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Abstract

517Steve Reich's Drumming was described in the Boston Herald as "definitive." Where (we) Live is the third work Sō has composed as a group, and it is thematically similar to their 2009 piece, Imaginary City. Sō has kept their studio in Brooklyn despite the numerous professional obligations that take them out of the city. The quartet has been on faculty at Bard College since 2011 and is currently the Edward T. Cone Performers-in-Residence at Princeton University, where it continues to work closely with the university's composition faculty.Beyond the recording, Where (we) Live also exists as a staged performance. The contributions of director Ain Gordon, choreographer Emily Johnson, video artist Martin Schmidt, and the rotating guest artists that Sō invites on stage are absent from the recorded version. These artists add a palpable vitality and degree of indeterminacy that bolster the show's themes of home and community. As such, the recording unfortunately lacks some of the stage show's most salient features.Accompanying album materials are designed simply and executed thoughtfully. Quillen's narrative is not printed in the liner notes, although Mcmurray's handwritten lyrics add a personal, homey touch. Sō's musical home is represented on the album's cover: a photograph of a cardboard reconstruction of the Brooklyn Bridge by artist Frank Olinsky. The back cover is a photograph of a small wooden boat labeled with the handwritten name, "Josh Q." The boat recalls Quillen's narrative. Its visual prominence on the back cover reinforces its importance and suggests that the story speaks of real-life events. The album artwork is simultaneously straightforward and imaginative. It reinforces the themes of childhood, family, and where we live.Listeners who come across this album solely through Sō's recordings of music by Reich and Cage will likely be surprised. Where (we) Live does not sound explicitly like the music of either of those composers, although their influences are quietly present. Instead of a traditional percussion ensemble sound, Where (we) Live reflects much of Cantaloupe Records' catalogue in its innovation and penchant for experimentation. Fans of the label's general aesthetics or of Sō's other original music are likely to enjoy Where (we) Live. The last track on the album is a mantra, titled "Thank You." Mcmurray leads the repeating vocals as the rest of the ensemble joins him. Ambient and at times dissonant sounds steadily build around the voices until they reach a climax and then slowly decay. As the track fades out, Sō and Mcmurray remind listeners that percussion music can be thoughtful and contemplative, introspective and meditative, and need not always end with a bang.Matthew DelCiampo r r r