Beneath the Rain

English lyrics translation at the end of the review.

Nantes is one of the most consequential songs in the repertoire of French chanson. Composed in 1963 by Monique Andrée Serf, known professionally as Barbara, the piece stands at the intersection of autobiography, narrative songcraft, and the emotionally charged tradition of chanson à texte in mid twentieth century France.

I will not discuss "Dis, quand reviendras-tu ?" here. The narrative density of ... read more

This posthumous release by Yulya Zapolskaya occupies an unusual place within the recorded history of Russian urban folk song. Issued by Monitor Records in the mid 1960s, the record gathers a small cycle of songs connected with the subculture of the bezprizorniki, the homeless children who wandered through Russian cities after the upheavals of revolution, Civil War, and famine. These songs intersect with the tradition known as Blatnaya pesnya, the urban repertoire shaped around prison life, ... read more

Improvisation as a Moving Body

"When we can throw ourselves completely, we can escape from the trap of enumerations of our pet routine techniques. Then, a brilliant space full of fresh discoveries and pleasure will appear." - Tetsu Saitoh

Writing about Tetsu Saitoh inevitably means writing beside him rather than toward him. Any attempt to hold his work still, to define a position, a period or a conclusion, risks mistaking a momentary configuration for a destination. His music does ... read more