Gosfield, Annie – “Lost Signals and Drifting… ” – [Tzadik]

NY composer Gosfield has created some unusual work on her own and also with an impressive list of collaborators. This CD features four of her compositions. Track 1 is a dark string quartet piece full of jagged edges and left turns. Track 2 is a piece for solo violin, with sampled radio waves and unidentified transmissions blended in to create the mood suggested by the CD’s title. Track 3 is Gosfield getting colorful percussion sounds (flavors of kalimba, vibes, and gamelan) from her prepared piano. Track 4 is a wide-ranging 13-minute composition for solo cello, played by the brilliant Joan Jeanrenaud (ex-Kronos). On this piece, Gosfield adds audio samples taken from factories and machines. The effect of mixing such an expressive musician with industrial-type noises causes me to ponder the uneasy relationship we humans have with the modern, mechanized world around us. Intelligent, beautiful, thought-provoking material.