Category Archives: On record

On Record – Daniel Rossen: You Belong There (Warp Records)

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daniel-rossen

written by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

To say You Belong There is an eagerly awaited album would be an understatement. Daniel Rossen, a key member of both Grizzly Bear and Department Of Eagles, made a strong impression with his Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP in 2012, and finally follows up that release with a fully-fledged long player for Warp.

What’s the music like?

Compelling. Perhaps inevitably Rossen brings elements of the two bands’ music to his writing, but there is plenty of room for exploration of his own. The songs on You Belong There live and breathe a heady air, with twists and turns in the music and narrative that keep the listener hooked.

‘The truth is always brighter than you say’, runs the repeated hook through Shadow In The Frame, a song where Rossen’s storytelling has the vivid references of a band like Fleet Foxes or Midlake. With carefully studied guitar work and sumptuous orchestration – never overdone – the song is a beauty, its coda especially moving.

On the title track percussion flits back and forth, the music panning out as the harmonies intensify, while Celia is a remarkable song, with a multi-layered choir of Rossens confessing that “I’m still staggering as you once did”. I’ll Wait For Your Visit goes further still, the singer in a lower range with long phrases above excitable piano and guitar.

Sometimes Rossen appears to be in the same room. Unpeopled Space begins with intimate phrases picked on the guitar before striding forward with a strong sense of purpose. Tangle, meanwhile, is out in the white water, a torrent of piano notes flowing around his vessel. The music is virtuosic but wholly relatable, especially at the song’s apex. However the best song – arguably – is Keeper And Kin, another gripping story told over descriptive guitars and percussion. After this, the final two songs form an effective coda.

Does it all work?

Yes. The blend of carefully studied guitar work and instinctive melodies is a strong one, each song a windswept beauty – and the virtuosity of Rossen should be commended, for over lockdown he learned a number of new instruments to add even more colours to his music. The songs blossom in his hands.

Is it recommended?

Without question. Fans of Grizzly Bear will find a great deal to enjoy here, as Rossen gives us the debut his initial promise suggested he would achieve.

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To hear clips from You Belong There, and for purchase options, visit the Warp Records website

Let’s Dance – Various Artists: DJ Kicks: Cinthie (!K7)

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cinthie

written by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Berlin DJ Cinthie steps up to take the baton for the latest in !K7’s ever-successful DJ Kicks series. She has been busy of late as a producer, releasing her debut album Citylights, under the Skylines alias, on Will Saul’s Aus label in 2020. Since then she has been producing a wealth of excellent house music singles on her own labels.

Her aim with this generous 24-track selection was to bring together a sequence including her old heroes but also new house music sounds. In her words, the music ranges from ‘deep to Detroit, from banging to smooth, from jazzy to stomping, from Disco to Chicago, from dubby to big room’.

That means big names from Chicago, New York and Detroit – including Paul Johnson, Boo Williams, Amir Alexander and Spencer Parker – and new ones too, such as Amy Dabbs, Logic1000, Lis Sarocca, Anna Wall and Cinthie herself.

What’s the music like?

Hugely enjoyable. From the moment Terence Parker’s I Love The Way You Hold Me bursts out of the blocks, the mood is set for over an hour of good, uptempo grooves, and Cinthie gets a brilliant mix together to ensure the momentum is never broken.

Highlights include the bouncy, vibrant start from Parker which gets a complement from the suitably uplifting Oldtown Dub from Niles Cooper and Shinichiro Yokota’s Time Lapse. The home-style piano and springy beats of Sandilé‘s Jammin and Slammin work well, while  Amir Alexander‘s Blessed Are The Meek is really good, transitioning beautifully into UC Beatz‘ Crash Nerd. Later on the heavier, rolling beats of Adryiano’s Non___Stop lead into a brilliant choice, Paul Johnson’s Y All Stole Them Dances. The music is motoring now, the beats broken up more for selections such as the funky Logic1000 selection I Won’t Forget, the momentum carrying through a fine finishing pay-off of Amy Dabbs, Chevals and Anna Wall.

Does it all work?

Yes, so much so that you’ll be more than happy to go round again. The ratio between old and new feels just right, and Cinthie’s enjoyment throughout is clear as day.

Is it recommended?

With gusto! A feelgood selection celebrating house music’s power to inspire, and acknowledging along the way the part disco has played in its evolution. Absolutely top stuff.

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Harrison Birtwistle – some thoughts

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by Ben Hogwood

I can well remember my first encounter with the music of Sir Harrison Birtwistle, as it left me with a headache. It was part of Sir Simon Rattle’s groundbreaking Towards The Millennium series with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, back in the 1990s at the Royal Festival Hall.

After a first half of Gubaidulina’s Offertorium had moved me to tears, I was not quite prepared for the sheer force of Sir Harrison’s Earth Dances. The work hit me square in the face, and not in a good way – I found it industrial to the point of confrontation, and could not see a way in to liking his music in spite of many admirable qualities.

More fool me. As time has gone on I have realised how it is possible to respect a composer’s music without necessarily liking it. I could sense the craftsmanship running through Birtwistle’s work, the expert hand in knowing the forces he was writing for, the drama unravelling in each of his pieces. More and more, I realised respect was turning into admiration and – in some cases – appreciation.

An encounter with Silbury Air at the Proms was a memorably mysterious occasion, falling under the spell of some beautifully written music – as English as Vaughan Williams, it seemed to me, and wholly descriptive of the countryside in a very different way to what we usually call ‘pastoral’. Verses, too, I found to be intensely dramatic, full of interesting event and persuasive musical phrase.

I also warmed to the Moth Requiem, premiered at Cadogan Hall in the same year, a touching piece with remarkably pictorial textures. To me it implied a slight mellowing of older age.

At this point I sense I have not yet spent enough time or effort with the music of Birtwistle to fully appreciate it, but it is clear that this is not music that gives up its treasures easily. Its respect has to be earned. I am full of admiration for Birtwistle, and can see how he has come to be revered in the way he has. I look forward to the penny dropping in the future.

Nicholas Angelich – An appreciation

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by Ben Hogwood

Earlier this week the very sad death of Nicholas Angelich was announced, at the age of just 51. Thankfully the highly-regarded pianist made a good deal of recordings for Virgin Classics and later Warner, many of which included the music of Beethoven and Brahms, at whom he excelled.

This playlist includes the late set of Fantasias published by Brahms as Op.116, then a sparkling clip from Prokofiev’s arrangement of music from his ballet Romeo and Juliet. I was lucky to see Angelich perform Brahms’s Piano Quartet no.1 in G minor at the Wigmore Hall with violinist Renaud Capuçon, viola player Antoine Tamestit and cellist Gautier Capuçon, around the time of their excellent recording for Virgin Classics. You can hear that as part of the playlist, which ends with Angelich in Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, a lean account with the Insula Orchestra and Laurence Equilbey:

Radu Lupu – An appreciation

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by Ben Hogwood

Yesterday was a particularly sad day in the world of classical music, and over the next few days Arcana will be paying tribute to three musical figures.

Sadly the death of Romanian pianist Radu Lupu (above) was announced, at the age of 76. A full tribute can be found on the Gramophone magazine website, where Lupu’s standing as an artist of great repute and dignity can be fully appreciated.

I did not see him perform live, sadly, but have looked back over Lupu’s relatively small and perfectly formed discography to choose a few personal favourites. I have chosen purely solo piano music, as this is where I have encountered his wonderful storytelling most often – and include music by Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. Here the extent of his storytelling ability can be witnessed – not to mention his instinctive musical phrasing.