James Turrell: Light Rein Skyspace (2003); Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle
April 6, 2026
Before I post my listenings for the first quarter of this year, I want to first catch up on a few things from last year that I missed until after the year ended. These are not grouped by genre, just listed alphabetically. It’s an interesting hodgepodge of stuff that I believe is all worth hearing.
Annahstasia - Tether (CD/LP/Digital; drink sum wtr)
I don’t often get excited about recent singer-songwriter albums, but I’ve been totally smitten by this one. My god, that voice! Maybe somewhere on the spectrum between Nina Simone and Joan Armatrading? I’ve turned quite a few friends on to this and, like me, most have ended up buying it.
Ludwig Berger & Vadret da Morteratsch (Switzerland) - Crying Glacier (LP/Digital; Forms of Minutiae)
There seem to be quite a few field recording albums of glaciers lately. Something about trying to document them before they are all gone? As portraits of a tragedy in progress go, this one is quite beautiful and detailed.
chant 1450 Renaissance Ensemble & Sylvain Chauveau - Le Beau du Monde / A Modern View on Early Music (CD/Digital; Sub Rosa)
A lot of people who know me might be surprised to know that I love, love, love Early Music (European music from the Medieval through the Baroque eras). I’m especially interested when artists approach that material with a sense of adventurousness rather than treat it as a precious museum relic. No doubt there are some traditionalists gonna get their panties in a bunch about the electronic manipulations here, but I dig it.
Dedalus Ensemble/Philip Glass (Belgium) - Music with Changing Parts (CD/2xLP/Digital; Sub Rosa)
Does the world really need another recording of an early Glass piece? Maybe not, but it’s kind of great to hear someone other than his own ensemble reviving his early hardcore minimalist work. And they do a good job of it. So yeah, it’s worth a listen.
Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe (UK) - Lateral / Luminal / Liminal (CD/LP/Digital; Opal/Verve)
I haven’t yet heard these three albums all the way through, but I’ve heard enough to know I want to wade into them. I confess I’ve been unfamiliar with vocalist/guitarist Beatie Wolfe before now, but she’s been around. Each of these albums seems quite different in tone; Luminal is more song-like; Lateral is classic ambient instrumental; Liminal seems to be a combo of the two. All of it sounds quite gorgeous at first listen.
Geese - Getting Killed (CD/LP/Digital; Partisan/Play It Again Sam)
I rarely listen to loud rock music these days, but this is pretty great. And the female guitarist is terrific. I suspect they may become huge, in a Pixies/indie cred kinda way. In five years I may find this hasn’t aged so well, but for now it hits the spot for my inner punk rock kid.
Linda May Han Oh (Malaysia/Australia/US) - Strange Heavens (Digital; Biophilia)
This woman is one badass stand-up bass player. She’s joined by ace drummer Tyshawn Sorey and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire for this power trio. Not exactly free jazz, but has that same kind of intense energy and momentum.
Hekla (Iceland) - Turnar (LP/Digital; Phantom Limb)
Dreamy/droney/spooky music for theremin, cello, voice, and church organ that sounds like it was recorded in some massive cave system. I’ll have to be in the right mood for this, but when I am it will be just the thing.
Cheryl E. Leonard - Near the Bear (CD/Digital; Forms of Minutiae)
Another glacier-related release, quite different than the one mentioned above but on the same label (apparently part of a series). This one feels more interactive, mixing performance with instruments and found objects in with the field recordings. Really lovely.
Michaël|le Grébil Liberg/Guillaume de Machaut (France) - L'Ymage (2xLP/Digital; Sub Rosa)
And another adventurous take on Early Music, again on the same label as the one mentioned above. This one takes liberties with the music of Machaut, which I adore. “Ars nova meets dark folk, aural cinema, contemporary music, drone and much more...”
Jolanda Moletta (Italy) & Karen Vogt (Australia/France)- Sea Swallowed Wands (CD/Digital; Quiet Details)
“Vocal explorations and improvisations made while heavily under the influence of the sea and the moon.” Pairs well with the two Early Music-related titles previously mentioned; also perhaps with the Hekla album, though this is a bit more comforting/less ominous sounding than that.
Narthex (Belgium) - Superstitions (LP/Digital; Sub Rosa)
And speaking of ominous… This is led by Daniel Denis of the great Belgian prog bands Art Zoyd and Univers Zero. The latter band specialized in a kind of dark, proto-goth chamber music that could hold its own with a lot of contemporary classical music. This was recorded live in various old churches, direct to stereo, using only two mics and all acoustic instruments. It’s less spooky than Univers Zero, but still pretty intense. Also, my friend Anna Homler turns up here on vocals.
Victoria Pham (Australia/France) - Cosmosis (LP/Digital; not on label)
Field recordings and abstract electronica from this “Paris-based Australian/Vietnamese artist, composer, writer, & evolutionary biologist. A self-described sound painter & fantasy gardener. Pham’s musical & artistic practice cannot be separated from her scientific endeavours, which both inform & structure her creative process. A partnership with nature is fundamental to not only her scientific studies but also to her sound-based & visual work.”
John Roach - When We Bow Down Our Heads (Digital; Sirr-ecords)
So many good field recording albums last year! This one “celebrates the resonance of wind and its promiscuous and borderless nature. Its three movements combine 10 years of spatialized field recordings, live intervention of performers Wolf Robert Stratmann (double bass) and Inbal Hever (voice), and fragments of interviews that provide contextual turbulence.”
Various (China) - Miao Mouthorgans & Other Rare Instruments in Guizhou, Sichuan, China (LP/Digital; Sub Rosa)
The title pretty much says it all. How could I possibly resist?