Montréal percussionist David Therrien Brongo dexterously creates dynamic musical worlds on CONFLUENCE, a highly melodic album of solo percussion compositions by French Canadian contemporary composers. Both meditative and stimulating, the album makes for an impressive demonstration of the possibilities of this rare genre. Brongo’s world-class performance is not only highly virtuosic in the technical sense, but also emotionally rich, nuanced, and deeply saturated with empathy. There is a zen-like quality to his interpretations, in which the silences are given as much gravitas as the sound around them, and both notes and rests are searing with constant energy. It’s a remarkable approach, and instantly recognizable.

On the coasts of the Atlantic, sparrows whistle atop the trees, Eastern winds whisper through spartina grasses, and fiddler crabs skitter within their sandy burrows — a great symphony of shorelines soon to be left incomplete. As rising sea levels continue to threaten coastal reefs, shores, and the hundreds of lifeforms inhabiting them, the Coastal Conservatory urges us to consider our efforts of restoration and offers us an avenue for restoring coastal futures, a meditation on the music of the most integral barriers to the ever-pressing Atlantic. SOUNDSCAPES OF RESTORATION is both an exploration and a reflection, a listening experience that leaves one changed with the desire to make change further. It is a journey that cannot, and should not, be forgotten.

There are a number of established, conservative duo setups in Western music; but DRAX isn’t one of them, and doesn’t want to be. The saxophone-percussion duo, consisting of saxophonist Leo Saguiguit and percussionist Megan Arns, may be firmly rooted in contemporary American academia, but their music is one thing first and foremost: positively rebellious. Having intentionally commissioned a diverse range of composers in terms of style, ethnicity and gender, DRAX ambitiously attempts to scrutinize and reflect upon current social issues on CHAOS + CONTEMPLATION. Political turmoil, mass hysteria and the impact of ubiquitous technology are among the motifs presented, and this struggle is impressively manifest and tangible in the music – energetic, unapologetic and raw.

The piano is the powerhouse of musical instruments: with its vast tonal range and its ability to simultaneously supply chords and melodies, it generally takes the dominating place in virtually any setup. So what happens if you compose and play music for two of these behemoths? Pianists Sang-Hie Lee and Martha Thomas answer this question on their aptly-titled new album GLOBE, TRAVEL, HOMELAND. Their touchstone? A selection of new two-piano duos by living composers, tonally residing somewhere between Prokofiev and Messiaen. Few instrumental setups are as complex as this one, but Lee and Thomas navigate its challenges with great aplomb, to the point where the music feels less like a duo and more like a transcendental conversation between kindred spirits. As it should.

NOWS from David Rosenboom and Sarah Belle Reid is a captivating expression of the radical challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The music examines the notion of “co-presence,” or togetherness, when experienced in isolation. This seemingly self-contradictory concept became an everyday occurrence as in-person gatherings became video conferences. Performer-composers Reid and Rosenboom spent this time passing fragmented musical ideas back and forth. In this organic way, a collection of “sound correspondences” accumulated between the two artists, made with instruments ranging from strings and horns to modular synthesizers, analog signal processors, urban and desert soundscapes, and much more. The resulting album, NOWS, is a post-genre masterpiece that speaks to our unique moment in history.

Oboist Leslie Odom studied at Butler University in Indianapolist, and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. She performs throughout the US, Europe, South America, and Canada, and is Associate Professor of Oboe and Music Theory at the University of Florida. For this release, Odom performs works by Madeleine Dring, Hedwige Chretien, Gloria Wilson Swisher, Marina Dranishnikova, and Mary Chandler. Joining Odom for this recording is renowned accompanist, Soomee Yoon.

Ravello Records is proud to present RIPPLING, a new album by composer Robert Morris. Morris recorded the album live at a “Summer at Eastman Concert” in Hatch Recital Hall, in Rochester, NY. Consisting of only two tracks, “Mountain Streams” and “Mysterious Landscape,” these dramatic compositions turn ordinary sounds of nature in extraordinary pursuits of sonic ambience. Like a drop in a pond, both tracks start small and simple only to evolve into an all-encompassing, full sound that excites curiosity while evoking relaxation. The first track “Mountain Streams” consists entirely of sounds from streams, creeks, brooks, and other bodies of moving water. In the beginning, the composition starts with a reading from a Zen Koan, as the sounds of flowing water move in real time. As the composition progresses, the evolution of sound grows, building the tension to a heart-racing climax until a splash disrupts the flow, breaking the percolating trance. “Mysterious Landscape,” at a run time of about 30 minutes, is an improvisational electro-acoustic piece. Performed entirely on Morris’s laptop, the composition consists of four tracks twisting and blending into each other to create a serene soundscape. The natural noise of birds, frogs, insects, mammals, wind, and water play off the acoustics of the Hatch Recital Hall, sending the sonic waves oscillating throughout the room. Soothing and refreshing,