Week VIII

All right, you got me. This week I have no excuse. I have neglected to write a blog post for week 7, but that only means this one will have double the content, and double the FUN.

I hope you're all recovering from watching the Oscars last night, apparently the most important thing going on in the country at the time. For my part, I was happily listening to Caution by Hot Water Music in its entirety while doing French homework.

But now, let's get down to the brass tacks. Starting with lists:

The playlist for last Monday's broadcast can be found here.
The playlist for this evening's broadcast can be found here.
AND as an added bonus, here's the playlist for the presidents day special I did last Monday morning, featuring some additional tunes by DJ Chris B of Rhythm Method, on Wednesdays from 8 to 10pm on WKDU. 

Some notable pieces from the past two shows include
1.The Yellow River Piano Concerto performed by the China Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring prominent Chinese pianist Lang Lang. This piece reminded me of certain video game soundtracks which I grew up with, quite possible one of the main factors contributing to my current passion for music.
2. Circus Maximus by contemporary American composer John Corigliano, whose motivation somewhat touches on the aversion I feel to popular forms of media and specifically the television.
3. Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" narrated by Benjamin de Loache, along with a composition by Acrady Dubensky performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. If you ever have the chance, I'd highly recommend visiting Poe's former residence on 7th and Spring Garden streets (just near the Electric Factory).
4. Verano Porteno by Astor Piazzola. Piazzola, one of the foremost Argentinian Tango composers, has a very tenuous connection with the city of Philadelphia (as far as I know) in that one of his compositions, Suite Punta del Este, was the inspiration for the theme to the film, Twelve Monkeys, which is based in this city.

And there are many notable local artists I want to present to you, and I had a hard time deciding on one to be this week's featured local artist, but, after careful deliberation, I have chosen: The Districts. 

The Districts are a garage/rock and roll band whose energy when performing makes there music near impossible to react to, whether physically or emotionally. Perhaps the most notable feature of the band are the vocals, whose delivery is made with utmost passion and precision by frontman Rob Grote. 




So, if that's all you have to hear me say, that'll be all I have to say.
Bye for now.

Cheers!
_nick

Week VI

So you may be wondering, why have I neglected the V, week five (5)? You see, I am following the academic term week numberings here at Drexel University, and due to the fact that last week's radio show was forgone, I skipped to Week 6, VI.

I hope you're still enjoying the classical sonorites being conveyed to you each Monday night from 8 pm (with the exception of last week) to 10 pm, from the transmitter at the top of Van Rensselaer Hall to your antennae and into and out of your speakers wherever you may be listening, in Philadelphia or beyond.

This week's playlist can be found here.

Standout tracks include Rossini's Guillaume Tell: Overture, performed by Lamberto Gardelli and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which I'm quite sure has been featured in cartoons I have watched as a child (A bullfight comes to mind). If you know which particular ones, please notify me via comment or email at tenselesssensations@gmail.com.

And, finally, *drumrollllllllll* the local artist of the week: Trophy Wife. They recently played a benefit for the charitable organization Decarcerate PA (which aims to decrease funding on prisons and focus more on education). I'll not delve into the politics of it, but Trophy Wife is a band made up of two young women who play loud, aggressive punk rock. Their live shows are purely entertaining, featuring the aforementioned hard rock juxtaposed with entertaining banter between songs. Check out their bandcamp below.


Also of note is a one man band called Gull, also out of Philadelphia. He plays the guitar and drums at once, look him up and go see him to be amazed and incredified, I command you.

Thanks for reading, and as usual, I'll catch you all Monday at 8. Alsodon'tforgettofollowmeontwitter.

Peace,
_nick

Week III & Week IV

Greetings,

It is 11 pm on January 29th, 2013. I am setting down the facts of my past accomplishments here to be visited and revisited among the interminable procession of facts and data constantly uploaded, upgraded, rated, traded, and created on, into, and within this set of circuits we call the internet.

The playlist for last week's show (1/21) can be found here
The playlist for last night's show (1/28) can be found here.

One notable piece from last night is Dance of The Sugar-Plum Fairy, from the Nutcracker, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. You may recognize it from it prominence in various pop-culture media.

The featured local artist for this week is OhBree. Their first album full-length, We Miss You Edward, Come Home, was released late last year. Listen to it below, or on bandcamp.




There's your short and sweet or maybe savory blog post for the week. Stay updated.
Good night for now,
Nick

Chapter 4: Week II

Hey folks, welcome back to the blog. I am striving to bring you a new entry each week this Winter and so far I've been keeping at it, despite this one being one day later than last week's. If this trend continues, by Sunday of week ten the 9th blog post will be published and the final one will happen two Mondays later.

But, eschewing the frivolity of speculation, let's get to the more important matters at hand-----------

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The playlist for last Monday's show can be found here.

Standout tracks include John Cage's Third Construction, performed by the Continuum Percussion Quartet, and part 2 of 4 of Bolero! conducted by Andre Kostelanetz and performed by the Robin Hood Dell Orchestra of Philadelphia. On the latter piece you may have recognized some parts of the composition, which could be explained by their appearance in certain Bugs Bunny cartoons (If you know which ones, don't hesitate to tell me. I would love to know!)

On a different note, I want to let you all know of a Philly band called Ghost Light. The band recently performed live at WKDU and features some great emotional songwriting and instrumentation that will surely resonate within the caverns of your skull for days if not weeks. Listen below and if you like it vote for them for Deli Magazine's year end poll for emerging artists: http://philadelphia.thedelimagazine.com/snacks.

Playlist From January 9th, 2013

Artist	Title	Album	Label	New
Kayako Matsunaga & The Tokyo Symphony	Theldon Myers: Cadenza And Lament (1977)	Music From Six Continents 1995 Series
Frederic Chopin	Piano #2 In F Minor, Op. 21, B 43 - 2. Larghetto
Otto Klemperer: Philharmonia Orchestra	Mozart: Symphony #38 In D, K 504, "Prague" - 1. Adagio, Allegro
Daniel Smith; Philip Ledger: English Chamber Orchestra	Vivaldi: Bassoon Concerto #28 in C
Charles Curtis; Anthony Burr; Naren Budhakar	JS Bach: Suite No. 3 in C major. BWV 1009 - v. Bouree
Italian Concerto in F major, BWV971 1. Allegro	JS Bach: Andr'as Schiff, piano
Sylvia Ballet Suite: Cortege De Baccus	Leo Delibes
Richard Stoltzman/ Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra	Maid with the Flaxen Hair
John Williams	Joaquin Rodrigo: Invocacion Y Danza, "Hommage A Falla"
Andre Kostelanetz: Robin hood Dell Orchestra of Philadelphia	Bolero! pt 1	Bolero!
Piffaro	Anon: Espanyoleta; Gayta	Los Ministreles - Spanish Renaissance Wind Music
Eve Queler & The Opera Orchestra of New York	Puccini: Edgar; Act III (Beginning)

We're Back. It's 2013!

... and by "we" I of course mean "me". Me're back, and I'd like to start off wish prosperous wishes for my loyal and new listeners and readers.

Tensless Sensations will be reinventing itself once again this winter by providing for you classical and traditional music from around the world.

Stay tuned and keep your clickers close to the blog portal, because from now are we'll be posting weekly updates right here in this very place, featuring notable artists and sources, commemorations and anniversaries ,free downloads, recommendations and upcoming/up-and-coming artists.

Remix Contest Details

Attention all aspiring DJs, electronic musicians, producers, and creative minds!
Announcing the first weekly Tenseless Sensations Remix Contest.

Each week from now on I will choose a song from my playlist, and you, the listener, will remix it and send it to me. I will play my favorite one on the show the following week, and I'll give you a distinguished mention on the blog.

  This week's objective is "Chained" by The xx. 

The track can be downloaded here.

   Get your submissions in before Wednesday, Nov. 28th. Send to TenselessSensations@gmail.com.

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Some options for free DJ software are
1. Mixxx
2. Kramixer 
3. Ultramixer
 There is also djay (mac only) if you don't mind spending some money.
And don't forget Ableton, a professional music production software.