大象传媒

Jennifer Lucy Allan presents the latest Late Junction long-distance collaboration session between American vocal pioneer Joan La Barbara and London-based bassist Ruth Goller.

Joan La Barbara鈥檚 career as a performer, composer and sound artist explores the human voice as a near limitless instrument. Over the past 50 years, La Barbara has developed a unique vocabulary of experimental and extended vocal techniques: multiphonics, circular singing, ululation and glottal clicks have all become part of her signature sound, opening up new possibilities for subsequent generations of composers and singers. She has performed and recorded works by composers including John Cage, Morton Feldman and Philip Glass, and is widely regarded as a virtuoso in her field.

Ruth Goller is a London-based bassist, vocalist and composer who has received admiration for her 鈥渢hunderous bass-guitar hooks鈥�. Goller helped lay the foundation for the UK鈥檚 jazz renaissance, recording with artists such as Shabaka Hutchings and Kit Downes, and performing on stage with Acoustic Ladyland, Melt Yourself Down, Let Spin and Vula Viel. Growing up in the border region between Italy and Austria, she has always been fascinated by the differences and similarities in spoken language, with her ear for words influencing her approach to music, or as she puts it: 鈥淢usic is a language and I always want to learn as much as I can about it鈥�.

Elsewhere in the show we hear music used to accompany religious ceremonies, including a sacred Melkite chant from Lebanon's Sister Marie Keyrouz plus a recording from a Balinese temple of the Gamelan Selonding Ensemble; and there鈥檚 a future-looking interpretation of Tuareg guitar music from Nigerien musician Moussa Tchingou sent directly to Jen over WhatsApp.

Produced by Katie Callin and Gabriel Francis
A Reduced Listening production for 大象传媒 Radio 3