Cuneiform Records AUGUST 2024 Newsletter

CUNEIFORM RECORDS AUGUST 2024 NEWSLETTER:             New Releases & Concerts read this newsletter online – on laptop/computer:  navigate via colored links,  or scroll down – on mobile: scroll down, or read online if images don't open ~~~~~~ CUNEIFORM RECORDS' AUGUST 2024 RELEASE MOTHER MALLARD'S PORTABLE MASTERPIECE CO. / DAVID BORDEN  – MAKE WAY FOR MOTHER MALLARD: 50 YEARS OF MUSIC ELECTRONIC / CLASSICAL MINIMALISM Two discs of previously unreleased music - one from 1970s, one from 2010s - by electronic music pioneer/ classical minimalist composer David Borden and his band, Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co., the world's first all synthesizer ensemble [USA] – Make Way for Mother Mallard: credits & Bandcamp pre-order – Additional releases by David Borden, his various Mother Mallard ensembles and his son Gabe on Cuneiform ~~~~~ OUT NOW!  RELEASED JULY 2024 YANG – REJOICE!  ROCK / PROGRESSIVE ROCK French guitarist / composer Frédéric L'Epée and his quartet Yang release a new guitar-intensive rock album on Cuneiform with vocals by special guest Carla Kihlstedt of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum [FRANCE] – Additional releases by L'Epée's Yang & Philharmonie ensembles on Cuneiform ~~~~~ OUT NOW! RELEASED JUNE 2024 Two releases from the red-hot creative sphere of Washington DC's internationally acclaimed post-genre cello and guitar power duo & electronics innovators JANEL & ANTHONY – NEW MOON IN THE EVIL AGE POST GENRE / INDIE ROCK/ POST ROCK  Long awaited double album from cellist & vocalist Janel Leppin and guitarist Anthony Pirog [USA] & JANEL LEPPIN / ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH – TO MARCH IS TO LOVE JAZZ  2nd Cuneiform release by avant-jazz luminary cellist and composer Janel Leppin with her super group Ensemble Volcanic Ash, featuring Larry Ferguson, Sarah Hughes, Anthony Pirog, Brian Settles, and Luke Stewart. [USA] – Buy Janel & Anthony on Bandcamp – Buy Janel Leppin/ Ensemble Volcanic Ash on Bandcamp – Additional Cuneiform releases w/ Janel Leppin and/or Anthony Pirog ~~~~~ SNEAK PEEK with SOUNDS:  COMING OUT SEPTEMBER 2024 JAZZ THUMBSCREW – WINGBEATS Eighth album by US jazz supergroup Thumbscrew, featuring Michael Formanek - bass, Tomas Fujiwara - drums, Mary Halvorson - guitar [USA] ~~~~~   MORE SNEAK PEEKS COMING OUT LATER IN 2024 & 2025 A LIST OF UPCOMING JAZZ, ROCK, ELECTRONIC & CLASSICAL MINIMALIST RELEASES ~~~~~ CUNEIFORM ARTISTS ON TOUR: LIVE CONCERTS & TOURS   ~~~~~ ENJOY A WORLD OF MUSICAL ADVENTURE with  CUNEIFORM RECORDS ONLINE:   • EXPLORE Cuneiform Records'  SOCIAL MEDIA //  BANDCAMP PAGE // YOUTUBE CHANNEL //  SOUNDCLOUD PAGE ~~~~~ • Purchase music from 100s of labels at WAYSIDE MUSIC, our sister store, estab.1980 ~~~~~ • Missed seeing a CUNEIFORM NEWSLETTER? Access prior issues at cuneiformrecord.blogspot.com/   ~~~~~   2024 IS CUNEIFORM RECORDS' 40TH ANNIVERSARY! "Truly this is one of the most challenging yet rewarding catalogs ever known. Long live Cuneiform."– QoBuz    "The Cuneiform catalog is rich: a long string of revelatory releases..."                                                                                                                                                                        – Jim Allan, Rock & Roll Globe FOUR DECADES in the biz: this IS an avant-music micro-business landmark. Throughout our anniversary year, we're releasing at least one album of innovative, genre-defiant music each month, in both physical and digital formats, by rock, jazz, electronic and contemporary classical musicians from around the world. This month, AUGUST 2024, we release a double CD showcasing music created by classical minimalist composer and electronic music pioneer David Borden with his ensemble, Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.. This 2-disc Cuneiform Records release, Make Way for Mother Mallard: 50 Years of Music, features one disc of early (1970s) and one disc of recent (2019) Mother Mallard performances of several key Borden pieces.  We are truly honored and gratefully amazed that, over the past 40 years, we've released a number of works that stand as landmarks of their genre:  works critically acknowledged as artistic milestones. Featuring the world's first synth ensemble and some of the first works composed for analogue synth performance, our Mother Mallard Portable Masterpiece Co. releases include multiple electronic music milestones.  But we've also released David Borden works that are landmarks of 20th century classical music. Early in our label's career, between 1989-1991, Cuneiform released Borden's magnum opus, a 12 part musical cycle performed by his Mother Mallard ensemble called The Continuing Story of Counterpoint. Composed between 1976-87, Borden's The Continuing Story of Counterpoint is critically regarded as the "Goldberg Variations of Minimalism" - a work that defines a style and era.  We're honored and awed to have released masterworks by Borden and other avant-music icons across the decades, including Wadada Leo Smith, whose Ten Freedom Summers  came out on Cuneiform in 2012. We invite you to listen to Cuneiform's new Mother Mallard release and to explore other Borden and Mother Mallard releases you might previously have missed. We thank our ARTISTS for entrusting us with their remarkable music. And we thank YOU, our listeners for your support; without you and our artists, our 40 years of releasing high quality new music into the world would not have been possible. A special thanks to the journalists who've covered Cuneiform Records' 40th Anniversary, including: – Jeff Laughlin, QoBuz Magazine, "40 Years of Cuneiform Records" – Jim Allan, Rock and Roll Globe, "Steve Feigenbaum on 40 Years of Cuneiform Records. An American institution of unconventional music has a big birthday"                                                    ~~~~~                                                                           read this newsletter online return to top                               COMING OUT                           AUGUST 30, 2024                                       ON                     CUNEIFORM RECORDS                 MOTHER MALLARD'S                               PORTABLE MASTERPIECE CO. /                      DAVID BORDEN                   MAKE WAY FOR MOTHER MALLARD:                  50 YEARS OF MUSIC                         Bio information: Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co./ David Borden Title: Make Way for Mother Mallard: 50 Years of Music (Cuneiform Rune 513 / 514) Format: CD  / DIGITAL www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC / CLASSICAL MINIMALIST / POST CLASSICAL                 MOTHER MALLARD'S PORTABLE                                      MASTERPIECE CO.      – the World's First All Synthesizer Ensemble –            Wraps up 50 Years of Performing Works                          by its Founder,               the Composer, Keyboardist &                 Electronic Music Pioneer                        DAVID BORDEN,                     with a Two-Disc Set                                           Spotlighting Recordings made in       the Ensemble's Early and Recent Years    In a groundbreaking career spanning more than half a century, American composer and musician David Borden helped pave the way for electronic music – via both analogue synthesizers and digital instruments – to be integrated into New Music/ Creative/ Classical composition and live performance. In 1969, he founded the world's first synthesizer ensemble – Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co. – in Bob Moog's Trumansburg studio, working with Moog's prototypes and analogue equipment, and he later founded (1987) and headed Cornell University's Digital Music Department, inspiring new generations with digital music via Apple desktop and laptop computers. Simultaneous with his work at Cornell, Borden was a prolific composer, creating countless classical, experimental and 'beyond genre' works often performed with his ensemble. His work includes one of the most important documents of American classical minimalism: The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, a 12-part cycle that Cuneiform Records released on three CDs between 1989-1991. This 2-disc Cuneiform Records release, Make Way for Mother Mallard: 50 Years of Music, features one disc of early (1970s) and one disc of recent (2019) Mother Mallard performances of several key Borden pieces.                                                    ~ ~ ~ ~               listen to / share "The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Pt. 1" from                              Make Way for Mother Mallard: Fifty Years of Music                   by Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co./ David Borden                                                         ~ ~ ~ ~                                                               STEVE FEIGENBAUM, CUNEIFORM'S HEAD, REMINISCES ON WORKING WITH DAVID BORDEN AND HIS ENSEMBLE, MOTHER MALLARD'S PORTABLE MASTERPIECE CO.:   "David Borden and Cuneiform’s relationship go back to even before Cuneiform, as I was a partner in a short-lived record label called Atmosphere that was meant to focus on electronic music and managed to put out two releases (Darren Kearns and The Nightcrawlers) before calling it a day. If my long-term memory serves me correctly, David Borden’s Anatidae was scheduled as Atmosphere’s third release, but when that label folded and as I had recently established Cuneiform on my own, it became Cuneiform’s fourth release, coming out on vinyl in 1985.                                                     David Borden is a woefully under-valued pioneer of electronic music and a marvelous composer. We've been proud to work with him on numerous projects, including releasing his minimalist masterwork, The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, in Cuneiform's early years. Besides Borden's pioneering work in Bob Moog's Trumansburg studio, his establishing the world's first synthesizer ensemble, and his hugely important recordings, compositions and performances, Borden's remarkable accomplishments include founding and heading Cornell University’s Digital Music Program. He’s had a hugely active career and I’m personally thrilled to be able to work with Dave again on a release for Cuneiform Records' 40th year!"                                                                                                             – Steve Feigenbaum, 2024               COMPOSER / MUSICIAN DAVID BORDEN REMINISCES ABOUT 50 YEARS OF MUSIC WITH HIS MOTHER MALLARD PORTABLE MASTERPIECE CO. ENSEMBLES                                                                                            “I founded Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co. in the spring of 1969. I was Composer-Pianist for Dance at Cornell University but I had also been working nights for two years at the Moog Company in Trumansburg trying to understand the synthesizer for making music and possibly to use in live performance.   At first I used Mother Mallard to perform new music at Cornell because no one else was doing it. Steve Drews was the first member of my band. He was a graduate student at Cornell earning a DMA in music composition. I had already introduced him to the modular Moog Synthesizer. He took to it very quickly, whereas I had taken a long time to master it. Shortly he quit his degree program and concentrated on making music with this new electronic instrument. I was 30 and he was 23.                                                                                                                      Steve Drews & David Borden Our first few concerts involved asking other musicians to help and gathering amplification and sound system gear, which was new at the time for classical music. Some of the composers we presented on these early concerts were Robert Ashley, Morton Feldman, Daniel Lentz, Jon Hassell, Terry Riley, John Cage, Philip Glass, Steve Reich and others. By 1970 Steve and I started performing with synthesizers while the MiniMoog was being invented. Bob Moog was an early supporter of the band and made sure we had the synthesizers we needed. We used the Model A Mini as well as a few portable modular models. It soon became obvious that we needed another keyboardist because all of the Moogs were monophonic (one could not play more than one note at a time, like a wind instrument.) We soon found Linda Fisher, a 21-year-old keyboardist with the Creative Act, an Ithaca rock group that composed much of its own music. Intrigued by the synthesizers, she decided to join our ensemble. She also brought her RMI Electra Piano with her, which was our only polyphonic instrument. Mother Mallard became a synthesizer ensemble playing our own compositions.                                                                       Steve Drews / David Borden / Linda Fisher “Although Bob’s synthesizers became very well known in 1968 due to Wendy Carlos’s LP Switched On Bach, and were also soon used by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, they were very expensive. Soon the MiniMoog started to make money for the company but too late to make as much money that was needed to keep the company afloat. So in the fall of 1971, Bob chose to sell his company to an entrepreneur rather than declare bankruptcy so that he could keep giving his customers technical support. Bob remained as the company’s inventor but he had to move to Buffalo, NY. It was at this time that Mother Mallard had to buy the synthesizers we used or give up the band. So the three of us invested in three modular Moogs, the MiniMoog A and a MiniMoog D. These, along with the RMI Electra Piano, gave us an instrument for each hand. The band was officially born after being together for three years.                                                              Judy Borsher / Steve Drews / David Borden This Moog Synthesizer band lasted until the summer of 1978 when we all decided it was time to move on. But during its first nine years, Mother Mallard gave many concerts and was managed by Performing Artservices. In 1975 Linda Fisher left the group to join David Tudor and the Composers Inside Electronics group in New York City. She was replaced by Judy Borsher, a 22-year-old Cornell graduate who had already helped us release our first LP. In 1976 Steve Drews decided he wanted to be a photographer instead of a musician, so he was replaced by Chip Smith. Chip also brought his Fender Rhodes keyboard with him.  This last ensemble of Chip, Judy and me was probably the best performance group of all.                                               Chip Smith / David Borden / Judy Borsher (cut off from photo on far right) After 1978 I gave a few concerts with Edmund Niemann and Nurit Tilles, also known as Double Edge, a piano duo. They were also members of Steve Reich’s ensemble. But I mostly spent time with family matters and bringing up Gabe.  It wasn’t until 1987 that I formed the second version of Mother Mallard. In addition to using various kinds of synthesizers including Yamaha FM, Roland analog, and Korg sampled sounds, it included a voice—soprano Ellen Hargis, who was introduced to me by Penny Crawford, an old friend from the Eastman School of Music. We also added a wind player, composer Les Thimmig, who played several instruments. I had also known Les from Eastman days. The keyboardist was Lynn Purse, who knew how to perform on synthesizers. I met her in Virginia with her husband Bill, a guitarist. Eventually we included my son Gabe, who had become a virtuoso electric guitarist. This band lasted until 1991 and gave many American concerts, two European tours and a major concert at Town Hall in Manhattan. Our last concert was at Columbia University. Although the performers were from various parts of the country and we didn’t have much rehearsal time, it all worked because they were all well-trained professional musicians.                                     The 1990s were a decade I spent founding and organizing the electronic music section of Cornell’s music department. I called the project the Digital Music Program, which offered classes in making music using synthesizers with Apple Macintosh computers. The courses became the most popular ones in the music department and when I retired in 2005, it became a permanent part of the department with a tenured track position. During this time period I gave a few synthesizer ensemble concerts with various local artists but mostly I returned to my jazz roots and gave many two-piano jazz concerts with my friend Edward Murray, who was a conductor and theorist in the music department.                                      David Borden performing with his Mother Mallard ensemble at the Berlin Atonal 2015 When Ed died in 2000 I returned to my live synthesizer music and began working with David Yearsley and Blaise Bryski. David is one of the world’s best organists and Blaise is an all-around excellent keyboardist and musician. They are both technically superior to me. This lineup often also featured Gabe as well as singer Louise Mygatt, a versatile musician who is a faculty member at the Ithaca College School of Music. This version of Mother Mallard lasted from 2000 until 2019 when we gave our 50th anniversary concerts. In 2006 I changed the live performance setup. Using Reason and Samplit software, we became a laptop-with-attached-keyboard-controllers ensemble—a computer ensemble. This made it much easier to travel. Sometimes the sponsor supplied the keyboards and we simply showed up with our laptops. But for our last concerts in 2019, we reverted back to analog using many of the same instruments as the original 1970s band. After these concerts I retired from public performing.                                                                                                                       David Borden at Issue Project Room [photo by Brian Harkin for NYTimes]                  This double CD recording is our last one. We have been with Cuneiform Records since the 1980s. The middle Mother Mallard band recorded the entire Continuing Story of Counterpoint  [released on 3 CDs by Cuneiform Records] as well as other pieces. Even the first two vinyl albums were reissued as CDs with bonus tracks. The original LPs have become collector’s items. There have also been a few other CDs on my Lameduck label.  It’s been a great 50 years with various ups and downs but it has always been fulfilling and continuously enlightening to be working with so many hard-working beautiful and generous people."                                                                                                                   – David Borden  2023 return to top ~ ~ ~ ~ Pre-order / listen on Bandcamp to Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co. / David Borden's                       Make Way for Mother Mallard: 50 Years of Music                              credits & tracks: Disc One 1. Endocrine Dot Patterns (1970) synthesizers: David Borden, Steve Drews, and Linda Fisher trumpets: Woody Peters recorded at the R.A. Moog Company studio in Trumansburg, NY recording engineer: David Borden 2. CAGE I (1973) synthesizers: David Borden, Steve Drews RMI piano: Linda Fisher recorded at the Mother Mallard farmhouse in Enfield, NY recording engineer: David Borden 3. Anatidae/CAGE III (1978/1975) synthesizers: Judy Borsher, Chip Smith RMI piano: David Borden recorded live at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, PA in 1978 recording engineers: Tom Buchler, Steve Drews Disc Two 1. The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, part 01 (1976) RMI piano & Minimoog D: David Borden Roland Juno 60 & Minimoog D: David Yearsley Juno 106 & Moog Voyager: Blaise Bryski 2. The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, part 03 (1976) RMI piano & Minimoog D: Richard Valitutto Roland Juno 60 & Minimoog D: David Yearsley Roland Juno 106 & Moog Voyager: Blaise Bryski voice: Louise Mygatt (recorded in Louise's living room in Ithaca, NY) 3. The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, part 05 (1977) Roland Juno 106 & Moog Voyager: David Borden Fender Rhodes piano: David Yearsley RMI piano: Blaise Bryski electric guitar: Gabriel Borden 4. The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, part 06 (1978) RMI piano: Annette Richards Roland Juno 60 & Minimoog D: David Yearsley Roland Juno 106 & Roland Juno 60: Blaise Bryski 5. The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, part 07 (1978) Roland Juno 60: David Borden Fender Rhodes piano: David Yearsley Roland Juno 106 & Moog Voyager: Blaise Bryski 6. The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, part 08 (1979) Roland Juno 106 & Minimoog D: Roger Moseley Fender Rhodes piano: David Yearsley RMI piano: Blaise Bryski recorded live at the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University on November 15, 2019 recording & sound engineer: Greg McGrath 7. The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, part 11 (1986) piano 1: Xak Bjerken piano 2: Richard Valitutto recorded at Barnes Hall, Cornell University in December 2019 recording engineer: Alex Perialas 8. The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, part 12B (1987) 6:29 RMI piano & Minimoog D: David Borden Roland Juno 60 & Minimoog D: David Yearsley Roland Juno 106: Blaise Bryski voice: Louise Mygatt drums: Tom Killian recorded live at Barnes Hall, Cornell University on November 8, 2019 recording and sound engineer: Greg McGrath Except where otherwise noted, all Disc Two tracks were recorded in David Yearsley's studio in Ithaca, NY, in 2019, with Gabriel Borden as recording and post-production engineer. All music composed by David Borden. Photo credits for album (except where otherwise noted in this eblast): David Yearsley Thomas Bruce   return to top Buy / listen on Bandcamp to additional David Borden and Mother Mallard albums released on Cuneiform Records MOTHER MALLARD PORTABLE MASTERPIECE CO. "...the pioneering efforts of MMPMC stand as a monument to the gimmick-less magnificence that can be achieved with a pure application of this technology." – Magnet "...it’s eye-opening in terms of innovation, providing the missing links between several disjunctive musical styles. …Each of the five tracks here provides some sort of Rosetta stone in terms of figuring out how several styles of music evolved in the way that they did." – New York Press   MOTHER MALLARD'S PORTABLE MASTERPIECE CO. 1970-1973          LIKE A DUCK TO WATER 1974-1976   "A marvel of pioneering electronica." – The Wire "The compositions are absolutely gorgeous, with layer upon layer of repeating rhythmic phrases that gently shift their flow with the purposeful effortlessness of a Zen meditation. … Although it is more than 25 years old, MMPMC’s work on Like a Duck to Water still stands as a fresh-sounding milestone in musical innovation.” - The Scene Online   MMPMC: Linda Fisher / Steve Drews / David Borden             MMPMC:   Chip Smith / Judy Borsher / David Borden        DAVID BORDEN PERFORMED BY MOTHER MALLARD THE CONTINUING STORY OF COUNTERPOINT A masterpiece of classical minimalism, The Continuing Story of Counterpoint is David Borden's magnum opus. A 12-part work consisting of over 3 hours of music, Cuneiform Records released it 1988-1991 on 3 CDs, each containing 4 parts.    “the [Counterpoint] cycle...placed Borden with the giants of the first wave of minimalist composers (Glass, Riley, and Reich). For those who appreciate this dizzying rapidly-repeating and hypnotic form of music, the release of this CD stands as a landmark in the field.”   – Alternative Press                              The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Parts 1-4+8 (Complete)   "...this series may stand as the 'Goldberg Variations' of minimalism, a canon of work that defines a style and an era." – Audio Magazine "Cage-Riley-Glass are ghosts of an important past but Borden is the spirit for the future. The contents are stunning, fulfilling and I await further episodes with an absorbing interest.” – Outlet [UK]   The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Parts 5-8  .         .         The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Parts 9-12    “Within the minimalist ranks, David Borden’s music has always stood alone with its logic of motion, elegance of line and form, and deft use of state-of-the-art technology...  Borden writes a complex and hyperactive form of counterpoint, often through-composing each line as a separate entity yet interlocking them in synchronous orbits. He winds his pieces up like gyroscopes and sends them spinning full-tilt from the start." - John Diliberto, Audio (USA)     GABRIEL BORDEN BORDEN ON BORDEN: GABRIEL BORDEN PLAYS DAVID BORDEN "Having heard my father's pieces, especially The Continuing Story of Counterpoint (TCSOC) series, throughout my childhood, as they were being composed and premiered, I had subconsciously begun to develop my own arrangements and interpretations. The process of learning some of the parts and recording and performing them led to the conscious crystallization of these ideas.” – Gabriel Borden "This is Van Halen meets Philip Glass in the best way possible." – adelrune [Bandcamp supporter] "Simply amazing. I normally find minimalism to be redundant and boring. Instead, this album is riveting and almost infectious the way each song builds to a much-too-soon climax. My current choice for Album of the Year." – PDD [Bandcamp supporter]   DAVID BORDEN "...rich with emotion, depth and subtlety, painting warm flashes of gentle color over shimmering electronic soundscapes." – Expose    SMART HUBRIS     HEAVEN-KEPT SOUL                   "...this album is brilliant and beautiful. Easily one of the best albums of 2021." – PDD [Bandcamp Supporter] “Minimalist composer David Borden’s best compositions match those of contemporaries Philip Glass and John Adams... Places, Time & People...manifests the broad range of his talent, from works with spiky, yet fitting dissonances, to a Philip Glass pardoy. All of it fine stuff.” –  Wired      CAYUGA NIGHT MUSIC                                                                           PLACES, TIMES & PEOPLE “An unreconstructed minimalist, Borden has a touch of Andriessen’s relentlessness, but his images are more varied and arresting... The textures are more elaborate and pop-influenced than Reich’s or Glass’s; the growling electric bass recommends itself to rock fans, and the urgently bittersweet atmospheres might appeal to New Agers. But in Esty Point and Malaise Borden explores some of the most convoluted harmonic changes post-minimalism has approached.”   -– The Village Voice   return to top "David Borden: Continuous Counterpoint" Written by Frank J. Oteri New Music Box, Jan. 1, 2012 A conversation at the The Cornell Club: June 30, 2011—4:00 p.m. Video presentation by Molly Sheridan Transcribed by Julia Lu return to top                            !!OUT NOW!!                                             YANG                         REJOICE!                  RELEASED JULY 26, 2024                                       ON                     CUNEIFORM RECORDS                  Bio information: YANG Title: REJOICE! (Cuneiform Rune 524) Format: CD  / DIGITAL www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: ROCK / ART ROCK / PROGRESSIVE ROCK           French Guitar Virtuoso, Composer & Lyricist                            FREDERIC L'EPEE         unleashes YANG, his guitar-centric quartet,              to record a powerful album of Frippian,                counterpoint-fueled compositions             set further ablaze by the vocals of guest                  CARLA KIHLSTEDT (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum)  Composed in the wake of Covid and as Fascism, Wars and Climate crises globally rise, Rejoice! offers a healing response for surviving this New Dark Age. Yang reveals music's power to purge darkness from our souls. In Rejoice!, L'Epee reminds us to embrace whatever beauty and light the world retains, and to transform the darkness into art.       listen to/ share "Step Inside" from Rejoice! by Yang                                                                        ~ ~ ~ ~   According to most professional journalists, comparisons are odious. And according to most professional musicians, critics are useless. But what happens when a critic makes a comparison that turns out to be useful and also transformative in the most positive way?   Look no further than Rejoice!, the fifth album—and third for Cuneiform Records—from the masterful French progressive-rock quartet Yang.   This, naturally, needs some explanation, and in fact there are two intertwined origin stories that can be applied to what is possibly Yang’s most accessible yet most deeply felt full-length.   We’ll get to the first later. But what primarily gave Rejoice! its sound and its shape came when an online reviewer compared Yang’s previous album, Designed for Disaster, to the dark and psychologically disturbing work of the Bay Area band Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. And while there are similarities, for sure, the notion struck Yang guitarist and composer Frédéric L'Épée as odd, given that he had never heard—or even heard of—his American counterparts. Intrigued, he decided to listen, and found not just a team of kindred spirits, but the perfect singer to bring life to his songs.   “I didn’t know them, so when I saw this review, I said ‘Okay, what is this band? Is it something that I’ve missed?’” L'Épée notes, laughing. “ And, yes, it really was something I’d missed."                                                                                                                           photo of Yang by Yang “I don’t like the sound of my own voice,” the bandleader continues, and so for most of its existence Yang has focused primarily on instrumental music. On Designed for Disaster, however, the German singer Ayse Cansu Tanrikulu added her jazz-inflected phrasing to five tracks, and now on Rejoice!, Sleepytime violinist and singer Carla Kihlstedt has come on board for most of the album.   It’s an ideal match, and one that wound up shaping Rejoice! far more than L'Épée had intended. In writing Designed for Disaster, he explains, he concerned himself with lyrics that were “meant to communicate an impression but not a meaning”. But after having discovered Kihlstedt, he opted to follow a different path.   “It’s interesting,” he says now. “I started to write the words like I did with Designed for Disaster; not with apparent meaning, but through the sound more than anything. But as soon as Carla accepted, I started to have her voice in my mind. So as soon as I started to write, I heard her singing at the moment I was writing. This forced me to search for the reason inside, because I realized that I wanted her to understand what I was saying, to give all the expression that I wanted. So this is one of the many reasons I started to write things with meanings, because I wanted her to be driven by these meanings.”   At the same time, circumstances were giving L'Épée plenty to write about. The world was coming out of lockdown, new wars were starting, fascism was on the rise, and all of these things were having a profoundly negative effect on some of the musician’s associates.                                                               photo of Yang by Anne Chomicki “In 2023, several of my friends had a kind of breakdown,” he reports. “They started to have dark thoughts, bad ideas, and they were really bad with themselves. And I wanted to help them, actually. I wanted to make them feel better. It was really with this idea, this mood, that I started to write Rejoice!”   It wasn’t therapy for himself that he was after, he stresses. “I have had the chance to live an ideal life, I would say,” he notes. “I’m living with the love of my life and I’m making music all the time, so I am someone who’s pretty happy. But I would also say that I’m empathic, so when I see someone or I hear someone that feels not right, I feel that suffering as well. So I want to help these people to get above whatever it is. And this is maybe why the album is named Rejoice!, because this is a dark time. It’s a dark age for everyone.    “It’s not a happy time, but we have to rejoice in what we have,” he adds. “Everything is wrong, nothing is going properly,  but there are so many things to enjoy anyway, if you know what I mean.”   L'Épée considers Rejoice! to be “healing music”, but with its surging polyrhythms, intricately conjoined guitar parts, and Kihlstedt’s fiercely committed singing, it’s not like any music you’d hear in any spa on earth. Consider the record’s final track, “The Final Day”, which opens with fingerstyle guitars and breathy vocals that present a comforting, lullaby-like ambience. But once a powerful bass ostinato kicks in a darker mood emerges, and it becomes clear that L'Épée is describing some kind of mass extinction. “Over the land, fiery sand falls,” Kihlstedt sings. “Everyone’s horizon burns.”   The intimation of a final, climate-change-induced “fire season” is clear. And yet it’s impossible to encounter this performance without also feeling a sense of joyous release. The end is nigh—but the end is always nigh, and it’s never really the end. In that light, “The Final Day” is a perfect finale to Rejoice!, because once it’s over you’ll want to return to Track One, “Step Inside”, and play the entire record again.                                                                                                    photo of Yang by Yang                    credits: Frédéric L'Epée : guitars, keyboards, chorus Laurent James : guitars, voice, chorus Nico Gomez : bass, chorus Volidia Brice : drums with Carla Kihlstedt : voice, chorus  Album art:  Peg Pizzadili                                                          ~ ~ ~ ~                                Buy / listen to Yang's Rejoice! on Bandcamp:                                             return to top Listen to & buy additional releases on Cuneiform Records by Fréderic Le'Epée's Yang and Philharmonie ensembles YANG DESIGNED FOR DISASTER                                                    A  COMPLEX NATURE                                                                                                ~ ~ ~ ~ PHILHARMONIE THE LAST WORD / LE DERNIER MOT             LES ELEPHANTS CARRIONNEURS/                                                                                          THE ELEPHANT BELL-RINGERS                     .         NORD                                                    RAGE                                                   return to top !! OUT NOW !! RELEASED JUNE 28, 2024  ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS       – VINYL, CD & DIGITAL –                                                         JANEL & ANTHONY                                                     JANEL LEPPIN                                                                        / ENSEMBLE   VOLCANIC ASH                                                                                       Guitar Hero ANTHONY PIROG (The Messthetics) and icconoclasstic cellist-vocalist JANEL LEPPIN (Priests) reunite as a duo, and on Ensemble Volcanic Ash.   Janel and Anthony Return with New Moon in the Evil Age, First New Release in 12 Years. Long-awaited double album is out June 28 from Cuneiform Records, features full-length instrumental and vocal LPs.   Janel Leppin’s transcendent chamber-jazz unit, Ensemble Volcanic Ash, also returns with To March Is to Love, out June 28.                                                            Independently, the musician-composers who make up Janel and Anthony — that’s cellist and vocalist Janel Leppin and guitarist Anthony Pirog — have led deeply fascinating creative lives. Leppin has been a pillar of the Washington D.C. music scene as an acclaimed cellist for over twenty years. She composes at the helm of her widely celebrated Ensemble Volcanic Ash, recorded a solo cello album The Brink in 2023 and released riveting singer-songwriter records as Mellow Diamond. As a collaborator and multiinstrumentalist, she has contributed to an impossibly wide swath of internationally-known experimental and indie sounds, from the inquisitive new-music of Eyvind Kang and Oren Ambarchi to the haunting folksong of Marissa Nadler, to the dynamic psych-rock of Rose Windows and art-punk of PRIESTS. One of the finest guitarists of his generation, Anthony Pirog is a member of Impulse! and Dischord recording artists the Messthetics, featuring the rhythm section of post-hardcore legends Fugazi, as well as an acclaimed jazz and avant-garde improviser and an important torch-carrier for the legacy of D.C. guitar god Danny Gatton. For Cuneiform, he's released two albums under his own name (Pocket Poem and Paolo Colorado Dream), as well as with the groups Five Times Surprise (with Henry Kaiser, Andy West and more) and The Spellcasters' Music from the Anacostia Delta, a Danny Gatton tribute. Together, however, these partners in life and music have reached rare heights of sonic invention and personal expression — creating original music with a clairvoyance that their other projects cannot approach. It’s an intimacy that goes back decades, to when they first encountered each other in high school, as “grunge-kid musicians,” per Anthony. The relationship deepened through their college years and into their careers as fulltime professionals on the richly diverse D.C. scene. “When we write,” Janel says, “we’re pretty telepathic at this point, as many years as we’ve been playing and improvising together.” Adds Anthony, “We are on the same mission, 100% of the time, in all aspects of life.” Their 2012 Cuneiform Records debut, Where Is Home, earned critical plaudits for its inviting beyond-genre explorations, a seamless blend of composition and improvisation, otherworldly electronics and masterful technique. DownBeat said the album holds “a marvelous surprise at every turn.” Now, at long last, Janel and Anthony have returned to the record bin after more than a decade, with an ambitious double album, New Moon in the Evil Age, that reconciles two facets of their lifelong obsessions in art and music. The first half is a stunning 10-track instrumental disc of inventively produced duets; the second, an evocative nine-track vocal album, reflects the pair’s enduring love of rock, pop and alternative songcraft. listen to/ share "Pacific Grove Monarch" from New Moon In the Evil Age by Janel & Anthony On the former half, “Pacific Grove Monarch” lays Janel’s poignant cello melody atop Anthony’s Fahey-esque arpeggios, anticipating a chilling outro suffused with ambient sound design that rewards a focused listen. “Boom Boom” finds Janel and Anthony combining the sonorities and scales of the Japanese koto; Anthony with country guitar chops, before Janel explores the range of her instrument with ease and virtuosity. There are additional delights in the details, with Janel contributing swirling filigree on koto and Mellotron. The second disc showcases the duo as synth-savvy multi-instrumentalists and, as Anthony put it, lovers of popular music who happily “take part in band worship.” The gorgeous, Portisheady crawl of “Fly Over Iceland” paints a mountainous landscape using Janel's powerful vocal range while conveying the yearning she felt on tour, away from her partner. “Evil Age” touts a commanding chorus and foreshadows the era of Trump and Covid; “Surf the Dead” finds common ground between Broadcast, Sonic Youth and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. listen to/ share "Fly Over Iceland" from New Moon In the Evil Age by Janel & Anthony In collaboration with the revered producer and engineer Mike Reina, the duo pushed their production boundaries. “We used lots of weird techniques,” Anthony says. “I took a track I recorded at home and then ran it through a reel to reel, putting our fingers on the reel to slow it down. You can hear the tape flutter on "Hearts Hearth."” (Dev Hoff, a go-to collaborator for Nels Cline, Julia Holter, Sharon Van Etten and many others, contributed bass.) “We had fun making it,” Janel adds. “But it’s also an intimate record for us.” What’s more, a new album by Janel’s Ensemble Volcanic Ash (a.k.a. EVA), titled To March Is to Love, underscores yet another angle of her compositional abilities. A follow-up to EVA’s self-titled Cuneiform Records debut from 2022, To March features compositions that were workshopped and explored in front of packed houses during a 2023 residency at the D.C. DIY venue Rhizome — where, Janel says an audience member remarked, “it felt like the whole building was going to come off of its foundation.” To wit, Bandcamp Daily declared “There’s no end to the melodic intensity of Ensemble Volcanic Ash. Even at its lushest and most approachable, Janel Leppin delivers the music with a resolute force of will." Their debut was included in JazzTimes Critics Poll Top 50 New Releases of 2022. The fiery lineup includes Janel on cello and piano, Anthony on guitar, Sarah Hughes and Brian Settles (Jason Moran, Chad Taylor) on saxophones, Larry Ferguson on drums, and Luke Stewart (Irreversible Entanglements, David Murray) on bass. The album was recorded live at Mike Reina's studio in Richmond, VA. The music is progressive chamber jazz with the steely avant-garde that descends from Julius Hemphill’s 1972 LP Dogon A.D. “As Wide as All Outdoors” is from a quote by Hemphill, "Jazz is as wide as all outdoors," which inspired Janel to write a raucous introduction and take a far reaching and dynamic cello solo. listen to "As Wide As All Outdoors" from To March is To Love by Janel Leppin's Ensemble Volcanic Ash That landmark recording featured Janel’s lodestar, the late Abdul Wadud, a pioneering cellist who cleared the path she traverses today. On the first track, Wadud is one of Janel’s honorees (“Ode to Abdul Wadud”). The album is bookended with her other greatest influence on the cello, Pablo Casals (“Casals’ Rainbow”). Wadud and Casals, Janel points out, were musical revolutionaries — in the case of Casals, he was a political firebrand, as well — so their presence is welcome on an album that is “very political. This is the moment where people are going to have to step up. We’ve done this before and we can do it again. It’s a very D.C. message, but a very important message.”                                  The couple met in high school in Northern Virginia — she was in orchestra, he was in jazz band — and later connected as college kids, jamming late into the night at bonfires that Janel hosted. Over the past two decades and counting, each has made the other’s career possible. Having studied jazz at Berklee and NYU, Anthony enabled Janel immeasurably in her pursuits as an improviser, helping her to loosen herself from the strictures of classical orthodoxy. He also compelled her to write and record her own music, rather than continue to get swept up in the neverending calendar of a touring sideperson. “I’d be playing amazing festivals all over the world,” Janel recalls, “and he’s like, ‘That’s great, but you need to be doing your music because it’s good!’” For her part, Janel, who has a degree in Cello Performance and World Music, greatly broadened Anthony’s stylistic purview, constantly introducing him to new scales, techniques and artists. She remains his most crucial editor: No matter what he’s working on, be it solo music, like his star-packed ambient project The Nepenthe Series Vol. 1, or Messthetics songs, she offers sage advice; Anthony describes his spouse as a kind of live-in producer. “We really trust each other’s opinions,” Janel adds, “It goes both ways.” New Moon in the Evil Age and To March Is to Love add up to the most profound document of this mutual faith thus far — captivating music by two artists whose radiance, together and apart, only seems to expand. “It’s taken time for us to learn how to work like this,” Janel says. “But in the end,” Anthony adds, “it’s an extremely valuable feeling to be working with someone who’s your family.” Before he can finish his sentence, Janel adds, “Because we’re so telepathic now.”   return to top LISTEN TO / PRE-ORDER ON BANDCAMP JANEL & ANTHONY : NEW MOON IN THE EVIL AGE  Bio information: JANEL & ANTHONY Title: NEW MOON IN THE EVIL AGE (Cuneiform Rune 527 / 528) Format: CD  / VINYL  / DIGITAL / DIGITAL HD Release date:  June 28, 2024 www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: INDIE ROCK / POST-ROCK / POST-JAZZ / BEYOND GENRE Press Release: READ on BANDCAMP site            DIGITAL / CD / VINYL                                                             DIGITAL [HD 24 / 96]         CREDITS: Janel Leppin - cello, modified cello, vocals, synthesizers, piano, koto, hammered dulcimer, bass Anthony Pirog - electric and acoustic guitar, guitar synth, synthesizers, bass, percussion Devin Hoff - electric and acoustic bass Dr. Ali Analouei - daf, tonbak Janel Leppin (Leppin Publishing, ASCAP) Anthony Pirog (Conjured Music, ASCAP) Engineering, mixing and mastering by Mike Reina. Produced by Mike Reina. Recorded at The Brink Analog and Digital Studios in Centreville, VA, except CD One, tracks 4, 7, 8, 9 recorded at The Brink in Richmond, VA. return to top LISTEN TO / PRE-ORDER ON BANDCAMP JANEL LEPPIN'S ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH : TO MARCH IS TO LOVE  Bio information: JANEL LEPPIN/ ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH Title: TO MARCH IS TO LOVE (Cuneiform Rune 529) Format: CD  / VINYL  / DIGITAL / DIGITAL HD Release date:  June 28, 2024 www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: JAZZ Press Release: READ on BANDCAMP site            DIGITAL / CD / VINYL                                                             DIGITAL [HD 24 / 96]         JANEL LEPPIN'S ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH CREDITS: Larry Ferguson: drums Luke Stewart: bass Anthony Pirog: guitar Sarah Hughes: alto saxophone Brian Settles: tenor saxophone Janel Leppin: cello, piano Compositions by Janel Leppin. Janel Leppin (Leppin Publishing, ASCAP) Engineering by Curtis Fye. Mixing and mastering by Mike Reina. Recorded at Montrose East in Richmond, VA on August 12, 2023. return to top Listen to & buy additional releases with JANEL LEPPIN and/or ANTHONY PIROG on Cuneiform Records JANEL & ANTHONY                                                             JANEL LEPPIN /                                                                         ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH WHERE IS HOME                                                                        ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH                             ANTHONY PIROG         POCKET POEM                        PALO COLORADO DREAM                                                                    (w/ MICHAEL FORMANEK & CHES SMITH)           LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION (ANTHONY PIROG / MICHAEL FORMANEK / MIKE PRIDE) DAMAGED GOODS FIVE TIMES SURPRISE  (HENRY KAISER / ANTHONY PIROG / TRACY SILVERMAN / JEFF SIPE / ANDY WEST)         FIVE TIMES SURPRISE                                     THE SPELLCASTERS (JOEL HARRISON, ANTHONY PIROG, DAVE CHAPPELL, JOHN PREVITI, BARRY HART)                        MUSIC FROM THE ANACOSTIA DELTA                                                     return to top ! SNEAK PEEK WITH SOUNDS ! COMING OUT ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS IN SEPTEMBER 2024 THUMBSCREW WINGBEATS   Celebrating a dozen years of inspired collaboration, all-star jazz trio Thumbscrew [Michael Formanek - bass, Tomas Fujiwara - drums, Mary Halvorson - guitar ] celebrates by releasing its eighth album.  Wing Beats is also Thumbscrew's eighth album for Cuneiform, who the trio's been with since its beginning. listen to/ share "Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk" from WINGBEATS by THUMBCREW credits for "Orange Was the Color" : Tomas Fujiwara : drums and vibraphone Michael Formanek : double bass Mary Halvorson : guitar [written by Charles Mingus] ~ ~ ~  return to top SNEAK PEEKS OF DISTANT TREASURES   COMING OUT IN 2024 & 2025 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS (Listed in alphabetical order. Sound samples to come out in future newsletters) ~~~~~ JAZZ ~~~~~ GHOST RHYTHMS – MISSING TIMES  (New studio album by young French avant progressive ensemble [FRANCE] ~~~~~ LUKE STEWART / SILT REMEMBRANCE ENSEMBLE (New jazz recording by a quintet ensemble featuring Luke Stewart, Chad Taylor, and Brian Settles – the members of Luke Stewart's Silt Trio – with Jamal Moore (sax & percusison) and Daniel Carter (sax & trumpet)) [USA] ~~~~~ JOHN SURMAN – FLASHPOINTS AND UNDERCURRENTS (Double CD release of jazz recordings from April 18,1969 by British saxophonist John Surman's ensemble with Kenny Wheller, Alan Skidmore, Mike Osborne, Harry Miller, Alan Jackson & more. A completely different recording & version than on Cuneiform's release Flashpoint: NDR Jazz Workshop - April '69) [UK]     ELECTRONIC – ROCK   ~~~~~~  RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL – GALACTIC FURNACE  COMING OUT October 2024 (New double album by longstanding prolific UK electronic trio) [UK]   ROCK ~~~~~~ MIKE JOHNSON – THE GARDEN OF EVANESCENCE (Mike Johnson, leader/ composer/ guitarist of Thinking Plague, releases an album under his own name featuring orchestration - strings, brass reeds, etc - combined with rock instrumentation.) [USA] ~~~~~~ ROGER CLARK MILLER – CURIOSITY FOR SOLO ELECTRIC GUITAR ENSEMBLE (Guitarist / keyboardist/ composer Roger Clark Miller [Mission of Burma, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Alloy Orchestra/The Anvil Orchestra), releases his second Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble album on Cuneiform  - an extravaganza of guitars, electronics and looping ) [USA]   return to top CUNEIFORM ARTISTS ON TOUR 2024 - 2025 CALENDAR IMPORTANT COVID REMINDER: In an evolving (and now endemic) COVID-19 world, and with adverse weather "events" happening in increasing frequency, these dates are ALL tentative. Please check with venues, close to the concert date, to confirm. We're ecstatic that live concerts are happening worldwide, but we remain aware that emergent variants - as well as severe weather - can unexpectedly affect schedules. See also the Tours Page at Cuneiform Records. ANTISTATIC After releasing their debut album in early 2024 on Cuneiform, Danish quartet Antistatic tour Japan in the Fall. “Recommended: experimental trance rock album from Danish Quartet Antistatic…exponents of what Keith Richards once called “the ancient art of weaving”, bringing two-guitar interplay to new levels of complexity and sophistication.” — Klof Magazin _______________________________ October 9 - Wildside - Tokyo, Japan October 10 - CHOP Ikebukoro - Tokyo, Japan October 11 - Growly - Kyoto, Japan October 12 - Soto - Kyoto, Japan October 13 - Makeshift - Kobe, Japan October 16 - Environment Og - Osaka, Japan   Listen to & Buy:  Relics      Founded in 1980, Boston's Birdsongs of the Mesozoic weave rock, punk, classical, minimalism, and free-form sound into instrumental music that's simultaneously innovative, sophisticated and broadly appealing.  "the world's hardest rocking chamber music quartet." – The New York Times _______________________________ August 31 / September 1 - ProgDay - Chapel Hill, NC   Listen to & Buy:  Relics   Dawn of the Cycads    The Fossil Record        Faultline        Pyroclastics           Dancing on A'A The Iridium Controversy            2001 Live Birds    Petrophonics           Extreme Spirituals with Oral Moses   EMPIRICAL Featuring Nathaniel Facey (alto saxophone), Shaney Forbes (drums), Lewis Wright (vibraphone) and Tom Farmer (bass), Empirical buildson the extroverted improvisational ethos of the 1960s New Thing, embracing oblique harmonies, translucent textures and jagged, quick shifting rhythms, transformed for new generations.   "The coolest of Britain's young jazz bands." – Daily Telegraph   October 8 - Vortex - Dalston, London, UK November 7 - Newhampton Arts Centre - Wolverhampton, UK December 3 - Jazz Hastings - Hastings, UK December 6 - Sheffield Jazz Festival - Crucible Theatre - Sheffield, UK January 23 - Singen Jazz Club - Singen, Germany January 25 - Peggy's Skylight - Nottingham, UK January 27 - Jazz In The Round - London, UK February 21 - Reading Jazz Festival - Progress Theatre - Reading, UK February 22 - Stapleford Granary - Cambridge, UK     Listen to & buy:        Connection                            "[Empirical] remains enthusiastically devoted to remaking jazz for a contemporary audience... This fine set is a significant renewal of Empirical’s commitment to giving 1960s hard bop and free jazz (probably still their deepest loves) a 21st-century identity." – John Fordham / The Guardian JANEL & ANTHONY Washington DC's premier music power duo, Janel & Anthony individually are internationally acclaimed master players and composers who lead their own ensembles. In June 2024, they'll release a new, double-disc studio recording on Cuneiform Records, called New Moon In the Evil Age - their second duo release for the label.   "Janel & Anthony - guitars and 'cello respectively - play a haunting and humbly virtuosic form of music wherein the elements of electronics, looping, and lo-fi timbres live both in intimacy and in majesty in the same house as acoustic instruments and folk/blues-inspired melodies. As such, it is both timely and timeless..." – Nels Cline   August 1 - Fort Reno - 4000 Chesapeake St. NW, Washington, DC August 31 / September 1 - ProgDay - Chapel Hill, NC   Listen to & buy:  New Moon In the Evil Age                             Where Is Home    "The result is a marvelous surprise at every turn, as the duo...two absolute virtuosos...create atmospheres that at times evoke the music of Steve Tibbetts, Brian Eno, even soundtrack music" – DownBeat HENRY KAISER Grammy winner Henry Kaiser is widely recognized as one of the most creative and innovative guitarists, improvisers, and producers in the fields of rock, jazz, world, and contemporary experimental musics. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– THE HENRY KAISER MONTHLY SOLO SERIES, presented exclusively on the CUNEIFORM RECORDS YouTube Channel  When Covid pandemic lockdowns began in 2020, Henry Kaiser began curating & presenting a weekly series of pre-recorded music videos exclusively on Cuneiform's YouTube Channel for music lovers isolating at home. These "live" concerts are taped beforehand and not streamed - Henry discusses the process in a Guitar Moderne interview, "The New "Live"".  Many videos in the series depict duets and larger bands, despite the program being called the "Henry Kaiser Weekly Solo Series".  While many depict new or recent performances, other videos in this series are vintage footage of performances not available elsewhere (The Valentines' 1994 concert in the Fukuoka Dome). Over time, the series converted to monthly and currently, a quarterly release schedule.  All 52 videos from the Henry Kaiser's Weekly Series, the entire two year Monthly Series and all current quarterly videos are archived & available on Cuneiform's YouTube Channel.  We invite you to visit and follow Cuneiform Record's YouTube Channel to see the videos that Henry regularly presents. A must see: the WINTER 2024 video is HENRY KAISER QUARTERLY #4: BARITONE GUITAR SPECIAL, featuring Henry's awesome guitar work along with Special Guests: Luciana Bass, Jim Clark, Janet Feder, Sandy Ewen, Vanessa Gould, Sandor Nagyszalancy, Anthony Pirog, Gregory Stephen, Sid Stephen, & Carl Weingarten. Just released, the SUMMER 2024 video , HENRY KAISER QUARTERLY SHOW #6 : You Can't Get There From Here, features Morgan Ågren  Jennifer Burnes,  Jaya Drats, Trey Gunn, Killick Hinds, Michael Manring,  Ed Petterson, Damon Smith, Jim Thomas, and Bill Walker. In addition to his video series, Kaiser occasionally presents special videos:  some focusing on current events and guitar legends, and some providing free guitar lessons, focusing on tunes associated with legendary guitarists. For instance, his September 2022 guitar lesson video, focusing on the whole tone scale and Sonny Sharrock, is titled The Whole Tone Scale! Sonny Sharrock’s DICK DOGS lesson with Henry Kaiser. Besides his work as a musician, Kaiser is also a scientific diver and underwater videographer in the U.S. Antarctic program. Several of his Solo Series videos on the Cuneiform channel feature Henry's stunning underwater videography in addition to his guitar playing, as in this stunning video from May 2020:  HENRY KAISER : Cuneiform Weekly Solo #2 : Under The Ice Again . Because all videos are archived on the Cuneiform Records' YouTube Channel, you can watch anything in the series at any time.   Listen to & buy: Albums by Henry Kaiser & Friends  on Cuneiform A Love Supreme Electric [Vinny Golia / John Hanrahan / Henry Kaiser / Wayne Peet / Mike Watt]: A Love Supreme Electric: A Love Supreme and Meditations  Yo Miles!: Henry Kaiser & Wadada Leo Smith: Sky Garden & Upriver     Five Times Surprise [Henry Kaiser / Anthony Pirog / Tracy Silverman / Jeff Sipe / Andy West]:  Five Times Surprise Henry Kaiser & Ray Russell:  The Celestial Squid Henry Kaiser: Lemon Fish Tweezer; Fred Frith & Henry Kaiser: Friends & Enemies     Healing Force [Vinny Golia • Aurora Josephson • Henry Kaiser • Mike Keneally • Joe Morris • Damon Smith • Weasel Walter]: Healing Force:  The Songs of Albert Ayler                       V.A.: 156 Strings: Nineteen Totally Original Acoustic Guitarists   MIRIODOR Quebec's legendary avant-progressive/ chamber-rock/ RIO / avant rock ensemble Miriodor have released 9 studio and 1 live album on Cuneiform. In October they play a very special show in Quebec City.   October 12 - Théâtre des Prés 506 - rue Jean-Baptiste-Moreau - Saint-Germain-de-Kamouraska, Québec Canada October 25 - Palais Montcalm - Quebec City, Quebec, Canada [opening for the David Cross Band] October 27 - Club Soda - 1225, Blvd Saint-Laurent - Montreal, Quebec [opening for the David Cross Band]   Listen to & buy MIRIODOR'S albums on Cuneiform Records: Elements              Signal 9       Cobra Fakir     //  Avanti         Parade/Live at NEARfest // Mekano  .     Rencontres //  Jonglieres Elastiques       3rd Warning   //  Miriodor          THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND "Twenty-first century big-band music doesn’t get more exciting and impressive than this." – Jazz Times An astounding 18 piece jazz ensemble of five woodwind players, four trumpeters, three trombonists, two keyboardists, guitar, violin, bass and drums, led by arranger, composer & saxophonist Ed Palermo, one of America's most singular arrangers who draws on jazz, pop and rock tunes for his top-notch band. There are a number of ensembles performing the music of Frank Zappa, one of the greatest American composers of the 20th century, but no one does it with the ease, skill and originality that Ed and his band do! –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Don't miss seeing the ED PALERMO BIG BAND live!  THEIR SHOWS SELL OUT, so buy your tickets well in advance. ~~~~ August 24 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 September 30 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner 51st & Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 October 26 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 November 18 - Iridium - 1650 Broadway (corner of 51st and Broadway) - New York, NY 10019 December 21 - The Falcon - 1348 Rte 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542   Listen to & buy Ed Palermo Big Band albums on Cuneiform: The Adventures of Zoyd Zundgren // The Great Un-American Songbook Vols. 1&2  // One Child Left Behind // Oh No! Not Jazz!!  // Eddy Loves Frank. //  Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance                               RICHARD PINHAS One of France's major experimental musicians, guitarist/ electronic musician / writer Richard Pinhas is a key figure in the global development of electronic rock via his group Heldon and solo projects. In March 2024, he plays a number of special shows in England. __________________________ March 4 - Just Dropped In - Coventry, UK March 5 - Just Dropped In - Coventry, UK March 7 - Café Oto - London, UK March 8 - Café Oto - London, UK Listen to & buy releases by Richard Pinhas & friends on Cuneiform: Richard Pinhas: Process and Reality, Desolation Row, Metatron, Metal/Crystal, Tranzition, Event & Repetitions                      Richard Pinhas & Oren Ambarchi: Tikkun    Richard Pinhas & Merzbow:  Keio Line, Rhizome, Paris 2008            Richard Pinhas & Yoshida Tatsuya: Welcome in the Void    Schizotrope (Richard Pinhas & Maurice Dantec): The Life & Death of Marie Zorn   ANTHONY PIROG "[Palo Colorado Dream] covers a sprawling musical terrain–avant jazz, atmospheric soundscapes, earthy Americana, math-rock...with an arsenal of effects hardware and studio production techniques..." – JazzTimes "One of jazz’s most reliable conduits to a living, breathing audience is electric-guitar heroism, and Anthony Pirog, from Washington...seems poised to become a hero of the instrument." – The New York Times ________________________________ Anthony Pirog with Janel Leppin Janel & Anthony August 1 - Fort Reno - 4000 Chesapeake St. NW, Washington, DC August 31 / September 1 - ProgDay - Chapel Hill, NC   Pirog featured with  The Messthetics &  James Brandon Lewis: [featured with The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis] [ * without James Brandon Lewis] August 1 - Fort Reno - 4000 Chesapeake St. NW, Washington, DC * August 4 - Newport Jazz Festival - Newport, RI August 6 - Space Ballroom - Hamden, CT August 8 - Solar Myth - Philadelphia, PA August 24 - Saalfelden Jazz Festival - Saalfelden, Austria September 5 - Soda Bar - San Diego, CA September 6 - The Lodge Room - LA, CA September 7 - Pappy and Harrietts - Pioneertown, CA September 8 - The Ojai Deer Lodge - Ojai, CA September 9 - Felton Music Hall - Felton, CA September 10 - Rickshaw Stop - San Francisco, CA September 12 - Polaris Hall - Portland, OR September 13 - Capital Theater - Olympia, WA September 14 - Clock Out Lounge - Seattle, WA September 21-22 - Woodsist Fest - Accord, NY * October 24 - Lido - Berlin, Germany October 25 - Meetfactory - Prague, Czech Republic October 28 - Loppen - Copenhagen, Denmark October 29 - Debaser - Stockholm, Sweden October 30 - Goldie - Oslo, Norway October 31 - Nefertiti - Gothenburg, Sweden November 1 - Merjeriet - Lund, Sweden November 2 - G Livelab - Helsinki, Finland November 5 - Ab Club - Bruxelles, Belgium November 8 - Le Guess Who - Utrecht - The Netherlands November 9 - Rockit Fest - Groningen, The Netherlands November 10 - Sonic City - Kortrijk, Belgium   Listen to & buy: Anthony Pirog: Pocket Poem; Palo Colorado Dream .       Janel & Anthony,     New Moon in the Evil Age,     Where Is Home            in other groupings: Location Location Location: Damaged Goods Five Times Surprise: Five Times Surprise The Spellcasters, Music from the Anacostia Delta   Janel Leppin/ Ensemble Volcanic Ash To March Is to Love,  Ensemble Volcanic Ash            TOMEKA REID QUARTET 2022 MacArthur Award winning cellist Tomeka Reid's all-star Quartet  (Jason Roebke-bass,Tomas Fujiwara-drums, 2019 MacArthur Award recipient Mary Halvorson-guitar, Reid-cello) plays new material while also celebrating Old New, its second release and first on Cuneiform Records. Both accessible and adventurous, Old New became a critically acclaimed 2019 jazz favorite, prolifically reviewed and featured on Best of Year lists worldwide. On April 24, 2024, Reid and an ensemble performed a commissioned piece at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC. And two days later, on April 26th, the TomekaReid Quartet released a new album, 3+3, on Cuneiform.   The Wire - July 2024   August 25 - Saalfelden Jazz Festival - Saalfelden, Austria August 30 - Chicago Jazz Festival - Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park - Chicago, IL [4:00 pm] 2025 January 30 - February 10, 2025 EUROPEAN TOUR  January 31 - Philharmonie Luxembourg - Luxembourg February 1 -  Muziekpodium Paradox - Tilburg, The Netherlands February 4 - NOSPR - Chamber Hall - Katowice, Poland February 5 - tba - Oslo, Norway February 6  - tba  - Essen, Germany February 7 - Kulturzentrum  Gems -  Singen, Germany February 8 - Gemeindehalle Gschwend - Gschwend, Germany   Listen to & buy: 3+3,   Old New       SCHNELLERTOLLERMEIER ""The Best Music of 2015: A Banner Year for the Bold: …here are a dozen albums released in 2015 that I savored repeatedly for their musicality, clarity of statement and courage. …“X” by Schnellertollermeier marries brutality to avant-garde rock and jazz. A classic power trio from Switzerland, the band plays with punk fury and dazzling technical dexterity to create booming, bone-rattling music that stalks, confronts and astonishes." – The Wall Street Journal Brutal-jazz power trio Schnellertollermeier doesn't compromise. Their fresh and uncompromising mix of jazz, punk, rock, sound and free improvised music, combined with great musicianship, interplay and intense energy, has awed audiences at festivals of jazz, rock, pop and experimental music worldwide.  _____________________________ August 17 - Jazzwerkstatt Peitz - Teich-GUT-Peitz - Hüttenwerk 1 - Peitz, Germany August 24 - Ambialet - 149 rte de Villefranche - Ambialet, France September 27 - Kulturschiene Malters - Bahnhofstrasse 10 - Malters, Switzerland     Listen to & buy: 5  // Rights //  X         WADADA LEO SMITH Trumpeter, composer, and improviser Wadada Leo Smith is one of America's foremost creative musicians.  His epic tribute to the American Civil Rights movement, Ten Freedom Summers, was one of 3 finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in Music, and his albums have won Album of the Year awards in jazz polls worldwide.  “Smith uses his magisterial instrumental voice, his inspirational leadership and his command of classical, jazz and blues forms to remind us of what has gone down and what's still happening.” –Bill Meyer, DownBeat’s 80 Coolest Things in Jazz Today _____________________________ October 4 - A Tribute to Lester Bowie - New Spire Arts - 15 West Patrick Street - Frederick, Maryland     Listen to & buy: WADADA LEO SMITH America's National Parks // Ten Freedom Summers        Heart's Reflections  //  Spiritual Dimensions              Tabligh ________________________ HENRY KAISER & WADADA LEO SMITH: YO MILES! Upriver  // Sky Garden       THUMBSCREW All-star jazz supergroup Thumbscrew prepare to release Wingbeats, their 8th album on Cuneiform, with album launch shows at NY's Jazz Gallery, followed by a European tour.                  "Thumbscrew are one of the essential contemporary jazz groups"– Brian Morton, The Wire “Thumbscrew...are likeminded souls with decades of experience among them. Encapsulating a rare chemistry, their music offers a virtual masterclass of communal interplay.” – Point Of Departure _____________________________ October 9 - Jazz Gallery - NYC, NY [two shows] November 15 - tba - Lavin, Switzerland November 17 - Elbphilharmonie - Kleiner Saal - Hamburg, Germany November 20 - Kuturlabor Stromboli - Hall, Austria November 21 - tba - München, Germany November 23 - tba - Puerto Real, Spain November 24 - tba - Baden, Switzerland Listen to & buy: Multicolored Midnight  //         Never Is Enough // The Anthony Braxton Project       Theirs  //   Ours         Convallaria  //  Thumbscrew        UZ JSME DOMA When Uz Jsme Doma (pronounced "Oozh (rhymes with 'rouge') Smeh Dough-Ma) (in English, “Now I Get It”) were founded in Teplice, Czechoslovakia in 1985, rock was freedom and freedom was illegal. It wasn't until the fall of the Communist government that they were able to record and tour, which they then proceeded to do with a vengence. Their music combines the energy of punk rock while adding more complex structures taken from avant-garde and avant-progressive bands and even from folk music. They are living, fire-breathing, alternative rock legends: one of “the two great Bastions of the Czech alternative scene” said the Prague Post, who ranked them in importance beside the Plastic People of the Universe. "...fierce commitment to the freedom inherent in Western art-damaged music. Uz embody the absolute unpredictability in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention primarily, but also the multi-influence, anti-pop clatter of the Residents, Captain Beefheart, Pere Ubu, 1977 punk, and...prog. You won't know what they're singing about in Czech, but the limitless hyper-energy and collision of styles piling on each other with remarkable precision, always turns ears....It's glorious..."  – Jack Rabid  _____________________________ FALL 2024 USA TOUR   October 1 - AS220 - 115 Empire St - Providence, RI October 2 - Bug Jar - 219 Monroe Ave - Rochester, NY October 3 - Beachland Tavern - 15711 Waterloo Rd - Cleveland, OH October 4 - Radio Radio - 1119 East Prospect Ave - Indianapolis, IN October 5 - Cole's - 2338 No. Milwaukee - Chicago, IL October 6 - Off Broadway - 3509 Lemp - St Louis, MO October 7 - Record Bar - 1520 Grand Boulevard - Kansas City, MO October 8 - Moe's Original BBQ & Bowl - 3295 South Broadway - Englewood, CO October 9 - DLC @ Quarters - 5 East 400 South - Salt Lake City, UT October 10 - Neurolux - 111 North 11th Street -  Boise, ID October 11 - Substation - 645 NW 45th St - Seattle, WA October 12 - The Infinity Room - 210 Liberty St, SE, ste 150 - Salem OR October 13 - Mississippi Studios - 3939 No. Mississippi Ave - Portland, OR October 14 - Humbrews - 856 10th St - Arcata, CA October 16 - Starlet Room - 2708 'J' St - Sacramento, CA October 17 - Bottom Of The Hill - 1233 17th St - San Francisco, CA October 19 - The Lodge - 104 North Avenue 56 - Highland Park, CA October 21 - Club Congress - 311 East Congress - Tucson, TZ October 23 - The Lost Well - 2421 Webberville Rd - Austin, TX October 24 - 1810 Ojeman - 1810 Ojeman Rd - Houston, TX October 25 - Rubber Gloves - 411 East Sycamore - Denton, TX October 26 - Pocket Theatre - 170 Ravine St - Hot Springs, AR October 27 - Hi Tone - 282-284 North Cleveland St - Memphis, TN October 28 - 529 - 529 Flat Shoals Ave SE - Atlanta, GA October 29 - The Pilot Light - 106 East Jackson Ave - Knoxville, TN October 30 - Cat's Craddle - 300 East Main, ste A - Carrboro, NC October 31 - Ottobar - 2549 North Howard St - Baltimore, MD November 1 - Milkboy - 1100 Chestnut St - Philadelphia, PA November 2 - Zone One at Elsewhere - 599 Johnson Ave - Brooklyn, NY   Listen to & buy: Jesknye / Caves                 YANG Frédéric L’Épée’s compositions primarily have their genesis in Baroque music, minimalism, and of course progressive rock, with King Crimson’s Robert Fripp as his acknowledged influence. His quartet Yang, which features two guitars, electric bass, and drums, releases a new album, Rejoice!, on Cuneiform in July 2024, and plays in August in the USA at ProgDay, the legendary outdoor progressive rock festival in North Carolina.                                                                                Rejoice!                                                                         _____________________________ August 31 / September 1 - ProgDay - Chapel Hill, NC   Listen to & buy: Designed for Disaster               A Complex Nature  To set up press and radio interviews with Cuneiform Artists while on tour or at home, please contact: promo@cuneiformrecords.com return to top SPEND 2024 WITH MUSIC & VIDEOS ONLINE !   CUNEIFORM RECORDS has a treasure chest of interesting music to serve as soundtrack, inspiration and solace during these evolving and challenging times. Our mammoth catalogue of over 500 releases by artists from around the world includes many of avant music's most esteemed icons as well as young rising stars, and is available for purchase in digital and physical formats at the CUNEIFORM RECORDS BANDCAMP store, and in physical formats at one of our sister companies, WAYSIDE MUSIC as well as in RECORD SHOPS worldwide (see our DISTRIBUTORS).  Your purchases of our CDs, LPs, and digital downloads supports or indie musicians, indie labels, and small businesses.    • VISIT the official CUNEIFORM RECORDS WEBSITE  for extensive information on the artists and recordings on our label,  upcoming concerts & much more.   • WATCH VIDEOS on Cuneiform Records' YOUTUBE CHANNEL Cuneiform Records has an extremely active YouTube Channel which you should bookmark as a favorite:  free music videos, videos of live shows, & samples from 500+ adventurous releases!   And we began expanding our video content during the pandemic, most notably with an ongoing video series curated  and produced by guitarist Henry Kaiser.  • PURCHASE & LISTEN to releases on CUNEIFORM RECORDS BANDCAMP PAGE  Discover new music on our Bandcamp Page, and support artists & our indie label by purchasing music.   • PURCHASE music from100s of LABELS from around the world at  WAYSIDE MUSIC, our sister store.  At our internet store, WaysideMusic.com (established in 1980!), you can purchase hard-to-find CDs and LPs from ALL your favorite labels!  • ENJOY and SHARE SAMPLES of music by releases of countless Cuneiform artists on the Cuneiform Records' SoundCloud Site. • VISIT, LIKE & FOLLOW  Cuneiform Records' Official FACEBOOK PAGE.  • JOIN the Cuneiform Records FACEBOOK GROUP:  FANS Of Cuneiform Records.  • FOLLOW @CuneiformRecord on TWITTER (now X) • LICENSE music from Cuneiform for movies, ads etc via our sister site TheMusicOutpost.com. • SIGN UP for the CUNEIFORM RECORDS NEWSLETTER if you're not already one of our subscribers, and  get BOTH this monthly newsletter in your email box AND receive notices for Cuneiform's weekly "$5 Friday" offers – Cuneiform selects a special album from its archive each weekend,  to be sold in download format via Bandcamp, that weekend only,  for half price. • VISIT our TOURS PAGE for upcoming concerts WORLDWIDE by our artists.   • ACCESS PRIOR ISSUES of the CUNEIFORM RECORDS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER at cuneiformrecord.blogspot.com/     Cuneiform Records' Monthly Newsletter announces and gives in-depth info on ALL of the label's NEW RELEASES - both physical and digital formats - and also provides TOUR / CONCERT info from its artists.   return to top CUNEIFORM RECORDS SOCIAL ONLINE Cuneiform YouTube Cuneiform Website Facebook FanGroup Facebook Page Cuneiform Twitter Cuneiform SoundCloud Cuneiform Bandcamp Instagram Email Cuneiform return to top Cuneiform Records' Monthly Newsletter is compiled by Joyce (Joy) [Nalewajk] Feigenbaum, DIRECTOR OF THE MUSIC OUTPOST – PUBLICITY FACEBOOK PAGE: MusicOutpostPublicityAndLicensing TWITTER: @TheMusicOutpost return to top WELCOME 2024! IT'S CUNEIFORM RECORDS' 40th ANNIVERSARY   Since its birth in 1984 in the Washington D.C. DMV, Cuneiform Records' mission has been to spotlight cutting-edge, boundary-defying New Music from around the world: music ignored by major labels and the mainstream music industry. To our founder Steve Feigenbaum, this music was too interesting, too important to ignore. Dynamic and progressive, it held the keys to music's future. Musicians globally were crossing geographic and musical borders, destroying genre borders between rock and classical, electronic and jazz; reexamining and imploding musical traditions and creating new hybrid genres and forms. Steve wanted to open music lovers' eyes and ears to music they'd otherwise have missed, and to give avant garde musicians opportunity for their recordings to be released, distributed and promoted around the world. With offices on DC's border in Silver Spring, Cuneiform Records became an international platform for musicians progressing beyond staid tradition, the visionary musicians paving music's future course.   Steve Feigenbaum   Cuneiform Records released albums by both up and coming stars (Schnellertollermeier, Tomeka Reid Quartet) as well as established icons of the avant garde (Wadada Leo Smith, Soft Machine, Richard Pinhas/Heldon & more). Over 4 decades, we've released and promoted over 540 albums in a variety of formats and galaxy of genres by artists from around the world. Our releases have placed in countless Best of Year lists in multiple musical genres (jazz, rock, electronic, 'beyond') worldwide and, in 2017, one won the DownBeat Jazz Album of the Year Award for Smith's America's National Parks. Cuneiform & Wayside Music staff in 2017 with DownBeat Album of the Year Award A lifetime releasing non-commercial music has not been easy – the road less travelled is inherently bumpy and hazard strewn. In 2018, the evolving digital landscape required us to rigorously streamline operations.  But Cuneiform Records survived that transition, as have our smiles: we've always released music that we believed in, and we look forward to releasing a world of music to come. We gave edgy, creative music the spotlight. And hopefully, once you saw what treasures lay on the tip of every wave, the cutting edge of each musical genre, you now believe in this music, too. Many of the radical musical innovations forged by artists we spotlit generations ago have since been absorbed by the mainstream. We know that more jaw dropping innovations lay ahead, and look forward to bringing them to you.  We thank each and every one of you for the support, love and encouragement you've given us for nearly a half-century. Onward! – Cuneiform Records   return to top Copyright © 2024 Cuneiform Records, All rights reserved.   Washington, DC // Silver Spring, MD Our mailing address is: Cuneiform Records P.O. Box 8427 Silver Spring, MD 20907 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Was this email forwarded to you from a friend? Subscribe to the Cuneiform Records Newsletter. Read this email online   return to top