Country : United States Label : Neuma Genres and styles : Modern music Year : 2024

Nathan Hudson and Ben Loory – Music for Falling and Flying

· by Frédéric Cardin

Nathan Hudson is a composer and Ben Loory a writer, particularly of children’s stories. The two Americans have been working together for several years now. The whimsical, eccentric character of Loory’s stories finds an effective, attentive partner in Hudson’s playful, sometimes mischievous music. With the exception of the first piece on the programme, Brace Yourselves! (An Impact for Clarinet and Piano), which is entirely instrumental, all the others incorporate the voice, lyrically or simply as narrator, or both, like little stage productions.

Loory’s stories are as improbable as they are surprisingly rich in psychological depth. The zany situations described invite us, through well-constructed refined lyrics, to touch on more holistic subjects such as hope, surpassing oneself, spirituality, different identities, etc.

Hudson, in a tonal and playful language that does not shy away from expressive dissonance, is very good at picking out the emotional underpinnings of scenarios. Sometimes one wishes he would linger longer on a mood, an atmosphere, rather than constantly, or even abruptly, changing sonic character. Hudson’s musical discourse sometimes seems disjointed, too ‘fidgety’. But the quality of his chamber writing is undeniable, and the composer’s colouristic and expressive abilities impressive. 

We end up following with attention the colourful adventures recounted here: an octopus desperate to touch the sun, a duck in love with a rock, a child who falls into a well and realises he can fly his way out, and a man who is tired of breathing!

Latest 360 Content

Laura Krieg – Crépuscule

Laura Krieg – Crépuscule

The Cure – Mixes Of A Lost World

The Cure – Mixes Of A Lost World

Squid – Cowards

Squid – Cowards

Five Wonderfully Weird Acts to Catch at ShazamFest 2025

Five Wonderfully Weird Acts to Catch at ShazamFest 2025

Nuits d’Afrique | Shatta Initiation with Blaiz Fayah

Nuits d’Afrique | Shatta Initiation with Blaiz Fayah

Nuits d’Afrique | La Chiva Gantiva Launches the Festival with a Bang

Nuits d’Afrique | La Chiva Gantiva Launches the Festival with a Bang

Festival de Lanaudière | Live tour de force by Christian Tetzlaff: the JS Bach Complete Sonatas and Partitas

Festival de Lanaudière | Live tour de force by Christian Tetzlaff: the JS Bach Complete Sonatas and Partitas

Sextile – yes, please.

Sextile – yes, please.

Nuits d’Afrique | KillaBeatMaker, Afro Columbian Electronic Groove

Nuits d’Afrique | KillaBeatMaker, Afro Columbian Electronic Groove

Puffer – Street Hassle

Puffer – Street Hassle

Nuits d’Afrique 2025: ALL About The Program

Nuits d’Afrique 2025: ALL About The Program

Festival de Lanaudière | Collectif9 : contemporary music through groove and folk

Festival de Lanaudière | Collectif9 : contemporary music through groove and folk

Sam Dickinson – Gemini Duets

Sam Dickinson – Gemini Duets

Monkey House – Crashbox

Monkey House – Crashbox

Mark Molnar – EXO

Mark Molnar – EXO

Nuits d’Afrique | SARĀB, Syrian-Lebanese Songs Sizzled With Metal and Jazz-Rock

Nuits d’Afrique | SARĀB, Syrian-Lebanese Songs Sizzled With Metal and Jazz-Rock

Tyr Jami – Morphic Subduction

Tyr Jami – Morphic Subduction

Arve Henriksen, Trygve Seim, Anders Jormin, Markku Ounaskari – Arcanum

Arve Henriksen, Trygve Seim, Anders Jormin, Markku Ounaskari – Arcanum

Steve Holt Jazz Impact Quintet – Impact

Steve Holt Jazz Impact Quintet – Impact

Isabelle Faust/Les Siècles; François-Xavier Roth – Ligeti : Concertos

Isabelle Faust/Les Siècles; François-Xavier Roth – Ligeti : Concertos

Blackwater Holylight – If You Only Knew

Blackwater Holylight – If You Only Knew

M83 – A Necessary Escape (Dakar Chronicles Original Soundtrack)

M83 – A Necessary Escape (Dakar Chronicles Original Soundtrack)

Festival de Lanaudière | The Coronation of Poppea, the triumph of Octavia and the mastery of Alarcon

Festival de Lanaudière | The Coronation of Poppea, the triumph of Octavia and the mastery of Alarcon

Subscribe to our newsletter