Name: Clarinet and Piano: Selected Works, Vol. 2
Brand: Group Listening

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

LP-PRAH-044LEC

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Colour

Clear

Colour details

Milky Clear

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Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2022-09-09

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Redeye

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

5060918151770

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / clear

Artist

Group Listening

Genre US

Modern Composition

Label US

Prah Recordings

Group Listening is a musical duo consisting of Stephen Black and Paul Jones. Their unique sound combines elements of ambient, jazz, and classical music to create a captivating listening experience. With their debut album "Clarinet & Piano: Selected Works Vol. 1," Group Listening showcases their exceptional talent and ability to create beautiful, atmospheric compositions. Their music has been praised for its emotive qualities and intricate arrangements, making them a must-listen for fans of experimental and genre-blending music.

Stephen Black is an accomplished clarinetist known for his versatility and innovative approach to playing the instrument. His skillful performances bring a rich depth to Group Listening's music, adding layers of texture and emotion.

Paul Jones is a talented pianist who brings his technical expertise and creative flair to Group Listening's compositions. His intricate piano melodies perfectly complement the clarinet, resulting in harmonious pieces that are both soothing and thought-provoking.

Group Listening’s brilliant first album, Clarinet &amp; Piano: Selected Works, Vol.1, was a haunting, meditative and lovingly considered selection box of musical reworkings. It featured rearranged tracks by the likes of Arthur Russell, Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt. Fast forward a couple of years, a remix album of Vol.1, 12” What’s A Girl To Do? - featuring a re-work of the Fatima Yamaha club staple - an EP of re-arrangements with Cate Le Bon from her LP Reward, a remix of Lambchop’s This Is What I Wanted To Tell You and the pair started Clarinet &amp; Piano: Selected Works Vol.2 from an altogether different vantage point.

Whereas their first record was put together over an intense three-day period in a hired-out studio, Vol. 2 saw the pair having to work around various pandemic lockdowns. This meant taking over Jones’ living room, where they gradually put its ten tracks together between September last year until March of this. They would record one or two songs over a couple of days then pause for the week, building and ruminating on ideas; it allowed the music take on a more ambitious nature – albeit within the chosen pairing of piano and clarinet – but also took in all the bits of chat, traffic noise and other creaks and squeaks of a home recording.

Taken as a whole, there’s a gorgeous ambience to the record but that shouldn’t be confused for Volume 2 being an ambient listen. The organic understanding that Black and Jones have of each other’s processes as musicians means that the music sounds incredibly fluid, but the overall tranquillity of the record is made up of dozens of small nuances. It’s a puzzle that’s been put together just below the surface as the duo react with a warm emotion to the songs they’ve chosen.

It’s in the way that Group Listening are able to prod, probe and contort the self-defined parameters that they’ve set themselves that makes Clarinet &amp; Piano: Selected Works Vol.2 such an intriguing listen – and it’s the love and care they’ve taken over it that makes these versions entirely their own.

Clarinet and Piano: Selected Works, Vol. 2

Music US