Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders and London Symphony Orchestra - Promises (2021)

R/A: https://ra.co/reviews/33747

Floating Points: Pharoah...

Pharoah Sanders: Huh?

Floating Points: Were you asleep? I'm sorry...

Pharoah Sanders: No no... I was listening... and dreaming... and listening to music in my head...

Floating Points: Oh wow. Sorry.

Pharoah Sanders: Many times, people think I might be asleep... but in fact, I am just listening to music in my head. I'm always listening... to the sounds around me... and playing, in my mind... and sometimes I dream.

Floating Points: What were you dreaming about?

Pharoah Sanders: I'm on a ship. In the ocean. Bears coming around smoking cigars. The bears are singing, 'We have the music. We have what you're looking for.'

Pharaoh Sanders is mark s confirmed

gonna send this album to my mom

speaking to Stew's point earlier in thread, i will say that lines like "It would be easy to just have Sanders blow constantly" from the RA piece do suggest that folks overestimate Sanders' spryness... it would NOT be easy to have Sanders blow constantly! if you wanted to produce the same sort of experiential album it would be impossible.

My kneejerk conclusion is it's better to think of this as New Age rather than jazz, even of the spiritual hat variety (though to update my earlier post: when the LSO kicks in the Alice C mimicry is undeniable). And under that rubric I'm not sure I can get all that worked up about the cultural politics

it certainly doesn't feel like there's anything really to get worked up about when sanders is the one who instigated the collaboration imo

Just got through this for the first time, and I think it's unspeakably gorgeous. One thing it is is an extended celebration of the mysterious beauty of the Dorian mode, which is strong enough to sustain interest for 46 minutes via that enchanting 7-note motif that repeats over and over. Obviously the strings are Alice Coltrane pastiche, particularly in Movement 6, but I think it's done well and reverently.

Oh man, I missed the window to pre-order this on Amazon (I know, I know, but I'm still not comfortable hitting up most record shops just yet) and it looks like the CD version is already out of stock until next month. Which is a good since for Sanders, he deserves more love!

i've heard this now and it's not quite my thing (a single repeated motif that anchors the entire piece? makes me feel like i gotta be really in the mood to hear those notes lol) but it is pretty cool. i'm with rob, can't think of a spiritual hat jazz record it resembles, so i can't quite wrap my head around accusing it of pastiche. i mean, certainly the orchestral parts will get the alice coltrane heads nodding but otherwise? if it were slightly more or less dissonant it would be kinda at home on ecm

I really like his vocal bits as much as his horn playing.

these parts really stunned me

huge xpost with rob lol

"good sign" - jfc, I don't know where that typo came from

that motif is so good though

it is really good. love the way movement 7 takes off

both of those guys are essentially unknown in america except by a specific sort of obsessive music nerd who either already knows Sanders or work at a tech firm.

lol, I'm burnt

jon, if you don't want to use Amazon (a decision I support), you can get this on bandcamp

Duh, didn't even think to check over there. Done, thanks!

Pharoah Sanders is 80, so I'm happy to see him getting late-career flowers, even if people think it's overly tasteful or critic-bait or whatever

i'm not sure i associate spiritual jazz with four tet but ymmv i guess

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, March 26, 2021 8:32 AM (thirty-eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

There are the Steve Reid records, and he tends to include some in his DJ sets, also just sort of a sonic touchstone for him (and Floating Points).

ahhh well i’m guessing that i’m revealing that i only really engage with four tet’s bangers/remixes that are bangers

if you want a clearer sense of what sanders is bringing to this, stick around for the very yawnsomely bombastic coda, which i just clipped from my own playlist after the second spin.

Also I'm just thrilled to hear more spiritual jazz featuring the harpsichord. There's not much of it out there--McCoy Tyner Trident comes to mind, and what else? I'm blanking out at the moment...

Assuming Love Cry by Albert Ayler isn't "spiritual jazz".

he's not wearing a hat on the cover so...

After one listen this is a gorgeous piece, like stretching out the rubato intro from Alabama or Crescent over a whole album. I like how it's all basically one piece, the light touch + no drums, and that it all feels like a platform for Sanders. Can see how someone would find it overly restrained/tasteful though, it's a very delicate mood to sustain, and there are moments (mostly when PS is not playing) when it feels like nothing is happening.

well I guess I gotta get this, and yeah like Brad my mom will love it

i suppose it's damning to say this would be a great video game soundtrack but it's not meant to be!

what

actually i was on the verge of loling that a bunch of writers were celebrating this excellent writing music so i guess i get where you're coming from forks

actually i was on the verge of loling that a bunch of writers were celebrating this excellent writing music so i guess i get where you're coming from forks

I'm only half joking when I say that the impact of critics being stuck at home with small children really ought to be examined.

I kind of expected this to be closer to Floating Points “Elaenia” album and I’m a bit disappointed it’s not but it’s gorgeous in a different way.

the price of entry is very low here but I'm sure not in a mindset right now to dismiss something due to ease of enjoyment

Super weird complaining about this album getting attention though, as if someone who listens to jazz often only has the time to listen to one record each year.

twas ever thus

would it be better to think of this as ambient rather than jazz (or classical) or would that just be exchanging one load of baggage for another

Or if it’s complaining about media attention, then yeah but isn’t it obvious that an album between two well known artists from different genres would get reported and reviewed in at least twice the publications specialized in certain genred? Is it worth getting angry that ResidentAdvisor is reviewing this album instead of another “more experimental” jazz album? Do those other jazz albums feature a prominent electronic producer?

Not music-related, but Julie Mehretu is my favorite visual artist so it's wild to me that they used one of her paintings for the cover. It's really like every single aspect of this album was calculated to maximally attack the pleasure centers of my brain

This is lovely. Not far from what I kind of expected from it. It's recorded and produced immaculately and sounds incredible on a nice system or set of cans.

I don't like this at all, pretty boring imo. I prob wouldn't even care about saying this and I'd more likely be like "that's nice I'm glad they did it" if it wasn't a hyped up thing

I def prefer metallica doing nothing else matters w/ london symphony orchestra

It's not surprising that it's getting attention and in an ideal world it shouldn't be an issue. Again, there's maybe a difference in perspective between the US and UK. I look at the jazz coverage in prestige US media with envy. The NYT has room for the likes of Tyshawn Sorey and Satoko Fuji alongside Pharoah and FP, as it should be. Not so in the UK mainstream media, which tends to treat jazz as marginal. Even the music press, such as it is, tends to have at best a handful of jazz artists/albums it pays attention to. The British jazz explosion has opened things up a little, but we've still a long way to go.

Even the music press, such as it is, tends to have at best a handful of jazz artists/albums it pays attention to. The British jazz explosion has opened things up a little, but we've still a long way to go.

All I'll say for now is, wait till the new Sons of Kemet drops in May. There's a poem on the first track that'll set your conservative politicians' heads on fire, if the publicist does their job.

That's interesting. I have an opposite view from the US-perspective. It seems like the UK has many more outlets that cover jazz, new jazz is taken more seriously, and many more jazz records are sold in the UK than in the US. I definitely see that in both markets big names or names that are a part of accepted scenes get the most coverage, yeah there's a very long way to go.

nice, I had no idea there was a new Kemet album coming

That's interesting. A Peter Kowald quote in the William Parker biography about jazz not receiving proper recognition in the country of its birth certainly holds true. The situation has maybe improved in certain respects since he said that in the early 80s, but there's obviously much work to be done. The UK does have Jazzwise, The Wire, Jazz Journal, Jazz FM and Radio 3, alongside various smaller ventures, but it feels that the music struggles to break out of its specialist outlets. It's cool that electronic music mags, for example, are picking up on aspects of it, but it tends to be vintage stuff a DJ has played out or reissues. That said, the likes of Moor Mother and International Anthem as a whole are really changing the game.

X-post - I'm excited to hear the new SOK. I loved the FUCK THE TORIES bit on their last album.

This improves on headphones but after maybe five plays through I think I am likely to return only for “””vibes””” listening.

I think I have figured out what this composition sounds like to me: Mort Garson!

This is outstanding. By the time I get to movement 6 I’m floating.

as expected, my mom loves this album

I enjoyed this more on second listen—it helped to know what I was getting into. The Alice mimicry in 6 grates, and 8 swings too far into aimless noodling IMO. But everyone is otm about how good it sounds, and as Jordan said it's quite impressive in its delicacy.

I've been thinking of it as the Moon Shaped Pool of jazz ('jazz') albums

gilles peteron featuring it right now on bbc 6 music. might just be the part he is playing but theres very little sanders that i can hear. its almost as if its built around sanders, though idk, ive not read how it was made. seems quite excellent though, if a bit too precise (though thats just FP i think).

weird thing gilles said before he played it was that some people apparently said there was no reason to play it as it was already out, which is just weird. id much rather hear it on the radio than as streaming audio on lower bit rates etc.

the synths on this passage im hearing really keep reminding me of daft punk's touch

Boomkat-classical

the real grifters, yeah?

(jokes)

sund4r posting vmic!

So, is boomkat classical the giles peterson of the classical world then?

(um, what is vmic?)

very much in character

what's boomkat classical?

Borrowed the term from this thread: The "classical" music you buy from Boomkat (2010): a thread to discuss Sylvain Chauveau, Johann Johannsson, Peter Broderick, Olafur Arnalds and others

What I've heard of the Richter/Johansson/Hauschka kind of thing. 130701-classical an even purer distillation: http://130701.com/artists/

I'm guessing the forthcoming Alabaster De Plume album on International Anthem will be this year's Promises. Praised in certain quarters, but hated in others haha! To get my tuppence in, I find his wide-eyed crusty vibe really precious and the music is derivative and basic. While I find Promises pleasant but dull, Gold actively annoys me.

vocals are gonna limit that record's horizon with big fans of Instrumentals Vol 1

If you want unearned vitriol, the uncritical love of everything on the International Anthem label gets me (and there is plenty of good stuff on that label, for sure).

The Sound Of My Feet On This Earth Is A Song To Your Spirit is instrumental. x post

ben lamar gay and the new jeff parker rule on international anthem

oh cool just went to their site and they are doing a jamie branch's fly or die live album, was lucky enough to catch them this summer, one of the three shows i've attended (was outside) and really loved it

Yep

Branch at first didn’t appeal to me but the live album changed my mind. Waiting to see them at Big Ears.

I'm still not sold but haven't listened to the live album

i will say she's has a really engaging and quirky stage presence and i'm sure that helped

also i hadn't heard her before i saw the band

yeah Jamie Branch live presence is def part of the package

I like both Fly Or Die albums, but probably because I lack critical listening skills

International Anthem have put out some of my favourite records of the past few years (Jamie Branch, Ben LaMar Gay, Angel Bat Dawid & Irreversible Entanglements especially) but of all the UK acts they could have gone for... That said, it kinda makes sense. One of the first things they did was that Rob Jacobs album, which was kind of post-Animal Collective quirky singer-songwriter stuff that I couldn't get with. The DePlume reminds me a bit of that. The instrumental album was nice enough and I can totally get why it hit the spot for folks during the first lockdown, but his quirky vocals are an acquired taste. Genuine LOLs at the Nigel Tufnel comparison.

Yeah, IA have put out some absolutely amazing music but they are far from infallible. (I’m kind of an Angel Bat Dawid skeptic, and I’m not really sold on Ben LaMar Gay, either.)

Also, Fly Or Die totally rule live. I saw them the day of the Kyle Rittenhouse court travesty and she had the whole crowd chanting "Fuck white supremacy". Over the course of the gig she turned that anger into joy, with Chad Taylor doing incredible things on drums. Big Ears line up is great: several IA faves plus Andrew Cyrille, Ches Smith's totally great contemporary jazz meets Haitian voudon group We All Break... damn!

Ches Smith and Chad Taylor are two of my main guys on drums, love them

Chad Taylor is a fave of mine too.

https://imgflip.com/i/64p0ax

https://i.imgflip.com/64p0ax.jpg

damn, i'm impressed tbh!