Shakuhachi players of old followed the path of ichion-jobutsu, or “enlightenment in a single tone.” The spiritual element of the simple bamboo flute with its notched mouthpiece and five fingerholes is essential to its existence, and part of what led Henry Cowell to refer to it as “the universal flute.” Ralph Samuelson’s album shares that name, and presents remarkably evocative works for the shakuhachi by American composers.

"Holographic is about exploring different worlds – improbable combinations of sounds – hidden and imaginary sonic landscapes both acoustic and electronic," explained Wohl (b. 1980), "By processing or re-sampling more traditional instruments like strings, percussion, or the human voice, I wanted to create music that has a strong link to the past while at the same time being rooted in what I listen to on a daily basis. I was hoping to retain the warmth and inconsistencies of human playing while interfacing with the technologies that are available to all of us."

Flowing, Middle Eastern-sounding melodies inflect this emotionally charged lamentation; it shimmers with agitation and occasional discord.

BHZ’s Total Harmonic Distortion provides some amazing sonic landscapes; this music makes you want to smile and cry at the same time. The album seems to be conceived as a single work of art; a journey through space and time, reminiscent of Iaian Ballamy or perhaps Howard Shore’s work with Ornette Coleman. ...The high level of trust amongst the performers is evident in their improvisational interplay and varied musical conversations...

It is hard to describe Waggoner’s (b.1960) music. Stylistically, one hears hints of, among others, Ives’s large-scale vision, Janácek’s volatile emotional content, Bartók’s purity and rigor, Berg’s intensity, Messiaen’s mysticism, and Shostakovich’s fascination with great existential questions. The net result, however, strikes me as highly original and compelling, as attested by the seven works featured on this recording... The works that open and close the disc are improvisations for string quartet—the first is sarcastic and grotesque; the second, in which the ensemble seems unsuccessfully to search for tonality (and perhaps redemption), is haunting and moving.

Seven Kings explores contemporary music styles ranging from Sanford’s (b. 1963) jazz-flavored work (the title track) to Jacobs’ (b. 1961) carefully crafted modernist piece. ...The work by Ballou (b. 1963) unfolds like a jazz improvisation, developing momentum from the beginning to the end.

This is music of extraordinary beauty and real distinction, played with conviction and intensity. ...a wonderful example of the exciting music emerging from the newer generation of Chinese composers. ...Xiaogang Ye's (b. 1955) sound-world is distinctively his own. In his works he repeatedly draws on aspects of Chinese culture.

Recorder virtuoso Erik Bosgraaf (b. 1980) was personally granted permission to arrange for recorder Boulez' (1925-2016) Dialogue de l'ombre double, originally for clarinet and electronics. ...The result is a dynamic interplay between Bosgraaf's recorder and the fascinating electronic timbres and colours. The second work on this release is a musical dialogue between Bosgraaf and electronic wizard Jorrit Tamminga (b. 1973), creating unheard-of sounds of the recorder interwoven in electronic sound tapestries.

Recorded by the four-time Grammy Award-winning sextet Eighth Blackbird, the album is comprised of six new pieces, each composed by a member of the Sleeping Giant musical collective... listening through the album is a lot like walking through a museum: each piece its own extraordinary work of art, each with its own distinct colors, creative spark, and inspiration. Perhaps one work’s use of texture catches your eye—or another work’s subject matter, size, shape, or color palette.

David Felder’s (b. 1953) music may be somewhat difficult to categorize for the average listener. Electronics are an important component, not simply as an enhancement to human players in an orchestra, but as an additional instrument: a concerto for electronics and orchestra. This idea is beautifully expressed in the opening piece, “Tweener,” where electronics and the Slee Sinfonietta combine to give a feeling of the “music of the spheres.” Vigorous oscillations across many octaves from the very high to a descent well below the baseline by the rarely heard, contra-bass clarinet, attempt to express the feeling of infinite space.

Mathematics and the various sciences are just ordered ways of looking at and analyzing all of the raw data supplied by the universe. It's all about mappings and correspondences. At the same time, my work often takes a speculative and irrational/intuitive approach. It includes both the ordered and rational, the intuitive and irrational, and the acoustics of the ear. - Elliott Sharp

These pieces demonstrate an overwhelming potency, emerging from their respectively huge contrasts, where minute pitches become assimilated into grinding, juddering walls of near-chaotic overload, where clean cycles of rhythm become overlaid and superimposed into dense strata of complex polyphony. ...Sharp’s (b. 1951) music can be radiant, ethereal, alluring and overwhelming. A magnificent disc.

From the slightest sound of a raindrop to the roar of a waterfall: The Wave Quartet unleashes the force of four great marimbas to pay tribute to the tango reformer Astor Piazzolla, let the Grand Seigneur of the tango Carlos Gardel sing and allow us to breathe the Mexican mountain air of Rodrigo y Gabriela...

Liza Lim's (b. 1966) compositional practice reflects on Asian ritual cultures, Australian Indigenous aesthetics, weaving and knots as a metaphorical ‘technology for thinking’, ecologies of collaboration, and distributed creativities. ...Alternative pop music has been as important a source of inspiration for Jon Øivind Ness (b. 1968) as the classical canon, though still he writes almost exclusively for acoustic classical ensembles.

Broer’s (b.1942) three-movement Symphony for String Orchestra illustrates his intense and expressive style, contrasted with passages of soulful lamentation, whirling structures, and whimsical rhythms. The angular, dark, and fluid qualities of the strings showcase his bold and often frenzied composition. In Zephyr, Coble (b. 1959) uses a multi-layered narrative to emphasize his management of tension, resulting in passages of mounting and waning intensities as well as moments that suggest rolling clouds forming into an unexpected storm. Written for solo violin and orchestra, The Luminous Mystery by Yip (b. 1971) draws inspiration from five mysteries of Catholicism. This single-movement secular piece explores these mysteries by creating a variety of tone colors and textures that culminate with a radiant intensity.