Ellen Fullman: Change of Direction (New Albion NA102)

Change of Direction grew out of a collaboration between composer Ellen Fullman, creator of the Long String Instrument, and Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening Band (including Stuart Dempster). The Long String Instrument has about 100 strings, suspended at waist height for 90 feet and attached to a soundboard, much in the same way a harp is constructed. It is played by three people who bow the strings with rosin-coated fingertips, while walking. Fullman began working with the Long String Instrument in 1981, and it has evolved in the past two decades into an astounding expression of artisic individuality. This is an example of new music in the tradition of Cowell, Cage, Harrison, et. al. at its most singular and honest perspective.

"Paradoxically, her music is both intense and serene. The attractively eerie, acoustically unstable droning suggests urgency, while the slow formal development of the piece invites an intuitive, suspended-intellect sort of hearing." - Los Angeles Times

Hochenkeit: I Love You (Roadcone RoCo 022)

May 4 sees the release of I Love You, the new CD by Hochenkeit, a Portland quartet that creates "a unique acoustic/electric/electronic hybrid. Mysterious percussive drones, moving Near East folk melodies, Krautrock-inflected noise collages, and electronic daze alternately float and creep. Theremin, harmonium, cumbus (a Turkish banjo-mandolin), and analog electronics are fully integrated with the guitar and percussion; this deep-water / deep-space exploration is one fertile love note."

Andrew Chalk / Ralf Wehowsky / Eric Lanzillotta: Yang Tul LP (Anomalous Records)

"Side One of this international sound collaboration features Andrew Chalk gently reworking the sound materials of Ralf Wehowsky into a hypnotic drone with waves of mysterious sound. For side two, Ralf composed a frenzied journey into otherworldly realms using sound material from Andrew and Eric Lanzillotta. Subtle, but full of detail for the listener willing to pay attention."

"Ralf Wehowsky of Germany has been pioneering different forms of collaborative projects and sound-ecology (like recycling of musical material) since the early eighties. Ralf's work is primarily released through Selektion, under his initials RLW. Andrew Chalk is English and was member of Ferial Confine, Organum, and Ora. Eric Lanzillotta is the founder of Anomalous Records; he has contributed to recordings by Hands To and performed in collaboration with bernhard gŸnter. Last May, he performed solo at the Beyond Music Sound Festival in Los Angeles alongside Richard Lerman, Achim Wollscheid, Small Cruel Party, White Winged Moth and others."