The Love It Took To Leave You
November 19, 2024 6:21 AM   Subscribe

Saxophonist and composer Colin Stetson performs 5 tracks off his latest and first non-soundtrack solo album in 7 years: The Love It Took To Leave You (SLYT, [warning for flashing lights]) posted by slimepuppy (6 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
I got a chance to see him in concert for this album, it was an amazing experience. I wasn't sure what to expect from "Live Colin Stetson concert", but as it turns out music as *experience* is the way to describe it. It's as much something felt as anything. The audience didn't know how to move to it at first (do you dance? What does dancing to Colin Stetson sound like?), but eventually it felt like an understanding/consensus was worked out.
posted by CrystalDave at 8:29 AM on November 19, 2024 [2 favorites]


Right there with you CrystalDave, Colin Stetson live is amazing, highly recommended.

Went on a friend's recommendation, and was blown away. Saw him at Great American Music Hall, and the entire room felt like it was pulsating with his same vibrations.

A Stetson performance is really interesting, because he performs w cyclical breathing, like dijiridoo practitioners, and combines that with electronic looping of himself playing. That aspect, combined with his various saxophones, creating this soundscape tapestry that runs the gamut; from fluttering notes and to booming tones that shake your guts.

He creates these epic tone poems that go for long stretches at a time, and you find yourself in a kind of meditative trance. It's like being woven into a Denis Villaneuve movie come to life. And I could tell that most everybody in that room was on the same page. So glad I went.
posted by ishmael at 9:34 AM on November 19, 2024 [2 favorites]


I missed him when played near me due to being sick! I was so excited about it.

I learned about him when I saw Hereditary in IMAX. The sound mixing was astonishing. The first time I saw the film, I didn't appreciate the music accompanying the final scene (Reborn), I think because I was so overwhelmed and also probably because I saw it in a theater that had a just ok sound system. Hearing it in full IMAX sound was a kind of ecstatic experience -- which created a ton of cognitive dissonance with regard to what was happening on the screen. Once I learned who did the soundtrack, I became kind of obsessed.

Dang I wish I'd seen him live!
posted by treepour at 9:42 AM on November 19, 2024 [1 favorite]


Thanks for the post, Colin Stetson is great!

I'm kind of confused by "Colin Stetson’s first solo recording since 2017" (how the release copy describes it). I guess that just means his first without guest artists? I really loved his 2023 album When we were that what wept for the sea. Another one that stands out for me is his collab with Beacon from a couple years ago.
posted by advil at 10:35 AM on November 19, 2024 [2 favorites]


I had tickets to go see him perform the Hereditary soundtrack live in London but I had to miss it. So gutted about that.

I say it every time he's mentioned here, but seeing Stetson live is unlike anything else and I cannot recommend it enough. Like ishmael describes it above: it's like a meditative trance. I've had the same experience a handful of times with other bands, but it's never as consistent and profound as it is with Stetson. There's something about his music that resonates very deeply with me.
posted by slimepuppy at 12:02 PM on November 19, 2024 [1 favorite]


(There's a longform video now as well.)
posted by box at 12:11 PM on November 22, 2024


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