#4385, Recent Art-Pop
Hear “art-pop” from songwriters who also work in contemporary classical circles, with music by Hanna Benn, Montreal’s Thanya Iyer, Chicago-based OHMME, Molly Joyce, and Owen Pallett.
Much like how Franz Schubert set poetry to music, composer, vocalist and collaborator Hanna Benn (from Indianapolis) sets a text by Melanie Noel in her song “Unfasten.” Layers of Benn's voice, along with her subtly-deployed electronics, make for an inviting sanctuary of sculpted sound. There’s also work by Pittsburgh-bred Molly Joyce featuring voice, toy organ, electronics, from her recent record, Breaking and Entering, where she harnesses the capability of a vintage Magnus electric toy organ. She finds that the toy organ’s unique design of chord buttons on the left and keyboard on the right is “made for her body, made for her form, made for her deform.” Joyce was involved in a car accident at the age of seven that impaired her left hand. (Molly Joyce’s Bandcamp)
Listen to experimental pop with South Asian undercurrents in music from Montreal-based Thanya Iyer and her forthcoming record, KIND. Hear twisting melodies supported by synth, strings, and piano. Also, hear music from the latest EP by Dirty Projectors, Flight Tower, which focuses on the talents of keyboardist-percussionist Felicia Douglass — with songwriting, production, engineering and mixing from Dave Longstreth.
Wrap your ears around OHMME’s tricky meters and catchy choruses in a song “3 2 4 3” from the Chicago duo’s latest, Fantasize Your Ghost. Then, hear a little art-pop with ambient jazz running alongside in music by Brooklyn-based band Wood River. The quartet is led by the sax player and multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Greve who led the Berlin-based Lisbeth Quartett, has worked with jazz choirs, and collaborated with Landlady’s Adam Schatz. There’s also new musc by Canadian singer, songwriter, arranger, violinist, looper, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Owen Pallett. And more. - Caryn Havlik
#4385, Recent Art-pop (First aired 7/08/2020)
ARTIST: Hanna Benn
WORK: Unfasten [1:00]
RECORDING: Divide
SOURCE/INFO: hannabenn.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Molly Joyce
WORK: Who Are You [8:22]
RECORDING: Breaking and Entering
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: mollyjoyce.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Hanna Benn
WORK: Unfasten [5:51]
RECORDING: Divide
SOURCE/INFO: hannabenn.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Thanya Iyer
WORK: Please Don't Hold Me Hostage for Who I Am, for Who I Was [4:08]
RECORDING: KIND
SOURCE: Top Shelf Records
INFO: thanyaiyer.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Dirty Projectors
WORK: Self Design [3:07]
RECORDING: Flight Tower EP
SOURCE: Domino Recording Co.
INFO: dirtyprojectors.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Owen Pallett
WORK: a bloody morning [5:57]
RECORDING: Island
SOURCE: Domino Recording Co.
INFO: owenpallett.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: OHMME
WORK: 3 2 4 3 [4:06]
RECORDING: Fantasize Your Ghost
SOURCE: Joyful Noise Recordings
INFO: ohmme.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Wood River
WORK: Returners [7:26]
RECORDING: More Than I Can See
SOURCE: Yellowbird
INFO: woodrivermusic.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Owen Pallett
WORK: The Sky Behind The Flag [4:23]
RECORDING: In Conflict
SOURCE: Domino Recording Co.
INFO: owenpallett.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Owen Pallett
WORK: ---> (iv) [:55]
RECORDING: Island
SOURCE: Domino Recording Co.
INFO: owenpallett.bandcamp.com
