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Monday, September 22, 2014

Franklin Delano Roosevelt & The Claudia Quintet - Celebrating September!


Celebrating the Special Month of September with The Claudia Quintet:
with
A September 2014 Tour
&
Reflections on Franklin Delano Roosevelt (a Video!) from Septembers Past


THE CLAUDIA QUINTET
SEPTEMBER 2014 EAST COAST TOUR



The Claudia Quintet
Left to right: Red Wierenga, Matt Moran, John Hollenbeck,
Chris Speed and Drew Gress.

>>> Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 24 - CAMBRIDGE, MA <<<
THE CLAUDIA QUINTET
@ Lilypad
1353 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139
8:00 PM

>>> Thursday, SEPTEMBER 25 - BROOKLYN, NY <<<
THE CLAUDIA QUINTET + Anna Webber's SIMPLE CD Release
@ Shapeshifter Lab
18 Whitwell Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215
7:00 PM

>>> Friday, SEPTEMBER 26 - BLACKWOOD, NJ <<<
THE CLAUDIA QUINTET
@ Camden County College
Dennis Flyer Memorial Theatre
200 College Dr, Blackwood NJ
7:30 PM & FREE!!!!

For show updates, please visit:
www.cuneiformrecords.com/tours.html

To book a future show with The Claudia Quintet in your town,
please contact Company of Heaven:
company-of-heaven@liwest.at

----------

REMEMBERING ROOSEVELT & SEPTEMBERS PAST

On the heels of the release of Ken Burns exciting new documentary series The Roosevelts, we would like to share the video for the track 'September 29th, 1936 Me Warn You' from The Claudia Quintet's 2013 album on Cuneiform, called September. The song features a sliced and looped rendition of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous 'Let Me Warn You' speech condemning partisanship, and the instrumentalists make a beautiful and intriguing piece by playing to the rhythm and melody inherent in Roosevelt's way of speaking. Video artist Nika Bellianina manipulated archival images from FDR's 1936 speech to complement the Quintet's musical composition.


"September 29th, 1936: Me Warn You"

The Claudia Quintet album, September, is one of the most musically and emotionally resonant works of this remarkable ensemble's career. Released exactly a year ago, in late September 2013, its name was a clever title for what was Claudia's then- 7th (sept) release. But September's meaning also ran much deeper. Composer/bandleader John Hollenbeck conceived the album to both celebrate his favorite month, a season ripe with artistic fulfillment via artist residencies, and to purge the ghosts of 9/11 that overshadowed it.



The Claudia Quintet: September (Cuneiform Records)

Featuring songs written to correspond with various days of the month, each song on September had a date, followed by a title.

One of the most striking pieces on September was "29th: 1936 "Me Warn You", which is featured in the video, above. Musically and technically innovative, politically timely, intellectually astute ("those who forget history are doomed to repeat it") and conceptually inspired, the Roosevelt-rooted work generated a ton of critical admiration following the album's release. Expose noted that "One of the most attention-grabbing pieces is "29th: 1936 'Me Warn You'", which takes a recording of a Franklin D. Roosevelt speech and extracts the rhythms and melodic tones of his voice as a melody, which the other instruments then use as material for their playing. It is both a brilliant intellectual achievement and an eminently entertaining experience."

To quote Jazz Times:
"John Hollenbeck has fashioned his share of attention-grabbing tunes, but few as compelling as 'September 29th, 1936: Me Warn You,' a highlight of the Claudia Quintet's shiveringly good new album. A mash-up of reflective music and sonically sliced and diced excerpts from a Franklin D. Roosevelt speech, it basks in the president's sarcasm in blowing off the opposition for pretending to back his New Deal programs and claiming, "We will do them better." ....the music wins us over by powerfully claiming the human voice as an instrument of its own."

DownBeat remarked "On '29th: 1936 "Me Warn You,"' a recording of FDR's sarcastic voice is dissected and recast, extracting its musicality, remixing of Steve Reich's voice loops or Jason Moran's forays into text. "12th: Coping Song,' an elegy on 9/11, shows Hollenbeck has depth as a conjurer of unclassifiable melodies."

"12th: Coping Song" was the first song that NYC-based Hollenbeck wrote for his September celebration; a tune that he wrote trying to "rework and transform the traumatic residue [of 9/11] through composition." We share a free download of that song here:

"September 12th: Coping Song" (mp3 download)
STREAM: @SoundCloud / @Bandcamp / @YouTube




We hope that YOU take the time this Fall
to listen to September,
and to catch the ensemble that recorded this wonderful work
while they are performing live on tour.


*******

"All these Hollenbeck compositions were penned in the month of September...when the warmth of summer lingers during the days, while the evenings hint at the cold to come. Hollenbeck writes cosmopolitan melodies that are by turns charming and wistful, sometimes underpinning them with surprisingly knotty rhythms, given that the end music is seldom dense.
Have a listen. It is like a breath of fresh air."
- –John Shand, The Sydney Morning Herald

******

INFO

To read more about The Claudia Quintet and John Hollenbeck's current activities, you can read their newsletter: https://madmimi.com/p/7a0c35?fe=1&pact=24803493047

For more information about The Claudia Quintet's releases on Cuneiform, please see: http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/claudia.html

SEPTEMBER PURCHASE LINKS //
AMAZON - ITUNES - WAYSIDE MUSIC - BANDCAMP

ARTIST SITES //
www.johnhollenbeck.com - www.claudiaquintet.com - @www.cuneiformrecords.com

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Raoul Björkenheim Ecstacy on 'Jazz From Finland 2014-2015'

Raoul Björkenheim / Ecstacy's song "Subtearranean Samba" is featured on this gorgeously packaged 'Jazz From Finland 2014-2015' comp from Music Finland. It's a hard cover book meets album!

"Subtearranean Samba" is available on 'eCsTaSy' (Cuneiform Records): http://cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/bjorken.html 







Wednesday, September 10, 2014

CUNEIFORM NIGHT IN BALTIMORE–2014 (9/13/14): the cellar and point, Anthony Pirog and Jonathan Badger.

CUNEIFORM NIGHT IN BALTIMORE–2014

Cuneiform Records is very happy to announce that Cuneiform Night in Baltimore is taking place this Saturday, September 13, in Baltimore at Orion Sound Studios. It will be the first of three "Cuneiform Night" concerts held during the Fall of 2014, in celebration of the label's 30th anniversary; other Cuneiform Night concerts will be held in Boston(Oct. 17) and Brooklyn(Oct. 22).

2014 is a landmark year for Cuneiform; founded in 1984 in Washington DC/Silver Spring MD, it is one of the longest consistently running avant-garde record labels in the US and possibly the world. Specializing in releasing music that defies and redefines genre boundaries, progressing rock, jazz, electronic into realms beyond, over the past 3 decades Cuneiform has assembled a catalogue of nearly 400 albums that is astonishing for its adventurous scope and consistent high-quality. Its releases include albums by some of the best musicians in the international avant garde, including established icons as well as rising stars. The Fall 2014 Cuneiform Night Concert Series will feature long-standing Cuneiform bands as well as new signings.

CUNEIFORM NIGHT IN BALTIMORE, MD
Saturday, September 13, 2014
8:00 PM
Orion Sound Studios
2903 Whittington Ave., Suite C, Baltimore, MD 21230

A Celebration of Cuneiform's 30th Anniversary and
A Record Release Party for 3 Cuneiform bands:
the cellar and point
Anthony Pirog
Jonathan Badger


Cuneiform Night in Baltimore will be held at Orion Studios, a legendary live-studio performance space in the city's warehouse district. The show will feature Brooklyn band the cellar and point, supported by Jonathan Badger (from Baltimore) and the Anthony Pirog Trio (from DC). Each of these artists are releasing new albums on Cuneiform in Fall 2014.

Orion Studios is located at Suite C, 2903 Whitington Avenue, Baltimore MD 21230 (directions here). The show is all-ages and B.Y.O.B (coolers welcome). There is a $20 cover charge and all proceeds go to the artists. Find out more on the Orion Studios event page here:

Cuneiform Night at Orion Studios

Orion Studios Website


CUNEIFORM NIGHT IN BALTIMORE: THE ARTISTS


THE CELLAR AND POINT

The cellar and point is an adventurous 'garage chamber' band, developed and led by childhood friends Joseph Branciforte and Christopher Botta. They had long imagined a fluid synthesis of their wide-ranging interests: the detail of modern concert music, the improvisational sensibilities of downtown jazz and the emotional directness of rock, combined with the production values of hip-hop and electronica.

Might it be possible to draw equally upon these influences, while transcending mere collage and to present it in the context of a working ensemble, not just a studio project? After 3 years spent composing and recruiting an impressive cross-section of talent from New York City's classical, jazz and new music scenes, Ambit, the group's impressive debut album, is one answer to those questions, and they will be performing music from the album Saturday night.


The group will be performing music from their upcoming album Ambit, available on Cuneiform Records on October 14.



--------


ANTHONY PIROG TRIO

Washington, D.C.'s jazz and experimental music scenes wouldn't be quite where they are today without Anthony Pirog. The guitarist, composer and loops magician is a quiet but ubiquitous force on stages around his hometown. With fearsome chops and a keen ear for odd beauty, Pirog has helped expand the possibilities of jazz, rock and experimentalism in a town long known for its straight-ahead tradition.

Anthony's roots as a guitarist are in the work of D.C. guitar heroes Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan, and their virtuosic technique that blended all styles of popular music.

He has taken and built upon those roots, working in straight and experimental jazz, improvisation and electronics/looping, and he somehow takes these styles, all of which he's mastered, and makes them all work together and as well as makes them all his own.


He will be performing music from his upcoming debut solo album Palo Colorado Dream, which marks the young innovator’s entrance onto the national stage. The album has an immersive depth and understated allure that hold the listener rapt. And they illustrate all the various realms of Pirog’s artistry: the spinning fantasy-scape of his loops and the hard-nosed technical power of his soloing, his patience with a slow build and his knack for moments of fierce catharsis.

Palo Colorado Dream will be released on Cuneiform Records on October 14.



--------

JONATHAN BADGER

Jonathan Badger is a composer and performer based in Baltimore, Maryland. Formally trained as a classical guitarist, he went on to study music theory and composition at Duke University and arranged and composed music for theatre and dance. He then studied in Guitar Craft, a guitar school founded and guided by Robert Fripp of King Crimson.

He has toured extensively, performing his riveting style of “guitaristic” electronic music, processing guitar through an assortment of customized software and hardware - folding and weaving signals together into complex patterns of interlaced rhythm, harmony and texture. The resulting aesthetic is an ambient, avant-rock hybrid with DIY sensibilities.

Here is his account of his performance process: “My guitars generate two signals: one analog and one digital. Both signals are fed into a computer, and the digital signal controls a homegrown sample base I made of hundreds of recordings of acoustic instruments such as viola, cello, flute, the human voice, piano, and so on. So in addition to conventional guitar tones there is a wide palette of organic sonics. This audio is judiciously processed in the computer in a fashion that causes the music to swerve between acoustic chamber flavors to full-on noise explosions. The processing takes place in a MAX/MSP environment of my own design. Additionally, I use Jitter -- which also runs in the MAX context -- to control multiple video streams. Jitter is a programming language that enables the user to manipulate video either manually via outboard hardware controllers, or, more interestingly, via audio. I've written a series of programs that attenuate, distort, and blend several video streams at once according to what is happening in the music. The audio itself (its amplitude, rhythm, and frequency components) tugs and warps the visuals, which are projected in real time.”



He will be performing music from his upcoming album Verse, which is released on Cuneiform Records on September 30.



****

CUNEIFORM NIGHT 2014: 30TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT SERIES

CUNEIFORM NIGHT IN BALTIMORE, MD - September 13
Orion Sound - 2903 Whittington Ave., Suite C - Baltimore, MD 21230 (Record Release Party for all 3 bands! - record release show! with Jonathan Badger, The Cellar And Point and Anthony Pirog)

CUNEIFORM NIGHT IN BOSTON, MA - October 17
Johnny D's - Somerville, MA (with Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic and the cellar and point)

CUNEIFORM NIGHT IN BROOKLYN, NY - October 22
Cuneiform Night at Shapeshifter Lab - 18 Whitwell Place - Brooklyn, NY 11215
(with The Microscopic Septet, Ideal Bread & Curtis Hasselbring's Numbers Stations Band)

****
For more information about Cuneiform Records, the talented artists that it represents, and the numerous adventurous music recordings it's released over three decades,

please visit:
www.cuneiformrecords.com/
www.youtube.com/CuneiformRecords
www.facebook.com/cuneiformrecords
www.twitter.com/cuneiformrecord



Saturday, September 6, 2014

Rock in Opposition-France, Sept 19-21, 2014: Doctor Nerve, Magma & more


Cuneiform Records,
on behalf of

The Rock In Opposition 2014-France Festival,
invites fans of avant rock worldwide:
COME TO RiO FRANCE 2014!!!


The Rock in Opposition Festival - France
will be held
September 19 - 21, 2014
at
Maison de Musique, Cap Decouverte,
Carmaux (near Toulouse), France

Since 2007, a Rock in Opposition Festival has been held annually in southern France. Featuring some of the most provocative, innovative, and artistically progressive rock music created over the past 4 decades to the present day, Rock In Opposition–France has aimed to “transport the creative flames and anti-corporate-rock aesthetic of the original Rock In Opposition movement into the new millennium.” In 2014, Rock in Opposition–France will be held from Sept. 19-21 at the festival's long-standing mountaintop venue, Maison de Musique at Cap Decouverte. These Rock in Opposition festivals in France have proven so popular among international audiences that this year, in November 2014, a second Rock in Opposition Festival [http://www.rockinopposition-japan.com/] will be held in Tokyo, Japan.
http://www.rocktime.org/rio/

The lineup for RiO France includes:

Magma
Offering
Fred Frith
The Young Gods
Doctor Nerve
Le Silo
Artaud Beats
October Equus
Caillou
Stabat Akish
Artús
Chromb
Ni
Les Oranges Bleues
Visit the official RiO France website for more info:
http://www.rocktime.org/rio/

P
osted in both English and French, the official RiO France 2014 website features full festival information including schedule/program; artist bios; transportation, maps and hotels; and much more:


Join the
RiO France 2014 Facebook Event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1443061782591638/

RIO FRANCE 2014 POSTERS (click to enlarge):

__________________

Cuneiform Records
is proud to announce that
Doctor Nerve
one of the First Bands Signed to Cuneiform, which Celebrates its 30th Anniversary in 2014
will perform
Friday, September 19 at
Rock in Opposition–France 2014

Cuneiform's extensive catalogue of close to 400 albums contains what is possibly the largest selection of Rock in Opposition recordings of any label in the world. Founded in 1984 and based in Washington DC/Silver Spring MD, Cuneiform continues to actively release, distribute and promote Rock in Opposition music worldwide, alongside other adventurous musical offerings. Cuneiform releases 15 albums a year, and is honored to represent some of the best composers and musicians on the planet.

Cuneiform released its first Doctor Nerve album, Armed Observation/Out to Bomb Fresh Kings, in 1987. It released numerous other recordings by the New York City-based band in the 1990s. Doctor Nerve's leader, Nick Didkovsky, also appeared in the 2000s on other Cuneiform recordings with the trio Bone (Hugh Hopper & John Roulat).

PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION
To request interviews with Doctor Nerve and other Cuneiform artists, or for information about Cuneiform recordings and/or Cuneiform's 30th anniversary, please contact :

Cuneiform Records Publicity & Promotion
Joycejoyce@cuneiformrecords.com (Director, press & foreign radio)

tel. 301-589-8894
P.O. Box 8427
Silver Spring, MD 20907-842
[Washington, D.C.]

www.cuneiformrecords.com
www.twitter.com/cuneiformrecord
www.facebook.com/cuneiformrecords
www.soundcloud.com/cuneiformrecords
www.youtube.com/CuneiformRecords


__________________

CUNEIFORM RECORDING ARTIST
DOCTOR NERVE
(USA)
appearing at
RIO FESTIVAL-FRANCE 2014 :


Performing Friday, September 19 @ 11:45pm
at RiO France 2014



Doctor Nerve found its roots in the Creative Music Studio (CMS) in 1980. It was there that Nick Didkovsky took a composition class with Baikida Carroll and Dave Holland. Baikida’s deceptively simple homework assignment was to “write two lines of music that fit together.” Didkovsky brought his two lines back to the studio the next day, sketched the music on the blackboard, and after a few moments twenty student musicians locked into the groove and studio exploded with excitement. Baikida started improvising over the top, while Dave was playing electric bass and smiling radiantly. The experience was very powerful, both musically and emotionally. It laid the foundation of the early Doctor Nerve sound: heavy, modular grooves, spiky horn lines, complexity that nevertheless was felt deeply in the body. Further influenced by the sound of the New York City bands like Noise R Us (Jim Matus, Phillip Johnston) with its successful fusion of heavy rock guitar and counterpuntal horns, Didkovsky saw the potential for an instrumental rock band.

Nick met saxophonist Yves Duboin and drummer Leo Ciesa at CMS. Early versions of Doctor Nerve grew out of their collective experience. When Nick moved to New York City in 1983, earlier incarnations of the ensemble solidified. The band took the name Doctor Nerve, adding Dave Douglas on trumpet, Michael Lytle on bass clarinet, and other players who were carving out their place in the downtown New York scene. Didkovsky self-produced the first Nerve LP, which was later re-released on the German label No Man’s Land. The success of the first record led to the Cuneiform Records release of Armed Observation which was produced by Fred Frith. Concert appearances at the Moers Festival, FIMAV, Musique Action and other international shows helped push Nerve’s momentum forward. A number of record releases on Cuneiform followed.

The history of Doctor Nerve is marked by restless experimentation. Didkovsky’s work with computer assisted composition gave birth to a number of idiosyncratic “Nerveware” pieces. Inspired by John Zorn’s “Cobra” Didkovsky also introduced conducted improvisation to the band. The composition “Ereia” saw Doctor Nerve augmented by the Sirius String Quartet, performing an hour long work in three movements which premiered at the FIMAV Festival in Victoriaville, QC.

Today Doctor Nerve consists of a stable line up of players. Trumpet beast Rob Henke leads the four piece horn section. Jesse Krakow (Dot Wiggin Band, Fast ‘n’ Bulbous) has held down the bass chair for a few years now. The virtuosic talents of keyboardist Kathleen Supové and trombonist Ben Herrington (Meridian Arts Ensemble) raise the game of the band and point to an exciting future.

Doctor Nerve recently recorded a new EP with four new compositions. These pieces continue with the heavier sound established on the “Skin” CD. Didkovsky is currently composing new pieces, at least one of which will premiere at RIO.
For more information about Doctor Nerve, see:
Doctor Nerve @ CuneiformRecords.com
(recordings & activities on Cuneiform)

http://www.doctornerve.org/
(official website)

https://www.facebook.com/DoctorNerve
__________________



Doctor Nerve European Tour 2014
[Tour site: http://www.doctornervetour.eu/index.html]


September 19 - Le Garric, France
RIO Festival - Cap' Découverte - 81450 Le Garric - France

September 20 - Avignon, France
Les hauts Plateaux - 4 Rue des Escaliers Sainte-Anne - 84000 Avignon - France

September 21 - Genève, Switzerland
Cave 12 - Rue de la Prairie 4 - 1202 Genève - Switzerland

September 23 - Area Sismica - Via le Selve, 23 - 47121 Forli - Italy

September 25 - Forli, Italy
Jazzclub Unterfahrt - Einsteinstrasse 42 - 81675 München - Germany

September 26 - Würzburg, Germany
Blauer Adler presented by Freakshow In Concert - Mergentheimer Strasse 17 - 97082 Würzburg - Germany

__________________

Doctor Nerve-related releases
available on Cuneiform Records

cd tikkun
cd yoshida
Doctor Nerve
Ereia
"III. At Last The Hand, Shifting "
Bandcamp / YouTube

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP
Doctor Nerve
Skin
"Preaching to the Converted "
Bandcamp / YouTube

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC


cd tikkun
cd yoshida
Doctor Nerve
Armed Observation/
Out To Bomb Fresh Kings

"Mister Stiff Fries a Dozen"
Bandcamp

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC
Doctor Nerve
Did Sprinting Die?
"Spy Boy"
Bandcamp

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP


cd tikkun
cd yoshida
Bone
[Nick Didkovsky, Hugh Hopper, John Roulat]
The Gift of Purpose
[Hopper Family Benefit Album]
Stream the entire album
@
Bandcamp

Purchase @
AMAZON - BANDCAMP
WAYSIDE MUSIC
Bone
[Nick Didkovsky, Hugh Hopper, John Roulat]
Uses Wrist Grab
"To Laugh Uncleanly at the Nurse"
Bandcamp / YouTube

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC

cd tikkun
Various Artists
Transforms: The Nerve Events Project
[Performances by Henry Kaiser, George Lowe, Neil Rolnick, Thomas Dimuzio, Frank Pahl, Iconoclast, members of Dr. Nerve, and many others.]
"Nerve Us" by Neil Rolnick
& "Got That Nerve" by Henry Kaiser
@
Bandcamp

Purchase @
AMAZON - ITUNES - BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC



[WATCH: Doctor Nerve "I'm Not Dumb Now (1)" @ Heerlen, May 2013]


[WATCH: Doctor Nerve "Splinter" @ ProgDay 2012]


[WATCH: Doctor Nerve "If You Were Me Right Now I'd Be Dead"
@ The Stone, NYC - Nov 29 2011]

For more information about Doctor Nerve, see:
Doctor Nerve @ CuneiformRecords.com
(recordings & activities on Cuneiform)
http://www.doctornerve.org/
(official website)
https://www.facebook.com/DoctorNerve

____________________

For more information about Cuneiform Records, the talented artists that it represents, and the numerous adventurous music recordings it's released over three decades,
please visit:
www.cuneiformrecords.com/
www.youtube.com/CuneiformRecords

www.facebook.com/cuneiformrecords
www.twitter.com/cuneiformrecord