L'ECM anticipa di un giorno il compleanno dei novant'anni di Steve Reich ripubblicando in vinile i tre album-capolavoro che essa stessa produsse a cavallo tra gli anni Settanta e Ottanta: Music for 18 Musicians, Octet / Music for a Large Ensemble / Violin Phase e Tehilim, ora raccolti in un box celebrativo dal titolo Recordings on ECM, analogamente al box in tre cd confezionato dieci anni fa.

Compiling “some of the minimalist composer’s finest works, including the definitive recording of his undisputed masterpiece Music for 18 Musicians”, Recordings on ECM comprises the three Steve Reich albums that were released on the label between 1978-1982, presented as facsimile editions housed in a high-quality cardboard box with a booklet containing photos from the archives and liner notes by Paul Griffiths. Sourced from the original analogue master tapes, these vinyl editions authentically re-introduced the listener to  recordings that have since become staples in contemporary music. The works included on these three albums are Music for 18 Musicians, Octet, Music for a Large Ensemble, Violin Phase and Tehilim, tracing the influential early creative period of the composer and his development over the course of fifteen years. The box-set arrives on the occasion of Reich’s 90th birthday in October 2026.

https://stevereich.com
https://ecmrecords.com/steve-reich-at-90
https://ecmrecords.com/steve-reich-recordings-on-ecm

Eskimo Folk Tales è il mini-album con cui The Residents riprendono e rilanciano uno dei loro indimenticabili capolavori, Eskimo (1979), prodotto in vinile da New Ralph/Cherry Red appena in tempo per accompagnare il lungo tour d'autunno negli Stati Uniti. Brani nuovi, con molti ovvi riferimenti agli originali, e una travolgente dimensione percussiva: The Barren Woman And The Worm, The Old Woman And The Skull, A Tale Of Two Tupilaqs, The Fool Who Made Friends With A Stone, The Skeleton At The Bottom Of The Sea e The Arctic Fox.

In the 1970s, as The Residents worked on their Eskimo masterpiece, their mentor The Mysterious N. Senada sent them a collection of handwritten Inuit folk tales, suggesting they incorporate them into the album. But the group shelved them, having gathered more than enough stuff themselves by that point, leaving them to gather dust. Here and now, almost 50 years later, The Residents have revived those folk tales as part of their forthcoming Eskimo live performance, blending them with familiar elements of the original Eskimo album and new music to produce the soon-to-be-classic show. We present a studio recording of those new songs, alongside read-along stories, as written down by Senada almost half a century ago. This is not a new side of Eskimo, but a modern interpretation of material which might, in another universe, have found its way onto the original.

https://residents.wiki/Eskimo_Folk_Tales
https://residents.wiki/Eskimo_Live!

Due dei più grandi esperti di mondi immaginari creati con strumenti giocattolo e meccanismi sonori si ritrovano tra Rotterdam e Lione - a qualche bell'anno dagli incontri di Mécanologie portative e Octogonale impérative - a giocare una partitella amichevole di Fei Xing Qi, celebre gioco da tavolo cinese, portando a termine un conciso match musicale in sedici mosse a dir poco avvincente ed esilarante. Quel gioco noi lo abbiamo conosciuto da bambini come il Non t'arrabbiare per poi scoprirne, un po' più grandicelli, una versione in uno degli album dei nostri numi tutelari, Ivor Cutler (Ludo, 1967). Qui i partecipanti sono Christophe Petchanatz (cioè Klimperei) e Pierre Bastien, convocati nel 2025 da Denis Tagu per In Poly Sons: Aeroplane Chess.

Pierre Bastien et Christophe Petchanatz se rencontrent de nouveau plus de vingt ans après leurs derniers jeux musicaux en commun. Qu'est-ce-que Aeroplane chess? Le nom à Hong Kong de ce jeu universel connu chez nous comme Les petits chevaux. Pierre et Christophe jouent ensemble ici sur seize morceaux simples et épurés. Ils font circuler entre-eux leurs figurines faites de mélodies, sons, rythmes pour un ensemble minimal mais dense, sans que rien ne manque à ces deux jockeys des disques. On pense au Penguin Cafe Orchestra ou à un Brian Eno expérimental. Minimalisme maximisé, on se laisse transporter sur la table de jeu. Amicalement enjouée.

https://inpolysons.bandcamp.com/album/aeroplane-chess