Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche is pleased to present Sticks, Skins, Metal and Stone, a compilation of past Kotche-penned compositions recorded and performed by NYU’s Percussion Ensemble, out October 26th on NationalSawdust Tracks. Realized under the direction of Jonathon Haas and Sean Statser, the pieces range from solo and duo to full percussion orchestra and were written over a span of 10 years. Eight of these 10 pieces have never been recorded until now.
“Sticks are the most basic tools of the percussionist,” says Kotche. “They are used for striking but are also shaped and arranged into tonal bars giving the percussion family rich melodic and harmonic components. Skins are what make drums drums. Metal in it’s varied forms – both tuned and untuned – provide a world of percussion color. And stone – the most basic of materials – struck together or shaped into pitched bars creating the most primordial, yet intriguing percussion sounds. These four elements are the catalyst for the music contained in this record.”
Three of the pieces are arrangements of Kotche’s original works: “Hush” arr. by James B. Campbell is an all acoustic version of “Drumkit Quartet #51”, originally commissioned and recorded by SoPercussion. “Wild Sound Part 4” is the last part of an evening length multimedia percussion work commissioned and arranged by Grammy-winning Third Coast Percussion, and “Traveling Turtle” was arranged by NYU graduate student Adam Keifer, taking it from gamelan instrumentation (originally commissioned by Gamelan Galak Tika) to large traditional percussion ensemble.
Two of the pieces, “Anomaly” and “Ping Pong Fumble Thaw,” are reimaginings of string quartets that were commissioned by Kronos Quartet and Brooklyn Rider respectively. Both of these compositions grew from sketches written on the drumset, then expanded for string quartet, and finally both presented here for the first time back on percussion.
Sticks, Skins, Metal and Stone Tracklist:
01. Wild Sound
02. Clapping Music Variations
03. Traveling Turtle for Percussion Ensemble
04. Anomaly Movement 7 Marimba Duo
05. Stones Flow
06. Cave Dance
07. Transfencia
09. Hush
10. Ping Pong Fumble Thaw for Percussion Quartet
11. Fantasy On a Shona Theme
calling glenn Live Performances:
Sat. Nov. 10 – New York, NY @ Schimmel Center at PACE University
Fri. Nov. 16 – Chicago, IL @ The Auditorium Theater
Thu. Feb. 7 – Minneapolis, MN @ Northrop Auditorium
Fri. Feb. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Sat. Feb. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Fri. March 8 – Boston, MA @ The Institute of Contemporary Art
Sat. March 9 – Boston, MA @ The Institute of Contemporary Art
FISHING Live Performances:
Sun. March 31 – Mon. April 8 – North Adams, MA @ MASS MoCA (creation residency)
photo credit – Matt Lief Anderson)
