One of the most creative labels, Neuma, continues to build a catalogue of fresh and new musical ideas. Here are a handful of samples of uncharted yet accessible waters.
Two varieties of musical language are given on this album by cellist Bryan Hayslett, using both instrument and voice 
for communication. String and vocals get quirky on the sharp angles of “Cello Chili” while “With The Years” is an elegiac delight. There’s even a piece inspired by the rhythms of voice, a cleverly cadenced “Recovering” that has Hayslett jumping dynamics at a single bound. There’s also a heavy dose of stringed subtones, as on “In Manus Tuas”and the dark grind of “And There Was” with a nimble strum and pizzicato to “No Justice” and a longing on “Tonadas”
Playing cello, piano and electronics, Richard Carr creates a 21st Century string quartet with everyone adding electronics to the mix. Caleb Burhans/vi-va, Clarice Jensen/cel and Carrtoons/b create what is described in the liner notes as “Interactive improvisation”, but feel like well conceived and holistic themes. Carrtoons lays down a steady bass line for the rich textures of “Standing Stone”, with the strings creating a Gaellic effect on “Vik” Carr’s piano is stately in the chamber’d “August Light” while taking the lead around the strings and electronics on the ambient “At A Crossroads”. Sometimes the unit creates harmonics and interplay like Britten or Bartok as on “Play With Fire” and “Circle of Mist” and there’s hints of 90s themes from Enya on the dreamy “Fisson”. Eno ideas set to strings.
When was the last time you heard a modern opera? Well, here you go, with a one-act opera named A Dill Pickle, taken by a short story by Katherine Mansfield and written by Matt Malsky. The string section of Peter Sulski/vi, Mark Berger/va and Ariana Falk/cell support and guide the mezzo soprano of Caitlin Felsman and baritone Callin Marcel Manson through the English libretto. The musical concept is essentially a dialogue, with the structure and style sometimes hinting at the style of Gilbert and Sullivan, with a jauntiness of the early 20th Century. The voices are impeccable and the styling swift and snappy. Set the stage!