Phillip Bimstein is a man of many talents: among the entries on his C.V. are "alternative-rock bandleader," "environmental activist" and "mayor of Springdale, Utah." But the thing for which he’s best known is a body of inventive, deliriously fun electroacoustic compositions for live performers and sampled sounds. (I reviewed his most recent disc, Larkin Gifford’s Harmonica, in The New York Times last March.)
Bimstein has just posted his latest creation, Cats in the Kitchen, on a special MySpace page. Created for oboist Michele Fiala and included on her new CD, The Light Wraps You (MSR), Bimstein’s piece combines Fiala’s instrument and Heidi Pinter’s flute with familiar domestic sounds. Even before I heard it, I knew it was something certain members of the classical (and post–classic) blogosphere would need to know about, stat.
To say more would spoil it; go hear it for yourself. While you’re at it, pay a visit to Bimstein’s main MySpace page, where you can hear examples from Larkin Gifford’s Harmonica, as well as its predecessor, Garland Hirschi’s Cows, and more.
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