The theme here is the violin and similar instruments including string sections. 

You can propose tracks that you like (youtube videos or whatever works; play the music to use in any case), and that somehow fit the theme. In the beginning we're only collecting proposals (and comment on them as much as we like). At some point (maybe after two weeks or so) I'll ask everyone to nominate one of their proposals for the final poll, which can then be started (we can have two proposals per participant if there are ten or fewer). There you have three votes, but don't vote for your own proposals.

The idea is to make things known to each other that are not so well known, so the rule is either to pick something that is not listed on PA, or something from an album that has at lost 50 ratings on PA (it shouldn't be on any album that has more). Classical is also fine.

I hope that's clear enough!?

So who wants to play? 

Playlist of nominations for voting (plus Limerick Junction on https://soundcloud.com/johannes-schiefner/shadowy-waters-the-winding?in=johannes-schiefner/sets/the-years-of-limerick-junction&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing" rel="nofollow - https://soundcloud.com/johannes-schiefner/shadowy-waters-the-winding?in=johannes-schiefner/sets/the-years-of-limerick-junction&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing :

Playlist of the suggestions:

Limerick Junction - Shadowy Waters/The Winding Stairs

https://soundcloud.com/johannes-schiefner/shadowy-waters-the-winding?in=johannes-schiefner/sets/the-years-of-limerick-junction&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing" rel="nofollow - https://soundcloud.com/johannes-schiefner/shadowy-waters-the-winding?in=johannes-schiefner/sets/the-years-of-limerick-junction&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

I'll play as long as there is no violince.

A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears

I started by listening to Cristi's classical pieces; happy to have something like this in an interactive poll again. Out of these two the Samuel Barber is my favourite, very moving. The Enescu one wrongfooted me a bit as this doesn't really fit my mood, but the more it goes on, the more I'm impressed by its fireworks character. Lots going on there.

Thank you for the kind words. 

Nice indeed! Nice theme (last year I was thinking doing something around the cello...). 

I love that A Winged Victory for the Sullen album; could have been a suggestion of mine, but I'll have no troubles finding others.

For starters, a band I love and that get not much talked about here on PA, so I don't know to what extent their music is known (probably less than their name). Here with Sylvia Houtzager on violin (her name is quite appropriate for a violin player: it means "wood sawyer"...). I checked, the Live in Amsterdam album has only 18 ratings and it has a wonderful rendition of:

Flairck - Voorspel in Sofia (Preliminaries in Sofia):

You wanted violin, violin is what you get!

I think I used Steve Reich's Violin Phase in an earlier IA-poll; it would be a perfect fit here... So, something else. Recently I stumbled upon the work of violin player Laura Cannell thanks to a bandcamp suggestion. Very intriguing work, in my opinion. I'll put up two different pieces: a first one recorded in a shipping container, featuring Violin, Overbowed Violin and Voice, and the second one is a collaboration work with cello player Kate Ellis. They did a year long project of EPs (These Feral Lands 2021: A Year Documented in Sound & Art), one for each month, some pieces accompanied by a video work, and since it's February...

Laura Cannell - No Sound is Lost:

Laura Cannell & Kate Ellis - Follow Me to The Lantern Marsh (February Sounds):

Alejandro Matos - Verde por Dentro

Nick Drake - 'Çello Song

Yeah, I love the use of violin by Limerick Junction and I love this track, and I do realise that here over some distance the fiddle arguably plays second fiddle to the bagpipe. But then there's the second half.  (In fact one could also argue that these are two tracks, evil me...)

I love the A Winged Victory... track by the way, very meditative.

From Denmark, this time. They call themselves an "experimental performance and sound collective". This track is from their debut album A New Age of Sensibility and combines violin, cello, percussion and voice.

This is the first act that came to mind. Most of you may have heard of John Zorn's Masada project but I believe that not everyone is familiar with this work in detail, as it now consists of over 600 compositions and it is performed by several ensembles with different instrumentation.

The Masada String Trio is one of them. They perform selections from the Masada songbook in a classical-chamber jazz form (Mark Feldmann, violin; Erik Friedlander, cello; Greg Cohen, bass).  With the addition of Marc Ribot (guitar), Cyro Baptista (percussion) and Joey Baron (drums) this same group has performed as the "Bar Kokhba Sextet". The performing style of both groups is characterized by the use of improvisation and its use of the inflections of Jewish music that are part of the compositional language of Zorn's "Masada" themes.

Masada String Trio: Raamiel (Haborym: Book of Angels Vol. 16, 2010)

I'll try to come up with something else during the weekend.

Dave Lindholm is a Finnish singer/songwriter active since 1970s until today. This is one of his best known songs. 

edit: here's more while I'm at it:

CMX - Nainen tanssii tangoa 

CMX are a Finnish rock band active since late 1980s. They are in the archives, but the album Aura where this track is from has 8 ratings when I checked. Here's a live version, but it's more or less 1:1 with the album version. 

Here's one by Czech violin & voice wizardess Iva Bittova with Bang on a Can All Stars: Elida

Mine & Orchestra: Pusteblumenfeld (en. Dundelion Field)

Off the album: Das Ziel steht im Weg (en. The Goal Is in the Way), 2016.

Mine (Jasmin Stocker) is one of my favourite current German solo artists. She is a singer and songwriter and she also performs with orchestra and various guest musicians, making the orchestra arrangements herself. In terms of genre, her music can be described as jazzy, poetic and witty songwriter pop, including influences of electronic music and German rap. This is a live performance with orchestra. To meet the rules, I have chosen a simple ballad where she is mainly accompanied by the string section. 

This suggestion is probably more suitable for German speakers (a lyrics translation of this song is available online btw), but if you like what you hear, Mine has released seven albums so far, the latest of which was released this year.

_____________________

This edition is building up quite nicely! I hope I can soon take the time to listen to the many suggestions.

Listened to everything posted up till now and I must say that it was all very interesting to listen to - no bad music here! Personally, I'm more interested in the more contemporary music / avant-garde type of suggestions (as you might guess from my own suggestions...), but all make up for a good listening session.

Hope there will be some more discoveries to come...

This is my first yt playlist ever. So exciting!  

Can you tell me your final nominations over the weekend please?

We can have two nominations per participant. 

Gang of Youths: Achilles Come Down

Album: Go Farther in Lightness, 2017

Dave Lindholm - Pieni & hento ote

CMX - Nainen tanssii tangoa

Alejandro Matos - Verde por Dentro

Nick Drake - 'Cello Song

For my nominations I go with my latter pair:

- We Like We - Anticipation

This came by on the radio the other day and it made me think of this poll. It is not particularly good, in my opinion, not even funny, but it is not terribly horrible either... is it?

Hayseed Dixie - The Final Countdown:

I have to admit that I did this a bit prematurely, as Mila has not written what they nominate. I would normally wait for this and I'm sorry that I didn't, but I wanted to have this off my to do list, so I just put up all three of your nominations and you can still me to strike one of them off (admittedly a bit unfair to the others but so is life). My favourites of yours are the second and third by the way, so Mine & Orchestra and Gang of Youths.

Also note that the Limerick Junction thing is not on youtube but can be heard on soundcloud linked in the second posting on p.1.

PS: New playlist of nominations posted in first posting.

My nominations: If possible, please replace the Masada String Trio piece with the one below (It's a bit more cheerful and shorter than the other one). As for my second nomination, I would like to stick with the Gang of Youths song because Mine's song is rather something for German-speakers imo. I may bring her on another occasion. Thanks in advance!

Here's an alternate, adapted playlist, just in case.

Done.

Here are a few words about our line-up.

Cristi brings two classical pieces. Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody is influenced by Romanian folk music which makes this suggestion very special for me, even though Barber’s piece was written specifically for strings and thus gets a little closer to the subject.

Kees, on the other hand, has opted for a more contemporary approach. The Danish group "We like We" expands their inspiration and influence from their classical roots to the world of electronic music. Furthermore, we have the solo project of the group’s violinist, which I experience as a type of artistic sound performance. I find both pieces interesting in their own way with a preference of the former being a more complete composition imo.

Greg adds with “A Winged Victory for the Sullen’s” ambient track in combination with strings a cinematic atmosphere which I myself strongly associate with string instruments. The instrumental by the Hong Kong indie-rockers "Hungry Ghosts" could easily be used in a film as well. Here I especially enjoy the interplay of violin with acoustic guitar and the dramatic build-up of the song.

George shows us the musical diversity of two violin based solo acts which, to some extent allows us to make a direct comparison. Catherine Graindorge has collaborated with various international artists, besides Iggy Pop, e.g. with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis on several of their soundtracks one of which I considered for this poll. It’s great to hear some of her solo work too. - I have heard of Nash the Slash before, but I am not familiar with his music really. I’d like to get to know more of his work. He was one of a kind for sure!

Christian chooses two acts that are inspired by folk music in different ways,  a music genre that inspired me as well. I’m aware of Iva Bittova. I know she has gained some international acclaim through her experimental work and international collaborations, i.a. with Bang on a Can and Fred Frith. I appreciate her instrumental technique but am less of a fan of her vocal skills. -  Limerick Junction gave me a pleasant surprise with their interpretation of Irish/Celtic music. Definitely one of the better foreign bands playing this style.

Pekka surprises us with a punk version of Finnish tango by the band CMX and a ballad by the Finnish singer-songwriter Dave Lindholm. I’m always open to new experiences and I find CMX’ reinterpretation of Finnish tango interesting but Dave won over my heart with his beautiful ballad, characterised by a well-balanced interplay of vocals, electric guitar, and strings.

Robert suggests another pairing of a rock and a singer-songwriter act, but this time we have an international selection: A prog band from Argentina with a rich instrumentation and an English singer-songwriter from the 1970s. Could Nick Drake be a direct competitor to Dave Lindholm? Let’s see . .

Marek’s Banzaïm from Belgium, reminiscent of prog greats such as Genesis and Yes provide a beautiful finale to our playlist.

And what about Mila’s choice? Well, she still cannot do without a few chords of jazz and can’t keep her hands off John Zorn, albeit this time in the a bit hidden form of a string trio . .  I'm not quite sure how to vote yet. Give me one more day pls.

Have a great weekend everyone! 

I'm going to vote for some contemplative/meditative music this time. I have five candidates for the three votes, that's Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Steep Hills of Vicodin Tea, Catherine Graindorge - Lockdown, the Masada String Trio's Malkiel and Katrine Grarup Elbo - Interlunium. I also love the Nick Drake track but knew it already. CMX have a great track there but the vocals aren't quite up with the instrumental brilliance. I also like the Nash the Slash show and some others, but only three votes I'm afraid.

I thought first to not vote for Katrine Grarup Elbo as she's the only one from my list that already has a vote, but I realise that this is the number one choice for me anyway. It's hard to pick two out of the other four but I'll go for Catherine Graindorge and Samuel Barber. Could be different on another day but so it is now. 

I should also say that there are some monster tracks in the suggestions but not finally nominated, so thanks again for all your contributions!

Dave Lindholm.

I particularly associate the sound of string instruments with emotions. This is a beautiful and emotional ballad, characterised by a well-balanced interplay of vocals, electric guitar, and strings. Moreover, I really appreciate it when someone introduces artists from his home country!

Nash the Slash.

Apart from his eccentric appearance, he was above all an outstanding and innovative musician. Since I am not familiar with much of his music, I’m curious to explore more of his work!

As for my third vote, I am quite torn between the classical music and film music-like pieces and those inspired by folk music. I strongly associate both with string instruments. Moreover, I am also very interested in contemporary and experimental music. To some extent, Limerick Junction combine some of these musical influences by their modern interpretation of Irish/Celtic music and they do it very well imo. I know, my point of view is not quite comprehensible, but we have unfortunately only three votes, so I decided also out of my current mood.

Therefore, my third vote will go to:

Limerick Junction.

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Thank you all for your great contributions and thank you for hosting, Christian! 

Catherine Graindorge - Lockdown / the video definitely added to the experience, it was good to see how she built the track.

Nick Drake - 'Cello Song / an old favourite. 

Masada String Trio - Malkiel / John Zorn is very much hit and miss for me, but this is easily some of his better stuff to my taste. 

Honorable mentions to Gang of Youths and Samuel Barber. 

Glad to hear people's thoughts on CMX, especially as the song is an anomaly and a curiosity in their catalogue. 

As said earlier, there were many interesting pieces of music to listen to in this playlist, but my personal preferences are more leaning towards the experimental/avant-garde/contemporary pieces. So my votes go to:

- Catherine Graindorge

- Iva Bittova with Bang on a Can All Stars

- Masada String Trio

Although the third spot was almost taken by the beautiful contemplative, melancholic piece by Hungry Ghost or by A Winged Victory for the Sullen, but I know the latter and have their excellent album it is off.

^ Well, yes undoubtedly, but this mainly - I think - shows that music can be appreciated in different ways: by the heart, by the mind, by the feet... (but you do know by now that I don't like dance music ), and probably through other means/ways of appreciation. Many are looking for melody, harmony or those kind of musical attributes (like "complexity" for us prog fans) that have dominated - Western  - musical conventions and that have formed/determined our aural and cultural experience.

Personally, I like as well music that goes to the heart, plays with our emotions, as music that fascinates me for other reasons: the way it generates/organises sounds, uses - traditional - instruments to create something that goes beyond the conventions of music in order to explore sonic palettes and adventures... I'd prefer the notion of  "conceptual"  instead of "intellectual" (which sounds pretentious...), but it is indeed a different way of appreciating music (or "sonic experiences", if you prefer...).

1. Catherine Graindorge

2. Banzaï

3. Nash the Slash

Honourable mentions: Limerick Junction, Dave Lindholm, A Winged Victory for the Sullen and CMX.

Mila-13 wrote: ^I don't know what you guys are exactly up to?

Erm... I wasn't up to anything, really. Don't think there are that many PA folks interested in experimental music, apart from us three here (well, a couple of others, probably...). The PA forums have not been very active lately and when they're active it is mainly about the very conventional prog music and bands. Prog fans don't seem to be very progressive in their listening habits.

That said, I could start an Interactive Poll on experimental music just to take the temperature, but I doubt it would get much traction from the folks here...

I had not heard of him until recently. I didn't know he was a violinist either. So thanks for the information! I will check out more of his music. He was introduced here by an orchestral work.

It's always worth a shot! If just a few more people took part, the effort has already payed off imo.