John Luther Adams: Ilimaq for four percussionists (or one percussionist with digital delay). Grammy-winning composer John Luther Adams always speaks with reverence about capturing “the tone within thenoise ” and if any of his recent work can be said to take that mission directly to heart it’s Ilimaq. A true electro-acoustic recording that channels the energy passion and precision of Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche Ilimaq (which loosely translates from the native Alaskan Inupiaq language as “spirit journeys”) maps a vivid phantasmagorical progression through liquid cascades of percussion otherworldly ambient soundscapes harmonic dissonance melodic convergence and almost everything that’s musically—and sonically—possible in between.
