Things we like: Sawyer Editions

Sawyer Editions, a label focused on "contemporary, experimental, and improvised music, especially of new and unreleased artists," is the brianchild of Kory Reeder, a modest and affable Nebraskan with a PhD in music from the University of North Texas who has toured and had his compositions performed around the world. Now based in Denton, Reeder characterizes himself as a guy who "just [wants] to do cool stuff with my friends." He releases albums in batches of five twice a year on both Sawyer Editions and sister label Sawyer Spaces, which is devoted to soundscapes and field recordings.

Denton in 2025 might not be Buffalo in the '60s, but Reeder is part of a cohort of composer-performers associated with the UNT school of music -- others include Andrew May, Elizabeth McNutt, Stephen Lucas, Mia Detwiler, Kourtney Newton, and Louise Fristensky -- who have done interesting work that I've witnessed over the last few years, whose energy pervades the improv and noise scene there. His aesthetic leans toward the calm, slow, and quiet, and that's reflected in the music he releases as well as his compositions. 

The last couple of years, the way I listen to music has changed. I no longer keep music playing continuously around la casa -- perhaps a rejection, in a way, of the continuous passive listening that Spotify promotes. Some listens require concentrated attention, while others I find useful as part of an environment in which I can do other things -- read, cook, clean, rearrange media. Not "easy listening" or "ambient" per se, but rather, sound that creates a contemplative atmosphere, with sufficient sonic stimulation to be more than background music. This is the space in my life Reeder's releases fill.

In his latest Sawyer Spaces batch, Feldman and Hume: Intermissions is a dialogue between two composers: the pioneering 20th century New York experimentalist Morton Feldman, whose influence pervades new music (no Feldman, no Tyshawn Sorey, for one) and the 17th century Scottish mercenary soldier and advocate of the viola da gamba Tobias Hume, whose work straddled the Baroque and Renaissance periods. Juxtaposed in this way, their works present a less startling contrast than one might imagine, perhaps due to the interpretations rendered by violist Luciana Elizondo and pianist Guy Vandromme, and the sonic unity created by sound designer Fabio Gionfrida, who also mastered the album.

The Swiss Insub Meta Orchestra's Exhaustion/Proliferation is the product of a collaboration between experimental noise artist d'incise (aka Laurent Peter) and percussionist Cyri Bondi, with assistance in selecting chords from guitarist Ed Williams. The orchestra comprises 30 players on voice, flute, shakuhachi, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, sruti box, spinet, guitar, double bass, cello, viola da gamba, violin, percussion, and electronics. For its size, the group's sound is hardly dense. The two long pieces unfold at a leisurely pace, with plenty of space between the shifting textures and transient instrumental voices. On the second piece, fragments are recorded and played back on smartphones.

The 14 movements on New York accordionist Ben Richter's Dissolution Seedlings began with the composer's interest in the "rhizomatic plant-fungal world and its non-linear life systems" and was affected by the changes to his consciousness from a concussion he suffered in a car accident while writing the piece. (A good metaphor, I think; once begun, life takes on new directions and forms.) The work is performed by the House on Fire Trio, a Southern California ensemble whose members -- all pianists with multi-instrumental capabilities -- get along like the proverbial "house on fire." One hopes that their spaces survived the still raging wildfires in Los Angeles.

enclosures, a collection of works concerned with "space, place, reverberation, and resonance" by the Chicago concert-electronic-electroacoustic composer Kari Watson, is noteworthy for its sonic variety. There's a piece for bass clarinet, bass flute, electric guitar, and viola, performed by the Strasbourg new music ensemble Lovemusic Collective; another for Bostonian Daniel T. Lewis's just intonation vibraphone; a string quartet performed by the Parisian Quatuor Diotima; a saxophone quartet performed by Chicago's ~Nois; and a solo harp piece performed by Chicagoan Ben Melsky. Of the current batch, this is likely the one I'll return to the most. 

Finally, I'll admit to having a weakness for solo piano recordings, but that aside, I'd have to say that Ashlee Mack's recital green is probably the crown jewel of this batch of Sawyers. True, Mack's had wider exposure than most of her label mates, having been a 2019 Pulitzer Prize finalist and the subject of laudatory comments from The New Yorker, The Wire, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She's also an avid hiker, and the four pieces here range in length from eight to 20 minutes and are all by living composers. Listening to Mack's sure touch at the keyboard gives me the same feeling of centeredness and serenity I get when I'm knocking around in the woods with my oldest friend here at the Fort Worth Nature Center. The sound of her last notes reverberating in silence conjures images of open skies and endless vistas.