91.3 KBCS

Photo credits: Cergio Prudencio via Kairos Records, Morton Feldman by Philip Guston, Morton Feldman by Steven Slomana, Bryn Harrison via University of Huddersfield, Kris Davis by Peter Gannushkin, The King of Denmark by Morton Feldman, Morton Feldman and John Cage via Non Profit, Louis Andriessen by Francesca Patella, Mark Rothko by Denisova Olesya Alexandrovna, Joan La Barbara by Roberto Massoti, Tyshawn Sorey via the artist. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice

Tonight we celebrates Morton Feldman at 100 with Joan La Barbara, John Cage, Michael Tilson Thomas, and composers like Sorey, Sciarrino and Andriessen that were influenced by Feldman.
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @philipthomas.bsky.social @alarmwillsound.bsky.social @nonesuch.com

Photo credits: Sofia Gubaidulina via Sikorski, Timo Andres by Jason Marck, Koan 3 by Ingrid Laubrock, John Zorn in MindFlux 2010, Keith Jarrett by Rose Anne Colavito, Beckmesser harp by Horngacher, Daphne Oram via Electronic Sound, Gabriel Prokofiev by Nathan Gallagher, Meredith Monk by Julieta Cervantes, Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson by Caroline Mardok, Ornette Coleman by Michael Hoefner, Cosa Brava (Zeena Parkins, Norman Teale, Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, Matthias Bossi) by Heike Liss, Eiffel Tower by Leslie Fehling, Cantica Profana (John Surman, Lucian Ban, Mat Maneri) by Mircea Albutiu. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice

Tonight Flotation Device continues its review of the best new albums of 2025 with Pärt, Jarrett, Gubaidulina, Zorn, Laubrock, Halvorson, Monk, Andres and more
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @nonesuch.com @timoandres.bsky.social @ingridlaubrock.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social

Photo credits: Eleanor Alberga by Ben Ealovega, Tim Berne Trio (Gregg Belisle-Chi, Tom Rainey, Tim Berne) by Sarah Berne, Ig Henneman by Francesca Patella, Steve Reich by Jesse Yang, Peter Eötvös by Jean-Francois Leclercq, self portrait by Alex Paxton, Pigpen (Briggan Krauss, Fred Chalenor, Mike Stone, Wayne Horvitz) via Wayne Horvitz, Trio Mediæval (Linn Andrea Fuglseth, Anna Maria Friman, Jorunn Lovise Husan) by Åsa Maria Mikkelsen, Nastasia Khrushcheva via Melodiya, Sifters (Jeremy Viner, Marc Ducret, Kate Gentile) via the artists, Frederic Rzewski via Nonesuch Records, Stomu Takeishi by Daniel Sheehan, Putu Septa via Other Minds. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice

Tonight Flotation Device begins its annual review of the year's top new releases of exploratory music. Reich, Rzewski, Paxton, Mitchell, Serpa, Gentile, Alberga and Wayne Horvitz's Pigpen are among the headliners
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @stevereich.bsky.social @nonesuch.com

Photo credits: Frederic Rzewski by Lynn Garon, Ye Olde plus Simulacrus (Miles Okazaki, Josh Dion, Mary Halvorson, Ava Mendoza, Sean Moran, Jacob Garchik, Vinnie Sperrazza, Brandon Seabrook, Jonathan Goldberger) by Ernest Stuart, Elisabeth Steiner and Toni Blankenheim in Wozzeck (Staatsoper Hamburg 1970), Cenk Ergün via the artist, Adoration (Marc Kudisch, Naomi Louisa O'Connell, Omar Najmi) by Maria Baranova, Matt Choboter by Krestine Havemann, Chaos Magick (Brian Marsella, Matt Hollenberg, John Medeski, Kenny Grohowski) via Roulette Intermedium, Mako Sica (Przemyslaw Krzysztof Drazek, Hamid Drake, Tatsu Aoki, Brent Fuscaldo, Thymme Jones) by Taylor Hales, Meredith Monk by Julieta Cervantes. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice

Happy 100th BD to Wozzeck, the most iconic modern opera. We'll celebrate in English & German and hear its influence in Mary Kouyoumdjian's Adoration. Plus Jacob Garchik, Zorn, Rzewski, Monk & more.
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@jacobgarchik.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social

Another opportunity to meet Thom @hartmannreport.com in person and pick-up his latest book "The Last American President". Kudos to @kbcs.bsky.social for also including Seattle's young, NEW Mayor-elect, Katie Wilson, at this event. "Democracy is not a spectator sport."

YouTube video by Billy Bragg - Topic A New England

Just heard on @kbcs.bsky.social. Still a favorite!
youtu.be/CHNLiFnWB1g?...

Photo credits: Stefano Gervasoni via the artist, Younghi Pagh-Paan by Astrid Ackermann, Laetitia Sonami via the artist, Miranda Cuckson and Georg Friedrich Haas by Gene Gaudette, Andrew McIntosh via the artist, Osvaldo Coluccino in Rosetta Berardi: Intreccio, Raven Chacon by Adam Conte, Giacinto Scelsi via Wikimedia Commons, Brandon Ross via 27 East, Nina C. Young via the artist, John Zorn and Dave Lombardo via DiegoMH2002, Frederic Rzewski by Michael Wilson. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice

Tonight on Flotation Device:
-Haas's 2nd Violin Concerto (premiere rec)
-Younghi Pagh-Paan at 80
-John Zorn/Dave Lombardo duo
-Raven Chacon, John Dieterich, Brandon Ross & more
Sun 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@davelombardo.bsky.social @ssskdist.bsky.social @stefanogervasoni.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social

Photo credits: Björk by Viðar Logi, Morton Feldman via Universal Edition, Helmut Lachenmann by Ensemble recherche, Alec Hall by Laura Bianchi, Sarah Maria Sun by Rüdiger Schestag, Ornette Coleman by Michael Hoefner, Pression by Helmut Lachenmann, The Dwarfs of East Agouza (Alan Bishop, Maurice Louca, Sam Shalabi) by Hans Van Der Linden, Gunther Schuller by William E. Sauro. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice.

Tonight Flotation Device celebrates the 100th birthday of Gunther Schuller, the 90th of Helmut Lachenmann, the 60th of Björk and the 50th of Feldman's Piano and Orchestra. Plus new things by Dwarfs of East Agouza & Alec Hall
Sun 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @universaledition.bsky.social

Photo credits: Felipe Lara by Celeste Sloman, Wayne Horvitz and Butch Morris by Dany Gignoux, Sun Ra with Yamaha YC30 combo organ, John Zorn in MindFlux 2010 via the artist, Oxana Omelchuk via Orbit, Steph Richards by Chris Weiss, Butch Morris by Chad Batka, Michael Finnissy via the artist, Brandon Ross via 27 East, Henry Threadgill via Pi Recordings, Ingrid Laubrock by Frank Schindelbeck. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice.

Wayne Horvitz's What's Going On festival is back for a second year, and we'll have all the details tonight. Sun Ra, Butch Morris & Henry Threadgill will be in the spotlight of four Seattle concerts.
Sun 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@sunrauniverse.bsky.social @ingridlaubrock.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social

Now I am settled in to observe my recent Thursday tradition--tucking into bed and listening to the excellent Reggae Party radio program on @kbcs.bsky.social as I fall asleep.

KBCS welcomes Thom Hartmann and special guest Katie Wilson to Town Hall Seattle on December 6th. Thom will discuss his new book “The Last American President”, address the day’s most pressing topics, and hold a Q&A and book signing.

www.tickettailor.com/events/913kb...

YouTube video by Schell77 Sylvie Courvoisier interviewed by Michael Schell

Now at YouTube: my Flotation Device interview with pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, where we discuss her transatlantic career, her new solo and duet albums (the latter with Mary Halvorson) and the influence of Nancarrow on her playing.
youtu.be/7zswxK6Sgrw @kbcs.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social

Photo credits: Quartet 1985 at Stonehenge (AB, Mark Dresser, Marilyn Crispell, Gerry Hemingway) by Nick White, AB and Epistrophy by Edu Hawkins, AB in 2007 by Michael Hoefner, AB in 1976 by Tom Marcello, Standards 2020 (Neil Charles, AB, Stephen Davis) by Edu Hawkins, AB drawing by Ian Johnson, Chick Corea via the artist, Thumbscrew (Michael Formanek, Mary Halvorson, Tomas Fujiwara) by Amy Touchette, Richard Teitelbaum with afro by Dennis Luzak, AB and Dave Holland via Qwest TV, Composition 115 by AB, Max Roach and AB via Inconstant Sol

Tonight Flotation Device celebrates Anthony Braxton's 80th birthday with an exclusive interview with this most towering of creative musicians.
Sunday 10pm PDT, 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @delmarkrecords.bsky.social @burningambulance.bsky.social @domlash.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social

Black coffee mug with logo of 91.3 KBCS Community Radio.

In this current point in history, it is vital that we protect sources of information AND joy from erasure. If you have a few dollars to support your favorite local public radio station, it would mean a lot to them. Shout out to my favorite, @kbcs.bsky.social and their 50+ years of excellence.

Time for my favorite finish to a Sunday night: listening to the Floatation Device show of experimental music on @kbcs.bsky.social as I fall asleep.
Join me, won't you?

Photo credits: Mark Dresser by Alessandro D'Amico, Beingness (Dave Liebman, Adam Rudolph, Billy Hart) by Caris Liebman, Fabien Lévy by Jenny Wolf, Alex Paxton by Jess Rose, Pauline Oliveros and Guy Klucevsek via the artists, Jakob Bro by Luciano Rossetti, Ingrid Laubrock by Helmut Berns, Toshi Ichiyanagi via Metason.net, Maija Hynninen via the artist, Yasunao Tone by Chris Buck, Anna Rubin via the artist, Austin Wullimen by Anneliese Varaldiev, Kaija Saariaho by Maarit Kytöharju

Next on Flotation Device
-JACK Quartet does minimal
-Brooks Williams & Yasunao Tone do AI
-Anna Rubin does black holes
-Alex Paxton
-RIP Guy Klucevsek
-Sun 10pm PDT, 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @sonoluminusmusic.bsky.social @neumarecords.bsky.social @ranchy.bsky.social @newamrecords.bsky.social

Flotation Device 2025-05-11 - Mother's Day Zappathon Now in podcast format: our 2025 Mother's Day extravaganza, featuring Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. This year we celebrate the group's 60th anniversary with help from two new archival relea...

Now published in podcast format: our 2025 Mother's Day spectacular. Two hours of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, ready to satisfy your itch whenever you need it. With two new archival albums focusing on '68 and '74.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @frankzappa.bsky.social

Photo credits: Matt Mitchell and Kate Gentile via the artists, Steph Richards by Chris Weiss, Bright Sheng via the artist, Music Frees Our Souls (Matt Shipp, William Parker, Francisco Mela) by Kenneth Jimenez, Peter Adriaansz by Alex Schröder, Catalina Vicens by Kurt Van der Elst, Dal:Um (Hyeyoung Hwang, Ha Suyean) via Glitterbeat Records, Prach Boondiskulchok via the artist

Old meets New tonight on Flotation Device w/Bright Sheng, Chinese astrology, Medieval organs, Korean zithers and Celtic ballads. Plus Frith, Syrphe & Lippel.
Sun 10pm PDT, 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @syrphe.bsky.social @edpettersen.bsky.social @newfocuslabel.bsky.social @577records.bsky.social

Photo credits: Frank Zappa via @Zappa estate, Mothers of Invention (top: Jimmy Carl Black, Ray Collins, Art Tripp, Roy Estrada, middle: Ian Underwood, Bunk Gardner, Don Preston, Motorhead Sherwood, bottom: FZ) at Whiskey a Go Go 1968 by George Rodriguez, Orchestral Favorites cover by Gary Panter, Captain Beefheart and FZ by John Williams, Edgard Varèse via Ricordi, young FZ, Mothers of Invention in 1974 (Napoleon Murphy Brock, Jeff Simmons, Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler, Chester Thompson, George Duke, Ralph Humphrey, FZ, Bruce Fowler), The Penguins via Original Sound, Dupree’s Paradise, Larry Stein and FZ at US Senate 1985

Mother's Day isn't complete without Flotation Device's annual Frank Zappathon. This year features two new archival releases with the original Mothers of Invention in 1968 and the Roxy-era band joined by Captain Beefheart.
Sun 10pm–Mid PDT on 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @frankzappa.bsky.social

Photo credits: Sebastian Fagerlund by Ville Paasimaa, June Tyson and Sun Ra in Space Is the Place, Sofia Gubaidulina via Orfeo Music, Robert Millis at Kyushu University, Jeong Lim Yang via Discogs, Painkiller (John Zorn, Bill Laswell, Mick Harris) via the artists, Sun Ra meets the French by Philippe Gras/Claude Gaspari, Olli Mustonen by Heikki Tuuli, Karlheinz and young Markus Stockhausen via the latter, Aulis Sallinen by Maarit Kytöharju, Caroline Shaw by Kait Moreno

Tonight on Flotation Device:
-Sun Ra's European debut
-The return of John Zorn's Painkiller
-Ars Nova Copenhagen sings Shaw
-Finns new & old
Sun 10pm PDT, 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @sunrauniverse.bsky.social @nagualsite.bsky.social @arsnovacopenhagen.bsky.social @cantaloupe-music.bsky.social

Flotation Device interview with Anna Thorvaldsdottir - 91.3 KBCS Flotation Device interview with Anna Thorvaldsdottir If Björk is Iceland’s best-known pop singer, then Anna Thorvaldsdottir is its best-known composer, noted for her visceral music that conveys—in its...

www.kbcs.fm/2025/04/07/f...

Photo credits: Adam O’Farrill by Tore Sætre, Anna Thorvaldsdottir by Saga Sigurdardottir, Berio at GRM via Centro Studi Luciano Berio, François Bayle by Didier Allard, Max Johnson and Sam Newsome via the artists, Oregon (Glen Moore, Paul McCandless, Collin Walcott, Ralph Towner) via the artists, Suzana Lașcu by Jethro Bijleveld, Noriko Baba by Kyoko Nagashima, Anzû Quartet (Olivia De Prato, Karl Larson, Ashley Bathgate, Ken Thomson) by Markus Sepperer, Steve Reich by Jesse Yang

Anna Thorvaldsdottir joins us on Flotation Device to chat about new works for Claire Chase & the Labèque sisters. Plus @stevereich.bsky.social's Traveler's Prayer in its 1st rec, and more!
Sun 10pm PDT, 91.3fm kbcs.fm @kbcs.bsky.social @sonoluminusmusic.bsky.social @nonesuch.com @inagrm.bsky.social

Get them over the air or streaming! @kbcs.bsky.social And then lace up your shoes!

If you need musical inspiration for today’s rallies, KBCS folk offering is Songs of Light for a fresh take.

The #SeattleIndivisible rally on 06/13/2017 was treated to a wonderful performance by Jim Page. Jim has written and recorded numerous songs about important social and political issues. He also hosts a show on radio station KBCS.FM
@jimpage2.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
#ProtestSongs #FolkMusic

Photo credits: Leonard Bernstein and Pierre Boulez by Christian Steiner, Boulez by Dennis Polkow, Boulez via New York Philharmonic Archives, Boulez and Yvonne Loriod via Ullstein Bild/AKG images, Boulez with Bruno Maderna and Karlheinz Stockhausen via Stockhausen, opening chord of Pli Selon Pli via Michael Schell, Frank Zappa and Boulez by Joël Robine (AFP), Boulez and Olivier Messiaen via Andrew Crust, Boulez in the studio by David Rentas, György Ligeti and Boulez by Jean-Pierre Leloir, Boulez and Barbara Hannigan by Jean Radel

Tonight Flotation Device celebrates the centenary of Pierre Boulez, the most influential French musician since Ravel. We'll revisit his colorful but staunchly modern music w/@ensembleinter.bsky.social @frankzappa.bsky.social & more.
Sunday 10pm PDT 91.3fm kbcs.fm @kbcs.bsky.social @ircam.bsky.social

Photo credits: Daniel Menche via the artist, Sofia Gubaidulina by Mario Wezel, Tristan Murail via Wikimedia, Steve Layton via the artist, Bernadette Speach by Christopher Drukker, Gateway (Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, John Abercrombie) by Dany Gignoux, Noriko Baba by Kyoko Nagashima, Philip Jeck by Dave Knapik, Domenica Diavoleria via the artist, Gellért Szabó’s Ideal Orchestra by Robin Lambrecht, Collin Walcott by Patrick Hinely, John Hollenbeck by Mercedes Jelinek, Faith Coloccia via Mamiffer

Next on Flotation Device:
-Gubaidulina (1931–2025)
-A kinder, gentler Murail
-Northwest chill w/Layton, Menche & more
-@johnhollenbeck.bsky.social & Gellért Szabó's heterodox big bands
-Noriko Baba channels Mahler
-Philip Jeck & the beauty of things
Sunday 10pm PST, 91.3fm kbcs.fm @kbcs.bsky.social

She was truly special.

Photo credits: Collin Walcott and Meredith Monk by Martha Van Burek, Server Farm (Michael Formanek, Levy Lorenzo, Chris Lightcap, Mazz Swift, Peter Evans, Jon Irabagon, Dan Weiss, Matt Mitchell, Miles Okazaki, Wendy Eisenberg) by Chris Benham, Michael Gordon by Peter Serling, Ralph Towner via the artist, Arthur Levering by Janice Crotty, Marcel Chyrzyński via Polska Biblioteka Muzyczna, Noriko Baba by Kyoko Nagashima, Stewart Goodyear by Anita Zvonar, Meredith Monk in Education of the Girlchild via The House Foundation for the Arts, John Zorn in MindFlux 2010 via the artist. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice.

Tonite on Flotation Device: JACK Quartet plays Zorn, Michael Gordon honors Hollywood Westerns, @edpettersen.bsky.social revisits sea shanties, plus Meredith Monk, Kim Cass, Jon Irabagon, Noriko Baba & Ralph Towner at 85.
Sunday 10pm PST, 91.3fm kbcs.fm @kbcs.bsky.social
@cantaloupe-music.bsky.social