Charles Cohen - A Retrospective (2014)

Double CD compilation of those enchanting Charles Cohen vinyl releases + two unreleased recordings. Packaged in a rigid double CD box with booklet. Philadelphia's Charles Cohen, free-jazz improviser and synth composer, has managed to remain almost unknown outside of his local improv scene for decades. This retrospective of his early works, all recorded between 1976-1989, testify to the understated genius of his work. Fleeting between polyrhythmic cosmic patterns, gravity-tarred bleeps and noise, outer-worldly melodies, all executed with unfathomable astuteness and grace, this collection showcases the breadth of this idiosyncratic electronic musician. One of the few people to master the rare Buchla Music Easel, his work since the 1970s has focused almost exclusively on this instrument. With his first solo European tour hypnotizing audiences in early 2014, his work is finally reaching a wider audience, enchanted by his mesmerizing yet deeply focused approach. His roaming, raw synths, rhythmic intensity and immersive drones have resonated with uncanny familiarity for a younger generation of electronic experimentalists. This double CD release combines all three LPs released on Morphosis' Morphine Records in 2013, excavated from Cohen's archives; "The Middle Distance" featuring his early works from the Philadelphia's "No Man's Land" art installment, the University Of Texas in El Paso and The Painted Bride Art Center performances as well as "Dance of the Spiritcatchers," originally issued in 1980 on Zero Records; "Group Motion," a live recording from a dance theater piece in Philadelphia of the same name and "Generator," a live recording from Generator Sound Art Gallery in NYC (featuring the Music Easel and the even rarer Buchla 700 series, apparently the only two known recordings of this instrument ever formally released); and Music for Dance and Theater, a further collection containing some of Cohen's collaborations and performances in theater pieces and art installations by Jeff Cain and Tonio Guerra, amongst others. This selection includes two previously-unreleased tracks "Conundrums" and "Slow Blue and Horizontal." Each track has Cohen's immediately captivating hallmark, equal parts playful and mysterious. A stunning retrospective, unearthing a wealth of truly beautiful material.