Review: Mustapha Skandrani is a luminary of Algerian music who crafted a unique fusion of Arabo-Andalusian and European styles. His 1965 solo piano album Istikhbars and Improvisations was recorded in Paris and reimagines traditional Algerian istikhbars, which are vocal pieces rooted in Islamic Arabo-Andalusian culture, on a quintessentially European piano. While some purists criticised this approach, Skandrani highlighted the shared European elements within Arabo-Andalusian traditions and demonstrated the Mediterranean as a bridge, not a divide. Alternating between modal istikhbars and piano improvisations, his precise touch evokes comparisons to Bach's Goldberg Variations while retaining strong Arabic/Maghreb influences.
Forget How To Remember My Dreams (feat Lia Kohl) (5:54)
Tsukiji (8:02)
Murmuration/Memorization (1:30)
Spring Becomes You, Spring Becomes New (5:16)
Stairwell (Before & After) (5:02)
What Fills You Up Won't Leave An Empty Cup (1:38)
In Between (3:38)
Disintegration (6:20)
Review: Macie Stewart's debut on International Anthem finds the multi-instrumentalist and composer, in her own words, writing a "love letter to the moments we spend in-between," all while returning to her first instrument, the piano. Through prepared piano, field recordings and string quartets, she creates a cinematic, transient world that reflects her musical journey. Featuring collaborations with artists like Lia Kohl and Whitney Johnson, the album weaves a sound collage of memory and movement that is inspired by her travels. When the Distance is Blue muses on themes of change, longing and the beauty found in the unknown.
Review: International Anthem continues to serve up inspired debuts from some of the more intriguing members of Chicago's jazz and experimental music communities. The latest comes from multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser Macie Stewart, who has delivered what's being dubbed "a companion piece for moving through life". At the heart of the album is Stewart's use of both piano and 'prepared piano' (a technique where various items such as coins and pieces of felt are attached to the instrument's strings). These picturesque and occasionally melancholic musical motifs come wrapped in atmospheric field recordings and sensitive string quartet arrangements. The results are rarely less than memorable, mesmerising and magnificent.
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