I worked on the release of Revelation when I was label manager at Cantaloupe Music. It remains a career highlight, if only because the music on this LP feels more enduring than many more commercially successful records I’ve worked on. (To be clear, it did ok—and an added measure of its success is how many unexpected people still remember it as fondly as you do.)
He was a soft-spoken yet deeply focused person. I last exchanged emails with him a few years ago about some later albums he’d made — including a collaboration with some time Kranky artist Christina Vantzou. I’m glad so many of recordings of his work exist, so there are new ones to discover, alongside re-experiencing this masterpiece.
Listened to Evening Light for the first time yesterday at your prompting. Thank you; recordings remain…
Another anecdote for someone who, I take it, came up in the same Brooklyn music era I did: I somehow got Revelation into Grizzly Bear’s hands, and Michael ended up being their hand-picked opener for an early show in the Wordless Music series. Not a small thing! To perform Revelation, I believe Michael had to spend considerable time and money just to retune the pianos. A very special memory for me watching him blow the minds of “indie rock” fans very much not expecting the depths that piece hit.
Anyhow, “peak indie” Brooklyn music was a lot more interesting than it’s often given credit for.
p.s. Found this review of the concert. I miss the world in which music writing was not measured by clicks + impressions but how it left a nice ‘first draft’ of history to return to later on.
I worked on the release of Revelation when I was label manager at Cantaloupe Music. It remains a career highlight, if only because the music on this LP feels more enduring than many more commercially successful records I’ve worked on. (To be clear, it did ok—and an added measure of its success is how many unexpected people still remember it as fondly as you do.)
He was a soft-spoken yet deeply focused person. I last exchanged emails with him a few years ago about some later albums he’d made — including a collaboration with some time Kranky artist Christina Vantzou. I’m glad so many of recordings of his work exist, so there are new ones to discover, alongside re-experiencing this masterpiece.
Thanks for sharing that Alec. His newest work Evening Light is quite beautiful as well.
Listened to Evening Light for the first time yesterday at your prompting. Thank you; recordings remain…
Another anecdote for someone who, I take it, came up in the same Brooklyn music era I did: I somehow got Revelation into Grizzly Bear’s hands, and Michael ended up being their hand-picked opener for an early show in the Wordless Music series. Not a small thing! To perform Revelation, I believe Michael had to spend considerable time and money just to retune the pianos. A very special memory for me watching him blow the minds of “indie rock” fans very much not expecting the depths that piece hit.
Anyhow, “peak indie” Brooklyn music was a lot more interesting than it’s often given credit for.
cc: @Us v. Them by Ronen Givony
p.s. Found this review of the concert. I miss the world in which music writing was not measured by clicks + impressions but how it left a nice ‘first draft’ of history to return to later on.
signed,
middle aged music nerd grumbling
https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/live-reviews/wordless-music-series-grizzly-bear-nyc-031107-2063
Guess who's back <Rakim music>
Let's normalize Merrells and corduroy as the perfect rave wear in 2026!