★Aurora (Norway)
The Nordheim Tapes
*2024 stock* Arne Nordheim might not be the best known early electronic music composer, but with this fabulously presented double disc of work it should help his music achieve at least a little wider recognition. He might be best known (at least outside his native Norway) for the discs on Rune Grammofon, but here we get some of his earliest tape work from the 1960s, possibly his most interesting period, at least to me. As a die hard Radiophonic Workshop enthusiast this collection seems to come f…
Puzzle Wood
*2024 stock* "A master in electroacoustic music and digital sound manipulation, English composer Natasha Barrett leaves few traces of familiar sounds or instruments in her music, although the audio sources often are acoustic. Here she performs five of her compositions composed between 1994 and 1997. The album's newest composition, 'Animalcules' is from 2010.
The title Puzzle Wood refers to a forest in Gloucestershire, where Barrett grew up, and also gives name to this album's key track, and olde…
Trade Winds
*2024 stock* In 2006 Natasha Barrett was awarded the prestigious Nordic Council Music Prize for her work …fetters… released by Aurora. Her new album consists of one work only: “Trade Winds” is a fantastic voyage down to the mythical and physical depths of the wide oceans.
The piece is inspired by the vast expanse of sea – unleashing the musical potential of recordings from the 100-year-old sailing ship Dyrafjeld, from above and within harbour, shore and open oceans around the world, and the spok…