Bitter Desert by Jeremiah Cymerman & John McCowen

Bitter Desert ushers in an intensely reflective listening induced by the sounds of clarinets moving restlessly through progressions of granulated tone, soaring harmonic, gnarly growl, and wild fluttering. The ground here is only apparently firm; rather it is sand-like, constantly shifting beneath the feet of our ears as it surveys a vast sonic expanse turned profoundly inward.

– Adam Zuckerman


This is a purely acoustic recording. No overdubs or edits.

Based in New York City since 2002 and active across a broad range of musical activity, Jeremiah Cymerman (b. 1980) is composer, clarinetist, producer, and podcaster. Noted for his prolific output, with an ever expanding body of work, Cymerman’s music stands uniquely at the nexus of contemporary classical, electroacoustic experimentation, free improvisation and dark ambient soundscapes.

John McCowen is a composer/clarinetist focused on extending the possibilities of the clarinet family. His work has been described by The New Yorker as "the sonic equivalent of microscopic life viewed on a slide". John's multiphonic approach embraces drones, difference tones, and beating harmonics as a means to squeeze out the compositional potential within a single, acoustic sound source. John remains stubbornly dedicated to acoustic phenomena. His works do not utilise amplifier feedback or electronically generated sounds unless specified.
credits
released May 6, 2022

Jeremiah Cymerman (b. 1980) Low drones, earth tones, and birth stones.