#4367, Music With Small String Instruments
Hear small stringed instruments, perhaps folkloric, like mandolin, Greek bouzouki, Argentinian ronroco, and the cuatro - in music by Penguin Café, Son Lux, and Gustavo Santaolalla.
Listen to folk music of a forgotten land which uses the Venezuelan cuatro (a ukulele-like instrument), by both Penguin Café Orchestra, and by Penguin Café. Penguin Café was founded by Simon Jeffes, and has much in common with the pop-inflected, fun, and difficult-to-categorize music of the Penguin Café Orchestra, an ensemble led by the late Simon Jeffes, Arthur’s father. Watch Penguin Cafe - Ricercar (Live at Barbican Hall) feat. Nils Frahm from Erased Tapes on Vimeo:
There’s also music from Land Observations, aka guitarist James Brooks, which was made with an electric six-string guitar and an array of vintage recording equipment. Listen to his work which somehow evokes that cuatro sound, "On Leaving The Kingdom For The Well-Tempered Continent."
Then, listen to music by Gustavo Santaolalla, a composer perhaps best-known for his soundtrack work for Brokeback Mountain, in music from his record, Ronroco. Hear the ronroco again in acoustic music from the German producer & multi-instrumentalist Aukai, from his forthcoming record, Game Trails. Plus, sample music by London-based guitarist and producer Chris Morphitis, who is known for reworking traditional folk music. Using Greek bouzouki, his piece “Where To Go” evokes Gustavo Santaolalla’s Latin American folk and harnesses Steve Reich’s relentless motion.
Also, there's music from Anthony Phillips, the original guitarist from Genesis, who played guitar, piano, and “Tack piano” at slow speed to tape, then played the tape back at double speed, which made the regular guitar sound smaller, in the vein of a stringed instrument like the cuatro. Plus new music by Son Lux, the trio founded by composer and songwriter Ryan Lott and featuring Ian Chang and Rafiq Bhatia on, drums and guitar respectively. Listen to their tune, DBML, featuring mandolin by musician and public radio host Chris Thile of Punch Brothers. And more.
Program #4367, Music With Small String Instruments (First aired 5/15/2020)
ARTIST: Penguin Café Orchestra
WORK: Air A Danser, excerpt [1:20]
RECORDING: WNYC Live, 1989
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: Most PCO records are available now via penguincafe.com
ARTIST: Son Lux
WORK: DBML [4:16]
RECORDING: Reincarnates
SOURCE/INFO: sonlux.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Chris Morphitis
WORK: Where To Go [3:39]
RECORDING: Where To Go
SOURCE: Village Green VGCD011
INFO: anost.net
ARTIST: Gustavo Santaolalla
WORK: De Ushuaia a la Quiaca [4:23]
RECORDING: Ronroco
SOURCE: Nonesuch 79461
INFO: nonesuch.com
ARTIST: Aukai
WORK: Akal Ki [4:04]
RECORDING: Game Trails
SOURCE: Due out Aug. 2020
INFO: https://orcd.co/qxzo17n
ARTIST: Anthony Phillips
WORK: Beauty and the Beast [4:04]
RECORDING: Private Parts & Pieces, Vol. 1
SOURCE: Resurgence / Resurgent Music
INFO: BP 202CD, Reissued on Blueprint Records. Out of print.
ARTIST: Gustavo Santaolalla
WORK: Atacama [3:40]
RECORDING: Ronroco
SOURCE: Nonesuch 79461
INFO: nonesuch.com
ARTIST: Penguin Café Orchestra
WORK: Air A Danser [5:18]
RECORDING: WNYC Live, 1989
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: Most PCO records are available now via penguincafe.com
ARTIST: Penguin Café
WORK: Ricercar [4:34]
RECORDING: The Imperfect Sea
SOURCE: Erased Tapes ERATP097
INFO: erasedtapes.com
ARTIST: Land Observations
WORK: On Leaving The Kingdom For The Well-Tempered Continent [4:59]
RECORDING: The Grand Tour
SOURCE: Mute Records
INFO: mute.com
ARTIST: Collectress
WORK: Landing [2:31]
RECORDING: Different Geographies
SOURCE: Peeler Records
INFO: collectress.bandcamp.com | peelerrecords.bandcamp.com
