiokos, Chris
Speak In Tongues And Hope For The Gift Of Interpretation
(Relative Pitch)
Dedicating his pieces to Charlie Parker, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, and John Zorn, NY alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos is heard live at this solo concert in New Haven, CT in 2019, reflecting on the history of jazz through his intense playing style that deploys incredible technique balanced with abstraction and rapid lyricism.
Urabe, Masayoshi
What Hasn't Come Here, COME!
(Relative Pitch)
An absolutely idiosyncratic style in performance, Japanese alto saxophonist Masayoshi Urabe, also on harmonica and voice, is heard in a single extended performance at Sakedelic Space Shuyukan in Shiga, Japan, as the listener experiences the performance through his playing, physical motion, aberrant racket, arduous utterance, and inexplicable moments of silence and sound.
Rogers, Erin
Dawntreader
(Relative Pitch)
Performing on saxophones and cymbal, the debut album from NY-based Canadian-American composer, saxophonist, and performance artist Erin Rogers uses multiphonics, vocalization, circular breathing, and inciting of outer resonance to add layers of complexity to her gripping improvisations, which she describes as "No electronics, no bandmates, no composers... just me + dark room + 2 saxophones".
Flaherty, Paul
Focused & Bewildered
(Relative Pitch)
An expressive and truly unique tour de Force on the tenor and alto saxophones by American free jazz legend Paul Flaherty, recording in the studio for 10 improvisations showing strength, melodic beauty, powerful technique, unusual and idiosyncratic approaches to soloing, and above all, a distinctive and individual voice on the horn.
Pavone, Jessica
In The Action
(Relative Pitch)
Four distinct pieces for solo viola and effects from NY composer/improviser Jessica Pavone, each piece using electronic elements to blur wave motions interacting with minimalist motifs, merging folk elements with avant elements, using extended bowing techniques to blend unlikely matches of acoustics and electronics in unconventional and appealing performance.
Honsinger, Tristan / Nicolas Calioa / Joshua Zubot
In The Sea
(Relative Pitch)
The transatlantic string trio of Amsterdam-based cellist Tristan Honsinger (also on voice) with Montreal free improvisers violinist Joshua Zubot and double bassist Nicolas Caloia in an album of informed improvisation that bring an upbeat approach to authoritative dialog which is both sharp-witted and irreverent, but never less than engaging.
Sikora, Catherine
Jersey
(Relative Pitch)
Irish-born New York based tenor saxophonist Catherine Sikora, know for her work with Eric Mingus, Hans-earl Park and Nick Didkovsky, in her first solo album, a strong release of passionate and informed free improv, 13 pieces revealing a unique and adept approach to the horn.
Morris, Joe
Solos - Bimhuis
(Relative Pitch)
Live recordings from guitarist Joe Morris, performing solo at Bimhuis in Amsterdam in two Octobers from 2013 to 2014, showing remarkable technical and creative skills while captivating his audience with accessible progressions and story-telling; masterful!
Roberts, Matana
Always
(Relative Pitch)
Two passionate studio improvisations from saxophonist Matana Roberts, who lovingly dedicates the album to "those bard(s) of summer...the ideas herein of which I gleaned/interrogated/investigated/celebrated with you..."; subtle, rich, and inspiring.
Alcorn, Susan
Soledad
(Relative Pitch)
Pedal Steel guitar innovator Susan Alcorn in a mostly solo release, beautifully performing 4 lush compositions by Astor Piazzolla, with bassist Michael Formanek joining for the Alcorn-penned "Suite for AHL".
Doneda, Michel
Everybody Digs Michel Doneda
(Relative Pitch)
A collection of solo pieces from forward-thinking French soprano saxophonist Michel Doneda, using extended techniques and utilizing every inch of the horn, creating unconventional and captivating sonic expressions from the instrument.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Fonda, Joe (Fonda / Braxton / Bufalino / Dodd / Robertson / Alexiev)
From The Source
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
A unique 1995 studio album from bassist Joe Fonda, remastered reissued to bring to life this septet with Anthony Braxton on reeds & winds, Herb Robertson on trumpet, Grisha Alexiev on drums, Vickie Dodds on vocals, and integrating tap dancer Brenda Bufalino as a full percussive voice into the ensemble's unique merging of jazz and dance, and of the healing arts and the performing arts.
Pulverize the Sound (Evans, Peter / Tim Dahl / Mike Pride)
Black
(Relative Pitch)
Appropriately recorded at Seizures Palace in Brooklyn, the 3rd release from the NY trio Pulverize the Sound of Peter Evans on trumpet, Tim Dahl on electric bass and Mike Pride on drums & glockenspiel, expands on this 10 year working band's assertive approach to collective free improv, doing so with innovation, breathtaking technical skill and a wide range of mood and texture.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC