Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist, teacher, and ornithologist whose music is distinguished by his deep devotion to Catholicism, exoticism, and nature. At the age of 11 he entered the Paris Conservatoire, studying organ and improvisation with Marcel Dupré and composition with Paul Dukas. In 1930, he became the principal organist at La Trinité Cathedral in Paris, a post he held for more than 40 years.
Philadelphia quartet Rosetta push the boundaries between metal, progressive rock, post-rock, space rock, and hardcore punk, employing an experimental songwriting technique filled with chaos and atmospherics. Their sounds range from Pink Floydian / progressive rock sonic layering to walls of pure static ambience to crushing, sweeping sludgey riffage. Their first album (The Galilean Satellites, 2005) was an especially ambitious project: the goal was to record two discs of equal length (one a metal album...
Melbourne septet The Bon Scotts are not an AC/DC covers band but a bittersweet mix of playful melodies, arresting percussion and sing-along choruses. The Bon Scotts defy notions of plain and normal, melding traditional folk instruments with an endearing and satirical voice. Laced with irony and hype, their unconventional hooks and distinct sound have put them at the forefront of the new folk revival.
Will Johnson is the frontman of both the alt-country bands Centro-matic and South San Gabriel. He played drums in the band Funland prior to these groups and has played solo throughout his career. He recently released an album with Magnolia Electric Co. frontman Jason Molina under the name Molina & Johnson. He is also the performing drummer for the band Monsters of Folk.
Graham Dunning is a sound and visual artist based in the UK. His sound sources include field recordings pressed to dubplates; modified records; adapted playback equipment such as reel-to-reel tape players, turntables and Walkmans; found sounds, especially discarded footage of people's home recordings; home made electronics; broken cymbals and other metal objects; and inexpensive delay units.
The recordings themselves take influence from minimalism, turntablism, sound art, noise, musique concrete and ambient music.
