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An Orchestra in My Left Hand, A Soloist in My Right

March 28, 2011 By 4 Comments
accord

A violinist in a former life, I have spent some quality time with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. However, I have just been schooled by Alexander Hrustevich, a Ukrainian-born accordion player. Do not be fooled! If you look closely, I'm pretty sure the kid has eight fingers on his right hand and/or is obscuring a small army of sweating musicians just out of the frame. But seriously, let us marvel at the wunderkind as he manages to cover the solo line and the entire orchestral accompaniment with … [Read more...]

03/28/11 6:38 PM | filed under: Uncategorized |

Building a Symphony Out of YouTube

March 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
kuti_sm

Ladies and Gentlemen, the man who made Maroon 5 and Craftsman tools sound interesting: Kutiman is back with a new one, proving there's more than one way to compose a YouTube Symphony. [via waxy] … [Read more...]

03/22/11 12:20 PM | filed under: Uncategorized |

Let’s Get Political, Artistically

March 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
wong_sm

When the racist, ill-informed shouting gets a bit loud on the internet, I tend to run away. But for those who are more creative and less confrontation-averse than I, there's another option: pick up a guitar and try to change the world by laying down some slightly biting, sarcastic lyrical content. Alexandra Wallace has reportedly since left UCLA. Meanwhile, Jimmy is riding this wave to Internet celebrity. This is art designed for social networking: talent and idea and (often) news peg … [Read more...]

03/21/11 12:42 PM | filed under: Uncategorized |

Preach It

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
preach

I jumped into a cab to get back to my house this sunny Sunday morning, and inadvertently got taken to church. The driver had the windows down and the radio cranked, enjoying some particularly high-energy preaching. Due to the decibel level, I quickly found myself lost in the vibrations and then, as she really got rolling, totally hooked on the fabulous kick she gave to the end of each phrase. More on Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is here. … [Read more...]

03/20/11 1:47 PM | filed under: Uncategorized |

Singing With Your Mouth Full (Of Candy)

March 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
ken_z

In an interview with the composer Ken Ueno a few years ago, we got to chatting about his awesome work Zansetsu, which involves extended vocals, amplification, and Pop Rocks. I recall asking him what would happen to the work should the world's supply of the essential candy run out, and if my memory has filed his answer away correctly, he suggested that he would supply a recipe and that the performer could make his own as part of the work's performance practice. For those who would like to get … [Read more...]

03/14/11 1:56 PM | filed under: Uncategorized |

Who Turned On All These Lights?

March 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
jr_feature

It just got a little brighter around here, didn't it? Just a month shy of Mind the Gap's 3-year anniversary, the refresh is a welcome reminder of how far we've come here at the intersection of the performing arts, pop culture, and technology, and the interesting new things that continue to pop up every day. Personally, I'm pretty sure my non-computer-owning self circa 1995 would find it impossibly bizarre to see my current life in which I am rarely separated from my laptop, my iPhone, my Kindle … [Read more...]

03/4/11 10:04 AM | filed under: Uncategorized |

The Sound That Fills the World

March 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
jla

For the past couple of weeks, I've been focused on the music of John Luther Adams as I prepared for and edited together an interview presentation covering his work. Following Adams around New York City, chatting about all manner of musical topics, and observing a rehearsal for and the New York premiere of his massive percussion work, Inuksuit, offered some immensely compelling insights into his music, and the resulting profile, published this morning on NewMusicBox, hopefully captures that … [Read more...]

03/1/11 8:19 PM | filed under: Uncategorized |

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