Switched On: Green-House: A Host for All Kinds of Life (Leaving Records)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Green-House is a project begun by Olive Ardizoni but now a duo featuring her long-time collaborator and confidant, Michael Flanagan.

Their music is indelibly associated with the natural environment, and especially its disappearance – asking how we can address the hollow feelings we have at its destruction, and pass those on to future generations. The Six Songs for Invisible Gardens EP addressed this in part at the start of the pandemic in 2020, a cassette release that included wild flower seeds for the listener.

The series of releases continued with Music For Living Spaces in 2021, the first full length Green-House LP, but now it has a sequel in the form of A Host For All Kinds Of Life. This is on a bigger scale to the previous album, functioning as a suite of discreet instrumental songs that have at their heart a powerful message, continuing to express joy at the environment even in the wake of its continued destruction.

What’s the music like?

Green-House make music that works on two levels – the listener can take in the context above and hear it in a deep and meaningful sense, or they can retreat a little to observe as ambient music. Either way it works, for these instrumentals are rich in creativity and colour, presenting positive moods with verdant textures.

There is an Eastern feel to Coquina, with its persuasive flute line, that suggests we are in a garden full  of bright flowers – and this is a vision that continues through the album. Lichen Maps, as its title suggests, is a little more mysterious, while Desire Path wends its way through flowing lines.

The musical statements become more thoughtful for Castle Song, but then a good deal more playful for Far More Other. Most meaningful of all is the enchanting title track, which twinkles at the treble end while a gently rocking statement on keyboard plays out beneath.

Many Years Later – looking a generation beyond, perhaps – has a sepia tint, its pitch wavering as it looks to sum up what has gone before.

Does it all work?

It does – though be careful you listen on the right audio equipment, for Green-House make treble rich music. This responds well on headphones especially.

Is it recommended?

It is. Ambient music is often the most thought provoking – and that is certainly the case here. Green-House make conscious music that delivers its message with subtle power.

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Online Concert: Wayne Marshall @ Wigmore Hall

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Wayne Marshall (piano)

Wigmore Hall, Monday 9 October 2023 1pm

by Ben Hogwood

And now for something completely different…presenting Wayne Marshall on the piano at the Wigmore Hall, delivering the latest BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert without a script.

Marshall is renowned for his abilities as an improviser, but even he had not tried this approach before, whereby the whole hour’s music took place at the suggestion of the audience – both in the venue, via submissions placed in a box beforehand, and over X / Twitter, where listeners made their own suggestions.

The results are actually remarkable, a testament to the power of music in the moment. Try watching the concert online without knowing what will come up – but if you want a guide for repeat listening, timings can be found at the bottom.

5:51 – Erroll Garner Misty
11:48 – John Williams Hedwig’s Theme (Harry Potter)
18:34 – Gershwin I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin (Porgy & Bess)
25:06 – J.S. Bach Toccata and Fugue
34:33 – Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – as though played by Art Tatum
40:30 – Stevie Wonder You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
44:25 – Cole Porter Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love)
50:03 – Copland Fanfare for the Common Man
56:00 – Stravinsky The Rite of Spring

For more livestreamed concerts from the Wigmore Hall, click here

Award winner – Nielsen Symphonies conducted by Fabio Luisi

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Yesterday we marvelled in the wonder of John Cage’s writing for choir, as highlighted in the Gramophone Awards on Wednesday. At the ceremony the magazine also named its Recording Of The Year, choosing Nielsen’s Symphony no.4 (the Inextinguishable) and no.5, as played by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi.

The choice is further evidence that Nielsen’s symphony cycle is acknowledged as one of the finest of the 20th century, having perhaps taken longer to reach its standing than other more immediate successes. You can listen to the recording below – while reading Richard Whitehouse’s verdict on all six symphonies, recorded by the same forces and reviewed on these pages.

Award winner – John Cage Choral Works with the Latvian Radio Choir

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The annual Gramophone Awards, a celebration of the classical music recording industry, took place on Wednesday, giving critics and listeners alike a chance to recognise the creative excellence of the last year.

The Choral award went to an unlikely winner – this frankly amazing program of John Cage choral works, recorded under lockdown by the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Klava for the consistently excellent Ondine label from Finland. If you have thought of Cage as an unapproachable musical figure then this extract – among many other pieces – should persuade you to think again:

Switched On: Xingu Hill: Grigri Pavilion (Subexotic Records)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Xingu Hill is a pseudonym from the extremely prolific John Sellekaers, the Canadian-born musician and producer who lives in Brussels.

With Grigri Pavilion his aim was to ‘build a dreamscape, albeit a slightly uncomfortable one’. He recorded the album during the heat-soaked French summer of 2022, before a detailed rework and completion in his Brussels studio.

What’s the music like?

There is indeed an undercurrent of unease to the music here, in spite of its overall ambience. This is in part a reflection on the feverish climate in which it was recorded, with an edgy feel to a number of the mid or lower-range riffs Sellekaers uses. Indeed, when the music is stripped back to its drum track and the motif sits lower in the pitch range, there is the sense of danger around the corner.

Tracks like Eye Contact are a little easier, where the sustained harmonies bring extra depth to the music. Conjectures does the same, but its riff is an insistent, dominating one. While some of Sellekaer’s music brings solace, the likes of Nightcraft explore the shadows, finding industrial processes left on or slightly malfunctioning.

The rhythm tracks hold the key to Girgri Pavilion. Byways & Tunnels is particularly good, channelling mid-90s exploration and a little Cabaret Voltaire through dubby confines. Electrographic Dreams has a similar, low-slung profile but more kinetic energy.

Does it all work?

It does, and is held together well to make a cohesive half-hour suite of electronic portraits and vistas.

Is it recommended?

Yes. Like all Sellekaers’ work, there is plenty of interest here – and his various pseudonyms show an ability to move between a number of different electronic music styles with instinctive ease.

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