Ione & Pauline Oliveros - Water Above Sky Below Now (2016)

The Deep Listening Institute's founder, Pauline Oliveros, and artistic director, Ione, convene a bewitching duo in this recording for Rabih Beaini's Morphine Records, made at New York Live Arts, Live Ideas Festival 2015. Pauline performs a uniquely tuned accordion, harmonica and electronics, whilst Ione provides spoken word vocals in a rich vein of experimental NYC tradition, swept into hall-of-mirrors refractions with dynamic processing. Whilst the pairing have been previously found collaborating on a pair of DVD collaborations circa 2009-2010, this is their first duo collusion since writing for Sonic Youth's 'Goodbye 20th Century' album in 1999, and sounds remarkably fresh yet timeless, all considered. It breaks down to three parts; a 13 minute solo of pealing, keening polyphonic discord and drone by Pauline, before redirecting our attention to Ione's vox, moving freely between extended technique, spoken word narration and surreal electronic processing to avant, operatic effect in the final 18-minute part 3. As with Morphine's recent run of recordings by Charles Cohen, Senyawa, and Sote, the dancefloor is literally outta sight, but the metaphysical 'floor of the mind is lit up in fantastic style.