Edition of 300 copies, single-sided, colour vinyl, incl. insert, 16-page booklet
Remarkable example of early minimalist innovation scored by Doris Dennison in 1956 and interpreted here by Third Coast Percussion in a 2022 performance. This isn't an especially long recording, though it's significance is substantial given how little is known about Dennison outside of her connection to John Cage. It reveals a radical mind, a composer willing to explore unusual unconventional structures and combinations, bringing together drums, maracas, recorder and flute in ways that suggest she was drawing on a broad set of influences and inquiries. Where those inspirations come from isn't precisely clear, though you might argue the case for a similar ethnomusicological approach to that of someone like Midori Takada, though of course Earth Interval predates her work by some degree. Those drawn to the work of Harry Partch, Iannis Xenakis' 'Rebounds', or more recently, Mark Fell and Will Guthrie's collaborations or the more outré experimentations of Valentina Magaletti will find a lot to savour here, though the period of its origin does feel especially impressive, the sound of an artist probing forth into new ground that somehow was almost entirely lost to time. There might not be a lot of music here, but what there is rife with innovation and prescience.
FFO: Midori Takada, Valentina Magaletti, Iannis Xenakis, Harry Partch
