Inside No. 9, Episode #4: Black Truffle Recipes (part 2) 2016-2022

Episode #4: Black Truffle Recipes (part 2) 2016-2022

And so we enter part two of our Black Truffle feast…

I open part two with a piece of incredible music. Behrman is a wonder and his compositions scratch an itch with me that rarely gets a going over. It’s timeless music that feels like it transcends all around it, yet floats in a fixed position – devoid of interference. Like those powerful words that stay with you, forever etched in your memory; each note and moment is a welcome surprise and is why I chose this piece as the opening.

Another thing that Balck Truffle does is bring (mostly) unheard live performances to our ears. This includes the aforementioned wonder. In recipe two Amelia Cuni performs 30 years ago, yet it sounds like she is here with us now. She studied the classical vocal style of dhrupad for a decade and delivers the music in a style that is wholly akin to her own experience (as an Italian). The love and transcendence offered by an alien absorbed in a world that nourishes her rare gem.

Next up is the incredible Crys Cole and Francis Plagne who create one of the best meditations on minimal vocal and synth performance. Not only does this record have one of the best covers ever made, but it also creates one of the greatest musical trips I have ever heard. Next, we fly to the outer rings with a blast of transcendental tones from Kassel Jaeger. This is a journey through dust and timid light – just forming before things swamp in the din of newly birthed sounds.

Then strikes Richard Youngs with blasts of brass from Sophie Cooper. This is a record that announces the crumbling of the United Kingdom. However grandiose that may sound you can’t help but be sucked into the quicksand of this weighty record. This is the best Richard Youngs record for some time. It’s like the ‘D Side’ of Kid A, desperate to break free and tell its own tale.

It was incredibly difficult to pick a Keiji Haino track for this mix. I will definitely do a deep dive on all his work in the near future. I had to pick one of his recent sessions with Oren Ambarchi and Jim O’Rourke as it is like nothing I’ve heard from them all. It takes off on Saturn and plunders the solar system. That’s all I’ll say. Next up is Sam Dunscombe. The LP explores California’s Mojave desert. Dunscombe made the unlikely discovery of a tangle of quarter-inch tape snared on a cactus. The digitized version of this tape, variously edited and processed, as well as Dunscombe’s own transcription and embellished performance of some of its material on Hammond organ, makes up one of the main ingredients of the LP. Enough said.

We then finish on some outsider compositions, switching from avant-garde chamber music to the fiercely DIY work of the great Phew.

There are so many great records on this label and over these two episodes, I have highlighted some of my favorites. I implore you all to investigate further and follow Black Truffle to find the best voices in the avant-garde underground.

---

Recipe One
David Behrman
Unforeseen Events
1989

Recipe Two
Amelia Cuni
Raag Bageshri
1992

Recipe Three
Crys Cole & Francis Plagne
Two Words
2018

Recipe Four
Kassel Jaeger
Meith
2020

Recipe Five
Richard Youngs
CXXI
2021

Recipe Six
Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke, Oren Ambarchi
辺が5秒の深さ　横に並ぶ水玉模様　上下に移動する点滅
2021

Recipe Seven
Sam Dunscombe
Outside Ludlow
2021

Recipe Eight
Eyvind Kang & Jessika Kenney
Reverse Tree
2016

Recipe Nine
Phew / John Duncan / Kondo Tatsuo
Backfire Of Joy
1982

---

Inside No. 9 is an attempt to share unique narratives through the mixing of 9 songs. Every episode will showcase a new theme, opening up new tributaries of discovery. Inside No. 9 is presented by Peter Taylor, a former features writer for Foxy Digitalis from back in the late 2000s. Peter is a visual artist and musician and has been creating music as MAbH since 2008. 

---

Foxy Digitalis depends on our awesome readers to keep things rolling. Pledge your support today via our Patreon.

---