Transmitter by Ken Field
While circumstances keep Birdsongs of the Mesozoic and the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble and his other projects off the stage and away from large gatherings, Ken Field still has a saxophone and music to be made. In truth he has long created solo soundtracks for film and dance so it is not unusual to find him at home with his instrument and a mic. This project, Transmitter, feels different, though. It became a collaboration with producer Erdem Helvacioglu and has taken him into an expansive new realm of studio artistry.
The six tracks on the album are all trans-something: the titles bridge oceans, light, stasis, and gravity. Just so do the looped and layered saxophone parts shift and morph in post-acoustic ways. In this era of virtual ensembles by necessity, this saxophone choir could exist in no other form. From jaunty phrases to fluttering drones and angular polyphonies, the saxophone lines make for an ever-shifting dawn chorus. Transmitter is full of messages.
Ken Field’s activities include a singular combination of composing soundtracks for Sesame Street, co-organizing the HONK! Festival of Activist Street Bands, serving on several non-profit boards, hosting a weekly radio show of creative instrumental music, memorizing Bach & Charlie Parker, and playing with the community-based Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band.
Brooklyn-based Turkish electronic musician Erdem Helvacioglu has composed music for feature films and is a seasoned collaborator with rock bands and experimental artists who could use a touch of ambient, drone, psychedelia.
“This is going to take you to some far out new places...Quite the lofty achievement here!” -
Midwest Record
Tracklist
| 1. | Transoceanic | 7:42 |
| 2. | Transcendental | 7:20 |
| 3. | Translucent | 5:30 |
| 4. | Transducer | 9:41 |
| 5. | Transgressive | 7:39 |
| 6. | Transparent | 8:12 |
Videos
Credits
Ken Field, saxophones
All pieces composed by Ken Field (Conical Music/BMI)
kenfield.org
Mastered by Erdem Helvacioglu
erdemhelvacioglu.com
License
All rights reserved.
Ken Field is a saxophonist, flautist, and composer. Since 1988 he has been a member of the electronic modern music ensemble Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, with whom he has recorded eight CDs. He leads the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, an experimental & improvisational brass band. His solo releases document his work for layered saxophones and his soundtracks for dance and film.