#4100: Music with Descriptive Titles

Hear music with descriptive titles, from "Music for 18 Musicians," by Steve Reich to "Music for Students" by composer and electronics manipulator Angélica Negrón, and "Music for Airports" by Brian Eno. Some of these works point suspiciously toward the influence of Steve Reich, like "Music for Wood and Strings" by Bryce Dessner and "Music for 18 Hairdressers" by Ben LaMar Gay.

Ben LaMar Gay is a southside Chicago-born, sometimes Brazil-residing cornetist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist who was also a core component of Makaya McCraven’s Highly Rare and a cornet cameo on Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die. His work, "Music for 18 Hairdressers," comes from the forthcoming Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun, a collection compiled from 7 albums he made over the last 7 years "but never made the effort to actually release."

Then, listen to Puerto Rican-born composer and robotics/electronics manipulator Angélica Negrón from a project called Arturo en el Barco. Hear her "Music for Students," from a collection of stories about students that never grew up. The music is built out of pianos, strings, kids, clicks, noises, found sounds and confused flutes. There’s also "music for no reason" from Lucky Dragons, the ongoing collaboration between Los Angeles-based artists Sarah Rara and Luke Fischbeck.

Also, listen to "Music for Wood and Strings" by Bryce Dessner, guitarist and songwriter in The National in collaboration with both Buke and Gase artist Aron Sanchez and So Percussion. Sanchez and Dessner designed instrument called "chord sticks" – a cross between a hammer dulcimer and an electric guitar which are plucked, bowed, strummed, and struck with pencils by the musicians in So Percussion. Plus, hear a bit of Brian Eno’s "Music for Airports," along with some of Steve Reich’s "Music for 18 Musicians."

PROGRAM #4100  Music With Descriptive Titles

ARTIST: Ensemble Modern 
WORK: Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians, excerpt [14:26]
RECORDING: Ensemble Modern: Music for 18 Musicians
SOURCE: RCA #68672
INFO: Available at Amazon.com

ARTIST: Ben LaMar Gay
WORK: Music For 18 Hairdressers: Braids & Fractals [2:26]
RECORDING: Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun
SOURCE: International Anthem | due out May 4
INFO: intlanthem.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: lucky dragons
WORK: music for no reason [3:58]
RECORDING: music for no reason
SOURCE/INFO: luckydragons.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Arturo en el Barco
WORK: Angélica Negrón: Music for Students: Candy Tucker [4:28]
RECORDING: Music for Students
SOURCE: Observatory Online / Arturo en el Barco
INFO: aeeb.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Arturo en el Barco
WORK: Angélica Negrón: Music for Students: Kyle Parker [5:14]
RECORDING: Music for Students
SOURCE: Observatory Online / Arturo en el Barco
INFO: aeeb.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: So Percussion
WORK: Bryce Dessner: Music for Wood and Strings [14:06]
RECORDING: Music for Wood and Strings
SOURCE: Brassland
INFO: brycedessner.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Brian Eno
WORK: Music for Airports 1-1, excerpt [4:44]
RECORDING: Ambient 1
SOURCE: EEG 17
INFO: Available at Amazon.com