Maja S.K. Ratkje – Crepuscular Hour
This is the most recent entry here, and something I've been listening to a lot since it came out. I have the CD and DVD set, which really adds a lot to your understanding of the piece. I know very little about Maja, but the otherworldly quality of this really resonated with me from the first listen. I hear Ligeti in this a lot, both in the space it has and also in the use of cluster chords. Classical music should try to push forward and try new ideas and new sounds - making piano pieces for hotel lobbies or using an orchestra to embellish concerts of Ibiza classics or Detroit techno tracks just seems wrong to me. Electronic music has never needed to be legitimised by recognition from a different area of the arts, and now is not the time to start chasing that. Anyone with the right amount of money can hire an orchestra or book Abbey Road to record in. It's not a sign of artistic acceptance, just a reminder that your ego may have outgrown your common sense.