#4820, NYC Percussion Groups
Hear percussion ensembles based (mostly) in New York: Mantra Percussion, TIGUE, Sandbox Percussion, RECAP Quartet, and Sō Percussion as they stretch the bounds of what is possible.
Hear music by Bang on a Can composer Michael Gordon for six pieces of lumber, as performed by Mantra Percussion. The work, for amplified two-by-fours laid across stands and played with mallets and fingertips, is called Timber, and spawned an album of remixes as well. Mantra percussion, together with cellist Ashley Bathgate and composer Matt McBane perform new work - "Topography" by McBane on Dec. 6 at National Sawdust.
Also, listen to music from the percussion quartet, Recap, comprised of four young women of color from New Jersey who’ve been working with the Mantra Percussion ensemble since they were in high school. Hear Mary Kouyoumdjian’s work from Recap’s debut album, Count To Five. Hear some of composer, producer, and violinist Matt McBane’s collaboration with Sandbox Percussion, Bathymetry - inspired by the ocean floor and a “reference to how bass synthesizers affect percussive sounds, mimicking how the ocean floor shapes the waves above,” (National Sawdust .)
Sample a work from the band TIGUE, who are Matt Evans, Carson Moody and Amy Garapic, trained percussionists and composers all. They deal in flow, tight rhythms, and unexpected textures, and span avant-classical and ambient minimalism, bringing with them a DIY-aesthetic and punk attitude. There’s also music from composer/violinist/vocalist Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion from their collaborative album, Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part. The pieces embrace multiple influences, experience, and talents of all the musicians involved, like the work, “A Gradual Dazzle”, which features Shaw as vocalist. That, and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4820, NYC Percussion Groups (First aired 11/29/2023)
ARTIST: Mantra Percussion
WORK: Michael Gordon: Timber [1:12]
RECORDING: Live at the BOAC Marathon, 2014
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: The live recording of the work appears on Timber Remixed
ARTIST: Matt McBane and Sandbox Percussion
WORK: Matt McBane: Bathymetry 5 - Groundswell [7:16]
RECORDING: Bathymetry
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: mattmcbane.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Mantra Percussion
WORK: Michael Gordon: Timber [1:56]
RECORDING: Live at the BOAC Marathon, 2014
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: The live recording of the work appears on Timber Remixed
ARTIST: Mantra Percussion
WORK: Michael Gordon: Timber, Squarepusher remix [8:58]
RECORDING: Timber Remixed
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: https://michaelgordonmusic.bandcamp.com/album/timber-remixed
ARTIST: Caroline Shaw and So Percussion
WORK: Caroline Shaw: A Gradual Dazzle [4:10]
RECORDING: Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part
SOURCE: Nonesuch Records
INFO: http://smarturl.it/letthesoil
ARTIST: Tigue
WORK: Triangle [11:56]
RECORDING: Strange Paradise
SOURCE: NNA Tapes
INFO: tigue.bandcamp.com/album/strange-paradise
ARTIST: Recap Quartet, Andie Tanning
WORK: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Samar's Song [11:56]
RECORDING: Count to Five
SOURCE: Innova Recordings
INFO: https://www.innova.mu/albums/recap/count-five
ARTIST: Conor Hanick, piano, Sandbox Percussion
WORK: Christopher Cerrone: Don't Look Down, 2 - The Great Empty [4:18]
RECORDING: Live at Caramoor, August 2020
SOURCE: soundcloud.com | youtube.com
INFO: conorhanick.com | sandboxpercussion.com | christophercerrone.com
