hey y’all 🎵
I hope this newsletter finds you well This issue I’m talking about
Shahzad Ismaily
(Electric) keyboard music
I made a Bassoon zine for my birthday and you can get one!
and a few other odds and ends
:) 🌴
To celebrate my 27th rotation around the sun, I decided to make a bassoon-centric zine, Not a Bassoonist. There are illustrations, bad puns, and abstractions all surrounding the bassoon. Also accompanying this zine is a mix of cool bassoon music– mostly non-classical stuff. Let me know if you’d like a copy by responding to this newsletter, shooting me another email, or a text. If you live in L.A I might be able to come drop it off in your mailbox, but otherwise I’ll mail it to you. I’d like this zine to be free, but consider donating to cover shipping costs here using Ko-Fi.
I forget when I first learned about Shahzad Ismaily, but I do remember being so struck by his incredibly tasteful, thoughtful, and intuitive playing. When I met him in person a few years ago at CalArts, he was no less notable as a presence; calm, unassuming, and present. I’ve heard him play in a range of adventurous groups from quiet folksy crooners to driving noisy acrobats but regardless of the setting his ability to congeal and complement always impresses me. In Bob Boilen’s video description^^ he defines what I find so compelling about Ismaily’s musical voice as “minimal but essential.”
I’ve been around pianos and keyboards my entire life. My Mom has taught private piano lessons for over 30 years and my childhood was soundtracked with a montage of Chopin, Haydn, Bach, Scott Joplin, Stephen Foster, and countless beginners renditions of melodies out of method books. My Mom taught me when I was little but I mostly just preferred to play with the piano. We’ve always kept a constant rotation of keyboards in the house; the first I remember being a Casiotone Mt-68, a tiny and portable battery powered keyboard with pre-programmed rhythms, tempo and tone control, and multiple midi voices. I could spend hours recording on the keyboards and exploring the instrument. I would improvise endlessly until one of my parents would (lovingly) beg me to stop and actually learn the instrument.
I love Ismaily’s role in this strange concert experience by La Blogothèque. Working with longtime collaborator, Sam Amidon, his addition is a brief and anonymous delivery of a listening ethos which precedes a beautiful solo set performed for this charmed but visibly uncomfortable audience member. Ismaily’s role is small and non-musical but essential to the off-kilter intimacy delivered in this show.
I love the introverted intimacy of keyboards and their lack of frills–I mean, there are keyboards with frills, but the less the better. In Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s rediscovered 1986 keyboard saga, he presents a humble, colorful, and clever exploration of his DX-7 with the aid of a Roland TR-707 rhythm machine. Working with the limits of a “one-man-band” setting on keyboard, Copeland creates simple, patternesque, and indulgent melodies out of blissful midi-tones, light and crisp rhythms, and joyful lyrics.
In this powerfully calm performance by Arooj Aftab, Ismaily is an expert sideman coaxing out tasteful musical lines with an electric bass and a moog synthesizer so sparingly used it could be considered ornamental. You could say the role of a sideman is to be out of the way, but I find that Ismaily is often buried deep in the music, fully present and in full support.
Early in my dive into solo keyboard music, I discovered the Japanese duo, Satoshi & Makoto. Based in Yokohama, these two twin brothers create serene, intimate, and sparkling melodies using only one instrument, the legendary Yamaha CZ-5000 synthesizer. By layering simple melodies and cascading sequences they create an ambient escapists dreamscape out of plush harmonies and retro video game sensibilities.
Ismaily founded the artist collective and record label figureight in 2016 as a creative extension of his musical sensibilities and artistic home for kindred spirits.
“The label is a home for interior, shy, and hidden works, celebrating musicians rare, weird, and unique. Many of figureight’s artists have been sidemen to better known performers, and are now releasing their solo ventures through the label where they are nurtured and respected as musicians in a holistic, artist-friendly approach.”
The releases span a range of sound worlds and locations, but I feel the binding thread of compassion, community, delicacy, and introverted, detailed, and passionate music-making running through all of these albums.
Rei Harakami began making bedroom synthesizer music in a heyday of techno and house happening in Japan in the late 90s and early 00s. Harakami was part of a small batch of DIY producers who favored small scale produced electronic music meant more for listening than the club. Throughout most of Harakami’s career he remained committed to sourcing his music out of the Roland SC-88 Pro, a 1996 midi keyboard and sequencer. Harakami’s music is as easy and dreamy to listen to as it is cerebral, complex, and surprising. There is a flavor of early video game soundtracks, library music, and Shibuya-kei whimsy embedded in his pastel colored sequences and harmonies.
As primarily a bassist and percussionist, Ismaily has claimed a profession as a sideman. His prowess bursts out of the usual thoughtful and delicate role he plays as bassist in Marc Ribot’s art-rock outfit, Ceramic Dog. Ismaily deftly supports churning grooves and deviant rhythms with quirk and ease– proof of his exceptional versatility across multitudes of adventurous music and ability to SHRED.
Aside from her notable longstanding project, Idea Fire Company, Karla Borecky creates quiet, melancholic, and ethereal pieces for solo piano. The home-recorded and solitary quality of these pieces evoke introspection and hypnogogic bliss. I love that you can hear extraneous noise from within the house in these recordings…
I find a lot of inspiration in Ismaily’s adaptability, sensitivity, and creativity. Ismaily has such a strong artistic voice that he utilizes so thoughtfully and when it shows up it’s strikingly humble. I think some of the best music is made this way and Ismaily cultivates this aura around him and his music effortlessly.
I could go on and on about all the solo keyboard music I love, but I’ll just jot down a few more favorites with 3-word descriptions to check out if that piques your interest!
John Carroll Kirby- Sultry Sundrenched Grooves
CEP- Solo Sine Stasis
D’Eon- Adventurous Introverted Daydreams
Celer- Unchanging Single Chords
you got any keyboard recs? I’d love to hear ‘em… 🎹
I recently finished a 5-week online course in Brazilian Portuguese through the Cambridge Center for Adult Education (CCAE) where the curriculum was the music and culture of Brazil. While I definitely think I’m a Brazilian music buff, I still learned so much from the teacher and benefited greatly from just listening to so much spoken Portuguese. Above is a video of a Choro ensemble playing the music of Irineu de Almeida, who is known as an Ophicleide, a rare period brass instrument that’s like a Baritone but with saxophone pads/keys…. If you want the full scoop of music from this class here’s the link to my teacher’s page with the CCAE playlists
My bandmate Cassia Streb from Tasting Menu recently developed an incredible project with Jennifer Bewerse called Music for your Inbox where you subscribe to receive the delivery of a highly produced music video by an experimental composer, and an art postcard. Expect adventurous music from Pauline Oliveros, James Tenney, William Roper, Jocy de Oliveira & Jennifer Bewerse. Expect colorful and collectable art from Adee Roberson, Simone Forti, Yasmine Nasser Diaz, and William Roper. Some really excellent performers and friends are involved and I think Cassia and Jen have done a superior job at virtual concert production with this. Go check it out!
I recently took a totally rejuvenating trip to Santa Cruz and the SF bay area. I camped in a backyard near the beach in Santa Cruz and slept in a sailboat in the Berkeley marina. A close friend and I spent lots of time on the beach, in the water, drank lots of coffee, walked and talked a lot, and I tried natural wine for the first time…which was kind of incredible. Many thanks to Max for being such a good friend and host. Here’s a few photos from the trip and a meme.
Thanks for reading and please stay healthy and happy out there. Until we can hang again….
ciao for now,
Cody 🌴