Category: classical
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franz schubert – winterreise (1828)
Six months after his only commercially successful concert, Schubert died of an illness that history has since crosshatched as syphilis and/or typhoid fever. Despite the elemental desolation of Winterreise, it is ecstatic in movement—dropping low and leaping in a daze to touch the sun. The strict, often slow, tempo jousts with liquidus emotions that would […]
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glenn branca – the ascension (1981)
“The only reason why I ever even bother to pay the slightest attention to this fucking world is because I love music.” – G.B Few records will ever ask as many questions about rock or life as Glenn Branca’s The Ascension. In Branco’s 1981, the art world had fossilised and underground ideas were at risk […]
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alio die – aura seminalis (2008)
I’m able to remember back to simpler, more innocent times, when the tithing was strong, the jerkins were well-fitted, and an Ox only cost a small drawstring bag of silver coins. Alio Die remembers this bygone era well, and he made a beautiful album about it. Aura Seminalis is a compositional translation of Renaissance life—dramatic, […]
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mabe fratti – se ve desde aquí
It’s hard to escape the imperious darkness of this album. The opener could soundtrack dead souls squeezing past each other to order some mead in a purgatorial nightclub. Mabe Fratti, through carefully layered textures, creates an atmosphere of medieval tension that is constantly in touch with both chaos and reflection. The Guatemala-born, Mexico City-based cellist […]
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sarah davachi – two sisters
Two Sisters doesn’t march to the beat of a procession—Davachi conjures her own, singular atmosphere. Her nameless solemnity, drawn from centuries-old influences, gives rise to a kind of occult fear. The record manages to outlive fashion by incorporating such rich, untouched histories and arranging them below a spacious drone. The organs, for which the composer […]
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