Maya Beiser Releases 'TERRY RILEY: IN C'; Performs at National Sawdust in April

On April 5, 2024, cellist and producer Maya Beiser will release her newest solo album, Maya Beiser x Terry Riley: In C, on her Islandia Music Records label. On it, Maya recreates Terry Riley's In C as a series of ever-evolving cello loops. Enveloped by live drumming by Shane Shanahan and Matt Kilmer, Maya constructs a hypnotic, rapturous soundscape that re-envisions this classic Minimalist masterpiece.

To celebrate the release, Maya will perform In C live at National Sawdust (80 N 6th St., Brooklyn, NY) on Saturday, April 6, at 7:30pm with Shane Shanahan and Matt Kilmer, incorporating spatial sound designed specifically for National Sawdust's immersive Meyer Constellation system.

“To me,” Maya says, “Terry Riley's In C is an amalgamation of an ‘open source' and ‘sacred text.' In creating this album I was interested in finding the serendipitous rhythmic and melodic connections that emerge when reconstructing In C's 53 melodic cells as a series of cello loops, floating above continuous C string cello drones. The cello's lowest, most lush string, with its overtones and harmonics, forms the depth and resonance of the album.”

Terry Riley describes Maya's performance on the recording as, “stunningly beautiful.” He says, “The overall shape flows so naturally and her cello sound is so warm and powerful.”

About Maya Beiser:

Hailed as “the reigning queen of avant-garde cello” by The Washington Post, Maya Beiser brings a bold and unorthodox presence to contemporary classical music. Raised on a commune in Israel's Galilee Mountains by her Argentinean father and French mother, Beiser spent her early life surrounded by the music and rituals of Jews, Muslims, and Christians, while studying classical cello repertoire. Throughout her extensive career she has been a featured performer on the world's greatest stages, defying conventional norms with her boundary-crossing performances. Maya has collaborated with eclectic artists across five continents, reimagining solo cello performance in the mainstream arena. Maya's vast discography includes fourteen solo albums, many of them topping the classical music charts, and she is the featured soloist on numerous film soundtracks. A graduate of Yale University, Maya Beiser is a United States Artists (USA) Distinguished Fellow in Music and was a Mellon Distinguished Visiting Artist at MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology. She is the founder of Islandia Music Records, an independent record label that creates work with large-scale social, cultural, and spiritual impact by pushing the boundaries of the art-music genre.

For more information, visit www.mayabeiser.com.

 

Track Listing:

Maya Beiser x Terry Riley: In C

Islandia Music Records

Release Date: April 5, 2024

 

Terry Riley: In C 1-10

Total Time: 55:04

 

Maya Beiser, cello, vocals

Shane Shanahan, drums

Matt Kilmer, drums

 

Produced by Maya Beiser

Recorded by Dave Cook at The Art at Foothill Farm, Lenox, MA

Edited and mixed by Dave Cook at Area 52 Studios, Saugerties, NY

Mastering by Scott Hull at Masterdisk in Peekskill, NY

Photography by Hu Boyang

Art direction by Denise Burt

Creative Director: Kristen Loring Brennan

 

About Islandia Music Records:

Islandia Music Records is an independent record label that engages avant-garde musicians, visual artists, sound designers and technology innovators who are redefining the boundaries of art and music. Founded by cellist and producer Maya Beiser, Islandia Music Records is on a mission to foster, support, and represent the whole vision of our artists, working to create new vernacular with large-scale cultural, spiritual and social impact.

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