The Squid's Ear Magazine


Glass Triangle (Zeena Parkins / Rasmussen / Sawyer): Blue and Sun-lights (Relative Pitch)

Recorded after a three-day series of concerts at New York City's venue The Stone, the trio of Zeena Parkins on electric harp & objects, Mette Rasmussen on saxophone, objects & voice and Ryan Sawyer on drums & objects brought their dynamic and far-ranging approach to collective free improv into Brooklyn's Figure 8 studio to capture these 10 extraordinary recordings.
 

Price: $13.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

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

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Zeena Parkins-electric harp, objects

Mette Rasmussen-saxophone, objects, voice

Ryan Sawyer-drums, objects


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




UPC: 5904224871680

Label: Relative Pitch
Catalog ID: RPR1152
Squidco Product Code: 33272

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2023
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Figure 8 Recording, in Brooklyn, New York, by Vishal Nyak.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Not too long ago, harpist Zeena Parkins, alto-saxophonist Mette Rasmussen and drummer Ryan Sawyer gathered at a studio in Brooklyn to record their second record as Glass Triangle. Parkins describes the scenario as strange, a three-hour, early-morning session during which they had to work around another band's recording set-up. "It shouldn't have yielded results," she says. "But magically it did!"

Granted, they had just spent three evenings sharpening their connection with a run at the Stone. If Blue and Sun-Lights is infused with magic - in this case, magic flows from a combination of skill, chemistry, luck and the x-factor of cosmic inspiration - it comes as no surprise.

Glass Triangle borrows its name from the work of sculptor Josiah McElheny and is fittingly sparklingly tactile. Blue and Sun-Lights refers to a hallucinogenic film by McElheny and Jeff Preiss, and like the first record, it is richly textured. The listener might feel an impossible urge to reach out and touch, to drag fingers through dense ripples of sound, or run hands over sharp, shining edges. Where Glass Triangle immediately tossed the listener into the free jazz deep-end, Blue and Sun-Lights takes a moment to draw a few slow, percussive breaths.

On opener "Earth O," Sawyer's snare shudders and Rasmussen's sax sighs, as Parkins' electric harp (which can sound like so many things) begins to interject, weaving voltaic jabs into a staticky futuristic landscape. From there, these three very different voices push and pull at one-another, moving from lively, good natured argument to harmonious agreement and back again. In their own far-out, forward-facing way, they build a narrative tension that evokes the most thrilling mid-century film composers.

The pleasures here are myriad, sometimes clear and prismatic, sometimes heavily, bruisingly physical. Each listen, like magic, reveals something beautiful, surprising and new."-Margaret Welsh


Artist Biographies

"Multi-instrumentalist/composer/improviser, Zeena Parkins, pioneer of contemporary harp practice and performance, reimagines the instrument as a "sound machine of limitless capacity." Parkins has built three versions of her one-of-a-kind electric harp and has extended the language of the acoustic harp with the inventive use of unusual playing techniques, preparations, and layers of electronic processing.

Inspired and connected to visual arts, dance, film, and history, Zeena follows a unique path in creating her compositional works. Through blending and morphing of both real and imagined instruments, crafting, recombining, and layering mangled, sliced, massaged or possibly disengaged sounds, drawing from extra-musical sources for unusual scoring and formal constructions as well as utilizing multi-speaker environments, Zeena remains in process with sound as material and music, engaged in translations of sonic states in the concert hall, the black box theater, the dance studio, the recording studio, the classroom, the cinema, the skyscraper, the ocean and the gallery. Zeena has a particularly strong commitment to making scores for dance and continues to re-evaluate the nature and issues of the body's imprint on sound and sound/music's imprint on movement.

Parkins's compositions have been commissioned by NeXtWorks Ensemble, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Roulette Intermedium, The Eclipse Quartet, William Winant, Bang on a Can, The Whitney Museum, The Tate Modern, Montalvo Arts Center, The Donaueschinger Musiktage and Sudwestrundfunk/SWR.

Parkins has released four solo records featuring her electric and acoustic harp playing and has released her compositions and band projects on six Tzadik recordings, with a new Tzadik CD with Ikue Mori and Phantom Orchard Orchestra, Trouble in Paradise, to be released in November 2012. As a sought-after collaborator Zeena has worked with: Fred Frith, Björk, Ikue Mori, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Maja Ratkje, Hild Sofie Tafjord, John Zorn, Butch Morris, Chris Cutler, Elliott Sharp, Nels Cline, Alex Cline, William Winant, Anthony Braxton, Pauline Oliveros, Yoko Ono, Christian Marclay, Matmos, Yasunao Tone, So Percussion, Bobby Previte, Carla Kilhstedt, Tin Hat, James Fei, Kim Gordon, Lee Renaldo and Thurston Moore.

Awards: The Foundation for Contemporary Arts Fellowship, NYFA Music Fellowship, Meet the Composer Commission, NYSCA Composer Commission, Multi-Arts Production Fund Grant, American Music Center, BAFTA award for best interactive media with visual artist Mandy McIntosh and sound artist Kaffe Matthews, Peter S. Reed Fellowship, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust Commissions, Arts International, Prix Ars Electronica Honorary Mention for Phantom Orchard in the Digital Music category.

Curatorial: Guest curator for The Music Unlimited Festival in Wels, Austria, co-curator of the Movement Research Festival: Sidewinder, in NYC and curator for a month + a week of shows at The Stone in NYC

Residencies: Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship, Oxford University, Harvestworks, Steim, Paf: Performing Arts Forum, Wooda Arts Residency, Montalvo Arts Center, RPI/iEAR and The Watermill Center.

Teaching: Zeena has given lectures at Oxford and Princeton Universities and has taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Bard and Mills College. Currently, Zeena is a Distinguished Visiting Professor, at Mills College Graduate Music Department."

-Zeena Parkins Website (http://www.zeenaparkins.com/about.html)
3/27/2024

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

"Mette Rasmussen is a Danish saxophone player based in Trondheim, Norway. She works in the field of improvised music, drawing from a wide range of influences, spanning free jazz to textural soundwork. Rasmussen works on exploring the natural rawness of her instrument - experimenting on what the saxophone is capable of in sound and expression, with and without preparations. Much in demand, she has performed with the likes of Alan Silva, Chris Corsano, Ståle Liavik Solberg, and with her Trio Riot group with Sam Andreae and David Meier."

-Cafe Oto (https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/artists/mette-rasmussen/)
3/27/2024

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

"Ryan Sawyer is a drummer and percussionist from the USA. He has played with several artists and bands like, Tv On The Radio, At The Drive-In, Scarlet Johanson, Massive Attack, Boredoms (77 & 88 Boadrum), The Mekons, Thurston Moore, among others.He currently is playing with, Stars Like Fleas, Tall Firs, and Eye Contact."

-Discogs (https://www.discogs.com/artist/300910-Ryan-Sawyer)
3/27/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Earth O 06:11

2. Triangular Globe 02:35

3. mosquito mind 06:37

4. [Moth] Territory - Full Length Mirror 06:44

5. Seraph 03:35

6. beaming_becoming chrystal 06:16

7. Spine 03:45

8. Glass Spell 02:36

9. doo wap BREAK BREAK 02:23

10. Earth OO 10:49

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Objects and Home-made Instruments
Electro-Acoustic
Trio Recordings
Parkins, Zeena
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music

Search for other titles on the label:
Relative Pitch.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Cutler, Chris
Compositions And Collaborations 1972-2022: In A Box [10 CD / DVD / BOOKLET BOX SET]
(Recommended Records)
An amazing collection and reflection on the work of percussionist, composer and connector Chris Cutler of Henry Cow fame and founder of the highly influential Recommended Records label and distribution service, through 10 CDs, 1 DVD and two books of documentation, artwork, photographs, published and unpublished texts in a sturdy box, with over five hours of unreleased materials.
Cochrane, Chris / John Thayer
Excavation [VINYL]
(Astral Editions)
The core duo of guitarist & bassist Chris Cochrane (No Safety) and drummer & electronics artist John Thayer dig deep into a bag of aural tricks in eight compelling tracks that blur rock, jazz and experimental approaches to upbeat rhythmic music, assisted on various pieces by an excellent cast including Zeena Parkins, Graham Haynes, Gelsey Bell, and Kato Hideki.
Cordero, Brent / Peter Kerlin
A Sublime Madness [VINYL]
(Astral Spirits)
A new collaboration between keyboardist Brent Cordero and bassist Peter Kerlin, a gorgeous blurring of jazz, rock and Terry Riley-esque composition in a swirling collection of original work and a cover of Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance", performed in a core trio with drummer Ryan Sawyer and prestigious guests including Daniel Carter, Jessica Pavone, James Brandon Lewis, &c.
Alcorn, Susan / Patrick Holmes / Ryan Sawyer
From Union Pool
(Relative Pitch)
Taking the dual role of soaring guitar lines and savagely deep string foundations, Susan Alcorn joins clarinetist Patrick Holmes and drummer Ryan Sawyer for this invigorating 2022 concert at Union Pool in Brooklyn, their unique instrumentation providing clarity to each performer's contribution through their dynamic and often wildly energetic collective interplay.
Guy, Barry and Friends
Krakow 2018 [5 CD BOX SET]
(Not Two)
Two days of concerts in 2018 at Alchemia Club, in Krakow, Poland and a recording at Radio Krakow the next day from English composer, band leader and a bass player Barry Guy, in varying configurations at Alchemia of duos & trios with some of Europe & The UK's leading improvisers, culminating in an 11-piece ensemble at Radio Krakow performing the large work "For To End Yet Again".
Columbia Icefield (Nate Wooley / Mary Halvorson / Ryan Sawyer)
Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes
(Pyroclastic Records)
The second outing for trumpeter and composer Nate Wooley's Columbia Icefield band with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar, Ryan Sawyer on drums, plus violist Mat Maneri and bassist Trevor Dunn joining for one track; an album of sublime and subtly complex sondscapes in beautiful abstractions that evolve to exceptional group and solo interplay.
Skeleton Crew (Frith / Cora / Parkins)
Free Dirt (Live) [2 CDs]
(Klanggalerie)
One of the most intense and unusual of the 80s Downtown NY groups merging rock and improvisation with strong attitudes and incredible musical concepts, these live recordings, including songs never before released, are taken from American and European concerts by the trio of guitarist Fred Frith, cellist Tom Cora, and either electric harpist Zeena Parkins or reedist Dave Newhouse.
Sharp, Elliot: Tectonics
Field & Stream
(Knitting Factory)
Elliott Sharp's 1998 Knitting Factory album finds the saxophonist, guitarist & electronic artist in a solo setting of rhythmic works using MAX/MSP and DSP applications to create rhythmic and sonic environments over which he improvises, with assistanceÊon one track each from Zeena Parkin on "little green drone guitar" and Frank Rothkamm providing drums sequences.
Various Artists
State of the Union 2.001 [3 CD BOX SET]
(Electronic Music Foundation)
Originally released in 2001, Elliott Sharp's production of this 3-CD set collects 171 1-minute pieces from international artists over a vast field of musical approaches, with contributors including Christian Marclay, Eric Mingus, Fred Frith, Harry Smith, Henry Kaiser, Ikue Mori, Jack Womack, Jad Fair, Joey Baron, Marc Ribot, Merzbow, Phill Niblock, Zeena Parkins, &c. &c.
Sharp, Elliot / Orchestra Carbon
Radiolaria
(zOaR Records)
An algorithmic composition for Elliott Sharp's Orchestra Carbon modeled on biological paradigms of growth and reproduction, recorded at Tonic in 2001 with a large ensemble of instrumentalists including Ned Rothenberg, Steve Swell, Jim Pugliese, Andy Laster, &c. and programmers and sampler performers including David Weinstein, R. Luke Dubois, and Zeena Parkins.
Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & The Maxx
Live [VINYL]
(MNJ)
The Norwegian big band Trondheim Jazz Orchestra joins together with the Swedish-origin trio The MaXx (Oscar Gronberg-keyboards, Petter Kraft-guitar & saxophone, Tomas Jarmy-drums) to develop and perform this monumental work of modern electric jazz, an abstract rock opera written specifically to leverage the power of the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra.
Alcorn, Susan Quintet
Pedernal
(Relative Pitch)
An innovator in integrating pedal steel guitar into modern improvised music, Cleveland-born, Baltimore-based pedal steel guitar player Susan Alcorn's quintet enlists a superb set of New York players--Mark Feldman on violin, Michael Formanek on double bass, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Ryan Sawyer on drums--taking on a diverse set of Alcorn compositions.
Lafkas, Andrew
Two Paths with Active Shadows Under Three Moons and Surveillance
(Sacred Realism)
Composer Andrew Lafkas' large ensemble piece with performers including C. Spencer Yah, Ron Stabinsky, Barry Weisblat, Sean Meehan, Ben Owen, &c. is a meditative work intended for live performance, this album the 2nd of 3 performances, a brooding and resonant rendering of rich and subtle detail that evolves over 70 minutes, carrying its listeners in a profound revery.
Wooley, Nate
Seven Storey Mountain VI
(Pyroclastic Records)
Composer & trumpeter Nate Wooley presents the 6th composition of his SSM series exploring music's ability to bring catharsis and ecstatic release to the performers and listeners, in a large ensemble of 11 musicians and voice, in a stunningly sophisticated large work of modern orchestration through acoustic and electronic/amplified instruments; a masterwork.
Eye Contact (Heyner / Sawyer / Lavelle)
War Rug
(KMB Jazz)
The New York free improvising trio of Matthew Heyner (Test, Malkuth) on bass, Matt Lavelle on trumpet and clarinet and Ryan Sawyer (Tall Firs, Stars Like Fleas) on drums in the follow-up to their 2005 Utech double CD "Embracing The Tide / Making Eye Contact With God", an impressive release of expressive technique and ritualistic drive.
Sharp, Elliott / Zeena Parkins
>Blackburst<
(Les Disques Victo)
Wooley, Nate
Seven Storey Mountain V
(Pleasure of the Text Records)
The 5th of 7 large and inspiring works that began with a Festival of New Trumpet commission in 2007, here in an ensemble of 19 players including C. Spencer Yeh, Ben Vida, Ben Hall, Matt Moran, Chris Dingman, Dan Peck, Josh Sinton, Colin Stetson, the TILT brass octet, &c.
Musique Action #4 (Marclay / Jauniaux / Minton / Yoshihide / Parkins / Weston / Vatcher / Luc Ex)
Madame Luckerniddle - Tribute to Tom Cora
(Vand'Oeuvre)
The fourth of a collection dedicated to the French Musique Action Festival, here in a tribute to Tom Cora recorded in 1998 with Catherine Jauniaux, Phil Minton, Zeena Parkins, Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide, Veryan Weston, &c. &c.
Skeleton Crew
Learn to Talk and Country of Blinds [2 CDs]
(Recommended Records)
Other Recommended Releases:
Terton (Belogenis / Dunn / Sawyer)
Outer, Inner, Secret
(Tzadik)
In Tibetan Buddhism a terton is a person who is a discoverer of ancient hidden texts or terma, an apt description of the masterful, exploratory free jazz heard in the New York City band Terton of Trevor Dunn on bass, Louie Belogenis on tenor & soprano saxophones and Ryan Sawyer on drums, in ten powerfully assertive studio improvisations.
Laubrock, Ingrid (w/ Jon Irabagon / Zeena Parkins / Tom Rainey)
Monochromes
(Intakt)
Saxophonist & composer Ingrid Laubrock's quartet with Jon Irabagon on sopranino sax, Zeena Parkins on electric harp and Tom Rainey on drums, in a work of conventional and graphic notation with text instructions, accompanied by fixed media tape pieces (monochromes), from Nate Wooley, Adam Matlock, Tom Rainey, and by JD Allen, David Breskin & Ingrid Laubrock manipulating Harry Bertoia sculptures.
Ghost, The Michael Foster's (Foster / Radichel / Sullivan)
Vanished Pleasures
(Relative Pitch)
Following NY saxophonist Michael Foster's interest in free jazz, noise and the pre-AIDS era of sexual freedom in the gay community, expressed in a sax-bass-drums trio with Philadelphia double bassist Jared Radichel and drummer Joey Sullivan, drawing on pre-composed structures, melodies, samples, and improvisation to reflect both the joy and anxiety of the queer experience.
McPhee, Joe / Mette Rasmussen / Dennis Tyfus
Oblique Strategies [VINYL]
(Black Truffle)
An unrestrained album of free jazz, unorthodox electronic excursions and vocal irascibility as legendary tenor saxophonist Joe McPhee joins the Bazuinschal duo of alto saxophonist Mette Rasmussen and percussionist & electronic manipulator Dennis Tyfus (Ultra Eczema) for this singularly unusual 2018 concert at Het Bos, in Antwerp, Belgium; magnificently indescribable!
Melting Mind (Genta / Mazzani / Vanzan / Poggi)
At Grnd Zero
(Relative Pitch)
A brutal and complex concert of processed sopranino saxophone, electric guitar and electronics from the long-running Italian quartet Melting Mind of Virginia Genta, Michele Mazzani, David Vanzan and Matteo Poggi, recorded during a 2019 tour of France at Grnd Zero in Lyon, a 33 minute performance of thick noise & feedback layered with inexplicable detail.
Parkins, Zeena
To Dusk (Black Cross Solo Sessions 8)
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Sidelined by the pandemic in June of 2020, Downtown New York electric harp improviser Zeena Parkins began daily recordings in her home studio exploring new approaches to solo electric harp performance using pedals, objects & percussions, selecting ten of the most interesting improvisations for her contribution to Corbett vs. Dempsey's Black Cross Solo Sessions.
Block Ensemble (Ratkje / Joh / Pernille / Ingvaldsen / Rasmussent ...)
Hugs and Bugs
(Clean Feed)
Conceived by saxophonist Kirstoffer Berre Alberts and Lasse Marhaug, who composed this large acoustic work for strings, percussion, blowing instruments, pipes (organ and accordion) and vocals, soliciting solo recordings created in isolation during the pandemic which they layered and blocked in the studio to create these two remarkable works of eccentric timbre, motion & pitch.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC