Makaya McCraven with his band in sensational first concert in Athens.
Scenius Series are grateful!
Post-rock legends Tortoise have returned with their first new song in nearly a decade. The self-produced “Oganesson” is out now, via International Anthem and Nonesuch, and it’s just a sampling of a “larger body of work” to be released, per press materials. Listen to the new track below.
Tortoise is widely considered one of the most influential music groups of the last 40 years, with a wide-reaching impact on the contemporary music scene.
“Oganesson” was recorded by Tortoise drummer John McEntire at 64 Sound in Los Angeles, Flora Recording and Playback Studios (both in Portland, Oregon), and the late Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in the group’s home city of Chicago. McEntire also mixed the tracked, and Dave Cooley did the mastering.
( Photo by Todd Weaver )
INSPIRATION
The Necks Experiment with Long-Form Minimalism
Disquiet is a genuinely absorbing series of luxuriously paced improvisations from the Necks, who have been doing this kind of thing for decades.
Fred Frith’s Improvised Structures
English guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser, one of the most long-lived and vital characters in a field of action that ranges from pure improvisation to rock, from composition to daring New York and Japanese creative forms.
Erdfisch = Soil Fish
On their self-titled epic, the duo, whose name neologizes the German words for “soil” and “fish”, gifts us with avant and convincingly blended 9 tracks that promise to attract music fans from Post-Kraut and Contemporary Jazz to Experimental Electronic and Sound Art alike.
MATMOS: Metallic Life Review
A “life review” is a phrase used to describe the psychological phenomena reported by people who have survived near death experiences: the sense captured in the phrase “my life flashed before my eyes.”
Ches Smith’s Clone Row
Clone Row is the long-form improvising ensemble led by drummer and composer Ches Smith, featuring Mary Halvorson and an exceptional quartet of New York-based improvisers.
Scientists of Groove, Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin
The series „Scientists of Groove“ offers a transformative cinematic experience, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the spellbinding world of one of contemporary music’s most visionary talents, Nik Bärtsch.
Makaya McCraven’s four-EP project review by Quietus
The drummer-producer’s four-EP project blends live performance and post-production tricknology into a new kind of superstrong musical compound
Tortoise on the changing face of Chicago, Steve Albini and their new-gen fans
Informed by everything from jungle to Krautrock and musique concrète, Tortoise broke new ground 30 years ago. Returning after nine years away, ‘it’s a different world’, they say.
