Today’s MediaVision video premiere features pianist Nadia Shpachenko performing composer Isaac Schankler‘s Future Feelings from their upcoming album Because Patterns (Aerocade Music).
Because Patterns blends electronic soundscapes with acoustic performances by Aron Kallay, Vicki Ray, and Scott Worthington (Because Patterns/Deep State); Sakura Tsai (Mobile I); and Nadia Shpachenko (Future Feelings).
Here’s what Isaac had to say about Future Feelings:
Future Feelings was composed shortly after the birth of my first kid, and I was watching him slowly wake up to the world, especially to sound. During that time, I was experimenting a lot to figure out what kinds of sounds would comfort him, and some of those sounds found their way into the piece: white noise, synth pads, hypnotically repetitive rhythms and melodies. There is a kind of nostalgia or yearning for childhood that permeates the piece, but I am generally suspicious of nostalgia, so that suspicion is there, too.
Because Patterns is out on May 31st, but you can pre-order the album here.
About Isaac Schankler
Isaac Schankler is a composer, accordionist, and electronic musician living in Los Angeles. Their music has been described as “powerful” (Sequenza21), “delightful” (I Care If You Listen), “ingenious” (The Artificialist), “masterfully composed” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), and “the antidote to sentimentality” (LA Times).
Schankler’s recent performances and commissions include works for the Nouveau Classical Project, Nadia Shpachenko, Figmentum, the Ray-Kallay Duo, Keyed Kontraptions, Kathleen Supové, Friction Quartet, gnarwhallaby, and the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet. They have also written music for critically acclaimed and award-winning independent video games, including Ladykiller in a Bind, Analogue: A Hate Story, Hate Plus, Redshirt, and Depression Quest. Schankler is the artistic director of the concert series People Inside Electronics, and Assistant Professor of Music at Cal Poly Pomona.
About Nadia Shpachenko
Multiple GRAMMY® nominated pianist Nadia Shpachenko enjoys bringing into the world things that are outside the box – powerful pieces that often possess unusual sonic qualities or instrumentation. Nadia’s concert highlights include recitals at Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, on the Piano Spheres and Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella and Chamber Music Series, and with numerous orchestras in Europe and the Americas. An enthusiastic promoter of contemporary music, Nadia premiered more than 60 works by Elliott Carter, Paul Chihara, George Crumb, Daniel Felsenfeld, Tom Flaherty, Annie Gosfield, Vera Ivanova, Leon Kirchner, Amy Beth Kirsten, Hannah Lash, James Matheson, Missy Mazzoli, Harold Meltzer, Isaac Schankler, Adam Schoenberg, Lewis Spratlan, Gernot Wolfgang, Iannis Xenakis, Peter Yates, Jack Van Zandt, and others.
Described as “an exceptional recording of newly composed piano works” (Textura Magazine), Nadia’s Reference Recordings CD “Woman at the New Piano” was nominated for 58th GRAMMY® Awards in 3 categories. Described as “a most invigorating and distinctive release” (Fanfare Magazine), Nadia’s 2018 Reference Recordings release “Quotations and Homages” features premieres of solo and collaborative works for 6 pianists (performed with Ray-Kallay Duo, HOCKET and Genevieve Feiwen Lee) inspired by a variety of earlier composers and pieces. Described as “an impressive collection of new works by outstanding contemporary composers, performed by first-rate musicians” (Sequenza21), Nadia’s new 2019 Reference Recordings album “The Poetry of Places” features premieres of solo and collaborative works (performed with LA Phil pianist Joanne Pearce Martin and LAPQ percussionists Nick Terry and Cory Hills) inspired by diverse buildings. Nadia is also featured on Isaac Schankler’s 2019 Aerocade Music album “Because Patterns” and Gernot Wolfgang’s 2019 Albany Records album “Vienna And The West.” She is a Steinway Artist and professor of music at Cal Poly Pomona University and Claremont Graduate University.