12 Days of Christmas - Day Six

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Six Geese a Laying, Five Golden Rings, Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves and a staff pick!

Please be aware that only torrents that are marked "Freeleech!" are "free" to download, any additions that may be uploaded after this post will not necessarily be made freeleech in time. We hope you enjoy today's pick.

EZLN's Staff Pick / Steve Reich - Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint.


EZLN wrote:

Steve Reich began shaping his musical vocabulary and language in 1966, with the tape loop phasing experiment known as Come Out. In that moment, Reich cemented the shape of a lot of his future output. Later, in 1976, he further refined his musical vocabulary, with the much lauded Music for 18 Musicians. I am of the opinion that in the year 1989, Reich managed to find himself at another point in his career where he further established himself as singular with his peers, and a composing talent beyond words. That year's Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint album, was that point. It is a collection of two pieces written by the composer.
Different Trains is about Reich's own perceived parallel between himself, a Jewish man, and victims of the holocaust, as during his early childhood, he would ride trains from his mother's house to his father's house (as they were divorced). Jewish children in the same time would be riding different trains, hence the name, and they'd end up as smoke. Using this as a catalyst, he composed music around recorded snippets of people from his youth, and holocaust survivors, making music out of their recorded speech. The music is wild, energetic, touching, and most of all inspiring. I highly recommend this release to all fans of contemporary classical music.
Electric Counterpoint is another story. This composition is the last entry in his Counterpoint series - a collection of compositions which further explored the realm of acoustic phasing. Here's the kicker - it's for 12 guitars, or guitar and tape. What is heard here is an overdubbing of a single guitar player. This piece is as funky as it is cerebral, and I think of it as a great counterpoint (hah!) to the first piece. It is apolitical, and, simply put, pure music.
I highly recommend other pieces from this composer. He is simply one of the best alive today.

Steve Reich - Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint [1989] [Album] (torrents.php?id=55985)