Multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer Joseph Branciforte founded the {greyfade} label in 2019 to put the spotlight back on music offered as a physical object, with visual wrapping (sleeve) and information (booklet). He has chosen to take this a step further by creating the FOLIO sub-label, which brings out hardcover books featuring musicological commentary, visuals, scores, and more. The second in the series is entitled “Taylor Deupree: Sti.ll”, an instrumental recreation of the album “Stil.”, released in 2002 by composer Taylor Deupree, founder of the 12k label.
Transforming an electronic project into instrumental music is nothing new in itself. In this case, the original product is a four-piece album of experimental ambient music. Layers of electronic textures are sometimes crossed by glitches that eventually become a regular rhythm, or not. To reproduce this with instruments, Banciforte called on six musicians, five of whom are featured on Recur: Laura Cocks (flute), Christopher Gross (cello), Sam Minaie (double bass) and Ben Monder (acoustic guitar), with Taylor Deupree himself on lyre and percussion, as the instigator of the project. Clarinetist Madison Greenstone goes solo on Temper, playing clarinet, bass clarinet, and contrabass clarinet. Branciforte closes the program with the original project’s title track, “Stil,” which he plays on vibraphone and could well pass for… electronic music. The result is certainly a success, even if the instrumental textures, more organic and moving, seem to fill the space more than the original 2002 recordings do.
