Arcades [Vinyl]

Legendary pianist Anthony Coleman (John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Glenn Branca), teams up with acclaimed drummer Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Drums and Drones) for their debut duo album, Arcades. These distinguished figures of the avant-garde craft a kaleidoscopic and expressionistic album from start to finish, hinged upon their synergistic interplay and technical dexterity. The music stands at a cross-section of post-jazz improvisation and contemporary classical ideals, emblematic of the 'Downtown' NYC scene of which Coleman and Chase are active participants. A broad array of moods and themes are presented, from the euphoric to the introspective. At the core of these "stark, compelling improvised duos" (The Wire, April 2022) is the musical dialogue between Coleman and Chase which invites the listener to follow the 'conversation'; the music's 'arcades' spontaneously emerge as a result - a reflection of thoughts, impressions and insights. Album artwork for Arcades, POLAR (Yellow, Blue and Pink), is by Bay Area artists Sarah Klein and David Kwan. The album was mastered for vinyl by legendary mastering engineer, Scott Hull and engineered and mixed by Jeff Cook. The title Arcades is a reference to philosopher Walter Benjamin's The Arcades Project, a labyrinthian text profiling 19th-century Parisian urban life, which consists largely of fragments of popular discourse, sociological observations and poetic personal insights. Arcades is released on Brian's label, Chaikin Records.