I received an email yesterday with a simple subject line: “You’ve awakened the famous butterflies in my stomach.” I’m not sure who sent it but I’m always happy to receive new info from what must be a group dedicated to invertebrates and arthropods. Yeah, that’s gotta be it.
Despite my inability to awaken anything significant or pleasurable in anyone’s tummy, I do get those fluttery feelings myself, especially when it comes to music. The stomach will be one of many affected body parts to be tickled on November 8, when Sean McCann’s Recital label releases its two final albums of 2019: Daniel Schmidt’s Abies Firma and McCann’s own Puck.
Daniel Schmidt is known as a pioneer of the American gamelan instruments he builds and the amazing Javanese and minimal-influenced sounds he produces. Abies Firma will be the second collection on Recital by the Bay Area composer, instrument maker, and Mills College professor. While the Berkeley Gamelan In My Arms, Many Flowers archival collection had tracks spanning 1978-1982, Abies Firma LP collects works from 1976-1991 and comes with a bonus CD (!) that includes a suite of three movements entitled “One White Crow.”
Sean McCann, of course, is no stranger to this site. We love everything he does and couldn’t be happier that he is returning with his first album in three years. Puck is culled from McCann noises new and old, recorded in harbors near and far, all of which are invariably good and great.
Both albums are limited vinyl releases (Schmidt’s 1000 copies; McCann’s 500) and both feature immaculate packaging and inner beauty (Schmidt’s a 20-page pamphlet holding program notes, scores, and a new essay on American Gamelan by Jay Arms; McCann’s a 12-page Puck pamphlet and two art cards with program notes and recollections). Pre-order them here and here, and check out two equally compelling but distinctly peculiar tracks below. Butterflies are free, after all.
Daniel Schmidt Abies Firma tracklisting:
01. Accumulation
02. Abies Magnifica
03. Untitled
04. Rebab Delay
05. Unempins and Sociseknum
06. Abies Firma
07. Fanfare and Lancaran Daniel
08. One White Crow, First Movement #
09. One White Crow, Second Movement #
10. One White Crow, Third Movement #
# bonus CD tracks
Sean McCann Puck tracklisting:
01. Nightfall
02. Broth
03. Damals
04. Puck
More about: Daniel Schmidt, Sean McCann
