Edge City Revisited
Back at the turn of the century, if your memory stretches that far, music culture had grown pretty bland. Creativity was in short supply on the airwaves and in record stores (both of which still existed). Experimental and unconventional music was barely being recorded at all. Philadelphia-based Edge City Collective was a guerilla recording initiative aimed at countering that trend. Using newly emerging technology that permitted hi-fi yet low-cost production, a bunch of musicians recorded two CDs of improvised music that defied categorization. Their work was shockingly well received by listeners and the music press (which also still existed).
Now, two decades later, Right Brain Records is revisiting Edge City’s early work with three special edition releases. These updated digital albums capture and accentuate the raw energy of the Edge City sessions and include previously unreleased material.
The new Edge City collection is available on Bandcamp (full set for 50% discount).
Here’s a quick summary of these new releases:
Guitarrasalto SE includes remasters of prime tracks from the original CD, which was all about guitar-based improvisation. It includes several additional cuts on that theme. This album features early work of Jon Madof, later of Rashanim (on John Zorn’s Tzadik label) and Zion80 (on Madof’s Chant Records). PauseRecord called Guitarrasalto “a palette of emotional soundscapes that is at once soothing and unsettling, urban with an occasional touch of country roots. All instrumental, heady, and full of feeling… a fascinating collection." Listen here.
Kosmischstrasse-20th Anniversary Edition includes remasters from the original, which was designed as a sonic rollercoaster ride, a series of contrasting improvised duets, trios, quartets and quintets. All 11 featured musicians have space to shine in what is perhaps the most distinctive Edge City record. Cadence said: “Kosmischstrasse is a chain-linked stream of tone poems. The program is at once absorbing and confounding and offers a consistent sense of surprise.” Listen here.
Cosmosongs is a newly constituted album juxtaposing the instrumental wizardry of Mike Taylor (bass), Bart Miltenberger (trumpet), Jon Thompson (sax, flute) and others with the etherial vocals of Vickie Dodd. It’s drawn from later 2006 session remixes, some available now for the first time. This is avant-garde jazz at its purest. JazzReview said of the original recordings: “The musicians involved are all strongly adept, yet the focus is not on musical virtuosity, but rather on the imaginative and spontaneous reactions to sound. The vocalizations are all unique and integrate with the core instrumentation to create fresh textures.” Listen here.
Edge City promises to make brand new music as soon as public health conditions allow. In the meantime, enjoy these fresh takes on classic sessions from an age of relative innocence.
Links:
Overview of Edge City Collective
Guitarrasalto SE digital album