Rings is the latest cd from my new trio Black Phebe, with me on cello, pianist and accordionist Shoko Nagai and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi. Rings comes at you from different angles: There are times when the band plays with exhuberance and other times the trio works to create an atmosphere of loneliness and insecurity. The unifying theme of the project are the cycles each piece follows. Each piece has repetition built in. These cycles or rings are the building blocks of the project, sometimes long and sometimes short as a few seconds.
Black Phebe is really many trios. Shoko Nagai’s charismatic performance on accordion and piano changes the feel of the group. When she plays accordion the band is a world-music band playing virtuoso, mixed meter works (“Risky Business”) or sweet folk songs (“Small Things”). On piano the band is a jazz piano trio (“Black Phebe”, “Fracture”) or a classical chamber group (“A Single Eye”).
At the heart of the cd are the Rings. 3 pieces that use live looping as a compositional process captured in the recording. In these pieces I create the composition as the trio improvises with me and around me. The Rings are a new thing for me. I’ve never been a fan of looping as a compositional technique but I turned around on it when I tried it with this band. I create the ring as we improvise and the result is hypnotic and beautiful..but organic.
01. The Seducer 04:14
02. Black Phebe 06:22
03. A Single Eye 03:37
04. Fracture 08:45
05. Risky Business 06:40
06. Tremors 03:22
07. Small Things 03:21
08. Solve Me 06:13
09. Canoe 04:51
10. Waterwheel 05:41
11. Flycatcher 07:16
12. Silk 06:02
Releases June 10, 2016
Produced by Erik Friedlander
Recorded by Scott Solter at Story Sound in New York City
Assisted by Jeff Cook
Mixed by Scott Solter in Durham, NC
Mastered by Steve Berson at Total Sonic Media
Design by Vanessa Maynard
All music composed by Erik Friedlander.
All rights reserved.
Erik Friedlander, cello
Shoko Nagai, piano, accordion, electronics
Satoshi Takeishi, percussion
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