A Reader staffer shares three musical obsessions, then asks someone (who asks someone else) to take a turn.
Useless Coordinates by Drahla
Harold Budd, The Pavilion of Dreams I discovered composer Harold Budd through his 1986 project The Moon and the Melodies with members of Cocteau Twins. The 1978 release The Pavilion of Dreams has an all-star cast that includes Gavin Bryars and Brian Eno (who also produced). Opening track “Bismillahi ‘Rrahman ‘Rrahim” (Arabic for “In the name of God, the beneficent, the merciful”) features the gorgeous harp of Maggie Thomas and the serene saxophone of Marion Brown.
Ellen Arkbro, For Organ and Brass (2017) This piece builds so perfectly; it has an uneasy peacefulness that can also be found in spectral music and the whirr of rotor-stator generators. Like many Morton Feldman works, it gets you anticipating “something” . . . but you’re not sure what. It resonates nicely in the mind; its sonic environment is easy to recall, even when you aren’t listening to it, and helps block out the detritus when needed. v
