So Percussion

• Genre: Classical

About

"If you're sick of the sounds you've got, you go and find more," says So Percussion's Adam Sliwinski, and it's evident from the ensemble's music that they follow that creed. Rooted in the work of contemporary composers like Steve Reich, the quartet restlessly pursues that uncommon place where the classical tradition overlaps with the sonic investigations of the 20th and 21st centuries; Aphex Twin and Radiohead are as much a part of their musical vocabulary as are Reich or Erik Satie. The New York quartet released its self-titled debut in 2004; a wash of marimbas and bells, it belied the dry regularity suggested by their name. They next tackled Steve Reich's "Drumming," breaking with convention by overdubbing parts, to kaleidoscopic effect. In 2006, Amid the Noise found the group venturing into less immediately percussive territory with an album full of chiming harmonies as softly volatile as a field full of dandelion tufts.

- Philip Sherburne